November 20, 2025 • 31 mins
“Nervous system regulation” is everywhere online—but what does it actually mean? In this episode, therapist Atara Parkinson breaks it down, sharing how stress shows up in the body and how to return to balance.
Atara recounts her own crash from years of overworking, intense training, and depletion, and how functional medicine and mineral support helped her heal. She explains the zones of regulation—calm, fight-or-flight, and shutdown—and how dysregulation can look like anxiety, burnout, or feeling disconnected.
We explore why the nervous system reacts to everyday stressors just like real danger (“taxes or tigers”), and how chronic stress leads to symptoms like digestive issues, hormonal shifts, and mineral imbalances. Atara also highlights the importance of balancing masculine (doing) and feminine (being) energy, especially for high-achieving women.
This episode offers grounded, compassionate tools to help you reconnect with yourself, regulate your nervous system, and feel more at ease in your body.
About Atara:
Atara is a licensed Marriage and Family therapist and has been practicing in the field of mental health for 14 years. She's continued her education by becoming a certified integrative practitioner. Her current passions include holistic healing, supporting postpartum mamas, Brainspotting, therapeutic intensives and educating on the role of minerals for brain health and nervous system regulation. Revitalization and rebalancing client's are core goals in Atara's work.
Find Atara:
https://www.instagram.com/atara.parkinson/
https://www.facebook.com/atara.brown
Free Gift:
https://stan.store/ataraparkinson
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:04):
Welcome to the Heal Yourself Podcast, where we dive
deep into all things healing.
I'm Denise, a speech andlanguage pathologist and a
self-love coach for adults andteens.
Speaker 2 (00:15):
And I'm Kira, a traditional naturopath and
functional nutritionist, andwe're here to guide you through
the transformative process ofhealing your body, mind and soul
From the latest in functionalmedicine, of healing your body,
mind and soul, from the latestin functional medicine to
nurturing your relationship withyourself, healing trauma and
even transforming your moneystory.
Speaker 1 (00:33):
we're here to empower you with the knowledge and
tools to create lasting change.
Speaker 2 (00:39):
So, whether you're looking to heal physically,
emotionally or spiritually, joinus as we explore the many paths
to wholeness and wellness.
Hey, everyone, welcome back toanother episode of Heal Yourself
Podcast.
It is Kira today, and I amjoined by special guest Atara,
(01:00):
who I'm going to introduce, yeah, hey.
So let me introduce her herformally and then I'll let her
tell you guys a little moreabout herself.
So Tara is a licensed marriageand family therapist and has
been practicing in the field ofmental health for 14 years.
She's continued her educationby becoming a certified
integrative practitioner and hercurrent passions include
(01:22):
holistic healing, supportingpostpartum mamas, brain spotting
which we've talked about beforeon here therapeutic intensives
and educating on the role ofminerals for brain health and
nervous system regulation, andrevitalizing and rebalancing
clients our core goals inAtara's work, so welcome.
Speaker 3 (01:40):
Yay, thank you.
I'm so happy to be here thismorning.
Speaker 2 (01:43):
Yeah, so I always start by asking people how did
you get to this space?
Because we all have someinteresting journeys.
Speaker 3 (01:50):
Yeah, yes, and I feel like most people in this space
are here because of theirjourney and I am not the
exception to that rule.
So my health side journey reallybegan around 2013.
And at this point I hadfinished my graduate program,
was finishing up my graduatework, and I had really, really
(02:13):
pushed my body and I was, youknow, taking classes, doing 20
hours of practicum withemancipated foster youth, which
was not a light population.
A lot of trauma there to fosteryouth, which was not a light
population.
A lot of trauma there.
And I was working a full timejob as a case manager for men
who had been released fromprison from a life sentence, so
also not a light population.
(02:34):
Yeah, yeah yeah Right, lots ofstuff in there.
Let's see, I was training formarathons, so a lot of intense.
Kira's already laughing.
She knows where this is goingand, of course, I was in my 20
something, so I was trying to beas slim and trim as possible in
eating like a chicken breast aday and maybe like a Slurpee and
(02:56):
sunflower seeds, right, likethat.
Those are my meals, so you canimagine.
Um, my body finally was like no, we're not doing this anymore.
And I always like to prefaceand say there was some other
stuff.
Right, it wasn't like a year ortwo of stress in my life.
I had, you know, some childhoodwith domestic violence in the
home for a while.
(03:16):
Um, you know, my parents aredivorced.
Um, I am naturally a feeler, um,a very intense person, so
there's some other stuff thathad kind of been lifelong.
That also, I think, contributedto this.
I like to look at thingsholistically and work with
people holistically, so I thinkall of that's important.
But essentially what happenedis my body crashed and what I
(03:40):
mean by that was I would get upand get going for the day and go
about my business and get andget ready, be up for an hour and
a half, two hours, and be soexhausted, um, I would have to
lay back down and go back tosleep and I went to my
functional medicine doc, orsorry, I went to my allopathic
doctor and, oh great, we'regoing to run some labs, awesome.
(04:00):
Come back a few weeks later,excited to have some answers,
only for him to kind ofbasically shrug his shoulders
and say everything looks good,yep, everything looks good.
Speaker 2 (04:12):
I'm just going to sigh at that.
Speaker 3 (04:13):
Yes, exactly, and you know he also went well.
Maybe eat more greens, and atthis point I had tried so many
things.
I was on a raw vegan diet, sothat was not the issue and it
was not helping.
So then I found a wonderful youknow, functional medicine
doctor and she ran myneurotransmitters and what we
(04:35):
saw was that my fight or flightneurotransmitters were off the
charts they were so high youcould not even see where they
ended, and my calming ones werebottomed out, non existent.
They were tired and they hadstopped producing or working.
So that is that's what reallyhappened that set me on this
trajectory for really some ofthe foundational things getting
(04:58):
processed foods out of my diet,focused on nutrient dense food,
right, really switching aroundand getting some good nutrition
back in my body, which helpedimmensely.
Fast forward, three years later,it's 2016.
And I have my first kiddo, andwhat happens here is postpartum
anxiety and now what we kind oflabel as postpartum rage, which
(05:21):
is a subset right of the anxiety.
The anxiety it's caused, if youwill, by those anxious moments,
and this was another reallyalarming experience for me.
I had never been an angryperson, I had never been an
anxious person.
Pretty easy going go with theflow my whole life, and also
very energetic, I will say.
And so this was very, you know,startling for me, and that's
(05:46):
when I came across minerals andI had all of the you know
foundational health stuff.
But then when I added inminerals, it just it rocked my
world and it brought me back tolife, is kind of what I say.
So that is how I got here, whyI do what I do and why I love
helping people in this way outhere why I do what I do and why
(06:07):
I love helping people in thisway.
Speaker 2 (06:08):
Awesome, I'm going to do like a snippet in here.
We're not going to go down themineral road, guys, but I love
talking minerals and I will justsay it's so easy to become
depleted postpartum.
Nobody shares that with you,like.
Even if you're going to amidwife, they're just saying,
take a prenatal, which is great,take a prenatal.
But when I, like, had my son,you know I finished out the
(06:29):
prenatal bottle.
I'm like I guess I'm okay.
No one told me that postpartumwas five years, like, and that I
would get super depleted.
Just throwing that out therefor listeners that maybe did not
know that.
Speaker 3 (06:40):
Yes, totally true.
Right, they say 10% inpregnancy alone, but we don't
know what we're losing in thepostpartum, in birth,
breastfeeding, right?
We have no information, really,that I've seen yet.
And if hey, if you've seen it,please email me.
I'd love to read it, causeeveryone's so different.
Speaker 2 (06:58):
Yeah, yeah, well, let's go into the nervous system
, because I feel like when I geton Instagram now, everyone and
their mother's go into thenervous system.
Because I feel like when I geton Instagram now, everyone and
their mother's talking about thenervous system and I'll own it.
I do the same thing becausethere's the role.
My focus is on digestive issues, but I think people don't even
know.
They're like okay, nervoussystem dysregulation.
Like, is that just stress?
(07:18):
Like, do I do some meditation?
Does that fix it?
Like, what can you tell usabout the nervous system
Meditation?
Speaker 3 (07:24):
Does that fix it?
Like, what can you tell usabout the nervous system?
Yeah well, first, like the termnervous system dysregulation, I
think, is not maybe not beenappropriately labeled, and we
dramatize it a little bit.
We're really high, we'reactually dropping to, you know,
kind of what I call this yellowzone, fight or flight a little
(07:47):
bit all the time really, and theexample that I love using with
people is like, have you everwoken up late for something or
was in a rush, guess what?
Your nervous system isdysregulated in that moment.
Now, not in an extreme way, butyou're dropping down into a
state that is, you know, alittle frantic, frazzled, right,
your energy has to pick up andyou have to get a little bit
(08:10):
more focused in those momentsand I always laugh because, like
right, my example is also fourkids in tow and so I'm yelling
at my kids as well.
And in these rushed moments,like there's some really obvious
examples, but there's this likeseesaw action that happens all
day with a healthy nervoussystem and likely with most of
our nervous systems, is I'm just, I'm kind of in this
(08:33):
dysregulated state where I feelpanic, but then ideally I'm
coming back up out of that, backinto what we would call the
green zone, which is likeconnected, comfortable, the way
you and I are talking right nowright, and so this action
happens all day.
(08:53):
Where people start to run intoissues is where they drop down
into that yellow.
They're not doing anythingnecessarily about it.
They don't maybe take a deepbreath intuitively, they kind of
stay.
It's harder to get out of thatmode.
Maybe they avoid right orignore, push down a lot of
emotions.
Hey, sometimes we know that,that.
So we're in a situation wherethat kind of has to happen.
(09:15):
But also it's really importantto come back right.
Maybe you're at work and you,like, can't burst into tears in
that moment I got you right butcome back to that.
It's not able to process allthe way through.
So I think that's a reallyimportant thing for people to
(09:41):
understand is do I notice when Ikind of drop out of my
regulated state?
And also, do I know how to getmyself back?
And am I allowing myself, maybemaking a daily habit of
connecting right, Connectingwith myself, checking, making a
daily habit of connecting right,Connecting with myself,
checking in with myself, Perhapsjust even if you did that at
(10:02):
the end of the day, and itdoesn't have to be anything
fancy, I think people, they haveall these great tools out there
, right, and I love them, I usethem with my clients, but also
it can just be like sitting onthe edge of your bed when kids
are asleep and going hey, how amI feeling Right, how am I doing
?
Let me check in.
Do I feel okay?
Do I notice my body needsanything right now?
(10:23):
And not.
I think we've reallydisconnected.
We've drawn this line acrossour neck right.
That disconnects our mind andour brain from what we are
feeling in the body and itreally does a disservice to us.
If we can pay attention to ourbody and the messages our body
is sending us, it, um, I thinkwould produce a lot more health
(10:44):
for us as a society.
Speaker 2 (10:47):
Yeah, I agree, and you're right.
So many are disconnected andsometimes I'll be having a
conversation with the client andsay like okay, well, this is
where I want you to listen toyour body.
And they're like I don't, Idon't know how the client and
say like okay, well, this iswhere I want you to listen to
your body.
And they're like I don't, Idon't know how.
Like people have forgotten andhonestly, I tell them you should
be having a conversation withyourself every day, not like a
crazy person out loud wherepeople are like are you okay?
(11:08):
But in your head, just like youwould check in with a partner, a
friend, a child hey, how areyou doing to get today?
Do you need anything from me?
And we don't do that because inthat moment you might be like,
oh, my gosh, I do need to takesome deep breaths.
Or you know what?
I need to lock myself in thebathroom for two minutes just to
you know like, get away for aminute.
(11:28):
Or maybe I need some water.
I think it's been like sixhours since I had a sip Little
things like that.
If we would just haveconversations throughout the day
.
Speaker 3 (11:39):
I love that so much.
Yeah, and I want to point outwhat you're saying about when
people don't even know how to dothat.
That's a good sign.
Find a great somatic therapistbecause, um, yeah, we can become
so disconnected.
It's our normal state and thatyou know.
So we talked briefly about thisyellow zone, this fight or
(12:00):
flight, but what happens overtime is if we stay in that, stay
in that, stay in that we dropfurther down.
I want you to almost imaginelike a scale and we're further
down on that ladder and wouldn'tyou know it, there's another
space under that yellow zone,which we reference as the red
zone.
And if yellow is kind of likeanxiety symptoms, you imagine
(12:20):
like revved up energy, likefocus, you know jittery the red
zone is going to be what wewould refer to as depressive
symptoms and that is like ashutdown, a numb disconnected.
We use a fancy term in therapyland dissociative right.
And not knowing what'shappening in our body is a type
(12:43):
of dissociated state right.
And not to pathologize it, weall do it to some degree.
But knowing and recognizing howoften am I in that state?
And also that the body is doingthis for a reason, there's
protection, an attempt ofprotection.
And so not to you know, bashthe body, not to make the body
(13:08):
the enemy, but to understand ourbody is having an attempt to
support and protect us in thisway.
And I laugh at the nervoussystem because up here in our
cortical brain, right, ourthinking logic brain, we can
kind of distinguish a differentstressors, right, I can talk
myself down of okay, it's okay,we're just late, you know we're
(13:30):
going to be okay, but thenervous system does not do that.
The nervous system does nothave that language and I kind of
say it as the nervous systemdoesn't know the difference
between taxes and tigers.
And I saw someone online shesaid it as the nervous system
doesn't know the differencebetween my fire alarm and my
screaming toddler.
And that gave me a good so trueright, our nervous system is
(13:51):
going to respond the same way,and so that's important to
recognize as well is that that'sthe job of our different part
of our brain, if you will, tokind of talk us logically out.
But sometimes people can't dothat right.
Sometimes we have kind of beenin this state for so long we
don't know how to do thatanymore, and that's kind of a
sign or indicator you might wantsome more support with how to
(14:14):
do that.
The other thing I'll say isgosh, our brains are so amazing.
In a single second we, ourbrains, are able to take in 11
million pieces of information,and that's a low ball right.
Some say 30 to 40 million right.
(14:34):
So a lot of stimuli all at onetime, but we cognitively think
about only between seven and 40pieces of that.
So sometime the nervous systemis responding to something that
we have not cognitivelyregistered, but it's files in
there and the brain has filed it.
(14:55):
But so sometimes people go well, I don't even know what I'm
responding to, and that's okay,Like we don't have to
necessarily figure that out.
It's filed back in theresomewhere deep and we can't pull
it out.
But what we can do is work withthe body to become more
regulated and give tools tosupport when we are having those
moments.
Speaker 2 (15:14):
Yeah, gosh, I think it's so important to everything
that you said.
But even looking at people thatdo stay either in the yellow
zone or the red zone and they'restuck in there, it's not just
from overdoing stuff, right,it's not just from the toddlers
that are screaming.
It's usually a buildup ofthings that sometimes we're not
(15:35):
thinking of.
It's usually a buildup ofthings that sometimes we're not
thinking of and this was apowerful one for me in my own
journey is like realizing thatI'm a doer, like I don't know
how to sit down.
It's hard for me to relax.
I'm always finding more stuffto do, and that was putting me
in that yellow zone, you know.
So I want people to payattention to that too.
(15:57):
Of like, are you allowingyourself to slow down and rest
like you need to, because we allneed that?
Speaker 3 (16:11):
Yes, so true.
So true, and I talk a lot aboutwith my mamas that I work with
is the difference betweenmasculine and feminine energies.
And let's be clear, I'm nottalking about a man versus a
woman right.
But we're talking about themasculine, feminine energy and
those exist in all of us, right,and you're pointing out that
those can kind of have this pushand pull, depending on where
we're in life, what we'refocused on, and often I see
(16:36):
women with this.
Really we'll call it anoveractive right, or this
masculine energy overdrive, andit's not.
There's like all of this otherstuff, right, that gets us there
.
And if you own a business, ifyou're an entrepreneur, you are
constantly drawn.
And most, actually, most women,any woman actually working
(16:57):
outside of the home, when you'reworking somewhere else, you are
called to produce.
Right, you're called to do,you're called to have those
actions.
Right, we live in this societythat is focused, right, it's a
masculine energy society, ifwe're honest, and so it's do
produce, do, do, do.
And this, this constantly pullsus in that, in that direction.
(17:20):
So, learning to balance thatwith the feminine, which is
being the feminine, is all aboutbeing, and part of that is
being present, right, if the dois like, forward focused, what
am I going to produce?
That's a, a future tense, whythe feminine is a present tense.
Kids, man, if you're not, ifyou're like I don't know how to
(17:41):
do that at all.
Go look at your kiddo, or golook at a kid and watch how they
interact with the world, andthat is the essence of being
right, and I'm talking like fiveand under, and they will show
you.
You know, take them on a walk.
They're like oh, look at this.
They're not worried about wherethey're going, how long this is
going to take any.
Like you know, I got to get mysteps and nothing.
They are solely focused onbeing present in this world and
(18:05):
that really is such a gift.
And how do we get ourselvesback to that?
Some great examples that womenI've talked about with women
over the years are differenttypes of movement or exercise.
So, like yoga is a great one,horseback riding.
I hear that from a lot ofclients, yep.
Speaker 2 (18:26):
Never would have thought that.
Speaker 3 (18:27):
Yes, art is another one.
Here's the thing right, we haveto be focused on what our body
is doing in this, these moments,because if we're not, if we get
too stuck in, like what it'sfor lunch, what am I gonna do?
We gotta get, we gotta pick thekids up.
We're not paying attention toour bodies and then we get
(18:48):
injured, right, because we'renot in the present.
And so these are great ways tojust naturally pull yourself
back into that feminine energy,and I find, too, these are what
women typically crave.
They're like oh, I want thattime to connect with my body
again.
I really, oh my gosh, I lovecreating, just for the sake of
(19:08):
creating something like artwork,right, and this is why because
it connects you again with thatfeminine energy that needs to be
in balance.
Yeah, and I was laughing as youwere talking about why.
Because it connects you againwith that feminine energy that
needs to be in balance.
Speaker 2 (19:18):
Yeah, and I I was laughing as you were talking
about that, because one of thefirst people I worked with, like
when I was hiring mentors,coaches um, he was like you are
all in masculine energy.
He was so right though, causeit's like oh, I want to do art
but I don't have time.
I've got to make these socialmedia posts and I would love to
(19:39):
do puzzles and I would love totake a walk, but I can't.
Speaker 3 (19:42):
I got to do an email and yeah, so, kira, where did
that leave you?
Speaker 2 (19:48):
Oh well, I know where it led me.
Why do you think this podcastexists?
I?
Speaker 3 (19:54):
love it, yep Perfect.
Speaker 2 (19:55):
Yeah, um.
Okay, so I do have a question.
This is just kind of a randomone.
Can someone fluctuate betweenthe yellow and the red zone?
Speaker 3 (20:06):
Yeah, great question.
And yes, so when I work withclients that are down deep in
that red, I'm thinking of one inparticular, and she's really
whole shit, poor thing.
Right, years and years, lots ofchildhood trauma was really
deep in that red, very, verydisconnected, disassociated, so
much so that she wasn't even,you know, going into the social
(20:30):
world.
She basically like locksherself in her room almost 24
seven.
Yeah, so that's a very obviousblame example it doesn't always
look like that.
That's like the most extreme,and so what started to happen as
we worked together is westarted to bring her up out of
that red, and wouldn't you knowit?
Well, well, when we come out ofthe red, what's above that?
The yellow, and people thathave been in the red for so long
(20:54):
.
When they come into the yellow,they're like this is awful.
Wait, what, what are we?
Speaker 2 (20:59):
I'm going back to red exactly exactly why.
Speaker 3 (21:02):
why would we do this?
So I have to, really, we warnthem right.
We really talk about, okay,this is what might start to
happen as you reconnect withyourself, as you reconnect with
your emotions and maybe some ofthe childhood stuff we're going
to work through, and it might beuncomfortable and also I
promise that there is a light atthe end of the tunnel and we
(21:22):
will start to see, you know,glimmers of that green zone
calling to us and so, yeah, itcan be really uncomfortable, but
absolutely, and you never move.
I think I want to speak to thispoint in another way, where you
never move straight from greento red.
I want to be very clear.
We're always moving down thatscale first, and every person I
(21:45):
talk to who is in red, I will golet's talk about yellow.
Like when were you in yellow?
And they're like oh yeah,totally the three years before I
was in red.
I was in yellow, or even morethan that, and so there's always
a yellow zone happening beforeyou reach that red.
So also vice versa, as we moveout of that space, you're going
(22:06):
to have to connect with thatyellow sun to get to the green.
Speaker 2 (22:11):
Yeah, yeah.
I wanted to point that outbecause sometimes people think,
OK, no, I can't be ping pongingback and forth between you know,
yellow and red.
And yeah, you can.
Speaker 3 (22:21):
Yeah, yeah, absolutely.
Speaker 2 (22:23):
Let's go somewhere else with this, briefly, or
however long it takes us, Iguess.
Um, but I want to talk aboutwhen we're in the yellow and the
red and it's becoming a chronicissue, presenting as physical
health challenges, because I seethis a lot, so many clients and
it's a hard one.
It's a hard one for me becauseI'm not a therapist, but I can
(22:45):
see like, oh, I can tell you'vebeen in the yellow or the red
for a long period of time andthis is a huge piece of why
you've got chronic symptoms atthis point.
Speaker 3 (22:55):
Absolutely, absolutely.
So the way that I kind ofsuccinctly say this is the body
is always speaking.
Succinctly say this is the bodyis always speaking right, and
so the body is designed firstand foremost to stay alive,
right, and so it will doeverything it can, including
shutting down hormone production, certain types of hormones, you
(23:17):
know, diverting the energy tothe central organs to stay alive
, you know, I think about to,naturally, minerals.
What do we postpartum mamaswhen they're complaining their
hair is falling out, their nailsare brittle, bad skin?
Yeah, your minerals are beingdiverted when you're deficient,
to the essential places to stayalive, and so you'll start to
see it there.
(23:37):
Same thing with nervous systemand energy.
And the body is the body willdivert to, you know, emergency
mode, essentially, and I need tofocus here so totally connected
, and that is why I'm soprivileged.
We are practicing at a time likethis, when this is becoming
(23:58):
more mainstream, this isbecoming kind of the more the
exception than, or the rule thanthe exception.
Work with the whole body, workwith the whole body.
Do not just work on your mentalhealth, right, because then
we're going to miss those piecesof what is happening in, maybe,
with our mineral status.
Support our mental health, orvice versa.
(24:19):
If you're seeing a functionalpractitioner amazing, please
keep doing that.
It is supporting your mentalhealth, or vice versa.
If you're seeing a functionalpractitioner amazing, please
keep doing that.
It is supporting your mentalhealth.
And also, there mightpotentially be tools that you
need to learn to connect withyour emotions better that then
are going to have an impact onyour physical health as well.
Speaker 2 (24:37):
Yeah, I think that's key and that's the thing I've
talked about this on the podcastand just you know, over the
years, when I first started out,it was just the functional
medicine.
Let's talk about labs andsupplements and create protocols
and we'll change your diet.
But then, when clients weren'tgetting better, I'm like, well,
do I have them on the wrongprotocol?
Was there a better supplement?
(24:58):
And it took me a while, youknow, to get to the point of
like, oh, maybe we need to lookat what else is going on in
their life.
Like, wait, you hate your job,you're divorced, you have three
kids.
Like, oh, maybe that's a pieceof this.
Speaker 3 (25:15):
Absolutely.
Yeah, you know, being um, Iwork with a lot of women that
are um driven, like you'resaying, but in some of that
there's this natural tendency togo well, I don't then have
space.
I think you said it reallyclearly right?
I don't have space for this.
Speaker 2 (25:36):
Or it's lazy.
It's lazy of me.
I can't do that.
I'm not supposed to take timefor myself.
Speaker 3 (25:41):
Yeah, absolutely Absolutely.
Yeah, yeah, Making it.
Um, yeah, pathologizing it iswhat I'll say, right, yeah, and
that it is so important torecognize that.
No, these can live together.
And how would I help a lot ofclients with this?
How do I create my life toreflect what I want to be in
(26:02):
alignment with what I want tocommit to?
And then you have another client.
She has a really really high upjob, fast paced environment,
and, just like you said, shegoes.
She's looking at it and goes.
This is what I've imagined forthe last five to 10 years of my
life that I wanted.
And here I am going.
I hate this.
(26:23):
I'm hating this because itactually is not.
I thought this money, thisamount of money, this title
would be so great, but actuallyit's not in alignment with who I
want to be.
And so what we've been doing isreconnecting her, and it's been
so cool to see the universe andGod just respond to as she's
(26:43):
focusing on that provision, justfalling in her lap, like, and
it's amazing to see that.
And so, as you pursue that, asyou reconnect with really, you
know, you heard the term ikigai.
No, oh, my gosh, okay, so thisis such a fun word.
Ikigai is a Japanese word thatmeans your purpose for getting
(27:03):
up in the morning, andessentially it has three
questions or components to itthat you answer to get the
answer of Ikigai, which is whatdo I love, what am I good at,
what are my strengths and whatdoes this world need?
And when those three cometogether in alignment, that is
(27:24):
the guy.
We all need purpose, even my,my elderly clients that are like
I want to.
She's 75 years old and she'dyes, and her problem is she
didn't have any guys.
She didn't have a purposeanymore of what was her reason
for being there.
She knew what she loved, sheknew what she was good at, but
she didn't know how do I dothose things, and so that is so
(27:44):
essential and again cancontribute to physical health
symptoms.
Speaker 2 (27:50):
So a hundred percent I.
That's actually one of the keythings I talk about with clients
Like are you living in yourpurpose?
Like we weren't just droppedoff on this planet for nothing.
We're here for something andyou've got to figure that out.
Yeah for sure, yeah, oh, okay,I've loved this conversation.
I know we could probably talkfor hours and hours, but I want
(28:12):
to kind of finish things offwith is there anything else that
you feel like listeners need tohear?
Anything else that you want tosay that I didn't ask to hear?
Speaker 3 (28:21):
anything else that you want to say that I didn't
ask.
I think people get reallycaught in I am broken or I this
isn't fixable, I'm too far gone.
Almost is the attitude, thebelief, I'll call it.
(28:47):
That I see frequently and Ijust want to remind people out
there that you are not and, inmy opinion, as long as you are
above the ground and have breathin your lungs.
There is always possibility,there is always opportunity to
start creating a new life foryourself.
Literally Right, and this verysecond we decide something else
and we start to move.
I'm not saying that then it'sgoing to be an easy journey, but
(29:08):
if we are committed tosomething and that's what we
want to see in our life, thenthere's possibility for that to
happen.
And yeah, just to seek someoneout, to seek support, like Kira
or I, and how do I start this?
And that I think people alsofeel overwhelmed often.
I know I did when I started.
Speaker 2 (29:28):
Oh yeah.
Speaker 3 (29:29):
I was like, yeah, where do I even start with this?
And so that it doesn't have tobe an overnight.
You know, overhaul.
That is not how I work.
I'm sure that's not how youwork.
Speaker 2 (29:40):
No, it's never gonna work out that way.
Speaker 3 (29:47):
I'm not gonna tell you to throw out all of this
food.
No, we're going to start makingsmall little tweaks and changes
, and the same thing withconnecting right back to the, to
our nervous system and to whowe are, is we do that as
comfortably as you are able.
And if this week you come inand you're like, oh, I just
can't do heavy lifting today,all right, let's talk about
something else.
Right, and let's talk about,maybe, some joy in your life.
(30:10):
And so, although change can bescary, a good practitioner is
going to know where to meet youon the different steps of that
journey.
Speaker 2 (30:19):
Awesome.
Well, thank you.
Um, I put everything in theshow notes, but I always like to
ask if someone wants to comefind you on social.
Where's the best place to look?
Where are you most?
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (30:30):
so I um instagram just feels easier for me, so I
love um connecting there.
I'm at atara a t a r a dotperkinson, p a r k I m sN.
I love pointing people there aswell, because there's a lot of
free information right.
There's a lot of good stuffthat you can just start filling
(30:52):
and making easy changes in yourlife.
I also have a website, so it'sa Tara Parkinsoncom.
So if you're interested inlearning a little bit more about
your like Ooh, brain spawningright, or you've heard another
episode, you can check out mypage on that.
I also work with a lot of whatI call globally minded
individuals, so I was raisedpartially overseas and you know
(31:12):
balancing between two cultures.
That's a focus in my practice,and then also the integrative
work that I do.
Speaker 2 (31:18):
Awesome.
Well, thank you so much.
Speaker 3 (31:21):
Of course, Kira.
Thank you for having me.
Speaker 2 (31:24):
This was so fun.
Yeah, all right, guys.
Well, we'd love to hear fromyou.
Come find us on instagram,shoot us a message, let us know
what you want to hear about andwe will see you on the next
episode.
Welcome to the Heal Yourself Podcast, where we dive
deep into all things healing.
I'm Denise, a speech andlanguage pathologist and a
self-love coach for adults andteens.
Speaker 2 (00:15):
And I'm Kira, a traditional naturopath and
functional nutritionist, andwe're here to guide you through
the transformative process ofhealing your body, mind and soul
From the latest in functionalmedicine, of healing your body,
mind and soul, from the latestin functional medicine to
nurturing your relationship withyourself, healing trauma and
even transforming your moneystory.
Speaker 1 (00:33):
we're here to empower you with the knowledge and
tools to create lasting change.
Speaker 2 (00:39):
So, whether you're looking to heal physically,
emotionally or spiritually, joinus as we explore the many paths
to wholeness and wellness.
Hey, everyone, welcome back toanother episode of Heal Yourself
Podcast.
It is Kira today, and I amjoined by special guest Atara,
(01:00):
who I'm going to introduce, yeah, hey.
So let me introduce her herformally and then I'll let her
tell you guys a little moreabout herself.
So Tara is a licensed marriageand family therapist and has
been practicing in the field ofmental health for 14 years.
She's continued her educationby becoming a certified
integrative practitioner and hercurrent passions include
(01:22):
holistic healing, supportingpostpartum mamas, brain spotting
which we've talked about beforeon here therapeutic intensives
and educating on the role ofminerals for brain health and
nervous system regulation, andrevitalizing and rebalancing
clients our core goals inAtara's work, so welcome.
Speaker 3 (01:40):
Yay, thank you.
I'm so happy to be here thismorning.
Speaker 2 (01:43):
Yeah, so I always start by asking people how did
you get to this space?
Because we all have someinteresting journeys.
Speaker 3 (01:50):
Yeah, yes, and I feel like most people in this space
are here because of theirjourney and I am not the
exception to that rule.
So my health side journey reallybegan around 2013.
And at this point I hadfinished my graduate program,
was finishing up my graduatework, and I had really, really
(02:13):
pushed my body and I was, youknow, taking classes, doing 20
hours of practicum withemancipated foster youth, which
was not a light population.
A lot of trauma there to fosteryouth, which was not a light
population.
A lot of trauma there.
And I was working a full timejob as a case manager for men
who had been released fromprison from a life sentence, so
also not a light population.
(02:34):
Yeah, yeah yeah Right, lots ofstuff in there.
Let's see, I was training formarathons, so a lot of intense.
Kira's already laughing.
She knows where this is goingand, of course, I was in my 20
something, so I was trying to beas slim and trim as possible in
eating like a chicken breast aday and maybe like a Slurpee and
(02:56):
sunflower seeds, right, likethat.
Those are my meals, so you canimagine.
Um, my body finally was like no, we're not doing this anymore.
And I always like to prefaceand say there was some other
stuff.
Right, it wasn't like a year ortwo of stress in my life.
I had, you know, some childhoodwith domestic violence in the
home for a while.
(03:16):
Um, you know, my parents aredivorced.
Um, I am naturally a feeler, um,a very intense person, so
there's some other stuff thathad kind of been lifelong.
That also, I think, contributedto this.
I like to look at thingsholistically and work with
people holistically, so I thinkall of that's important.
But essentially what happenedis my body crashed and what I
(03:40):
mean by that was I would get upand get going for the day and go
about my business and get andget ready, be up for an hour and
a half, two hours, and be soexhausted, um, I would have to
lay back down and go back tosleep and I went to my
functional medicine doc, orsorry, I went to my allopathic
doctor and, oh great, we'regoing to run some labs, awesome.
(04:00):
Come back a few weeks later,excited to have some answers,
only for him to kind ofbasically shrug his shoulders
and say everything looks good,yep, everything looks good.
Speaker 2 (04:12):
I'm just going to sigh at that.
Speaker 3 (04:13):
Yes, exactly, and you know he also went well.
Maybe eat more greens, and atthis point I had tried so many
things.
I was on a raw vegan diet, sothat was not the issue and it
was not helping.
So then I found a wonderful youknow, functional medicine
doctor and she ran myneurotransmitters and what we
(04:35):
saw was that my fight or flightneurotransmitters were off the
charts they were so high youcould not even see where they
ended, and my calming ones werebottomed out, non existent.
They were tired and they hadstopped producing or working.
So that is that's what reallyhappened that set me on this
trajectory for really some ofthe foundational things getting
(04:58):
processed foods out of my diet,focused on nutrient dense food,
right, really switching aroundand getting some good nutrition
back in my body, which helpedimmensely.
Fast forward, three years later,it's 2016.
And I have my first kiddo, andwhat happens here is postpartum
anxiety and now what we kind oflabel as postpartum rage, which
(05:21):
is a subset right of the anxiety.
The anxiety it's caused, if youwill, by those anxious moments,
and this was another reallyalarming experience for me.
I had never been an angryperson, I had never been an
anxious person.
Pretty easy going go with theflow my whole life, and also
very energetic, I will say.
And so this was very, you know,startling for me, and that's
(05:46):
when I came across minerals andI had all of the you know
foundational health stuff.
But then when I added inminerals, it just it rocked my
world and it brought me back tolife, is kind of what I say.
So that is how I got here, whyI do what I do and why I love
helping people in this way outhere why I do what I do and why
(06:07):
I love helping people in thisway.
Speaker 2 (06:08):
Awesome, I'm going to do like a snippet in here.
We're not going to go down themineral road, guys, but I love
talking minerals and I will justsay it's so easy to become
depleted postpartum.
Nobody shares that with you,like.
Even if you're going to amidwife, they're just saying,
take a prenatal, which is great,take a prenatal.
But when I, like, had my son,you know I finished out the
(06:29):
prenatal bottle.
I'm like I guess I'm okay.
No one told me that postpartumwas five years, like, and that I
would get super depleted.
Just throwing that out therefor listeners that maybe did not
know that.
Speaker 3 (06:40):
Yes, totally true.
Right, they say 10% inpregnancy alone, but we don't
know what we're losing in thepostpartum, in birth,
breastfeeding, right?
We have no information, really,that I've seen yet.
And if hey, if you've seen it,please email me.
I'd love to read it, causeeveryone's so different.
Speaker 2 (06:58):
Yeah, yeah, well, let's go into the nervous system
, because I feel like when I geton Instagram now, everyone and
their mother's go into thenervous system.
Because I feel like when I geton Instagram now, everyone and
their mother's talking about thenervous system and I'll own it.
I do the same thing becausethere's the role.
My focus is on digestive issues, but I think people don't even
know.
They're like okay, nervoussystem dysregulation.
Like, is that just stress?
(07:18):
Like, do I do some meditation?
Does that fix it?
Like, what can you tell usabout the nervous system
Meditation?
Speaker 3 (07:24):
Does that fix it?
Like, what can you tell usabout the nervous system?
Yeah well, first, like the termnervous system dysregulation, I
think, is not maybe not beenappropriately labeled, and we
dramatize it a little bit.
We're really high, we'reactually dropping to, you know,
kind of what I call this yellowzone, fight or flight a little
(07:47):
bit all the time really, and theexample that I love using with
people is like, have you everwoken up late for something or
was in a rush, guess what?
Your nervous system isdysregulated in that moment.
Now, not in an extreme way, butyou're dropping down into a
state that is, you know, alittle frantic, frazzled, right,
your energy has to pick up andyou have to get a little bit
(08:10):
more focused in those momentsand I always laugh because, like
right, my example is also fourkids in tow and so I'm yelling
at my kids as well.
And in these rushed moments,like there's some really obvious
examples, but there's this likeseesaw action that happens all
day with a healthy nervoussystem and likely with most of
our nervous systems, is I'm just, I'm kind of in this
(08:33):
dysregulated state where I feelpanic, but then ideally I'm
coming back up out of that, backinto what we would call the
green zone, which is likeconnected, comfortable, the way
you and I are talking right nowright, and so this action
happens all day.
(08:53):
Where people start to run intoissues is where they drop down
into that yellow.
They're not doing anythingnecessarily about it.
They don't maybe take a deepbreath intuitively, they kind of
stay.
It's harder to get out of thatmode.
Maybe they avoid right orignore, push down a lot of
emotions.
Hey, sometimes we know that,that.
So we're in a situation wherethat kind of has to happen.
(09:15):
But also it's really importantto come back right.
Maybe you're at work and you,like, can't burst into tears in
that moment I got you right butcome back to that.
It's not able to process allthe way through.
So I think that's a reallyimportant thing for people to
(09:41):
understand is do I notice when Ikind of drop out of my
regulated state?
And also, do I know how to getmyself back?
And am I allowing myself, maybemaking a daily habit of
connecting right, Connectingwith myself, checking, making a
daily habit of connecting right,Connecting with myself,
checking in with myself, Perhapsjust even if you did that at
(10:02):
the end of the day, and itdoesn't have to be anything
fancy, I think people, they haveall these great tools out there
, right, and I love them, I usethem with my clients, but also
it can just be like sitting onthe edge of your bed when kids
are asleep and going hey, how amI feeling Right, how am I doing
?
Let me check in.
Do I feel okay?
Do I notice my body needsanything right now?
(10:23):
And not.
I think we've reallydisconnected.
We've drawn this line acrossour neck right.
That disconnects our mind andour brain from what we are
feeling in the body and itreally does a disservice to us.
If we can pay attention to ourbody and the messages our body
is sending us, it, um, I thinkwould produce a lot more health
(10:44):
for us as a society.
Speaker 2 (10:47):
Yeah, I agree, and you're right.
So many are disconnected andsometimes I'll be having a
conversation with the client andsay like okay, well, this is
where I want you to listen toyour body.
And they're like I don't, Idon't know how the client and
say like okay, well, this iswhere I want you to listen to
your body.
And they're like I don't, Idon't know how.
Like people have forgotten andhonestly, I tell them you should
be having a conversation withyourself every day, not like a
crazy person out loud wherepeople are like are you okay?
(11:08):
But in your head, just like youwould check in with a partner, a
friend, a child hey, how areyou doing to get today?
Do you need anything from me?
And we don't do that because inthat moment you might be like,
oh, my gosh, I do need to takesome deep breaths.
Or you know what?
I need to lock myself in thebathroom for two minutes just to
you know like, get away for aminute.
(11:28):
Or maybe I need some water.
I think it's been like sixhours since I had a sip Little
things like that.
If we would just haveconversations throughout the day
.
Speaker 3 (11:39):
I love that so much.
Yeah, and I want to point outwhat you're saying about when
people don't even know how to dothat.
That's a good sign.
Find a great somatic therapistbecause, um, yeah, we can become
so disconnected.
It's our normal state and thatyou know.
So we talked briefly about thisyellow zone, this fight or
(12:00):
flight, but what happens overtime is if we stay in that, stay
in that, stay in that we dropfurther down.
I want you to almost imaginelike a scale and we're further
down on that ladder and wouldn'tyou know it, there's another
space under that yellow zone,which we reference as the red
zone.
And if yellow is kind of likeanxiety symptoms, you imagine
(12:20):
like revved up energy, likefocus, you know jittery the red
zone is going to be what wewould refer to as depressive
symptoms and that is like ashutdown, a numb disconnected.
We use a fancy term in therapyland dissociative right.
And not knowing what'shappening in our body is a type
(12:43):
of dissociated state right.
And not to pathologize it, weall do it to some degree.
But knowing and recognizing howoften am I in that state?
And also that the body is doingthis for a reason, there's
protection, an attempt ofprotection.
And so not to you know, bashthe body, not to make the body
(13:08):
the enemy, but to understand ourbody is having an attempt to
support and protect us in thisway.
And I laugh at the nervoussystem because up here in our
cortical brain, right, ourthinking logic brain, we can
kind of distinguish a differentstressors, right, I can talk
myself down of okay, it's okay,we're just late, you know we're
(13:30):
going to be okay, but thenervous system does not do that.
The nervous system does nothave that language and I kind of
say it as the nervous systemdoesn't know the difference
between taxes and tigers.
And I saw someone online shesaid it as the nervous system
doesn't know the differencebetween my fire alarm and my
screaming toddler.
And that gave me a good so trueright, our nervous system is
(13:51):
going to respond the same way,and so that's important to
recognize as well is that that'sthe job of our different part
of our brain, if you will, tokind of talk us logically out.
But sometimes people can't dothat right.
Sometimes we have kind of beenin this state for so long we
don't know how to do thatanymore, and that's kind of a
sign or indicator you might wantsome more support with how to
(14:14):
do that.
The other thing I'll say isgosh, our brains are so amazing.
In a single second we, ourbrains, are able to take in 11
million pieces of information,and that's a low ball right.
Some say 30 to 40 million right.
(14:34):
So a lot of stimuli all at onetime, but we cognitively think
about only between seven and 40pieces of that.
So sometime the nervous systemis responding to something that
we have not cognitivelyregistered, but it's files in
there and the brain has filed it.
(14:55):
But so sometimes people go well, I don't even know what I'm
responding to, and that's okay,Like we don't have to
necessarily figure that out.
It's filed back in theresomewhere deep and we can't pull
it out.
But what we can do is work withthe body to become more
regulated and give tools tosupport when we are having those
moments.
Speaker 2 (15:14):
Yeah, gosh, I think it's so important to everything
that you said.
But even looking at people thatdo stay either in the yellow
zone or the red zone and they'restuck in there, it's not just
from overdoing stuff, right,it's not just from the toddlers
that are screaming.
It's usually a buildup ofthings that sometimes we're not
(15:35):
thinking of.
It's usually a buildup ofthings that sometimes we're not
thinking of and this was apowerful one for me in my own
journey is like realizing thatI'm a doer, like I don't know
how to sit down.
It's hard for me to relax.
I'm always finding more stuffto do, and that was putting me
in that yellow zone, you know.
So I want people to payattention to that too.
(15:57):
Of like, are you allowingyourself to slow down and rest
like you need to, because we allneed that?
Speaker 3 (16:11):
Yes, so true.
So true, and I talk a lot aboutwith my mamas that I work with
is the difference betweenmasculine and feminine energies.
And let's be clear, I'm nottalking about a man versus a
woman right.
But we're talking about themasculine, feminine energy and
those exist in all of us, right,and you're pointing out that
those can kind of have this pushand pull, depending on where
we're in life, what we'refocused on, and often I see
(16:36):
women with this.
Really we'll call it anoveractive right, or this
masculine energy overdrive, andit's not.
There's like all of this otherstuff, right, that gets us there
.
And if you own a business, ifyou're an entrepreneur, you are
constantly drawn.
And most, actually, most women,any woman actually working
(16:57):
outside of the home, when you'reworking somewhere else, you are
called to produce.
Right, you're called to do,you're called to have those
actions.
Right, we live in this societythat is focused, right, it's a
masculine energy society, ifwe're honest, and so it's do
produce, do, do, do.
And this, this constantly pullsus in that, in that direction.
(17:20):
So, learning to balance thatwith the feminine, which is
being the feminine, is all aboutbeing, and part of that is
being present, right, if the dois like, forward focused, what
am I going to produce?
That's a, a future tense, whythe feminine is a present tense.
Kids, man, if you're not, ifyou're like I don't know how to
(17:41):
do that at all.
Go look at your kiddo, or golook at a kid and watch how they
interact with the world, andthat is the essence of being
right, and I'm talking like fiveand under, and they will show
you.
You know, take them on a walk.
They're like oh, look at this.
They're not worried about wherethey're going, how long this is
going to take any.
Like you know, I got to get mysteps and nothing.
They are solely focused onbeing present in this world and
(18:05):
that really is such a gift.
And how do we get ourselvesback to that?
Some great examples that womenI've talked about with women
over the years are differenttypes of movement or exercise.
So, like yoga is a great one,horseback riding.
I hear that from a lot ofclients, yep.
Speaker 2 (18:26):
Never would have thought that.
Speaker 3 (18:27):
Yes, art is another one.
Here's the thing right, we haveto be focused on what our body
is doing in this, these moments,because if we're not, if we get
too stuck in, like what it'sfor lunch, what am I gonna do?
We gotta get, we gotta pick thekids up.
We're not paying attention toour bodies and then we get
(18:48):
injured, right, because we'renot in the present.
And so these are great ways tojust naturally pull yourself
back into that feminine energy,and I find, too, these are what
women typically crave.
They're like oh, I want thattime to connect with my body
again.
I really, oh my gosh, I lovecreating, just for the sake of
(19:08):
creating something like artwork,right, and this is why because
it connects you again with thatfeminine energy that needs to be
in balance.
Yeah, and I was laughing as youwere talking about why.
Because it connects you againwith that feminine energy that
needs to be in balance.
Speaker 2 (19:18):
Yeah, and I I was laughing as you were talking
about that, because one of thefirst people I worked with, like
when I was hiring mentors,coaches um, he was like you are
all in masculine energy.
He was so right though, causeit's like oh, I want to do art
but I don't have time.
I've got to make these socialmedia posts and I would love to
(19:39):
do puzzles and I would love totake a walk, but I can't.
Speaker 3 (19:42):
I got to do an email and yeah, so, kira, where did
that leave you?
Speaker 2 (19:48):
Oh well, I know where it led me.
Why do you think this podcastexists?
I?
Speaker 3 (19:54):
love it, yep Perfect.
Speaker 2 (19:55):
Yeah, um.
Okay, so I do have a question.
This is just kind of a randomone.
Can someone fluctuate betweenthe yellow and the red zone?
Speaker 3 (20:06):
Yeah, great question.
And yes, so when I work withclients that are down deep in
that red, I'm thinking of one inparticular, and she's really
whole shit, poor thing.
Right, years and years, lots ofchildhood trauma was really
deep in that red, very, verydisconnected, disassociated, so
much so that she wasn't even,you know, going into the social
(20:30):
world.
She basically like locksherself in her room almost 24
seven.
Yeah, so that's a very obviousblame example it doesn't always
look like that.
That's like the most extreme,and so what started to happen as
we worked together is westarted to bring her up out of
that red, and wouldn't you knowit?
Well, well, when we come out ofthe red, what's above that?
The yellow, and people thathave been in the red for so long
(20:54):
.
When they come into the yellow,they're like this is awful.
Wait, what, what are we?
Speaker 2 (20:59):
I'm going back to red exactly exactly why.
Speaker 3 (21:02):
why would we do this?
So I have to, really, we warnthem right.
We really talk about, okay,this is what might start to
happen as you reconnect withyourself, as you reconnect with
your emotions and maybe some ofthe childhood stuff we're going
to work through, and it might beuncomfortable and also I
promise that there is a light atthe end of the tunnel and we
(21:22):
will start to see, you know,glimmers of that green zone
calling to us and so, yeah, itcan be really uncomfortable, but
absolutely, and you never move.
I think I want to speak to thispoint in another way, where you
never move straight from greento red.
I want to be very clear.
We're always moving down thatscale first, and every person I
(21:45):
talk to who is in red, I will golet's talk about yellow.
Like when were you in yellow?
And they're like oh yeah,totally the three years before I
was in red.
I was in yellow, or even morethan that, and so there's always
a yellow zone happening beforeyou reach that red.
So also vice versa, as we moveout of that space, you're going
(22:06):
to have to connect with thatyellow sun to get to the green.
Speaker 2 (22:11):
Yeah, yeah.
I wanted to point that outbecause sometimes people think,
OK, no, I can't be ping pongingback and forth between you know,
yellow and red.
And yeah, you can.
Speaker 3 (22:21):
Yeah, yeah, absolutely.
Speaker 2 (22:23):
Let's go somewhere else with this, briefly, or
however long it takes us, Iguess.
Um, but I want to talk aboutwhen we're in the yellow and the
red and it's becoming a chronicissue, presenting as physical
health challenges, because I seethis a lot, so many clients and
it's a hard one.
It's a hard one for me becauseI'm not a therapist, but I can
(22:45):
see like, oh, I can tell you'vebeen in the yellow or the red
for a long period of time andthis is a huge piece of why
you've got chronic symptoms atthis point.
Speaker 3 (22:55):
Absolutely, absolutely.
So the way that I kind ofsuccinctly say this is the body
is always speaking.
Succinctly say this is the bodyis always speaking right, and
so the body is designed firstand foremost to stay alive,
right, and so it will doeverything it can, including
shutting down hormone production, certain types of hormones, you
(23:17):
know, diverting the energy tothe central organs to stay alive
, you know, I think about to,naturally, minerals.
What do we postpartum mamaswhen they're complaining their
hair is falling out, their nailsare brittle, bad skin?
Yeah, your minerals are beingdiverted when you're deficient,
to the essential places to stayalive, and so you'll start to
see it there.
(23:37):
Same thing with nervous systemand energy.
And the body is the body willdivert to, you know, emergency
mode, essentially, and I need tofocus here so totally connected
, and that is why I'm soprivileged.
We are practicing at a time likethis, when this is becoming
(23:58):
more mainstream, this isbecoming kind of the more the
exception than, or the rule thanthe exception.
Work with the whole body, workwith the whole body.
Do not just work on your mentalhealth, right, because then
we're going to miss those piecesof what is happening in, maybe,
with our mineral status.
Support our mental health, orvice versa.
(24:19):
If you're seeing a functionalpractitioner amazing, please
keep doing that.
It is supporting your mentalhealth, or vice versa.
If you're seeing a functionalpractitioner amazing, please
keep doing that.
It is supporting your mentalhealth.
And also, there mightpotentially be tools that you
need to learn to connect withyour emotions better that then
are going to have an impact onyour physical health as well.
Speaker 2 (24:37):
Yeah, I think that's key and that's the thing I've
talked about this on the podcastand just you know, over the
years, when I first started out,it was just the functional
medicine.
Let's talk about labs andsupplements and create protocols
and we'll change your diet.
But then, when clients weren'tgetting better, I'm like, well,
do I have them on the wrongprotocol?
Was there a better supplement?
(24:58):
And it took me a while, youknow, to get to the point of
like, oh, maybe we need to lookat what else is going on in
their life.
Like, wait, you hate your job,you're divorced, you have three
kids.
Like, oh, maybe that's a pieceof this.
Speaker 3 (25:15):
Absolutely.
Yeah, you know, being um, Iwork with a lot of women that
are um driven, like you'resaying, but in some of that
there's this natural tendency togo well, I don't then have
space.
I think you said it reallyclearly right?
I don't have space for this.
Speaker 2 (25:36):
Or it's lazy.
It's lazy of me.
I can't do that.
I'm not supposed to take timefor myself.
Speaker 3 (25:41):
Yeah, absolutely Absolutely.
Yeah, yeah, Making it.
Um, yeah, pathologizing it iswhat I'll say, right, yeah, and
that it is so important torecognize that.
No, these can live together.
And how would I help a lot ofclients with this?
How do I create my life toreflect what I want to be in
(26:02):
alignment with what I want tocommit to?
And then you have another client.
She has a really really high upjob, fast paced environment,
and, just like you said, shegoes.
She's looking at it and goes.
This is what I've imagined forthe last five to 10 years of my
life that I wanted.
And here I am going.
I hate this.
(26:23):
I'm hating this because itactually is not.
I thought this money, thisamount of money, this title
would be so great, but actuallyit's not in alignment with who I
want to be.
And so what we've been doing isreconnecting her, and it's been
so cool to see the universe andGod just respond to as she's
(26:43):
focusing on that provision, justfalling in her lap, like, and
it's amazing to see that.
And so, as you pursue that, asyou reconnect with really, you
know, you heard the term ikigai.
No, oh, my gosh, okay, so thisis such a fun word.
Ikigai is a Japanese word thatmeans your purpose for getting
(27:03):
up in the morning, andessentially it has three
questions or components to itthat you answer to get the
answer of Ikigai, which is whatdo I love, what am I good at,
what are my strengths and whatdoes this world need?
And when those three cometogether in alignment, that is
(27:24):
the guy.
We all need purpose, even my,my elderly clients that are like
I want to.
She's 75 years old and she'dyes, and her problem is she
didn't have any guys.
She didn't have a purposeanymore of what was her reason
for being there.
She knew what she loved, sheknew what she was good at, but
she didn't know how do I dothose things, and so that is so
(27:44):
essential and again cancontribute to physical health
symptoms.
Speaker 2 (27:50):
So a hundred percent I.
That's actually one of the keythings I talk about with clients
Like are you living in yourpurpose?
Like we weren't just droppedoff on this planet for nothing.
We're here for something andyou've got to figure that out.
Yeah for sure, yeah, oh, okay,I've loved this conversation.
I know we could probably talkfor hours and hours, but I want
(28:12):
to kind of finish things offwith is there anything else that
you feel like listeners need tohear?
Anything else that you want tosay that I didn't ask to hear?
Speaker 3 (28:21):
anything else that you want to say that I didn't
ask.
I think people get reallycaught in I am broken or I this
isn't fixable, I'm too far gone.
Almost is the attitude, thebelief, I'll call it.
(28:47):
That I see frequently and Ijust want to remind people out
there that you are not and, inmy opinion, as long as you are
above the ground and have breathin your lungs.
There is always possibility,there is always opportunity to
start creating a new life foryourself.
Literally Right, and this verysecond we decide something else
and we start to move.
I'm not saying that then it'sgoing to be an easy journey, but
(29:08):
if we are committed tosomething and that's what we
want to see in our life, thenthere's possibility for that to
happen.
And yeah, just to seek someoneout, to seek support, like Kira
or I, and how do I start this?
And that I think people alsofeel overwhelmed often.
I know I did when I started.
Speaker 2 (29:28):
Oh yeah.
Speaker 3 (29:29):
I was like, yeah, where do I even start with this?
And so that it doesn't have tobe an overnight.
You know, overhaul.
That is not how I work.
I'm sure that's not how youwork.
Speaker 2 (29:40):
No, it's never gonna work out that way.
Speaker 3 (29:47):
I'm not gonna tell you to throw out all of this
food.
No, we're going to start makingsmall little tweaks and changes
, and the same thing withconnecting right back to the, to
our nervous system and to whowe are, is we do that as
comfortably as you are able.
And if this week you come inand you're like, oh, I just
can't do heavy lifting today,all right, let's talk about
something else.
Right, and let's talk about,maybe, some joy in your life.
(30:10):
And so, although change can bescary, a good practitioner is
going to know where to meet youon the different steps of that
journey.
Speaker 2 (30:19):
Awesome.
Well, thank you.
Um, I put everything in theshow notes, but I always like to
ask if someone wants to comefind you on social.
Where's the best place to look?
Where are you most?
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (30:30):
so I um instagram just feels easier for me, so I
love um connecting there.
I'm at atara a t a r a dotperkinson, p a r k I m sN.
I love pointing people there aswell, because there's a lot of
free information right.
There's a lot of good stuffthat you can just start filling
(30:52):
and making easy changes in yourlife.
I also have a website, so it'sa Tara Parkinsoncom.
So if you're interested inlearning a little bit more about
your like Ooh, brain spawningright, or you've heard another
episode, you can check out mypage on that.
I also work with a lot of whatI call globally minded
individuals, so I was raisedpartially overseas and you know
(31:12):
balancing between two cultures.
That's a focus in my practice,and then also the integrative
work that I do.
Speaker 2 (31:18):
Awesome.
Well, thank you so much.
Speaker 3 (31:21):
Of course, Kira.
Thank you for having me.
Speaker 2 (31:24):
This was so fun.
Yeah, all right, guys.
Well, we'd love to hear fromyou.
Come find us on instagram,shoot us a message, let us know
what you want to hear about andwe will see you on the next
episode.
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