Unlock Your Wisdom and Power: Breathwork with Ashlene Elizabeth
Listen in for profound tools to feel better in your life today. Ashlene Elizabeth is a breathwork facilitator, embodiment coach, and reiki healer. She describes what happens in your brain when you practice breathwork, the method that she teaches, and the remarkable impact it has on your mind and body. We process my first session and how it helped silence my mental chatter, calm my nervous system, and reconnect to my innate energy. Ashlene shares her own journey of discovering breathwork, its transformative effects on her intuition and how it empowered her to make bold life changes, like moving to Denver with no job or apartment and face her fear of public speaking. She delves into how this work has deepened her relationships and grown her business by putting in *less* effort - yes, you read that right. In this episode, we reflect on patterns and growth, acknowledging the wisdom held within our bodies that the mind may never fully grasp. Stay tuned for a live breathing exercise towards the end of the episode!
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Transcript:
00;00;07;04 - 00;00;32;11
Steph
I'm Stephanie Hammond and this is the Fruition podcast. On this show, I sit down with passionate people who've brought their dreams to fruition. We'll explore different versions of success and fulfillment and dig in to what was on their mind along the way. With these conversations, I hope we can all expand our sense of possibility. And who knows? Maybe hearing their stories will inspire you to take action on yours.
00;00;32;13 - 00;00;35;11
Steph
Welcome back. I hope you had a.
00;00;35;11 - 00;00;37;27
Ashlene
Spooky Halloween last night.
00;00;38;00 - 00;00;58;27
Steph
It is very much fall here in Seattle. And I'm going to be real with you. Fall has always been a struggle for me. It feels like the first day back from vacation, but it lasts for months. There is a lot of blank space. Everything's slower and quieter. And in the past it was really, really difficult for me to match that energy.
00;00;58;29 - 00;01;24;21
Steph
As you know, a busybody must always be doing something impressive and big and wild and fun, girly. But we've been doing a lot of work around here these past few years and I feel so much calmer. Yeah, I definitely still have highs and lows, but it usually doesn't become a worth thing anymore. Like in the past I was like, Wow, I'm such a big, boring loser, but I don't feel that way anymore.
00;01;24;25 - 00;01;51;17
Steph
So I'm going to give myself a pat on the back today and keep working on it. Just that you should know in case anyone else out there ever feels like they're not enough, you're not alone. And with work, we can start to move our way out of that mindset for good. So today we have a rock star, breathwork facilitator, embodiment, coach and Reiki healer, Ashlyn Elizabeth.
00;01;51;20 - 00;02;12;21
Steph
She is, of course, going to share her fascinating journey, but also she's going to break down the power of these tools and how they can create space within our bodies for us to reconnect with our energy, our power, our mana, our life force. Breathwork is an ancient practice and there's tons of methods out there that you can learn.
00;02;12;23 - 00;02;34;28
Steph
You've probably heard of like the Wim Hof method, but there are many others like Heliotrope, like Breathwork, or what actually practices the Sacred Breath method. I think there's over 50 different methods out there. There's also techniques like four, seven, eight breathing where you breathe in for 4 seconds, hold it for 7 seconds, and then release for 8 seconds.
00;02;34;28 - 00;02;52;11
Steph
So if you want to try this on your own, do it four times in a row. The point is to change your breathing pattern, to oxygenate and alkalis, your blood decrease your brain activity to a more hypnotic brainwave state. Kind of like sleep, but you're awake. It reduces inflammation in your body. It calms your nervous.
00;02;52;11 - 00;02;53;11
Ashlene
System.
00;02;53;13 - 00;03;22;08
Steph
And it just channels your attention and energy. All of that results in the release of stress hormones. So I feel really smooth after my sessions with Ashlyn. And oftentimes you'll have an improved sense of clarity and focus. There are so many benefits. It's wild. They're using breathwork for PTSD, anxiety, depression, sleep disorders, strengthening immune systems, healing addictions. It's really, really profound.
00;03;22;11 - 00;03;44;08
Steph
I think of it as a physical act of meditation. Ashlyn even walks us through a quick exercise towards the end of our session, so stay tuned for that. A fun fact that I learned is that our English word spirit comes from the Latin word spiritus, which means a breath, your spirit, your energy and your power are literally your breath.
00;03;44;14 - 00;04;07;16
Steph
So breath work is really an incredibly profound modality to help you tap into that. That universal life force and energy that you have within you. Okay. Current obsession. Jen eats good on Instagram and TikTok. She does a series where she makes five days of gluten and dairy free dinners for 3 to 4 people on a $55 Trader Joe's grocery list.
00;04;07;19 - 00;04;36;11
Steph
Incredibly genius. So I've been doing this for, I think, four weeks in a row, and she's like, tangibly simplifying my life. Oh, also, I blew it on the audio for this episode and on the next episode. So yikes. But I'm learning and I won't make that mistake again. Okay. Have a fabulous day. Follow this show and leave a review.
00;04;36;12 - 00;04;42;20
Ashlene
Thanks. Bye. Hello, Ashlynn.
00;04;42;20 - 00;04;43;28
Steph
And welcome to the Creation.
00;04;43;28 - 00;04;53;13
Ashlene
Podcast. Thank you, Stephanie. I'm so excited to be here. Really, really honored. I've been looking forward to it all day.
00;04;53;15 - 00;05;13;19
Steph
I'm just looking forward to it. Honestly, since I first saw your page. Sierra, our mutual friend, shared it with me and I was like, Yes, yes, immediately. And then I had a Breathwork session with you, which was my first breathwork session ever. And actually I should take a step back for anybody listening. I actually knew the Breathwork facilitator.
00;05;13;20 - 00;05;17;17
Ashlene
Which was my first session with her, but she's also.
00;05;17;17 - 00;05;40;08
Steph
She's trained in Reiki and she also is an embodiment guide and coach, so she infuses all of those practices into any session I want. Before we get into your background, I just want to talk for a second about Breathwork. I feel the need to share with people that Breathwork is not as intimidating as it might sound. And I've been.
00;05;40;11 - 00;06;07;24
Steph
I've been feeling called to it for a long time and I thought that when half was like the only tool out there or program, I guess. And Wim Hof, when I think of Wim half, I think of ice and water and like extreme situations and holding your breath and hallucinating like really intense experiences. And that was not your, your goal is.
00;06;07;24 - 00;06;09;04
Ashlene
00;06;09;07 - 00;06;25;17
Steph
A more gentle approach, it seems. And that's your like your method of transporting people and helping them to open up. And so I, I don't know, I just feel called to at the top of this conversation. Talk a little bit about Breathwork.
00;06;25;22 - 00;06;44;29
Ashlene
Yeah, absolutely. So it's it's interesting because a lot of people have resistance towards it and I can see it. It's almost like they have this call to do it and they have this call to do it with me, and yet they'll be like, Oh, I can't do it this week, or they'll like postpone it, or they'll even tell me, Hey, I'm very nervous.
00;06;44;29 - 00;07;11;22
Ashlene
And I think that when we've never done something before and we've heard about it and we've heard other people's experiences, we don't know what to expect. And what's really cool about Breathwork is it's different every single time. Like, yes, I have the same approach and it's more of that feminine allowing and receptivity and very intuitive. But it's also it is a gentler approach.
00;07;11;22 - 00;07;36;15
Ashlene
But sometimes what that means is when there's gentleness and when the body feels safe, so much can come up and there can be these huge, like catharsis releases and other things. I just want to say that. But it's different every single time. Yet our bodies will show us, especially when we're like, Yeah, we're going to do it. It's almost like before the breathwork things will come up for us that are like ready to be seen.
00;07;36;15 - 00;08;03;23
Ashlene
And that's kind of our subconscious being like, okay, it's ready. And I think some people are kind of nervous about that because what our mind does, especially because we're usually in right now we're in the beta brainwave. And so the beta brainwave analyzes it, sees the external, it judge it judges and assesses and makes assessments. And so by doing that, it doesn't like the unfamiliar, it likes predictable.
00;08;03;24 - 00;08;28;09
Ashlene
So people get that resistance towards it. But what's really interesting, and I love that you already brought it up, is that breathwork when we just talk about I'm a breathwork facilitator, so I studied under a Sacred Breath method. So there is many different types of Breathwork you can think of it as like an umbrella term, and there's many different types, there is many different lineages.
00;08;28;09 - 00;09;05;24
Ashlene
And so the one that I studied under or the one that I got a certification in is really tapping into one part of the autonomic nervous system. So there's the sympathetic and then the parasympathetic. What we were doing was the activity in the parasympathetic, which is the rest digest restored state. So if your body is activated more towards the sympathetic, it's probably your nervous system actually feels more comfortable in the fight flight or freeze mode where usually you know it's it's we want our back.
00;09;05;28 - 00;09;33;22
Ashlene
We want our bodies. Our bodies love to balance in between both. It's not like we always have to be in the parasympathetic it's not like we always have to be in the sympathetic. But to get into that oscillating in-between is kind of the goal. So if your body doesn't know what safety feels like or even just like taking a break and going internal, this is such a great approach because it allows people to breathe in a way that you're oxygenating the body or increasing the oxygen.
00;09;33;25 - 00;09;48;20
Ashlene
You're decreasing the carbon dioxide and you're changing your brain waves states along the way. So we go into the state where no longer we're focus on the external actually, my favorite compliment is when someone's like, I forgot you were even in the room.
00;09;48;22 - 00;10;02;02
Steph
You sensation when I heard your voice and I completely forgotten that you were there on the other end. And this was over Zoom. So I was in my own space totally in my own world.
00;10;02;04 - 00;10;32;08
Ashlene
And it's quiet. Yeah. And that's what I love, is to leave space for that for people. Because once your subconscious comes in and once we get to a certain point, like I do actively and I say things in the beginning to a point where it's like I'm continuing to encourage the breathing, I'm encouraging certain things, I might say certain things intuitively and really that so you know that I'm there and sometimes we're still in that beta brainwave and we're still having that mental chatter.
00;10;32;08 - 00;10;57;03
Ashlene
So once we start breathing in a certain way, the mental chatter starts to dissipate. Did you feel that like when you finally felt in the body, I feel so cool. It feels like almost like you're just breathing in a flow and we're breathing naturally. How we came into this world, which is so cool, but some people got used to mouth breathing or breathing in a way that is it really helpful for our nervous system.
00;10;57;03 - 00;11;16;14
Ashlene
And so when so when we breathe in this way, it slows down our brainwaves. And so then you'll get into the alpha brain wave where it's like this deep meditative state, and that's when you get into the flow and then you'll hear me less and less, and then all of a sudden you're in theta. And so theta is this dream time state.
00;11;16;14 - 00;11;40;14
Ashlene
It's like right before, right when we wake up, we're kind of in that state and it's like, we know that we're awake and yet we're not just there to be fully seeing things clearly. But what's cool is you do get clarity, but you get this clarity with your subconscious comes in, which is so cool because it creates about 95% or over of our reality.
00;11;40;16 - 00;12;03;00
Ashlene
And that's what's so amazing is that usually we're in the conscious mind. So when we're in the subconscious, we can see what's really what we're really seeing those patterns and behaviors that we have. And sometimes, you know, we can see like, Wow, I'm really proud of myself. Or other times we're like, Oh, that makes sense why I've been acting this way because of certain things that our subconscious will tell us.
00;12;03;00 - 00;12;24;10
Ashlene
So it's really cool when we get into those layers and when we get into that brainwave state and then that's when I don't really need to say much because we've already did the work. We've already let the breath do what it needs to do and we don't want to over oxygenate the body. And then also your wisdom is going to say much more than I could ever say at that point.
00;12;24;10 - 00;12;52;14
Ashlene
And I trust that and I want and I just lead people to trust themselves to feel safe enough. Because when we feel safe, we do drop into those spaces. We do allow ourselves to see what we don't normally allow ourselves to see. And then the body just feels so safe that it feels like it can just release, it can purge, it can do things in ways that it may not have felt safe enough to do, because, of course, what it wants to do is survive.
00;12;52;21 - 00;13;05;08
Ashlene
So and I look at it as I want people to feel whole and I want them to embody their true, authentic self. And we can only do that when we let go of things that have been holding us back.
00;13;05;10 - 00;13;37;05
Steph
Yes, Yes, I love that. And one of the reasons that I was so drawn to you as a facilitator specifically is because of that more gentle, soft approach and allowing yourself to open in your own time and in your own way. And like you just said, speaking and guiding and initiating at the beginning, but then just allowing your own brain and your own body to respond and open and show up as it needs to, that feels so much more empowering to me.
00;13;37;05 - 00;13;47;20
Steph
And as a person who's been pretty intense and extreme, you know, growing up and in my childhood, definitely more of a physical person. Like I.
00;13;47;26 - 00;13;49;18
Ashlene
Connect more.
00;13;49;21 - 00;14;06;19
Steph
To myself through my body, I think. And so I can get into that flow state when I'm doing something physical. And that's why I was really drawn to breathwork the idea of Breathwork at all, because it does feel like a physical way to get out of my brain.
00;14;06;19 - 00;14;07;08
Ashlene
And a.
00;14;07;11 - 00;14;31;13
Steph
Big Overthinker a lot of chatter going on up there. Yeah, like just really it seemed like a way that I could turn that off and just be in my body while still being in a relaxed, gentle, open state to receive from my subconscious. Whereas if I'm if I'm active physically in the world, I can get pop hits of those messages.
00;14;31;13 - 00;14;52;06
Steph
But it's not such like a concentrated channel with other clients that you've worked with. How many of them are going in looking to let go versus receive either a pattern that you might have or a mindset you're looking for a mindset shift. You want to let go of a limiting belief that you have. Maybe. But then lately I've done a lot of that.
00;14;52;06 - 00;15;02;00
Steph
But lately I'm I'm opening myself to this idea of learning how to receive and and maybe letting go of less and opening myself to more.
00;15;02;00 - 00;15;32;09
Ashlene
Unknown Yeah. Does that make any sense? It absolutely does. Yeah. And I want to I will definitely answer that. But what I think what was great was I saw really to everything that you said and what was really cool is you talking about that empowerment. And for me that's what drew me or why I'm so drawn to Breathwork is because I actually found Breathwork through somatic therapy and being so disassociated.
00;15;32;09 - 00;15;57;24
Ashlene
I ran the Boston Marathon. I did things that it was like I needed to push myself in order for me to feel in my body. I knew I could go to those lengths, but it was almost like a it was a battle of just going through that because I tore my ACL and meniscus and I remember doing Breathwork and I felt this buzzing and tingling in my body and I was like, I'm just doing this for my breath.
00;15;57;25 - 00;16;29;13
Ashlene
Like, I didn't take anything for this. And it was the most empowering feeling I've ever felt. And it was just like one of those moments where I was like, Wow, I am so powerful and this feels a little overwhelming at first. So I really get why my clients like it. It feels overwhelming. They're getting this type name, which we'll talk about, but it's just like these certain sensations that almost can take us back because we really don't know the amount of energy we give away to other people.
00;16;29;13 - 00;16;49;27
Ashlene
And we don't allow ourselves to call back our energy and really feel our own energy and feel the power of it and the strength that comes with that and just that inner wisdom that comes with that and also that trust or be like, wow, if I can feel this and this is my own energy, what can I do with this?
00;16;49;27 - 00;17;14;20
Ashlene
This is like so incredible. So when I first started out, it was more of like releasing and calming my nervous system. So every single client has a different goal. But what's so beautiful is that what I hear, or commonly I hear that they get more than what they they came in for. And I think giving something away can also coexist with receiving.
00;17;14;20 - 00;17;35;07
Ashlene
Because when we let something go, we have so much room to receive, we have so much room to take in what we truly want to not only embody, but what we want to receive if we feel like we're not deserving. And there is something, a story we keep telling ourselves of, Oh, I don't deserve this or even support people receiving support.
00;17;35;09 - 00;17;59;20
Ashlene
That's the biggest thing. It's like our first couple of sessions is just them breathing. Yes, but like just allowing themselves to be supported and feel safe in that container for them to fully be into the breath so that they can lose that control and ultimately surrender to the process and realize that that's where the real power is, is that surrendering?
00;17;59;22 - 00;18;20;26
Ashlene
You can see people shift and it's really powerful to see people shift in even the way that they show up, whether it's in the next session or them just being like, no, like my boundaries are now and I don't want to be in this job anymore, or it's just they're finally listening to themselves. And I love seeing that because they're coming up with their own conclusions.
00;18;20;26 - 00;18;44;22
Ashlene
I'm not telling them anything. I'm just guiding them to their own conclusions and their subconscious. And I hope I still serve in that way, because I think that is what helped me, is that I was so scared of like I was so scared of. I would always ask and be and ask others like, what should I be doing, how?
00;18;44;23 - 00;19;07;06
Ashlene
And that's so disempowering. And so when I finally felt this empowerment and I through breath work and many different modalities, but Breathwork is like my the main one that I'm like, it's, it's profound. It's changed my life and it's made me really trust myself, my intuition, and be and just know that I've always had this deep knowing and I know other people do.
00;19;07;06 - 00;19;13;16
Ashlene
And what if I just gave them the chance and myself the chance to really see where it leads me? Yeah.
00;19;13;17 - 00;19;49;22
Steph
Yes. And you made such a good point that they can be one in the same letting go and receiving. Because while you were speaking, I mean, my own, my own experience with you was that I felt so supported and I felt so surrounded by love. And it was really this like, warm, positive experience. But to feel that I had to let go or begin to let go of the idea that I wasn't worthy of that support or that receiving that support meant taking from others.
00;19;49;22 - 00;20;29;17
Steph
And I think that there's a lot of work to go in that direction. But then I guess before going into that and even into this conversation, I was thinking that I have to identify those limiting beliefs and then choose to let go of those through the session. Obviously, my type-A analytical approach to these things, but it can be a it can be a revolving door, you know, like maybe I just feel that I want to be open to receiving love or receiving support or just receiving in general, or I don't even have to identify the limiting belief that's holding me back from experiencing that I can allow my body to just bring up what needs
00;20;29;17 - 00;20;51;15
Steph
to come up, let go of what it needs to let go. And that's what's so cool about Breathwork is it's so it's, it's there's so much wisdom and knowledge in different parts of your body throughout your whole body that you don't even have to pinpoint X, Y, and Z. You can just let it do its thing. And that's what I actually posted today.
00;20;51;17 - 00;21;08;11
Steph
I forget the specifics, but something like one Breathwork session is like two years of psychotherapy and it really it like when I logically apply my mind to it, I'm like, well, how could that be? But the physical body can do things that don't have to be explained. But I.
00;21;08;11 - 00;21;09;12
Ashlene
Have to make sense.
00;21;09;12 - 00;21;22;07
Steph
Right? It doesn't have to make sense. And I maybe someone can make sense of it. I actually I felt this like huge ball of warm, buzzing energy in my stomach during the session. And whether that was digestion.
00;21;22;07 - 00;21;24;15
Ashlene
Or whether that was something else.
00;21;24;15 - 00;21;36;05
Steph
I don't know. But it's like you can feel shifts in your body and they come and they go, and who knows what I'm letting go of in that moment? It's just that while you're speaking, that's what came to mind. And it was.
00;21;36;05 - 00;21;37;04
Ashlene
Just so.
00;21;37;06 - 00;21;46;00
Steph
I think our bodies are so powerful and this allows us to connect to our bodies and allow it to do its thing, allow it to express its power how it needs to.
00;21;46;00 - 00;22;19;13
Ashlene
People ask me, Clients are like, What is? How do I know? Intuition and anxiety or being anxious? And I think anxiousness. You're loud, it's loud. It's telling you like it's very loud. But in intuition, it's very subtle. It doesn't it sometimes doesn't even make sense and it doesn't have to. But it's it's almost like this kind of we have to tap into that and learn that the difference, because I think so many people do do things because they were like, oh, well, I felt like I something in me told me no.
00;22;19;13 - 00;22;41;17
Ashlene
And it was really just I always ask. I'm like, Well, was it loud? Like, was it was it chaotic, was it noisy? And so I think that's usually our mind, just like trying to keep us safe. And so it's being gentle even with that. So that was a lot of things that I we should probably take a step back.
00;22;41;17 - 00;22;42;18
Steph
And just introduce.
00;22;42;18 - 00;22;44;04
Ashlene
To you a little bit.
00;22;44;07 - 00;23;08;22
Steph
So you are born and raised in Massachusetts, right? Even though you live in Denver now, give us a glimpse into what life looked like a little bit before that move to Denver. You were looking to make some changes and you'd gone through some seasons of life. Had you begun the somatic therapy that you mentioned and learning about some of these modalities while you were in Massachusetts?
00;23;08;22 - 00;23;19;00
Steph
Or did that all start to unfold when you were in Denver? I guess take us back to a few years before you left Massachusetts. Where where were you? Where with your mind.
00;23;19;02 - 00;23;45;02
Ashlene
So I always knew I had a strong intuition whether I listened to it or not, I don't know. That was always in question. But so I went to a college that I knew wasn't for me. And I would say the first time I knew something was an absolute no was when my nervous system was so out of like it was so disregulated that for my freshman year I was in school for one year.
00;23;45;02 - 00;24;10;25
Ashlene
I thought I wanted to be a criminal psychologist and just I played soccer there and there was so many things, but I wasn't planning to play soccer. They were looking for subs and then I, I, I tried out and then I actually started and got on the team, but it was just like feeling everything fell off. Like it felt like it just I felt rushed into it and I don't know.
00;24;10;28 - 00;24;26;26
Ashlene
I don't know if a lot of people are like this, but I don't like feeling rushed into things. I like taking my time. I like knowing and being able to like, sit with it. So because I think, Do you know Human Design a little bit I was in my mind is just what do you think I am like, No.
00;24;26;26 - 00;24;38;22
Ashlene
So I'm a manifesting generator and so but I need like I'm a six too, so I need like, intuitive hit. I'm a six. Taylor I'll know. Making five, six, three generator.
00;24;38;25 - 00;24;49;29
Steph
That is so funny. Oh, I only said reflector because of the waiting period. I guess needing time to make your decisions. No, I.
00;24;49;29 - 00;25;07;29
Ashlene
Have these intuitive hands, but it's almost like I need when I'm not clear about something, I need like time, but I remember one time in like 4th of July. So I was like, Oh, so you're so excited for to go back to college and everything. And me, like I had a visceral experience where I was like, I feel sick.
00;25;07;29 - 00;25;29;28
Ashlene
Someone asking me a simple question. I feel very sick. So I knew and I had to make the hard decision of telling my mom, Yeah. That I had to take that. I'm I'm taking a year off and I'm figuring things out. And that's when I knew I was like, I'm going to listen to myself. Even though like before, I think I just always was like, okay, someone's going to tell me how what to do.
00;25;29;28 - 00;25;48;13
Ashlene
And so I didn't have necessarily a plan, but then I did and I was like, I'm going to go to Ellen. I saved up. I did all these things. I worked and I remember doing a yoga class and then something just hit me. I'm like, I'm going to get something in the mail. And I actually did, and I got accepted to Ellen, so no way.
00;25;48;13 - 00;26;17;28
Ashlene
Yeah. And so I went to Ellen and I studied. I wanted to go into psychology still, and then I took a philosophy class and it just intrigued me so much. And I loved the just the feeling of, wow, if we ask the not necessarily right questions, but if we ask profound questions, it will lead to deeper conversations. And I felt like I was always known as the emotional deep person.
00;26;17;28 - 00;26;47;19
Ashlene
And so I felt really welcomed there. And I felt like, Wow, this this feels good. And I'm challenging myself and I'm challenging my beliefs. And so I decided to get my bachelor's in philosophy while I that I played rugby. Hardcore. Yeah. And then I had this idea that I wanted to train to go to Ireland to play there and just see how it goes.
00;26;47;19 - 00;27;13;19
Ashlene
And then I tore my ACL meniscus and and I went to Costa Rica to study abroad. And that was that really taught me about a different way of living. And it was really cool because I learned about sustainability there and it just was like these little moments in time that just really cultivated a lot of information for me to be like, Okay, what is it that I want to do?
00;27;13;19 - 00;27;34;22
Ashlene
So I still had no plan because the plan was really to go to Ireland and that wasn't happening. And so then I got a backpack through Europe with one of my really good friends, Nadia. We went to nine different countries and then that's when it really opened up my mind and I'm like, Wow, how we live here is just so different than how they live.
00;27;34;22 - 00;27;52;24
Ashlene
And I feel like I have this sense of confidence, but I never it was almost like this confidence. But maybe some people saw me, but I never saw myself. So I did these odd jobs. Yeah, I just did work that I was like, What? What am I doing? So it felt very forced and it felt like I was just doing it for money.
00;27;52;24 - 00;28;12;29
Ashlene
And it made me question why I'd studied philosophy and, and maybe people were right because they were always like, Well, what are you going to do with that? And I was like, I don't know. And so, you know, now it all makes sense. But in the time it was like those moments of when there's so much uncertainty, you're just questioning and just going through it.
00;28;12;29 - 00;28;40;01
Ashlene
And the spinning instructor, I was a nanny and then one of my best friends, she said that the place that she was working for a medical company, that they're hiring. And so I went there and what was really cool is I had one of the best people, my boss in my life, and she was amazing. And she just was so encouraging and was just saw my potential.
00;28;40;01 - 00;29;02;06
Ashlene
And it was just really nice to have that when I was before I got hired here, found a flight to Denver for $70 round trip, and I was like, I got to go. So I went, I got a rental. I had this really cool experience where I got to know people and it was like those little moments of just seeing something and it just like really resonating.
00;29;02;06 - 00;29;27;20
Ashlene
And there's like this. My intuition is like, Wow, these people aren't just like asking for your name. They really want to get to know you. And I loved that because that's how I am. That was always in the back of my mind, just looking up apartments in Boston. And I was like, Wow, it's really expensive. And something told me, Just look up flights to Denver and if it's under 200 bucket and it was 140 and I just booked it right then and there.
00;29;27;22 - 00;29;42;16
Ashlene
Wow. So that was in August. I booked the flight for January 3rd and I sold everything and then I didn't find a place until a week before I moved here. I mean, none of it now.
00;29;42;23 - 00;29;47;21
Steph
Sounds like you are newly really committed to listening to your intuition. And that's.
00;29;47;24 - 00;29;49;03
Ashlene
A big.
00;29;49;05 - 00;30;01;11
Steph
Commitment to make or a big leap of faith. Leave your job with no other job and no apartment to live in in Colorado. So were you scared in those moments? Making this decision.
00;30;01;11 - 00;30;22;27
Ashlene
Was the weirdest thing. It was the weirdest thing. It was like everything will work out. I also saved up enough that it was I was like, I will it's it's I will figure it out. And I did. And I found a place. But yeah, I didn't have a job right away. And I just have these like, little moments of like, I really want to get over my fear of public speaking.
00;30;22;27 - 00;30;45;00
Ashlene
So I became a tour guide at a whiskey distillery. It really builds this sense of confidence in me. And yet that was a time that you don't know what you don't know. And I just was disregulated. And so I always felt like I was like, Oh, people would say that I'm really grounded and calm, but I didn't feel that way.
00;30;45;00 - 00;31;11;03
Ashlene
So I was like, Maybe I'm just an anxious person. And so I did a couple of other jobs, and then the pandemic happened, and then I went through a breakup that really just shifted everything and I was like, Wow, I have to take radical responsibility and heal. And so when I did somatic therapy, I was so overwhelmed with emotions, I didn't even know how to pinpoint it.
00;31;11;03 - 00;31;44;08
Ashlene
And that was learning how to regulate my nervous system was easily the greatest gift that I could have received. And it was so scary. Receiving support to trust. I didn't really know how to trust. I still have times where I really have to change that story or that narrative, but like learning to trust myself and having those moments of being like I trusted myself, then I can trust myself now has really helped.
00;31;44;09 - 00;32;13;01
Ashlene
There's times where I was like, Did I make a mistake? I mean, my first year was really tough, but I been here for, yeah, and January 3rd it will be six years. And these past two years I've been the most intentional in my life. I've created a business. I have amazing friends and family all over some through doing yoga teacher training, others through Breathwork and then others through networking and just meeting people along the way.
00;32;13;01 - 00;32;33;00
Ashlene
And I love my life that I've created. I have a dog that I've been wanting since I was four years old. I gave up my favorite Power Rangers bike when I was four in a yard sale thinking I would get a dog and I just waited, you know, a couple of years. It's been amazing and I wouldn't change anything.
00;32;33;00 - 00;33;03;08
Ashlene
I think everything led me to this moment, and I think I'm a big person that believes in growing and transformation and just not being stuck in that no matter what happened in the past, you can get through it and learning just to progress and learning what really is meaningful to you. And for me right now, it's definitely connection, community and really just learning more about myself.
00;33;03;10 - 00;33;13;11
Steph
You really do seem like a person who shows up for the growth, but no matter what you think it's going to look like, What is different about when you do that.
00;33;13;11 - 00;33;14;09
Ashlene
Now.
00;33;14;12 - 00;33;41;00
Steph
Versus when you were pushing yourself out of your comfort zone to get over something like public speaking and leading tours? Because you said that you were you had a dysregulated nervous system at the time, but you didn't really know it. But some might say from the outside you were really intentional in that choice. Also, you know, you wanted to face this fear of yours and you set that intention to.
00;33;41;03 - 00;33;41;24
Ashlene
Evolve.
00;33;41;24 - 00;33;48;21
Steph
And grow, and you did and you got over it, but you did it with a dysregulated nervous system. So it can be done.
00;33;48;23 - 00;33;49;08
Ashlene
It can be.
00;33;49;08 - 00;33;51;19
Steph
Done many times to it just doesn't.
00;33;51;19 - 00;33;52;15
Ashlene
It. Yeah.
00;33;52;19 - 00;33;54;03
Steph
Feel is good.
00;33;54;05 - 00;34;14;06
Ashlene
Right. But it doesn't and yet I don't and I'm not saying not to do things because of a dysregulated virus and also our nervous system is going to be dysregulated when we're doing something that feels like many people are like I'm more scared of public speaking than death. And I don't know if it's not don't know that's getting over the fear.
00;34;14;06 - 00;34;33;09
Ashlene
I think it's being more comfortable with my fear and realizing that it doesn't have to control me and that I could still I'm still nervous. I still get nervous like I just did a woman circle and I took a break and it it's more it's a different I internalize it differently. I'm more excited because the reason being is because I'm in my purpose now.
00;34;33;11 - 00;34;52;25
Ashlene
Before, I didn't have intention of being and my purpose, I just did it to do it. I mean, like whiskey isn't my purpose, but it like led me to do something that I was afraid to do and I'm so grateful for it. I think now it's like I have this sense of purpose and I'm serving in a way that feel makes me feel very fulfilled.
00;34;52;25 - 00;35;18;08
Ashlene
And I see my mission and I have a I have a different why now? So that's why everything has changed for me. I was really afraid. I thought I was afraid of of intimacy with other people. But what I was really afraid of was intimacy with myself because what that meant was I had to meet every part of me that was so scared of ahead of me, Every part of me that I've rejected.
00;35;18;10 - 00;35;40;02
Ashlene
I've had to meet every part of that felt like I wasn't good enough. I had to meet every part of myself that felt like that at times wasn't the nicest to myself and and rejected other people because I was so scared of them finding me out or them seeing that I wasn't this person that I thought that I was.
00;35;40;02 - 00;35;56;02
Ashlene
So yeah, for me that's really powerful because it's like when you can meet yourself in those ways and find that intimacy with yourself. You can meet people in such deep and profound ways.
00;35;56;05 - 00;36;38;05
Steph
Yes. Yes. Wow. I so, so, so relate to that. And it's an interesting experience, too, when you do develop that relationship with yourself more. So I found myself almost being like a little bit less willing to share or I guess my sharing of myself was coming from a different place. And I think that this for me is the difference between doing something or stepping through a fear or evolving or growing or pushing myself with a dysregulated nervous system versus a regulated nervous system is like where you're coming from with it.
00;36;38;07 - 00;36;43;24
Steph
Like I was trying to face a fear or push myself to evolve or grow.
00;36;43;26 - 00;36;45;11
Ashlene
At.
00;36;45;14 - 00;36;54;11
Steph
From a place of insecurity, from a place of not enough ness, from a place of trying to prove myself. And that carries with it a very different energy.
00;36;54;14 - 00;36;55;18
Ashlene
Than.
00;36;55;20 - 00;37;19;26
Steph
I'm showing up to this experience with self worth here to just be honestly, not really showing up with any sort of agenda, I think is what it is like. I would push myself into experiences because I thought that I should or I had to, or that would make me more impressive or that would be better.
00;37;19;28 - 00;37;21;19
Ashlene
Or more like less.
00;37;21;21 - 00;37;37;06
Steph
And now not only do I know that those are no or yes, whatever it is, but now I know why and I'm not there to prove anything. It's just to experience that experience. If it's a yes for me.
00;37;37;08 - 00;37;38;01
Ashlene
And.
00;37;38;03 - 00;37;54;25
Steph
And it's the it's the nervous system. Regulation, I think, allows for the clarity and the connection to yourself. But then also just the process of getting to know yourself, the intimacy that you developed with yourself. But yeah, what I've noticed lately is I'm I'm almost holding back less because I was showing.
00;37;54;27 - 00;37;55;21
Ashlene
To.
00;37;55;22 - 00;38;22;04
Steph
Relationships or experiences with other people desperate for acceptance and wanting to overshare from a place of insecurity. Whereas now I find myself holding back a bit more because I, I, I don't know. I am still working through it, but I think like I valuing myself a bit more in the sense that like, I don't know if I want to give that peace over to you.
00;38;22;10 - 00;38;24;04
Steph
I don't know if I trust you enough.
00;38;24;07 - 00;38;26;01
Ashlene
To share the thought that I.
00;38;26;01 - 00;38;39;14
Steph
Had or this feeling that I'm feeling, you know, like I want to experience it with myself now and I want to process it with myself and like, maybe share it with you down the line, maybe I won't. Whereas in the past I was like, Does anyone want to listen to my.
00;38;39;17 - 00;38;40;24
Ashlene
Point of give.
00;38;40;24 - 00;38;54;16
Steph
Me an answer? Like, Anyways, that's something that I've been thinking through lately. But, but it really is where it coming in from. What's that? What is the intention? You might be showing up with intention or what is the intention.
00;38;54;17 - 00;39;22;16
Ashlene
Yeah. And I think that is really intuitive, intuitive of you and just knowing that that's what I have to learn to I'm okay now is being misunderstood because it's not coming from a place of needing to be accepted or validated. Yeah. So this is not something that I'm like, I am perfect. No, no. Yes. People know we're asking in real time.
00;39;22;18 - 00;39;59;23
Ashlene
Yeah, I guess in all asking. Yeah. There's things that happened last week and I. But what I love is that I don't stay there any longer and I don't mean anything about me. And I don't make it mean a story that I don't like. You know, like I was very much in the victim, like, just seeing things as, like people are doing stuff to me without realizing my power and be like, no, I actually I get to create, I get to co-create, I get to I get to be the one that says like how I want to show up and how I want to be and also who I want to be around.
00;39;59;23 - 00;40;13;14
Ashlene
And so it's a cool space to be in once you see the difference in that. I love studying Carl Young and he says, until you make the unconscious conscious, you will allow it to direct your life and you will call it fate.
00;40;13;16 - 00;40;36;29
Steph
Is that something that many of the people you've worked with Face Eventually, Maybe not from the outset. I can imagine that the first couple sessions are more like an opening, an exploration, and then and then more like realizing in a few sessions then. Is that something that people you've worked with regularly are facing or dealing with? And it's an obstacle that they have to get through?
00;40;37;02 - 00;41;03;16
Ashlene
Absolutely it I have programs and do I do because I feel the more breathwork you do, especially with the type of breathwork that I do. So it's not just like you breathe, and I should probably explain that a little bit. It's not just that you're out of it. So I have a container where I do a meditation, or maybe I'll do some somatic embodiment before.
00;41;03;16 - 00;41;09;21
Ashlene
If I feel like someone's in their head, maybe I'll do some somatic practices before or just to get them into the body.
00;41;09;24 - 00;41;18;00
Steph
And related. Yeah. Can you explain just what that is? I know a lot of people don't know what somatic even means and say somatic practices.
00;41;18;00 - 00;41;41;28
Ashlene
Well, yeah, absolutely. So, so my means and so my means, the body and so it's relating to your body and so doing practices, it just really means like whether it's like shaking your hands or doing things in a way of like just kind of moving. And so it's, it's really also just connecting with things that are like, wow, I feel this tightness in my chest.
00;41;41;28 - 00;41;59;25
Ashlene
And so we'll kind of like go into that and be like, Oh, well, what does that feel like? Or and then go into it so that they're kind getting more in tuned and they're stop, they're more out of the head and more into the body already starting out. It just makes the process much easier for them and for me to guide them.
00;41;59;25 - 00;42;23;12
Ashlene
So then we'll get into a meditation. I always do a curated playlists that I make, and then we get into it. Get into the breath is a nose, inhale, mouth, exhale. And for different people, sometimes I'll do like different, different speeds. It just really depends on how many, how many breath works they've done together. Just kind of seeing there.
00;42;23;13 - 00;42;44;10
Ashlene
It's a diaphragmatic breathing, so just seeing their lung capacity, what they can really do at that time. Sometimes it's hard for people to breathe in that way. And if you're an overthinker, I just want you to breathe in through your nose or through your mouth, and then we'll go from there. And then they slow down the breath. At a certain point, if it's in person, I'll do energy work there.
00;42;44;10 - 00;43;24;04
Ashlene
Okay. With touch. If not, we just kind of integrate in a different way and then we do a nice long just allow them to come back to their breath, come to rest. And typically it's anywhere from an hour to an hour and 15 just depending on people's process. I allow people to process more. So my sessions are usually around 2 hours and so I forget what I was saying before this, But I think what it does is like this process really allows people to get really into the body and express in ways that maybe they haven't expressed before and be really intuitive with it.
00;43;24;11 - 00;43;50;21
Ashlene
It's almost like layering in, like peeling the onion. So it's like people, as they continue to do the breath work, as they continue to be guided. I also do in person, I do drumming and rattling. It helps the brainwaves as well. And so it's like it really allows people to drop into their subconscious in ways that it's like, again, your subconscious, once you start trusting and once you start trusting the process, there's so many nuances to it.
00;43;50;21 - 00;44;11;26
Ashlene
But once you get in flow, sometimes it takes a couple of sessions and sometimes people get right into it. But there's so that can messages. I mean, I still do breath work because there's times where I'm just in a state of needing more clarity, needing more to trust myself for just needing that. And I have people help like hold space for me.
00;44;11;26 - 00;44;35;20
Ashlene
I know I have amazing restaurants facilitators in my life and then but then I'll also do it on my own. And it's just it's really great to get into those spaces. So my clients, yes, I feel some people go just to regulate their nervous system because it's hard to get into those spaces of creativity and the and the layering of the unknown.
00;44;35;20 - 00;44;55;23
Ashlene
And in your theta and to be creative with it, because sometimes you can see visuals. Some people have compared it to like a psychedelic trip. And so but if your body doesn't feel safe, it's not going to be able to go there because it's almost like it needs to feel like it's it's even hard for some people to breathe.
00;44;55;23 - 00;45;21;14
Ashlene
So in just the correct way. So yeah, it all depends. But I would say, yeah, I create programs to help people to really diving deeper and it really gives them the empowerment. And also I guess it gives them the trust to be empowered to start to make changes if they feel like they need to. But I feel like things just change because once you change, it's like your outer reality.
00;45;21;14 - 00;45;44;00
Ashlene
There's so much that comes with that. There's so many synchronicities or things that happen, but I feel like there's things that people know and they just haven't made the decision on it, and they're just waiting for something to like, be like, Nope, this isn't it. But again, that's that, that's, that's subtle intuition. And so it's like we can either listen to it or we don't.
00;45;44;00 - 00;45;58;12
Ashlene
And so that's where the responsibility comes. Yeah. So people think dreams are just dreams. And I think it's our subconscious telling us and really sharing information with us. So what maybe the next steps are.
00;45;58;15 - 00;46;03;12
Steph
I'm laughing because I had a dream with that.
00;46;03;14 - 00;46;05;26
Ashlene
Hey, what?
00;46;05;28 - 00;46;08;29
Steph
We had a great time together. It was a blast.
00;46;09;00 - 00;46;20;19
Ashlene
It's like we would have a great time. He's insane. He would be an absolute blast opposite of my father in and day out of the same person.
00;46;20;22 - 00;46;51;08
Steph
No, no. Someone told me that the people that show up in your dreams the situations are always representation. Like, oftentimes it's the what does that person represent to you and then represent exactly. So like how you felt. But they were talking about some study. It was it was like as a part of, you know, like a development or something like that, It was some sort of machine learning project and they gave the system a problem to solve.
00;46;51;08 - 00;47;12;18
Steph
And it kept coming up with the same solution, same solution, same solution that kind of stuck in a rut, a bit more stuck in the same track and couldn't find another way around like this one or or three solutions or whatever it was. But then when they introduced chaos into the situation, so whether it was like, I don't know what it was something that a computer engineer.
00;47;12;25 - 00;47;14;22
Ashlene
Had to introduce.
00;47;14;22 - 00;47;18;12
Steph
Chaos into the experiment. And then the.
00;47;18;14 - 00;47;19;03
Ashlene
Tool.
00;47;19;03 - 00;47;52;10
Steph
Was able to offer a different solution, like basically change its own perspective and see the problem from a different from a different view. And then with that, a different frame of mind came a different solution. And so someone was comparing that to dreams and saying that that's what your brain is doing, that it's not about the specific person or the specific situation, but it's the your brain's introducing chaos into something that's like a story or a pattern or a problem or an issue or something that you're facing in your life or grappling with.
00;47;52;13 - 00;47;53;00
Ashlene
Yeah.
00;47;53;02 - 00;48;11;10
Steph
Painting a totally different picture over it to shift your frame of mind and look at it from a different perspective. And you don't have to come up with that solution on your own, but like your brain is doing that work for you to assess it out and shift its own perspective. I thought that was fascinating.
00;48;11;13 - 00;48;18;04
Ashlene
It is so fascinating. And that's why even in breath works like visuals that you have, it doesn't have to make sense.
00;48;18;05 - 00;48;31;01
Steph
Obviously, because they're pretty profound, you know, like awakenings that people can have when they experience a breathwork session. You said that you can do this with yourself or do you have a daily breathwork practice? Do you just not go as deep?
00;48;31;04 - 00;49;00;27
Ashlene
What's great is that I've learned different modalities and I just really have become in tuned with myself where it's like I've learned how to which one I'm needing and go out of my little toolkit and pick it out. And so if I'm feeling kind of out of my body or just not present, I'll do things like getting into my senses or into my body by working out or just feeling or even dancing.
00;49;00;27 - 00;49;20;24
Ashlene
I dance salsa and I love it because I feel like it's the time where I'm not in my head and in my body and I'm just like, flowing and I feel so good. And then there's times where I'm feeling like, right, like tense in my chest. I'm like, okay, that means I need to breathe. And so this practice, you want to do the practice together?
00;49;20;24 - 00;50;02;29
Ashlene
Yeah. Yeah. So sit in a comfortable position. Good. Roll back those shoulders. Yeah. Relax. So close your eyes and bite yourself just to take a deep breath in through the nose. Audible, chill out through the mouth, sweep inhaling, exhale it out, keep breathing like that. And just relaxing or jaw feeling your bones on the earth, feeling the air, support you while your breath is supporting you as well.
00;50;03;01 - 00;50;37;22
Ashlene
Then if your mind is wandering, that's okay. That's what the brain does. So I'm going to count for you now. You're going to inhale. Four, four, One, two, three, four. Hold the breath exhale out. Four, six. One, two, three, four, five, six. Fill up. Inhale, four, four, One, two, three, four. Hold the breath and think of something you're ready to let go.
00;50;37;22 - 00;51;20;01
Ashlene
So you need more present. Exhale out. Four, six. Here. One, two, three, four, five, six. Inhale. And one, two, three, four. Hold the breath and see if you can feel a sensation in the body. Exhale. Four, six. One, two, three, four, five, six Big inhaling side. When you're ready, come back to the natural rhythm of your breath. Open your eyes.
00;51;20;03 - 00;51;44;28
Ashlene
I know how nice I feel. Yummy. Yeah, yeah, that's fine. When I'm feeling that way, I just need to ground. Yeah, but I. But there's so many practices to just kind of. It just depends on what you're needing. So if you're needing more energy working out or doing a certain breath, that's like and just like allowing yourself to really like, amp it up.
00;51;44;28 - 00;52;08;27
Ashlene
But if you're needing grounding, that's like a perfect thing. And if I'm just needing clarity, that's when I into a deeper breath work. If I need like a sense of there's things happening in my life that I'm feeling like there's something there that I can learn from. But it's just it's true in my face that I can't really allow it to just be there.
00;52;08;27 - 00;52;14;26
Ashlene
And so I'll take a I'll allow my subconscious to show me exactly what I'm needing to see.
00;52;14;29 - 00;52;29;08
Steph
I'm curious to know how things have showed up in your life differently since changing your career path in this direction and obviously getting deeper and deeper in this work.
00;52;29;08 - 00;52;29;26
Ashlene
And.
00;52;30;00 - 00;52;41;01
Steph
Embodying it more and listening to your intuition more and listening to your yes is in your nose more and be more boundaries.
00;52;41;04 - 00;53;16;11
Ashlene
So what has really been showing up for me and what's so interesting is I feel like each year it's like something different. So last year was really about just showing up in my leadership and really seeing myself as a leader and seeing all the support that I was receiving and being able to call my nervous system enough around that to be able to hold that and to be able to.
00;53;16;11 - 00;53;55;24
Ashlene
And just so much gratefulness came from came from it. It was it still amazes me because it's almost like the the universe or just signs from not just that, but like people wanting to support me and just in ways of just seeing how this is being received and my guidance is being received. And just like even finding out about this training, just it's just showing me that this is definitely my path and doesn't mean that those times where I don't second guess it.
00;53;55;26 - 00;54;14;16
Ashlene
But I think I came at the first year of trying to prove that, and I think it was like proving that to myself that I'm like, I just did this big scary leap like I did when I moved here by myself to Denver. I have to work my ass off because that's all I've ever known. I mean, I started working at Dunkin Donuts when I was 14 years old.
00;54;14;18 - 00;54;36;27
Ashlene
I bought my first car when I was 15. Like, I'm not afraid to work, but life doesn't have to be this hard. And so I had to take a step back and be like, You know what? I'm working myself to the point where I actually was like questioning whether this was my path because I was like, I don't I don't feel like I'm serving.
00;54;36;29 - 00;55;02;00
Ashlene
And I just felt like I wasn't taking care of myself and I wasn't like I felt like I was I felt like I was serving, serving, giving, giving, giving. But there was a sense of like, not having time for myself or for joy or even for you to do things that I felt like, yes, this is my purpose, but this is in my identity.
00;55;02;00 - 00;55;24;09
Ashlene
And I felt like I was leaning into that. And so once I realized that I took a step back, I realized I go, okay, what can I do that I love? That will be something that as I'm building my business, because it is I mean, it is your first year. It's tough. Like you're just you're you're doing so much.
00;55;24;09 - 00;55;46;06
Ashlene
I did a lot of, like, events for free. I did over 30 events. I've now done over 50 events, group events. And I had to take a I did I had to take a step back. So in May, around my birthday, I kind of realized it and I was like, okay, I was like, I'm going to work for I'm not going to look for a nanny or job, but if it comes upon me, I'm going to do it.
00;55;46;06 - 00;56;04;15
Ashlene
So I'm walking my dog at the park and there is a mom. So it just so happened that I talked about how I'm like, Oh yeah, looking for these days for Nanny. If you know anyone like something in me told me to say it, like, just say it out loud. And she was like, Oh, so happens I'm looking for a nanny those days.
00;56;04;15 - 00;56;22;00
Ashlene
Yeah, crazy. And then I had to get over this fear of being like, Oh, I'm a failure if I'm not going full time. And it's given me so much life. I mean, I'm such a nurturer by heart and I love it and it's so much fun and it gives me so much space and creativity and I'm I can work well.
00;56;22;00 - 00;56;46;20
Ashlene
I'm nanny. It's quite amazing. And since did that I'm not kidding Stephanie my business has grown. I mean I have I took a step back from group events and I had more clients want to do one on one privates. I've had people that want to do programs. I, I just felt like now I get to do group events when it feels when I feel like it feels good.
00;56;46;20 - 00;56;55;16
Ashlene
Now, taking that step back and leaning into my fear really created so much expansion, so much love for myself and just so much grace.
00;56;55;19 - 00;57;04;02
Steph
I think in taking the pressure off of your business by and by taking a step back like that and having another income stream.
00;57;04;02 - 00;57;04;22
Ashlene
That.
00;57;04;25 - 00;57;15;09
Steph
Can help balance things out for you a little bit more. Allow the space for your aligned clients to come through. Like, absolutely. I don't know if that ever showed up for you in your practice, but.
00;57;15;11 - 00;57;15;27
Ashlene
It does.
00;57;15;28 - 00;57;23;04
Steph
Probably are attracting people who really are picking up what you're putting down. To put it simply.
00;57;23;04 - 00;57;25;05
Ashlene
You know, yes, you I have.
00;57;25;05 - 00;57;40;18
Steph
To overexplain or or really force it or over educate or whatever you might have been doing, however, that might have been showing up. But it sounds like you were really over over working to try to bring people in, but maybe those weren't even the right people.
00;57;40;20 - 00;58;06;12
Ashlene
Thank you so much. Wow. Thank you so much for that reflection, because I guess I never even took a moment to kind of look back and see. But that absolutely happened because of that. And I wouldn't be able to do the training that I'm in now that feels so aligned at this time. It feels so much if I wasn't able if I wasn't able to do that.
00;58;06;12 - 00;58;28;13
Ashlene
So, yeah, I have the best clients. They're so aligned and they're so appreciative and so, wow, I'm going to sit. I'm like really taking that and I'm going to sit with that. And I just like, open my heart because it was it was like, it's, it's that's a big part of it, too. So it's so big.
00;58;28;15 - 00;59;01;20
Steph
Well, yes, I'm sure your clients have grown like the number of clients. It also sounds like you've said the opportunities with your current clients have naturally increased as well, like you've had clients asking for more regular sessions for programing, for longer term commitments. And like you said, now you have the space to do additional training like your business is not only expanding in that way, but now you're going to have new offerings like it's it's exponentially growing because you took that pressure off of it to grow in a different way.
00;59;01;23 - 00;59;23;17
Ashlene
Yeah, really, From the beginning. Thank you so much. And I increased my prices and I told some clients and I was I'm just I'm just a person that if I was doing work with you before, I'm not going to ask like, you know, like you, you were loyal, like a loyal client. And so I told one of my clients and then I received a payment and then a message from them.
00;59;23;17 - 00;59;45;27
Ashlene
And it was like I had tears in my eyes that had nothing to do with the money. It was just like he my client said, You know, I want to give this to you anyways, just so that it's a little nudge for you to know, like the impact that you have. And, and yeah, it was I had, it was so touching sometimes.
00;59;45;27 - 01;00;11;28
Ashlene
And in these professions, people are afraid because it is such a nurturing and giving act, but it's also a business and this is how you make a living and. You get you get to live a life that you truly desire and you deserve because that's what you're you're allowing your clients to you're offering for them and guiding them through them in their wholeness and then their wholeness and empowering them.
01;00;11;28 - 01;00;14;29
Ashlene
Why do you not get to be empowered.
01;00;15;02 - 01;00;34;06
Steph
In third person? And it's such a good point. I love that. Wow. A piece of advice, a word of advice that you might have for the past version of self that you were who is still in Massachusetts when you were taking a leap of faith, buying that plane ticket, moving to Denver before you really got into the flow of things.
01;00;34;14 - 01;00;42;16
Steph
What's something that you might share with her? Who doesn't see what's in her future? It's still very unknown and unclear.
01;00;42;18 - 01;01;13;05
Ashlene
That I know you're doing this from a place of feeling unworthy, but you are going to feel you're you get to allow yourself to move in an empowering way and get to feel the value that so many people see and that maybe you don't see yet. I don't know. I just would wish for her to see that the power that she had in making those decisions, that it wasn't for nothing.
01;01;13;07 - 01;01;34;06
Ashlene
But it also is like if she used that through confidence rather than through like the sense of feeling unworthy, how much she would have shown up, even more So I think I would give her advice to show up with confidence and with loving intention. And that, like so much will so much will be opened up for her because of that.
01;01;34;08 - 01;01;45;09
Steph
And final question, What is a book or a resource or something maybe that you've listened to or experience that really was pivotal and impactful for you?
01;01;45;11 - 01;02;17;28
Ashlene
Absolutely. To breath by James Nestor, say some good and then I love The Alchemist. Oh, I love it. And I read it on New Year's Eve last year. And I think it's going to be a tradition that I do because it was just like, you get different. I got a different message almost every time. And yeah, it just it's really powerful because I think this explains it really sums up this podcast.
01;02;17;28 - 01;02;41;16
Ashlene
And our podcast in a nutshell is that we have all these ripples and we have all these ways that we can go and move and go in different directions and yet like it will always lead us, and that if we do believe that we have a destiny, that nothing will really stop us because we always have that like inkling or intuition.
01;02;41;19 - 01;02;45;21
Ashlene
And so you can't mess it up even if you tried.
01;02;45;24 - 01;03;05;28
Steph
High me again, if you made it all the way through. I bet you're pretty serious about moving the needle to align with your dreams and feel good in your own life. Good for you. Before you leave, I would love to hear a takeaway that you got from this episode in the reviews that will help me tailor conversations to be more useful to you in the future.
01;03;06;00 - 01;03;07;23
Steph
Okay. You're the best. Thank you.