Faith Ashenden (00:00.162)

What people don’t realize is when you say I am something, your beliefs and your perceptions are going to align with that identity. So let’s say you want to heal, you’re taking the supplements, you’re doing yoga, you’re meditating, whatever. All of your beliefs are incongruent with that. You don’t believe that you can heal because your identity is I’m chronically ill. A chronically ill person doesn’t heal, they’re chronically ill. That’s who they are, right?

Hannah Aylward (00:29.187)

Welcome to the Nutrient Dense Podcast. I’m your host, Hannah Aylward, holistic health coach, functional gut health practitioner, and the founder of Han. So many people are continuously failed by conventional and alternative health care. We are here to do it differently. Alongside my team of functional registered dietitians, I’ve helped hundreds of women around the world overcome their chronic digestive issues when nothing else worked.

I’ve learned a thing or two about what it really takes to transform your health from the inside out, and I’m here to share it all with you. Please keep in mind that this podcast is for educational purposes only and should never be used as medical advice. Now, let’s dive in. Your transformation is waiting.

Hello, hello, my dears, and welcome back to another episode of the Nutrient Dense podcast. I’m super excited for today’s episode because we’re going to be diving into the topics of nervous system regulation, subconscious reprogramming, and really how these things can impact our health journey and like quite literally impact our health symptoms that we’re experiencing as well. So today we have Faith Ashenden on the podcast, and she is a nervous system and subconscious reprogramming expert and the founder of that healing feeling.

She helps high-achieving women who feel stuck in chronic symptoms finally break free by addressing the deeper patterns driving their experience rather than adding more protocols to their plate. Welcome to the podcast, Faith. We’re excited to have you. Thank you so much for having me. Yes. So I would love to kind of just set the scene with what led you to this work. My understanding is you struggled with some digestive issues, but health issues overall for years that kind of led you to.

A breaking point that kind of found this work in the end. So would love to kind of put this into context and and share your story here. Yeah, sure. I’d be happy to. That is correct. I had a lot of issues myself. It started in 2012 when I was in school in Austin, Texas, where I’m from. And I got my first diagnosis of Graves’ disease. And while it is a thyroid autoimmune condition, yeah, it definitely

Hannah Aylward (02:37.676)

definitely was the like inception point of ruining my I was saying ruining but like for a decade ruining my gut. And then from there I just started started to collect lots of different symptoms. It was kind of like a cascade effect, which I think is very much the case with pretty much everyone that I work with. Like they’ll get an initial diagnosis and then they’ll continue to have more symptoms and they’ll collect diagnoses, etc. And you know, we all have our explanations for that, but it’s very common. And so I got a diagnosis of IBS and POTS.

Chronic fatigue syndrome, they said, unexplained symptoms as well. Just things like racistic acne, chronic UTIs, like it was just it was a laundry list. And so in 2018 was when I had to leave my job in corporate America and I was unable to work. And from there, I went into functional medicine because I was using the traditional allopathic medicine model, which is, you know, like the Western medicine model. And for those who might not, you know,

Be aware and they sort of ran out of solutions for me. And so it was at that point that I found functional medicine. And I was already like a pretty healthy person. Like I grew up from my family is South American. So like I grew up eating really fresh foods and bone broth and whole foods. I had never had fast food until college. Like, you know, I had a

But you know, it wasn’t for me, it wasn’t like that’s being healthy. That was just the way that I was raised. So it wasn’t like, you know, it was lost on me that the way you eat and live your life has an impact on your overall health and well being. But obviously I took it to the next level with all the testing. I bought infrared sauna. I was doing all the detoxing and the like, you know, NASA made red light therapy that, you know, I would go use. It was just I was doing so many things as everyone does when they’re like in this place. And I thought I had hit nirvana.

I was like, this is gonna be the like end of the road for me. Like I’m gonna figure everything out and I’m gonna heal and I’m gonna be like I told you so. Like it was all because I was using Clorox wipes or, you know, whatever. And it was very helpful. It was really the first time that I felt like healing was possible for me because I started to see results, right? And so that’s why you get so obsessed with it, because you’re like, wow, this is actually working for me. That being said, I didn’t find freedom.

Hannah Aylward (04:50.518)

So I felt like I was feeling good in the context of certain scenarios. So it was like I could feel better, but like if I were to go push myself to like go with my friends and go out, not out, out, but like even go see a movie and whatever, like I could flare and feel fatigued the next day. Or, you know, and so it was like it was like, yes, I’m c capable of improving, but I’m not free. I’m like a sick person who’s kind of living within the confines of like a very rigid and structured environment.

And so that’s where I went back to my educational background in behavioral psychology and neuroscience and really started to look at the updated research on neuroplasticity as it relates to chronic symptoms and really the impact our symptoms have on our brain and the capacity for change. And I started further educating myself and reversed everything within nine months. And at that point I would say I was really free, you know, like I was healed. I didn’t have any more.

rules. Like there’s nothing that people say, like, do you not eat certain foods or do you not do engage in certain activities? Like, yeah, I don’t engage in certain activities, like recreational drugs. I don’t drink alcohol. But outside of that, as just personal decisions, I don’t have anything that I can’t do. And I really feel like it gave me my full freedom back. So I’ve had this full circle, here I am. And that’s what inspired my work. And when you were kind of in the thick of your health issues, like how bad was it at it when you were kind of yeah, at the at the worst part of it?

I mean horrible. I well, I couldn’t work for one. So I was literally bed I was literally bedridden. It wasn’t just that I couldn’t work. It was like I couldn’t get out of bed. Which like, you know, I’m like young. My fiance at the time, we had just bought a house in Austin where we lived and we were gonna do these renovations. I had this this job that I had moved to work so hard for. I couldn’t even get up and do like yoga or take a walk. Like it was like you are you can’t even get up.

So it’s like when you have like a virus or something and you just can’t get out of bed. Like it was like that, but every day. So mentally that started to really wear on me as well. Because obviously it’s like there were no more solutions. Like doctors were saying, I don’t know what to say to you. And so then you hit a point where it’s I really am starting to lose hope. There’s been times where I’ve been like hospitalized, like with my UTIs, where like the infection like it moves so quickly and so rapidly that it becomes very dangerous, and you end up having to stay in the hospital. Like

Hannah Aylward (07:05.654)

And that is not the only time I was hospitalized. It was it it sucked. It was like all of a sudden I was this person who was not someone I recognized at all. And not like the person you can reconcile with you know, with who I am today. But y that was a huge part of my life. Yeah, I think it’s important to to kind of touch on that because I think sometimes people are like, sure, if you are feeling a little off, this can work for for me. This, you know, subconscious reprogramming stuff or nervous system support, but I’m so sick that it can’t possibly work for me. I’m gonna need

more intensive therapies and interventions and things like that. So I think it’s just important to touch on it’s like the way that I see the subconscious reprogramming work and the nervous system regulation work is it’s like everyone will benefit from it regardless of kind of the condition. So you could have Graves, you could have MCAS, you could have SIBO, you could have XYZ. I think it’s a really great accompanying therapy for lack of better phrasing to all of the other stuff that you can do, regardless of how

quote unquote far gone you might feel or how sick you might feel. I think it can be really game changing either way. And there’s kind of no harm. There’s no harm in in doing it and adding it and laying it on, right? For the people in the audience that aren’t quite familiar with the subconscious mind and subconscious brain, like can you break that down for us and what does that even mean? Yeah. It’s a great question. So

Yeah, there’s a lot of lingo online about unconscious, subconscious, conscious, reprogramming, brain training, neuroplasticity. And it’s like, what is it? Yeah, what does it mean? What’s the context? How does it apply? How can you use it? So this is the way that I break it down when I’m teaching. There are three parts of the mind. You have the conscious mind, which is the evolve human part of the mind, and the you’re not looking at this pointing to the like my forehead, like right up here, which is five percent of your mind. So you use this.

To plan for the future, to reflect and analyze on the past, to problem solve. We’re using it right now as we’re having this conversation. It’s the logical part of the mind. And then there’s the subconscious, which is right underneath. And the subconscious mind is like the captain in many ways of the nervous system. Right below the subconscious is the unconscious. Now, the unconscious mind is the body. It’s unconscious. So like.

Hannah Aylward (09:22.298)

It literally is your nervous system and your body. Think about it like you have the autonomic nervous system. So it’s automatic, right? It’s not consciously thinking. You’re not saying heart beat right now. Digestion, stop, start. Like it’s not conscious, but it’s it’s part, it’s all connected. The mind and the body are one. And so this is how I explain it in the way that we divide it. It’s like your subconscious is right in the middle of like your conscious mind and your body, literally. And so it’s what’s really in charge.

of everything because it’s communicating directly to the nervous system on whether or not it’s safe to downregulate. And equally it’s interpreting the thoughts of the conscious mind because our conscious mind, if you think about it with time and planning and reason, it doesn’t connect inherently to the primitive part of ourselves, which is our body. For example, if you’re having a panic attack, you can’t just be like, chill out, right? That’s the conscious mind trying to tell the body to chill it doesn’t work.

So there’s a disconnect there. And that’s because the subconscious mind is the direct line of communication. And so most people are trying to heal on the level of the conscious mind. And so we see a lot of like spreadsheets and protocols and what just there’s a level, there’s a degree of logic involved, of course, modern medicine. But equally, there is so much more that, like you said, has to happen in tandem in order to experience full body healing.

And so the subconscious is really where that I believe in my experience is the key to unlocking healing when it comes to chronic illness. If it’s acute, it can be a very conscious, mind-driven, like I’ll take an antibiotic or it’s an emergency, whatever, right? But there’s not very much like body on board that needs to happen because it’s very transactional. But the subconscious, it holds your identity, it holds your beliefs, perceptions, values, it holds your habits. And so

The way that you’re acting on a daily basis, it’s all being driven by your subconscious mind. It’s not being driven by your reality. You’re you don’t experience reality. You experience it through the lens of your subconscious mind. And so when you’re trying to change anything, especially a chronic illness, people are working on the wrong level. They’re putting a hundred percent of their attention on five percent. Right. And so it’s like you just have to be like splitting your attention and your efforts a little bit more strategically if you really want to paint a holistic picture of how to heal.

Hannah Aylward (11:40.087)

Mm-hmm. Yeah. So what I’m hearing is it’s kind of it’s kind of in the driver’s seat without us even knowing it and it’s kind of running the show. And we can, which is I think also why we will self sabotage, get in our own way, right? It’s like we can have, we can logically understand like, hey, I need to go do XYZ or this will be good for me or this will help me, or I need to go to bed earlier. That’s gonna help me feel better, right? But it’s like, why can’t we do it? Why?

Why is it harder to do it than it should be, like logically speaking? And you can kind of like you can’t really think your way through it and you get stuck in these patterns. And I think with chronic illness and people that have been struggling for a really long time, we see a lot of those people. So we definitely will see someone who’s had digestive issues for like a year. And I love to catch them when it’s only been a year, which can still feel like a really long time. But we’ll see a lot of people, it’s been 10, it’s been 15 years. They’ve never really felt fully, fully well.

And we’re looking to kind of not only address the underlying roots to everything and those more physical imbalances, but also kind of rewire their whole system to even believe that they can get better, which is a feat, you know, especially when we’ve been stuck in these patterns. So what I see is it’s like when we are dealing with these chronic health issues for years and years, they almost become part of our identity and part of who we are, not really, not who we truly are, but who we think we are.

And it’s like I just see them as these patterns that get stuck in the body. And it’s like we’re almost expecting to not feel well. We’re expecting it to not work. And I had a coaching call with my group this week actually. And one one of the women said, I feel like it’s just always something. Like I work on something, this gets a little bit better, and then something else pops up. Like it’s kind of like whack-a-mole, right? Digestion gets a little better and then it’s hormones and then it’s headaches and then it’s weight and then it’s this.

And I think that this is reflective of the subconscious mind in that story, because it’s like when we just kind of get stuck in these patterns and these patterns get stuck in the body that then influence our reality. So can you speak to that a little bit? Like the the people that identify as unwell. And I I like to be really mindful when people are saying, Well, I’m this or I have this or I have this. I’m like, sure, but.

Hannah Aylward (13:54.422)

You don’t have to base your whole identity on the fact that you have SIBO, you know? Like we can get rid of that. Don’t worry. It doesn’t mean it’s gonna be super easy and take a week, but don’t take that on as part of who you are. So can you speak to that person who’s like, I have felt this way for years and it’s getting harder for me to think that there is another possibility here? So much of what you said is I’m like, I’m nodding like vigorously, yes, yes, no. It’s absolutely like I agree a hundred percent. Also,

Yeah, I had I didn’t even mention any of the functional medicine testing. I obviously had SIBO. I had Candida overgrowth. Like I had so many. Once you get into the functional world, it was like there was the obvious the more obvious, like chronic illness, allopathic diagnosis. And then there was like I remember I went in and I said, I want every single one of your time. Just do all of that. You know? And I’m like, ’cause I just want to get to the root of the problem. Anyways, and so yes, I had those things too, but they did not come back. To your point, absolutely right. So I am those words are very powerful.

And you see that kind of reflected in literature. And I mean, I think the most like infamous example is the Bible, right? If you’re religious or not, it’s kind of irrelevant. Like God Himself is they say, Who are you? And he says, I am the great I am. And I am is what commands your entire perception. There’s power in those words. And when you work on the identity level, which is the second highest level of the subconscious mind, the first is your purpose.

An identity, then belief, then values, perception. So, you know, you kind of you want to work at higher levels to make a change in your body. So when you work at the I am level, what you have to understand is that you cannot heal in opposition to your identity. So if you’re trying to heal, but your identity is I am chronically ill, for example, which is totally understandable, because that is you have to accept that when as a trauma response because you’re waking up and you’re not getting better. So to protect yourself, you just accept, okay, instead of fighting my reality, I’m gonna accept my reality because

generally that can be a positive thing, right? In this instance, when you are trying to heal in opposition to who you are, it doesn’t work. It’s like you saying, you know, a lot of people are in the manifestation space, fine. You say you want to be a millionaire, but you’re acting like someone who makes thirty thousand dollars a year. Well that’s incongruent, right? Like you have to change the way you’re acting to achieve different dreams. So what people don’t realize is when you say I am something, your beliefs

Hannah Aylward (16:15.022)

And your perceptions are going to align with that identity. So let’s say you want to heal, you’re taking the supplements, you’re doing yoga, you’re meditating, whatever. All of your beliefs are incongruent with that. You don’t believe that you can’t heal because your identity is I’m chronically ill. A chronically ill person doesn’t heal, they’re chronically ill. That’s who they are, right? the the supplements aren’t really gonna work for me.

It’s not a conscious belief, it’s a subconscious belief, right? And this is another thing that always kind of blows people’s mind. I bring them in and I’m like, okay, let’s pick apart these subconscious beliefs. They’re like, I don’t believe that. I believe I can’t like, well, you do, like consciously, but subconsciously, there’s so much more going on, right? And so these are conscious decisions. These are formed over time as trauma responses. So, like you said, there are these programs running.

And below our awareness, we’re making these decisions every day to either avoid things or to go for things based on our belief system and our identity and totally unaware of a reality that we could be choosing and walking into. This isn’t a blame game. This is just how the mind works and becoming aware of it and bringing it to light is where you find your power.

Hannah Aylward (17:28.739)

We are big fans of eating enough protein over here on Team Han. Protein is essential for muscle repair, a strong gut lining, balanced blood sugar levels, and so much more. For most of our clients, we like recommending around 100 grams of protein per day to start, and adding in a good quality protein powder can be super helpful for hitting those numbers. It’s an easy add-in, you can throw it into a smoothie or even add it to oatmeal. Choosing the right protein powder can feel so overwhelming.

Half of them are full of fillers and crap ingredients, and the other half honestly just taste bad. Equip protein is one of my go-to recommendations for our clients and one of my personal favorites. We love it because it only has a small handful of ingredients. It’s 100% carefully sourced, real foods, no additives, allergens, chemicals, fillers, or other junk. It’s gluten-free and it contains 21 grams of protein per serving. Equip’s Prime Protein also offers

a complete amino acid profile. It’s also independently tested to make sure that the protein powder is free of harmful amounts of heavy metals and toxins like glyphosate, which is honestly super hard to find. Equip prime protein is a grass-fed beef protein. So it is animal based, but it’s dairy free, unlike whey or casein protein powders. Grass-fed beef protein is packed with collagen, gelatin, and micronutrients that your body needs.

We also see that it’s typically much better tolerated in our clients with chronic gut and digestive issues over something like a plant-based protein powder. In addition, some of their flavors do contain natural flavors, but they’re distilled vapors from natural and organic compounds or fruits like vanilla, coconut, and strawberry, and are processed without any chemicals, fillers, binders, or artificial ingredients, which once again is incredibly hard to find. Personally, I buy both the chocolate and the vanilla.

Flavors of the Equip Prime Protein, but honestly, they have like so many other incredible flavors out now. If you’re interested in trying out Equip Prime Protein, you can use the code HANNAHAYLWARDHHC at checkout for 15% off. And we’ll pop that code in the show notes of this episode for you as well. So once again, you can go to equipfoods.com, choose the flavor of protein powder that you want, and then use code HANNAHAYLWARDHHC for 15% off.

Hannah Aylward (19:46.884)

Yeah, and I’d say for me personally, ’cause I’ve done a lot of this work over the years and continue to, ’cause I don’t think it ever really ends, which is great if you just accept that. Yeah. and there’s always a new layer to it at at each chapter of your life, right? And it can go and it can kind of it it impacts every area. So it’s not just health, it’s relationships, it’s financial picture, it’s where you think you can live, what house you think you can have. I mean, all of those things, right? Your subconscious is running the show. And for me, it was a lot of

Underneath the surface, even though I felt and feel highly capable and I’ve accomplished so much in my life and all of that, and like smart and I’m a go-getter and blah blah blah. Underneath it all, it’s like this underlying current of like I’m not enough and I’m not okay due to deeper programming from like childhood. So can you speak to some of that? Because I think that yes, we can identify as like sick.

But I think underneath all of that, there’s like there’s like deeper currents to that, right? And mine was kind of like, I’m not enough and I’m not, I’m not okay. Because if I was enough or I was okay, well then maybe my childhood would have looked differently and my mom would have treated me differently and things like that. So I think there’s like there’s like deeper, deeper, deeper stories to some of these patterns. And sometimes we’ll see it expressed too as like, well, if I don’t feel well, then I can finally relax. Right.

I can finally rest. So, which is a little bit of my story too, because it’s like resting and relax relaxing and repairing was like never shown to me or anything like that. So can you speak to some of those like, yeah, those layers. I think we we may even think it’s like, I identify with sick, but it it I wanna say like underneath those layers are even deeper layers of our story. Yeah. So those trauma responses that we’re talking about, I mean, it’s funny that you are you and I are very like in sync with the way

We probably teach and think because the first week of my program is on trauma responses. And not in the traditional way. Again, like I’m always careful because you know in social media, like these words are kind of pop psychology, like thrown around in ways that I feel potentially aren’t exactly the way that I’m discussing it. So the way I’m discussing trauma responses is in line with what you’re saying. And these become part of our identity as well. So with my demographic of women with chronic illness, it’s type A.

Hannah Aylward (22:07.93)

controlling perfectionism. And I speak from someone who also like, I was on a podcast yesterday and I was like, I was like, I’ve been working on healing this my whole life. And he was like, from the second you came on, I could tell that you were a force to be reckoned with and a go-getter. And I was like, do I really I’m trying to be more chill, but okay, fine. From the second really so like listen, I I get it, right? Like I’m this and I think there’s just such a a tight correlation between these trauma responses.

And then this path to chronic illness, et cetera, right? Because it keeps your nervous system hypervigilant. But ultimately, these are trauma responses, not always from the typical trauma. It can be from anything, right? So trauma is just anything that was too big for you to process at the time. So some people will say, Faith, I don’t have any trauma. And it’s like, well, I’m not trying to scare you, but everyone has a like everyone at some point. Yeah. So it’s like you might have been on the playground and like someone didn’t invite you over and you were seven. And at the time, that was the first time you experienced rejection.

You didn’t know how to process that. And so you developed a people pleasing tendency, or you know, what whatever the case may be. And so people have these responses that they build into their identity. And so the the typical one that that I’m seeing all the time and that I identified with is I’m type A. And I am right. And so it’s like, I am a recovery type A. I don’t know if I’ll ever fully recover because obviously it seemed to come across that way, even though my life goal is working on that. But so that’s a trauma response.

Right. Because if if you are trying to be perfect and the best, well, perfect doesn’t exist. So then you’re never enough, which means you’re always having to work, which means you’re never really at rest. And so then you see the hypervigilance and then the cascade effect towards epigenetic changes or gut issue, whatever whatever, whatever, what have you. It’s it’s it’s different in every single person. So this is such an important inception point to why the nervous system even got there in the first place. And you know.

I don’t like to go too deep into the trauma thing like everyone else, because it’s like, I think for me, it’s at least with like my girls, you know, it’s like, okay, we’ve identified that we have these tendencies. And I think the important thing is to separate yourself from the tendencies. Realize that when they are occurring, that’s your nervous system feeling unsafe. That’s all it is. It’s not you. It’s your nervous system identifying an old wound and saying, I’m gonna brace for impact. So I’m gonna respond in this maladaptive way. And so if you can see it.

Hannah Aylward (24:33.626)

like a different vantage point, like, hey, my nervous system is calling for safety and respond differently, you then change the brain to understand that that situation is safe. And so this is kind of how I try to do this work with my girls, because I’m like, hey, if you are, let’s say you’re like an all or nothing type of girl and you’re trying sure you see this all the time. You’re trying to do the work and then you’re like, my God, I’m doing it wrong. I just can’t do it at all. And then no, Faith, I fell off track because it like I felt like I was doing it and it’s gonna sabotage. And then you see you think you’re self sabotaging.

Right. So it all comes back to this. And so it’s changing the way that you look at the trauma, understanding that it’s an old wound, offering yourself safety, being resourceful about that, and moving on. And that’s really the only thing that we do in in relation to those responses. But I think it’s all about awareness. Like, okay, it’s surfacing again. But see, in saying that, you’re separating yourself from it. And like that’s all you really have to do in the end. You do it enough. Your brain realizes, like, that’s not who I am. That’s a call for safety.

Yeah. So it’s like here’s this this thing is happening again, but this isn’t this isn’t me. It’s just kind of a pattern. Yeah, exactly. And I think the detachment in everything that isn’t serving you is really the goal. It’s the unlearning, right? It’s all of these maladaptive responses and offering compassion versus why do I do this? Why do I self sabotage? It’s like that doesn’t exist. We don’t we would never consciously try to hurt ourselves. That’s not what we do as human beings, right? Like

we do in deeply inherently, unless something’s gone very wrong, right? And and and but we deeply inherently want to survive, we want to thrive. Like that’s our prime directive. And so if these things are happening, there’s a reason and we change that relationship to compassion and understanding, that’s self love. That’s worthiness. Right. And that’s the root of all the the healing. Mm-hmm. Yeah. Dr. Gabor Mate speaks a lot to this and and kind of he even in his books about addiction.

And just how addiction is really you trying to feel better, you know? So whether it’s addiction to alcohol, drugs, I mean anything, anything. You could be addicted to anything, you could be addicted to exercise or working even. It’s like you’re just trying to keep yourself safe and you’re just trying to make yourself feel better at the core because you’re not engaging in these unsupportive habits just to do it, right? You’re always trying to feel to feel good and to feel better. And it’s just kind of like gotten a little miswired, you know. So I think that’s a really

Hannah Aylward (26:54.672)

Just beautiful way to view it because I do think that healing comes with self-compassion and empathy and and self-love. Like you, it’s you can’t just throw a bunch of supplements into a body that is deep down, you don’t even like yourself, you know. And that was me for a long time. Like when I really got honest, I was like, I I don’t even think I like myself, like really underneath the surface. And no one would have ever guessed that because I was like doing it all right and all the things, you know.

But when I really peeled away the layers, I was like, wow, I’m really like this is really tough. I’m really, really tough on myself in ways that I wouldn’t even be tough on anyone else. Yeah. So, so yeah, there’s a lot to that. I wanna kind of shift just a little bit, but I wanna talk about this like symptom hypervigilance. So we will see in a lot of clients, it’s like as soon as one thing pops up, we’re like scanning for other things to pop up.

And this was a lot of my story as well. And I and I say this to clients all the time to resonate with them. And when my digestive issues used to flare, it was immediately like, What did I eat? What did I do? What about this? How do I stop it? How do I suppress it? It how bad’s it gonna get? And it’s like you really just it just stirs up this hypervigilance in in the body and you wanna try to control it as much as you can. And I’m like scanning for the what caused it, what led what led to this. And I

I’ll see this pattern a lot in clients as well. And sometimes, you know, they’ll be even be like, Well, the bloating was worse today or the this was worse today or the this. And it’s like I want them to widen the widen the lens a little bit and really just like surrender and trust trust the process. But can you speak to this like this symptom hypervigilance and how this may be getting in the way of people healing?

A hundred percent. And like you said, it’s so hard because you’ve sort of developed you’ve developed this as a result of the condition. And on top of that, many times when you’re in the investigation phase, you are asked, you know, so much about your symptoms and to track things. And I remember when I first started initially when I went to to one lady and she kind of gave me this chart and she was like, You need to write all this stuff down. And and I get that there’s like merit to that in certain situations, but what I’m saying is you sort of train your brain.

Hannah Aylward (29:06.81)

when you’re in it long enough, which is what makes it chronic, and that’s where the problems start, to be tracking and controlling all of it. And you’re and and because the brain is like obsessed with problem solving, right? And so you’re looking for patterns and recognizing patterns and trying to control as much as you possibly can to protect yourself. All of these are just like the way that the brain works. And in many ways it’s very advantageous, but it only isn’t advantageous. Well, in many cases, but a lot of these like patterns that we recognize in chronic illness, like,

They have such incredible uses in any other situation except for here. So that being said, you’ve been trained to do that. And then you get in this position where your brain’s automatic response is to scan and predict over and over and over. And, you know, if you are experiencing something chronically, after a certain amount of time, your brain is making a habit of that sensation. And I think this is where people who might have heard of neuroplasticity.

I’m sure I know you’re talking about it and people talk about it, but what people don’t people seem to be a little surprised, even though they’re very intelligent and they’ve read this when I explained to them, like this is happening across the board, like you said. Like, regardless of what it is that you’re dealing with, like if it’s chronic, your brain has made a habit of it, regardless of your diagnosis. I had a conversation with a girl today and she’s like, but what about this situation? Regardless, regardless, you don’t have to tell me. It doesn’t even matter. You’re we this science shows us that your brain has made a habit because your brain habituates.

Everything. You wake up, you brush your teeth. You don’t wake up and think, geez, what’s my dentist? yeah, that’s right. My dentist said I need to br okay. So I’m gonna brush in a specific way. Like you just don’t do that. Imagine living your life that way. Like so anything that you do consistently, your brain makes a habit of, especially your symptoms, right? And so in the situation that you’re describing, the brain has made a habit. And so your attention is just gonna flow there naturally. Like it’s under your conscious awareness. It’s just a habituated response. And that

Problem with this is that habit reinforces the identity and the beliefs that something is wrong with you, that you’re the exception, that it’s not working, and you hyperfocus where your attention goes, your energy goes, right? And so you’re hyperfocusing on the problem, you’re reinforcing the problem, not consciously, you’re willing it consciously elsewhere, but we know by now that’s not really what’s in charge of this process. And so that also will create such a so much hypervigilance in the body.

Hannah Aylward (31:33.872)

That the system starts to break down. Cause no organism in nature can live under extended periods of stress. It anything will break down. So you live in that cycle. You will see other things pop up, whether it be unexplained symptoms, new sensitivities, migraines, and what and you know, and you’ll say, I have health anxiety, of course, because you’re in this situation. But this is like the cycle. This is always the cycle, right? And so this is why I’m saying it doesn’t matter what, you’re not the exception.

Unless you were born with this, and even then your brain changes. But I always say to women, like the the work that we’re talking about, right? Where you can come out the other side. This is applies to anyone who’s developed a condition, wasn’t born with it, but developed it. If your brain has changed from one place, your brain can change back in ninety-nine percent of cases. Right? Yeah. You and like I’m sure you did the same. Like you you’re not gonna take someone who’s celiac and say, Yes, we’re gonna get you eating gluten. No. But in ninety-nine percent of cases.

This is this works. It can go back to where it was, but we have to understand what the brain is essentially hijacked, right? Like until you understand that this loop is happening and detach from it, you then identify with it. And then you become an anxious person who obsesses and scans all day. Mm-hmm. Yeah, absolutely. And Justin, the effort is really to just keep yourself safe, right? So I think it’s I just want to emphasize that again because I think it’s it’s easy, at least for my brain, to be like, my gosh, like, so I just obsessed about everything and then like

Then I’m like worrying about that. You know? You’re another problem about that. Right. As opposed to just being like, yeah, like of course this makes sense. So like validating to yourself, no, of course, of course I’m scared. Of course I feel this way. Of course I’m looking to see what food ticked off my bloating because I’ve been bloated for 10 years. So I’m just trying to keep myself safe and and avoid things that are going to tick me off. Like that’s a natural response to.

This trauma, you could call it, right? Like a smaller trauma or but I think chronic digestive issues are, you know, they’re traumatic. They’re usually chronic health issues are traumatic. So usually you it’s it sucks the life out of you and your joy and your ability to travel and eat out and all of that. So and you just feel bad. So it’s like it’s a normal response. And I think validating that, especially for women who are just like looking for solutions, me.

Hannah Aylward (33:47.652)

Right. And when I w worked with my therapist in the past, she was like, Hannah, before you go to jump into like, okay, now I’m just gonna self-regulate and now I’m gonna do this and now I’m gonna do that. It’s like butterfly taps, breath work, this. It’s like, okay, it’s okay. You’re scared. Like validate that experience before give yourself a couple minutes to be like, Okay, I see you. Before we jump into, okay, now how do I fix it? Cause even in that moment.

These tools can become, I’m trying to fix it for the person that’s wired that way, right? So I think it’s just important because I think a lot of people that I attract are, you know, wired like me, which is no s no surprise at all. So I think hopefully that resonates with someone. It’s it makes sense and you’re not wrong or bad for not knowing that at first or whatever. And I want to touch on you’ve spoke to like gluten and celiac and things like that. And I agree with you there. And something I speak to a lot with our clients is like the food is not.

The problem. Like nine times out of 10, the food is not the problem. They got environment, the stress response. There’s all this other stuff that’s causing the reaction to the food. So I wanted to just touch on food sensitivities for a second because a lot, the a lot of our audience is struggling with like food intolerances and reactions and sensitivities. And sometimes I get hate for it, and people are like, taking this food out has like helped me so much. And I’m like, that’s fine, you know, then then go for it. But I didn’t eat gluten or dairy for probably like 10 years and it never solved the issue.

Like it never it never solved the issue because I don’t have celiac disease. That’s kind of in another bucket, right? Yeah, no, and I don’t either to clarify. So that’s yeah. People ask me that all the time. They’re like, do think I could take your program and eat gluten with celiac? And I’m like, No, I’ve said this. No, definitely not. Yeah. Right. But okay. Extenuating circumstances. Right. Yeah. So so talk to like the I think in this functional health space, we’re so quick to just peel out foods. It’s gluten, it’s dairy, it’s soy, it’s corn, it’s sugar, it’s

all these things and like there’s a time and place for it all, but my audience knows that I’m always like, this is not the solution. So when people are reacting to these foods, like what role is the brain playing in that? And I think I’m like, if you are eating this food and you think you’re gonna react to this food, you will react to this food. So can you talk to those that are struggling with food sensitivities a little bit?

Hannah Aylward (36:07.435)

I was obviously in this boat for well, I say obviously I don’t know even if I mentioned the food sensitivities, but this was huge for me. Like I couldn’t eat gluten or dairy like you. I also didn’t eat processed sugar. I mean, I was at the point where I was doing that thing where I was eating like the autoimmune paleo. Like I was based in carnivore. Like it was like that was all I could eat. Yeah. it was sucked. It was like breakfast was like ground turkey and whatever you know, that kind of phase of life and healing, I guess. So I had really severe reactions, like with with

gluten. Like I remember I did an Instagram video and like I was so inflamed. I had to like do a video to show people like I was like, you guys look at like how severe my condition is. Like look how inflamed I am. I have cysts all over my face and like my stomach was in so much pain, so bloated. Like it was it was so intense. And I was like, I thought I hit Nirvana by saying, okay, well if I remove all this and I just eat like five foods, you know, I don’t have these reactions and yay. Until it wasn’t yay, because actually that sucked. And I think that

It’s a really hard place to be because people often are like, Well then how do I break that cycle? Like are you saying I just go and eat some gluten? I think that this is a prime example of how the brain habituates a pattern, right? So like initially there’s an inception point, some insult to homeostasis, and that’s very real. I can’t s and I was just having this literally like 30 minutes ago. I don’t know what that is, and I’m not that kind of practitioner.

Maybe you would test for SIBO or a candida over or I don’t know, like you got a virus. I I don’t know what would cause it, right? But and at some point there’s some insult to homeostasis and you have these symptoms. And then let’s say it’s happening for a little while, right? Your brain develops a habit. It’s such an easy thing to tag because the trigger’s so black and white. It’s like dairy or like processed sugar or whatever, bloating. And then again, you go back into that cycle of like, okay, so.

I’m hyper focused on this. I have this response. I’m reinforcing the belief that I have this intolerance. And and the response tends to get worse. It tends to come on faster after you sort of develop that like I am this kind of a person. And also you tend to develop more intolerances. So now you’re like a person like how I was going to a restaurant. It’s like, can I just please have like whatever? Like so not enjoyable, right? And I was like, Well, this is just my life.

Hannah Aylward (38:22.632)

But it’s actually funny you asked this because this was the first thing that I healed when I did all my work. So I started to dive into Dr. Joe Dispenza and how he healed himself. And it’s very kind of cliche, no like name in the space, but he really was my gateway to like you can you literally are the placebo. Like that is one of his books. I recommend it for everyone. But you know, reading that, I was like, Well, my God. Like we all know about these placebo trials. But I think just having it front and center in that context, like

You can’t actually do anything, right? The first thing I played with was gluten and dairy. And I was like, this is a really easy one. It’s a low-hanging fruit because I know what it is. And it’s not this ambiguous, like, I’m always nauseous thing, which was what I’m, you know, and that’s quite a little bit more challenging. So I said, let me play around with this, doing some work around creating safety around these foods. And it was less than a week. And I just tried to eat it when I was with family and having a good time. And I did all the things.

And I didn’t blow, I didn’t get acne, I didn’t get diarrhea, I didn’t have any issues. And right then and there I proved to myself that like this was real, that I can like do this work and I and I let it get more complex from there with my other issues. So I think it’s just remembering the spiral that the brain gets into when it comes to food intolerances. And I think also being willing to I think the hardest part is being willing to let go of your beliefs. So many people want to hold on to their beliefs and their identity because it’s very scary to think you could have wasted time.

Or that if you lose this identity, what else are you losing? And you know, that’s huge. And so that’s one of the biggest thing that holds people back from doing this work. Like, just like anything, if you if you have someone who’s a religion, right? And you say, What if your religion isn’t true? It’s really scary to even consider that. And like this is as deeply ingrained as that. And so to me, that’s the real work. The I can tell you how I did this and you could do this. And but if you don’t believe in it, then

your nervous system doesn’t feel safe. You know, it’s my work I see as like g getting someone on board with the fact that you could actually change this. You could create that safety in response and and be that powerful. Yeah. It’s so important for people to remember. And I we so the first coaching session that I do with my group program is all on self limiting belief. So we were like freshly talking about this two days ago.

Hannah Aylward (40:40.734)

To kind of set the stage for all of the work. Like we run the functional labs, we build out the supplement protocols, we do the targeted nutrition. And I see that. I mean, that changed my life. And I see it we we help so many people through that like modality. And also we always discuss nervous system, gut brain connection, and this. And we started off with self-limiting beliefs here and identifying some of these. And one of the things that came up for one of the women was like, I work, I have to work so much harder than everyone else, right? And that was a big one for me too.

So it’s it’s interesting to like witness these beliefs and identities. Like that’s an I an identity, part of your identity. It becomes part of your identity. So of course your health, of course your relationship with food’s gonna feel harder. Of course you’re gonna have to, you know, pack your own snacks and bring them everywhere. Of course you’re gonna have to watch your weight more, you know, that kind of thing. And that was me. Like never in my life did I ever think I could just like eat food. I maintain a very like

healthy diet for the most part, you know. But I will drink margarita. I will eat tortilla chips. I will go out and do those things now. And before, I mean, if you spoke to me, I don’t know, probably 10 years ago at this point, like I never ever, I was like bringing my own tortilla chips to the restaurant, you know, like organic, that kind of thing. And which is fine. I mean, whatever, do your thing, you know. But there was part of part of me, what I’m trying to speak to is like the part of me that like actually did not believe that was possible. And sometimes when I look back, I’m like, how did I even get out of that? A lot

a lot of like deep identity work around that. But I think if you hold that identity of I everything is harder for me, I have to work harder, nothing comes easy, that’s going to play out in your relationships, in your relationship to yourself, in your relationship to food, in your partnerships, in your career, in all of these different things, if that is the identity that you are like so deeply attached to and holding on to. So I I

love this like concept of doing the identity work first, you know, in order for then the actions to change. It’s like our beliefs, our thoughts shape our beliefs shape our actions. And our actions are what get us the results. Right. So it’s like in order to take these actions, who do we have to be in order to do the things that we need to do in order to get the result that we want to have on the other side of that. So I think that’s that’s beautiful, this like identity work and kind of starting with that, with that concept there.

Hannah Aylward (43:01.92)

You know, the law of attraction, right? You see that on social media and people are like, just be that person to attract it. And you’re like, what does that mean? Right. This is that. It’s it’s not some woo-woo thing. It’s it’s like you just start right down. You know, people don’t know who that person is they want to be. And this is also the problem. You can say to them, like, Okay, you wanna heal your gut, great. What does it look like? What does it look like for you to have a healed gut? Well, I don’t want to bloat when I have dairy and I don’t

I know, but what does it look like? Like what does she have that you don’t have? Right. And I challenge that. And most of my girls, they come with me what I don’t want. I ask the question, right? What are your goals? And it’s always, I don’t want this, I don’t want this, I don’t, but what is her life? Okay. And then what are her habits? What are her beliefs? Right. And then just act like her. It’s not a bunch of time between you and her. You don’t have to like work so hard to be her. Just figure out who she is.

Write down how she thinks and how she acts, and just do that. Pretend, right? That’s how you attract that. And so I try to say, like, you could be 24 hours away from acting just like her. And that’s when reality bends, not because it’s woo-woo, but because there’s biochemical and hormonal responses, right, within the body when you are folding those emotions. And so yeah, it all comes together to what we’re hearing, but it’s just kind of bringing the context to.

like you said, the work that we see and do. I wanted to say one other thing though, to your point about how you guys do all the supplements and the food charts and stuff. One of the things I want to say is like a point of encouragement is I find that a lot of people say that they’re healing their gut forever. Like they’re doing those things for a long time. And what I want to say to that is a lot of times I think it does work the first time, but because of these pathways, they feel like it didn’t work because they’re stuck in that habituated response. And so when I say, I healed SIBO and I healed the Candida overgrowth.

And like it didn’t come back and it really didn’t it wasn’t that bad. It didn’t take so long. And they’re like, that’s not possible. And you know, I’ve been healing SIBO for a year. And I’m like, I don’t think that’s how it’s supposed to be necessarily. Like, and it’s like maybe, and then they come to me and then they do this work and then the sensations are gone. I think you healed it the first time, but you were still having these sensations because of these pathways. So I just want to bring that context because I know that it can feel grueling when you’re in it, but I’m still a firm believer that I think it is working.

Hannah Aylward (45:22.113)

I think you’re sticking to it and you’re managing your nervous system, it’s working. You have to remember there’s that mental work, like you said. And I don’t think, you know, these girls who are doing it for years, I mean, it’s crazy. It’s like, wow, I’m not sure that I mean, you’re the expert, but I’m not sure that’s right. Yeah. It shouldn’t take multiple years. Yeah. We definitely see clients like that and they’re like, I’ve been working on this. Do you think I’ve been working with this practitioner for 18 months? Like, do you think I should feel better by now? And I’m like, Yes. Yeah.

That’s a long time, you know? One month, maybe not, but a year, I would say like you can make a lot of good progress in a year. And no, I don’t think it happens directly overnight. But I mean, if you have a good focus like four to six months, like we make a lot of progress in clients with a good focus four to six months. So if you’ve been doing these protocols for like two years or whatever, I mean, you’re get a new practitioner, get a new practitioner, explore other options and then really take a look at this nervous system piece. And something that I say to clients a lot is like

If we really, really, really, really want to take a root cause approach, we have to ask, how did we get here? Not the the root cause is not necessarily SIBO. I mean, SIBO isn’t even a root cause, it’s like a motility issue. So we have to dig deeper with that. But it’s it’s like, how did we get here? For me, my story is it’s like years of trauma, childhood, walking on eggshells, being screamed at, not feeling safe, overperforming to try to feel safe, over exercising, under-eating.

than antibiotics. I mean, which is more of like a physical thing, right? But it’s like in the in the grand scheme of things, was it the antibiotics or was it like the 10 years of like hating myself? You know, like you’re you’re explaining my childhood to the chronic UTIs. Imagine I was on daily antibiotics for like a dec which is yeah. So and it would we all have these stories, you know, and it you start you said it comes together. When you hear when you talk to the yourself, you’re like for me and you or your clients, you’re just like wow, yeah, this makes a lot of sense. Of course. Of course.

my system feels safety in that and being like, this makes sense. You know, because I still want to make sense of things in my brain. I think most of us do. So when I kind of widen the lens at look at my like stress timeline, I’m like, yeah, I mean, duh, like this makes sense. And I find relief in that versus like there’s something so wrong with me that no one can fix and no one will ever have answers for and all of that. It’s like when we look at the the whole story, it’s like, okay, cool. This led me here and now I know and like let’s change it.

Hannah Aylward (47:43.652)

And if we really want to take, if we really want to let the gut repairing work work, we have to look at the nervous system because it’s likely is part of what led us here. It may not be the full picture. Sometimes it’s like food poisoning or, you know, there’s like a more acute instance, but for many clients, it’s like years of not having boundaries, not really loving yourself, not really resting, under-eating, you know, that kind of thing, hypervigilance, perfectionism, whatever terms we wanna attach to it, that kind of led us to.

to this state and just like overperforming and like complete overstimulation. So the nervous system is part of that root cause for for many people. You know, I think the question that is likely coming up for people now is like, this makes sense to me, but like how do I do this? What does this actually look like? So I would love for you to expand on, you know, if if someone’s listening and they’re like, okay, cool, the identity thing that resonates, the pattern thing that resonates, the subconscious, that makes sense to me now. But how do I actually change all of this? Like what are what are those tools look like?

My biggest piece of advice if you’re like getting started on this and you haven’t before is to start with your at the level of your beliefs. Because your beliefs form your identity. So if you focus there, it’s efficient and it’s a little bit easier to do independently. Right. And y you worked on this too as well. Yeah. So write down your beliefs currently. Take time to be honest with yourself because it if you don’t have awareness, you won’t have clarity and you won’t have power. And so say take some real time to be honest with yourself.

And then write down the beliefs you want to have. So the beliefs that the healed version of yourself has. And you’re gonna spend time collecting evidence for those beliefs. So the brain is an evidence collecting machine. If you look at like trial, right? Like we we present evidence, that’s literally a manifestation of how we think and form beliefs. Now, the problem is that the subconscious mind is highly moral and it takes beliefs as truth. So

We don’t realize how attached to our beliefs we are, that we are so shackled to them. We believe they are as true as like I am alive. We don’t realize that, but we we do. And so to dismantle them is one of the most powerful things that we can do. And it’s a very easy. And I give this analogy like imagine you’re a child and you believe in Santa Claus, and then one day someone’s like Santa Claus isn’t real. And in an instant you change this belief that like you would have lived and died by, right? You can do that with any belief. There are ways to do that.

Hannah Aylward (50:10.916)

But if you collect enough evidence or you have evidence of someone very like powerful and prominent doing it, you can instantly shatter a belief, right? So you just need to get the subconscious mind to accept that your limiting beliefs aren’t true. So that’s what that’s that’s the only objective at this level. So collecting evidence. I have my girls spend 30 minutes every day, whether it’s listening to podcasts about people who’ve healed that specific thing, reading books about it, like.

Following accounts about it and obviously unfollowing anything that’s not in alignment with that. And then the other part of it I would say is, and people don’t like this because they like to do things like the dopamine hit, but think about your state of being. So nothing is actually gonna shift for you unless your nervous system is on board. And your nervous system is just only understands feeling. It doesn’t understand like any of the little like, I can do a checklist and do a brain training exercise or whatever. Like it only understands feeling.

And so what I mean is if you are doing this work, but you’re like tight, hyper-vigilant, scared, your nervous system doesn’t really care. It’s like, okay, well, we’re still unsafe, so I don’t care. Whereas if you’re conscious of your being that you’re holding, your emotions and your feelings, you then make a shift. So one of the challenges that my students face is I don’t know how to feel safe. I don’t know how to feel peaceful. I don’t know how to feel joyful, right? Okay.

That’s fair. You might have not felt that for a while, but it doesn’t have to be in your own life for you to access it because it’s ever present. It’s always accessible to you. Find it in nature. Literally, you want to find peace, go to nature and like just look at the grass. You know what I mean? Or like a bird just like sitting there. Like, you know, f access that state enough to where eventually you can bring it to yourself. And again, this is.

Almost equally an exercise of learning that healing is about being not doing as it is to accessing safety itself. It’s very difficult, very difficult for my students to do this because they’re like, I feel like I’m doing it wrong. Is this supposed how you’re supposed to do it? Is the question. What do you mean is this how you’re supposed to is this how you’re supposed to be doing the state of being exercise? You are supposed to just find, you know, whatever state of being you want to find. And now what do you do for fun? I don’t have fun.

Hannah Aylward (52:29.848)

These are the kind of responses we have, right? So challenge yourself because at the end of the day, you’re not gonna outthink your way. Like it you don’t have to be smart to do it, right? Like actually the smartest people are not at an advantage here because you’re intellectualizing something that can’t be intellectualized. So challenge yourself to get out of your head and into your body and connect with that. Because what’s happening when you hold that emotional state is that’s where you’re eliciting a biochemical and hormonal reaction within the body that’s informing the cells.

That you are safe. And then this reaction lasts for 12 hours, right? So the most healing thing you can do is connect on that level. So these kind of two things in tandem are a different way of approaching healing than like the typical narrative. Like what? You want me to, you know, like find evidence, the beliefs I want to have. And yeah, I mean it’s strategic, right? But I think challenging it’s not an intellectual process, it’s a being process, like as an overarching theme is the gateway to getting to where you want to be. Yeah, that’s beautiful. And for people who are

Like, okay, I want to feel safe in my body. Like, do you have any tangible exercises for that? I think going into nature is awesome. But I I do think some people, yeah, they don’t really know what that feels like. So, like, what can help like bridge the gap here for people? Like, are you using things like meditation? Are you using things like breath work? Are you using things like butterfly taps or EMDR or whatever it might be to kind of like help the body a access that or acupuncture? Like, I love acupuncture. I think it’s like,

Amazing. My nervous system like loves acupuncture so much because it just like kind of like conks me, which which I need sometimes. Yeah. But like what are these like tools? Because if someone is so hypervigilant and they’re like, cool, I now I need to be differently or whatever. It’s like, how does that feel? Because something for me is like the safety, the feeling of safety in my body was not well practiced. I mean, not. I didn’t even know it, you know. So how what are like tools and and tips for people there?

So at the risk of sounding redundant, because I’m aware that a lot of people like know a lot of this stuff, you know, but I’ll just go back to some of the basics. Like, you know, the only tool we have that will instantly send a message of safety to the nervous system is the breath. Because the breath, yeah, breathing is part of the autonomic nervous system. It’s the only part that we can control. And so what’s interesting about that is when you shift that.

Hannah Aylward (54:46.574)

You’re actually informing the rest of the nervous system that you’re safe. Okay. So we know then, like scientifically, this is gonna be the easiest way. Now it’s the exhale that is the parasympathetic nervous system. So if you find yourself in the situation where you’re like spiraling or you just don’t know how to done regulate, it’s the simple just breathe in for four and out for eight. So you’re breathing out for twice as long as you breathe in and dropping your breath into your belly instead of your chest. If you actually do this, like,

But not stopping, but just, you know, it’s not some crazy breath work. Like it’s very simple. If you actually consistently do this for however long you need, like a minute even, it in less amount of time than that, you’re gonna start down regulating because it’s it’s it’s literally science, right? I think a lot of people try like lots of different types of fancy breath work, and I’m like, it’s not really the time, in my opinion, when you’re like really hyper and you’re like, I need to come down.

not really the time. I think it’s the time to like go back to the basics. It’s not time to be thinking something that you know for a fact is gonna work. So that’s always my like number one like strip it back. Just have a tool that you know. And then from there you can take it to where you want to take it. Whether you want to meditate, whether you want to walk, whether you want to do yoga, or you want to just clean the house and put on the office. I don’t know. It’s just but you just have to get yourself down to then be able to use like your thoughts and your your your brain your brain is off when you’re in fight or flight.

But I but so that would be always my number one recommendation. And again, I know people know about breath work. It’s not like novel, but I wonder how many people understand that this truly is something that inevitably will bring you back down. Yeah. And I think we can hear about these things all the time, but education without implementation is basically just noise, you know. So it’s like, are we actually doing it? You know, when in doubt, elongate the exhale. Elongate the exhale.

And that will, yeah, signal to the brain that that you’re safe. So I think that’s a great tool for people. And I think we since this has become more popular, it’s there’s like too many options for people. It’s like, am I using insight timer? Am I using these exercises? Am I using this? I have this membership. It’s like this. And it’s all great, but none of it’s gonna work if you’re if you don’t do it. So when I talk to you know, clients and myself, I mean, ’cause I’ll get overwhelmed by everything, and all the options too, it’s like just choose one thing.

Hannah Aylward (57:02.614)

Exactly that. Choose one thing and one practice and do commit to doing that for like three to five minutes each morning or three times a week or whatever. And you’ll feel the difference from that. It doesn’t need to be super fancy. So yeah, I think that’s beautiful. And the last kind of question I want to ask you is for people that feel like cause sometimes this and this is a selfish question. So I’m like, I have the tools, I have the knowledge, I have all this stuff.

And I know it and I’ve practiced it and I love it and all all of those things. And yet sometimes I find myself in this pattern of like, I don’t have time. I don’t have time to take care of myself, which is like a deep belief that I hold. I’m like, wow, you really think you don’t have time, but like, yes, you do. Like you do have time. But it feels like when business gets really busy or when things get really busy or whatever, you know, I’m over here helping everyone else get well, but I’m exhausted, you know, because I am working late. I’m answering

questions all the time. I’m coaching all the time, all of that kind of thing, which I love doing. So I feel like it doesn’t impact my health in the exact same way because I feel very fulfilled and positive towards it. But my question is for people, because life gets busy. Life gets really busy for people. Things get hard. We’re taking care of loved ones that are sick. We’re building businesses. We’re raising children, all of that kind of stuff. What can you say to the woman out there that’s like, I want to do this, but I feel like I’m really short on time. Like how can I help myself here?

First of all, I totally relate because I just did I just did a post on Instagram about this. I was like, Yeah, I mean it’s hard. And I think everyone no one’s like exempt from this. People like, you know, I come and post online, but it’s it’s it’s hard. I mean, I’ve got two small people, I have a business, I have a team, like I get it. So I do get it. A couple of things I would say to that. Please don’t let social media make you think that doing this work is

Something that requires a lot of time. So it’s more a way of being, right? It’s the way you structure and observe your thoughts. It’s the way you move through the day. It’s how you start and end the day. It’s how you punctuate your day with moments of mindfulness. It’s the boundaries that you create. It’s a lifestyle. It should be integrated into who you are. And then really thinking about what aspects of my day are not in alignment that I can change, right? And I know.

Hannah Aylward (59:22.638)

There are things that are unchangeable, right? Like you might be sitting there, you’re a parent. I’m a parent of a special needs child. I am hypervigilant a lot in that sense, but that is a situation that I can’t change, right? So it’s not perfect because it’s life. And so I never want someone to think that, like, well, if you don’t remove the stressful thing, you know, then you can’t have this. No, I mean it’s it’s life, right? We live in the real world and that’s part of it. It’s not about never being hypervigilant or never being anxious. It’s about having the capacity to come back down and letting that be your baseline. So

That is one thing I would say, because I agree with you. Like my students are like, well, what about this inevitable thing in my life? That’s well, I mean, and that’s life, you know? So I would encourage you from that perspective. It’s not, it’s all it’s not going tits up because you have something stressful in your life. Think of it as integrating it. If there are reels that you’re following where people have like an hour and a half morning routine and they have these gadgets, unfollow it. Don’t you don’t need the gadget. They’re not gonna help you achieve it. I like wellness products. I think it’s fun. It’s like my outlet. I never

ever talk about it to my students. I want to tell you that the vibration plate behind me does something that has outside of the fact that makes me feel like I’m, you know, doing some lymphatic drain and it’s nice and I feel a little bit better, but it’s not necessary. It’s not going to move the needle, in my opinion, right? So you need very few things. You don’t need a routine. It’s about who you are and how you’re living your life in the day to day. and I think also remembering that we have limiting beliefs

Around how we have to live our lives. For example, this was profound for me as a business owner. someone said to me, Work is like water, it fits in the container you put it in. And that just blew my mind. Like, I can still achieve as much as I want, but do it in a shorter amount of time. What do you mean I will have to burn out on my business? Is that what you’re saying? What a novel experience. You know, and so, but just thinking about in my life, you know, in this day and age.

I think so many of us are doing the same thing the same way every single day and then saying I’m burnt out and then like, you know, take a second, take a beat, reevaluate. Where is it that like, you know, you’re stretching yourself in where you don’t have to? I guarantee you it’s not every part of your life that you can’t change. There are some parts you can’t change, there’s some that you can. And in that moment of my life, I remember, like, I changed so many things in an instant, my entire I mean, I gave myself back two hours, you know? And I think just thinking about that radical responsibility.

Hannah Aylward (01:01:42.061)

The acceptance of normal life and not having an expectation that it’s all gonna always gonna be peaceful and really embodying that, like it’s about how. And if you’re racing from task to task, you’re not embodying the how. And it’s not about what you do, it’s how you do it. Mm-hmm. Yeah, beautiful. I love that. I think a lot of people need to hear that. So thank you. So if people are interested in learning more from you, how can they connect with you? Well, they can find me on Instagram.

That healing feeling, which I’ll give you the link. Obviously, I’m talking about all this stuff. And then I’ll drop the link for you for my free class. So a lot of people are kind of like, this sounds interesting, but like I don’t really fully understand it. So I have a free class that I run where I basically take people through like the pillars of this and kind of how if they wanted to start on a 30-day plan by themselves, they could kind of take the methodology and implement it on their own and try to get some of those results and get used to the concept. So if anyone’s

interested in that and wants to give it a go, I’ll drop the link to the the live room and they can just hop on and give it a go and see. Yeah. Amazing. Thank you for that resource. And any last like last minute thoughts of or things that you would want to say to the person that’s like just in the thick of it. Just like in the thick of the symptoms every single day. Yeah. I always say it’s not just you. You’re not the exception to the rule. It feels like that because you are seeing other people

Do it and get better. And maybe you’re even seeing us have this conversation and other people on social media, but you are not the exception. You are not special in that sense. You can absolutely do this. All those other people were in that position and and they have nothing that you don’t, right? Like at the end of the day, we all have the resources inside of us to achieve this. And I think that hope is the most important part. And and realizing, I know like it’s funny because when you say like you’re not special, it’s like sounds a bit mean, doesn’t it? But

You’re not. Like if you can have this be this, you could be seeing this conversation in six months, a year from now. And I think holding on to that hope is the most important part of the entire process. Absolutely. Yes. Beautiful. Well, thank you so much for your time, Faith. And we’ll make sure that we pop those resources in the show notes below. Thank you so much. Thanks for joining me for this episode of the Nutrient Dense Podcast.

Hannah Aylward (01:04:05.399)

If you found this episode valuable, don’t forget to subscribe, leave a review, share with a friend, and come back next week for a new episode. See you then.