Published July 11, 2021 Hi, pod fam! We’re halfway through Cancer season, and let me tell you—July 22 (Leo season, baby!) cannot come soon enough. My fiery Leo self has been STRUGGLING with the waves of emotions coming and going these last couple of weeks. But as hard as it is, I’m trying to embrace this watery moment—allowing myself to feel and heal and really tune into my needs. And, coincidentally, that’s actually the theme of this week’s episode! Our latest pod guest is wellness entrepreneur and energy healer Millana Snow. We’re going deep within, far outward, and all over. Even though we connected over Zoom, I could feel Millana’s infectious energy and presence so strongly—and I know you’re all gonna be able to feel that same warmth and openness as she speaks. This ep starts by touching on some common threads between religions and spiritual practices but really focuses on the importance of creating—or being able to access—a safe space for ourselves to heal and feel. And this leads us to our unofficial theme for the rest of the year: recognizing ourselves for the beautiful, capable, powerful beings we are. This ep is gonna make you feel loved, supported, curious, and empowered. Let’s get juicy! To start the episode—and really guide the whole convo to follow—I asked Millana the question every pod guest is getting this season: What was the biggest lesson you learned from the madness that was 2020? For Millana, 2020 was a year of expansion: realizing and coming into her life’s purpose, which is to hold space for people going through difficult times. And with that realization came the important notion that we ALL need access to a safe space. That might be a person, a space we create (physically, emotionally, or mentally) for ourselves, or a literal place we go. As an energy healer, Millana has made a career out of creating safe spaces—physically, mentally, AND emotionally—to help others feel their way through to healing. INSTAGRAM✔️ https://www.instagram.com/shoporganicolivia/✔️ https://www.instagram.com/organic_olivia/ WHERE TO LISTEN✔️ Spotify✔️ iTunes✔️ LibsynWATCH✔️YouTube Why we need to feel our feelings When we don’t let ourselves feel our feelings, our emotions build up and create tension, which can manifest in different ways throughout our body. Lower back pain, for example, could just as easily be the result of unreleased emotions as it could be from poor posture. And we might be suppressing more than we think. (Like, helllloooo, recent back issues!) Most commonly, we have trouble feeling, embracing, and releasing feelings of anger or sadness. But those aren’t the only kinds of emotions that can get stuck. In the ep, Millana shares an example of a client who wasn’t letting herself feel sensual or sexual—not even letting herself feel beautiful. And that blockage was affecting her physically and within her relationships. So, what is energy healing, and how does it help us process our emotions? In short, energy healing is a spiritual practice of channeling healing energy from a higher power—Source, the Universe, God, spirit guides—through oneself to another person. The ancient practice helps bring balance, clear emotional blockages, and bring about comfort and/or clarity. “And now, I actually understand that that feeling is the way through, like, that’s what actually can get us to new levels of consciousness and awareness.” —Millana Snow What was once a very niche wellness and healing practice is becoming a lot more mainstream—which is SO exciting to see. As a society, we are ready and more open to different pathways to healing. We love to see it. On that note—another way Millana helps support healing and wellness is through breathwork, which is also becoming a more acceptable, mainstream practice. Breathwork is related to mindfulness—it’s the act of being present while breathing in specific patterns to bring awareness to your mind, body, and—you guessed it!—feelings. While breathwork is typically done in guided one-on-one or group settings, you can definitely give it a shot on your own time! Try this at home: breathwork for beginnersIn the episode, Millana walks me through a quick breath-work and mindfulness exercise. Here’s how to try it for yourself at home, but I definitely recommend following along by listening to the ep. Sit or lie down – Close you eyes – Listen to your environment in this moment. Allow yourself to focus on the sounds and deeply listen. Notice what you’re hearing, be aware of it, and then let it go. – Check in with your breath—your normal, everyday breath—and just notice how you’re breathing. – We’re going to do a quick check in with holotropic breath-work.* Take two breaths in through your mouth and one breath out through your mouth. You’ll want to feel your lower belly balloon out with the first breath, and then take a second breath into your heart. – As you continue this breathing pattern, listen to the sounds around you again. Check in with your thoughts. How are you feelingin this moment? Try to feel the response as you breathe in and out. – Let yourself sit in this moment for a minute or two, gradually returning your breath back to its normal pattern. Once you’re ready, open your eyes and let yourself reflect on any feelings that came up during that time. Breathwork and mindfulness can absolutely be beneficial as a solo practice. In fact, she recommends doing a practice like this for about five minutes a day to kind of release the pressure valve. For a greater release, the benefit of a guided session—like what Millana does with her clients—is having someone there to help you talk through any emotions that come up or simply to be present with you for support. *Holotropic breathwork is a specific breathwork pattern. Other types include Shamanic breathwork, vivation, transformational breath, clarity breathwork, and rebirthing. I hope you’ll give breathwork a try this week! You’ll hear in the episode that in just those few minutes, I felt some INTENSE emotions—mostly feeling like I was full and overflowing with feelings that needed to be released. Definitely needed that release! Alsoooo, I STRONGLY recommend tuning into the episode. Millana has SO much wisdom and compassion to offer—not to mention, her voice is just so soothing! xoxo, Olivia P.s. Just a reminder that podcast previews, product education, herb knowledge, and all things OO are happening on our NEW IG, @shoporganicolivia! Follow Millana Snow on IG
4 min read # S3E26 – HOW TO EMBRACE OUR GRIEF TO ACCESS JOY — Dr. Neeta Bhushan on the importance of emotional resilience through life’s relentless hardships
4 min read # S3ES25 – NEURONS THAT FIRE TOGETHER WIRE TOGETHER — Neurophysiologist & coach Louisa Nicola on rewiring your brain to achieve peak physical & mental performance
3 min read # S3E24 – GETTING COMFORTABLE WITH DEATH — Death Doula Caroline Lee dives into the uncomfortable conversation around death and how we can ease the process for us and others