September 4, 2025 • 39 mins
Have you ever considered that your body's pain might actually be stress looking for a way out? That the mysterious aches, tension, and discomfort could be your body's increasingly desperate attempt to communicate something important?
Naturopath and reflexologist Njideka Olatunde transforms our understanding of the pain-stress connection with revolutionary simplicity: "You cannot have pain without stress, and you can't have stress without pain." This profound insight opens the door to a completely different approach to healing – one where we stop fighting our bodies and start listening to them.
Njideka reveals how our bodies whisper before they shout, progressively increasing the volume of their communications when we ignore the early signals. Rather than running straight to medication, which forces our already-stressed systems to process foreign substances, she offers accessible reflexology techniques anyone can use. The beauty lies in their simplicity – even children's games like "This Little Piggy" actually stimulate nerve pathways that trigger natural pain relief!
Perhaps most powerful is Njideka's distinction between treating your body as a temple versus a warehouse. When we recognize our physical form as sacred space requiring intentional care, we become more discriminating about what we allow in – physically, mentally, and emotionally. This includes being mindful of media consumption, recognizing when external information disrupts our inner peace, and honoring our right to disconnect.
True healing, Njideka explains, begins with listening as the first form of touch. From there, we can implement touch-based techniques that open communication channels between our brain and body, facilitating natural healing. While conventional medicine often treats symptoms mechanically, an integrative approach honors the interconnectedness of all bodily systems and incorporates traditional cultural wisdom that has stood the test of time.
Ready to transform your relationship with stress and pain? Download Njideka's free pain and stress relief poster after completing a short form at touchologyreflexology.com and start implementing these powerful yet simple techniques today. Or check our Njideka's website. Your body has been trying to talk to you – isn't it time you started listening?
Lindsay Miller is a distinguished kids mindfulness coach, mindfulness educator and host of The Stress Nanny Podcast. She is known for her suitcase tricks and playful laugh. When she's not cheering on her daughter or rollerblading on local trails with her husband, you can find her using her 20+ years of child development study and mindfulness certification to dream up new ways to get kids excited about deep breathing. Having been featured on numerous podcasts, platforms and publications, Lindsay’s words of wisdom are high impact and leave a lasting impression wherever she goes.
To sign up for Lindsay's "Calm & Collected" Newsletter click here.
To review the podcast click here.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:20):
Welcome to the Stress Nanny, the podcast where we
take the overwhelm out ofparenting and help kids and
parents build calm, confidenceand connection.
I'm your host, Lindsay Miller,kids mindfulness coach and
cheerleader for busy familieseverywhere.
Each week, we'll explore simpletools, uplifting stories and
practical strategies to helpyour child learn emotional
(00:41):
regulation, resilience andself-confidence, while giving
you a little more peace of mindtoo.
I'm so glad you're here.
I'm your host, lindsay Miller,and I'm delighted that you're
here today for my conversationwith Najika Olatunde.
She's a visionary and thecreative energy behind Focus on
Healing Wellness Institute.
She's an accomplishednaturopath and a leading
(01:04):
authority on the culturalintegration of traditional
health practices withconventional medicine for mind,
body and emotional wellness.
She's an author, acclaimedthought leader, podcast host,
master reflexologist, painrelief educator and consultant
who has helped thousands ofchronic pain sufferers relieve
(01:24):
pain with addiction andmedication-free pain relief.
She uses the power of touch andreflexology as an alternative
in addressing the opioidepidemic.
Najika, I'm so excited thatwe're chatting today.
Speaker 2 (01:38):
Thank you so much for joining me and thank you for
having me and I'm lookingforward to sharing with your
listeners.
Speaker 1 (01:50):
Yeah, we were just saying off camera that the
reason that I was so excitedabout this conversation was that
there's a bit of a gapsometimes in the work that we do
with stress management and likethe thoughts that we can change
versus like the practices andthe physical things we can do to
really alleviate stress.
And those are things I'm alwayscurious about, and your vast
experience is something we'rereally going to benefit from
today.
(02:10):
All right, okay, so first ofall, as we get started, can you
just give us a little glimpse ofhow you found yourself on this
path?
Like, how did you know thatthese were the things that you
were called to do?
Speaker 2 (02:27):
Oh, to make a long story short, well, one of the
things I can say is this reallygoes back to my childhood.
As a child doctors I grew up onhome remedies and the fact that
doctors came to the home to dovisits, and so as a child, I saw
the doctors.
(02:47):
To me, they were, like you know, outstanding.
I said heal us.
That's what I wanted to do whenI grew up.
So, like as a child, I wantedto be a doctor because of that
experience.
But when I got to college, I gota rude awakening, because what
I thought doctors were is notwhat I was going to be trained
to become.
(03:07):
So I changed my career and wentand became a social worker.
But doing all of those years asa social worker, I covered the
whole gambit working withinfants all the way to seniors
and every type of social servicethat exists.
I did all of that, and so oneof the things that concerned me
(03:27):
was that everybody was going tothe emergency room for their
healthcare, and I saidsomething's not right about this
picture.
So then, all of a sudden,desire came back up again oh, I
want to be a doctor.
So at that time, that's whennatural health was opening up
and then I went back to schooland became a naturopathic
practitioner, but as apractitioner I had already had
(03:51):
the training in the reflexology,so I added the reflexology to
my practice and from there whichI always share is that I have
to give hominage to I started mypractice working with senior
citizens, and working withseniors laid the foundation for
(04:12):
the work I do today.
So they're the ones that all ofthis, all the work that I do
and everything, my whole lifepath in the field of reflexology
, goes to the senior citizensthat I worked on.
Speaker 1 (04:26):
Oh, I love that it's such a great story Because I
think, like you explained, thoseearly experiences you had where
there was healing that happenedwith with home remedies or
basic, you know, like basic,smaller interventions and that
being kind of like yourfrontline thought about how
healing can work and making itan empowering situation or an
(04:49):
empowering experience for peoplewhere, like, there's so much
that can happen, you know, athome or through just like
understanding and creatingbalance within our bodies.
Right, exactly exactly.
Speaker 2 (05:04):
And that's like the whole concept in terms of the
work that I do.
It's really based onunderstanding that you have the
power inside of yourself to workwith the body in the healing
process.
And I always say what we do isassist the healing body, assist
(05:26):
the body in the healing process,and once we come to understand
that, then you have givenyourself your power back and
you've given yourself your powerto heal, and it's all inside of
us.
Speaker 1 (05:40):
I love that.
The way you phrase that isbeautiful because I think it's
easy, especially in I'm tryingto figure out how to phrase this
briefly like I'm in my ownhealing journey, having the
experience of power, that it hasto rebalance itself when given
the right inputs.
(06:07):
It was so fascinating and alsocomforting to me to realize you
know that my body and I weren'tat odds with each other, Like we
were on the same team trying todo the same thing.
Speaker 2 (06:19):
And.
Speaker 1 (06:19):
I think that that sentiment of being at odds with
our body is so prevalent in inmodern life that I love that
your, your work, goes so deeplyinto the area of just like
cultivating that respect for thecapacity and then the just
wanting to be party to it,instead of trying to manipulate,
change, fix, but just like toenable and empower the body to
(06:42):
do what it's designed to do.
That's beautiful.
Speaker 2 (06:45):
And that is so important, especially right now,
in the times that we're livingin, and because the number one
cause of all illnesses is stress.
And when you think about stresswhich I always share pain and
(07:07):
stress go hand in hand.
You cannot have pain withoutstress, which I always share.
Pain and stress go hand in hand.
You cannot have pain withoutstress and you can't have stress
without pain.
And so once you startunderstanding the pain-stress
connection as it relates to whoyou are and what's going on with
you now, you open the pathwaysfor you to start looking at what
are the ways that I need to doto heal myself mentally,
(07:30):
physically and emotionally.
Speaker 1 (07:39):
Yes, oh, that's so powerful.
I you know, one of the reasonsI started the podcast and the
brand of Stress, nanny, isbecause I believe what you just
said is that stress is the rootof so much and if we can manage
it appropriately, then we're ina position that's much more
whole and much more free, right,like we can be open to life's
(08:00):
experiences instead of kind ofdrowning in them.
So talk to me more about thatexperiences instead of kind of
drowning in them.
So talk to me more about that.
Like, can we talk through, like, the importance of the mind,
body and spirit in connectionwith pain and stress relief?
Speaker 2 (08:15):
Most definitely, I think one of the problems that
we have when you think aboutpain and stress is not
understanding that it is aconnection.
The two are connected and mostpeople, when they start having
health issues, they never thinkabout the stress and all they
(08:36):
think about is focusing on thepain.
And what you have to understandis that stress is nothing but
something that's happeningoutside of your body that you
bring inside, and once you startinternalizing it on the inside
of your body, you start havingproblems.
And the way we have to thinkabout that.
(08:57):
Whatever situation is going onand you focus on you,
internalize it.
Your mind has processed it.
Now all of the systems of thebody are processing it, so
you're feeling this.
But the missing piece is, say,for example, you start having a
back pain, or you may have aneck pain, leg pain, or you may
(09:22):
have a chest pain, whatever areathat's in pain because of the
stress, what it is, it's goingto that area as a means of
trying to come out of the bodyand that would not be the normal
channels of elimination.
So the result is you're goingto experience pain and if you
(09:43):
don't deal with the stressassociated with that pain.
It then intensifies and windsup becoming an illness or a
health problem.
And so we have to startunderstanding the role that
stress plays in the way that wefeel and experience pain.
(10:07):
The two go hand in hand.
And the other thing that we needto understand is that pain does
not happen overnight.
It's a process.
And what happens, say, all of asudden I'm feeling a little
uncomfortable.
Oh well, you know, that's notimportant.
And then the body's going tosay, okay, you didn't accept me
(10:30):
that time, so now I'm comingback with a little more force.
Oh, this is a little bituncomfortable, but I'll kind of
deal with it, it'll go away.
And then the body says, okay,you didn't listen to me the
first two times, so now I'mcoming back full force.
And when it comes back fullforce, now I need to go to the
(10:52):
doctor to see what's wrong withme.
And so all of that is theprocess of the pain-stress
connection.
And once we can kind of seethat picture as it relates to
what's going on now, you canbetter understand your body's
communication with you as itrelates to trying to help you
(11:15):
heal yourself.
Speaker 1 (11:25):
Fascinating.
I really appreciate the way youjust described it because I
think that it's like you said.
So, yeah, I've never heardanyone say describe it the way
you just did where the stress isyou bringing something from
outside of you into your bodyand then your body trying to
move through that but not beingable to, so kind of relocating
it in an effort to get rid of it, but then you needing to
address it.
You know, in those stages ofincreasing strength of
(11:48):
communication from the body, oryou know, like you said, it gets
the message gets louder andlouder and louder, and it's it's
such a process right oflearning to tune into it at that
lower level of communicationright, and like the point at
which it's like just starting towhisper at you before it's
full-blown yelling at you rightor screaming at you Exactly.
Speaker 2 (12:14):
And because of that, that's why you have the problem,
because think about this you,when you are in pain to the
point that you have to go to thedoctor, and this is what I tell
my clients when I talk to them.
(12:34):
I said you got to understandthat we don't take the time.
Not only do we not listen toour bodies, but we don't even
take the time to understand ourbody and how it operates.
And the example I always sharewith my clients is that your
(12:57):
body is a carbon copy.
No, let me flip that up theautomobile.
You know about your automobile,which is a carbon copy of your
body.
They both operate exactly thesame.
When you buy your automobile andthe salesperson say in six
(13:18):
months you need to take your carfor maintenance checkup, you
will royally do that with noquestions asked.
If all of a sudden, the enginelight comes on, you hear a
little clunking, you go straightto the mechanic and you tell
the mechanic this is what'swrong and because it's a
mechanical problem, the mechanicwill know what they need to do
(13:42):
to correct the problem.
But guess what you do your body?
You treat your body like thecar.
You go into the doctor's officeand you tell the doctor my back
is hurting, my neck is hurting,and you expect the doctor to be
able to operate from amechanical standpoint to relieve
(14:03):
that problem.
Now, before I go further withthat, I want to share this.
Think about this when you thinkabout the health practice from
a business perspective when yougo to the store, you know what
it is you want to buy, so you goin and you buy.
So when you go to the doctor,you're going to the doctor to do
(14:23):
what?
Buy pain relief, and that'swhat you expect to get.
But instead what you will getis the doctor will say we need
to take some tests to find outwhat's going on, and after we do
the test, then we can tell youwhat's going on.
But in the meantime, here's aprescription for what's in pain,
(14:45):
but I don't know what's painingyou.
So now you're taking medication.
Your body's already dealing withyour stress that's causing the
pain.
Now the body has to deal with aforeign substance coming down
into the body.
I don't even know what this is.
So now I got to deal with thisand so you've caused havoc
(15:06):
inside your body, all becauseyou did not pay attention to the
stress that's now turning intosomething else.
And to add to that I always saywe've got to learn how to be in
(15:26):
charge of our bodies, even whenwe go to our physicians.
We have to understand that whenyou go to your physician, your
physician's job is to assist youand your body in the healing
process, and it's a two-waystreet you assist the doctor,
(15:47):
the doctor assists you andtogether you and the doctor are
assisting the body in thehealing process.
Speaker 1 (15:56):
That's such a powerful concept too, because I
think that when we can go to thedoctor with that mindset that
you just described and say, likeI'm here, this is my body, I
understand it, I know it's cues,I know it's triggers, I know,
you know, I understand thethings that, like the balance
that it takes on a day-to-daybasis to keep my stress levels
in check or to keep my you knowhave enough sleep that I can
(16:19):
function, we have a wholedifferent conversation, right,
like when we go to apractitioner with that mindset.
But when we go to thepractitioner without that
awareness of our body, it's sochallenging to receive the kind
of help you're describing.
Right, because we see ourselvesas just kind of at the mercy of
it instead of, as the like yousaid, facilitator of wellness.
(16:42):
Like how can I assist the bodyin what it's trying to do?
What are some of the smallsigns that you see that are like
the you know, those littlewhispers that people can learn
to pay attention to, that likeearly, early stage listening?
What do you see as as some ofthose signs?
Speaker 2 (17:04):
OK, we can look at, say, a prime example of All that
we're going through right now.
I mean this country isoperating on a big S.
I mean everybody is stressedout about something and that's
the media.
And by being connected to themedia we don't know how to turn
(17:29):
stuff off.
Everything that we see, weaccept, and when you start, when
(17:54):
what your eyes see becomesdisturbing or upsetting to you,
that means it's time to turn itoff, let it go.
You know, like it's all rightto say I can't deal with this or
I don't want to deal with this.
Turn it off, because the minuteyou do that, you're now giving
yourself some space, you're nowgiving yourself recognition.
(18:15):
Another example I like to use iswe've got to look at our bodies
from the standpoint is it atemple or is it a warehouse?
If it's a temple, it'ssomething sacred and special and
you're not gonna let anythingcome into your temple.
(18:37):
If it's a warehouse, that meansit's a storage facility.
I put anything in there,anything goes.
So if you're operating fromthat perspective, you're setting
yourself up to be in stress24-7, all the time.
So we've got to start saying amI sacred enough to know that
(18:59):
I'm not going to allow this inmy space.
I mean, I'm just not going toaccept it, regardless of what it
is.
I choose not to, and it's allright because you have to accept
it, because you're in control.
It's your mind, it's your body,it's your spirit.
Speaker 1 (19:19):
Oh my gosh, I have never heard that definition
before and I love it so much.
I love it.
Let's talk a little bit moreabout that, because, because I
think that, like, if you said,if we're like, I'm not actually
sure what she's struggling withright now, if we treat our body
(19:39):
as a temple and you said, like asacred space, where we're so
intentional about the care thatwe give it, what goes into it
and how we just maintain it,that really does go.
That metaphor is so powerfulbecause, you're right, like in a
warehouse, you're kind of justlike let stuff sit, it doesn't
matter, and you know stuff mightbe moving in and out and you
(20:01):
may have an idea of what'smoving in and out, but it's not
nearly as intentional as like atemple environment would be.
What do you find are some of thepractices that help people?
Like when you just describedhaving a moment where you know
maybe you're feeling a sense ofoverwhelm, Maybe you're feeling
really overstimulated and youhave like media coming in.
(20:22):
You know you've been maybescrolling, or you just had a
long day, the kids are saying alot of different things, or
you've got, you know you'rejuggling all the things, you're
starting to feel that overwhelmand what I'm hearing you say is
like that's the early whisper.
That's the early whisper to sayhold on, take a minute, even if
it's like a deep breath in thecar while kids are fighting in
the back right, or even if it'sjust a simple tool.
(20:44):
But I know you have more tools,like with your reflexology
experience tool.
But I know you have more tools,like with your reflexology
experience.
What are some of the ways thatyou encourage people to just
take a reset physically at thatpoint of like starting to feel
overwhelmed?
Speaker 2 (21:00):
I'll share an example , one of the things.
So I can kind of give an intro.
Reflexology is something thateverybody has done and do not
know that they've done.
Reflexology Reflexology is alsosomething that everybody knows
how to do and they don't knowthat.
They know how to do it and forthose of you who may not know
(21:22):
what reflexology is, it's theart and science of working
specific nerve ending points onthe hands, feet and ears that
relax, relieve stress and pain,improve circulation and reduces
toxins and impurities from thesystem.
And the way it operates is thatif you ever look at a chart of
(21:43):
the nervous system, you'll seehow all the nerve endings begin
in your head and run straightthrough your body, ending in
your hands, feet and ears.
Now everybody said, okay, Idon't know anything about that.
That doesn't ring a bell.
Well, let me give you a littleexample.
Think about when you were achild, or if you are a parent
(22:05):
and you're working with a child,one of the things that you did,
or one of the things that youreceived, there's a little thing
called this little piggy.
And if you remember this littlepiggy, that is reflexology,
because all of the nerve endingsin your head are in your
fingers and your toes.
And so when you were circlingthose toes and moving them
(22:28):
backward and forward, you werestimulating the nerve rings in
the brain to release the body'snatural pain relievers or
natural relaxation techniques.
And so what will the baby do?
They'll start giggling orthey'll start relaxing, and some
may even go to sleep behind,but all of this was a
stimulation.
(22:48):
May even go to sleep behind,but all of this was a
stimulation.
And I say that to say it's like.
Think about the power of yourhands.
Your hands are very powerful inhelping you relieve stress and
pain.
In the book that I wrote,reflexology, today it's a family
affair day.
(23:13):
It's a family affair.
It's all about the family beinginvolved in helping each other
heal using the power of touch.
An example is if you take the,in reflexology we use what we
call our thumbs and we do like abending technique on the thumbs
.
You're bending your thumb up anddown.
So if you take the palm of yourhand and just starting at your
wrist, and take your thumb andwalk across the palm of your
(23:37):
hand all the way to the fingersand then just walk backward and
keep doing that, you can also doit on the back of your hand and
while doing that, you don'tknow where the specific reflex
points are.
But what you're doing is you'resending a message to the brain
(23:58):
I need to relax, I need to calmdown.
You do that, take a deep breathand also remember to drink some
water.
And these are things that youcan do, using the power of your
hands to bring about relief forstress, for pain, for whatever
(24:20):
that you need to get in thatspace of oneness with yourself.
Speaker 1 (24:25):
I love that and I, as I was doing that, as you
described it, I was like oh, Ido feel.
I mean I I feel like one of thethings about reflexology, at
least in my experience, is theimmediacy almost of it, like
it's, like you said, I mean it's, it's not like a 12 hours later
.
I mean you probably will bebenefiting still 12 hours later.
But the immediacy is so cool tome because I think a lot of
(24:50):
times we're, as parents, likewe're playing the long game.
Right, like so much of childdevelopment and parenting is the
long game.
But if we can give kids likeself-soothing tools, that they
can just use in the moment whenthey're really stressed and need
to calm down.
They're so powerful and, even ifit doesn't completely change
the moment, it's going to helpit simmer down and the
(25:12):
accumulated stress is going tobe much, much less.
Right Then, if we just try topower through and like use words
or thoughts only to workthrough the situation, but like
we bring the body online andthen we're in a point where
we're like, okay, the all of mephysical, emotional and mental
is, you know, like workingtoward more stress relief and
(25:34):
more, you know, resilience tothis moment.
So I love that.
Speaker 2 (25:37):
Thank you for sharing that tool and one of the things
I would share about that tohelp people understand that is.
What you're talking about isthe nerve endings.
The nerve endings are thecommand center connected to the
brain and that's why reflexologyis so valuable because we work
(26:00):
the nerve endings and open thelines of communication for the
brain to go to whatever area ofthe body.
We have 11 systems of the bodyso it can go to whatever area of
the body.
We have 11 systems of the bodyso it can go to whatever area of
the body that's in need ofstress because of the nerve
endings are opening up thosecommunication channels.
Speaker 1 (26:20):
I love that.
Thank you for clarifying it andmaking it easier to understand.
What do you find so and this islike an everyday moment, right,
Like we were just talking aboutoverwhelm but I know in your
practice, you, you know you seea range of people you have, you,
you address a range of issuesand, like the pain may not be
(26:41):
just like a little bit ofannoyance because you're feeling
overstimulated.
The pain may be moresignificant.
So, for clients that you workwith who have like lingering
pain, or maybe unexplained pain,maybe stomach aches, those
kinds of things, what are someof the other ways that you
utilize reflexology to supportwellness in those folks?
Speaker 2 (27:00):
What you have done now, which I like to answer that
question.
I'm going to answer it adifferent way.
In my practice I created what Icall relieve pain first, before
treatment.
And what I'm saying is thatbecause when you think of
reflexology, you're talkingabout using your hands to touch
(27:24):
your hands and your feet andyour ears.
So what we're talking about isthe first form of touch in the
healing process begins withlistening.
Listening is the first healingtool that happens before
anything else.
(27:45):
So in my practice, when I'mseeing my clients, I'm letting
them talk to me all about thepain, all about the things that
they feel stressed out about,because the one thing I'm
listening for what is the painstress connection, when I can
identify the pain stressconnection, now we can move to
(28:12):
what is called relieving thepain through the power of touch.
First touch was listening.
Now the second touch becomesthe reflexology, because now I'm
stimulating the nerve endingsto be about sending the body's
natural pain relievers, whichare endorphins, from there.
(28:34):
Now that you are calmed down,your pain is, like you know,
subsiding.
You're now going to beinterested in what I call the
integrative approaches, where welook at what other therapies
will assist the body, becausethere's no one therapy that does
it all.
So, which means that is yourpain, because you need to see an
(28:59):
acupuncturist, do you need tosee a chiropractor?
Do you need massage therapy?
Do you need to go to exercise?
Do we need to look at your diet?
Is there some energy work thatmay be needed?
It's a combination of a lot ofdifferent things and we have to
put all of that together so thatnow we can get you back on the
(29:22):
road to optimum health, becauseyou have a comprehensive program
that deals with mind, thatdeals with body, that deals with
emotions and deals with spirit.
Speaker 1 (29:40):
That's so powerful.
I love that.
The first touch is listening.
That's.
It's fantastic because I thinkagain this you know reconnecting
with the body, when, when we'redoing breath work, when we're
mindful, we're naturallyinviting more awareness.
And it's interesting becausesometimes and I'm sure you've
seen this in your practice, I'veseen it with, like mindfulness
(30:03):
teachers that I have taught, youknow, as an educator, I've seen
it with clients, I've seen itin myself, right, but sometimes
once you just start listening,that feels really loud, right,
and it may not be the loud goingon outside of you, but like
once you just tune in, sometimesit's surprising like how much
(30:24):
is there that you know thatyou're working with.
And so I think that the gentleguidance into that and also like
doing that with some support,because sometimes when we're
trying to sift through all thatwe're now hearing from the body,
it can be overwhelming.
It can feel like, ah, I don'teven know where to start.
But, like you said, with withsupport, with guidance from
(30:47):
someone who has experience andwho is in a position to kind of
connect you with other folks whocould be in your support circle
, it really can be an empoweringexperience to tune in instead
of just like an overwhelming.
I don't even know what to dowith all of this, so I'm just
going to shut it back off again,because I, like listening,
feels scary right now.
Speaker 2 (31:07):
That right what you just said.
That's one of the problems withconventional medicine.
It's because we don't do theintegrative approach.
That's why it's real big Now,where you're seeing everybody.
A lot of practitioners aremoving toward functional
medicine, and that's wherehealing begins, when you have
the integrative approach.
Speaker 1 (31:30):
Yeah, I 100% agree and like longtime listeners have
heard me tell my Hashimotostory so many times, but when?
I started trying to troubleshoot, like all these different
systems in my body that seemedto be breaking down, and I was
getting all these differentsystems in my body that seemed
to be breaking down and I wasgetting all these different
answers.
You know specific to thatsystem, and I would take my
practitioner as a list and I'dbe like here's what I'm dealing
(31:52):
with.
Like these things are allrelated.
I just need you to connect thedots, and the number of people
that I had to go to beforesomeone was like, oh yeah, of
course they're here, let'sconnect the dots this way.
I mean, looking back, it was sojarring because all of it was
right there, laid out, you know,and I just needed somebody,
like you said, to put all thedifferent pieces together and
(32:12):
connect the way that my systemswere out of balance.
And once I had a practitionerwho was able to support that
mindset and bring in differentmodalities, it was amazing how
quickly I experienced like arebalance.
And so it's so powerful whatyou're saying, because I think
(32:33):
that it is work, right To listen, it's work to find the people
that can support, it's work todo the practices, but, at the
end of the day, the presencethat you feel within this
beautiful vessel that's carryingyou around is just.
It's just such a gift.
Life feels like such a giftwhen you have that connection
with the body, and so I love.
(32:54):
I love the way that youdescribed it.
Speaker 2 (32:57):
It's so important.
And the other thing that we'vegot to understand that's a real
missing piece is the culturalconnecting to healing.
We've got to understand that wehave a cultural connection.
All of us have a culturalconnection and it's about
(33:18):
looking at, looking at.
And I always tell my clients goback and talk to some of the
older members in your family andtalk to them about what were
the things that they did interms of their healing process
and give them the opportunity torefresh their memory so they
can remember how we did thisculturally and we got these
(33:39):
results.
Those things still work.
It's not obsolete.
What worked yesterday in theheal which is beautiful because
what worked yesterday in thehealing arena, will still work
today because it's all connectedto what the power of touch.
Speaker 1 (33:57):
Yeah, I'm glad you brought that up and it brings us
full circle here as we end.
But, like our initialconversation about you and
healing arts and just healing inthe home and the practices and
the ways that we knew to carefor the body, even just like two
generations removed from me,right, and I remember some of
the things we would do as homeremedies when I was younger and
(34:18):
my mom would reference my greatgrandma, you know, or my grandma
, and I think in the loud, busy,modern way that we approach
anything, we have lost aconnection to some of those very
, very basic but very, verypowerful practices that, like
you said, are foundationalbecause they've been around for
(34:41):
ages, because people have hadbodies for ages, like they have
worked, you know, and that's whythey've perpetuated.
And so, reconnecting with thoseI love the idea of, yeah, like
connecting with your people andfiguring out like why, you know
what are some of the otherremedies my great grandma used.
You know, my aunt the other daygave me like a little folder
with some of my great grandmas.
(35:02):
You know, like my, her, you knowher recipes for different
things, like that, and it's so,it's so, I don't know.
It just feels like a thread ofconnection you know through and
like that, those, those recipesare those modalities that she
accessed to heal her, my grandmaand then my mom, and then you
(35:23):
know that I can, I can carrythose forward, but I have to
have an openness right.
Like you said, I have tobelieve that they're still
effective and it's not like someold fashioned thing that only
worked for bodies 30 years ago,like no, it actually like.
The reason it worked for bodiesis, like you said, it relied on
touch, it relied on just somebasic systems understanding.
So I love that you brought thatin Well, before we go.
(35:46):
This has been such a such abeautiful conversation.
Thank you for your wisdom thatyou have shared.
But I want to leave folks withan understanding of where they
can connect with you how theycan get your book which is
incredible, you have a couplenow how they can bring your work
into their home so that theremedies and the reflexology
(36:07):
tools that you've used can be apart of their cultural
connection within their family.
Now.
Speaker 2 (36:13):
Thank you for allowing me to share, but before
I share, I want to tell youthis In the African tradition
and our culture, when you visitsomeone's home for the first
time, you bring a gift, and Ihave a gift for you and your
listening audience.
I have put together a pain andstress relief poster of
(36:37):
alternative techniques that youcan use to relieve pain and
stress, and all your listenershave to do is go to
touchologyreflexologycom anddownload and get the full poster
.
It's my gift to you and yourlisteners for allowing me to
share.
I can be reached.
(36:58):
My website is focusonhealingcom.
My website is focusonhealingcomand I ask everyone, when you go
to my website, go back to theconnect with me and write down
any questions or comments youhave.
I will get back to you Anythingyou want to know about
relieving pain and stress.
I'd love to hear from you andshare any kind of helpful
(37:19):
information to you.
My book, Reflexology Today AFamily Affair, is also available
on the website, and I do.
I also host a podcast calledthe Touchology Wellness
Experience, where we inviteguests like you and others to
come and talk about what we do,and my last closing words to
(37:40):
everybody I leave as aninspiration is that.
Remember that healing beginsbecause the power of touch heals
all.
Speaker 1 (37:55):
Thank you so much, najika.
I have loved this conversationand I genuinely am so grateful
for your work in the worldbecause it has such an impact,
and I know it's impacted ustoday.
Thanks again for coming.
Thank you, thanks for listeningto the stress nanny.
If you found today's episodehelpful, be sure to share it
with a friend who could use alittle extra calm in their week,
(38:17):
and if you have a minute, I'dlove for you to leave a review.
It helps other parents find theshow and join us on this
journey.
For more tools and support,head over to
wwwthestressnannycom.
Remember, you don't have to dostress alone.
Together, we can raise kids whoknow how to navigate life with
confidence and ease.
Until next time, take a deepbreath and give yourself some
(38:40):
grace.
Welcome to the Stress Nanny, the podcast where we
take the overwhelm out ofparenting and help kids and
parents build calm, confidenceand connection.
I'm your host, Lindsay Miller,kids mindfulness coach and
cheerleader for busy familieseverywhere.
Each week, we'll explore simpletools, uplifting stories and
practical strategies to helpyour child learn emotional
(00:41):
regulation, resilience andself-confidence, while giving
you a little more peace of mindtoo.
I'm so glad you're here.
I'm your host, lindsay Miller,and I'm delighted that you're
here today for my conversationwith Najika Olatunde.
She's a visionary and thecreative energy behind Focus on
Healing Wellness Institute.
She's an accomplishednaturopath and a leading
(01:04):
authority on the culturalintegration of traditional
health practices withconventional medicine for mind,
body and emotional wellness.
She's an author, acclaimedthought leader, podcast host,
master reflexologist, painrelief educator and consultant
who has helped thousands ofchronic pain sufferers relieve
(01:24):
pain with addiction andmedication-free pain relief.
She uses the power of touch andreflexology as an alternative
in addressing the opioidepidemic.
Najika, I'm so excited thatwe're chatting today.
Speaker 2 (01:38):
Thank you so much for joining me and thank you for
having me and I'm lookingforward to sharing with your
listeners.
Speaker 1 (01:50):
Yeah, we were just saying off camera that the
reason that I was so excitedabout this conversation was that
there's a bit of a gapsometimes in the work that we do
with stress management and likethe thoughts that we can change
versus like the practices andthe physical things we can do to
really alleviate stress.
And those are things I'm alwayscurious about, and your vast
experience is something we'rereally going to benefit from
today.
(02:10):
All right, okay, so first ofall, as we get started, can you
just give us a little glimpse ofhow you found yourself on this
path?
Like, how did you know thatthese were the things that you
were called to do?
Speaker 2 (02:27):
Oh, to make a long story short, well, one of the
things I can say is this reallygoes back to my childhood.
As a child doctors I grew up onhome remedies and the fact that
doctors came to the home to dovisits, and so as a child, I saw
the doctors.
(02:47):
To me, they were, like you know, outstanding.
I said heal us.
That's what I wanted to do whenI grew up.
So, like as a child, I wantedto be a doctor because of that
experience.
But when I got to college, I gota rude awakening, because what
I thought doctors were is notwhat I was going to be trained
to become.
(03:07):
So I changed my career and wentand became a social worker.
But doing all of those years asa social worker, I covered the
whole gambit working withinfants all the way to seniors
and every type of social servicethat exists.
I did all of that, and so oneof the things that concerned me
(03:27):
was that everybody was going tothe emergency room for their
healthcare, and I saidsomething's not right about this
picture.
So then, all of a sudden,desire came back up again oh, I
want to be a doctor.
So at that time, that's whennatural health was opening up
and then I went back to schooland became a naturopathic
practitioner, but as apractitioner I had already had
(03:51):
the training in the reflexology,so I added the reflexology to
my practice and from there whichI always share is that I have
to give hominage to I started mypractice working with senior
citizens, and working withseniors laid the foundation for
(04:12):
the work I do today.
So they're the ones that all ofthis, all the work that I do
and everything, my whole lifepath in the field of reflexology
, goes to the senior citizensthat I worked on.
Speaker 1 (04:26):
Oh, I love that it's such a great story Because I
think, like you explained, thoseearly experiences you had where
there was healing that happenedwith with home remedies or
basic, you know, like basic,smaller interventions and that
being kind of like yourfrontline thought about how
healing can work and making itan empowering situation or an
(04:49):
empowering experience for peoplewhere, like, there's so much
that can happen, you know, athome or through just like
understanding and creatingbalance within our bodies.
Right, exactly exactly.
Speaker 2 (05:04):
And that's like the whole concept in terms of the
work that I do.
It's really based onunderstanding that you have the
power inside of yourself to workwith the body in the healing
process.
And I always say what we do isassist the healing body, assist
(05:26):
the body in the healing process,and once we come to understand
that, then you have givenyourself your power back and
you've given yourself your powerto heal, and it's all inside of
us.
Speaker 1 (05:40):
I love that.
The way you phrase that isbeautiful because I think it's
easy, especially in I'm tryingto figure out how to phrase this
briefly like I'm in my ownhealing journey, having the
experience of power, that it hasto rebalance itself when given
the right inputs.
(06:07):
It was so fascinating and alsocomforting to me to realize you
know that my body and I weren'tat odds with each other, Like we
were on the same team trying todo the same thing.
Speaker 2 (06:19):
And.
Speaker 1 (06:19):
I think that that sentiment of being at odds with
our body is so prevalent in inmodern life that I love that
your, your work, goes so deeplyinto the area of just like
cultivating that respect for thecapacity and then the just
wanting to be party to it,instead of trying to manipulate,
change, fix, but just like toenable and empower the body to
(06:42):
do what it's designed to do.
That's beautiful.
Speaker 2 (06:45):
And that is so important, especially right now,
in the times that we're livingin, and because the number one
cause of all illnesses is stress.
And when you think about stresswhich I always share pain and
(07:07):
stress go hand in hand.
You cannot have pain withoutstress, which I always share.
Pain and stress go hand in hand.
You cannot have pain withoutstress and you can't have stress
without pain.
And so once you startunderstanding the pain-stress
connection as it relates to whoyou are and what's going on with
you now, you open the pathwaysfor you to start looking at what
are the ways that I need to doto heal myself mentally,
(07:30):
physically and emotionally.
Speaker 1 (07:39):
Yes, oh, that's so powerful.
I you know, one of the reasonsI started the podcast and the
brand of Stress, nanny, isbecause I believe what you just
said is that stress is the rootof so much and if we can manage
it appropriately, then we're ina position that's much more
whole and much more free, right,like we can be open to life's
(08:00):
experiences instead of kind ofdrowning in them.
So talk to me more about thatexperiences instead of kind of
drowning in them.
So talk to me more about that.
Like, can we talk through, like, the importance of the mind,
body and spirit in connectionwith pain and stress relief?
Speaker 2 (08:15):
Most definitely, I think one of the problems that
we have when you think aboutpain and stress is not
understanding that it is aconnection.
The two are connected and mostpeople, when they start having
health issues, they never thinkabout the stress and all they
(08:36):
think about is focusing on thepain.
And what you have to understandis that stress is nothing but
something that's happeningoutside of your body that you
bring inside, and once you startinternalizing it on the inside
of your body, you start havingproblems.
And the way we have to thinkabout that.
(08:57):
Whatever situation is going onand you focus on you,
internalize it.
Your mind has processed it.
Now all of the systems of thebody are processing it, so
you're feeling this.
But the missing piece is, say,for example, you start having a
back pain, or you may have aneck pain, leg pain, or you may
(09:22):
have a chest pain, whatever areathat's in pain because of the
stress, what it is, it's goingto that area as a means of
trying to come out of the bodyand that would not be the normal
channels of elimination.
So the result is you're goingto experience pain and if you
(09:43):
don't deal with the stressassociated with that pain.
It then intensifies and windsup becoming an illness or a
health problem.
And so we have to startunderstanding the role that
stress plays in the way that wefeel and experience pain.
(10:07):
The two go hand in hand.
And the other thing that we needto understand is that pain does
not happen overnight.
It's a process.
And what happens, say, all of asudden I'm feeling a little
uncomfortable.
Oh well, you know, that's notimportant.
And then the body's going tosay, okay, you didn't accept me
(10:30):
that time, so now I'm comingback with a little more force.
Oh, this is a little bituncomfortable, but I'll kind of
deal with it, it'll go away.
And then the body says, okay,you didn't listen to me the
first two times, so now I'mcoming back full force.
And when it comes back fullforce, now I need to go to the
(10:52):
doctor to see what's wrong withme.
And so all of that is theprocess of the pain-stress
connection.
And once we can kind of seethat picture as it relates to
what's going on now, you canbetter understand your body's
communication with you as itrelates to trying to help you
(11:15):
heal yourself.
Speaker 1 (11:25):
Fascinating.
I really appreciate the way youjust described it because I
think that it's like you said.
So, yeah, I've never heardanyone say describe it the way
you just did where the stress isyou bringing something from
outside of you into your bodyand then your body trying to
move through that but not beingable to, so kind of relocating
it in an effort to get rid of it, but then you needing to
address it.
You know, in those stages ofincreasing strength of
(11:48):
communication from the body, oryou know, like you said, it gets
the message gets louder andlouder and louder, and it's it's
such a process right oflearning to tune into it at that
lower level of communicationright, and like the point at
which it's like just starting towhisper at you before it's
full-blown yelling at you rightor screaming at you Exactly.
Speaker 2 (12:14):
And because of that, that's why you have the problem,
because think about this you,when you are in pain to the
point that you have to go to thedoctor, and this is what I tell
my clients when I talk to them.
(12:34):
I said you got to understandthat we don't take the time.
Not only do we not listen toour bodies, but we don't even
take the time to understand ourbody and how it operates.
And the example I always sharewith my clients is that your
(12:57):
body is a carbon copy.
No, let me flip that up theautomobile.
You know about your automobile,which is a carbon copy of your
body.
They both operate exactly thesame.
When you buy your automobile andthe salesperson say in six
(13:18):
months you need to take your carfor maintenance checkup, you
will royally do that with noquestions asked.
If all of a sudden, the enginelight comes on, you hear a
little clunking, you go straightto the mechanic and you tell
the mechanic this is what'swrong and because it's a
mechanical problem, the mechanicwill know what they need to do
(13:42):
to correct the problem.
But guess what you do your body?
You treat your body like thecar.
You go into the doctor's officeand you tell the doctor my back
is hurting, my neck is hurting,and you expect the doctor to be
able to operate from amechanical standpoint to relieve
(14:03):
that problem.
Now, before I go further withthat, I want to share this.
Think about this when you thinkabout the health practice from
a business perspective when yougo to the store, you know what
it is you want to buy, so you goin and you buy.
So when you go to the doctor,you're going to the doctor to do
(14:23):
what?
Buy pain relief, and that'swhat you expect to get.
But instead what you will getis the doctor will say we need
to take some tests to find outwhat's going on, and after we do
the test, then we can tell youwhat's going on.
But in the meantime, here's aprescription for what's in pain,
(14:45):
but I don't know what's painingyou.
So now you're taking medication.
Your body's already dealing withyour stress that's causing the
pain.
Now the body has to deal with aforeign substance coming down
into the body.
I don't even know what this is.
So now I got to deal with thisand so you've caused havoc
(15:06):
inside your body, all becauseyou did not pay attention to the
stress that's now turning intosomething else.
And to add to that I always saywe've got to learn how to be in
(15:26):
charge of our bodies, even whenwe go to our physicians.
We have to understand that whenyou go to your physician, your
physician's job is to assist youand your body in the healing
process, and it's a two-waystreet you assist the doctor,
(15:47):
the doctor assists you andtogether you and the doctor are
assisting the body in thehealing process.
Speaker 1 (15:56):
That's such a powerful concept too, because I
think that when we can go to thedoctor with that mindset that
you just described and say, likeI'm here, this is my body, I
understand it, I know it's cues,I know it's triggers, I know,
you know, I understand thethings that, like the balance
that it takes on a day-to-daybasis to keep my stress levels
in check or to keep my you knowhave enough sleep that I can
(16:19):
function, we have a wholedifferent conversation, right,
like when we go to apractitioner with that mindset.
But when we go to thepractitioner without that
awareness of our body, it's sochallenging to receive the kind
of help you're describing.
Right, because we see ourselvesas just kind of at the mercy of
it instead of, as the like yousaid, facilitator of wellness.
(16:42):
Like how can I assist the bodyin what it's trying to do?
What are some of the smallsigns that you see that are like
the you know, those littlewhispers that people can learn
to pay attention to, that likeearly, early stage listening?
What do you see as as some ofthose signs?
Speaker 2 (17:04):
OK, we can look at, say, a prime example of All that
we're going through right now.
I mean this country isoperating on a big S.
I mean everybody is stressedout about something and that's
the media.
And by being connected to themedia we don't know how to turn
(17:29):
stuff off.
Everything that we see, weaccept, and when you start, when
(17:54):
what your eyes see becomesdisturbing or upsetting to you,
that means it's time to turn itoff, let it go.
You know, like it's all rightto say I can't deal with this or
I don't want to deal with this.
Turn it off, because the minuteyou do that, you're now giving
yourself some space, you're nowgiving yourself recognition.
(18:15):
Another example I like to use iswe've got to look at our bodies
from the standpoint is it atemple or is it a warehouse?
If it's a temple, it'ssomething sacred and special and
you're not gonna let anythingcome into your temple.
(18:37):
If it's a warehouse, that meansit's a storage facility.
I put anything in there,anything goes.
So if you're operating fromthat perspective, you're setting
yourself up to be in stress24-7, all the time.
So we've got to start saying amI sacred enough to know that
(18:59):
I'm not going to allow this inmy space.
I mean, I'm just not going toaccept it, regardless of what it
is.
I choose not to, and it's allright because you have to accept
it, because you're in control.
It's your mind, it's your body,it's your spirit.
Speaker 1 (19:19):
Oh my gosh, I have never heard that definition
before and I love it so much.
I love it.
Let's talk a little bit moreabout that, because, because I
think that, like, if you said,if we're like, I'm not actually
sure what she's struggling withright now, if we treat our body
(19:39):
as a temple and you said, like asacred space, where we're so
intentional about the care thatwe give it, what goes into it
and how we just maintain it,that really does go.
That metaphor is so powerfulbecause, you're right, like in a
warehouse, you're kind of justlike let stuff sit, it doesn't
matter, and you know stuff mightbe moving in and out and you
(20:01):
may have an idea of what'smoving in and out, but it's not
nearly as intentional as like atemple environment would be.
What do you find are some of thepractices that help people?
Like when you just describedhaving a moment where you know
maybe you're feeling a sense ofoverwhelm, Maybe you're feeling
really overstimulated and youhave like media coming in.
(20:22):
You know you've been maybescrolling, or you just had a
long day, the kids are saying alot of different things, or
you've got, you know you'rejuggling all the things, you're
starting to feel that overwhelmand what I'm hearing you say is
like that's the early whisper.
That's the early whisper to sayhold on, take a minute, even if
it's like a deep breath in thecar while kids are fighting in
the back right, or even if it'sjust a simple tool.
(20:44):
But I know you have more tools,like with your reflexology
experience tool.
But I know you have more tools,like with your reflexology
experience.
What are some of the ways thatyou encourage people to just
take a reset physically at thatpoint of like starting to feel
overwhelmed?
Speaker 2 (21:00):
I'll share an example , one of the things.
So I can kind of give an intro.
Reflexology is something thateverybody has done and do not
know that they've done.
Reflexology Reflexology is alsosomething that everybody knows
how to do and they don't knowthat.
They know how to do it and forthose of you who may not know
(21:22):
what reflexology is, it's theart and science of working
specific nerve ending points onthe hands, feet and ears that
relax, relieve stress and pain,improve circulation and reduces
toxins and impurities from thesystem.
And the way it operates is thatif you ever look at a chart of
(21:43):
the nervous system, you'll seehow all the nerve endings begin
in your head and run straightthrough your body, ending in
your hands, feet and ears.
Now everybody said, okay, Idon't know anything about that.
That doesn't ring a bell.
Well, let me give you a littleexample.
Think about when you were achild, or if you are a parent
(22:05):
and you're working with a child,one of the things that you did,
or one of the things that youreceived, there's a little thing
called this little piggy.
And if you remember this littlepiggy, that is reflexology,
because all of the nerve endingsin your head are in your
fingers and your toes.
And so when you were circlingthose toes and moving them
(22:28):
backward and forward, you werestimulating the nerve rings in
the brain to release the body'snatural pain relievers or
natural relaxation techniques.
And so what will the baby do?
They'll start giggling orthey'll start relaxing, and some
may even go to sleep behind,but all of this was a
stimulation.
(22:48):
May even go to sleep behind,but all of this was a
stimulation.
And I say that to say it's like.
Think about the power of yourhands.
Your hands are very powerful inhelping you relieve stress and
pain.
In the book that I wrote,reflexology, today it's a family
affair day.
(23:13):
It's a family affair.
It's all about the family beinginvolved in helping each other
heal using the power of touch.
An example is if you take the,in reflexology we use what we
call our thumbs and we do like abending technique on the thumbs
.
You're bending your thumb up anddown.
So if you take the palm of yourhand and just starting at your
wrist, and take your thumb andwalk across the palm of your
(23:37):
hand all the way to the fingersand then just walk backward and
keep doing that, you can also doit on the back of your hand and
while doing that, you don'tknow where the specific reflex
points are.
But what you're doing is you'resending a message to the brain
(23:58):
I need to relax, I need to calmdown.
You do that, take a deep breathand also remember to drink some
water.
And these are things that youcan do, using the power of your
hands to bring about relief forstress, for pain, for whatever
(24:20):
that you need to get in thatspace of oneness with yourself.
Speaker 1 (24:25):
I love that and I, as I was doing that, as you
described it, I was like oh, Ido feel.
I mean I I feel like one of thethings about reflexology, at
least in my experience, is theimmediacy almost of it, like
it's, like you said, I mean it's, it's not like a 12 hours later
.
I mean you probably will bebenefiting still 12 hours later.
But the immediacy is so cool tome because I think a lot of
(24:50):
times we're, as parents, likewe're playing the long game.
Right, like so much of childdevelopment and parenting is the
long game.
But if we can give kids likeself-soothing tools, that they
can just use in the moment whenthey're really stressed and need
to calm down.
They're so powerful and, even ifit doesn't completely change
the moment, it's going to helpit simmer down and the
(25:12):
accumulated stress is going tobe much, much less.
Right Then, if we just try topower through and like use words
or thoughts only to workthrough the situation, but like
we bring the body online andthen we're in a point where
we're like, okay, the all of mephysical, emotional and mental
is, you know, like workingtoward more stress relief and
(25:34):
more, you know, resilience tothis moment.
So I love that.
Speaker 2 (25:37):
Thank you for sharing that tool and one of the things
I would share about that tohelp people understand that is.
What you're talking about isthe nerve endings.
The nerve endings are thecommand center connected to the
brain and that's why reflexologyis so valuable because we work
(26:00):
the nerve endings and open thelines of communication for the
brain to go to whatever area ofthe body.
We have 11 systems of the bodyso it can go to whatever area of
the body.
We have 11 systems of the bodyso it can go to whatever area of
the body that's in need ofstress because of the nerve
endings are opening up thosecommunication channels.
Speaker 1 (26:20):
I love that.
Thank you for clarifying it andmaking it easier to understand.
What do you find so and this islike an everyday moment, right,
Like we were just talking aboutoverwhelm but I know in your
practice, you, you know you seea range of people you have, you,
you address a range of issuesand, like the pain may not be
(26:41):
just like a little bit ofannoyance because you're feeling
overstimulated.
The pain may be moresignificant.
So, for clients that you workwith who have like lingering
pain, or maybe unexplained pain,maybe stomach aches, those
kinds of things, what are someof the other ways that you
utilize reflexology to supportwellness in those folks?
Speaker 2 (27:00):
What you have done now, which I like to answer that
question.
I'm going to answer it adifferent way.
In my practice I created what Icall relieve pain first, before
treatment.
And what I'm saying is thatbecause when you think of
reflexology, you're talkingabout using your hands to touch
(27:24):
your hands and your feet andyour ears.
So what we're talking about isthe first form of touch in the
healing process begins withlistening.
Listening is the first healingtool that happens before
anything else.
(27:45):
So in my practice, when I'mseeing my clients, I'm letting
them talk to me all about thepain, all about the things that
they feel stressed out about,because the one thing I'm
listening for what is the painstress connection, when I can
identify the pain stressconnection, now we can move to
(28:12):
what is called relieving thepain through the power of touch.
First touch was listening.
Now the second touch becomesthe reflexology, because now I'm
stimulating the nerve endingsto be about sending the body's
natural pain relievers, whichare endorphins, from there.
(28:34):
Now that you are calmed down,your pain is, like you know,
subsiding.
You're now going to beinterested in what I call the
integrative approaches, where welook at what other therapies
will assist the body, becausethere's no one therapy that does
it all.
So, which means that is yourpain, because you need to see an
(28:59):
acupuncturist, do you need tosee a chiropractor?
Do you need massage therapy?
Do you need to go to exercise?
Do we need to look at your diet?
Is there some energy work thatmay be needed?
It's a combination of a lot ofdifferent things and we have to
put all of that together so thatnow we can get you back on the
(29:22):
road to optimum health, becauseyou have a comprehensive program
that deals with mind, thatdeals with body, that deals with
emotions and deals with spirit.
Speaker 1 (29:40):
That's so powerful.
I love that.
The first touch is listening.
That's.
It's fantastic because I thinkagain this you know reconnecting
with the body, when, when we'redoing breath work, when we're
mindful, we're naturallyinviting more awareness.
And it's interesting becausesometimes and I'm sure you've
seen this in your practice, I'veseen it with, like mindfulness
(30:03):
teachers that I have taught, youknow, as an educator, I've seen
it with clients, I've seen itin myself, right, but sometimes
once you just start listening,that feels really loud, right,
and it may not be the loud goingon outside of you, but like
once you just tune in, sometimesit's surprising like how much
(30:24):
is there that you know thatyou're working with.
And so I think that the gentleguidance into that and also like
doing that with some support,because sometimes when we're
trying to sift through all thatwe're now hearing from the body,
it can be overwhelming.
It can feel like, ah, I don'teven know where to start.
But, like you said, with withsupport, with guidance from
(30:47):
someone who has experience andwho is in a position to kind of
connect you with other folks whocould be in your support circle
, it really can be an empoweringexperience to tune in instead
of just like an overwhelming.
I don't even know what to dowith all of this, so I'm just
going to shut it back off again,because I, like listening,
feels scary right now.
Speaker 2 (31:07):
That right what you just said.
That's one of the problems withconventional medicine.
It's because we don't do theintegrative approach.
That's why it's real big Now,where you're seeing everybody.
A lot of practitioners aremoving toward functional
medicine, and that's wherehealing begins, when you have
the integrative approach.
Speaker 1 (31:30):
Yeah, I 100% agree and like longtime listeners have
heard me tell my Hashimotostory so many times, but when?
I started trying to troubleshoot, like all these different
systems in my body that seemedto be breaking down, and I was
getting all these differentsystems in my body that seemed
to be breaking down and I wasgetting all these different
answers.
You know specific to thatsystem, and I would take my
practitioner as a list and I'dbe like here's what I'm dealing
(31:52):
with.
Like these things are allrelated.
I just need you to connect thedots, and the number of people
that I had to go to beforesomeone was like, oh yeah, of
course they're here, let'sconnect the dots this way.
I mean, looking back, it was sojarring because all of it was
right there, laid out, you know,and I just needed somebody,
like you said, to put all thedifferent pieces together and
(32:12):
connect the way that my systemswere out of balance.
And once I had a practitionerwho was able to support that
mindset and bring in differentmodalities, it was amazing how
quickly I experienced like arebalance.
And so it's so powerful whatyou're saying, because I think
(32:33):
that it is work, right To listen, it's work to find the people
that can support, it's work todo the practices, but, at the
end of the day, the presencethat you feel within this
beautiful vessel that's carryingyou around is just.
It's just such a gift.
Life feels like such a giftwhen you have that connection
with the body, and so I love.
(32:54):
I love the way that youdescribed it.
Speaker 2 (32:57):
It's so important.
And the other thing that we'vegot to understand that's a real
missing piece is the culturalconnecting to healing.
We've got to understand that wehave a cultural connection.
All of us have a culturalconnection and it's about
(33:18):
looking at, looking at.
And I always tell my clients goback and talk to some of the
older members in your family andtalk to them about what were
the things that they did interms of their healing process
and give them the opportunity torefresh their memory so they
can remember how we did thisculturally and we got these
(33:39):
results.
Those things still work.
It's not obsolete.
What worked yesterday in theheal which is beautiful because
what worked yesterday in thehealing arena, will still work
today because it's all connectedto what the power of touch.
Speaker 1 (33:57):
Yeah, I'm glad you brought that up and it brings us
full circle here as we end.
But, like our initialconversation about you and
healing arts and just healing inthe home and the practices and
the ways that we knew to carefor the body, even just like two
generations removed from me,right, and I remember some of
the things we would do as homeremedies when I was younger and
(34:18):
my mom would reference my greatgrandma, you know, or my grandma
, and I think in the loud, busy,modern way that we approach
anything, we have lost aconnection to some of those very
, very basic but very, verypowerful practices that, like
you said, are foundationalbecause they've been around for
(34:41):
ages, because people have hadbodies for ages, like they have
worked, you know, and that's whythey've perpetuated.
And so, reconnecting with thoseI love the idea of, yeah, like
connecting with your people andfiguring out like why, you know
what are some of the otherremedies my great grandma used.
You know, my aunt the other daygave me like a little folder
with some of my great grandmas.
(35:02):
You know, like my, her, you knowher recipes for different
things, like that, and it's so,it's so, I don't know.
It just feels like a thread ofconnection you know through and
like that, those, those recipesare those modalities that she
accessed to heal her, my grandmaand then my mom, and then you
(35:23):
know that I can, I can carrythose forward, but I have to
have an openness right.
Like you said, I have tobelieve that they're still
effective and it's not like someold fashioned thing that only
worked for bodies 30 years ago,like no, it actually like.
The reason it worked for bodiesis, like you said, it relied on
touch, it relied on just somebasic systems understanding.
So I love that you brought thatin Well, before we go.
(35:46):
This has been such a such abeautiful conversation.
Thank you for your wisdom thatyou have shared.
But I want to leave folks withan understanding of where they
can connect with you how theycan get your book which is
incredible, you have a couplenow how they can bring your work
into their home so that theremedies and the reflexology
(36:07):
tools that you've used can be apart of their cultural
connection within their family.
Now.
Speaker 2 (36:13):
Thank you for allowing me to share, but before
I share, I want to tell youthis In the African tradition
and our culture, when you visitsomeone's home for the first
time, you bring a gift, and Ihave a gift for you and your
listening audience.
I have put together a pain andstress relief poster of
(36:37):
alternative techniques that youcan use to relieve pain and
stress, and all your listenershave to do is go to
touchologyreflexologycom anddownload and get the full poster
.
It's my gift to you and yourlisteners for allowing me to
share.
I can be reached.
(36:58):
My website is focusonhealingcom.
My website is focusonhealingcomand I ask everyone, when you go
to my website, go back to theconnect with me and write down
any questions or comments youhave.
I will get back to you Anythingyou want to know about
relieving pain and stress.
I'd love to hear from you andshare any kind of helpful
(37:19):
information to you.
My book, Reflexology Today AFamily Affair, is also available
on the website, and I do.
I also host a podcast calledthe Touchology Wellness
Experience, where we inviteguests like you and others to
come and talk about what we do,and my last closing words to
(37:40):
everybody I leave as aninspiration is that.
Remember that healing beginsbecause the power of touch heals
all.
Speaker 1 (37:55):
Thank you so much, najika.
I have loved this conversationand I genuinely am so grateful
for your work in the worldbecause it has such an impact,
and I know it's impacted ustoday.
Thanks again for coming.
Thank you, thanks for listeningto the stress nanny.
If you found today's episodehelpful, be sure to share it
with a friend who could use alittle extra calm in their week,
(38:17):
and if you have a minute, I'dlove for you to leave a review.
It helps other parents find theshow and join us on this
journey.
For more tools and support,head over to
wwwthestressnannycom.
Remember, you don't have to dostress alone.
Together, we can raise kids whoknow how to navigate life with
confidence and ease.
Until next time, take a deepbreath and give yourself some
(38:40):
grace.
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