November 27, 2024 • 29 mins
Discover the transformative power of somatic practices with the insightful Kristin Layne, a somatic feminine embodiment coach and holistic hairstylist. Kristin's journey from burnout and loss to healing through a priestess path offers a compelling narrative on the importance of reconnecting with one's body. Join us as Kristin reveals how she integrates breath work, sound, movement, and touch into her coaching and hairstyling practices, empowering women to embrace rest and pleasure as sacred journeys. Through these practices, women can tap into their body's wisdom, live fully in the present moment, and reconnect with their cyclical nature for true healing and self-awareness.
Together, Kristin and I explore the profound journey of self-discovery and empowerment through somatic and shadow work, especially during life's transitions. We discuss how societal norms and early experiences can shape perceptions, often leading to a disconnection from one's true self. Kristin shares practical advice for women interested in beginning their somatic journey, highlighting the importance of curiosity, self-compassion, and simple exercises like breath and touch. This episode is an invitation to join our wellness community where insights on mental well-being and other wellness issues for women are shared, with a reminder of the importance of seeking professional mental health support when needed.
How to connect with Kristin:
Website: http://kristinlayneorganic.com/
IG: @KristinLayneOrganic
FB: @KristinLayneOrganic
Thank you for tuning in to today’s episode of This Thing Called Wellness. If it spoke to you, please share it with someone who needs a little encouragement—and don’t forget to rate and review the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeartRadio, YouTube, or wherever you listen. Your support helps others find our community and fuels the heart behind every conversation. 💚
Stay connected and join the conversation:
📸 Instagram: @thisthingcalledwellness_
📘 Facebook: @shannondmartin
📧 Email: shannon@thisthingcalledwellness.com
🎙️ Podcast Page: podcast.thisthingcalledwellness.com
💌 Newsletter & Wellness Tools: thisthingcalledwellness.com
💬 Enjoyed the episode or have a question?
Send us a quick text message using the link in the description! I might give you a shoutout or share your question in a future episode. I’d love to hear what’s resonating with you. ✨
Join the newsletter for gentle inspiration, healing support, and tools that help you heal, empower, and connect—right from the heart.
We appreciate you more than you know—let’s keep growing together. 🌿
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Shannon D Martin (00:00):
Hello, beautiful welcome to today's
conversation with our specialguest, risten Layne.
Kristen is a feminineembodiment coach, holistic
hairstylist and advocate forwomen's empowerment, with over
20 years of experience helpingwomen reclaim their sensuality,
emotional intelligence andfeminine allure.
Through her signature FemmeAllure mythology, kristen guides
(00:24):
high-achieving women to healfrom trauma, break free from
toxic hustle culture and embracetheir cyclical nature, enabling
them to step into self-trust,sovereignty and radiance.
She is also the founder ofFemme Allure Society, a
community focused on shadow work, emotional mastery and embodied
(00:45):
confidence.
Beyond her coaching, kristen isa homeschooling mom of three,
entrepreneur and visionary,committed to a world led by love
, connection and feminine wisdom.
I am your host, hannon Martin,and welcome to today's episode
of this Thing Called Wellness.
Now let's listen in All right.
(01:15):
Today, my guest is Kristen Laneof Semantic Feminine Embodiment
Coach.
I have known Kristin for a verylong time.
We met years ago, networking.
I can't believe it's been whatlike nine, ten years now that
I've known you and I've and Ihave watched you grow and do
some amazing things in aholistic area.
So, um, today I wanted to talkabout the new things that you're
doing.
So, um, welcome, welcome thankyou.
Krisin Layne (01:38):
Thank you for having me you're so welcome.
Shannon D Martin (01:42):
Um, so I wanted to talk about what
inspired you to startincorporating somatic work into
your coaching and hairstylingpractice.
Krisin Layne (01:51):
Yeah, so my journey into somatic work
started from a deeply personalspace.
For years I was kind of burningthe candle at both ends, trying
to do it all as a mother, thebusiness owner and the woman who
felt like she had to do it all,you know, and just feeling the
(02:15):
pressure of trying to keepeverything perfect and that
burnout was kind of my wake upcall I didn't have the time for
myself and it was constant doingand there wasn't enough
self-care, there wasn't enoughme time and really the space to
take care of my mental health,emotional health, well-being.
(02:40):
And then came a loss of apregnancy, which shattered me in
2019, but also opened the doorto such a profound healing
journey.
And it was through that griefthat I found my way to a
priestess path and beganexploring embodiment as a way to
(03:03):
reconnect with myself, with mybody, and I learned to slow down
, I learned to honor my body'swisdom and to listen and to
embrace rest and pleasure asbeing sacred.
And then, as I healed, Irealized how disconnected we, as
women, often are from ourbodies, from our cycles and our
(03:27):
inner rhythms, and so I justknew that I wanted to empower
other women to reconnect withtheir cyclical nature and
listening to their bodies andreclaiming their feminine wisdom
and reclaiming their femininewisdom.
So integrating somatic workinto my coaching and salon
practices became a way ofhelping women to feel seen and
(03:50):
felt and heard and whole, andnot just from an outward
perspective, but also deepinward experience.
Shannon D Martin (04:02):
Right, because we, as women, we do take on a
lot and we have that superwomansyndrome where we have to have
the cape on, because Idefinitely know what it's like
to have to have everythingtogether and trying to keep
everything together, especiallywhen you're, you know, a mother
and you're working and anentrepreneur and all the good
things.
So that's really, really tough.
So can you explain some of thepractices that you put into
(04:26):
place to kind of get yourself tothat quiet space?
Krisin Layne (04:31):
Yeah, so somatic practices are all about
embodiment and it's fully livingin and experiencing the body.
So it's not like traditionalmind-body approaches where we
often focus on managing ourthoughts or practicing
mindfulness from a cognitivespace perspective, somatic work
(04:53):
is a little bit deeper into thebody's experience.
It's all about noticingsensation, tuning into your
emotions that are stored in thebody and then letting the body
lead you through your healingprocess.
So, if you can think of it asgoing beyond thinking about
(05:13):
change to actually feeling andliving it, it's more of a
beingness instead of aknowingness.
And so the body holds so muchwisdom our, our joys, our
traumas and everything inbetween and these somatic
practices help us to tap intothat wisdom, into our body's
intelligence, um, in a way thatwords and mindset work just
(05:40):
can't quite touch okay, so whatare um like, what are are some
of the approaches that youtalked about?
So I use a lot of techniqueswith breath work and sound,
movement and touch.
Okay.
Shannon D Martin (06:03):
So it's kind of like grounding a bit like
when you're in a space, or is itdeeper than grounding?
Krisin Layne (06:09):
So it is because we need to be grounded, or at
least I don't like the wordcentered, but balancing and
centered is kind of like an iffyright but um, but when we can
get ourselves in the presentmoment.
So when I think of grounding Ithink of more of like that
present moment space, and whenwe're able to be present, then
(06:32):
we can feel into what's reallygoing on, because sometimes, you
know, maybe you've been askedthe question of like how are you
?
how are you today?
And you know, oh, I'm fine, andnine times out of 10, we are
(06:54):
not fine.
There's something else going on.
Shannon D Martin (06:57):
Right, right, and we have totally checked out.
And you're sitting there tryingto think about, like, what is
going on, because I also, too, Ithink about what you just said
about, um, sensing your pain orsensing that you have to really
go deep within and just kind of,and because I just did a
training and it really kind ofmade you think about where is
(07:18):
your pain and you have to reallysit still and be quiet and
listen to, like, what is goingon inside of your body.
Krisin Layne (07:27):
So it's something similar to that.
Yes, and it's really being intune with what's happening right
now, in the present moment,versus what happened before I
got on this call or what happenstomorrow when I go to this
event.
Or it's really focusing onwhat's here and what's present
(07:47):
right now.
What?
do I need right now, right andare.
It's just amazing what the bodycan tell you.
There's all these differentsignals and feelings, and
especially in our nervous system, that can keep us safe, but
also let us know when there'ssomething going on that we need
(08:09):
to know about.
It will signal us, it'll teachus, it will signal us It'll
teach us and so it's reallyimportant with these practices
that we connect with the body inthat way so that we can listen
to those signals much moreclearly without overriding
ourselves.
Shannon D Martin (08:34):
Right, so I know you just mentioned a
nervous system.
Krisin Layne (08:35):
What role does that play in regulating the
overall well-being?
So the nervous system is thefoundation for everything in
somatic work.
So when we're stuck in fightand flight or freeze, our bodies
are in constant survival modeand it's impossible to access
joy and pleasure or evenconnection when we're stuck in
survival mode.
(08:56):
So somatic practices help toregulate the nervous system by
creating safety in the body, andso this might look like
grounding through breath orgentle touch or connecting with
nature, or even just taking somebreaths and releasing sound.
There's a lot going on with ourvagus nerve, with women.
(09:20):
The vagus nerve is connected allthe way down to our womb space,
the pelvis, and all the way upinto our throat, and so, as
women, we tend to shut off oursound in many different
situations.
Women, we tend to shut off oursound in many different
situations, and so when we canactivate that sound, it really
allows our nervous system tojust really come back online.
(09:42):
So the nervous system is calm,it helps us to be more resilient
and so when things happen, wecan pendulate from one side to
the other, so that we're not.
It's, in a way, balancing but,it's not so that we can forget
what we need either.
It's so that we know how torecognize when we are in threat,
(10:07):
when we are in fight or flight,so that we know how to regulate
ourselves and bring ourselvesback to center, you know, in a
way.
So for me, learning aboutnervous system was like a game
changer because during myhealing journey it allowed me to
, during the grieving process,to just slow down and grieve and
(10:28):
allow myself that space andthen it also allowed me to after
my last pregnancy two years ago.
It allowed me to after my lastpregnancy two years ago.
It allowed me to reconnect withmyself in a different way and
allow myself to be more gentle,as my hormones regulated from
having a baby in my late 30s sothat I could feel more nourished
(10:49):
and safe.
Shannon D Martin (10:51):
Okay, safe and .
Krisin Layne (10:53):
I just I feel like it's such a big missing piece
in a lot of the wellness worldand healing for women in all
stages.
Shannon D Martin (11:04):
That's a big missing piece, cause I've never,
I've never heard that before.
I'm missing our voices, and Ihave.
I do know that when we're doingour breath work that it is, you
do have to go deep within, likeI say, into your pelvis, into
your stomach, and coming outwith the breath work, and that
really helps me ease my anxietywhen I'm having that issue, and
(11:24):
it's amazing that it will calmyour nervous system down so that
you can be calm and come backto the grounding part and saying
, okay, what am I hearing, whatam I paying attention to?
But I never heard about thevoice.
Can you explain a little bitmore about the voice, because
that's something new to me.
Krisin Layne (11:42):
Yeah, so the, if you've ever seen a diagram of
your vocal cords are verysimilar to the pelvic floor
muscles as well.
And so there's this, it's thisnerve that's not always
(12:12):
stimulated, and so when we canrelease, sound, it just I don't
even know how to explain itsometimes, because it's it's
just so powerful and the bestway I can explain.
It is for my son, for example,um he has a really intense
stutter that we've been umworking on with speech therapy
for several years.
And we got to a point where, umhis speech, therapist said you
(12:36):
know there's nothing else we cando.
You're going to have to see aspecialist.
And so kind of put us in aweird spot because, you know, I
thought we were kind of headingin the right direction.
So I actually started to lookat some of the tools that she
had given him already.
And we were still, you know,using those and implementing
those every day with him.
And then, as I was learning thesomatic practices and things
(13:00):
and using sound to regulate thenervous system, I was
recognizing where my son was alittle bit anxious, kind of
anxious when certain questionswere being asked or if he was
responding to someone.
There would be this tensenessof his body and he wasn't
(13:21):
relaxed when he would speak andso the stutter would get really
intense.
So, I started doing a practicecalled booing with him, where
you it's an inhale and then youexhale and doing that releasing
that sound and even playing withseveral different sounds okay
that really relaxed that net,that vagus nerve in his throat,
(13:45):
and it allowed his whole body tojust kind of drop and just come
into a more relaxed state, towhere he could slow down and he
could get his words out reallyclearly.
So I'm finding that just thatin itself has been huge for him.
Shannon D Martin (14:04):
That's huge.
In real time, you know yeahexactly yeah, because my son had
a stutter too, so I was reallyknowing that back then.
That's amazing, Kristin, so Ilove that, because I've heard
about the vagus nerve and I'mstill researching and learning
about that as well, so I lovethat.
Krisin Layne (14:23):
And you mentioned, there's a lot of research on
the vagus nerve where it helpsyour whole body.
Just come back into regulation,where it helps your digestive
system.
It can help your migraines, andI mean it's a whole key to us
being anxious and or even on theopposite end, where there's
(14:46):
like the hypo and the hyper, youknow, depression, and so it can
kind of balance you in that inthat way.
Shannon D Martin (14:54):
Yes, that's what I was looking to it for,
because I really want to balancemy depression out, and I kept
hearing about the vagus nerves.
I was like, oh OK, so it isreally in depth as to how many
layers it is to what's going onwith you internally and it's
amazing.
So you mentioned your shadowshadow work, so tell us a little
(15:17):
bit about that he said what Ilove shadow work.
Krisin Layne (15:28):
I really do.
So the shadow work is such abeautiful exploration I feel.
I feel like when I first cameinto the personal development
world, it was out of being likethis little Dora the Explorer of
(15:50):
just looking for things andputting things together and
trying to figure out who I amand why am I here and what am I
supposed to do in the world, andhow can I help people?
you know and I think I hadgotten, so, you know, used to
doing my day-to-day job as ahairstylist that I needed
(16:11):
something to occupy me, and sothere was this need for more
personal development.
And so the first time I everreally heard about shadow work
even though I've been doingshadow work for a long time,
just didn't know it One of myfriends had me read a book
called the Light.
(16:32):
You know the Dark Side of theLight Chasers.
Shannon D Martin (16:35):
OK.
Krisin Layne (16:37):
Debbie Ford is the author, and that book I think I
read it in like a day because Ijust could get enough of it.
Okay and it was.
It was just so interesting tome how we we take the things as
we're growing up as what is safeand what's not safe, what's
(17:01):
allowed and what's not allowedand that becomes part of who we
are and those things thatweren't allowed we might shove
into the back, closet thebasement and we don't even
realize how much potential islaying in that dark space.
Shannon D Martin (17:20):
Right.
Krisin Layne (17:20):
In the shadows.
Shannon D Martin (17:21):
Right.
Krisin Layne (17:21):
So the shadow work , it's not anything bad, it's
actually super good and it'sit's just really about peeling
back the layers of who you areand being able to be honest with
yourself.
That's the biggest piece Ithink with somatic, with
somatics and with shadow work isjust the ability to start being
(17:44):
really really honest withyourself being honest about what
you want, what you desire, whatyou need, and what I'm finding
is that a lot of women don'tknow what they even need.
Shannon D Martin (17:56):
Absolutely not , I don't either I'm on that
journey now, trying to figure itout.
It's really a thing becausewe're so, we're nurturing other
people and we're not nurturingourselves and, like you said,
you're pushing it into thatcloset and by the time you
figure it out, you're like I'm50 years old and I'm trying to
(18:17):
decide on what I want with mylife.
So, and then you have to say,and being honest with yourself
and real with yourself, that'schallenging, and that's
challenging, that's challenging.
Krisin Layne (18:29):
That's challenging no-transcript.
(18:51):
Just to be able to peel backthe layers of.
Who would I be without all thelayers or labels that have been
put on me through the years, allof the titles?
Who am I underneath being amother and a business owner?
Or who is really Kristen?
(19:12):
Who is really Shannon?
You know?
Shannon D Martin (19:15):
Right.
Krisin Layne (19:15):
So it's very, it's , it's just very deep and
getting to the truth of who weare and to be and to be honest
with ourselves is it's a reallyinteresting place is.
Shannon D Martin (19:28):
It's a really interesting place.
Krisin Layne (19:31):
It is a very interesting place.
Shannon D Martin (19:33):
It is really freeing and once you get there
you're like why did it take meso long to get here?
But the road to it is so neededand it is a great journey for
you to go on.
I love that.
And you talked earlier aboutmany women.
We struggle with our body imageand you talked earlier about
many women.
We struggle with our body imageand we just talked about
disconnection from our physicalself.
(19:55):
So you know, we go through allour life transitions and things
like that.
So I guess just somatic workand the shadow work would
definitely fall into place withthat Right.
Krisin Layne (20:45):
Yeah, absolutely't win in this you know right,
it's what we deal with as womenand that's so encoded in our
bodies and so somatic work helpsus rewrite those narratives to
where it's felt in the body andnot in our bodies.
(21:05):
From ancient, from centuriesand decades of, you know,
programming, um, and then eventradition or uh, transitioning
from menopause into menopause,from being a mother into
menopause.
Those are actually reallybeautiful invitations to connect
(21:29):
with your wise woman and yoursovereignty, beyond what we've
ever been told.
And a really key piece, I think, came with this for myself this
year.
I turned 40 this year and Ijust remember growing up
thinking that 40 just seemedlike a really powerful place in
(21:50):
a woman's life right, becauseshe either she either left her
husband or she started a newcareer, or she did something, or
she moved out of country.
She did something right.
Shannon D Martin (21:58):
She did something powerful.
It was something amazing.
She did that for me.
Krisin Layne (22:05):
The light bulb came on it's like she just said
you know what, enough of this,enough of this, I'm doing me.
Yeah, and it's like somethingjust finally clicks, you know,
and I feel like it's reallythrough, even if it's
unconscious.
It is that shadow work that wecan kind of come face to face
(22:29):
with our fears and the shamethat's tied to aging and being
able to embrace the power andthe timing of what comes in that
transformation of moving fromthe mother to the menopause
crone, archetype per se.
Shannon D Martin (22:50):
Right, because when I heard about menopause,
you thought that was the end ofit.
Menopause was horrible.
It was something that I'mlearning now, as I'm going
through the phase.
No one really talked about it.
So when you went through thatphase, you thought that, oh,
you're old and you're uselessand you're all these things.
And now I'm realizing, no,that is a, you're transitioning
(23:13):
to something beautiful.
It's like a transition, and so,as I'm really researching about
it and really learning about it, I'm like this is just another
phase of being a woman and itshould not be something that's
that's just um looked at as abad phase but, like you said,
something that we conditioned tolook at.
Now you're in your 50s or,however, you're going into your
60s and this is a bad thing, butit's really not.
It's another beautiful phase ofyou being a woman and
(23:36):
transitioning, so absolutelylove it.
You know it's not good, it'snot fun, but you know, is that
part.
So now, what advice would yougive women who are interested in
, you know, exploring somaticpractices but don't know where
to start?
Krisin Layne (23:56):
So start with curiosity and self-compassion.
Your body already knows the way.
You just need to startlistening.
One of the simplest ways totune into your breath is by
placing your hands on your lowerbelly.
I also call this the womb space, and just take some deeptouch,
(24:20):
giving yourself a hold like ahug and some squeezes.
It's this simple.
There's such a lack ofconnection in the world right
(24:43):
now.
And if we could start to justbring in more of that for
ourselves, I just think we wouldbe a lot better for it, you
know.
And then journaling I love togive journal prompts and
movement exercises to just helpwomen to rediscover their own
(25:04):
sense of reverence and for theirbodies, and then being able to
reclaim their body as theirtemple.
This is.
It's something that's alwaysbeing.
You know, our kids borrow itfor nine months and we tend to
do all these things, you know,for our, our, our husband, or we
do these things.
(25:24):
You know it's always abouteverybody else, right, but we
tend to not tend to our bodiesfor ourselves or remember that
this is our body and so movementis a really beautiful entry
(25:49):
point.
to just put on a song, letyourself dance and just look at
yourself in the mirror withoutjudgment and just really connect
with who you are.
And you know, it's not aboutbeing perfectly choreographed or
you know, doing the right thing.
It's really just being andinhabiting your whole body.
(26:10):
And then, if you want moreguidance, of course working with
a somatic practitioner can helpyou go deeper to develop the
safety.
So you're really supported, andthat's what I do, and then so,
but truly the most importantstep is just giving yourself
permission to explore, withoutneeding to figure it all out,
(26:32):
without needing to have all theanswers.
Shannon D Martin (26:35):
I love that.
Krisin Layne (26:37):
Yeah, just being open and curious.
Shannon D Martin (26:40):
That's a big step.
That's the big step, yeah.
So what is in store for Kristencoming up next?
What's in store for you next?
Krisin Layne (26:52):
So right now I am working with clients one on one
and I'm putting together a groupprogram that will be launching
in January called EmbodiedRadiance, called embodied
(27:14):
radiance, and so you can lookout for that very soon.
And I'm also getting ready toput together a women's circle
and that will be um in marietta,georgia, here, okay, um, just
to bring back the connection andsupport of having a woman tribe
and being able to have theseconversations, the conversations
that aren't talked about, likethe three M's of menstruation,
(27:36):
miscarriage and menopause.
Those are like the three taboosthat no one's talking about and
why, you wouldn't be talkingabout it, you know.
Shannon D Martin (27:44):
Right.
Krisin Layne (27:45):
But to be able to open up the space for women, to
have a safe space to where theycan come and talk about these
things and be witnessed in theirexperience.
Shannon D Martin (27:56):
I love that, ok, and I will make sure to put
all your information inside ofthe show notes so that everyone
can contact you, and we'relooking forward to your work
because I'm here in Georgia, sowe will look forward to that,
and you need to be writing abook girl.
That's some good information,so I'm loving forward to your
work because I'm here in Georgia, so we will look forward to
that, and you need to be writinga book girl.
You have some good information,so I'm loving all of it and
thank you so much for coming ontoday.
I really enjoyed ourconversation and we'll continue
(28:19):
it later on.
Krisin Layne (28:21):
Okay, I appreciate you bringing me on.
Thank you so much.
You're so welcome.
Talk to you soon.
Shannon D Martin (28:24):
Bye-bye.
Talk to you soon.
Bye-bye, If you enjoyed today'sepisode, please take a moment
to rate and review the show onApple Podcasts or wherever you
listen in.
It really helps new listenersfind us and join our wellness
community.
Disclaimer I am not a licensedmental health professional.
(28:46):
The information provided hereis for general informational
purposes only and should not beconsidered a substitute for
professional mental healthadvice, diagnosis or treatment.
If you need help, pleaseconsult a qualified mental
health professional.
Hello, beautiful welcome to today's
conversation with our specialguest, risten Layne.
Kristen is a feminineembodiment coach, holistic
hairstylist and advocate forwomen's empowerment, with over
20 years of experience helpingwomen reclaim their sensuality,
emotional intelligence andfeminine allure.
Through her signature FemmeAllure mythology, kristen guides
(00:24):
high-achieving women to healfrom trauma, break free from
toxic hustle culture and embracetheir cyclical nature, enabling
them to step into self-trust,sovereignty and radiance.
She is also the founder ofFemme Allure Society, a
community focused on shadow work, emotional mastery and embodied
(00:45):
confidence.
Beyond her coaching, kristen isa homeschooling mom of three,
entrepreneur and visionary,committed to a world led by love
, connection and feminine wisdom.
I am your host, hannon Martin,and welcome to today's episode
of this Thing Called Wellness.
Now let's listen in All right.
(01:15):
Today, my guest is Kristen Laneof Semantic Feminine Embodiment
Coach.
I have known Kristin for a verylong time.
We met years ago, networking.
I can't believe it's been whatlike nine, ten years now that
I've known you and I've and Ihave watched you grow and do
some amazing things in aholistic area.
So, um, today I wanted to talkabout the new things that you're
doing.
So, um, welcome, welcome thankyou.
Krisin Layne (01:38):
Thank you for having me you're so welcome.
Shannon D Martin (01:42):
Um, so I wanted to talk about what
inspired you to startincorporating somatic work into
your coaching and hairstylingpractice.
Krisin Layne (01:51):
Yeah, so my journey into somatic work
started from a deeply personalspace.
For years I was kind of burningthe candle at both ends, trying
to do it all as a mother, thebusiness owner and the woman who
felt like she had to do it all,you know, and just feeling the
(02:15):
pressure of trying to keepeverything perfect and that
burnout was kind of my wake upcall I didn't have the time for
myself and it was constant doingand there wasn't enough
self-care, there wasn't enoughme time and really the space to
take care of my mental health,emotional health, well-being.
(02:40):
And then came a loss of apregnancy, which shattered me in
2019, but also opened the doorto such a profound healing
journey.
And it was through that griefthat I found my way to a
priestess path and beganexploring embodiment as a way to
(03:03):
reconnect with myself, with mybody, and I learned to slow down
, I learned to honor my body'swisdom and to listen and to
embrace rest and pleasure asbeing sacred.
And then, as I healed, Irealized how disconnected we, as
women, often are from ourbodies, from our cycles and our
(03:27):
inner rhythms, and so I justknew that I wanted to empower
other women to reconnect withtheir cyclical nature and
listening to their bodies andreclaiming their feminine wisdom
and reclaiming their femininewisdom.
So integrating somatic workinto my coaching and salon
practices became a way ofhelping women to feel seen and
(03:50):
felt and heard and whole, andnot just from an outward
perspective, but also deepinward experience.
Shannon D Martin (04:02):
Right, because we, as women, we do take on a
lot and we have that superwomansyndrome where we have to have
the cape on, because Idefinitely know what it's like
to have to have everythingtogether and trying to keep
everything together, especiallywhen you're, you know, a mother
and you're working and anentrepreneur and all the good
things.
So that's really, really tough.
So can you explain some of thepractices that you put into
(04:26):
place to kind of get yourself tothat quiet space?
Krisin Layne (04:31):
Yeah, so somatic practices are all about
embodiment and it's fully livingin and experiencing the body.
So it's not like traditionalmind-body approaches where we
often focus on managing ourthoughts or practicing
mindfulness from a cognitivespace perspective, somatic work
(04:53):
is a little bit deeper into thebody's experience.
It's all about noticingsensation, tuning into your
emotions that are stored in thebody and then letting the body
lead you through your healingprocess.
So, if you can think of it asgoing beyond thinking about
(05:13):
change to actually feeling andliving it, it's more of a
beingness instead of aknowingness.
And so the body holds so muchwisdom our, our joys, our
traumas and everything inbetween and these somatic
practices help us to tap intothat wisdom, into our body's
intelligence, um, in a way thatwords and mindset work just
(05:40):
can't quite touch okay, so whatare um like, what are are some
of the approaches that youtalked about?
So I use a lot of techniqueswith breath work and sound,
movement and touch.
Okay.
Shannon D Martin (06:03):
So it's kind of like grounding a bit like
when you're in a space, or is itdeeper than grounding?
Krisin Layne (06:09):
So it is because we need to be grounded, or at
least I don't like the wordcentered, but balancing and
centered is kind of like an iffyright but um, but when we can
get ourselves in the presentmoment.
So when I think of grounding Ithink of more of like that
present moment space, and whenwe're able to be present, then
(06:32):
we can feel into what's reallygoing on, because sometimes, you
know, maybe you've been askedthe question of like how are you
?
how are you today?
And you know, oh, I'm fine, andnine times out of 10, we are
(06:54):
not fine.
There's something else going on.
Shannon D Martin (06:57):
Right, right, and we have totally checked out.
And you're sitting there tryingto think about, like, what is
going on, because I also, too, Ithink about what you just said
about, um, sensing your pain orsensing that you have to really
go deep within and just kind of,and because I just did a
training and it really kind ofmade you think about where is
(07:18):
your pain and you have to reallysit still and be quiet and
listen to, like, what is goingon inside of your body.
Krisin Layne (07:27):
So it's something similar to that.
Yes, and it's really being intune with what's happening right
now, in the present moment,versus what happened before I
got on this call or what happenstomorrow when I go to this
event.
Or it's really focusing onwhat's here and what's present
(07:47):
right now.
What?
do I need right now, right andare.
It's just amazing what the bodycan tell you.
There's all these differentsignals and feelings, and
especially in our nervous system, that can keep us safe, but
also let us know when there'ssomething going on that we need
(08:09):
to know about.
It will signal us, it'll teachus, it will signal us It'll
teach us and so it's reallyimportant with these practices
that we connect with the body inthat way so that we can listen
to those signals much moreclearly without overriding
ourselves.
Shannon D Martin (08:34):
Right, so I know you just mentioned a
nervous system.
Krisin Layne (08:35):
What role does that play in regulating the
overall well-being?
So the nervous system is thefoundation for everything in
somatic work.
So when we're stuck in fightand flight or freeze, our bodies
are in constant survival modeand it's impossible to access
joy and pleasure or evenconnection when we're stuck in
survival mode.
(08:56):
So somatic practices help toregulate the nervous system by
creating safety in the body, andso this might look like
grounding through breath orgentle touch or connecting with
nature, or even just taking somebreaths and releasing sound.
There's a lot going on with ourvagus nerve, with women.
(09:20):
The vagus nerve is connected allthe way down to our womb space,
the pelvis, and all the way upinto our throat, and so, as
women, we tend to shut off oursound in many different
situations.
Women, we tend to shut off oursound in many different
situations, and so when we canactivate that sound, it really
allows our nervous system tojust really come back online.
(09:42):
So the nervous system is calm,it helps us to be more resilient
and so when things happen, wecan pendulate from one side to
the other, so that we're not.
It's, in a way, balancing but,it's not so that we can forget
what we need either.
It's so that we know how torecognize when we are in threat,
(10:07):
when we are in fight or flight,so that we know how to regulate
ourselves and bring ourselvesback to center, you know, in a
way.
So for me, learning aboutnervous system was like a game
changer because during myhealing journey it allowed me to
, during the grieving process,to just slow down and grieve and
(10:28):
allow myself that space andthen it also allowed me to after
my last pregnancy two years ago.
It allowed me to after my lastpregnancy two years ago.
It allowed me to reconnect withmyself in a different way and
allow myself to be more gentle,as my hormones regulated from
having a baby in my late 30s sothat I could feel more nourished
(10:49):
and safe.
Shannon D Martin (10:51):
Okay, safe and .
Krisin Layne (10:53):
I just I feel like it's such a big missing piece
in a lot of the wellness worldand healing for women in all
stages.
Shannon D Martin (11:04):
That's a big missing piece, cause I've never,
I've never heard that before.
I'm missing our voices, and Ihave.
I do know that when we're doingour breath work that it is, you
do have to go deep within, likeI say, into your pelvis, into
your stomach, and coming outwith the breath work, and that
really helps me ease my anxietywhen I'm having that issue, and
(11:24):
it's amazing that it will calmyour nervous system down so that
you can be calm and come backto the grounding part and saying
, okay, what am I hearing, whatam I paying attention to?
But I never heard about thevoice.
Can you explain a little bitmore about the voice, because
that's something new to me.
Krisin Layne (11:42):
Yeah, so the, if you've ever seen a diagram of
your vocal cords are verysimilar to the pelvic floor
muscles as well.
And so there's this, it's thisnerve that's not always
(12:12):
stimulated, and so when we canrelease, sound, it just I don't
even know how to explain itsometimes, because it's it's
just so powerful and the bestway I can explain.
It is for my son, for example,um he has a really intense
stutter that we've been umworking on with speech therapy
for several years.
And we got to a point where, umhis speech, therapist said you
(12:36):
know there's nothing else we cando.
You're going to have to see aspecialist.
And so kind of put us in aweird spot because, you know, I
thought we were kind of headingin the right direction.
So I actually started to lookat some of the tools that she
had given him already.
And we were still, you know,using those and implementing
those every day with him.
And then, as I was learning thesomatic practices and things
(13:00):
and using sound to regulate thenervous system, I was
recognizing where my son was alittle bit anxious, kind of
anxious when certain questionswere being asked or if he was
responding to someone.
There would be this tensenessof his body and he wasn't
(13:21):
relaxed when he would speak andso the stutter would get really
intense.
So, I started doing a practicecalled booing with him, where
you it's an inhale and then youexhale and doing that releasing
that sound and even playing withseveral different sounds okay
that really relaxed that net,that vagus nerve in his throat,
(13:45):
and it allowed his whole body tojust kind of drop and just come
into a more relaxed state, towhere he could slow down and he
could get his words out reallyclearly.
So I'm finding that just thatin itself has been huge for him.
Shannon D Martin (14:04):
That's huge.
In real time, you know yeahexactly yeah, because my son had
a stutter too, so I was reallyknowing that back then.
That's amazing, Kristin, so Ilove that, because I've heard
about the vagus nerve and I'mstill researching and learning
about that as well, so I lovethat.
Krisin Layne (14:23):
And you mentioned, there's a lot of research on
the vagus nerve where it helpsyour whole body.
Just come back into regulation,where it helps your digestive
system.
It can help your migraines, andI mean it's a whole key to us
being anxious and or even on theopposite end, where there's
(14:46):
like the hypo and the hyper, youknow, depression, and so it can
kind of balance you in that inthat way.
Shannon D Martin (14:54):
Yes, that's what I was looking to it for,
because I really want to balancemy depression out, and I kept
hearing about the vagus nerves.
I was like, oh OK, so it isreally in depth as to how many
layers it is to what's going onwith you internally and it's
amazing.
So you mentioned your shadowshadow work, so tell us a little
(15:17):
bit about that he said what Ilove shadow work.
Krisin Layne (15:28):
I really do.
So the shadow work is such abeautiful exploration I feel.
I feel like when I first cameinto the personal development
world, it was out of being likethis little Dora the Explorer of
(15:50):
just looking for things andputting things together and
trying to figure out who I amand why am I here and what am I
supposed to do in the world, andhow can I help people?
you know and I think I hadgotten, so, you know, used to
doing my day-to-day job as ahairstylist that I needed
(16:11):
something to occupy me, and sothere was this need for more
personal development.
And so the first time I everreally heard about shadow work
even though I've been doingshadow work for a long time,
just didn't know it One of myfriends had me read a book
called the Light.
(16:32):
You know the Dark Side of theLight Chasers.
Shannon D Martin (16:35):
OK.
Krisin Layne (16:37):
Debbie Ford is the author, and that book I think I
read it in like a day because Ijust could get enough of it.
Okay and it was.
It was just so interesting tome how we we take the things as
we're growing up as what is safeand what's not safe, what's
(17:01):
allowed and what's not allowedand that becomes part of who we
are and those things thatweren't allowed we might shove
into the back, closet thebasement and we don't even
realize how much potential islaying in that dark space.
Shannon D Martin (17:20):
Right.
Krisin Layne (17:20):
In the shadows.
Shannon D Martin (17:21):
Right.
Krisin Layne (17:21):
So the shadow work , it's not anything bad, it's
actually super good and it'sit's just really about peeling
back the layers of who you areand being able to be honest with
yourself.
That's the biggest piece Ithink with somatic, with
somatics and with shadow work isjust the ability to start being
(17:44):
really really honest withyourself being honest about what
you want, what you desire, whatyou need, and what I'm finding
is that a lot of women don'tknow what they even need.
Shannon D Martin (17:56):
Absolutely not , I don't either I'm on that
journey now, trying to figure itout.
It's really a thing becausewe're so, we're nurturing other
people and we're not nurturingourselves and, like you said,
you're pushing it into thatcloset and by the time you
figure it out, you're like I'm50 years old and I'm trying to
(18:17):
decide on what I want with mylife.
So, and then you have to say,and being honest with yourself
and real with yourself, that'schallenging, and that's
challenging, that's challenging.
Krisin Layne (18:29):
That's challenging no-transcript.
(18:51):
Just to be able to peel backthe layers of.
Who would I be without all thelayers or labels that have been
put on me through the years, allof the titles?
Who am I underneath being amother and a business owner?
Or who is really Kristen?
(19:12):
Who is really Shannon?
You know?
Shannon D Martin (19:15):
Right.
Krisin Layne (19:15):
So it's very, it's , it's just very deep and
getting to the truth of who weare and to be and to be honest
with ourselves is it's a reallyinteresting place is.
Shannon D Martin (19:28):
It's a really interesting place.
Krisin Layne (19:31):
It is a very interesting place.
Shannon D Martin (19:33):
It is really freeing and once you get there
you're like why did it take meso long to get here?
But the road to it is so neededand it is a great journey for
you to go on.
I love that.
And you talked earlier aboutmany women.
We struggle with our body imageand you talked earlier about
many women.
We struggle with our body imageand we just talked about
disconnection from our physicalself.
(19:55):
So you know, we go through allour life transitions and things
like that.
So I guess just somatic workand the shadow work would
definitely fall into place withthat Right.
Krisin Layne (20:45):
Yeah, absolutely't win in this you know right,
it's what we deal with as womenand that's so encoded in our
bodies and so somatic work helpsus rewrite those narratives to
where it's felt in the body andnot in our bodies.
(21:05):
From ancient, from centuriesand decades of, you know,
programming, um, and then eventradition or uh, transitioning
from menopause into menopause,from being a mother into
menopause.
Those are actually reallybeautiful invitations to connect
(21:29):
with your wise woman and yoursovereignty, beyond what we've
ever been told.
And a really key piece, I think, came with this for myself this
year.
I turned 40 this year and Ijust remember growing up
thinking that 40 just seemedlike a really powerful place in
(21:50):
a woman's life right, becauseshe either she either left her
husband or she started a newcareer, or she did something, or
she moved out of country.
She did something right.
Shannon D Martin (21:58):
She did something powerful.
It was something amazing.
She did that for me.
Krisin Layne (22:05):
The light bulb came on it's like she just said
you know what, enough of this,enough of this, I'm doing me.
Yeah, and it's like somethingjust finally clicks, you know,
and I feel like it's reallythrough, even if it's
unconscious.
It is that shadow work that wecan kind of come face to face
(22:29):
with our fears and the shamethat's tied to aging and being
able to embrace the power andthe timing of what comes in that
transformation of moving fromthe mother to the menopause
crone, archetype per se.
Shannon D Martin (22:50):
Right, because when I heard about menopause,
you thought that was the end ofit.
Menopause was horrible.
It was something that I'mlearning now, as I'm going
through the phase.
No one really talked about it.
So when you went through thatphase, you thought that, oh,
you're old and you're uselessand you're all these things.
And now I'm realizing, no,that is a, you're transitioning
(23:13):
to something beautiful.
It's like a transition, and so,as I'm really researching about
it and really learning about it, I'm like this is just another
phase of being a woman and itshould not be something that's
that's just um looked at as abad phase but, like you said,
something that we conditioned tolook at.
Now you're in your 50s or,however, you're going into your
60s and this is a bad thing, butit's really not.
It's another beautiful phase ofyou being a woman and
(23:36):
transitioning, so absolutelylove it.
You know it's not good, it'snot fun, but you know, is that
part.
So now, what advice would yougive women who are interested in
, you know, exploring somaticpractices but don't know where
to start?
Krisin Layne (23:56):
So start with curiosity and self-compassion.
Your body already knows the way.
You just need to startlistening.
One of the simplest ways totune into your breath is by
placing your hands on your lowerbelly.
I also call this the womb space, and just take some deeptouch,
(24:20):
giving yourself a hold like ahug and some squeezes.
It's this simple.
There's such a lack ofconnection in the world right
(24:43):
now.
And if we could start to justbring in more of that for
ourselves, I just think we wouldbe a lot better for it, you
know.
And then journaling I love togive journal prompts and
movement exercises to just helpwomen to rediscover their own
(25:04):
sense of reverence and for theirbodies, and then being able to
reclaim their body as theirtemple.
This is.
It's something that's alwaysbeing.
You know, our kids borrow itfor nine months and we tend to
do all these things, you know,for our, our, our husband, or we
do these things.
(25:24):
You know it's always abouteverybody else, right, but we
tend to not tend to our bodiesfor ourselves or remember that
this is our body and so movementis a really beautiful entry
(25:49):
point.
to just put on a song, letyourself dance and just look at
yourself in the mirror withoutjudgment and just really connect
with who you are.
And you know, it's not aboutbeing perfectly choreographed or
you know, doing the right thing.
It's really just being andinhabiting your whole body.
(26:10):
And then, if you want moreguidance, of course working with
a somatic practitioner can helpyou go deeper to develop the
safety.
So you're really supported, andthat's what I do, and then so,
but truly the most importantstep is just giving yourself
permission to explore, withoutneeding to figure it all out,
(26:32):
without needing to have all theanswers.
Shannon D Martin (26:35):
I love that.
Krisin Layne (26:37):
Yeah, just being open and curious.
Shannon D Martin (26:40):
That's a big step.
That's the big step, yeah.
So what is in store for Kristencoming up next?
What's in store for you next?
Krisin Layne (26:52):
So right now I am working with clients one on one
and I'm putting together a groupprogram that will be launching
in January called EmbodiedRadiance, called embodied
(27:14):
radiance, and so you can lookout for that very soon.
And I'm also getting ready toput together a women's circle
and that will be um in marietta,georgia, here, okay, um, just
to bring back the connection andsupport of having a woman tribe
and being able to have theseconversations, the conversations
that aren't talked about, likethe three M's of menstruation,
(27:36):
miscarriage and menopause.
Those are like the three taboosthat no one's talking about and
why, you wouldn't be talkingabout it, you know.
Shannon D Martin (27:44):
Right.
Krisin Layne (27:45):
But to be able to open up the space for women, to
have a safe space to where theycan come and talk about these
things and be witnessed in theirexperience.
Shannon D Martin (27:56):
I love that, ok, and I will make sure to put
all your information inside ofthe show notes so that everyone
can contact you, and we'relooking forward to your work
because I'm here in Georgia, sowe will look forward to that,
and you need to be writing abook girl.
That's some good information,so I'm loving forward to your
work because I'm here in Georgia, so we will look forward to
that, and you need to be writinga book girl.
You have some good information,so I'm loving all of it and
thank you so much for coming ontoday.
I really enjoyed ourconversation and we'll continue
(28:19):
it later on.
Krisin Layne (28:21):
Okay, I appreciate you bringing me on.
Thank you so much.
You're so welcome.
Talk to you soon.
Shannon D Martin (28:24):
Bye-bye.
Talk to you soon.
Bye-bye, If you enjoyed today'sepisode, please take a moment
to rate and review the show onApple Podcasts or wherever you
listen in.
It really helps new listenersfind us and join our wellness
community.
Disclaimer I am not a licensedmental health professional.
(28:46):
The information provided hereis for general informational
purposes only and should not beconsidered a substitute for
professional mental healthadvice, diagnosis or treatment.
If you need help, pleaseconsult a qualified mental
health professional.
Popular Podcasts
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com