April 22, 2025 • 43 mins
In this episode of No Nametags, we dive into the importance of showing up for yourself and the power of leaning into what inspires you—because when something truly moves you, you can’t go wrong. It’s a reminder that following your true heart space is often the first step toward finding your purpose.
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Episode Transcript
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Mike (00:03):
All right, everyone welcome back.
This is no Name Tags thepodcast where we go beyond
resumes and job titles touncover the real, inspiring
stories of breaking into yourdream job.
This isn't about corporatebuzzwords or rigid strategies.
It's about real experiences,the wins, the losses, the what
am I even doing here?
Moments that shape who you arepersonally and professionally,
(00:26):
because, let's be honest, theprofessional world can feel
overwhelming at times, and it'snot about following a perfect
plan.
The key is to lean into whatmakes you you, and that is where
you'll reach your fullpotential.
Beth (00:38):
And, yes, for those that are fiercely loyal listeners or
maybe just finding the show forthe first time, we are thrilled
to have you here.
A quick reminder for our newaudience we won't officially
introduce you to our guestsuntil the very end of the
episode.
Why is that?
It's all about immersing youinto the authentic stories of
(00:58):
our guests, without thedistraction of their name and
their title.
By focusing solely on theirjourney, we highlight something
we all share professionally,that is, starting from ground
zero and crafting a unique path.
These journeys are often filledwith trials, tribulations, but,
of course, success along theway.
So let's get started.
Mike (01:19):
All right guest, happy to have you here today.
Mystery Guest (01:22):
Hi, I'm glad to be here.
Mike (01:24):
Mystery guest.
What I would really like tostart with, just a simple
question, what is it that you'vealways wanted to do?
Your earliest memory, what wassomething that you just you
really wanted to do with, withyour life and career?
Mystery Guest (01:38):
as a kid.
Yeah, as a kid, I think one ofthe main things was always for
me I wanted to work in fashion.
Mike (01:46):
Okay, fashion.
Beth (01:48):
What was it about fashion that kind of piqued your
interest?
Mystery Guest (01:52):
Oh, it was just typically the girly stuff, you
know, just all the accessoriesand getting dressed up and
looking cute and fun, and yeah,I loved all of that.
Mike (02:04):
Did you put on fashion shows with your friends?
Mystery Guest (02:07):
Yes, I sure did.
All right, we need to resurfacethese.
Beth (02:10):
Like dolls, like Barbie dolls.
My daughter, Emmy, she, isgetting into Barbies and she got
her first Barbie doll for herlast birthday in November.
And, I still am, I'm intriguedstill by the little tiny shoes
that come with them.
But they're all over the house,yeah.
Mike (02:28):
So that's, crazy.
Mystery Guest (02:29):
So cute yeah.
Where did you grow up?
So I grew up in Germany.
Mike (02:33):
Okay.
Mystery Guest (02:34):
In the north of Germany, directly at the North
Sea, with my mom, single child.
Mike (02:45):
When did you come to the United States?
Mystery Guest (02:48):
In 2016.
So not that long ago.
Mike (02:50):
Wow, okay, so you spent the majority of your life in
Germany, yes, correct, and youwent to school, like I don't
know what.
They call it primary school orelementary school.
Mystery Guest (03:00):
Yeah, it's similar yeah.
Mike (03:02):
Okay, got it.
And did you go to college oruniversity in Germany?
Yes, okay, yes, where did yougo?
Mystery Guest (03:11):
So I moved from Cuxhaven, which is the small
town I grew up in.
I moved to Hamburg, probablyfor a lot of listeners, maybe
something they know.
Beth (03:21):
Okay.
Mystery Guest (03:22):
Hamburg is like one of the major cities in the
north of Germany.
Mike (03:23):
What did you study?
So I actually ended up studyingfashion management.
Oh, okay, so it aligns withthat childhood dream of mine.
So you followed your passion.
Mystery Guest (03:34):
Yes, I did.
Mike (03:34):
Okay, and what sort of classes did you take in the
fashion world?
Mystery Guest (03:41):
So the program was basically very focused on
brand management, but it alsohad these, this very huge
component where it was reallydesign-based.
So we had to, starting from thebeginning, always create
collections according todifferent themes, different
topics.
So it was always both it waslike focused on marketing but
(04:05):
also on actually creating thecollection.
So there is a bunch of thepeople that I went to college
with that ended up beingdesigners Wow.
Beth (04:14):
That's a blend of the creativity right but also the
business acumen.
I'm like getting flashbacks ofProject Runway that I used to
watch.
Do you watch any of those?
I have not.
Okay, I always like you getsucked in and then you're like,
oh my gosh, what are they goingto create?
But it's so interesting thatthere was the business focus and
(04:34):
was that something that youknew would be a part of your
journey, like going into college, that you would have to think
about the business side andmaybe like how you would brand
your specific line?
Mystery Guest (04:46):
Yeah, and I thought I really loved this
about the program that it wasreally focused on also getting
whatever you created out intothe world and actually market it
in a way where people are justlike fascinated about it and
want to buy it.
Mike (05:01):
What I find interesting about fashion in general.
I can think of no other careerthat is more focused on hey,
what are other people doing inthe market in terms of fashion?
I have to be better than them.
I have to stand out.
I have to be different.
Would you say that that's ahuge element of your current
work, as well as the fashionworld, like standing out.
Mystery Guest (05:24):
Yeah, I would say there's definitely always
something I always think or Ithink it's very interesting,
even with other brands that arenot fashion focused.
It's just very interesting toalways see how, like little
tweaks on certain products makea huge difference in the way
they are seen.
Beth (05:40):
Yeah that's so interesting .
I'm curious where you havelooked, and maybe you still look
for inspiration because there'sso much creativity behind
fashion.
Do you have like a favoritedesigner or inspired elsewhere,
like nature?
What is that?
Mystery Guest (06:05):
still really, and I'm still really into fashion.
I feel like ever since I movedhere, everyone can always tell
I'm the European because I'mdressed very different.
Beth (06:09):
You are very sleek.
I will tell you that.
I agree, it's very differentyeah.
Mystery Guest (06:13):
Yeah.
So there is still definitely.
I still love fashion yeah.
Mike (06:17):
So I'm picking up some context clues here.
You are not currently infashion for your career, is that
correct?
No, I'm not picking up cluesand just helping the audience
along this path.
Um, so was.
Was there a defining moment foryou that made you I mean,
you're still interested infashion?
But um, was there a definingmoment for you that said you
(06:38):
know what?
I'm not going to do this for my, my current career.
I'm going to do something else.
Mystery Guest (06:44):
So, um, if we backtrack a little bit, so
before I studied fashionmanagement, I studied art
direction too, okay, so I wasalways very focused on like the
marketing side of things ingeneral.
So when I finished up myfashion management program, I
worked for a public relationsagency and I worked as a brand
(07:06):
manager for two cosmetic brandsin Germany and I loved it, but
there was still like thispersonal connection missing
where I felt like it would becool to work for a brand that
actually has like an impact onpeople personally and that was
leading me a little away fromfashion.
(07:26):
I got it.
Mike (07:28):
So the personal aspect, connecting with people on a
personal level, yeah, so whatbrought you to the United States
in 2016?
Mystery Guest (07:37):
yes, my ex-husband.
Mike (07:39):
Got it Okay.
Mystery Guest (07:41):
Yes, so we actually we did not move here to
Pittsburgh, we moved to Texas.
So back then he was stationedwith the army in Germany and
then we moved for his nextstation to Fort Hood, texas, and
this is where I had my son, andthen, when he got out of the
army, we moved here.
Mike (08:01):
Okay.
Beth (08:01):
Yeah, so let's backtrack a little bit.
You know you are obtaining yourdegree in college focused on
fashion, and it obviously hasthe design background as well as
this new business acumen.
What was the immediate kind ofnext step after college?
Was it the PR, was it an agency, or was it for a brand?
Mystery Guest (08:30):
So it was a public relations agency?
Yeah, so they were working withdifferent celebrities in
Germany as well, as they wereone of the main agencies that
were responsible for the GermanFashion Week.
Beth (08:41):
Okay, Okay.
And what was your kind ofexperience there?
Mystery Guest (08:45):
Like I love that fashion aspect that was really
just like.
I was always that girl and Istill to this day.
I'm the person I love to seteverything up, but I don't want
to be like in the spotlight.
I like to have everythingtogether and organize and be
that person where it's just likeeverything is perfect but then
you just let other people shineyeah, it's like behind the
(09:06):
scenes, yes, yes, setting up forsuccess, yeah I love that.
Beth (09:10):
I love that.
Okay, so how long were you atthe agency?
Mystery Guest (09:14):
um, I think it was two, two years okay, yeah,
all right.
Beth (09:19):
And then you said you moved on.
What was next again?
Mystery Guest (09:22):
it was um, it was um.
It was first um a cosmetic brandBobbi Brown cosmetics okay,
yeah, very popular yeah, I know,I know I and I I love the
spirit all about it, but it waslike it was in Munich, it was
just not.
I was not that connected to thecity, so I didn't didn't stay
that long.
(09:42):
Um, yeah, but after that Iworked um for one of the most
popular fashion brands inGermany probably to this day I
don't even know, since I'm notconnected that much to the
fashion world in Germany anymorebut it's called S Oliver and
there I worked as a fashiondesigner actually, and not in
marketing okay, yeah, so you'vehad a little bit of a fun
(10:05):
trajectory, experiencing a lotof new.
Yes.
Beth (10:09):
What was maybe your takeaway as you moved to the
United States?
Did it leave you kind of hungryto get involved in fashion in
Texas or somewhere around here,Like kind of what was that next
step for you?
Mystery Guest (10:31):
Honestly, that was really hard for me.
I mean, coming here to theUnited States I had my son the
first year we were here.
So for me it was clear thatneeded to be this cut where I
just wanted to also just bethere for him.
But still it was really hardfor me to just let this go,
because it was really like adream of mine to work in fashion
.
But back then in Texas it wasreally hard for me to just let
this go, because it was reallylike a dream of mine to work in
fashion.
But back then in Texas therewas nothing like that.
I would have just been needingto move probably closer to
(10:53):
Austin.
We were pretty close to Austin,but with like a one-year-old
it's just not possible.
Mike (10:59):
Yeah, I was going to say I was actually not to give
anything away, but I was on yourLinkedIn a little bit before
this and you have a line thatspecifically says motherhood for
a particular period of time.
So what does that mean to you?
I think it's amazing that youhave that listed there.
Beth (11:12):
Not a lot of people.
It doesn't end.
It never ends.
Mike (11:15):
It's an incredibly important job.
So what does that mean to you?
I honestly feel like that.
My son really inspired me tojust do what feels right in my
heart.
Yeah, yeah.
Beth (11:29):
That's amazing.
Mystery Guest (11:30):
Yeah.
Beth (11:30):
I think it's interesting because our previous guest had
some similarities, where shealso married into the military
and, you know, prioritized thefamily first and taking care of
her son and she slowly butsurely has made her way back
into working where sheestablished her own business and
(11:52):
then she is a coach forCrossFit.
So she's very busy.
But that time was anopportunity for her to reflect
and really figure out like whatis my passion and start to kind
of map out the legacy that shewanted to leave behind.
I'm curious if that moment ofmaybe time away from the grind
(12:17):
made you think about like, oh myGod, what do I want to do?
Like what is my legacy, that Iwant to have?
Mystery Guest (12:23):
Yeah, I mean I was.
I was not really so focused onthat, it was just really, like I
said, like my son brought meback to my heart space and I
always knew I wanted to be likea very involved mom.
So I knew like something infashion like I've done
previously.
So my very last job in Germanywas actually a fashion buyer.
(12:45):
So I really did like the wholespectrum from marketing to
design, to buy.
I could have never done it LikeI think like from all the
different positions I had inGermany, buying was really the
most interesting to me, but Icould have never done anything
like that and be the mom that Iwanted to be for him at the same
(13:06):
time.
That's amazing, yeah.
So for me it was really morelike what can I do that feels
right in my heart, where I canstill show up for my son as the
most best or the best version ofmyself and still have like this
calm, even when I work?
Mike (13:23):
Yeah, and I think it goes past just having that simple
flexibility.
I was on your website a littlebit as well and just finding
balance, as you put it in a lotof different areas on the site.
And I'm just curious what doesthat word balance mean to you
and what would you hope ouraudience and people you know
(13:44):
starting out in their careerfinding this balance Like what
does balance mean to you andwhat would you hope our audience
and people you know startingout in their career finding this
balance like what does balancemean to you?
Mystery Guest (13:50):
I think really balance means for me that you
can work towards your goals butstill show up as you want to for
yourself and the people thatare closest to you.
Yeah, and.
Mike (14:04):
And putting that work forward.
You know, having that balanceis really important because if
you don't have that, you're notgoing to be your best self with
being a mom and in your career.
So I think that's reallyimportant.
Beth (14:18):
Yeah, I also think that's just amazing about you.
It seems like you just want tobe better, right, Like I think a
lot of people don't take uppause sometimes and say how do I
make myself better each andevery day?
I started saying that to my son.
I was like what have you doneto make yourself better today?
You know like he needs to readmore, so we're trying to get him
(14:41):
to do that.
Mike (14:41):
But bring him in here.
We'll tell him right now yeah,he's here, he's on spring break,
but you know it's.
Beth (14:48):
I think it's always good to have that self reflection and
it's not always top of mind,especially when things get busy.
It's kind of the last thing togo, I would say.
Mike (14:57):
Yeah, yeah.
So what is it you do right now?
Can we do this?
Beth (15:01):
What happened?
What was your journey fromTexas to Pittsburgh?
Or was there anything inbetween?
We should maybe ask that.
Mystery Guest (15:10):
No.
So my ex-husband.
He got out of the Army in Texas, okay, and he actually had
which is funny, because it makesno sense actually but he had
one friend who lived in theneighborhood where I still live
now.
Oh well, so that that was theonly connection that made us
move here okay yeah, that'samazing.
(15:30):
Yeah, I know do you like ithere?
yes, I do love it here yeahactually so the switch, because
my um, my last hometown in in ingermany, was um bavaria and was
this beautiful town, like inthe wind yards, with like a
castle and a church on top ofhills.
So moving to texas, that feltvery foreign to me.
(15:53):
But moving here with like thehills and the woods and
everything around that helped mefind my yeah.
Mike (16:01):
Yeah, see, that's a.
Really.
I'm always interested to hearwhat people think of Pittsburgh
who might not have grown up here, and especially someone who,
like, lived in Germany.
What is your yeah, what is yourperspective of Pittsburgh?
Is it similar to how you grewup, like you said, or yeah?
Mystery Guest (16:17):
I mean, texas is very different.
Yeah, it is.
It definitely is very differentand I, in all fairness, I got
to say so.
I live in the suburbs here, soI do have the countryside.
Do you live in the?
Mike (16:27):
South Hills, north Hills, north Hills.
Okay, I live in the South Hills, but that's where I grew up.
Yeah, but that's cool.
Yeah, I always say thatPittsburgh is a very hometown
city.
Yeah, I grew up you know mostof my life here, and then I
lived in New York for a while,which was extremely different.
And then back to Pittsburgh.
Mystery Guest (16:47):
So, like I said, I'm always just fascinated to to
anyone who's from Pittsburghthat I think it's very
interesting that everyone whotells me they're from Pittsburgh
and moved away, they alwayscome back.
Yes, that's a common themewhich speaks for Pittsburgh.
Mike (17:00):
Yeah it does Boomerangs we had a guest on that
specifically said that it waswhatever guest it was that lived
in Colorado or something.
Oh, yeah, yeah yeah, yeah, hesaid, he came back.
Mystery Guest (17:13):
So it's cool.
There has to be something to it, right?
Beth (17:15):
Yes, for sure.
Okay, so now you officiallyhave moved to Pittsburgh.
What was your kind of nextsteps?
Mystery Guest (17:23):
Well, so when we moved here because we knew like
we had to do the move and weboth needed to have jobs to make
everything work, so I actuallywas an analyst with HCL for
Google for a couple months- Okay, yeah, and what did?
That pertain.
So back then it was aboutresearch optimization Okay.
Beth (17:45):
For one of their newest products.
Oh, okay, amazing.
And how long did you do that?
Mystery Guest (17:50):
I think I did it five or six months.
It was my son that did not workwell with the full-time work.
Oh, okay, because it was hisfirst experience being away from
me and it did not.
It was really bad actually,okay.
Mike (18:07):
Data analyst.
You said yes, yeah, so that'svery focused work.
Mystery Guest (18:11):
Oh yeah, I actually loved it, but my son
was struggling really bad.
He was one and a half and itjust he was constantly sick.
I think within six months Iused all my vacation days, so I
was just like, well, there weare.
This doesn't work.
Beth (18:26):
And then what Is it kind of where you are right now?
Yes, okay.
Well, I think now is the timewe get to play our fancy music.
Our mystery guest pleaseintroduce yourself who you are
and where you work.
Mystery Guest (18:38):
Okay, I'm Janne Alexander, my company is called
Tanatera Healing LLC and I'm amind-body coach and offer
nervous system regulation,breathwork and sound.
That's amazing.
I wanted to reveal it.
Beth (18:52):
Mike is so excited.
Mystery Guest (18:53):
I system regulation, breathwork and sound
.
That's amazing.
Mike (18:54):
I wanted to reveal it.
Beth (18:55):
Mike is so excited.
Mike (18:56):
I love this stuff so much and I wanted to reveal it right
away, but I couldn't for ouraudience.
So okay, now that we're here,tell me all about this.
Just spill.
What is it that you'repassionate about?
What makes you do what you do?
Mystery Guest (19:12):
Yeah, so I feel like I got to backtrack that to
my childhood.
So I always had a lot of likehealth issues where my immune
system was just very weakened.
So I had asthma when I was akid, then I had eczema, so I had
all those things and then I haddifferent food allergies.
(19:33):
So there was always somethingwhere my nervous system was very
dysregulated very out ofbalance health issues, which
(19:56):
made me see there's other waysthan just normal medicine that
you can like look into two thatare really beneficial for you.
And I would say, after mydivorce, I really knew I needed
to find something to heal fromthat divorce, but also to find
my balance so I can show up thebest way as a single mom for my
son.
So for me, the first thing wasI would go to many, many yoga
(20:17):
classes, many, many yoga classes, and then I experienced online
since it was the lockdown, I didsome sound healing sessions
virtually and I was just like,oh my God, this is absolutely
amazing and the changes itcreates in the body when you
just listen to crystal balls, toa gong, for an hour, it's just
(20:40):
amazing.
Yeah, so this is actually how Igot into my journey and did the
training with the same soundhealer that I found online.
Wow, because I was just like Igotta do this, do this.
So I traveled to Austin andthat was like really my step
into yeah, like the holistichealing industry.
Mike (20:58):
That's.
That's really fascinating, Iwill say.
Um, so we gave a presentation,uh, here at Gatesman a few
months back and it was all aboutfocusing on doing better
brainstorms with, with teams,and I spoke specifically
specifically to a section aboutfocus and getting into a focus
mode, and there's these soundwaves, binaural beats like a 40
(21:22):
hertz frequency binaural beatsthat help you get into focus
mode.
So, as I researched that a bitmore, just seeing and actually
doing the, the, you know,listening your work improves so
much so I can only imaginesounds that that you might
practice.
It could help with healing somuch that people might not even
be aware of Um, so I'm justsuper fascinated about you know,
(21:46):
the, the sound element, uh, aswell, Um, yeah, so, uh, there's
also uh, also on the Calm appspecifically, they have the
soundscapes and they have justthis like white noise and it's
very healing.
So have you ever had anyone?
I'm sure you have but peoplecome to you and say, like, how
transformative these sounds are.
Mystery Guest (22:07):
Yeah, yeah, most definitely yeah, and I do have
the same approach, like you said, no-transcript, that's what's
(22:39):
supposed to be doing yeahbecause that is like on the one
hand, it makes you very focused,but on the other hand, it makes
you completely relaxed.
Mike (22:47):
This is how you can have more input coming in do you have
a um like, let's say, someonecame to you and they had a prior
trauma in a specific you knowthing.
Do you have a uniform approachfor sounds that you have with
with anyone that comes to you?
Or maybe someone's experiencingsome specific thing and maybe
(23:08):
one sound is right for them oror, you know, maybe another one
might work for them.
Like, what is your approach?
Is it a uniform approach or isit you try different?
Mystery Guest (23:17):
So it depends.
So I do offer Reiki, I offersound healing and I offer
breathwork.
Trauma depends on what it is.
If it's like some bodysensation or an ache, sound is
very beneficial because it justgoes where it needs to go.
No one has to think about it,it just does what it needs to do
.
This is why people come to mysound baths and just like, oh my
(23:40):
god, my hip was on fire and ithurts really bad and out of a
sudden it was gone.
It was just like.
That's exactly because the soundjust travels where it needs to
go and just releases whateverneeds to be released that's
amazing yeah, but if it's moretrauma, where it's deeper, where
it's really just like anexperience that we need to work
through, sound will not help youget there.
(24:00):
This is where you really needto utilize the breath and work
intentionally through certainissues, and this is really
guided specifically how it isneeded.
So if I do one-on-onebreathwork sessions, it's really
about working with that personand really seeing what they need
.
Yeah, yeah.
Beth (24:20):
We had the opportunity a few of us, a few of us ladies at
Gatesman had the chance toexperience Jane and her element
in her studio, which Idefinitely want you to explain
in a minute.
But I personally have neverdone anything like that and it
was definitely an eye openingexperience for me.
So, obviously, you put yourphone away, you go and you're
(24:43):
supposed to relax and mychallenge was I couldn't turn
off my brain and it probablytook me I hate to admit it, but
the first half of the sessionand be like you need to shut
down and you need to absorb thisand you need to be here for the
experience.
And then, once I did, I justlike I don't, I feel like I
blacked out, Like I don'tremember what happened, but it
(25:04):
was.
I know it was.
It was definitely a healingexperience and I think, for me,
a reality check of like bepresent in the moment.
You don't need to be connectedall the time, and we all know
that, right, I'm not sayinganything that we don't know, but
I think if there's anopportunity to like get in a
regular practice for that, itwill be so beneficial, right?
(25:25):
So I feel like I'm so curiousCould you like explain your
setup for our listeners, becausemaybe they don't understand,
like what?
Mystery Guest (25:37):
is it?
How do you go about soundhealing?
Yeah, so there's definitelyvery different approaches for
people that offering soundclasses or sound baths.
My setup is really focused onlike the somatic approach to
healing.
Somatic soma meaning the body.
So we really want to work withthe body.
My breathwork technique is alsosomatic breathwork.
(25:57):
It really is is all focused ondeep body healing.
So for my sound baths, what Ilike to do and that comes what
you said bath because I knowmost people have a hard time
shutting off their brain andjust being present because we're
all stressed, we're busy.
So then coming to a place andbe like, no, you can be quiet
(26:19):
for an hour, that's verytriggering for most people.
So my approach is really firstletting them settle in, bringing
awareness to the body, seeingwhat's actually happening in the
body.
By bringing awareness to yourbreath, feeling into your body.
It's like step one.
Step two is doing some gentlebreath work where you really
(26:40):
connect with your breath, go alittle deeper, allow your
nervous system to actually cometo a state where just like, oh,
we're relaxing here, I didn'teven know, um.
And then we would do like aguided meditation that is
already led by sound before it'sjust sound, because from my
experience it's very triggeringfor people if it's like a short
(27:01):
amount where people are guideyou and then it's just like now
it's 45 minutes of sound.
Deal with it or not?
Yeah.
Mike (27:06):
Yeah.
Beth (27:07):
It's just a lot yeah.
Mystery Guest (27:09):
Yeah, so that is basically my setup, really
allowing you to tune into yourbody so you can also see after
what changes.
Because the awareness aspect isso important in this, because
most of the time, if you don'ttune in, you think after yes,
something changed, but what dideven change?
I don't know yeah so you wantto tune in in the beginning,
tune in the beginning in the end, so you can see the difference
(27:32):
do you feel like people have areally tough time separating
mind and body?
Mike (27:38):
I feel like the concept of wellness in general, people
think like, oh, I'm just goingto go to the gym and I'm just
going to be physically fit, butI feel like there's a whole
aspect of mindful wellnessversus the body.
So, in your career, whatseparates the mind and the body?
Are they two separate entities?
(27:58):
Do they, you know, operatefunctionally together?
Mystery Guest (28:03):
Well, I mean, they should work functionally
together.
But, most of the time whenwe're stressed, we are just in
our mind, and that makes itreally hard for us to be in the
body and to be present what ishappening in the body.
This is why it's also sohealing for most people to just
tune into their body, becausemost of the time, people don't
even know how they're feeling.
(28:24):
You would ask them and this iswhy we keep saying oh yeah, I'm
good, I'm fine.
Mike (28:28):
Yeah.
Mystery Guest (28:29):
Because no one actually pays attention how
they're actually feeling.
Mike (28:32):
Yeah, because no?
Mystery Guest (28:33):
one actually pays attention how they're actually
feeling.
Yeah, yeah.
So it's really like, especiallywith the gym, where you said,
most people do recognize, though, they feel better after they
leave the gym, yep, but it'smainly because they move back
into their body.
Mike (28:45):
I mean that speaks to me for sure.
Yeah, I've been really tryingto be much more focused on my
mental well-being.
I've always used this verybasic analogy If you're out of
shape physically going to thegym one time, it's really not
going to do anything.
It's sustained, repetitive,over and over for years, and
(29:07):
then you notice a difference.
The same thing with the mind.
You have to put these intopractice and you have to put you
know, put these into practiceand you have to focus on
bettering your mind as well,just like you would with your
body.
So I think everything that youdo and sounds like you're doing
is incredibly interesting to me,as you can probably tell.
Beth (29:24):
I love this.
What can guests like expectwhen they come to see?
You Like explain your actualsetup, because I know when I
went I you like explain youractual setup because I know when
I went, I was like, oh no, whatam I doing?
Like I I first of all I didn'twant to do anything that was
weird and like disrespectful,but, like you have an actual
studio, talk to us about it yeah.
Mystery Guest (29:42):
So I mean, it's really no matter if you're
coming for reiki, if you'recoming for sound, if you're
coming for breathwork.
It's really you being on yourmat and there's just stillness,
because it's supposed to be yourjourney going inward and
actually seeing what's happeninginside of you and through this
connection you come back toyourself because everything
(30:06):
outside of you this is why Ialso always ask people just keep
your eyes closed.
It's, it's your inner worldthat is important here.
This is how we come back tobalance, because we focus our
attention always outward,outside of us, and this is how
we got get disconnected, yeahyeah, that's amazing will you
talk to me a little bit aboutreiki.
Mike (30:26):
What is that?
Mystery Guest (30:27):
so um reiki is a modality that actually uses
universal energy that isavailable all around us.
I mean, everything is energybasically around us and we're an
energy body.
So it really taps into theuniversal available energy and
allows, through specific handmovements and symbols, to guide
(30:52):
that energy through to theparticipant.
Mike (30:56):
That's really fascinating.
So how did you start this?
It's business.
So you started your business.
What was the first jump into it?
You know how did it all start.
Mystery Guest (31:09):
So it really started, so I did.
The first step was the, thesound healing, and I did my
training certification.
Yes, yes and I did that inaustin texas.
So I started offering it herein yoga studios and back then it
was just.
Not even yoga studios wouldcome to me and be like maybe we
try this once.
It was before.
(31:30):
It was like popular, oh that'sokay, that's interesting.
Beth (31:33):
And were you still dealing with covid too?
On top, of that like yes, yesthat would be a challenge in and
of itself, just to break insomewhere, you know, yeah, yeah
so you would have all these in,you would go to specific yoga
studios and it would be a partof what they're doing there.
Mystery Guest (31:47):
Yes, yes but it was yeah, it was challenging
like the first year to reallyget people into it.
So it was really sharing a lotwhat it actually does and
sharing about the benefits toreally spread the word on it,
and I feel like now it's socommon that every single yoga
studio has a sound healer.
But, yeah, it was really thatwhat started it.
(32:09):
Then I got my Reiki certificate, and breath work was something
I did a year ago.
Beth (32:14):
Okay, yeah, I'm just curious.
Um, we do have a special treatfor our listeners, but before we
get there, I'm just thinking ifyou have any kind of partying
advice, like you talked aboutreflecting about what was right
in your heart and connecting towhat was good for your life.
Um, do you have any advice formaybe someone that might be at a
similar crossroads and how theycan just kind of navigate that
(32:38):
and work through that?
Mystery Guest (32:40):
I think it's really like it would always
start with just groundingyourself back in your body.
That can be simple awarenesspractices where you do like a
quick meditation to really likeconnect with yourself, because I
feel like if we really put itout there, what would be, what
should be our next step or whatfeels right?
we need to feel connected to ourbody first to actually see what
(33:02):
feels aligned and then go fromthere and that might just be
like little things that justcome where you're just like, oh
my god.
Yeah, this seems reallyinteresting, or that is
something I would like to try.
And this is how it startsshowing up by you showing up for
yourself first.
Beth (33:17):
I love that.
Mike (33:18):
Yeah, a lot of our listeners are, you know, they
might be just starting out intheir career, really trying to
figure out what it is they wantto do.
And I feel like a lot of timespeople are just, you know, oh, I
just need to get a job, justneed to get a job and I'll
figure it out later.
I mean, that was sort of me.
And then you know you can'thelp but have your passions
still.
You know they're burning.
(33:39):
You know that, you know.
So maybe people want to jumpand do a different career path
and they just don't know how todo it or they're scared to do it
.
Beth (33:48):
So I think that even get started yeah, so I think that
even get started, yeah.
Mike (33:51):
So I think that approach to grounding yourself back,
being in tune with your body andwhat it is you really feel
inside, I think is reallyimportant and people might
overlook it, yeah.
Mystery Guest (34:06):
And I feel like for me, adding to this, it's
just like I felt the same way.
I mean, it's just like, it'slike a lot when you decide what
you want to do with your lifeit's like a lot when you decide
what you want to do with yourlife.
But you can't go wrong if itfeels right, like in yourself,
or it inspires something withinyou.
Mike (34:18):
Yeah.
Mystery Guest (34:19):
Rather than just going.
Oh, this makes me a lot ofmoney, or this is something what
my dad and my mom used to do,100%.
Mike (34:26):
And it'll catch up to you later.
Yes, you know Exactly.
Beth (34:30):
Well, we noticed that you came in with a very interesting
bag.
What is it?
What's in the bag?
What's in the box?
Mystery Guest (34:52):
like a little guided practice where you can
just tune into your body, goingthrough every single body part,
while I'll play the crystal ballthat is connected to the heart,
so you can just tune in andfeel grounded and centered in
your heart space.
Beth (35:00):
Oh my gosh, what a special surprise and a treat.
Thank you, thank you for doingthat.
Mike (35:05):
So we're going to start, are we just?
Beth (35:06):
going to sit back and listen and close our eyes, so
our listeners close your eyes.
Mike (35:12):
We're going to set this up for you guys.
Beth (35:14):
Find a safe space, I guess .
Make sure you're sitting andnot driving, for those that are
driving and listening.
Mike (35:19):
That's a good point.
Yes, maybe listen to this athome.
Beth (35:23):
Pause and pick it back up
Mystery Guest (35:27):
So allow yourself to close your eyes and just
slowly tune into your breath,allowing yourself to take deep
breaths in and out of the noseand allowing yourself, with
every breath that you take in,to breathe deeper and deeper,
(35:53):
all the way down into your belly.
Just becoming aware of how yourbreath is flowing, how it is
moving through your body,allowing yourself, with every
breath that you take in, to fillyourself up with what is needed
(36:14):
, nurturing your body with yourawareness and your breath.
And with every exhale, allowyourself to let go.
Allow yourself for everytension you notice to just let
(36:35):
it go and exhale it out.
Let the stress go.
Just allow for the sound tomove all the way through your
body, slowly, bringing yourawareness to your toes and to
(37:00):
your feet, to your chins andyour calves, to your knees and
your calves to your knees andyour thighs.
Feeling into this area andbreathing into the space.
Feeling into this area andnoticing any uncomfortable
(37:27):
sensation and allowing yourselfto exhale it out, slowly moving
the awareness upward, into yourlower belly, into the space
(37:49):
around the navel, into yourribcage.
Moving this sound into thisarea here and feeling into the
space, allowing for the breathto fill up the space,
replenishing this area, lettinggo of anything that weighs heavy
(38:12):
here, slowly moving yourawareness upward into your heart
, into your shoulders, into bothof your arms and both of your
hands.
Bringing awareness fully toyour heart, space and your arms
and both of your hands.
Bringing awareness fully toyour heart, space and your arms.
(38:35):
Breathing into this area hereand connecting to it, tuning in
with your awareness.
Breathing into this space toopening your heart, anchoring
your awareness in here.
(38:56):
If you notice any uncomfortablesensation or any unserving
emotion here, can you allowyourself to exhale it out.
Can you allow yourself to bewith it and then let it go
(39:19):
slowly moving your awarenessupward into your throat, into
your head, space and the spaceright above your head.
Feeling into this area here andthe space right above your head,
feeling into this area here andfilling this area up with the
sound.
Allow it to travel here,filling up the space.
(39:44):
Feeling into this area andnoticing any discomfort here,
can you allow yourself torelease in your headspace, allow
yourself to exhale it out.
Any unserving beliefs, anyunserving thoughts, can you
(40:12):
exhale them out and let them go.
Allow yourself to create spacewith your exhales so with every
inhale, you can create morepeace and stillness here.
(40:41):
Keep taking deep breaths in andout of the nose, allowing for
your breath to travel all theway through your body, grounding
you back into the presentmoment.
Allowing for your breath totravel all the way through your
body, grounding you back intothe present moment.
(41:02):
Grounding you back into yourbody.
Allowing for the sound totravel from your headspace into
your throat, into your chest andinto your arms, into your belly
(41:24):
, into the base of your spine,into both of your feet.
Spending another moment to goinward, feeling into the changes
that you're creating by simplyfocusing back on yourself,
focusing back on your breath,bringing awareness back to your
(41:50):
body.
Whenever you're ready, you canslowly open your eyes again and
come back to the present momentand notice the changes.
Mike (42:13):
Welcome back everyone.
I hope you enjoyed that.
Beth (42:16):
You might be sleeping.
Yes, that's okay.
Yes.
Mike (42:20):
I hope you enjoyed that sound exercise.
That was absolutely incredible.
So, Janne, thank you so muchfor coming in.
Mystery Guest (42:26):
Where can our audience find you Website,
social media yeah, so I post allmy events and my classes on my
social media.
On Instagram, it's TanateraHealing, and you can also find
me on my website it's tan-atara.
com
Beth (42:46):
Okay, awesome and where can they find us?
Mike (42:50):
yes, they can find us at um.
Well, you can shoot us an emailat gatesmanagencycom.
Um, you can find us oninstagram.
Beth (42:59):
Yeah and uh, yeah, shoot us a dm no name cuts podcast
gatesmanagencycom yes, that'sthe email it's that sound bath
it it grounds, you really doesit.
Mike (43:11):
You can just go home for the day yes, all right.
Beth (43:15):
Well, thank you so much, gene, for joining us a pleasure.
It's good to see you.
We'll see you again soon allright, thank you.
All right, everyone welcome back.
This is no Name Tags thepodcast where we go beyond
resumes and job titles touncover the real, inspiring
stories of breaking into yourdream job.
This isn't about corporatebuzzwords or rigid strategies.
It's about real experiences,the wins, the losses, the what
am I even doing here?
Moments that shape who you arepersonally and professionally,
(00:26):
because, let's be honest, theprofessional world can feel
overwhelming at times, and it'snot about following a perfect
plan.
The key is to lean into whatmakes you you, and that is where
you'll reach your fullpotential.
Beth (00:38):
And, yes, for those that are fiercely loyal listeners or
maybe just finding the show forthe first time, we are thrilled
to have you here.
A quick reminder for our newaudience we won't officially
introduce you to our guestsuntil the very end of the
episode.
Why is that?
It's all about immersing youinto the authentic stories of
(00:58):
our guests, without thedistraction of their name and
their title.
By focusing solely on theirjourney, we highlight something
we all share professionally,that is, starting from ground
zero and crafting a unique path.
These journeys are often filledwith trials, tribulations, but,
of course, success along theway.
So let's get started.
Mike (01:19):
All right guest, happy to have you here today.
Mystery Guest (01:22):
Hi, I'm glad to be here.
Mike (01:24):
Mystery guest.
What I would really like tostart with, just a simple
question, what is it that you'vealways wanted to do?
Your earliest memory, what wassomething that you just you
really wanted to do with, withyour life and career?
Mystery Guest (01:38):
as a kid.
Yeah, as a kid, I think one ofthe main things was always for
me I wanted to work in fashion.
Mike (01:46):
Okay, fashion.
Beth (01:48):
What was it about fashion that kind of piqued your
interest?
Mystery Guest (01:52):
Oh, it was just typically the girly stuff, you
know, just all the accessoriesand getting dressed up and
looking cute and fun, and yeah,I loved all of that.
Mike (02:04):
Did you put on fashion shows with your friends?
Mystery Guest (02:07):
Yes, I sure did.
All right, we need to resurfacethese.
Beth (02:10):
Like dolls, like Barbie dolls.
My daughter, Emmy, she, isgetting into Barbies and she got
her first Barbie doll for herlast birthday in November.
And, I still am, I'm intriguedstill by the little tiny shoes
that come with them.
But they're all over the house,yeah.
Mike (02:28):
So that's, crazy.
Mystery Guest (02:29):
So cute yeah.
Where did you grow up?
So I grew up in Germany.
Mike (02:33):
Okay.
Mystery Guest (02:34):
In the north of Germany, directly at the North
Sea, with my mom, single child.
Mike (02:45):
When did you come to the United States?
Mystery Guest (02:48):
In 2016.
So not that long ago.
Mike (02:50):
Wow, okay, so you spent the majority of your life in
Germany, yes, correct, and youwent to school, like I don't
know what.
They call it primary school orelementary school.
Mystery Guest (03:00):
Yeah, it's similar yeah.
Mike (03:02):
Okay, got it.
And did you go to college oruniversity in Germany?
Yes, okay, yes, where did yougo?
Mystery Guest (03:11):
So I moved from Cuxhaven, which is the small
town I grew up in.
I moved to Hamburg, probablyfor a lot of listeners, maybe
something they know.
Beth (03:21):
Okay.
Mystery Guest (03:22):
Hamburg is like one of the major cities in the
north of Germany.
Mike (03:23):
What did you study?
So I actually ended up studyingfashion management.
Oh, okay, so it aligns withthat childhood dream of mine.
So you followed your passion.
Mystery Guest (03:34):
Yes, I did.
Mike (03:34):
Okay, and what sort of classes did you take in the
fashion world?
Mystery Guest (03:41):
So the program was basically very focused on
brand management, but it alsohad these, this very huge
component where it was reallydesign-based.
So we had to, starting from thebeginning, always create
collections according todifferent themes, different
topics.
So it was always both it waslike focused on marketing but
(04:05):
also on actually creating thecollection.
So there is a bunch of thepeople that I went to college
with that ended up beingdesigners Wow.
Beth (04:14):
That's a blend of the creativity right but also the
business acumen.
I'm like getting flashbacks ofProject Runway that I used to
watch.
Do you watch any of those?
I have not.
Okay, I always like you getsucked in and then you're like,
oh my gosh, what are they goingto create?
But it's so interesting thatthere was the business focus and
(04:34):
was that something that youknew would be a part of your
journey, like going into college, that you would have to think
about the business side andmaybe like how you would brand
your specific line?
Mystery Guest (04:46):
Yeah, and I thought I really loved this
about the program that it wasreally focused on also getting
whatever you created out intothe world and actually market it
in a way where people are justlike fascinated about it and
want to buy it.
Mike (05:01):
What I find interesting about fashion in general.
I can think of no other careerthat is more focused on hey,
what are other people doing inthe market in terms of fashion?
I have to be better than them.
I have to stand out.
I have to be different.
Would you say that that's ahuge element of your current
work, as well as the fashionworld, like standing out.
Mystery Guest (05:24):
Yeah, I would say there's definitely always
something I always think or Ithink it's very interesting,
even with other brands that arenot fashion focused.
It's just very interesting toalways see how, like little
tweaks on certain products makea huge difference in the way
they are seen.
Beth (05:40):
Yeah that's so interesting .
I'm curious where you havelooked, and maybe you still look
for inspiration because there'sso much creativity behind
fashion.
Do you have like a favoritedesigner or inspired elsewhere,
like nature?
What is that?
Mystery Guest (06:05):
still really, and I'm still really into fashion.
I feel like ever since I movedhere, everyone can always tell
I'm the European because I'mdressed very different.
Beth (06:09):
You are very sleek.
I will tell you that.
I agree, it's very differentyeah.
Mystery Guest (06:13):
Yeah.
So there is still definitely.
I still love fashion yeah.
Mike (06:17):
So I'm picking up some context clues here.
You are not currently infashion for your career, is that
correct?
No, I'm not picking up cluesand just helping the audience
along this path.
Um, so was.
Was there a defining moment foryou that made you I mean,
you're still interested infashion?
But um, was there a definingmoment for you that said you
(06:38):
know what?
I'm not going to do this for my, my current career.
I'm going to do something else.
Mystery Guest (06:44):
So, um, if we backtrack a little bit, so
before I studied fashionmanagement, I studied art
direction too, okay, so I wasalways very focused on like the
marketing side of things ingeneral.
So when I finished up myfashion management program, I
worked for a public relationsagency and I worked as a brand
(07:06):
manager for two cosmetic brandsin Germany and I loved it, but
there was still like thispersonal connection missing
where I felt like it would becool to work for a brand that
actually has like an impact onpeople personally and that was
leading me a little away fromfashion.
(07:26):
I got it.
Mike (07:28):
So the personal aspect, connecting with people on a
personal level, yeah, so whatbrought you to the United States
in 2016?
Mystery Guest (07:37):
yes, my ex-husband.
Mike (07:39):
Got it Okay.
Mystery Guest (07:41):
Yes, so we actually we did not move here to
Pittsburgh, we moved to Texas.
So back then he was stationedwith the army in Germany and
then we moved for his nextstation to Fort Hood, texas, and
this is where I had my son, andthen, when he got out of the
army, we moved here.
Mike (08:01):
Okay.
Beth (08:01):
Yeah, so let's backtrack a little bit.
You know you are obtaining yourdegree in college focused on
fashion, and it obviously hasthe design background as well as
this new business acumen.
What was the immediate kind ofnext step after college?
Was it the PR, was it an agency, or was it for a brand?
Mystery Guest (08:30):
So it was a public relations agency?
Yeah, so they were working withdifferent celebrities in
Germany as well, as they wereone of the main agencies that
were responsible for the GermanFashion Week.
Beth (08:41):
Okay, Okay.
And what was your kind ofexperience there?
Mystery Guest (08:45):
Like I love that fashion aspect that was really
just like.
I was always that girl and Istill to this day.
I'm the person I love to seteverything up, but I don't want
to be like in the spotlight.
I like to have everythingtogether and organize and be
that person where it's just likeeverything is perfect but then
you just let other people shineyeah, it's like behind the
(09:06):
scenes, yes, yes, setting up forsuccess, yeah I love that.
Beth (09:10):
I love that.
Okay, so how long were you atthe agency?
Mystery Guest (09:14):
um, I think it was two, two years okay, yeah,
all right.
Beth (09:19):
And then you said you moved on.
What was next again?
Mystery Guest (09:22):
it was um, it was um.
It was first um a cosmetic brandBobbi Brown cosmetics okay,
yeah, very popular yeah, I know,I know I and I I love the
spirit all about it, but it waslike it was in Munich, it was
just not.
I was not that connected to thecity, so I didn't didn't stay
that long.
(09:42):
Um, yeah, but after that Iworked um for one of the most
popular fashion brands inGermany probably to this day I
don't even know, since I'm notconnected that much to the
fashion world in Germany anymorebut it's called S Oliver and
there I worked as a fashiondesigner actually, and not in
marketing okay, yeah, so you'vehad a little bit of a fun
(10:05):
trajectory, experiencing a lotof new.
Yes.
Beth (10:09):
What was maybe your takeaway as you moved to the
United States?
Did it leave you kind of hungryto get involved in fashion in
Texas or somewhere around here,Like kind of what was that next
step for you?
Mystery Guest (10:31):
Honestly, that was really hard for me.
I mean, coming here to theUnited States I had my son the
first year we were here.
So for me it was clear thatneeded to be this cut where I
just wanted to also just bethere for him.
But still it was really hardfor me to just let this go,
because it was really like adream of mine to work in fashion
.
But back then in Texas it wasreally hard for me to just let
this go, because it was reallylike a dream of mine to work in
fashion.
But back then in Texas therewas nothing like that.
I would have just been needingto move probably closer to
(10:53):
Austin.
We were pretty close to Austin,but with like a one-year-old
it's just not possible.
Mike (10:59):
Yeah, I was going to say I was actually not to give
anything away, but I was on yourLinkedIn a little bit before
this and you have a line thatspecifically says motherhood for
a particular period of time.
So what does that mean to you?
I think it's amazing that youhave that listed there.
Beth (11:12):
Not a lot of people.
It doesn't end.
It never ends.
Mike (11:15):
It's an incredibly important job.
So what does that mean to you?
I honestly feel like that.
My son really inspired me tojust do what feels right in my
heart.
Yeah, yeah.
Beth (11:29):
That's amazing.
Mystery Guest (11:30):
Yeah.
Beth (11:30):
I think it's interesting because our previous guest had
some similarities, where shealso married into the military
and, you know, prioritized thefamily first and taking care of
her son and she slowly butsurely has made her way back
into working where sheestablished her own business and
(11:52):
then she is a coach forCrossFit.
So she's very busy.
But that time was anopportunity for her to reflect
and really figure out like whatis my passion and start to kind
of map out the legacy that shewanted to leave behind.
I'm curious if that moment ofmaybe time away from the grind
(12:17):
made you think about like, oh myGod, what do I want to do?
Like what is my legacy, that Iwant to have?
Mystery Guest (12:23):
Yeah, I mean I was.
I was not really so focused onthat, it was just really, like I
said, like my son brought meback to my heart space and I
always knew I wanted to be likea very involved mom.
So I knew like something infashion like I've done
previously.
So my very last job in Germanywas actually a fashion buyer.
(12:45):
So I really did like the wholespectrum from marketing to
design, to buy.
I could have never done it LikeI think like from all the
different positions I had inGermany, buying was really the
most interesting to me, but Icould have never done anything
like that and be the mom that Iwanted to be for him at the same
(13:06):
time.
That's amazing, yeah.
So for me it was really morelike what can I do that feels
right in my heart, where I canstill show up for my son as the
most best or the best version ofmyself and still have like this
calm, even when I work?
Mike (13:23):
Yeah, and I think it goes past just having that simple
flexibility.
I was on your website a littlebit as well and just finding
balance, as you put it in a lotof different areas on the site.
And I'm just curious what doesthat word balance mean to you
and what would you hope ouraudience and people you know
(13:44):
starting out in their careerfinding this balance Like what
does balance mean to you andwhat would you hope our audience
and people you know startingout in their career finding this
balance like what does balancemean to you?
Mystery Guest (13:50):
I think really balance means for me that you
can work towards your goals butstill show up as you want to for
yourself and the people thatare closest to you.
Yeah, and.
Mike (14:04):
And putting that work forward.
You know, having that balanceis really important because if
you don't have that, you're notgoing to be your best self with
being a mom and in your career.
So I think that's reallyimportant.
Beth (14:18):
Yeah, I also think that's just amazing about you.
It seems like you just want tobe better, right, Like I think a
lot of people don't take uppause sometimes and say how do I
make myself better each andevery day?
I started saying that to my son.
I was like what have you doneto make yourself better today?
You know like he needs to readmore, so we're trying to get him
(14:41):
to do that.
Mike (14:41):
But bring him in here.
We'll tell him right now yeah,he's here, he's on spring break,
but you know it's.
Beth (14:48):
I think it's always good to have that self reflection and
it's not always top of mind,especially when things get busy.
It's kind of the last thing togo, I would say.
Mike (14:57):
Yeah, yeah.
So what is it you do right now?
Can we do this?
Beth (15:01):
What happened?
What was your journey fromTexas to Pittsburgh?
Or was there anything inbetween?
We should maybe ask that.
Mystery Guest (15:10):
No.
So my ex-husband.
He got out of the Army in Texas, okay, and he actually had
which is funny, because it makesno sense actually but he had
one friend who lived in theneighborhood where I still live
now.
Oh well, so that that was theonly connection that made us
move here okay yeah, that'samazing.
(15:30):
Yeah, I know do you like ithere?
yes, I do love it here yeahactually so the switch, because
my um, my last hometown in in ingermany, was um bavaria and was
this beautiful town, like inthe wind yards, with like a
castle and a church on top ofhills.
So moving to texas, that feltvery foreign to me.
(15:53):
But moving here with like thehills and the woods and
everything around that helped mefind my yeah.
Mike (16:01):
Yeah, see, that's a.
Really.
I'm always interested to hearwhat people think of Pittsburgh
who might not have grown up here, and especially someone who,
like, lived in Germany.
What is your yeah, what is yourperspective of Pittsburgh?
Is it similar to how you grewup, like you said, or yeah?
Mystery Guest (16:17):
I mean, texas is very different.
Yeah, it is.
It definitely is very differentand I, in all fairness, I got
to say so.
I live in the suburbs here, soI do have the countryside.
Do you live in the?
Mike (16:27):
South Hills, north Hills, north Hills.
Okay, I live in the South Hills, but that's where I grew up.
Yeah, but that's cool.
Yeah, I always say thatPittsburgh is a very hometown
city.
Yeah, I grew up you know mostof my life here, and then I
lived in New York for a while,which was extremely different.
And then back to Pittsburgh.
Mystery Guest (16:47):
So, like I said, I'm always just fascinated to to
anyone who's from Pittsburghthat I think it's very
interesting that everyone whotells me they're from Pittsburgh
and moved away, they alwayscome back.
Yes, that's a common themewhich speaks for Pittsburgh.
Mike (17:00):
Yeah it does Boomerangs we had a guest on that
specifically said that it waswhatever guest it was that lived
in Colorado or something.
Oh, yeah, yeah yeah, yeah, hesaid, he came back.
Mystery Guest (17:13):
So it's cool.
There has to be something to it, right?
Beth (17:15):
Yes, for sure.
Okay, so now you officiallyhave moved to Pittsburgh.
What was your kind of nextsteps?
Mystery Guest (17:23):
Well, so when we moved here because we knew like
we had to do the move and weboth needed to have jobs to make
everything work, so I actuallywas an analyst with HCL for
Google for a couple months- Okay, yeah, and what did?
That pertain.
So back then it was aboutresearch optimization Okay.
Beth (17:45):
For one of their newest products.
Oh, okay, amazing.
And how long did you do that?
Mystery Guest (17:50):
I think I did it five or six months.
It was my son that did not workwell with the full-time work.
Oh, okay, because it was hisfirst experience being away from
me and it did not.
It was really bad actually,okay.
Mike (18:07):
Data analyst.
You said yes, yeah, so that'svery focused work.
Mystery Guest (18:11):
Oh yeah, I actually loved it, but my son
was struggling really bad.
He was one and a half and itjust he was constantly sick.
I think within six months Iused all my vacation days, so I
was just like, well, there weare.
This doesn't work.
Beth (18:26):
And then what Is it kind of where you are right now?
Yes, okay.
Well, I think now is the timewe get to play our fancy music.
Our mystery guest pleaseintroduce yourself who you are
and where you work.
Mystery Guest (18:38):
Okay, I'm Janne Alexander, my company is called
Tanatera Healing LLC and I'm amind-body coach and offer
nervous system regulation,breathwork and sound.
That's amazing.
I wanted to reveal it.
Beth (18:52):
Mike is so excited.
Mystery Guest (18:53):
I system regulation, breathwork and sound
.
That's amazing.
Mike (18:54):
I wanted to reveal it.
Beth (18:55):
Mike is so excited.
Mike (18:56):
I love this stuff so much and I wanted to reveal it right
away, but I couldn't for ouraudience.
So okay, now that we're here,tell me all about this.
Just spill.
What is it that you'repassionate about?
What makes you do what you do?
Mystery Guest (19:12):
Yeah, so I feel like I got to backtrack that to
my childhood.
So I always had a lot of likehealth issues where my immune
system was just very weakened.
So I had asthma when I was akid, then I had eczema, so I had
all those things and then I haddifferent food allergies.
(19:33):
So there was always somethingwhere my nervous system was very
dysregulated very out ofbalance health issues, which
(19:56):
made me see there's other waysthan just normal medicine that
you can like look into two thatare really beneficial for you.
And I would say, after mydivorce, I really knew I needed
to find something to heal fromthat divorce, but also to find
my balance so I can show up thebest way as a single mom for my
son.
So for me, the first thing wasI would go to many, many yoga
(20:17):
classes, many, many yoga classes, and then I experienced online
since it was the lockdown, I didsome sound healing sessions
virtually and I was just like,oh my God, this is absolutely
amazing and the changes itcreates in the body when you
just listen to crystal balls, toa gong, for an hour, it's just
(20:40):
amazing.
Yeah, so this is actually how Igot into my journey and did the
training with the same soundhealer that I found online.
Wow, because I was just like Igotta do this, do this.
So I traveled to Austin andthat was like really my step
into yeah, like the holistichealing industry.
Mike (20:58):
That's.
That's really fascinating, Iwill say.
Um, so we gave a presentation,uh, here at Gatesman a few
months back and it was all aboutfocusing on doing better
brainstorms with, with teams,and I spoke specifically
specifically to a section aboutfocus and getting into a focus
mode, and there's these soundwaves, binaural beats like a 40
(21:22):
hertz frequency binaural beatsthat help you get into focus
mode.
So, as I researched that a bitmore, just seeing and actually
doing the, the, you know,listening your work improves so
much so I can only imaginesounds that that you might
practice.
It could help with healing somuch that people might not even
be aware of Um, so I'm justsuper fascinated about you know,
(21:46):
the, the sound element, uh, aswell, Um, yeah, so, uh, there's
also uh, also on the Calm appspecifically, they have the
soundscapes and they have justthis like white noise and it's
very healing.
So have you ever had anyone?
I'm sure you have but peoplecome to you and say, like, how
transformative these sounds are.
Mystery Guest (22:07):
Yeah, yeah, most definitely yeah, and I do have
the same approach, like you said, no-transcript, that's what's
(22:39):
supposed to be doing yeahbecause that is like on the one
hand, it makes you very focused,but on the other hand, it makes
you completely relaxed.
Mike (22:47):
This is how you can have more input coming in do you have
a um like, let's say, someonecame to you and they had a prior
trauma in a specific you knowthing.
Do you have a uniform approachfor sounds that you have with
with anyone that comes to you?
Or maybe someone's experiencingsome specific thing and maybe
(23:08):
one sound is right for them oror, you know, maybe another one
might work for them.
Like, what is your approach?
Is it a uniform approach or isit you try different?
Mystery Guest (23:17):
So it depends.
So I do offer Reiki, I offersound healing and I offer
breathwork.
Trauma depends on what it is.
If it's like some bodysensation or an ache, sound is
very beneficial because it justgoes where it needs to go.
No one has to think about it,it just does what it needs to do
.
This is why people come to mysound baths and just like, oh my
(23:40):
god, my hip was on fire and ithurts really bad and out of a
sudden it was gone.
It was just like.
That's exactly because the soundjust travels where it needs to
go and just releases whateverneeds to be released that's
amazing yeah, but if it's moretrauma, where it's deeper, where
it's really just like anexperience that we need to work
through, sound will not help youget there.
(24:00):
This is where you really needto utilize the breath and work
intentionally through certainissues, and this is really
guided specifically how it isneeded.
So if I do one-on-onebreathwork sessions, it's really
about working with that personand really seeing what they need
.
Yeah, yeah.
Beth (24:20):
We had the opportunity a few of us, a few of us ladies at
Gatesman had the chance toexperience Jane and her element
in her studio, which Idefinitely want you to explain
in a minute.
But I personally have neverdone anything like that and it
was definitely an eye openingexperience for me.
So, obviously, you put yourphone away, you go and you're
(24:43):
supposed to relax and mychallenge was I couldn't turn
off my brain and it probablytook me I hate to admit it, but
the first half of the sessionand be like you need to shut
down and you need to absorb thisand you need to be here for the
experience.
And then, once I did, I justlike I don't, I feel like I
blacked out, Like I don'tremember what happened, but it
(25:04):
was.
I know it was.
It was definitely a healingexperience and I think, for me,
a reality check of like bepresent in the moment.
You don't need to be connectedall the time, and we all know
that, right, I'm not sayinganything that we don't know, but
I think if there's anopportunity to like get in a
regular practice for that, itwill be so beneficial, right?
(25:25):
So I feel like I'm so curiousCould you like explain your
setup for our listeners, becausemaybe they don't understand,
like what?
Mystery Guest (25:37):
is it?
How do you go about soundhealing?
Yeah, so there's definitelyvery different approaches for
people that offering soundclasses or sound baths.
My setup is really focused onlike the somatic approach to
healing.
Somatic soma meaning the body.
So we really want to work withthe body.
My breathwork technique is alsosomatic breathwork.
(25:57):
It really is is all focused ondeep body healing.
So for my sound baths, what Ilike to do and that comes what
you said bath because I knowmost people have a hard time
shutting off their brain andjust being present because we're
all stressed, we're busy.
So then coming to a place andbe like, no, you can be quiet
(26:19):
for an hour, that's verytriggering for most people.
So my approach is really firstletting them settle in, bringing
awareness to the body, seeingwhat's actually happening in the
body.
By bringing awareness to yourbreath, feeling into your body.
It's like step one.
Step two is doing some gentlebreath work where you really
(26:40):
connect with your breath, go alittle deeper, allow your
nervous system to actually cometo a state where just like, oh,
we're relaxing here, I didn'teven know, um.
And then we would do like aguided meditation that is
already led by sound before it'sjust sound, because from my
experience it's very triggeringfor people if it's like a short
(27:01):
amount where people are guideyou and then it's just like now
it's 45 minutes of sound.
Deal with it or not?
Yeah.
Mike (27:06):
Yeah.
Beth (27:07):
It's just a lot yeah.
Mystery Guest (27:09):
Yeah, so that is basically my setup, really
allowing you to tune into yourbody so you can also see after
what changes.
Because the awareness aspect isso important in this, because
most of the time, if you don'ttune in, you think after yes,
something changed, but what dideven change?
I don't know yeah so you wantto tune in in the beginning,
tune in the beginning in the end, so you can see the difference
(27:32):
do you feel like people have areally tough time separating
mind and body?
Mike (27:38):
I feel like the concept of wellness in general, people
think like, oh, I'm just goingto go to the gym and I'm just
going to be physically fit, butI feel like there's a whole
aspect of mindful wellnessversus the body.
So, in your career, whatseparates the mind and the body?
Are they two separate entities?
(27:58):
Do they, you know, operatefunctionally together?
Mystery Guest (28:03):
Well, I mean, they should work functionally
together.
But, most of the time whenwe're stressed, we are just in
our mind, and that makes itreally hard for us to be in the
body and to be present what ishappening in the body.
This is why it's also sohealing for most people to just
tune into their body, becausemost of the time, people don't
even know how they're feeling.
(28:24):
You would ask them and this iswhy we keep saying oh yeah, I'm
good, I'm fine.
Mike (28:28):
Yeah.
Mystery Guest (28:29):
Because no one actually pays attention how
they're actually feeling.
Mike (28:32):
Yeah, because no?
Mystery Guest (28:33):
one actually pays attention how they're actually
feeling.
Yeah, yeah.
So it's really like, especiallywith the gym, where you said,
most people do recognize, though, they feel better after they
leave the gym, yep, but it'smainly because they move back
into their body.
Mike (28:45):
I mean that speaks to me for sure.
Yeah, I've been really tryingto be much more focused on my
mental well-being.
I've always used this verybasic analogy If you're out of
shape physically going to thegym one time, it's really not
going to do anything.
It's sustained, repetitive,over and over for years, and
(29:07):
then you notice a difference.
The same thing with the mind.
You have to put these intopractice and you have to put you
know, put these into practiceand you have to focus on
bettering your mind as well,just like you would with your
body.
So I think everything that youdo and sounds like you're doing
is incredibly interesting to me,as you can probably tell.
Beth (29:24):
I love this.
What can guests like expectwhen they come to see?
You Like explain your actualsetup, because I know when I
went I you like explain youractual setup because I know when
I went, I was like, oh no, whatam I doing?
Like I I first of all I didn'twant to do anything that was
weird and like disrespectful,but, like you have an actual
studio, talk to us about it yeah.
Mystery Guest (29:42):
So I mean, it's really no matter if you're
coming for reiki, if you'recoming for sound, if you're
coming for breathwork.
It's really you being on yourmat and there's just stillness,
because it's supposed to be yourjourney going inward and
actually seeing what's happeninginside of you and through this
connection you come back toyourself because everything
(30:06):
outside of you this is why Ialso always ask people just keep
your eyes closed.
It's, it's your inner worldthat is important here.
This is how we come back tobalance, because we focus our
attention always outward,outside of us, and this is how
we got get disconnected, yeahyeah, that's amazing will you
talk to me a little bit aboutreiki.
Mike (30:26):
What is that?
Mystery Guest (30:27):
so um reiki is a modality that actually uses
universal energy that isavailable all around us.
I mean, everything is energybasically around us and we're an
energy body.
So it really taps into theuniversal available energy and
allows, through specific handmovements and symbols, to guide
(30:52):
that energy through to theparticipant.
Mike (30:56):
That's really fascinating.
So how did you start this?
It's business.
So you started your business.
What was the first jump into it?
You know how did it all start.
Mystery Guest (31:09):
So it really started, so I did.
The first step was the, thesound healing, and I did my
training certification.
Yes, yes and I did that inaustin texas.
So I started offering it herein yoga studios and back then it
was just.
Not even yoga studios wouldcome to me and be like maybe we
try this once.
It was before.
(31:30):
It was like popular, oh that'sokay, that's interesting.
Beth (31:33):
And were you still dealing with covid too?
On top, of that like yes, yesthat would be a challenge in and
of itself, just to break insomewhere, you know, yeah, yeah
so you would have all these in,you would go to specific yoga
studios and it would be a partof what they're doing there.
Mystery Guest (31:47):
Yes, yes but it was yeah, it was challenging
like the first year to reallyget people into it.
So it was really sharing a lotwhat it actually does and
sharing about the benefits toreally spread the word on it,
and I feel like now it's socommon that every single yoga
studio has a sound healer.
But, yeah, it was really thatwhat started it.
(32:09):
Then I got my Reiki certificate, and breath work was something
I did a year ago.
Beth (32:14):
Okay, yeah, I'm just curious.
Um, we do have a special treatfor our listeners, but before we
get there, I'm just thinking ifyou have any kind of partying
advice, like you talked aboutreflecting about what was right
in your heart and connecting towhat was good for your life.
Um, do you have any advice formaybe someone that might be at a
similar crossroads and how theycan just kind of navigate that
(32:38):
and work through that?
Mystery Guest (32:40):
I think it's really like it would always
start with just groundingyourself back in your body.
That can be simple awarenesspractices where you do like a
quick meditation to really likeconnect with yourself, because I
feel like if we really put itout there, what would be, what
should be our next step or whatfeels right?
we need to feel connected to ourbody first to actually see what
(33:02):
feels aligned and then go fromthere and that might just be
like little things that justcome where you're just like, oh
my god.
Yeah, this seems reallyinteresting, or that is
something I would like to try.
And this is how it startsshowing up by you showing up for
yourself first.
Beth (33:17):
I love that.
Mike (33:18):
Yeah, a lot of our listeners are, you know, they
might be just starting out intheir career, really trying to
figure out what it is they wantto do.
And I feel like a lot of timespeople are just, you know, oh, I
just need to get a job, justneed to get a job and I'll
figure it out later.
I mean, that was sort of me.
And then you know you can'thelp but have your passions
still.
You know they're burning.
(33:39):
You know that, you know.
So maybe people want to jumpand do a different career path
and they just don't know how todo it or they're scared to do it
.
Beth (33:48):
So I think that even get started yeah, so I think that
even get started, yeah.
Mike (33:51):
So I think that approach to grounding yourself back,
being in tune with your body andwhat it is you really feel
inside, I think is reallyimportant and people might
overlook it, yeah.
Mystery Guest (34:06):
And I feel like for me, adding to this, it's
just like I felt the same way.
I mean, it's just like, it'slike a lot when you decide what
you want to do with your lifeit's like a lot when you decide
what you want to do with yourlife.
But you can't go wrong if itfeels right, like in yourself,
or it inspires something withinyou.
Mike (34:18):
Yeah.
Mystery Guest (34:19):
Rather than just going.
Oh, this makes me a lot ofmoney, or this is something what
my dad and my mom used to do,100%.
Mike (34:26):
And it'll catch up to you later.
Yes, you know Exactly.
Beth (34:30):
Well, we noticed that you came in with a very interesting
bag.
What is it?
What's in the bag?
What's in the box?
Mystery Guest (34:52):
like a little guided practice where you can
just tune into your body, goingthrough every single body part,
while I'll play the crystal ballthat is connected to the heart,
so you can just tune in andfeel grounded and centered in
your heart space.
Beth (35:00):
Oh my gosh, what a special surprise and a treat.
Thank you, thank you for doingthat.
Mike (35:05):
So we're going to start, are we just?
Beth (35:06):
going to sit back and listen and close our eyes, so
our listeners close your eyes.
Mike (35:12):
We're going to set this up for you guys.
Beth (35:14):
Find a safe space, I guess .
Make sure you're sitting andnot driving, for those that are
driving and listening.
Mike (35:19):
That's a good point.
Yes, maybe listen to this athome.
Beth (35:23):
Pause and pick it back up
Mystery Guest (35:27):
So allow yourself to close your eyes and just
slowly tune into your breath,allowing yourself to take deep
breaths in and out of the noseand allowing yourself, with
every breath that you take in,to breathe deeper and deeper,
(35:53):
all the way down into your belly.
Just becoming aware of how yourbreath is flowing, how it is
moving through your body,allowing yourself, with every
breath that you take in, to fillyourself up with what is needed
(36:14):
, nurturing your body with yourawareness and your breath.
And with every exhale, allowyourself to let go.
Allow yourself for everytension you notice to just let
(36:35):
it go and exhale it out.
Let the stress go.
Just allow for the sound tomove all the way through your
body, slowly, bringing yourawareness to your toes and to
(37:00):
your feet, to your chins andyour calves, to your knees and
your calves to your knees andyour thighs.
Feeling into this area andbreathing into the space.
Feeling into this area andnoticing any uncomfortable
(37:27):
sensation and allowing yourselfto exhale it out, slowly moving
the awareness upward, into yourlower belly, into the space
(37:49):
around the navel, into yourribcage.
Moving this sound into thisarea here and feeling into the
space, allowing for the breathto fill up the space,
replenishing this area, lettinggo of anything that weighs heavy
(38:12):
here, slowly moving yourawareness upward into your heart
, into your shoulders, into bothof your arms and both of your
hands.
Bringing awareness fully toyour heart, space and your arms
and both of your hands.
Bringing awareness fully toyour heart, space and your arms.
(38:35):
Breathing into this area hereand connecting to it, tuning in
with your awareness.
Breathing into this space toopening your heart, anchoring
your awareness in here.
(38:56):
If you notice any uncomfortablesensation or any unserving
emotion here, can you allowyourself to exhale it out.
Can you allow yourself to bewith it and then let it go
(39:19):
slowly moving your awarenessupward into your throat, into
your head, space and the spaceright above your head.
Feeling into this area here andthe space right above your head,
feeling into this area here andfilling this area up with the
sound.
Allow it to travel here,filling up the space.
(39:44):
Feeling into this area andnoticing any discomfort here,
can you allow yourself torelease in your headspace, allow
yourself to exhale it out.
Any unserving beliefs, anyunserving thoughts, can you
(40:12):
exhale them out and let them go.
Allow yourself to create spacewith your exhales so with every
inhale, you can create morepeace and stillness here.
(40:41):
Keep taking deep breaths in andout of the nose, allowing for
your breath to travel all theway through your body, grounding
you back into the presentmoment.
Allowing for your breath totravel all the way through your
body, grounding you back intothe present moment.
(41:02):
Grounding you back into yourbody.
Allowing for the sound totravel from your headspace into
your throat, into your chest andinto your arms, into your belly
(41:24):
, into the base of your spine,into both of your feet.
Spending another moment to goinward, feeling into the changes
that you're creating by simplyfocusing back on yourself,
focusing back on your breath,bringing awareness back to your
(41:50):
body.
Whenever you're ready, you canslowly open your eyes again and
come back to the present momentand notice the changes.
Mike (42:13):
Welcome back everyone.
I hope you enjoyed that.
Beth (42:16):
You might be sleeping.
Yes, that's okay.
Yes.
Mike (42:20):
I hope you enjoyed that sound exercise.
That was absolutely incredible.
So, Janne, thank you so muchfor coming in.
Mystery Guest (42:26):
Where can our audience find you Website,
social media yeah, so I post allmy events and my classes on my
social media.
On Instagram, it's TanateraHealing, and you can also find
me on my website it's tan-atara.
com
Beth (42:46):
Okay, awesome and where can they find us?
Mike (42:50):
yes, they can find us at um.
Well, you can shoot us an emailat gatesmanagencycom.
Um, you can find us oninstagram.
Beth (42:59):
Yeah and uh, yeah, shoot us a dm no name cuts podcast
gatesmanagencycom yes, that'sthe email it's that sound bath
it it grounds, you really doesit.
Mike (43:11):
You can just go home for the day yes, all right.
Beth (43:15):
Well, thank you so much, gene, for joining us a pleasure.
It's good to see you.
We'll see you again soon allright, thank you.
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