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Somatic Breathwork for DEEP Healing with Rachel Bach - E75
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Stress, anxiety, and stuck emotional patterns can keep you feeling disconnected, no matter how hard you try to fix things on the surface. Ignoring what your body tells you often means old pain lingers, leaving you cut off from real healing and resilient wellbeing.
This episode shines a light on how somatic breathing - not just talk therapy or mindset shifts - can help you break through and finally release what’s holding you back. No gimmicks, just practical, proven methods for unlocking deep healing and genuine connection, all told by someone who learned these tools firsthand.
Owner of ‘Revive with Rach’, Rachel Bach is a passionate student of life, nature lover and body nerd. Through her own journey of overcoming chronic anxiety, disconnection and decades of cultural conditioning, Rachel now guides others to take their health and power back through stepping out of society's stress cycles, embracing their inner rebel, and remembering their own body's intelligence. Blending ancient wisdom, modern day science, some humor and a down to earth approach, she helps people come home to their hearts with tools based in breath, mindfulness and movement.
“The trauma wasn't the event, it's the wound you sustained from the event.” - Rachel Bach
In this episode you will learn:
- What somatic work is and why it matters for health and healing.
- How early life events and patterns shape your nervous system and trigger emotional reactions.
- Why safety is key for healing, and how group support can help.
- The difference between "big T" and "little t" trauma, and how it affects you.
- How simple practices like breathwork and body awareness can improve your well-being.
- Ways to start somatic healing with practical tools and resources
Resources
- Connect with Rachel on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/revivewithrach/
- Learn more about Revive With Rach: https://revivewithrach.com/
This podcast was produced by the team at Zapods Podcast Agency:
Find the products, practices, and routines discussed on the Alively website:
Recommended
Transcript
Introduction to Nervous System Capacity
00:00:00
Speaker
Anything in your life that was either too much, too fast, or too soon for your nervous system to handle. Anything that your body, heart, and mind didn't have the capacity to handle. And that's very much what nervous system work is about, expanding our capacity.
Welcome to Home of Healthspan Podcast
00:00:21
Speaker
This is the Home of Healthspan podcast, where we profile health and wellness role models, sharing their stories and the tools, practices, and routines they use to live a lively life.
Excitement for Conversation with Rachel
00:00:35
Speaker
Welcome everyone to another episode of the Home of Health Spam podcast. I am particularly excited for the conversation today. This is the person I've probably known. i don't even think probably the person I've personally known the longest of any of our guests.
Meet Rachel: A Soulful Explorer
00:00:49
Speaker
But before we get into all that story, Rachel, welcome. Hello, friends. Hello, Andrew. So good to here. Yeah, i'm I'm excited for our conversation. And before we get into that full story and everything you've been doing, how would you describe yourself?
00:01:05
Speaker
I love this question because it sounds like, who am I? Which was really kind of what got me here today exploring that deeply. um i would describe myself as...
00:01:20
Speaker
a soul having a human experience right now. i am an explorer. I am insatiably curious.
00:01:32
Speaker
And I, what lights me up is kind of navigating dancing and working in the spaces that intersect.
Reconnecting Through Somatic Therapy
00:01:42
Speaker
I'm fascinated with like digging into the underneath of things and what's often invisible, yet the powerful things that connect us all.
00:01:57
Speaker
So I love like exploring the spaces of where science and and sacred meet. And that's kind of my approach to somatic work.
00:02:08
Speaker
Yes. And speaking of somatic work, I mean, that's a little bit of the story, I think, between us as well. So for anyone listening that does not know, originally went to high school together. Yeah, and you back we get way back. way back.
00:02:22
Speaker
won't say what year we graduated, but you could easily find that out. And then... We kind of went our separate ways and then in our careers found ourselves in the same industry again, ran into each other at conferences in the vacation rental industry where I think we both work. I was there for more than 10 years. I think you were yeah as well.
00:02:41
Speaker
And then both have now come into this health mindset, wellness space, and really tightly connected at a time i was getting requests and questions around somatic therapy.
Personal Struggles and Somatic Journey
00:02:55
Speaker
And i think it was on a Facebook post I had, you commented and said, hey, you know here's some work I'm doing. And it was in the somatic space. I was like, oh my God, I'm hearing a ton about this. Let's connect.
00:03:06
Speaker
And so I have been the beneficiary of actually got a firsthand experience, some of your work. and it was Amazing. And I'm just happy to be able to bring you on the show and share what you're doing with others to expand that.
00:03:19
Speaker
Love it. Yeah, it was how we began, you know, and back in our Jacksonville days and the journey of...
00:03:31
Speaker
How we intersected, like you said, and and to where we are now is a great example of kind of the journey that we all go on in life, I think. And um yeah, it's it's special to be here. It was really special to get to share that experience with you. and I'm and just pumped to be able to to bring this to the world.
00:03:52
Speaker
Speaking of that journey, i mean, yours, you had a personal... journey yourself that took you into kind of giving this as a gift to others, which is where you are now.
Influences from a Volleyball Coach
00:04:04
Speaker
And so could you talk a little bit about what pulled you into this work in the first place? Yes. It was very much inspired by my my own journey, my own struggles. I do believe in that saying that we end up teaching what we most needed to learn.
00:04:24
Speaker
And that we do need to struggle to learn oftentimes, like part of the human experience. You know, i don't know that I've ever really learned something that came easy. Let's put it that way. um So, yeah, you know, different phases of my life kind of brought me here. But some some ones that stand out, you know, I and what I like to explore with clients,
00:04:48
Speaker
I'm just going to set this as some context because I'm kind of a Lord of the Rings nerd. And I love to reference it because it's such a timeless message that applies to so much of life in this work.
00:05:01
Speaker
And I often do it in breathwork sessions and groups, but particularly in one-on-one coaching containers.
Guiding Clients Through Emotional Challenges
00:05:08
Speaker
And, and here's why it's relevant, right? Like we're all kind of Frodo in life and, um,
00:05:15
Speaker
and We start out in the shire sometimes, whatever that is for us, our family, our environment, we get used to our comfort zones, right?
00:05:26
Speaker
And then something happens where we're challenged and we have a choice to like, get out of the shire and go do the scary thing or stay in our comfort zone. And to me, it's kind of like the hero's journey, which is what the story is about. And, and what i find myself and what I went through and going through myself is that journey of like,
00:05:54
Speaker
figuring out, you know, what's underneath my patterns. For me, in the beginning, I, I struggled with chronic anxiety, with addiction, you know, for years, I lived in that fear place of not wanting to like get out of the shire, you know. um But what I do with clients is kind of offer them that guidance, I think we all need that assistance with love.
00:06:20
Speaker
So it's part Kind of part Gandalf. with the guidance and support part Sam wise. Like I'm your, your buddy through this. I've got your back no matter what happens.
00:06:34
Speaker
Ride or die. it Ride or die. Right. Like even when it gets really yucky, which it will, cause like life will be painful, but with the right support and safety, we can, we can get through that together and get to the other side.
Personal Development and Support
00:06:50
Speaker
And then I'm also like a little sprinkle of Rizzo. Which is like tough and tender. I'm going to keep it real, but with like a fierce love and, um, an important piece I want to mention because, you know, you're asking about my journey.
00:07:08
Speaker
I believe we all have these people that come into our lives. We may not realize it at the time, but particularly in our formative years, you know, and someone who I view now, going to cry on this one. Someone who I view now as one of those angels in my life that totally changed the trajectory was Elise Bush. It's my volleyball coach in high school.
00:07:29
Speaker
And, um, you know, at that time in my path, I was totally lost and, You know, I had a lot of struggles happening and in the home life. Parents were getting divorced. And was it a brand new school in high school? You know, we're going way back now, but it all relates.
00:07:51
Speaker
And got plopped onto the volleyball team, totally like a fish out of water at the time. Didn't really know anybody. But she was one of those people that stepped in and she saw something in me that I didn't even see in myself at the time.
00:08:08
Speaker
And I didn't make it easy for her. was kind of a punk at the time, you know, like pushing the boundaries and the things. And she stuck with me.
00:08:20
Speaker
She was my Gandalf, man. She was my Samwise. And um
00:08:28
Speaker
she believed in me. And that's essentially what I do now for people. Like she was one of those people that believed in me when I needed to needed it the most and, um, set up the confidence for me to, to have opportunities that i never would have had, you know, for, for my future.
00:08:48
Speaker
And even though she was taken from us too early, like her approach, her spirit will always live on in me. Many other people's lives she touched too, but, but that's the kind of energy that, um,
00:09:05
Speaker
that I want to recognize, that I want to emulate, and that I try to bring to to clients.
Transformative Yoga Experience
00:09:11
Speaker
And so that was a big shift in my own journey. And then just navigating, you know, feeling kind of alone during my formative years, but also, you know, looking for connection A lot of those years, even though I found that connection through sports, you know, building that confidence at the same time, that's when, you know, alcohol and drugs entered the picture. And that was a really big challenge for me. And part of what I still, you know, focus on with coaching because it's so common.
00:09:50
Speaker
viewing addiction in a totally different way than we've been conditioned to view it. Learning to ask not why the addiction, but why the pain underneath it. And so somatic work has helped me really heal a lot of that stuff from my past. And um I think so many of us can relate, right? It's like, whatever it is, fill in the blank, whether it's a substance or a behavior,
00:10:19
Speaker
It's really solving a need, you know, an unmet need you have at the time. And for me at that time, it was connection, this illusion of connection and confidence. And so like years went by, years went by and on the outside, i was fine. Right. I was even thriving. Some would say I got good at like pretending, you know, not consciously,
00:10:43
Speaker
But that's kind of what our conditioning teaches us to do. You know, I became like a tough girl in a way, doing the things. and But i was I was completely disconnected from my um my emotional body. And a quick story, years went by, decades. In my mid-30s, right, i I was burned out.
00:11:10
Speaker
I'd kind of been chasing the achievements and all the things, but I had this sense of like loneliness and void inside of me, right? that The external validation wasn't doing it anymore. And so something inside me pushed me to go to this intense yoga teacher training. I'd been doing yoga for a while, but it was more like physical.
00:11:31
Speaker
And I get there and the teachers are saying, trust the process, you know, right? And at that time, Andrew, I'm literally like rolling my eyes in the back.
00:11:42
Speaker
Like, whatever, you know, this is so what yoga teachers say. But thank God, I just I committed and I stuck with it. And that was the key thing that I help people do. Like, no matter where, honor where you're at. And um sure enough, about two weeks into this experience,
00:12:02
Speaker
my guard started coming down. And we're in a breathwork experience. It's like probably 20 minutes into the breathing. I'm there with 30 people who now... two weeks of intense training, I feel pretty bonded with.
00:12:16
Speaker
That was new for me,
Understanding Somatic Work
00:12:18
Speaker
right? And so we're breathing and it's, it it hit me. It was my first real somatic experience of getting out of my head and reconnecting to my heart.
00:12:29
Speaker
And i i mean, it's emotional for me to even still talk about this, but so important because that's what somatic work is all about. Reconnecting to our hearts. And if you would have asked me at the time, like, I would have told you, of course, I'm connected to my body.
00:12:49
Speaker
i was answering, i would answer from my head. That's all I knew, right? That's where most of us are stuck. That's what we're taught. But this experience of connecting to my body, 20 minutes in, I burst into tears.
00:13:06
Speaker
And the crazy thing was that I didn't stop and judge myself, which is what I would have done in other situations, right? the The magic of what happened was that i i just let the tears flow. It was like shedding weight of decades of sadness, of fear, of feeling alone. it was like all the stuff that I had pushed down.
00:13:35
Speaker
came rushing out and i realized a few things like number one, these people aren't judging me. We're all here supporting each other. Actually, I'm supporting them. There's wording me.
00:13:47
Speaker
And the, the key takeaway that it took me even a couple of years to realize this after this happened
00:13:58
Speaker
which is the foundation of all this work is this takeaway, this learning that, oh my God, the reason i could have even had that experience was because my body and my nervous system felt safe enough to have it in that container with people I trusted and a space I trusted.
00:14:23
Speaker
And that like, it still blows my mind. And that is essentially what i aim to help create for clients. It's it's about the the safety that our nervous systems require. It's not words.
00:14:39
Speaker
It's not people saying you're safe now. It's feeling that genuine, authentic safety. That's the key. And I mean, there's a, imagine an incredibly large subconscious component to it. Cause I remember 15, 20 years ago, reading a study the,
00:14:59
Speaker
the quality of sleep people get when they're not in their own bed. Way more disturbances, way more restless, not as much deep sleep, but not as long. And the the theory kind of on evolutionary biology is, of course not, right? Like, you know what safe is, what home is when you're out in the wild. And when you're in a novel environment, even though you're asleep, your body senses it and says, hey, I need to be more on alert. I don't i don't know. Are there predators here? Are there hunters? Like, I need to be ready.
00:15:25
Speaker
And so we could, people would say, oh, don't worry, you're safe. This is a safe space, right? You're in a company. I say, oh, this is safe space. I have an open door. You can come in But if you're not truly feeling it, that guard can't come down because you have these subconscious walls that whole time.
00:15:40
Speaker
That's so true. Right. And our minds will try and justify all kinds of things. You're safe. You're fine. Whatever. But it's like it's back to this, this knowing this language, ancient language. Our bodies know before our minds do.
00:15:58
Speaker
But in order to, we got to listen, we got to pay attention. But yeah, that's exactly right. It's like our gut. No, it's not a chicken or egg question, right? Like, cause the gut, the the highly developed homeostapien brain was way after the body of an animal, right? So the, the body, the, the lizard brain part, that is all tied in a totally different way than our conscious intellectualizing, right?
00:16:24
Speaker
of things So I just realized i brought up somatic. You you talked about somatic, but maybe not everybody listening understands what that is. Could you give a little overview? Yeah.
Redefining Trauma and Healing
00:16:34
Speaker
Thank you. you Yes. Let's do some, just some context here.
00:16:39
Speaker
Where I like to start off with with folks, it's, you know, soma means body, basically. Old school Greek word. And somatic, I consider like this umbrella term in modern times that includes body-based modalities like yoga, breath work, meditation.
00:17:00
Speaker
ah But it can also mean like the approach you bring to doing other things like walking in nature or dancing. And the point of all of it is to practice going inward on whatever it is, right? Like yoga is about, yeah, there's the physical aspect, but it's really about joining the mind and the body.
00:17:28
Speaker
And so somatic work is about bringing your intention and attention to your internal experience. and what we can learn from that, right? It's about reconnecting to this wisdom, our body's intelligence that's like you said, it's so ancient.
00:17:49
Speaker
But living in these modern times, it's really hard because we've never lived with so much noise and distraction. You know, it's it's kind of a battle in modern day life, but that's also why I believe these practices are not only just important for all of us right now, but like vital. Right.
00:18:10
Speaker
Yeah. And I mean, for me, and it was, it was good timing. it It was doing this show. Honestly, I was interviewing yoga instructors and dancers and massage therapists and acupuncturists and would ask these questions and say, oh, well, I listened to my body. I listened to my and I kept hearing this over and over.
00:18:29
Speaker
And I realized i had, did not have that signal, right? Like I had deliberately turned it off. I was a open water swimmer, a distance swimmer. And so train myself, no, don't listen to signals from your body because it's going to tell you to stop and you don't want to stop because you're not going to win the race.
00:18:45
Speaker
And so I had gotten so far away And I guess you can get away with it for a while, but I was in pain a lot of the time because I go to the gym and it wasn't the right day to do certain things. I'm like, no, the schedule says I do this. So I do this thing.
00:18:57
Speaker
And so for me, that was a ah conscious unknown when I was coming to you and saying, hey I don't know how to listen my body. Like, this is a thing that I really need help with.
00:19:09
Speaker
But... I knew that that was an area of work. You brought up another part that I'm curious about, and maybe others will be as well on our patterns. Like what is what is it underneath that puts us into pattern that creates the triggers that we have?
00:19:28
Speaker
And I don't know if I'm alone in this, but I would think most people don't start off aware of their patterns or triggers. Like they they just go through the day. They don't realize this is actually tied to something from 17 years ago that I get triggered on. And that's and when that happens and I check out, right? Like I become emotionally unavailable or I lash out or whatever it is. They don't see it.
00:19:51
Speaker
And I mean, this is a language and and learning I'm just stepping into now. So I guess I'm curious on that side of things, how do you advise and coach and help people start to see some of those things? Because for me, that's been later in coming and more difficult.
00:20:08
Speaker
Right. Firstly, you are not alone, not by a long shot. Okay. I think this is this is one of the most human experiences we can have.
00:20:18
Speaker
And I think it's really... important and cool that you're at where you're at and you're starting to ask these questions, right? I mean, um they're not comfortable questions to ask usually, right? there's ah There's a reason going back to that survival brain why our brains want to keep us in our comfort zones. It's not comfortable to really look in the mirror at our patterns, right? So that's why this work is hard. I say all the time, it's not for the faint of heart.
00:20:49
Speaker
I think we all need to do it. But yeah, the patterns, what, what I find to be helpful in terms of like bringing awareness initially is, is recognizing that we're all conditioned to kind of come from this mental place.
00:21:06
Speaker
And so introducing, information in an an accessible way on how our brains work, like the neuroscience of it is really helpful for people.
00:21:18
Speaker
You know, there's so much confusion and like shame, things like that, that get embedded into these beliefs that start often when we're young, that we do tend to go on autopilot throughout our lives.
00:21:32
Speaker
And it's not because there's something wrong with us, right? I held on to that belief for a long time. I thought there was something wrong with me. I didn't realize that my anxiety was a pattern that started as a way to protect me.
00:21:46
Speaker
It was a tool for a specific period of time. Yeah. Okay. Yes. So it's that it's learning how to kind of view it differently. as shifting perspective. But I feel like the a helpful way to do that initially for people is to understand how the brain works in these ways, like patterns start as protectors, either to protect you from pain, right? They fulfill a need in some way.
00:22:18
Speaker
That's where, you know, addictions come from. And so In a way, they're not personal. They are personal. But it's like your brain doesn't care per se. Your brain's just doing its survival thing to keep you protected from feeling pain in some way. And that's why, you know, one of the big reasons why trauma-informed is part of what I do.
Expanding Capacity Through Nervous System Work
00:22:41
Speaker
like I've come to believe that trauma is kind of the root of it all. We all have it in some way. Even if we don't know we do, we do. Because it's generational. We may be carrying something our grandparents or their parents.
00:22:55
Speaker
You know what i mean? Yeah. Can you say more on that? Because I think there are a lot of people. Like you see trauma with a capital T in the world. I say, look, i I just I've never dealt with it. Like I I can't I'm not I haven't dealt with that. i I don't have that. And so whether it's seeing yourself as separate, different or it's.
00:23:16
Speaker
it feels disingenuous or selfish to even put myself in the trauma category because there are people that have had real trauma, right? Like we always undermine whatever we've gone through. Like, well, it's not as bad as all this.
00:23:29
Speaker
And so what what do you say to clients and people in that respect? Because you're saying, hey, we all have it. But a lot of people say, well, no, no, no. Like, I really don't. Totally. And that's a natural reaction. you know, that's a common one I hear. Or like, my childhood was great, you know? And I'm like, and the point of this is to say, not that you didn't have a great childhood. Like, it's to invite this wider understanding, which all the research and everything's pointing to now.
00:23:59
Speaker
a wider understanding of what we thought it was even 10 years ago. Right. And I think we, we can all agree even a short time ago, you hear the word trauma and it's like, Oh, that's a car accident, you know, physical assault, to you know, natural disasters, like all that obvious big T stuff.
00:24:16
Speaker
So the new definition, what i understand it to be is recognizing those things do often cause trauma. And there's a lot more nuance on a spectrum that we know now. And what this quote by one of my greatest teachers the last decade on trauma sums it up, Dr. Gabor Mate, and he defines it as the trauma wasn't the event It's the wound you sustained from the event.
00:24:50
Speaker
And the second part of this, like in terms of shifting perspective and starting out and on understanding all this in a different way, because right now, I mean, trauma is the hot word, right? Everything's like trauma, trauma, trump trauma, trauma.
00:25:02
Speaker
And so I like to kind of, you know, let's zoom out.
00:25:07
Speaker
The key in understanding it to me is viewing it like anything in your life. that happened that was either too much, too fast or too soon for your nervous system to handle.
00:25:21
Speaker
And when you think about it that way, it's like, let's take out the judgment, right? Let's take out the comparison. Nothing's better or worse. It's just like anything that you're body, heart and mind didn't have the capacity to handle. And that's very much what nervous system work is about, expanding our capacity.
Support in Healing Trauma
00:25:42
Speaker
I wonder if the word trauma gets in the way. It's like the messenger gets in the way of the message at some level. So, you know, how Huberman relabeled yoga nidra to NSDR to get broader adoption or if you're like, Oh, that wooooo yoga nidra, but Oh, NSDR. Okay. That helps me do this. ah And I wonder if it's similar with it's trauma. People have a preconceived association of that's what that is. right But yeah,
00:26:06
Speaker
understanding, hey, you've been in situation, it may have been a great childhood, but you were the oldest child or you were the middle child or the younger child. And you had tools that helped you fit into whatever that environment was. And that may have been really helpful for navigating that. But now you're in a totally different environment and those may be getting in your way.
00:26:23
Speaker
And you may shy away from calling it trauma because you have these beautiful memories. Yes. And so whatever the other phraseology would be helping you see these tools that I put in, because I really liked the way, if you could say it again, it was like too much too soon or too fast yeah for your nervous system to. Yeah. so Yeah. It's like our especially when we're little, right. We have limited capacity and the way he describes that is kind of combining two, two approaches, but anything that's too much, too fast or too soon
00:26:59
Speaker
And if we adopt that view, it kind of opens up the lens, right? Because you're right. The definition we've had for so long and been conditioned for years and years and years, people just assume that word means this, but we're expanding the view. And the other piece is like,
00:27:19
Speaker
What's been found is that two people can have the same experience that's on the outside traumatic, even big T traumatic, like ah like a bad car wreck, right? or whatever it is.
00:27:31
Speaker
But what actually determines whether it registers as traumatic is not that. It's whether they felt supported and seen in the recovery process.
00:27:45
Speaker
That's the differentiator, right? That's what we're starting to understand. So life's going to keep throwing curveballs in all the ways it will. But the thing that matters, we're we're realizing now is being supported, not feeling alone. And oftentimes, when I work with folks with trauma, it's that feeling of being alone that goes way back, usually. Right?
00:28:09
Speaker
That's in and of itself the trauma. Not feeling safe to talk about something, anything. it doesn't have to be anything big. The little t trauma we know now often starts with those seemingly normal sometimes patterns that families have, right? Of avoiding hard conversations, for example.
00:28:30
Speaker
of kind of, you know, praising the wins and achievements, but not really knowing how to be there for their kids emotionally. Right. And so it's this kind of dance of not parent blaming because parents are doing what they know how to do with what they got. And usually it's a hell of a lot less than what they're able to give the next generation, especially when we're talking emotions. Right. It's like, yeah.
00:28:57
Speaker
We're only recently, very recently, kind of allowed to have emotions. People have been in survival mode a long time, right? So we have to recognize that, but also have compassion for the older generations and for ourselves of just like, okay, we're
00:29:15
Speaker
taking the judgment out of it. And can we can we hold the space to to really get in touch with our feelings and that pain, whatever is still there.
Steps for Somatic Healing
00:29:23
Speaker
Because when we do, That pain, once it's seen and felt and supported, that's when we can transmute it in our bodies. That's when it releases, which is what emotional pain has to do. That's its natural cycle. The problem is that we're also used to pushing it down, to numbing it, right?
00:29:42
Speaker
And I guess on that, I mean, it may be helpful and I don't know how deep we can get on it right now, but for people listening, what does that work in that process look like? So we've kind of talked about how how you get the need and the benefits of doing it, but then how do you actually do it?
00:30:00
Speaker
If you can't do it two week intensive yoga instruction training. You know, it varies. I like to really honor where people are at, right? Because we're all different places.
00:30:12
Speaker
But I think there's some really powerful things. And I like to combine, you know, either sessions virtually or in person with people.
00:30:22
Speaker
with the very necessary work of of doing things on your own, you know, but I, I believe healing really happens in relationship. And so at the beginning, you know, that support is needed, especially when, you know, we're talking trauma, but, um, in terms of practical steps, I think the,
00:30:42
Speaker
The very simple exercises, that three of which I included in the in the workshop that we'll link here, those are great places to start. And they're powerful, proven, right? Plenty of science to prove the the benefits now.
00:30:57
Speaker
They're accessible. I do want to pause there because we we do live in an interesting time where pre-science there was all this stuff and people use it and adapt it over millennia and then science comes and you're like well we don't understand so it's not real it's all woo woo but then now we're at this really interesting time where the science is able to prove why the quote woo woo is working because it is scientific it's just we didn't come at it from science it was probably trial and error over centuries millennia as humans Right. And I agree. It's fascinating time to be alive.
00:31:29
Speaker
Like science is now proving what the ancient yogis knew and we're doing 8000 years ago. um And the beauty of it is that it's so accessible. And a lot of times it's so simple.
00:31:45
Speaker
Right. I think that even catches a like catches a lot of people like, wait a second, changing my life can't be this simple, right? Cause we've been so conditioned like to think everything's so complicated. Right. I mean, it i I reference culture a lot in my work because it's such a key piece of how we relate to not only ourselves, but each other and just the times we're living in. I mean, it's, they're kind of crazy. They're cool. Yeah.
00:32:16
Speaker
in ways, but you know, it's breaking things down into accessible steps is ah is an important part of what I do. And so it's reconnecting to our internal medicine and it's through very simple practices like breathing,
00:32:33
Speaker
getting familiar with your sensations, your emotions, the challenges Our body is always speaking to us, but it's noisy. It's distracting. So the challenge is learning to take the time necessary. be patient.
00:32:53
Speaker
That's hard for a lot of people, right? It was hard for me to slow down and pay attention and repeat that enough to where you can start to listen to what's always been there, but just has been drowned out.
00:33:09
Speaker
Right. And that's, you know, some of the key factors, the key pieces of our body's innate language are awareness, sensation and emotion, and just this ability to be with ourselves.
00:33:26
Speaker
Right. And then recognizing that energy that's always flowing through us, needs to do what energy needs to do, which as Einstein said, it never dies, it just changes form.
00:33:39
Speaker
Right. And so our emotions, we need to start viewing our emotions as energy, energy and motion. But if we keep pushing them down, they're just, they're going to come out sideways if we do that. So i don't know if I answered your question, but it's just practical steps are, are so accessible, right?
00:33:59
Speaker
um It's just our awareness, bringing your awareness to them is the first step. That's how we get to be become more aware of our patterns, right? Is this a pattern that's benefiting me or not? Getting curious, bringing in that curiosity is something that's required for, like you did, coming to a breathwork session, you know? And then also sticking with it, you know? And maybe that's that's three minutes a day of breathing. That's often where I start with clients.
00:34:32
Speaker
connecting to your body in just three minutes a day has been shown to be really powerful. Yeah. I don't know if it was Thich Nhat Hanh or somebody is right. Like you you see the yogis meditate for hours, et cetera, et cetera. was saying, look, one mindful breath a day is infinitely better than zero. So if all you had time for was just to pause and do one mindful breath,
00:34:55
Speaker
Like how transformed that the, the, from zero to one, the the gain is way bigger than from one to two and two to three. Like that, the first one is just that first mindful breath and you can take, you can take the space for that.
00:35:07
Speaker
And it's that, yeah, just continually showing up and and trusting that our bodies have an intelligence.
Rachel’s Offerings and Nature Connection
00:35:15
Speaker
Yeah, we really do. I mean, think about, like you mentioned, you know,
00:35:19
Speaker
back on the savannas or back in the caves, how long would we have lasted if we didn't pay attention to our gut feelings? Not long, you know? but Part of my journey, it was like, I was so disconnected from my gut feelings. And we've all been there, right? Think of a time when you had like an inkling, you know, it can be so fast, but you didn't, your mind overrode it only to regret it later, right? We've all been there.
00:35:46
Speaker
And so learning how to trust those sensations is, it's a process, right? It it requires patience. We're conditioned to want the quick fix. It's never been a quick fix. There never will be one.
00:36:01
Speaker
Spoiler alert. But it's like, God, why why would we not at least explore this? You know, our built in ability to heal like our bodies are the most high tech AI that ever has been and ever will be, I believe.
00:36:18
Speaker
You know, what a gift. Let's like let's explore that. Yeah. Well, and speaking of exploring, I mean, I think you were talking about there are a few different flavors. so you you do in-person coaching and sessions, you have virtual, and then this course will certainly put it in the show notes. But if people want to learn more and follow up, what's the best way for them to do so?
00:36:39
Speaker
Yes. So different options, depending on where you're at. I do a monthly virtual breathwork session, which is great for people that want to feel the supportive energy of a group.
00:36:52
Speaker
Do that on Zoom. um I do a little bit of space here and there, depending on the time of year for one-on-ones when people are ready to commit to that.
00:37:04
Speaker
and Also have some retreats throughout the year. I'm a big believer in, you know, nature healing. Like we gotta, gotta reconnect. As you know, the, ah the blue, the power of water and trees and, you know, um,
00:37:22
Speaker
So yeah, there'll be some resources in the show notes for how to connect and that that workshop if people want to dive in with very practical takeaways, simple somatic tools that are really powerful and valuable. And then you know my website will be in there too for anybody who just wants to learn more.
00:37:40
Speaker
Can you just give the yeah URL just in case somebody is listening, but they're not clicking to the show notes? Yeah. Yes. It's just revivewithraich is my website. Yeah.
Conclusion and Encouragement for Healing Exploration
00:37:51
Speaker
so that was probably a lot, but I hope i it made sense.
00:37:57
Speaker
I think it's great because it gives people so many different avenues and entry points, depending where they are, which is what you were saying. Like, depending where you are, you need to meet them because your first step is not going to be the same as someone else's. Yeah. Yeah.
00:38:10
Speaker
And I think these are all steps we need to take because this is part of the journey of our life, right? The unexamined life is not worth living. And we're at this time that we are, so it's so noisy all the time, listening to podcasts all the time, or music or noise in the cities, everything that we don't create that space for the examination. And I'm just so grateful for the work you're doing and and have done with me to help with that examination. And I'm just excited to share that with our listeners. So thank you for the work and the time today.
00:38:43
Speaker
You are welcome. My pleasure. And um beautifully put, you know, now's the time, man. What a gift to be alive. and it's time to look in the mirror.
00:38:55
Speaker
Even when it's scary, we can do it. Right. Especially when it's scary. So thank you, Andrew. Thank you. And thank you all for joining us and enjoy a lively day.
00:39:08
Speaker
Thank you for joining us on today's episode of the Home of Healthspan podcast. And remember, you can always find the products, practices, and routines mentioned by today's guests, as well as many other healthspan role models on alively.com.
00:39:21
Speaker
Enjoy a lively day.