Transcript #006 - Dance

#006 - Helene Stetsenko - Healing with Dance - Transcript

006 - Transcript - Healing with Dance - Helene Stetsenko

Amanda: [00:00:00] Welcome to Don't Step on the Bluebells, the podcast where personal healing and transformation take center stage. I'm your host, Amanda Parker, and I'm a fellow seeker on the journey of personal growth. Join me as I delve into the stories of gifted healers, guides, and everyday people who have experienced remarkable transformations.

Listen in as they share their practical wisdom to enrich your everyday life. And don't forget to hit subscribe and never miss a new episode. Welcome to today's episode of Don't Step on the Blue Bells. I'm here with the wonderful Helen Stetsenko, who is going to be talking to us about all things intuitive movement and dance, and sharing with us the incredible story of how she came to be doing this work, and what it is that she helps others with in order to help them heal.

So let's dive in. Helen, thank you so much for being here today. I'm [00:01:00] really excited to dive into this conversation with

Helene: you. Thank you, Amanda. I'm very happy to be here today and share, my passion and thank you for creating this space for

Amanda: us. Yeah, I'm so happy that you said yes. I know we were connected through a mutual friend originally.

And, ironically, we both studied in the same business school and, you know, really started out on maybe more of this corporate journey and have switched over into more of a spiritual realm. So I'm really happy to have that conversation and just learn what this journey has actually been like for you. So I'd love to ask you.

Thinking about who you were when you were a child, so, today you are a woman who's helping people to heal. As a kid, could you have imagined living this life, this future that you've created for yourself? [00:02:00]

Helene: Yes, very good question. And, um, as a five year old self, I think, somewhere deep inside, I actually, I really was hoping to live this life.

Thank you. Because, um, yeah, now I'm working with people to help them reconnect with their body, with who they are. And as a child, I believe that people have a certain superpower in their body to heal themselves. And myself, I, I often felt not in control of my body as a child. Um, and it really bothered me, like when I felt sick, I was forced to take some pills.

I was forced to go through some procedures, which sometimes made me feel even worse. And, um, somewhere deep inside, like, I, I really, [00:03:00] I spoke to my body and I spoke like when some I felt like pain in my stomach, I was speaking to my stomach to, to calm it down. And, I was speaking to some higher powers also to make me feel better.

And, um, I felt that this is something we can do and at that time, of course, nobody was talking about this kind of spiritual journey, some kind of, um, holistic healing, but I, I believed in it and, um, I think this is really a journey that started very early age and also as I'm talking now about intuitive movement as a child and later on, I was always passionate about dance, about movement, about this connection, innate connection with our body.

And, um, I think my [00:04:00] five year old self would be really happy to hear where I am right now.

Amanda: So it sounds like as a kid you already knew all of this. Then life happened, you grew up, you took different paths, and now you can actually say to your five year old self like, Yeah, you were right all along.

Helene: You were right.

Amanda: So, how would you describe what you do if you're looking at your five year old self and saying here's what we're doing in the world? What would you say?

Helene: So I would say that I am uncovering this healing superpowers of the human body. I'm uncovering it in myself. I'm uncovering it in this higher subconscious.

And I'm sharing these powers with other people. And I'm making them more knowledgeable and free and also responsible, um, about healing themselves. And also about healing their [00:05:00] kids and, um, I think that would really make my five year old really happy to hear about that because it's like, as parents, people really, have this power of their, over their kids and then they can teach them from early age how to be really with their body intuition.

Amanda: So, you've said a couple of times this word healing. Yes. What exactly does healing mean to

Helene: you? So, for me healing would be And, this optimal state of well being because I believe that we are all have this kind of optimal state of well being when we are born. And, and a scientist also called this homeostasis.

And our bodies have this resources to go back to this [00:06:00] equilibrium every time that we drift away. And for me, healing is about going through the pain, Through this journey back to yourself. So this kind of internal journey And if the more we are connected to ourselves The more efficient we can use all the resources external internal to go back to this Well being and it could be mental health could be a physical health It could be even your like social life scenario everything

Amanda: so for someone who maybe It knows that things don't feel great right now, but don't know what that quote unquote optimal state of being is.

So imagine someone comes to you and they say, I just don't feel great, right? You might have in your mind, okay, we want to bring you to your optimal state. But for a lot of people, they might not actually [00:07:00] know either that they have an optimal state or what that optimal state is. So, how would you approach that with someone who really isn't familiar with this optimal way of being?

Right.

Helene: And it's a very good question because, yeah, um, in order to go, come back or to arrive to a certain destination, you need to know where it is and what it is. And, basically, if a person is still not clear about what Like something is off like many people nowadays. They just feel yeah, something is off I don't feel great and I need to do something about it but the first step is to regain this kind of Self like a feeling of of yourself of your body of your internal Kind of state that will then tell you what is the best [00:08:00] scenario for you?

And the first step that I do is my clients who have this kind of Request is a set of exercises to, um, regain this sense of, of self and connection between mind and body descending from your head to your body, to your holistic self. And then when, um, in from this state, imagining what would be like an optimal state of well being for you.

And it can be in terms of health, well in terms of health it's kind of easier because we kind of have this recollection, how do we feel when we are healthy, but if we talk about like where should I work, or which person should I marry, or which country should I choose to live in, so this would be kind of an exercise of this [00:09:00] journey, and you can go through this exercise in dance, where you define, it wouldn't be the first session, but after you have this kind of feeling of who you are, of yourself, of your wholeness, then you can do an exercise where you go through a certain journey to understand what is your optimal state of wellbeing.

Amanda: So what I'm hearing is that when people come in to you and they know they want things to be different, some might have a clear idea of what that is, some might not, and one of the first things that you would do is really help them figure out, okay, what actually would... be good, healthy, optimal for you. Yes.

So that they're actually reconnecting within themselves to know what does it feel like when I'm well. Definitely. When things are

Helene: good. Yeah. And if you want to hear in more details, I would, um, the first thing I [00:10:00] would do is to do like an intake evaluation globally about the state of, um, Of the person's health and condition and all the symptoms, even if there is, like, I recommend this, even though a person may know a little bit what he or she wants, but globally, I start with this evaluation, then we do, like, we set priorities, and then, like, we start the journey, depending, because everyone is on different, on different kind of point, In the spiritual and healing journey.

So I think this is important to define from the beginning.

Amanda: And like, what is it that would bring someone out of that state of wellness? How do people get out of balance? Because we, I mean, we talk about this a lot and on the podcast also, it's always a conversation about healing. So the conversation begins with an assumption that people need to heal, [00:11:00] but why?

Yes. But,

Helene: um, I mean. There are many things that can bring you out of this equilibrium and it's it can happen like you wake up completely connected with yourself and then the things happen like different kind of stress factors and There could be internal stress factors. There could be external stress factors, but everything can like Um, especially if you have not worked a lot on yourself, all the small things that they can bring you out of this equilibrium, but it's okay because it happens to everyone.

We go out, there is traffic, there, there is someone who pushed you on the street or, or like a colleague who was not nice to you, so it's normal, but it's also important to be able to go back to this equilibrium state. Okay. Um, and also I wanted to mention, so basically [00:12:00] also important thing, a part of all this kind of stress, external stress factors that are going on is internally.

If we are not connected with our body intuition, if we are not connected with ourselves, we tend to make choices which take us out of this, um, perfect life scenario, perfect Kind of, I wouldn't say perfect, but optimal well being equilibrium scenario, for example, even with choosing where I should work, for example, I am a perfect example of this, because Kind of from the early age, I had this feeling where I want to go and, um, but, um, because of some, well, I come from the family of engineers and mathematicians I kind of had to choose to go to select a certain business, logical path.

And if I were more connected to [00:13:00] my body, if I was more sure that I know what is best for me. I would choose differently. And this happens every day. About career choice, about partnership choice anything. So, the more we have this internal intuition, the more we are able to come to this optimal well being state.

Amanda: I think that's a really important point, because we always have a choice, we move through our life, we have many choices and decisions that we make, and often times we know, there's a part of us that just knows. And a very small example of this recently, so I've been on more of like a physical health journey over the last few months.

I had put on some weight since I've moved to London and I wasn't feeling that great in my [00:14:00] clothes, in my body. And decided that I wanted to find a way to just start feeling better. So, in the past, I used to love going to spin classes, and I really hadn't been in like two years. I decided to get back into it.

I've been spinning, I've been, you know, being more careful about the foods that I'm eating. Sugar is my, like, drug. Honestly, you, you would find me every day with a piece of cake if I'm not being conscious or cognizant of it. And then I went on a family holiday recently to Florida. And when I'm in Florida, it's like I forget everything.

So even though I've just been deeply immersed in feeling good and physical exercise and eating well and how my body feels when I do that, I'm eating pasta, and pizza, and cakes, and bagels, and whatever else, like, American cuisine, you know, hamburgers, and the works. And I come back to London, I'm like, oh my god, I've, you know, like, I feel that I've, [00:15:00] everything that I was working on that I knew was good for my body, I chose differently.

And there's many factors for that, right? Like, I don't, I'm not even shaming myself or blaming myself, I'm laughing about it because I can see how easily that mindset switches. I'm with family, I'm in a different environment, my circumstance changes, etc. But it's so easy to drop out of that. And I think it's also, maybe a part of this also for me, a message for myself.

It's not about shame or guilt or feeling bad, it's just... Being aware. Okay, now I see. That actually doesn't feel that great. What do I need to do to come back to actually feeling good again? And I suppose with the healing journey, we just shorten that time span between falling out of alignment and not feeling great and then coming back to feeling good.

Yes,

Helene: it's like training ourselves. to be more resilient to any external or internal circumstances. [00:16:00] So, and it's even with therapy, like when you have some trauma and you work through it, and it hurts, and, um, it may never completely go away, but if you have any external triggers if you have done all this internal work, You will not fall into this trauma so easily, or even if it happens, it will not make you so, like so painful for you.

So this is just about this training the muscle, training the muscle of internal intuition, or training the muscle of this core strength, spiritual core strength.

Amanda: Oh, I love that. Your spiritual core strengths. I can see that as your subtitle or logo somewhere. Um, so let's clarify a bit [00:17:00] what it is that you do.

So I know that you work with intuitive movement. You're an integrative somatic practitioner and today we're talking about healing with dance. Yes. Tell me more.

Helene: Yeah, as an integrative somatic practitioner I work with the body and, um, body intuition as I just mentioned, and I have a number of methods in my toolbox, but yes, my favorite one, as I told you, is healing by dance and intuitive movement, and I think this is something simple and holistic at the same time, um, I don't know if you've heard about this 73855 rule.

It states that, um, only 7 percent of our communication is through verbal channels. The rest is non verbal, so that's why [00:18:00] I think even if you work in, with some kind of therapy which is more based on some meditation, verbal communication, it's important to have some supplement, body, work related therapy, because it helps you To really work through your trauma or through something that you want to Um, to change on your life because it helps to live completely through the whole body through all the levels of human body.

And I think this is the perfect tool. And it uses movement, it uses breath, there is creativity component. Yeah, it's really, it allows to do very profound work. And yeah, and I also think it's a very sacred experience. Because [00:19:00] this something that it's innate in our body to interact with environment around us through movements, through dance.

If you look at different cultures, um, they have from ancient times, the different spiritual dances that help to connect. Human with with nature, with spirits, they also promote, um, fertility, they promote connection, um, with yourself and people around you. So, but invest in cultures, it has been overlooked.

I mean, not that it's our fault, but it's like historically. Um, we didn't keep this kind of tradition. For example, I went on a dance retreat to Bali and I was amazed how they, it's still [00:20:00] this culture of dance is incorporated in, in the, in people of, of our generation or, or younger, they learn to do like this welcome dance in the, like they all know how to dance.

Hold their body and they have ritual dances for a different kind of occasion and, um, I think that that's why this is the simplest way to reconnect with your body and really feel who you are and, and what is your internal body intuition.

Amanda: So there's this element of really using dance and movement just to connect within and then getting that inspiration as well from other cultures or other maybe spiritual traditions or just different countries, the way that they interact with movement and dance and Helping [00:21:00] people almost like free themselves through that movement.

Helene: Yes, and especially like I want to make it clear that this happens in a space of non judgment and full trust because you know when some like many people and I see it when I work with clients they like They like moving, they like dancing, but sometimes, like, when we go out to a party, there's lots of pressure, like, you have to look nice, you have to put a nice dress, and then when you move, like, you have to, like, you think about what others will think when I move, and then, um, like, some people need to drink before, because otherwise they don't feel relaxed enough, or even, like, if you go to a dance class.

We have this also pressure to, to repeat what a professor tells you to do. And then again, you're [00:22:00] like kind of feel uncomfortable because you, you messed it up or like also again, pressure judgment and in this intuitive healing by dance, you can do whatever you want to get into a certain meditative state.

And you don't. You interact with yourself, with the environment around you, but you also don't care what's happening. You just listen to what your body tells you to do, and you have certain visualization in your head. And there is some moderation as well, like I moderate what can be done, but there is no obligation.

If you don't want to move, you don't move. If you don't want to... Like, you feel your body, and I think this is what, what is really, um, healing about this process.

Amanda: So that's really interesting, and if I [00:23:00] think about, for me, there's been so many times in my own life where I find myself being really static, and I notice it, like there's this urge within to move, but I don't really know how or where.

I mean, sure, I can go for a walk to the park, or as I said, you know, I'm in these spin classes, but sometimes I forget that the simplest tool available to me is just like, getting up and moving my body in the moment, maybe putting music on, dancing. And yes, I've danced around the living room and all of that, but probably not often enough.

Like we're not really taught that it's okay and if you live with others or have roommates or a partner and they might just look at you like, what are you doing? So I love that you bring that element in, especially in a public setting. If you go to a club, you're trying to look nice, you want to look sexy or entice [00:24:00] someone or want other people to look at you and say, wow, look at what a great dancer.

And it's not necessarily moving your body in the way that you want, but rather what is going to look pleasing to others. And that's probably even a further disconnection from self.

Helene: Yes, definitely. And if you actually make it like you can do an exercise of observation. If you go, like you walk on the street and you look at people, like you can see how their posture is.

You can see how they move, like, or even in a club, like when you see people dancing, you can see the range of movements. that they are doing, their postures, how they move, the fluidity, and you can feel, um, what kind of traumas they may have, you can feel what kind of limitations they may also feel.

Because when we start this kind of [00:25:00] exercise, when we move, when we dance we feel where our limitations may be, we feel what kind of repetitive movements we are doing, and it also tells a lot about a person, and it also helps to... Do certain evaluation in order to, to go back to this equilibrium again and, um, also get rid of any blocks or limitations that are preventing us to, to go to this, um, optimal state of well being that we discussed at the beginning.

Amanda: So you said that you could actually observe others and you would be able to see, potentially, um, What either traumas they hold in their body or this the stress. How could you do that? Is that something that you are trained to do or could I or just an average person go out and say oh wow I can see what [00:26:00] exactly?

Helene: Yeah, I think I have, as I have been exploring different, um, movement healing tools since a very long time. I kind of and all this like even yoga, like we when we studied like philosophy of chakras of energy centers they tell you already, like you have certain energy centers and how like you move. Or how your posture is on, um, on the level of every energy center can tell you what kind of, um, issues, what kind of problems you may have. And as as part of my training, I also... Um, was taught to diagnose, well, to evaluate the posture and based on that, make some conclusions. But it's not like I go, like immediately I look at the person, I [00:27:00] can sense what could be an issue.

But if I work with a client it's important for me to, to work through together because it's important to get down to the root cause. Not to just say, okay, You, you have this, but maybe it's not because for, for different people even they have, they can have similar posture, but the, the root cause could be different.

Could be family history, could be due to past, um, significant life events, could be past lives. We don't know. So with clients, we, we, we look like we do this kind of evaluation, but we also go through this in depth analysis, as I mentioned before.

Amanda: And what might be some common physical, I don't want to say things, what are some like common ailments or movements or, or [00:28:00] even resistance that you see in the people that you work with?

Are there any that stand out as, Ooh, a lot of people struggle with this?

Helene: Um, yeah, there's some common, I would say condition, like, for example, in the posture, like some people, they, they tend to to scooch the shoulders because, because all of the, the pressure that they, they are facing in their life at work, like sometimes they don't feel like it could, the external.

Factors like physical factors is because we work all day on our laptop and our posture may be not comfortable enough and because we don't listen to our body, we don't know how to change our posture to make it more, more comfortable and healthy. Then we look at our phones all day and we kind of, um, And it's like kind of an external factor, but also internally like we feel depressed.

Sometimes we feel a lot of [00:29:00] pressure on our shoulders because of all the work we have to do or some responsibilities. Maybe sometimes too much that we, we took and like we bite a piece that we could not actually chew. And then we have this kind of a posture of, of a person who is, um, in this verge of burnout.

And depression maybe even, and that is something that you can easily fix with some posture exercises and at first, like when people, when we do this posture, um, evaluation and then correction exercise, they, they, after this, they say, I, I just feel that, that I'm not it's not my body. I just don't feel myself and then like, it's very challenging for them.

to be mindful and [00:30:00] trained to go like to go back to this a more healthy way of being in their body and it takes time and effort because imagine if we we spent like years and years in this There will be a lot of resistance from all the muscles, all the bones in the body to change something because it's comfortable.

It has, but our body has adjusted everything because we have a lot of internal power to, to adjust to any conditions, even if they're not favorable.

Amanda: So there's a book that I read a number of years ago, I believe that it's called presence by Amy Cuddy. I'd have to double check that and I can put that in the notes, but I'm pretty sure it's Presence by Amy Cuddy.

And she's a researcher, she's a Harvard professor, she wrote this book essentially about the impact of our [00:31:00] body language on our emotional and mental health. And that We can actually, for lack of a better word, manipulate how we feel based on how we carry ourselves. So in the past we might have believed, oh, I'm feeling sad and therefore I'm, you know, my shoulders are slinking forward, my head's a little bit down.

What you said might be a symbol of someone who's edging towards burnout or depression. But what she proposes in that book and what I'm also hearing from you is that we actually also have the ability to control or to change how we feel based on how we hold ourselves. So that maybe if you're spending a lot of time, you know, bent over your phone...

You're starting to feel sad and down, you're looking down, whereas if you consciously spend time with your shoulders back, your head up, your experience of the world, and your own emotional state. Also shifts along with that. [00:32:00]

Helene: Yes, that's true. That's what I'm also teaching to my clients is that knowing how to breathe, how to posture your body also helps to reverse your internal emotional state.

And it's very powerful. That is

Amanda: incredible. And I think in my world, like in the coaching world, I'll often deal with clients and I don't specifically deal. with physical pain, but of course, if something is present, it will come up. So, I will go into embodiment with clients when something is there that really needs to be healed and looked at.

And of course, on the Reiki side of my work, I am dealing with the physical body. But, one of the most common ailments that I see has to do with lower back pain. Upper back pain, and then I go into my own knowledge about the body and either what [00:33:00] chakras might be blocked or even using the work of Louis Hayes, um, you can heal your life where you can actually have a look and see, oh, okay, lower back.

This means that you're suffering. You don't feel you have enough support. You're under a lot of pressure, etc. So it's really fascinating and I really, really encourage anyone who's listening to take a moment to scan your own body and see what are those discomforts or pains that you're having that maybe you've been ignoring or that you've just accepted as the way things are or how life is and listen really to the words of Helen saying that There is something that you can actually shift yourself to be able to clear that pain and also the emotions that come along with it.

Helene: Yes, yes. And as I said, like, you need also to take into account any past trauma because as [00:34:00] you said, like, in this book of Louisa Hay it's very nice, and this is one of the common misunderstandings I find that it's very helpful to know like, if I have a pain in the lower back then it means something but again, that it may mean, again, different thing for different people because you may have injured your leg when you were 10 years old and then you started to, like, when you were injured You were working and you started to adjust your posture to, so that you don't feel this pain.

And then when you got better, you still have this kind of strange walk. And then you, when you're like 35 years old, you're still walking like this because your body has adjusted to this. So there could be some different... a condition, but it's important to, to scan your body to understand where discomfort are.

And then the next step is to find a way to balance

Amanda: it. That's a great point. And [00:35:00] I'm really happy you bring that in, um, that everyone's body and experience will be very individual. So while there might be some commonalities there, and of course, we're always looking from a point of reference of what we know in the world.

That your unique individual situation will have created your life experience and whatever it is that you're either potentially struggling with at the moment. Um, so really have an open mind to how that could have developed. I think it's also fascinating because with time we cover this up in our minds.

What you're describing, you might not even remember what happened originally to cause you to walk in a different way, which is why someone would probably come see you. So I'm imagining here that someone's got, you know, shoulder pain or their leg or something, it's just not working and they're saying, okay, I.

I don't know what to do here. What happens when [00:36:00] someone comes to you and they say that they're struggling with something? How do you work with them? And feel free to give an example of that as well.

Helene: Yeah, I just I had an example popped into my mind with one of my clients that she had this kind of pain all the time in her, one of her feet And she said, like, sometimes it comes, sometimes it goes away.

And we started this posture testing with her. And she realized that somehow she puts more weight into her right leg. And, and then it has pressure, it pressures her feet. And then with time it causes pain and then we just started to going back to, to, to her childhood and her, like, the way of life and then we discovered some reasons why it would be the case.

So [00:37:00] there were some physical... injury related and some were emotional. And then we came up with some, like, first of all, she became more aware about this. And every time she was doing sport or she was running, she was walking, she had this in mind, like I need to balance my weight. She was doing some exercises that we developed together, which were helpful for her to get back to this equilibrium.

And also we were doing some Like, energy related dance exercises for her to clear other issues that she had on, on emotional level, on energy level. It's about holistic healing, so that's why we had to go through more in depth.

Amanda: And so what is possible, then, with that work? So she comes in, she's struggling with her foot, you're able to uncover...

that there actually had been an injury and some other emotional challenges that created [00:38:00] this experience of the pain in her foot from how she was moving. Yeah. What's possible from there?

Helene: So, once we uncovered this, she started this, we created the somatic care plan for her with the exercises which were Taylor made for her priority for her condition and based on like what she likes doing so dancing was one of the things that she felt that make may heal her and she started doing it and like after two weeks already she felt that this she had the pain did not come back As often and like now, I think we haven't seen, I haven't seen her for, for a few weeks now, but I think everything is going good for her.

Amanda: Yeah, that's amazing. Yeah. So if someone comes in and they're not a good dancer, or they don't have a [00:39:00] lot of experience with dance. What would you say to them?

Helene: But it's not about experience. Like it's about, like, for people who are scared about dance, because when you hear dance, you imagine like, a ballerina on stage, like nicely dressed, and like, all this pressure that I was talking about.

Or a tango dancer. Yeah, or some, like, maybe you took a class and you felt silly, and, and like, you never want to dance again, so especially for... men. Not all the men like to dance and I prefer to use the term intuitive movement instead. And I actually, yeah, first of all, I changed the language and second of all, like we take baby steps.

We well, if If it's something that, because I said, I have a lot of exercises in my toolbox, like you don't have to dance, but I mean, this is something [00:40:00] that we're discussing today. So if the person wants to try, I really encourage it. And we can find some exercises where it's not more, it's about moving.

It's about living the experience. It's not about being nice, beautiful dancer. As I said, it's completely you don't have to have any kind of experience even if you never danced in your life It can work for you and maybe even better and you will rediscover a creative Part of yourself that you have never met before

Amanda: so that's also good to know and interesting that it's not just specifically Dance it is also movement and you're working together with clients to find Okay, what movement is actually going to work best with your body and help you with what you need healing on?

Yes, are you a dancer?

Helene: Well, I'm [00:41:00] not professional but I've been dancing Um different kinds of dances for more than 15 years. So, um, I really, I was exposed to a classical dance, to Latin. American dancers. I also tried different, um, like, um, local, um, folk, folk dance, I would say. So yeah, I would love to call myself a dancer, but it's not professional.

Amanda: I'll call you a dancer. Um,

so how did you discover this kind of work? How did you get

Helene: Yes. So, um, it's a long journey, as I mentioned to you before, and it's still unraveling. So I have been, [00:42:00] um, always kind of balancing between business world, like creative spiritual world. And it took me years to get where I am. So, as I said before, I'm, I, I come from a family of engineers, mathematicians, so I kind of, I, I, I don't want to say I had no choice, but at this age, you, you kind of choose more based on your family history.

So I had to go through this business stage I went to, I got my master in cybernetics and economics and I got an MBA and, um, but in the meantime, I never lost this creative connection. It was always part of my life. I was I was exploring, I was traveling to different countries because I was passionate about dance and participate in different festivals.

In the meantime, I was learning [00:43:00] different healing practices from early age and, um, but I somehow didn't give myself a permission to, to switch. I thought it was. It was not possible, because especially after so many years, like, a lot of pressure externally, like I never shared at work about, about my other part of life, so, cause I didn't feel that it's appropriate, but you know, that our bodies.

Why sometimes it knows better like most of the times it knows better what is best for us and In 2019 I started to feel off like my body started to give Sending me strong signals I started to have panic attacks, I had pain in my stomach, weakness, I had heart palpitations like I, like I [00:44:00] feared that I will faint at any point of time.

And once even I was on my way to work and I felt so weak. That I couldn't walk. I just, I just called my colleague. I sat on the bench and I waited for her that she came and helped me to go to the office. So it was kind of embarrassing even. And I realized that something is going on. So I went to like, allopathic doctors, traditional doctors.

And they were just giving me pills and some antidepressants and stomach pills. And they didn't see any, anything wrong with me, and they just said, Ah, you're young, everything is fine, just take a pill, everything will get better. But I knew that it will not get better, so I just, I had a lot of effort healing myself through all the methods that I learned before, naturopathic, holistic [00:45:00] approach, also dance.

And it took me quite some time, and after that I just decided that I cannot not listen to my body anymore. And I have to separate from my corporate career and and I, I should let myself do what really speaks to me. So I got certified and I started my, um, my practice. So

Amanda: it sounds like really a long journey of trying things out that weren't working and then also trying a more traditional medicine approach to all the feelings and pain or suffering that you were experiencing.

And then there was a moment of realization that this traditional medicine was not actually going to help you in the way that, well, that doctors maybe thought that it would, and that you had [00:46:00] to take a different route. So there must have been that moment in time where you were taking the pills, you were trying this traditional or western medicine method, only to realize I'm not getting better, I don't feel good, something else has to change.

Helene: Yeah, I mean, I don't deny, um, like traditional medicine because the, the difference is just, it treats the symptoms and sometimes the symptoms are very strong and painful and we, we need this this to be taken care of very fast, but the, yeah, the problem is doesn't go deeper and sometimes it can harm your body.

So I knew from like early age that that. For me, holistic approach works better, but yeah, of course, I have to make sure that there is no something like really serious because if you don't listen to your body for a long time, it's more difficult to heal through holistic methods. You may need to [00:47:00] complement with some quick fixes just to, to hang on there.

But, um, yeah, so when, when I realized like from the Traditional medicine point of view. Nothing's wrong with me. I knew that. Yeah, I just need to, to go back to my, to my, um, holistic approach and like, I should listen to my body and I should continue what I know is best for me because it was like that.

Like I had this feeling for a very long time and I need to listen to it.

Amanda: It sounds also like. There was a lot of pressure that you had felt to maybe conform to your family's idea of What a job looks like or what a career looks like or the kind of work you're supposed to be doing Like I hear you did a lot of degrees You have a lot of experience in business and I can [00:48:00] imagine that there might have been some pressure there to reach a certain level in your career either internal or from your family and So, how did your family react or the people around you when you made that switch, leaving sort of this corporate business world behind, moving into more of the healing holistic space?

Helene: Yeah, I think it's a very good question for many people who want to change, it takes a lot of, a lot of energy and I think courage, yeah, to, to do that at any age, but, um, yeah, it's come, like, because I already went through it. So it's a career and I had a very beautiful career and like, even though I had this element of logic and business, I think I reached my, um, [00:49:00] aspirations and in that regard.

So it made me easy. It made it easier also for me to change and of course, external pressure. It's very high. And, um, yeah, I had a lot of people being very surprised about my current occupation. But, um, in the end, my family like they are very loving and they understand this. It's just like, they understand that it's, it's my choice.

And, um, if it makes me happy, they, they are okay with that because at that time, maybe I didn't voice. enough my desire to do something else, so they were just... Like slightly pushing me towards what they thought is best for me. And that is why Yeah, if I would had this spiritual core More developed at the time, maybe I [00:50:00] would have enough courage to do something else.

But in any case Yeah, I think still there, there are some colleagues or people I have been working or starting with they, they may be like really surprised. I receive a lot of messages with congratulations and but also I feel that these people feel surprised about my, my career turn.

Amanda: I think it's fascinating because I, I hear two things in your story.

One is that I personally believe all the experience that you've had until now in the business world helps you serve people better. You're a complete person with multiple facets. You know what the business world is like. You know what studying is like, what ambition and really building your career. You know what that's like.

And you also know deeply the healing impact. of the work that you do, of your own experience of that healing, [00:51:00] and you are so much better equipped because of that to support the people who come in. So it's like, it's not that there's these two segregated parts of you, it's that this is an integrated whole, and because of that, when someone comes in on the verge of burnout, or feeling fatigue, or whatever it is that you've also maybe experienced in your own journey, You can actually really relate to them in a deeper way, and I know that's true for me with coaching clients who come in and they're struggling and I'm always laughing because my clients, everyone who comes into my world is I mean, they mirror my experience.

So they're coming in with their challenges and what they're struggling with, and I see myself in all of it. And I say, oh God, I have to face this too now. So whatever it is, whether I faced it already or not yet, I really see yeah, okay. And, and [00:52:00] also putting my own story aside to hold that space for them, you know?

Um, but what I also really value is... And I've believed this to be true, and now see, obviously, that it's not. But for so long, I believed it had to be one or the other, that, like, they couldn't integrate. And when you say people are reaching out and they're surprised, but I think you're also giving them permission that they don't have to follow a, quote unquote, traditional path.

that they can actually choose something that feels good and right for them in their own life. So you're just standing there as a shining example so that people know they can actually make different choices.

Helene: Yeah, you're absolutely right, Amanda, because it was a challenge. But it also makes me stronger and more equipped, as you said, and the clients that I'm working with, I would never be able to work with this kind of [00:53:00] clients if, if I, I just started like from zero on the holistic approach dance without going through this corporate career and, and I made it also my mission to work.

With companies, not just individuals, to help them implement strategic wellbeing programs at their companies so that people don't get burned out, that they feel more happy and connected to themselves and to what, what they do, the contribution that they're making to this company and the world.

So, yeah, it's, I, I, I really, I relate to everything that you have just said.

Amanda: So for someone who is just starting out on their own healing journey or who's realizing that they really want to change how they feel in their life, what advice would you give to [00:54:00] them?

Helene: I would say there is no such thing as perfect timing.

I would say that you just don't hesitate or wait to start living your best life if you feel so, because you may Spend end up spending more time planning than actually living this experience and, um, I would just say that don't doubt yourself that you don't have enough knowledge, you don't have enough experience you're an imposter or whatever, um, if you want this, if this makes you passionate if there is this desire to change.

There, you should explore it because it doesn't come out of nowhere and yeah, we all here came to fulfill certain purpose, certain to live through certain experiences. And I really encourage people not [00:55:00] to wait for the right moment.

Amanda: And I know that you have brought a special exercise for us today, and I would love to give the space.

to have that experience if it feels like the right moment.

Helene: Yes. Thank you, Amanda. Um, this would be an exercise which will take about five minutes. Um, and it's meditative and there's some movements involved. You can make it, you can do it sitting, sitting down. You don't have to get up. It just will move given the range that is possible for you in this posture.

And it's about personal space, your personal sphere, uh, space around you. I suggest that we start this exercise with a quick check up. We can write two words that describe how you feel yourself at this [00:56:00] moment. I invite you to write it down and I will also write it down.

And, um, if you're done, I invite you, um, to close your eyes whenever you're ready. Close your eyes, slow down your breath,

take a deep breath in and a deep breath out.

Feel your mind clearing out with each breath that you make.

Feel like [00:57:00] your awareness is descending into your physical body

with every breath. Feel the borders of your physical body and feel how each breath with each breath The borders of your physical body become more fluid.

Now, make yourself aware of the space that your body occupy in relation to the room and the objects surrounding you. Just feel your body in this space.

Imagine your personal space in the form of [00:58:00] a bubble or a sphere around your body.

Feel it, visualize it. What is the shape of the sphere?

What is the color of the sphere? Or maybe it has multiple colors?

Try to notice if the sphere is evenly distributed around your body. Does it have any holes? Or maybe it does have any edges?

Now, you can start moving. You can use your hands and palms To, to move around and smooth your sphere, your bubble. You can also feel your breath, feeling [00:59:00] this personal space, your sphere. If you see any edges or holes, try to use your hands. To feel these holes or make the edges smoother, you can move your hands, you can move shift your weight from one side to another.

You can move your shoulders, you can move your palms, you can even move your head slightly. Do everything that your body tells you to do to make your space, your personal space, more comfortable, more inviting, more nice. More bright, more shiny. Just take a few moments to work with your personal space.[01:00:00]

Feel your personal space becoming more comfortable, more inviting, more bright and shiny. Now you can take a few breaths, a few deep breaths and fill your sphere with energy.

Fill your sphere with energy and self awareness and self comfort.

Now you can slowly Come back as you feel comfortable and feel your presence in this room, here and [01:01:00] now, in your personal space, whenever you're ready. And I suggest just to write two words. Let's let's describe how you're feeling right now at the end of this exercise.

If you want we can share how, what we felt and how it changed.

Amanda: That was really beautiful. Thank you for guiding that. I could really feel that bubble of space around me and actually still feel it. Like I'm within this cleansed area. And the words that I wrote down. Well, in the beginning, we're happy and excited because I'm happy to be here recording with you and [01:02:00] excited for everything that you're sharing.

But what I really feel at the end of the exercise is expanded and open. There's a new spaciousness that's present for me.

Helene: Yeah, that's perfect. Because I also wrote happy at the beginning because I'm happy to be here and I feel I wrote loved because, like, you create this space of love and acceptance for, for your guests and listeners as well.

And in the end I felt really grounded and present and giving also, like, because, yeah, it feels like it expands your personal space and you really start feeling more comfortable in your body.

Amanda: This is amazing. Definitely take this exercise away. Try it on your own time even after listening to this.

It's a great way just to bring [01:03:00] yourself really fully into the present moment. And I'll also include some of these instructions that Helene has given to us in the pod sheet so that you can try it out for those who maybe follow it more easily from reading or practicing on their own time so you'll have the opportunity to do that.

For people who are curious, who would like to learn more about you or work with you, how can they get in touch?

Helene: Yes, so, um, I use two channels most of the time is Instagram. You can find me at Helen, H-E-L-E-N-E, somatics. So on Instagram and, if you type it in Google, Helen Somatics, you will also find me on LinkedIn and, um, my email address is also Helen.

somatics at gmail. com and, [01:04:00] um, in, there is also a website, I think, Amanda, you will be sharing. It's, it's very similar to what I just said, but like in this website, you can also, you can make any inquiries about working with me, but also there is, a free stress and anxiety first aid kit, which will give you some very practical exercises that you can use on your own, whenever you feel stress or you feel anxiety.

And I think it's very useful in your day to day life.

Amanda: Amazing. So I'm going to post all of those links in the show notes, you're going to have access, be able to reach out and get the support that you need. This has been a really powerful conversation and just getting a deeper understanding of the way that we interact with and move with our bodies and The insight, really, that we can also change the way that we [01:05:00] feel by moving our bodies in different and more free ways.

So I am so grateful that you've come on and shared this wisdom with us. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you for being here today

Helene: I'm, very grateful for inviting me And it was my pleasure to be here to be able to share what I do because i'm passionate about it and I would like to um, really make a difference for as many people as As I can, who are ready and who are willing to embark on this healing journey.

Amanda: Thank you. And thank you so much for tuning in. Don't forget to check out the show notes from this episode and download the pod sheets that you can take your own integration and knowledge of what we've talked about here today deeper. This has been an episode on healing with dance and movement. And of course, you can bring this into your own life in whatever way feels best for you.

So, thanks for tuning in [01:06:00] and see you next time. Thanks for joining us on this week's episode. Don't forget to hit that subscribe button so you never miss a future episode. To dive deeper into today's conversation, make sure to visit www.dontsteponthebluebells.com and grab your exclusive podsheet. It's packed with valuable takeaways that will enrich your listening experience.

Until next time, stay curious and keep exploring.