September 27, 2024 • 28 mins
What happens when you become a mother later in life, only to face immense changes and challenges just a few years later? Heather Travis, a shamanic and spiritual advisor, joins us to share her deeply personal story of motherhood at 35 and the subsequent transformation her body demanded at 38. Heather opens up about the delicate balance between motherhood, work, and personal well-being, emphasizing the crucial role of presence and stress management in her healing journey. Heather’s reflections offer invaluable insights into the beauty and hurdles of later-in-life motherhood and illustrate the necessity of self-care and holistic health practices for achieving true balance and well-being.
Ever wondered how aging reshapes our relationship with physical activity and creativity? Our conversation dives into the power of intentional movement and artistic expression, revealing how they nourish and support us in unexpected ways. From modifying exercise routines to incorporating daily creative activities like journaling and crocheting, we discuss the importance of living authentically and energetically. We also touch on the art of staying present amidst life’s constant demands, using breath as a tool to manage stress and find flow. Join us as we encourage a liberated approach to life, free from outdated paradigms and expectations.
Check out the upcoming REBRAND for the Flower of Life Akashic Certification. Old pricing window available until August 24th - Flower of Life Akashic Certification Foundation Level | Akashic Womens School
FREE: Sacred Nourishment for Midlife Radiance: subscribepage.io/midliferadianceguide
Reach out to tara@tarapreston.com to learn more about ways to work with her through your life reinvention.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to the Naturally Prosperous Woman
podcast.
I'm your host, tara Preston,founder of the Akashic Women's
School, mentor to new paradigmleaders for over a decade and
teacher of divine prosperityconsciousness.
This podcast is dedicated toempowering women leaders around
the world who desire to tap intotheir authentic feminine power
(00:21):
for more money, magnetism and,of course, impact.
It's a platform for womenleaders wanting to embrace their
natural abilities to createlead and flow, unlocking their
inherent potential forprosperity and living in
alignment with their truestselves, because it's your birth
(00:41):
right to flourish in thenaturalness of the woman you
were born to be.
Thanks so much for being here.
Let's dive in.
Hello and welcome to anotherepisode of the Naturally
Prosperous Woman podcast.
I've been away for a few weeksbut I am super excited to be
(01:04):
back with my special guest,heather Travis, shamanic and
spiritual advisor, and we'regoing to be dropping in around
this conversation on being amidlife mother and finding flow,
grace and ease.
And finding flow, grace andease and, like with a lot of my
(01:31):
guests, I often say I've knownthem for a while and Heather's
one that I've known for a whileand she really embodies this
midlife mother finding flow,grace and ease.
And I know there's always roomfor growth, there's always learn
for expansion, and we all haveour own edges and learning how
to more fully embody this.
But I know from you know,watching Heather over the last
(01:54):
few years, for sure she'ssomebody who's really devoted
herself to cultivating this inher life.
So I felt like this could be areally important and rich
conversation for us to have,especially for those midlife
mothers who find themselves, youknow, in their 40s and kind of,
maybe even in the edge of likethat perimenopause journey.
(02:15):
And I think you know, being inmy mid 40s too, we find that
place where we know it's time topivot a little bit.
The ways that we did it, theydon't necessarily work.
So I'm going to introduce you,I'm going to hand it over to
Heather Travis, actually, andI'm going to let her introduce
herself, and then we're going todive into this very important
topic.
Welcome, heather.
Speaker 2 (02:37):
Thank you for having me.
I am so excited to just be hereand to get to talk with
somebody that definitely speaksheart to heart.
I think that is such animportant aspect, especially in
this phase of life, that we'reable to have those people that
(02:59):
we can just sit in that heartspace and speak.
I am Heather Travis.
I am, first and foremost, rightnow, a mother to a beautiful
10-year-old daughter.
I've been married 20 years.
I live with my mom coming up onthe cusp of being 46.
(03:24):
And so there has been so muchover my life, and especially the
past 10 years, that has reallyallowed me to become like I
(03:49):
think some of it's kind ofbecoming who I was always meant
to be, but becoming more ofmyself and becoming more of
someone that is not justcomfortable in my own skin but
that can stay in that presenceof comfort, regardless of who
and how I'm interacting withother people.
Speaker 1 (04:12):
That's beautiful.
Yeah, so it wasn't always likethat, obviously.
Speaker 2 (04:20):
No.
Speaker 1 (04:22):
Right, yeah, when we were dropping in around this
topic, I really one of thequestions I actually asked you
was what kind of where did thisjourney begin?
I wasn't even sure if you'dhave an answer, but where you
began with your journey you it'sbeautifully speaks to, I think,
what's you know, to what wewant to drop into today.
(04:44):
Do you want to share a littlebit about that?
Speaker 2 (04:47):
Yeah, I think this particular midlife journey
really started at 35, becoming alater in life, mom, I think
it's become more and more common, or mainstream if you will, for
people to become a little bit,or to become pregnant later in
life and to have children laterin life, which, you know, there
(05:10):
is so much beauty that can be inthat because of how we can show
up for our children.
But there is the other side ofthat, in our bodies, being at a
different phase in life, beingat a different phase in life,
and that's one of those thingsthat really um, became very uh
(05:31):
present for me very quickly.
I was, I was trying to act likethe 25 year old at 35 and the
body just did not like that.
Um, you know, trying to be themom and work and start a
business and burning not justthree but four candles and not
sleeping and forgetting to eat,and, you know, making sure
(05:53):
everybody else was taken care of.
And, you know, by 38, 39, I, youknow, my body just said no and
I really began my process withworking with a health coach and
a holistic health coach and afunctional medicine doctor, and
you know, my body was alreadybeginning to change hormonally
(06:15):
and I had an audit, gotdiagnosed with an autoimmune
disease, and so it was reallycrucial for me to not just pivot
but to get present with whatand how I was choosing to do
things so that my body couldheal.
(06:37):
And I think that's somethingwithin this process too, like we
can still be so caught up indoing all of the things healing
that we forget to be present forthe body to heal that that is
so true.
Speaker 1 (06:51):
Yes, and I love that you keep speaking to like to to
presence.
I think that's so powerful,beyond the nutrition and the
food, which I know is a reallyimportant piece.
It definitely was for me, too,and it was right around 40 that
that started to get my attentionin a big way.
Was there anything else thatyou notice kind of when you're
talking about this notnecessarily pivoting, but like
(07:13):
actually having to bring someattention and and presence?
Was there anything else, thatstart that you started to kind
of integrate at a foundationlevel that really started to
help break?
Yeah?
Speaker 2 (07:26):
Yeah, I think it's like the.
The stress piece is the, the.
I think an even bigger piecesometimes than even what we're
choosing to put in our body,because it is how, like, like
the stress and the adrenals areand kind of become this filter
with which what we feed into ourbody passes through.
(07:48):
And so, you know, stressinevitably creates that fight or
flight reaction in our body.
You know there's a couple othervariations with which, how it
shows up, but ultimately, at akind of basic level, you know
it's turning on and creating anabundance of hormones in your
(08:09):
body with which your bodydoesn't know what to do with in
modern time, right.
And so it really isn't until weare able to manage our stress
and I think that is, you know,can for some people, can really
be anxiety.
For me it was likedisassociation, and so that's
(08:33):
part of that presence of youknow, slowing down and
recognizing what was stressingme out, what was causing me to
disassociate, what was causingme to react, what like and what
(08:54):
were the external stressors andwhere they were the ones that I
was placing on myself throughexpectations and conditioning of
doing everything and doing itall right that's so big.
Speaker 1 (09:15):
The expectations piece too, which I think is like
such a gift in the agingjourney, like that we often,
yeah, start to peel back.
You know, like where we canstart to lower some of those
expectations, like in abeautiful way, where we become
attached to an outcome that weknow we start to recognize
(09:37):
doesn't truly serve or honor us.
Speaker 2 (09:39):
So it sounds like, you know, that was kind of one
of the pieces that you startedto pay attention to that sound,
yeah, and I think, and andrecognizing that the
expectations aren't simply whatsomebody else told us right, but
it's that recognizing where,through the various points in
(10:01):
our life, the lens that we sawor heard or took in information
shaped how we then decided tointerpret what we need, what we
should do right, and thencreated that expectation on
ourself, because it is so easyto push blame on the outside
(10:26):
right and say, well, you know,society is telling me I need to
be this or I need to be that,but it would not be the
expectation or the stressorwithin our system if we did not
take that on.
And so you know, really I don'tthink that's for me like always,
that big part of slowing downenough to recognize that part of
(10:51):
it was huge right, because thenyou're not just swept up in
emotion, you're not just sweptup in how things have always
been, you're not just swept upin the energy of the flow that
was created from that space.
Speaker 1 (11:07):
Yeah, and I think too , it's like that beautiful
return to like authenticity,which is, you know, kind of
swings back to being comfortablein your own skin and so we're
not so rocked around by theexternal world.
There's like a comfort thatexists in our own skin and our
own core and we can let go of alot of those things that
sometimes pull us around, thatdon't serve us.
(11:28):
That's really beautiful.
Pull us around that don't serveus, that's really beautiful.
So is there any other practicesor tools that you've kind of
started to figure out or developthat allowed you to come back
into that?
And you have to give us, Iguess, specifics, we can deepen
(11:48):
into that, and you have to giveus, um, I guess specifics, uh,
we can deepen into that a littlebit at the end.
But is there any other um steps, practices, tools that really
allowed you to come back to thatcenter, to come back to that
place of feeling a little bitmore at home in your body and in
your flow?
Speaker 2 (12:06):
well, for me, one of them was definitely movement,
and not just exercise because,like, I was always a very
physically active person andnotions of what I believed my
body could do, what I thought mybody should do as far as how it
(12:35):
moved, especially withinphysical exercise.
And, you know, coming back tofrom the place of being a little
bit older and having my bodyrespond differently, of
approaching movement with muchmore intention and it not being
(12:58):
this, um, and allowing I guessbetter thing is allowing it to
mirror where I am in the rest ofmy life, right, and so I can
still hold some of those beliefsthat I still resonate with as
far as, like, lifting and takingthings, like, and the way, the
(13:22):
like, it's the, the form, right,so, like the ability to stretch
the body and to move throughthe different lines and
outstretches and and that sortof thing, right, um, I just I
get this image of like a dancerbeing pulled from one arm and
one leg in one direction andflow in the other direction.
(13:44):
Right, so, like there's stillthis like, because there's that,
the, that natural expansion ofthat happens within our body
with movement, um, andpliability and all of that kind
of stuff that carries throughregardless of age.
But you know the, the ways withwhich you would push yourself,
and intensity and duration thatno longer felt good or felt
(14:09):
supporting, and so so you knowthe practice of being part of
its presence again, but thepractice of showing up to um my
movement practice with whatfeels good in the moment, right,
and so, whether I'm choosing tolift that day, whether I'm
doing yoga, whether I'm doingcardio, like what can my body
(14:32):
really handle that day?
And um, and for me, especiallywith where I'm at and what I've
been going through, that feltvery nourishing and supportive,
um, um, you know, and they, Ithink the other big um thing
(14:55):
that has been very supportivethrough this process is having
intentional time for creativity,right, some sort of artistic
(15:16):
expression and and it andallowing that to be diverse,
right, in the sense of, like itdoesn't have to be your paints,
it doesn't have to be yourmarkers, it doesn't have to be
anything specific.
And you know, and, and for quitea while, there there was this
really beautiful synthesis of mymorning journaling practice
that was just a blank page andso, like this, allowing the
creativity to flow and to umhave whatever message that
(15:42):
wanted to emerge or whatever Iwas moving through or processing
emerge on the blank piece ofpaper in some form of art right
and so like the word, the shapethat the words took as you wrote
them out, or the lines thatwanted to come through, or the
colors that wanted to be used,right, and so just allowing that
creativity to flow through,without any expectations,
(16:03):
without any, um, specificpurpose, right?
because I think so many, so manytimes when we, even when we're
sitting down to paint a picture,or we're sitting there like I
like to crochet and stuff likethat, whenever we sit down to do
something, it's with theintention of creating.
You know, if you're going tocreate an artwork, you're
(16:24):
creating a picture, right, likeif you're creating, um or
crocheting, you're creating ablanket or a piece of clothing
or something, right like there'sthis a natural intention of
something you want to create atthe end, but just to sit in flow
with the ability of likewhatever comes out comes out,
and it's for nothing other thanthe pure process of sitting in
that pure process of creation.
Speaker 1 (16:46):
Yeah, that's a really powerful way to tap into flow
without attachment to an outcome.
Yeah, that I love.
I have another question for youand it has to do because we've
been talking a lot aboutpresence and I think you know
you're working with moms for solong is that they're often so
(17:07):
busy with their to do's andtheir lists and their managing
of their people, like theirfamilies, and so I'm curious,
like how do you find balancewith that?
Like how it because I you knowyou seem like you've been able
to organize yourself in a waywhere you can detach from that a
little bit and find flow withinit.
Does that make sense?
Speaker 2 (17:28):
It does.
And I think one of the thingsthat has always come a little
bit more naturally when I stepout of conditioning is I I'm not
this type of person that spendsmy life wondering what if and
spends my or spends my lifeworrying about what could be
(17:48):
right, and I think that's likeand so having if for me it comes
a little bit easier.
But like that learning topractice, to be present, like to
recognizing that in thisparticular moment in time I
cannot actually impact anythingother than what is right in
(18:10):
front of me.
What I do with what is right infront of me, what I do with
what is right in front of me,will impact things down the road
, but it is literally only whatis happening in my presence in
that moment.
And so I have found that themore and more that I allow
myself to sit in that space andnot get caught up in others,
(18:35):
other people because I do livewith a lot of people that have a
lot of anxiety over like what,like worrying about what could
happen, like just not buyinginto that I'm not putting so
much of my energy in what I haveto do next or making sure that
everything's taken care of,because, as I step through and
move through the process, I amconfident that I'm taking care
(18:57):
of what I need to, so that, whenwe get to that point, it's
taken care of right.
So I'm not expending andwasting so much energy on
worrying about something thathasn't happened, instead of
placing the energy into makingsure that, as I'm moving through
my process and moving throughwhat I'm doing in day-to-day,
(19:18):
the end that what I know I needto take care of is ultimately
achieved because of how I'mbeing present.
Yeah, I keep using that word.
Speaker 1 (19:27):
I don't know why it is, though I mean like I do know
, but when we're talking aboutgray flows, gray grace, gray
grace, flow and ease, we havethe most power in the present
moment.
It's a complete reversal oftenfrom how many of us have
operated and yet when we canreally keep gathering our energy
(19:49):
into that place, we anchorourselves into such a different
vibration and it can reallyshift how we show up.
So I think that it's cool thatyou keep saying it and it's
important for sure, and there'sit sounds like you've developed
like a lot of tools andsupportive practices and
awarenesses around.
That it's very embodied for you.
Um again.
Speaker 2 (20:09):
so I was just to say, like, the one last thing I want
to attach on that is like, likeyou're the awareness of it,
right, because the it isn'talways about practices, right?
Because, like, when we thinkabout practices, it's something
else to do and it's really moreof just becoming more and more
aware of how we're showing upand just being in.
(20:37):
What we're showing up and whatI think is a beautiful thing
that happens as a result of thatis time takes on a different
sense, right?
So, because you are present andactive and aware of what is
happening, things like lifedoesn't speak by you in the same
way, and then sometimes, likethis, there's just this much
(21:01):
more expansiveness in the momentthat helps to continue to
reduce the stress of not havingenough time for things.
Speaker 1 (21:11):
Yeah, for sure.
I know the practices were verysupportive of me and building
that muscle, but once it wasthere and I, it was really
embodied and integrated, itreally did allow me to flow in a
different space.
Heather, we were talking aboutlike stress a little bit earlier
.
So I was curious, like when youdo because of course we're
(21:34):
still going to have, you know,our stress response sometimes
and have our triggers but likewhen you do notice that you're
operating in that, what's yourgo to Like?
How do you like?
What do you where?
How do you maneuver that?
How do you find your way backto like flow from that space?
Speaker 2 (21:54):
your way back to like flow from that space.
Um, I mean, I think there'salways a lot of that always
depends on the degree with whichyou are stressed, but for me
usually it comes to the breath,right like the, because it is
that one thing that is alwaysgoing to bring you right back to
the present moment, becausewhen you are focusing on
breathing, you're focusing onbeing in your body and then what
(22:19):
the breath does physiologicallyto you helps reduce the stress
hormones in a way that nothingelse does.
Speaker 1 (22:24):
Love it, love it.
Is there anything else you feelthat the community, that you
might want to say to thecommunity around your journey,
or just, I don't know, just anykind of like inspired words of
wisdom, if you will?
Speaker 2 (22:43):
I think the letting yourself know, explore, right,
because we are in such a time ofchange and such a time where so
many old paradigms and beliefshave already been shed that
(23:09):
there is, whether we alwaysbelieve it or not, there is this
space for the freedom toexplore what it means to be you
in this life, what it means tomove through life in a way that
feels really good to your system, in a way that allows you to
(23:33):
feel energized, you know, orwhat doesn't right, like, so
like, but being in a place wherewe have a little bit more of
that freedom to explore, um, and, and giving yourself permission
to do that, uh, I mean withoutnecessarily, again, conditions,
(23:55):
without expectations.
Speaker 1 (24:00):
Amazing.
I love this and well, you'veactually.
You know you've given us acouple.
You've given us one tool withthe breath, but is there
anything else, any other?
You know I like practices andtools that help.
It really helps me feelembodied in all of the, the flow
pieces, but I don't know, isthere anything else?
You've mentioned creativity,you've mentioned breath.
(24:20):
So really you've given us a lot, but if there's anything else
you feel inspired to share thatyou know has really worked for
you, um, I'll let you do that,but if not, then yeah, then we
can start to close up ourconversation.
Speaker 2 (24:35):
I think, like with what I think, one of those
things that I will expand uponis like with the breath.
I always feel that if we cantouch our body, so putting our
hand on our heart or our bellyor our legs or wherever we feel
called to, it's just anotherlayer of grounding into our body
(24:58):
, right and and connectingdifferent neuropathways.
That again is just anotherlayer of feeling really
supportive, um, to some of themental aspects of things in a
way, and when we do that, itallows us to utilize the breath
(25:25):
as well, because when we breathein and we're just focusing on
how the breath is coming in andout, it's beautiful, it has its
effect, but when we put ourhands in, we automatically tend
to want to breathe into where weput our hands and we begin to
teach our you know, and then,when we can become conscious of
(25:47):
it, we begin to recognize thatbreath is one of those things
that can be done bothunconsciously, like it is, you
know, you don't just stopbreathing it's not something
that we have to be.
It's not one of those thingsthat we have to constantly be
thinking about.
Your body is going toautomatically breathe to keep
you alive, but it is also one ofthose things that we can bring
(26:10):
our mind, attention andawareness to and control right.
And so there becomes this power.
Like when we put our hands andwe breathe into where we put our
hands.
Like we begin to train ourbrain to notice and recognize
what breath feels like cominginto and expanding those areas
and what relaxation feels likein that, in different areas of
(26:34):
our body as we release thebreath.
So that has become like that isa really big practice for me.
That you know like it'ssomething you can do is just
your mind, but for me, the handsand the warmth and tactileness
of that was a huge, made a hugedifference for me.
Speaker 1 (26:57):
I love that that is so beautiful.
Thank you for sharing that withus and thank you for joining me
here today.
Can you tell our listenerswhere to find you?
And then also, I don't know ifyou have like a free gift.
Speaker 2 (27:13):
You might not, and that's okay, um, but yeah, um,
so, like I have I do, you canvisit heathertraviscom or I am
on most social media outfitsoutlets, typically instagram,
and threads at soul healingmission.
Um, but if you do go to mywebsite, there is a link for
(27:35):
expressions of soul healing,which is just a 10 day free
thing that I did, where I walkyou through some of these
practices over the course of 10days.
Speaker 1 (27:44):
Oh, fabulous, all right.
Well, thank you again forjoining me, heather.
This was so beautiful, so richwith wisdom, and actually it's
so like, applicable, and I so Ireally think that the community,
community will appreciate this.
So, once again, thank you forjoining us.
If you have any questions orcomments, make sure and pop into
(28:06):
the Naturally Prosperous WomanFacebook group, or you can even
email me, tara, at TaraPrestoncom.
Until next time.
Thanks for listening.
Bye for now.
Hello friend, thanks forjoining us this week.
If you'd like to stay in touch,head on over to the Akashic
women's community on Facebookgroup.
Come share your takeaways, yourinsights, your reflections.
(28:26):
I would absolutely love to hearif you'd like to deepen into
any part of this work.
Head on over to the Akashicwomen's schoolcom.
Slash free dash gift and grabthe Akashic radiant womb
awakening and clearing morningpractice to start to sink into
your feminine power.
I'll talk to you soon.
(28:47):
Bye for now.
Welcome to the Naturally Prosperous Woman
podcast.
I'm your host, tara Preston,founder of the Akashic Women's
School, mentor to new paradigmleaders for over a decade and
teacher of divine prosperityconsciousness.
This podcast is dedicated toempowering women leaders around
the world who desire to tap intotheir authentic feminine power
(00:21):
for more money, magnetism and,of course, impact.
It's a platform for womenleaders wanting to embrace their
natural abilities to createlead and flow, unlocking their
inherent potential forprosperity and living in
alignment with their truestselves, because it's your birth
(00:41):
right to flourish in thenaturalness of the woman you
were born to be.
Thanks so much for being here.
Let's dive in.
Hello and welcome to anotherepisode of the Naturally
Prosperous Woman podcast.
I've been away for a few weeksbut I am super excited to be
(01:04):
back with my special guest,heather Travis, shamanic and
spiritual advisor, and we'regoing to be dropping in around
this conversation on being amidlife mother and finding flow,
grace and ease.
And finding flow, grace andease and, like with a lot of my
(01:31):
guests, I often say I've knownthem for a while and Heather's
one that I've known for a whileand she really embodies this
midlife mother finding flow,grace and ease.
And I know there's always roomfor growth, there's always learn
for expansion, and we all haveour own edges and learning how
to more fully embody this.
But I know from you know,watching Heather over the last
(01:54):
few years, for sure she'ssomebody who's really devoted
herself to cultivating this inher life.
So I felt like this could be areally important and rich
conversation for us to have,especially for those midlife
mothers who find themselves, youknow, in their 40s and kind of,
maybe even in the edge of likethat perimenopause journey.
(02:15):
And I think you know, being inmy mid 40s too, we find that
place where we know it's time topivot a little bit.
The ways that we did it, theydon't necessarily work.
So I'm going to introduce you,I'm going to hand it over to
Heather Travis, actually, andI'm going to let her introduce
herself, and then we're going todive into this very important
topic.
Welcome, heather.
Speaker 2 (02:37):
Thank you for having me.
I am so excited to just be hereand to get to talk with
somebody that definitely speaksheart to heart.
I think that is such animportant aspect, especially in
this phase of life, that we'reable to have those people that
(02:59):
we can just sit in that heartspace and speak.
I am Heather Travis.
I am, first and foremost, rightnow, a mother to a beautiful
10-year-old daughter.
I've been married 20 years.
I live with my mom coming up onthe cusp of being 46.
(03:24):
And so there has been so muchover my life, and especially the
past 10 years, that has reallyallowed me to become like I
(03:49):
think some of it's kind ofbecoming who I was always meant
to be, but becoming more ofmyself and becoming more of
someone that is not justcomfortable in my own skin but
that can stay in that presenceof comfort, regardless of who
and how I'm interacting withother people.
Speaker 1 (04:12):
That's beautiful.
Yeah, so it wasn't always likethat, obviously.
Speaker 2 (04:20):
No.
Speaker 1 (04:22):
Right, yeah, when we were dropping in around this
topic, I really one of thequestions I actually asked you
was what kind of where did thisjourney begin?
I wasn't even sure if you'dhave an answer, but where you
began with your journey you it'sbeautifully speaks to, I think,
what's you know, to what wewant to drop into today.
(04:44):
Do you want to share a littlebit about that?
Speaker 2 (04:47):
Yeah, I think this particular midlife journey
really started at 35, becoming alater in life, mom, I think
it's become more and more common, or mainstream if you will, for
people to become a little bit,or to become pregnant later in
life and to have children laterin life, which, you know, there
(05:10):
is so much beauty that can be inthat because of how we can show
up for our children.
But there is the other side ofthat, in our bodies, being at a
different phase in life, beingat a different phase in life,
and that's one of those thingsthat really um, became very uh
(05:31):
present for me very quickly.
I was, I was trying to act likethe 25 year old at 35 and the
body just did not like that.
Um, you know, trying to be themom and work and start a
business and burning not justthree but four candles and not
sleeping and forgetting to eat,and, you know, making sure
(05:53):
everybody else was taken care of.
And, you know, by 38, 39, I, youknow, my body just said no and
I really began my process withworking with a health coach and
a holistic health coach and afunctional medicine doctor, and
you know, my body was alreadybeginning to change hormonally
(06:15):
and I had an audit, gotdiagnosed with an autoimmune
disease, and so it was reallycrucial for me to not just pivot
but to get present with whatand how I was choosing to do
things so that my body couldheal.
(06:37):
And I think that's somethingwithin this process too, like we
can still be so caught up indoing all of the things healing
that we forget to be present forthe body to heal that that is
so true.
Speaker 1 (06:51):
Yes, and I love that you keep speaking to like to to
presence.
I think that's so powerful,beyond the nutrition and the
food, which I know is a reallyimportant piece.
It definitely was for me, too,and it was right around 40 that
that started to get my attentionin a big way.
Was there anything else thatyou notice kind of when you're
talking about this notnecessarily pivoting, but like
(07:13):
actually having to bring someattention and and presence?
Was there anything else, thatstart that you started to kind
of integrate at a foundationlevel that really started to
help break?
Yeah?
Speaker 2 (07:26):
Yeah, I think it's like the.
The stress piece is the, the.
I think an even bigger piecesometimes than even what we're
choosing to put in our body,because it is how, like, like
the stress and the adrenals areand kind of become this filter
with which what we feed into ourbody passes through.
(07:48):
And so, you know, stressinevitably creates that fight or
flight reaction in our body.
You know there's a couple othervariations with which, how it
shows up, but ultimately, at akind of basic level, you know
it's turning on and creating anabundance of hormones in your
(08:09):
body with which your bodydoesn't know what to do with in
modern time, right.
And so it really isn't until weare able to manage our stress
and I think that is, you know,can for some people, can really
be anxiety.
For me it was likedisassociation, and so that's
(08:33):
part of that presence of youknow, slowing down and
recognizing what was stressingme out, what was causing me to
disassociate, what was causingme to react, what like and what
(08:54):
were the external stressors andwhere they were the ones that I
was placing on myself throughexpectations and conditioning of
doing everything and doing itall right that's so big.
Speaker 1 (09:15):
The expectations piece too, which I think is like
such a gift in the agingjourney, like that we often,
yeah, start to peel back.
You know, like where we canstart to lower some of those
expectations, like in abeautiful way, where we become
attached to an outcome that weknow we start to recognize
(09:37):
doesn't truly serve or honor us.
Speaker 2 (09:39):
So it sounds like, you know, that was kind of one
of the pieces that you startedto pay attention to that sound,
yeah, and I think, and andrecognizing that the
expectations aren't simply whatsomebody else told us right, but
it's that recognizing where,through the various points in
(10:01):
our life, the lens that we sawor heard or took in information
shaped how we then decided tointerpret what we need, what we
should do right, and thencreated that expectation on
ourself, because it is so easyto push blame on the outside
(10:26):
right and say, well, you know,society is telling me I need to
be this or I need to be that,but it would not be the
expectation or the stressorwithin our system if we did not
take that on.
And so you know, really I don'tthink that's for me like always,
that big part of slowing downenough to recognize that part of
(10:51):
it was huge right, because thenyou're not just swept up in
emotion, you're not just sweptup in how things have always
been, you're not just swept upin the energy of the flow that
was created from that space.
Speaker 1 (11:07):
Yeah, and I think too , it's like that beautiful
return to like authenticity,which is, you know, kind of
swings back to being comfortablein your own skin and so we're
not so rocked around by theexternal world.
There's like a comfort thatexists in our own skin and our
own core and we can let go of alot of those things that
sometimes pull us around, thatdon't serve us.
(11:28):
That's really beautiful.
Pull us around that don't serveus, that's really beautiful.
So is there any other practicesor tools that you've kind of
started to figure out or developthat allowed you to come back
into that?
And you have to give us, Iguess, specifics, we can deepen
(11:48):
into that, and you have to giveus, um, I guess specifics, uh,
we can deepen into that a littlebit at the end.
But is there any other um steps, practices, tools that really
allowed you to come back to thatcenter, to come back to that
place of feeling a little bitmore at home in your body and in
your flow?
Speaker 2 (12:06):
well, for me, one of them was definitely movement,
and not just exercise because,like, I was always a very
physically active person andnotions of what I believed my
body could do, what I thought mybody should do as far as how it
(12:35):
moved, especially withinphysical exercise.
And, you know, coming back tofrom the place of being a little
bit older and having my bodyrespond differently, of
approaching movement with muchmore intention and it not being
(12:58):
this, um, and allowing I guessbetter thing is allowing it to
mirror where I am in the rest ofmy life, right, and so I can
still hold some of those beliefsthat I still resonate with as
far as, like, lifting and takingthings, like, and the way, the
(13:22):
like, it's the, the form, right,so, like the ability to stretch
the body and to move throughthe different lines and
outstretches and and that sortof thing, right, um, I just I
get this image of like a dancerbeing pulled from one arm and
one leg in one direction andflow in the other direction.
(13:44):
Right, so, like there's stillthis like, because there's that,
the, that natural expansion ofthat happens within our body
with movement, um, andpliability and all of that kind
of stuff that carries throughregardless of age.
But you know the, the ways withwhich you would push yourself,
and intensity and duration thatno longer felt good or felt
(14:09):
supporting, and so so you knowthe practice of being part of
its presence again, but thepractice of showing up to um my
movement practice with whatfeels good in the moment, right,
and so, whether I'm choosing tolift that day, whether I'm
doing yoga, whether I'm doingcardio, like what can my body
(14:32):
really handle that day?
And um, and for me, especiallywith where I'm at and what I've
been going through, that feltvery nourishing and supportive,
um, um, you know, and they, Ithink the other big um thing
(14:55):
that has been very supportivethrough this process is having
intentional time for creativity,right, some sort of artistic
(15:16):
expression and and it andallowing that to be diverse,
right, in the sense of, like itdoesn't have to be your paints,
it doesn't have to be yourmarkers, it doesn't have to be
anything specific.
And you know, and, and for quitea while, there there was this
really beautiful synthesis of mymorning journaling practice
that was just a blank page andso, like this, allowing the
creativity to flow and to umhave whatever message that
(15:42):
wanted to emerge or whatever Iwas moving through or processing
emerge on the blank piece ofpaper in some form of art right
and so like the word, the shapethat the words took as you wrote
them out, or the lines thatwanted to come through, or the
colors that wanted to be used,right, and so just allowing that
creativity to flow through,without any expectations,
(16:03):
without any, um, specificpurpose, right?
because I think so many, so manytimes when we, even when we're
sitting down to paint a picture,or we're sitting there like I
like to crochet and stuff likethat, whenever we sit down to do
something, it's with theintention of creating.
You know, if you're going tocreate an artwork, you're
(16:24):
creating a picture, right, likeif you're creating, um or
crocheting, you're creating ablanket or a piece of clothing
or something, right like there'sthis a natural intention of
something you want to create atthe end, but just to sit in flow
with the ability of likewhatever comes out comes out,
and it's for nothing other thanthe pure process of sitting in
that pure process of creation.
Speaker 1 (16:46):
Yeah, that's a really powerful way to tap into flow
without attachment to an outcome.
Yeah, that I love.
I have another question for youand it has to do because we've
been talking a lot aboutpresence and I think you know
you're working with moms for solong is that they're often so
(17:07):
busy with their to do's andtheir lists and their managing
of their people, like theirfamilies, and so I'm curious,
like how do you find balancewith that?
Like how it because I you knowyou seem like you've been able
to organize yourself in a waywhere you can detach from that a
little bit and find flow withinit.
Does that make sense?
Speaker 2 (17:28):
It does.
And I think one of the thingsthat has always come a little
bit more naturally when I stepout of conditioning is I I'm not
this type of person that spendsmy life wondering what if and
spends my or spends my lifeworrying about what could be
(17:48):
right, and I think that's likeand so having if for me it comes
a little bit easier.
But like that learning topractice, to be present, like to
recognizing that in thisparticular moment in time I
cannot actually impact anythingother than what is right in
(18:10):
front of me.
What I do with what is right infront of me, what I do with
what is right in front of me,will impact things down the road
, but it is literally only whatis happening in my presence in
that moment.
And so I have found that themore and more that I allow
myself to sit in that space andnot get caught up in others,
(18:35):
other people because I do livewith a lot of people that have a
lot of anxiety over like what,like worrying about what could
happen, like just not buyinginto that I'm not putting so
much of my energy in what I haveto do next or making sure that
everything's taken care of,because, as I step through and
move through the process, I amconfident that I'm taking care
(18:57):
of what I need to, so that, whenwe get to that point, it's
taken care of right.
So I'm not expending andwasting so much energy on
worrying about something thathasn't happened, instead of
placing the energy into makingsure that, as I'm moving through
my process and moving throughwhat I'm doing in day-to-day,
(19:18):
the end that what I know I needto take care of is ultimately
achieved because of how I'mbeing present.
Yeah, I keep using that word.
Speaker 1 (19:27):
I don't know why it is, though I mean like I do know
, but when we're talking aboutgray flows, gray grace, gray
grace, flow and ease, we havethe most power in the present
moment.
It's a complete reversal oftenfrom how many of us have
operated and yet when we canreally keep gathering our energy
(19:49):
into that place, we anchorourselves into such a different
vibration and it can reallyshift how we show up.
So I think that it's cool thatyou keep saying it and it's
important for sure, and there'sit sounds like you've developed
like a lot of tools andsupportive practices and
awarenesses around.
That it's very embodied for you.
Um again.
Speaker 2 (20:09):
so I was just to say, like, the one last thing I want
to attach on that is like, likeyou're the awareness of it,
right, because the it isn'talways about practices, right?
Because, like, when we thinkabout practices, it's something
else to do and it's really moreof just becoming more and more
aware of how we're showing upand just being in.
(20:37):
What we're showing up and whatI think is a beautiful thing
that happens as a result of thatis time takes on a different
sense, right?
So, because you are present andactive and aware of what is
happening, things like lifedoesn't speak by you in the same
way, and then sometimes, likethis, there's just this much
(21:01):
more expansiveness in the momentthat helps to continue to
reduce the stress of not havingenough time for things.
Speaker 1 (21:11):
Yeah, for sure.
I know the practices were verysupportive of me and building
that muscle, but once it wasthere and I, it was really
embodied and integrated, itreally did allow me to flow in a
different space.
Heather, we were talking aboutlike stress a little bit earlier
.
So I was curious, like when youdo because of course we're
(21:34):
still going to have, you know,our stress response sometimes
and have our triggers but likewhen you do notice that you're
operating in that, what's yourgo to Like?
How do you like?
What do you where?
How do you maneuver that?
How do you find your way backto like flow from that space?
Speaker 2 (21:54):
your way back to like flow from that space.
Um, I mean, I think there'salways a lot of that always
depends on the degree with whichyou are stressed, but for me
usually it comes to the breath,right like the, because it is
that one thing that is alwaysgoing to bring you right back to
the present moment, becausewhen you are focusing on
breathing, you're focusing onbeing in your body and then what
(22:19):
the breath does physiologicallyto you helps reduce the stress
hormones in a way that nothingelse does.
Speaker 1 (22:24):
Love it, love it.
Is there anything else you feelthat the community, that you
might want to say to thecommunity around your journey,
or just, I don't know, just anykind of like inspired words of
wisdom, if you will?
Speaker 2 (22:43):
I think the letting yourself know, explore, right,
because we are in such a time ofchange and such a time where so
many old paradigms and beliefshave already been shed that
(23:09):
there is, whether we alwaysbelieve it or not, there is this
space for the freedom toexplore what it means to be you
in this life, what it means tomove through life in a way that
feels really good to your system, in a way that allows you to
(23:33):
feel energized, you know, orwhat doesn't right, like, so
like, but being in a place wherewe have a little bit more of
that freedom to explore, um, and, and giving yourself permission
to do that, uh, I mean withoutnecessarily, again, conditions,
(23:55):
without expectations.
Speaker 1 (24:00):
Amazing.
I love this and well, you'veactually.
You know you've given us acouple.
You've given us one tool withthe breath, but is there
anything else, any other?
You know I like practices andtools that help.
It really helps me feelembodied in all of the, the flow
pieces, but I don't know, isthere anything else?
You've mentioned creativity,you've mentioned breath.
(24:20):
So really you've given us a lot, but if there's anything else
you feel inspired to share thatyou know has really worked for
you, um, I'll let you do that,but if not, then yeah, then we
can start to close up ourconversation.
Speaker 2 (24:35):
I think, like with what I think, one of those
things that I will expand uponis like with the breath.
I always feel that if we cantouch our body, so putting our
hand on our heart or our bellyor our legs or wherever we feel
called to, it's just anotherlayer of grounding into our body
(24:58):
, right and and connectingdifferent neuropathways.
That again is just anotherlayer of feeling really
supportive, um, to some of themental aspects of things in a
way, and when we do that, itallows us to utilize the breath
(25:25):
as well, because when we breathein and we're just focusing on
how the breath is coming in andout, it's beautiful, it has its
effect, but when we put ourhands in, we automatically tend
to want to breathe into where weput our hands and we begin to
teach our you know, and then,when we can become conscious of
(25:47):
it, we begin to recognize thatbreath is one of those things
that can be done bothunconsciously, like it is, you
know, you don't just stopbreathing it's not something
that we have to be.
It's not one of those thingsthat we have to constantly be
thinking about.
Your body is going toautomatically breathe to keep
you alive, but it is also one ofthose things that we can bring
(26:10):
our mind, attention andawareness to and control right.
And so there becomes this power.
Like when we put our hands andwe breathe into where we put our
hands.
Like we begin to train ourbrain to notice and recognize
what breath feels like cominginto and expanding those areas
and what relaxation feels likein that, in different areas of
(26:34):
our body as we release thebreath.
So that has become like that isa really big practice for me.
That you know like it'ssomething you can do is just
your mind, but for me, the handsand the warmth and tactileness
of that was a huge, made a hugedifference for me.
Speaker 1 (26:57):
I love that that is so beautiful.
Thank you for sharing that withus and thank you for joining me
here today.
Can you tell our listenerswhere to find you?
And then also, I don't know ifyou have like a free gift.
Speaker 2 (27:13):
You might not, and that's okay, um, but yeah, um,
so, like I have I do, you canvisit heathertraviscom or I am
on most social media outfitsoutlets, typically instagram,
and threads at soul healingmission.
Um, but if you do go to mywebsite, there is a link for
(27:35):
expressions of soul healing,which is just a 10 day free
thing that I did, where I walkyou through some of these
practices over the course of 10days.
Speaker 1 (27:44):
Oh, fabulous, all right.
Well, thank you again forjoining me, heather.
This was so beautiful, so richwith wisdom, and actually it's
so like, applicable, and I so Ireally think that the community,
community will appreciate this.
So, once again, thank you forjoining us.
If you have any questions orcomments, make sure and pop into
(28:06):
the Naturally Prosperous WomanFacebook group, or you can even
email me, tara, at TaraPrestoncom.
Until next time.
Thanks for listening.
Bye for now.
Hello friend, thanks forjoining us this week.
If you'd like to stay in touch,head on over to the Akashic
women's community on Facebookgroup.
Come share your takeaways, yourinsights, your reflections.
(28:26):
I would absolutely love to hearif you'd like to deepen into
any part of this work.
Head on over to the Akashicwomen's schoolcom.
Slash free dash gift and grabthe Akashic radiant womb
awakening and clearing morningpractice to start to sink into
your feminine power.
I'll talk to you soon.
(28:47):
Bye for now.
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