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In this episode, we discuss:

I’m super excited to have my long time (16 years!!) friend Sarah Birney on for a conversation on the chakras, TBIs, spirituality, plant medicine, and what we used to be like in high school 😉

Sarah is a sacred space holder, a healer, and a transformation facilitator. With a background in yoga, massage, nutrition, and energy work she has worked for over 12 years in the healing realm.

Sarah’s main focus is using the energy of our chakra system to help her clients heal, transform, and step into their true potential.

She believes we are all divine in nature and that many ailments, heartaches and limiting beliefs can be navigated with the right tools and awareness. Through these transformations, she helps her clients align with the divine again and deeply shift their lives and impact in the world.

Although a native of Michigan you can often find Sarah traveling the world working from her laptop, gaining as much new experience as possible!

Additional Resources:

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COURSE: Healing Rampage

This 12-minute meditation infused with bioenergetic frequencies helps to transform your mindset and upgrade your healing.

COURSE: Tapping to Support Chronic Illness

Discover the immense power of the emotional freedom technique! This is an effective tool for your toolbox that will help you to overcome negative beliefs, clear your energy, and even identify information from your subconscious mind so you can get to the root of the challenges you are experiencing.

Episode Transcript:

Welcome to the Healing Uncensored podcast. My name is Sarah Small, and I’m a health and mindset coach for women with autoimmune disease just like you. I absolutely love helping you tap into your self-healing power, uncover the energetic side of healing, and release limiting beliefs around your body and your life. Think of this podcast as everything you wouldn’t hear at your doctor’s office. It’s a place for empowered souls to move beyond food and heal themselves on a soul level. I hope you enjoy today’s episode. Now let’s begin.

I am so excited to have my good friend, Sarah Birney, a.k.a. the Chakra Coach on the podcast today. Sarah is a sacred space holder, a healer, and a transformation facilitator with a background in yoga, massage, nutrition, energy work for the last 12 years. She’s been working in this healing realm. And as you’ll hear us discuss, I’ve known Sarah for over 16 years and it was so much fun catching up and jamming out with her on this episode. For those of you who are interested in your energy system, curious about plant medicine, and wondering how to heal from a traumatic brain injury, you are going to love this one. Let’s get started.

Sarah: Oh my gosh. I am so excited to have you on the podcast today, Sarah. Welcome to the show.

Sarah Birney: Thank you so much. I’m so honored to be here and I’m excited to dive into this with you today.

Sarah: This is super fun. You are the only person that I’ve had on the show. I have had friends on the show and everything, but you were the only person I’ve had on the show whom I’ve known for more than 10 years. So I think it’s 2002. Is that right? How long have we known each other?

Sarah B:  I think so. Yes, 2002. That’s right. So 16 years.

Sarah: 16. Okay, so way more. Holy crap. So let’s just transport back to high school for a minute.

Sarah B: That’s exciting.

Sarah: I know, it’s been a while. And let’s just reflect on what we were doing and who we were, what we were doing with our lives.

Reflecting on our life and who we were

Sarah B: Well, at one point we were part of the Fab Five.

Sarah: Oh my God. I totally forgot.

Sarah B: Five of our friends, the coolest girls around just living the dream.

Sarah: Oh my goodness. Yes, we would just hang out all the time.

Sarah B: All the time.

Sarah: I feel we call ourselves the Fab Five, but no one else called us that.

Sarah B: Oh no, it was just us. Nobody else cared.

Sarah: Yes, no one else cared. Oh my goodness. And we were living it, living the high school life.

Sarah B: I loved it. I loved our high school.

Sarah: I agree. I feel so many people have such a horrible high school experience. And even my younger siblings also, and you have siblings who also went through Okemos High School and hated it. And there were days where I was, I don’t want to go to school, but overall, you’ve got amazing friends and I really liked high school.

Sarah B: I loved it. And most people in our grade say that, for whatever reason, Class of 2006, man, it was so good.

Sarah: What we do, we would throw our hands up, Oh yeah.

Sarah B: I wish everyone could see it.

Sarah: So now you’re 30 still. We’re both November birthdays. So going back to, how old are you when you’re a freshman at a high school? So 16 years ago. We were…

Sarah B: Over half our lives.

Sarah: Oh my God. Over half our lives. If you could go back to 14 year old Sarah’s, both the Sarahs. we both spell our name with an ‘h’, Sarah. What would you tell them?

Sarah B: Oh my gosh. Just to keep being a baller. I don’t know. Not try to be perfect all the time. That’s what I’ve learned, and me being 30 was my ‘drop your perfection’ year. So I battled that for my whole life, but also, definitely in the last 15 years.

Sarah: So I’m just going to tell everyone that we just had our 12-year Facebook Friendversary I think they call it. That’s what they call it officially. And so, Facebook didn’t come out until we were at the end of high school. So we’ve been friends since then on Facebook. And there was a picture of us from, I think it was homecoming or Sadie’s Dance or something. And our eyeliner is so thick. I would go back to the 14-year-old Sarah and be, “Girl, chill on the eyeliner”.

Sarah B: Well, here we are. Neither of us wearing makeup right now, looking fabulous.

Sarah: So our paths have continuously crossed. We lived together. We didn’t go to the same school, but we lived together for one year in college and that was probably 2008 maybe, around there.

Sarah B: 2008 yes.

Sarah: And even then, compared to who we are now, the Sarahs now, and the Sarahs then, so many changes. So let’s just talk about where you were in our life 10 years ago.

Sarah B: And when you say that was 10 years ago, I’m, huh. Because I feel we started on this path. I think that was the very beginning of it for me. Well, freshman year of college, the year before we lived together, the first class I ever took was yoga. That was my first college class. And it was so funny, freshman year college, yoga, fitness and wellness, nutrition, totally on this path, but not on this path. Partying all the time. And I just remember when we lived together, I think I pretty much cooked chicken breasts in a George Foreman and put teriyaki sauce on it, every day. Every day. That was what I did. So, I was interested in it, but I had no idea. No idea.

Sarah: Also we did the, what’s it called? The Master Cleanse when we lived together.

Sarah B: Yes, I did. I did that a lot. Yes. I was into really extreme things

Sarah: And I was, Oh my God, I feel so bad eating the sandwich in front of Sarah. She hasn’t eaten in 10 days.

Sarah B: And I remember in our apartment, I cooked everyone this big Italian pasta meal. While I was doing the master cleanse.

Sarah: You crazy woman.

Sarah B:  Well, day three. It’s, the first three days suck. And after that you’re, I’m on fire. I can do anything. I don’t care about food. You really realize how much time we spend thinking, prepping, cleaning, preparing food, when you do any sort of cleanse, I haven’t done any sort of cleanse in quite a few years.

Sarah: You lifestyle now. And we both were partying a lot. I remember pretty much just passed out on the floor several times, and not the best look. But at the same time, we were opening our eyes to yoga, and to healthy ways of eating, but just weren’t really all in yet.

Sarah B: Not at all.

Sarah: And experimenting a lot with different types of eating, and diets, or protocols and with different types of movement. And just trying to figure out who we were at the same time. Because I don’t think either of us really knew where we wanted to end up, or who we were at the core, at that point in our lives either.

Sarah B: Yeah, definitely.

How we both ended up in the coaching world

Sarah: So then we both ended up in the coaching world as well. Who would have thunk it? But tell us what you do now and how you use chakras as the major roadmap in your work?

Sarah B: Definitely. Well I know we both went to IIN, the Institute for Integrative Nutrition. So that’s where I began in my coaching world. And I did that for a few years. I was a health coach and I was coaching about food and nutrition and diets. And I always had this level of energetics behind it because of yoga and massage and just what I was into. But it was pretty much just eat perfect and your life will be perfect. And I quickly found out that was not real. And I got myself as you know, I tried to eat perfect and I got myself really sick actually. So, I opened my eyes to what it meant to be, to feel good and to be better. And for me, it was once I dropped the food story and the perfectionism there. That I dove deep into more of the energetics and the emotional body and these other things I had learned about, but I hadn’t given them the time of day, I guess I’ll say. So now, I will talk to people about food always, and forever. And I love food. I love really good, beautiful, yummy food. But most of the transformations with my clients and the things we do are about the energetics and the energy body. And it’s wonderful, I love it.

Sarah: It’s so freaking cool. I think that we both ended up here and that we both have looked beyond food in our personal healing, but also, just what we share with the world. But I know for me, it wasn’t a straight line to get to who I am as a coach today. And with Autoimmune Tribe, it took me a long time to figure out even just what Autoimmune Tribe was going to be. So I know you’ve gone through, it’s just a winding path as an entrepreneur. So what were some of the things that then emphasized the importance of this emotional and spiritual healing, that did lead you here? But it wasn’t a straight path either.

Sarah B: Yes, it definitely wasn’t. I remember where I was when you told me about Autoimmune Tribe.

Sarah: Really?

Sarah B: It was you and me in the coffee shop in Costa Rica, my favorite coffee shop, Cafe Mano Congo. And I don’t know what I was telling you. Something about business coaching, I think I’m going to do this. Whenever I would have a new idea, I would send Sarah a message and be, so, I’m going to do this new thing and I’m going to just kill it and it’s going to be great. And you’re, okay, I’m going to actually stay with Autoimmune Tribe because I feel it’s where I’m supposed to be right now. And I was, what? She didn’t join my bandwagon. She stayed with what she needed to do, which is obviously working out so beautifully. But yes, it’s always you try things. And I see this a lot.

I, for two years in Costa Rica, sat behind my computer planning. I wrote a program for two years and perfected it and planned it and planned it and thought about it and got worried about it. I never launched it. I wasn’t actually doing it. So that’s where the winding path, really, for me, it’s not about just letting it push you around. It’s about taking a stand and putting something out there, whether it’s perfect or not, or where you even want to be. Because when we talk about 16 years ago, we didn’t know who we wanted to be. Well, that still could change for us. It’s still a winding path. So it’s just about putting yourself out there and letting yourself ebb and flow and shift with the path, but never letting the path push you. It is not a lazy river.

Sarah: There are some rocks in there.

Sarah B: Yes. Sometimes you have to jump in.

Sarah: What you just said, if you spend all your time planning and perfecting you overthink it and you never end up sharing it with the world. Or you’ve spent so much time planning it that it doesn’t meet your expectations or something. Versus just this experimentation as an entrepreneur. And a lot of people listening are also health coaches or dreaming of being a health coach someday. And I’m sure to want to start successful businesses and I think some words of advice, or just simply to go do it and just do it before it’s perfect. Do it before it has all the graphic design and all the perfections and everything, because I’m sure that idea is good at its core, it doesn’t need all the flowers on top to be perfect.

Sarah B: Yes, totally. So, I launched into the chakra business a year ago as the chakra coach. I rebranded just about a year ago now. And I’ve learned about them for over a decade. I know a lot about them. And every time I talk to someone, I say, Oh, that’s the inbound here, or they’re really active here. And that’s the way my brain works. But even though that’s the way my brain works, the first few times I talked about it, whatever came out of my mouth, I don’t even know because you have to keep trying, you have to talk about it and it will perfect. Not perfect, but it will get better and easier and you’ll learn how people hear it. What people need to listen to and your one-on-one clients for me, they all have the same thing happen each week. That’s energy right there. And I’m, okay, this is what I need to talk about this week. But you don’t know those things unless you’re putting yourself out there and actually doing it and talking to people about it.

Sarah: At some point you just have to let go of the fear that’s paralyzing you. I’ve felt that paralysis before, even starting this Instagram account, it was fucking scary. And I was, Oh my God, what are people going to think? What are my friends gonna think? My family gonna think, blah, blah, blah. That negative voice inside my head and something inside my core was just, who freaking cares? You need to just do this. It will become what it needs to become successfully. So Sarah, you’ve had some challenges with your health and you’ve gone through some ups and downs with your own health as well. But don’t have diagnosed autoimmune disease. However, you experienced a TBI (traumatic brain injury). Do you mind sharing that story with the listeners?

Sarah’s health challenges

Sarah B: Sure. Yes, of course. So I lived in Costa Rica, that quote on quote, perfect life everyone told me I had. And I did wake up to some very amazing landscapes. But I was at a softball game and I got hit in the head with a metal bat. Basically, standing right next to a young, very strong man who missed the ball and threw the bat at my head, on accident. But it’s me and everything’s perfect. So even though I was in a lot of pain I was bedridden for 10 days. Even after that I experienced vertigo and the actual injury wasn’t so bad, but it was the aftermath that, okay so I’m just three years out. And I feel for the first time, feeling like a normal person. So for two years after my accident, I, again, tried to eat perfectly.

I’m going to eat as many fruits and vegetables as I possibly can because that’s where the nutrients is. And that’s what I believe in. And I’m going to take care of the environment. So this is the only way. And I did that for two years and I just went downhill, downhill, downhill, anxiety, crazy depression. I’m not that good at going to doctor, so I never got that diagnosed, but yes, it was scary. It was really scary. Libido gone, vertigo back and forth sometimes, it was really scary. And I thought everyone dealt with that. I just thought that was normal. And so, put a smile on your face when you’re out in public and cry and curl up on the couch when you’re home. And that was my life for two years. And I lived in paradise.

I lived in a perfect location, and it was hard. And everyone’s Oh, you’re so lucky. What do you have to be sad about? And I’m, well, I don’t know, but my brain doesn’t work, my body’s not working. So I did, I moved home and I went to the doctor, a functional medicine doctor and I got all my lab work done. And I was critically low in all nutrients. So it was a big wake up call. And that happened three days before I turned 30. So I was, okay, this is going to change. So critically low she said, you will not be able to have a baby. I didn’t want to have a baby at the time. I don’t know if I do or not. That’s another story. But to have someone say that to you is breakdown alley.

It was really, really scary. So I, changed my diet. I did a lot of things for gut health. So it was an absorption issue because my lab work also said I needed more plant food. So we knew that it was I wasn’t absorbing anything I was eating. I spent all my time on food, every minute of every day, thinking about it, preparing it, making the perfect food, making it beautiful, and really being obsessive about it. And it got me into a really bad spot. So I changed my diet. I got on supplements and within seven months I turned almost every single one of them around. And now I’m, yes you want your business to do better? Take care of your body.

Sarah: That is really good advice. I invested in my functional medicine practitioner about a year ago, actually around the same time. And I had been seeing other types of practitioners and doing a lot of DIY stuff before that. Which was, as you have learned, we both learned, not always the best route. It is amazing the way that my body has changed in just a year. I didn’t even think it was possible for awhile. I think I posted on that recently and on social media, I was just feeling, Oh, this is the way it’s going to be forever. I must deal with it. I’m still going to try to be perfect despite it. And my body is more incredible than I ever even realized. It’s so cool to see yourself feel. What were some of the symptoms, just out of curiosity, of the aftermath of the TBI then? Did you have brain fog or confusion and vertigo?

Sarah B: Vertigo was the scariest one. I had never experienced that before. Just sadness, depression and anxiety were terrible. And everyone has their sad days, but I had never experienced like, literally can’t move, can’t get up off the couch for three days at a time. Brian doesn’t tell anyone. Brian’s my husband. So don’t tell anybody. I don’t want anyone to know. My mom didn’t know. No one knew, besides he knows everything about me. He gets to see it all. But definitely brain fog. And that was a big thing for me in starting as a coach. And I had a client yesterday, talk about this. I didn’t think I was smart enough. I didn’t think that I had a good enough memory. I had this fog that just loomed over me all the time. And I said, well, I can’t be a coach.

And my days, I would do laundry. I do laundry and I would make a meal and I’d be, Oh my gosh, I’ve done so much today. This is so crazy and I was fatigued all the time. And you have that great day where you drink a cup of coffee and you’re, I’m on fire. This is great. But the next day you drink a cup of coffee and you’re drained. And you’re, wait, I thought this was supposed to work? So everything was hard. Everything was really hard. And I’m so blessed to have the man I have, because my relationship wasn’t hard. Of course it could have been better. It could have been magic like it is now, but that part was fine. So I just look and I say, I have a great husband. I have a good life. I have great family. So I need to be grateful, grateful, grateful. And that’s really important to focus on. But at the same time it’s taking care of yourself. You can’t trick your body into being healthy, I don’t think.

Sarah: And just giving yourself permission to not be okay. To realize that I’m not okay right now, or this is not the way that I want to live out rest of my life. And it’s okay to ask for help. And I had a really hard time doing that. Where it was, well, I’m a coach. I should be able to figure out all the answers. And I didn’t have all the answers. I still don’t have all the answers. But that was okay too.

Sarah B: Yes. I remember the first post I posted about admitting it and saying, I curl up on my couch and cry for three days at a time all the time. I remember saying, it’s the minute I opened my front door. So my home became my sad sanctuary. So it didn’t feel good and healing to be home. When I opened that door, it was safe, and I would just crumble. Like we’re out, we’re having dinner with friends, whatever it is. Everything’s great. And I would step in that door and I would crumble. I wrote a post about that, and I’ve never had more people reach out and thank me and just say, you know what? Me too. Oh my gosh, thank you for saying that. I don’t have anyone to talk to. And I did, but I didn’t know that because I couldn’t ask for help. Of course, now I could have asked you, I could have talked to my family, whatever, but you don’t know you can do that when you’re in that sort of state. And it kind of tricks you.

Sarah: I think that we forget how much support we have sometimes. And I just got sentimental as you were saying that, because it just reminds me how important community is in all of this. And maybe it’s just one person and that’s enough. Other times, it’s, you’re surrounded by other women that are with you in this and are standing next to you. And yes, just being that shoulder to cry on, or they’re kicking your butt sometimes, in a loving way. And community is so, so important in all of this. And Sarah and I, were both Sarah, the Sarahs are here. The thing is right here, if any of you guys listening are feeling like you have no one, reach out to us. Tell us your story, tell us your challenges, tell us your struggles because we get it. We might not know exactly what you’re going through or we didn’t experience the exact same thing. We still get it. It sucks to feel alone. So, message us.

Sarah B: And one thing I’ve learned, so I’ve attended a lot of retreats and I’ve also facilitated some retreats with some of my friends, just been there, holding space for people. And a lot of them, the main thing is sharing our stories and these are all women’s retreats. So sharing your story. So everyone has a completely different story and every single person sitting in that circle can relate to it in some way. If it’s the feeling that came up and just what happens, our heart just opens up for that person. And you say, Oh my gosh, I felt that before. And my story is different, but I felt that. So I think people don’t realize how much a lot of this pain and anxiety and worry and trauma that we go through does show up in our bodies in a pretty similar way. And we can all relate. We’ve all experienced some sort of suffering, whether that’s a really, really large thing or a smaller thing. It shows up the same way in our bodies and our minds and our emotional centers.

Sarah: Yes. So let’s talk a little bit about spirituality as well. Would you say that you have always been a spiritual person? Or do you feel at some point in your life, something woke you up to spirituality and spiritual healing?

Sarah B: I would say I’ve always been a spiritual person. And for me that’s really interesting because I have gone into a church three times in my life. And they were all by choice because I never had that as a kid and I wanted to see what it was like. Or I was on vacation or whatever it was, the situation came up. So I always thought I wasn’t spiritual because I thought that meant religious and I was never that. But the family, Sarah obviously knows my family, no one else does, but I had a really open family. We could talk about anything. We traveled the world and experienced other cultures and things. And I got to see spirituality and trust and trusting myself. And earlier you said, I didn’t want to go to school. And I’m, Oh my gosh, I never went to school. It was probably why I liked high school, but my mom gave me mental health days, whenever I wanted them. I never don’t fake sick because then you get sick. That was an emotional thing she taught me as a kid. If you fake sick, you’re going to get sick, just don’t. And you can have a mental health day because you are a spiritual being and you need to check in with your body, your mind, your spirit, all of it. And if something’s off and you need a little bit of time, you can take time. So she really set that up for me, whether she knows it or not. But it wasn’t until I got older. And even in yoga, I was a yoga teacher. I remember coming back from teacher training and another one of our really good friends, Alison said, Oh, you’re a Yogi now.

And I was, no I’m not, because I thought you had to reach a certain level of something. I don’t know. It was weird for me. And I was, no, I don’t think I’m yogi. She’s, you’re a yoga teacher. What? You’re a yogi, it’s fine. It’s just the word we use, but I didn’t admit or come out of the spiritual closet as they say, for quite a while. And a lot of that happened for me in Costa Rica, for sure. Being in such a spiritual community down there that I felt safe to come crawling out.

Sarah: It can be a little scary. I remember feeling so I don’t know the exact word to put, so I think just safe or maybe accepted by your family. Your whole family, I’m sure there are flaws and imperfections and your family’s not perfect. But to me, I was, this family really has a lot of love. They all accept each other and because you all accept each other, I felt whenever I was at your house, I was really accepted as well. And I loved that about your family. And you were able to just be honest with your parents. It was like you didn’t have to, I lied a lot.

Sarah B: I didn’t. And that doesn’t mean I didn’t do bad things, but my mom knew about it.

Sarah: Remember that day, you had called me from the house phone and I’m, Oh, 10 minutes?

Sarah B: Yes.

Sarah: Oh my gosh. But I just remember feeling very supported accepted and safe. And so then, you said in Costa Rica, there was also just this… I think sometimes there’s courage involved where it’s to just really express your spiritual beliefs. Or even just to explore them and figure out what do I believe in or what is all this all about? I’m gonna put my toe in and then my whole foot, and then I’m going to totally dive in. But were there any specific experiences that you had in Costa Rica that really were just poignant for you? That were important that stand out?

Sarah B: Yes, definitely. And that community I was in, it was just a little tiny town. A little tiny kind of surfer town and it was full of self-expression like I’ve never seen. Back home, if you wear something different than someone else you’re being judged for it. And down there, it’s a very hippie community I would say. And then there’s not, everyone’s just wearing a bathing suit and Ryan and I used to say, you don’t know what someone’s life is like until you go to their house. Because everyone looks the same. They’re all wearing a bathing suit. We all have beat-up old cars that can make it up mountain roads, and then you get to their house. And they might live in a surfer house on the beach, or they might live in a million-dollar mansion. And you have no idea.

So it was self-expression and not judging each other. you don’t have to fit into a box, I guess. If you’re a millionaire, you don’t have to wear Chanel. And if you’re a surfer, you don’t have to, whatever it is. You don’t have to prove anything. So that was really interesting. It was interesting to live that way. And it’s interesting to come back and I always get culture shock coming back. Of how different our culture is. But I know the biggest spiritual awakening for me was finding my shaman and sitting in an Iowasca ceremony, which has now become a pretty big part of my life. And for me, I was a health coach who was super sick and feeling depressed, and I thought I had to have all the answers and I wasn’t getting better, wasn’t getting better, wasn’t getting better. So I just went to research and I said, someone told me this might help a brain injury. And that’s where I came at it from. But what it did is, it did not fix me. It did not totally transform my whole life, in a way it did. It opened me up to being okay, being a spiritual being, being an energetic being and giving me the tools to work on my own body, mind and spirit. Where I was very, very much just focused on my body and in more of an attack.

I came way though in I was stuck in my mind, focused on my body. Which is a weird thing to say, but just being obsessive-compulsive about my body, but not embodying myself, not getting into my own body. Which is the difference I have figured out now, with the chakra system. How you actually get into your lower chakras, not just think about them. You’re not eating well because you want to look good, which is how most people start. Which is great you’re getting started. It doesn’t really matter why you get started as long as you do. So yes, that was the biggest opening for me, I guess, down there.

Sarah: So that’s the first time plant medicine has been mentioned on the show. For people who are just unaware or unsure about it, is there anything that you would share with them just to calm any nerves or to educate people?

Plant medicine ceremony

Sarah B: Yes. And nerves are fine because that comes from, just wanting to know more. It’s something that’s different, it’s not talked about in our society that much. It is more and more and, plant medicine is food. It is eating fruits and vegetables, and cookout ceremonies are becoming a thing. So this is pretty intense, but it’s just all just natural healing, is what I will say. So it’s a different way to look at it, but this is more intense. So it’s a hallucinogenic tea that you’ll drink in ceremony. And it’s definitely a ceremony. It’s a very intentional ceremony that you sit in with trained shamans and it’s a chance to look at yours like I said, mind, body spirit. And you kind of go into not a different world for me.

What I like to tell people and I’ve tried to sum up is I’ve never known who Sarah was more, than sitting in ceremony. Because for me, I always get snapshots about this is your life. This is how you react in your life. This is what you do. And today, right now, which we all have this opportunity every minute of every day. But it’s hard to look at like that. You get the choice to continue doing it the way you’re doing it. To change the way you’re doing it, to tweak this here or there, or whether just feel really good about the things you’re doing well in your life too. So, there’s a lot of details we could go in about it, but…

Sarah: I want to know personally, do you feel there’s like a movie screen playing out in front of you when you are in ceremony? Is it really visual for you, or is it just kind of a knowing inside your body?

Sarah B: So it’s different for every person, every time. So that’s why it’s so hard to sum up. And when we say plant medicine or something, everyone has something come to mind. The first time I did it, I thought I would be rolling around on a mat, not knowing what’s going on, not able to walk or function or say. I don’t know, I have crazy ideas. It wasn’t that at all. And I don’t really get visuals, but a lot of people do. So that’s also just who you are. But the movie screen, that’s funny you say that because I have had a time that was just, literally my memories, a movie screen that just kept going off time with you.

I’m sure , through college and through high school and what my life has to where I’ve gotten to be. Who is Sarah? And that played out. And other times I’ve just been in a really, really joyous space and it’s saying, Hey, you can enjoy your life. You don’t have to fix everything all the time. You don’t have to find problems. You don’t have to always be working. And sometimes it’s working through. I’ve had some grief that I’ve really worked through in ceremony and things. So it depends on where you’re at and it can go a lot of different ways for sure.

Sarah: So my brain is just turning now, because I don’t know, I feel though, if you have a specific intention or you’re trying to control what you get out of this ceremony, it probably doesn’t happen. I feel I go in and be, I just want to connect to my brother. And then I also, I feel I would also want just life guidance and business guidance, but I feel I would want to connect to Jordan. But if I try to control it too much, do you ever feel that backfires?

Sarah B: Well, if you try to connect with Jordan, I think you’d be able to. But if you have expectations of how that connection will look, it might not go that way. But a lot of people, connect with people they’ve lost. And if it’s just a feeling of being there with that person or, just telling them that you love them, whatever it is. So that’s a huge piece of plant medicine, that a lot of people use it for, for connecting with ancestors, and with family members and things. So I think having an intention, we always set intention. So intention and expectation is very different. So setting an intention for that is a beautiful way to go about it, I think. But not being attached to what it ends up looking like.

And it’s used for healing. We call it medicine. So medicine is very different than drug, because there’s a lot of people using hallucinogenic drugs, as in a party scene. And you’re not going into that intentionally. The thing is, you can ask questions. You can say, Hey, I want to connect with this person or I want to do this. And a cool story that, you know this about my life is I’ve suffered from migraines forever, forever. Really bad stay at home. Can’t look at anyone, talk, turn off the lights and sometimes nauseous and vomiting, just really bad. And those got a lot worse after my accident as well, which makes sense. And I sat in a ceremony last December and went in with the intention to address that, and say what was already going on with my brain.

Did I get hit in the head to look further into what’s going on inside of my brain? Because I’ve already had this migraine issue my whole life. And at times you feel someone’s working on a certain area of your body. So I had felt like someone was working on my brain and things were moving around. I felt a little pressure. It wasn’t scary. At first I was scared and I was, okay, just breathe. This is helpful. And I haven’t had a migraine since.

Sarah: That’s incredible.

Sarah B: It’s incredible. I’ve had a couple of little headaches and usually those are because I did something I shouldn’t do. But migraines are a different story and they have not been my story any longer, and we’re going on a year. And that was unheard of, I had numerous every month. So it’s just insane to me.

Sarah: Yes. So you completely rewrote your story through that experience, or at least your story after it was changed, it was different. The next step on a different path.

Sarah B: Yes. And they say it rewires your neural pathways in your brain. So that’s where, especially with the emotional, the limiting beliefs and things like that. It is like cutting cords. It’s like cutting cords or breaking something down. I know you’re on a webinar with me, yesterday you were talking about breaking down our energy system so that we get to build it up in the way that we want. So it is a lot of that restructuring.

Sarah: Yes. We’ve got a little more time here. Do you mind explaining? So I’ve talked about chakras to my audience before, but I think we each talk about it in a different, unique way, and have learned it in different ways. And so I’d love for you to just, can we go from root to crown and give some insight on each of those?

Sarah B: Sure. And I’d love to talk, like I just said, our portal, and people who say, Oh, chakras. I run into all different types of people. I had someone recently asked me, are you a chakra? And it just made me giggle, because it’s just simple guys, it’s your energy system. That’s all it is. Your energy and I say portal, because I just think of it as this circle that’s around us at all times. And when someone walks–

Sarah: Yesterday, I was, Ooh, I love that because now I see it as a bubble, but I never considered calling it this portal. And that just aligned with me really well. I love that you described it and it’s a visual thing for people. And many of us need to be able to start to visualize it because we can’t see it with our human eyes. So we’re, what are you guys talking about? So they want to be able to see it.

Sarah B: Totally. And it’s hard to see, but it’s easy to feel. When someone walks in the room and you’re just, they’re so energetic. Oh, I just love them. I feel good when I’m with that person, that’s their portal. That’s you stepping into their portal for a minute and it’s a rocking portal. And someone might walk in and they’re really sad or they’re really angry and you say, Oh my gosh, I’m so drained after hanging out with that person. That’s their portal. And it’s maybe that something’s stuck or there’s grief taking over their heart center or whatever it is. It’s not that one’s good or bad, but everyone can feel it.

So I think that’s an easier way to begin, but then, if you can feel it and you can say, okay, I have this energy portal, then you have the ability to change it, and to go through. I like the chakras because they’re a map. The map that you can get into each of these little sections and they relate to your body physically and your emotions and they each have different qualities, which we can talk about now. And so it’s just a map. It’s a map of your energy system, which is a beautiful, beautiful piece for me. And there’s more than seven, but we always talk about the seven major chakras.

Sarah: Yes. I was just going to say that I always, in the Intuitive Soul School Program, I’m hosting right now. I start off right off the bat with the main seven chakras because it is a map. Once you know the map and you’ve memorized some aspects of that map, it’s so much easier to understand your own energy body and understand the people around you as well. But keep going, I want to hear your wisdom.

Chakra wisdom

Sarah B: Yes, totally. So starting at the base, we have our base, the root chakra Muladhara. And sometimes I say their Sanskrit names and sometimes not. And that one’s gonna be like a lot of people think it’s at your feet and it’s not. But you connect with the earth through your feet. So I think it, you can think about it in that way, but it’s at the base of your spine. And this one, I loved earlier, we talked about community. And so this one is your foundation. This is the heavy hitter for me, is the root chakra, because it governs your body and everything we’re talking about with health and it covers food and all of that. That’s just so big for people. It’s also your family. Everyone’s got their family stuff. It’s also money, which is just a huge one for people and your career. So this is super, super foundational.

And when those things have some stagnancy in them, if they don’t feel like they’re in flow, you are building a house and that’s your foundation. And I had given the example yesterday, okay. I was building my house and I was really, really obsessed with my food. And I was building this really shaky foundation of food and being obsessed with food and not having money. And not being around my family, not really having that community and building that foundation. So I had these holes in my foundation. And when you have a hole, when you have something stuck in these areas, just think of it as a hole in that portal where energy is just always going out. So I spent all day trying to patch my holes, keep the energy in, instead of being able to build.

So I never was able to go to chakra two, chakra three, these other ones, people totally crave, because my foundation was off. So the first one is just so, so crucial to address. And to, I say break down, because limiting beliefs and these ideas we have about ourselves from the way we were raised, the place we were raised, what TV we watched, what society tells us that we’re terrible and never good enough all day, every day. So we all naturally have these limits. And money, let’s use that one. Does everything you ever look at every day say you’re not good enough and you don’t have enough? Yes. So you’re going to have some problems in your foundation with that, until you address that and figure out what’s just a story and what’s reality. So the bottom one’s big and there’s just some really big areas of life that are in there.

Sarah: Yes. Money, family. I’m sure people are, Oh yeah, I got some stuff. Some baggage or some stress around all that in their life potentially. When you asked us yesterday, too, I can’t remember the specific question. It was like, which chakra do you feel you want to focus on or maybe it is out of balance? Throat for me is one I’m working on. But root is one I always try to prioritize because it is, it’s so many different, big parts of your life that when they’re out of whack, if it’s really hard to focus on some of the other aspects of our being.

Sarah B: Definitely. Yes, snd I like to think of it as you are building from the ground up. You’re building this house, so really, really getting your foundation strong. Doesn’t mean it has to be perfect. It’s never the idea that you can’t move beyond. And the number one thing I work with my clients on this is, so you’re building a portal. If you think about this as a cylinder, the best thing for your root chakra is boundaries. Healthy boundaries, because we like to take care of everybody else before ourselves. We have a really hard time putting boundaries up. So that’s going to start to create this foundation. You’re building the foundation, you’re building these boundaries, you address what limits and what limiting beliefs you’ve had and why they came. And they’re usually not because of anything you did. So, that’s a story.

And you can cut that cord and energetically say, that’s not my story, any longer. Even if it has been your whole life and begin to create some boundaries there, and build that up. Because then you get to build, then you get to go on to… number two for women is as our power center. And the first one is very masculine, masculine energy is very result oriented and doing and providing. And so if you think of all the things – you have to eat, you have to provide food for yourself. You have a body, you need to take care of it. You need to make money, at least in our society, the way it’s set up now, you need to. So it’s your basic needs our chakra one. And that’s where it’s a masculine one. So that’s kind of where men get their power.

And that’s a beautiful thing. But women, for us, our creative energy, we create babies in our womb space and that’s where the second chakra is. So that’s going to be our like juicy power center. And we need to address our womb, but once we have that really strong foundation, we get to move up. And the second chakra is all about sensuality and sexuality and pleasure. And I think I said yesterday, it’s about being turned on by life and that’s not always sexual, but can you enjoy your life? And I give this example a lot, you’re in the car, which a lot of people get angry when they’re driving and you run into a traffic jam. And it’s, are you mad or can you find the pleasure in life? Can you roll down the window and feel the breeze on your arm and see a butterfly go by? Can you witness life and find pleasure everywhere you are? Even if you’re in a bad situation, it will happen. I can guarantee that for everybody. So that’s really tapping into that’s your portal, that’s your power. Can you still find the pleasure in life? And that is what boosts your creativity. So if you can find that pleasure and really activate that second chakra, you’re gonna have a lot of creative energy. And be able to create a lot of things in the world.

Sarah: I’ve told this story before, but when I removed my copper IUD, it was like, there was this huge blockage in my sacral chakra and that energy in the womb. And therefore, affected my creative power and energy, and power as a woman. And all of a sudden it was gone, and all this space was just then opened up within that portal, as you were describing. Where it was, I feel fucking powerful now. I was like this is amazing. I didn’t even know I had that power until that device was out of my body. And it was affecting me in many other physical ways as well. But I was most impressed by the emotional transformation that I experienced after.

Sarah B: Yes, totally. That’s beautiful. I love it. And even these are all, they are physical, they are emotional, they are spiritual. It’s all of it. So you can really activate and get into these centers in so many different ways. That was a physical blockage that you had that is creating a blockage there, in your emotional and spiritual body as well. So that’s interesting, I love it. I love that you got it out. Not that you had it affecting you, but I’ve had it as well, myself.

Sarah: Yes, it’s a whole another conversation. It’s hard as a woman to make the choice. It’s like, you’re not ready for kids, but there’s not really good non-hormonal options out there. I thought I was doing this amazing thing by getting copper IUD and not doing hormones. But then, I ended up having many other adverse effects – emotionally, physically, spiritually as well, all of these things. So now I just do natural cycle tracking and it works for me, and it might not work for everybody, but it’s really liberating for sure.

Sarah B: I do it too. And it is liberating and it’s fun. Yes. You just get to tap into your system because we’re cyclical. Especially women, everyone is though. And so, we get to tap in and say like, Oh, I’m not supposed to feel the same every day. And start to celebrate that instead of–

Sarah: We go through these cycles, the earth cycles, the moon cycles, our body cycle, our businesses cycle, the cycle of our relationship. We’re surrounded by all these cycles. And I think if we embrace it, then there’s less frustration when things are not constant, like one level all the time.

Sarah B: Yes, totally.

Sarah: So if you could just put a few keywords to the other, let’s see, five major chakras, starting with, so we got through the root, sacral, solar plexus. What are a few words that describe that?

Sarah B: Solar plexus is like confidence, and willpower, and action. So, chakra two gives you your desires and your creative ideas. But then, chakra three is putting them in action, doing them. And chakra four is your heart chakra, and it’s about healing and it’s about love. And it’s definitely where you reside and just in this healing realm. Knowing that the body can heal itself, and there’s a lot of tools we have. And that is a good place for people to start I think, as well as the heart. Because it’s the center of the uppers and the lowers, it bridges the gap between the two. And there’s big disconnects between the uppers and lowers. That’s what I work with on my clients as well. So then, we go up higher and these ones are more of the mind. The lowers are your body and the uppers are your mind.

So the throat chakra is about communication, in the way that you walk and talk and express yourself in the world. And that was really big for our society. They say public speaking is the number one fear that people fear more than death. And that is a huge indication that we are very suppressed in our expression. That’s really big. And we move up to the third eye chakra. The one that I get the very most questions about. Everyone wants to know, how do I open my third eye? And it’s just really funny, our society is really attracted to being high vibe and being very spiritual and things like that. And I think a lot of people want to focus on the uppers, because they want to ignore the lowers. Those are a little more intense to talk about. So, it’s always interesting.

Sarah:   [inaudible 50:32] sexy, right?

Sarah B: Yes. The uppers are very sexy and fun and connection, but the third eye is all about your intuition. And trusting yourself and trusting your path and trusting that everything is happening as it should. And when you get those little sparks of ideas and things like that, to go forward, even if they seem crazy. And a lot of people dim those down, and say no, I’m not gonna go there. So that one, it’s a beautiful one for sure. And they are all very complex in their own ways, but then the crown chakra is going to be your connection to everything. When we talk about spirituality, just saying you are all connected, we’re all connected. We’re connected to something greater. It’s not about, everything’s not about Sarah. Right now, it’s all about Sarah, and Sarah. But just in general, it’s about all of us. It’s about the world. It’s about connecting with nature and with the higher power and whatever you want to call that. So that’s going to be chakra seven.

Sarah: I love that.

Sarah B: Thank you.

Sarah: I love also that you mentioned that you help clients with that balance between the upper and the lower. I find in my work that many of us really like to be, and myself included, love to be in those upper chakras because they’re sexy and they’re fun. And then, we ignore those chakras and then our body’s needs. Some of our physical needs, self-care and rest supports our body, and all of these things. So when we can actively and consciously start to balance those out, I’ve experienced my body at least, just feeling more aligned as a whole human being and a spiritual being. Because sometimes I’m just, I just want to be a spiritual being, do I have to be in this human body all the time? It’s like, yes I’m here for a reason. I’m here for a purpose. Get into that physical body girl. And actually, this is a weird random thought, but working out for me, I had to really go slow in the beginning, but I’ve started to increase a few of my workouts. Listening to my body of chronic illness. But that has really connected me to my lower chakras. I’m like, okay, it is fun to be a human, it is fun to build muscle in your body which was not always the case for me.

Sarah B: Yes. And what’s interesting is I’ve known you for so long. We both found a lot of power in physical practice. But I think what you and I both, with having various illnesses have realize this. So you can be in your upper charkas and you can be addressing your lowers by saying, I have to work out. I have to be strong. I have to do this. I have to look good. And you can see how that’s just thinking about moving your body. You’re not listening to your body. You’re not getting into your body. You’re not feeling it. So now, I know that your practice has changed so much and you’re feeling it. And you’re doing what your body is saying, whatever day, whatever time, whatever moment. And that is actually activating the lower ones. Because when we just think about it and do it for the wrong reason, we’re actually suppressing that. So it’s a really delicate balance there.

Sarah: That’s a beautiful point. I didn’t think about that, but that’s so true. There’s a completely different energy around. I have to work out versus I’m listening to my body, it wants to move. It wants to feel strong. And so I’m going to honor that.

Sarah B: And that’s getting right into that second chakra too, that pleasure. I get to move my body. I get to connect. I get to be strong. I get to feel what this feels like and find pleasure there. Instead of no pain, no gain, do it, do it, do it because you’ll look better or whatever the mental thing is people do.

Sarah: It’ll be my drive, for sure.

Sarah B:  Mine too.

Sarah: We have grown and evolved so much in that time.

Sarah B: And we still will, forever and ever.

Sarah:  Just 30, 31, what is it, journeys around the sun? Almost there. So any last words of wisdom, anything that you want to provide a clarity on, or we didn’t get to today that you want to leave the audience with?

Sarah B: I feel great. This conversation, it’s so different. I love to be on podcasts. It’s so different to be on a podcast with someone who knows my background and knows so much in this social media world. I paint a beautiful picture online too. I’ll be the first to admit that, I love that. And I love to inspire myself with painting that as well. But it’s not whatever you see in someone, that’s not their story. That’s not their whole story. Talk to someone, be open-minded listen to them. We all have a story. We all look the way we look, when we do. And we all paint some sort of picture. So there’s a lot behind the scenes. A lot is coming out right now, politically and stuff happens to us to make us who we are. We learn the lessons that we need to learn and things like that to move forward. So there’s just always more. It’s always a lot deeper than people think.

Sarah: Yes. One of the greatest gifts you can give someone is to be the sacred container for them. Just be a listener for them and listen to their story. And I know you do that as a coach and I do that as a coach. And it is just intuitively coming forward for me right now, but I feel I’m just being called to say, everyone listening, if you want to give someone else the greatest healing gift, go listen to their story. And if you feel like you’re hurting and you need to be heard come to either of us. Because we will also be that listener for you, and hold that sacred container in that space for you to just share. Because it is, it’s so powerful just to share your story and feel like you’re actually being heard. It very rarely do we empathically listen. Usually, it’s half-listening, right?

Sarah B: Yes. Like we had talked about with the fifth chakra and people being afraid to speak. I get that. It’s really hard. And it’s because people don’t listen. It’s because we’ve been trained to tell it a story, not tell the truth. And so I think that’s where the greatest healing comes in. And that’s why having a coach and going to retreats and experiencing things like that. It’s just telling your story and being, being heard, I think can be the most healing thing that you can come through.

Sarah: One of the greatest gifts you can give yourself and your body and growth and your healing process is go invest in yourself. Hire the coach, go on the retreat. You’re not going to regret it. So how can people join you for your upcoming retreat or find you online work with you, Sarah?

Sarah B: Yes, definitely. So on Facebook, I have a group called, The Chakra Collective. I only work with women, so that’s just for women, but we love you men. And the Chakra Collective online, I’m the Chakra Coach on Instagram. And I think we will tag my website on here, and I do have an upcoming retreat in Costa Rica. It is a seven day Chakra Activation Retreat with yoga and meditation, and two iowaska ceremonies in there as well. So if any of that excited anyone. All questions about that are, are totally, totally welcome because I know it can be different for people. But if someone feels the call, it’s a beautiful, beautiful next step on the path for sure.

Sarah: Awesome. I highly recommend you all go check Sarah out. At least, go follow her on social media. She has amazing pictures that she just put out. Freaking gorgeous. Thank you so much for being on today. So good to catch up with you and chat with you. I love you so much.

Sarah B: I love you too. Thank you so much. This has been so much fun.

Thank you so much for tuning in to today’s episode. You’ll find all the links to Sarah’s work and community in the show notes. I’m wondering if I can also ask you for a quick favor before you go off and do the next thing on your to-do list today? Can you pull up iTunes on your phone or computer? Maybe it’s already up and leave us a five-star review. If you’ve been loving the podcast and looking forward to new episodes. This helps us get the word out and build even more awareness around healing chronic illness. I would so appreciate your love and your support as I hope to make this podcast a tool in everyone’s toolbox someday. So please share this with your friends as well. And I love to repost you on social media. I am sending you so much love, so much gratitude, so much appreciation. See you next time.

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