00:03
Welcome,
00:04
everyone. So as always, we get started with our own grounding and centering practice. So take a moment and just uncross your legs, if you can uncross your arms to allow the energy, just flow from the top of your head, down through your torso, down through your legs, and then grounding you into the earth so that you feel fully held and fully supported. And take a moment to just let your breath become a little deeper, bringing your attention to the area of your heart center. And really connecting with that energy there, that powerful, powerful heart center that we all carry within us. And just do your best to bring in the feeling of love and joy into this current moment. So that as you listen to this interview, you stay connected to that space of love joy, and let's add in a little compassion as well. Because we're all going through something right, nobody has their days perfectly easy. But when we can come back into this space of love, joy and compassion that lightens the load just a little bit. So trust that you will receive exactly what you need to during this time. And when you're ready, just come back into the present moment into the space that you're in. allowing yourself to be grounded in that feeling of love, joy and compassion. So I haven't recorded a podcast in a while. So I'm a little nervous. But I think that this is the perfect guest to reboot the anxiety proof her podcast for me. So Rajni Rahman is the founder of Mind Body holistic healing and wellness and the Texas ambassador for international women's empowerment organization big which I've been a member of for almost nine years on enough I was a leader a couple times have big, you know, props to big. She is a holistic wellness practitioner and helps women to reclaim their wellness glow goals, using scientifically proven holistic modalities. After 20 years of working in the IT industry as a software engineer, in both the corporate and public sector, she turned her lifelong passion for holistic practices into her mission, bringing healing and wellness to women. Her specialty is in working with health conditions such as stress, chronic fatigue, inflammation, thyroid illness, and transitioning to calm clarity and wellness. So thank you, thank you so much for being here. I am really looking forward to hear more about not only your own story, because I know that you had been diagnosed with illnesses when your children were younger. So to hear your healing story, but also I want to hear more about the work that you do. So can you take us back in time a little bit, I'm imagining that when you first became an IT, you know, person that you weren't necessarily focused or understanding all these different tools that are out there? Was it that you know, the struggle that you went through that opened your eyes to that or what did you have a different experience?
04:05
Hi, Jennifer, it's great to be with you. And what a nice introduction. Thank you so much. Um, you know, to answer the question, I had always been introduced to a holistic lifestyle, because of my mom's knowledge of IO VEDA. I VEDA is a 3000 year old science of healing from India. So you know, as far as diet as far as lifestyle, I was introduced to that early and in middle school, I was introduced to yoga, this beautiful husband and wife couple have volunteered in the community to give people free lessons on yoga at like this, you know, auditorium kind of setting. So we would bring our mats, they would introduce us to yoga and so you know, I'd started in middle school, and I said Feeling the difference it was making, you know, in my life as a high school student. And so then, you know, like, as life moved on, I met my husband in college and we moved to the United States right after I graduated, that was a big shift, right? Like the, from going from one corner of the world to another starting fresh, where you have no friends, you don't know anyone, right? So I literally uprooted from, you know, the other side of the globe and planted myself. The saving grace was as a Buddhist, I have no faith communities, I'm a practicing Buddhist nature and Dijon ins, Buddhism, a very modern take, we don't have any idols or statues, but we have cultural centers, and over 190 countries where there are practitioners whose, you know, whole purpose of using this Buddhism is to enhance the quality of life, or in other words, you know, seeking enlightenment in our daily life, amidst our daily challenges, pursuing our goals, not giving them up, you know, finding enlightenment along that journey. So I had a faith family that I connected with, and I have this practice of chanting morning and evening. Not as life moved on, right corporate America, and you know, juggling like an eight hour or nine hour job, where the margin for error is minimal, right, one of my first jobs was supporting payroll. So 9000 employees paychecks process based on me and my team's work until accuracy, right, and the room for error, it doesn't exist. So in my 20s, you know, I was like this go getter personality, like nothing stopped me at a power morning routine, I would wake up pray, and you know, sort of, like, just get going. When my children came in, they're two years apart. Now, they're 15 and 13. But when they were babies, you know, it's a different thing. If you have someone that can come, you know, or you can jump off the baby somewhere. So you can take a shower, when you're a new mom, everything's new, new territory, and, you know, like, you're the last line of defense. Right? And so, incredibly
07:21
high stress, as you're mentioned, at this moving jobs and pressure and children and
07:28
yeah, and a lot yeah, when I became a mom, it was like, I was in charge of this little precious being. And I was, you know, how, like, you can imagine, like, you know, that mom instinct to protect the baby. And also a lot of us know, as women, there's this conditioning to care to give love in that process. You know, who gets put last, it's always me or you or you know, the the person in the protagonist, right, whoever might be the person whose story we're visiting. And so, I think that not getting rest not getting sleep, and always sort of like this is what I got to be the perfect mom, like, I got to do this, right, you know, like, you know, the best pointment for the baby rash you know, for you know, this kind of pressure, I think was the beginning of my you know, health problems because up until then, I had been athletic, I done yoga and I was always mindful about good eating this being in this sort of situation where I couldn't care for myself, but I'm not like aware that this is happening.
08:39
Right? It's like these little micro choices Yeah, just eventually start to add up
08:45
right? It became sort of like the wake up call like every test every annual exam. The first one was me being diagnosed with hyperthyroidism which explained I've lost all the baby fat in no time. People were asking me like are you on a diet? Are you exercising I'm like no, I'm not doing anything and so when I you know came positive for hyperthyroidism and after I read about it that explained that you know, you lose weight even if you've not changed anything about your body because your heart rate is accelerated and you know you're so what were the symptoms just if someone's listening sometimes people don't aren't aware of you know what's happening Yeah,
09:26
their bodies can you just explain some of the symptoms that you were having
09:30
sure hyperthyroidism has several the symptoms such as you know, you won't know but your heartbeat is accelerated. You may sweat more, you may feel tremors, you may have feel anxiety. Okay, you may have you know, brittle nails, you may lose hair and lose weight. So there's a mountain or there's like a plethora of symptoms. It's different case by case. Okay, and so many times thyroid disorders go undetected, the doctors might listen to your symptoms and put you on depression medication, when what you really need is your thyroid to be treated. And when that's done, the symptoms disappear. Yeah,
10:18
yeah. So was there a test? Or was it based off of just the symptoms you were experiencing?
10:23
Luckily, for thyroid imbalance or disorders, blood work is usually a good indicator if your body's for using too much or too little. So luckily, there is a test available, Okay, wonderful. medications and, you know, responded well. And so when my second baby came, and again, I had these stressors, right, we're now balancing a two year old and a newborn, right? juggling that. This time, in my annual exam, my thyroid had flipped and gone under. So literally, from hyperthyroidism, it went to hypothyroidism, where it's making less thyroid. And this, again, the symptoms include gaining weight, fatigue, lethargy, no matter how much you work out, you're not able to lose weight, no matter how good your nutrition is, you're feeling tired. So those are the symptoms of hypothyroidism. You know, I was on medication for that. And, you know, it was a humbling experience, Jennifer, for someone who had sort of been like this athletic and like this health free person to be now getting these labels of illnesses. Yeah, I'm relying on that in western health as a sign, right, yeah. And also finding out in a very painful way, this medication caused this, you know, for example, one of the medications that I was taking, I was diagnosed with depression after, you know, like few months of my children being born. So this, one of the medications after my second baby was born. When I took my, when I showed my medications to the doctor who was prescribing the thyroid medication, he said, Well, gee, I see women and men day in and day out who are on this medication, and the medication causes the thyroid, to go into underproduction. And for many, just changing that depression medication helps. But my doctor, the doctor who was prescribing the med depression medication refused to accept that the medication was the cause for it. So you know, I had no choice but to look for a different doctor who would be willing to give a different medication or, you know, looking at a different way. Yeah, very quickly, that medication helped my thyroid regulate. So it was right that the medication had caused this. So learning that is, you know, accepting that painful sort of verdict that this caused this.
13:20
Yeah, yeah. And also that you were able to listen to your intuition, because sometimes we just blindly say, Oh, well, they have the medical degree. Let me just go with what they must be right then. Yeah. So the fact that you just knew in your gut, like, no, there has to be another answer. Let me keep seeking. Yeah, just to find what I need to hear, you know, and to find that right person.
13:45
Right. And so you know, I'll share a small story, Jennifer, that really put my feet back into the incredible capability of the body for healing. So you know, after both the children I started having because I had natural delivery for bows, I started having shooting back pain and it would travel from my lower back to my inner knee like shooting pain. Wow. So when I know my gynecologist referred me to an orthopedic doctor and so they said, you know, really long term solution is surgery and short term is physical therapy. I remember Jennifer walking from that office thinking I'm never going back at 30 I was not considering ever back surgery. So when you know as I sort of like put it in my prayer and like really like prayed, I am going to find a cure for this that does not have surgery involved. So when doctor did doctor and one of the doctors again like a surgeon gave me a cortisone shot, which was temporary relief, but very like just sort of how I'd made that prayer to welcome a doctor who would have treatment for me I met this wonderful woman. She's an osteopath, and she had the same problem after her children. So she referred me to her Professor practicing at a Health Science Center who did adjustments and you know, they did an MRI and in the measurement they found that I might want, like, I have scoliosis, which is very common for young women and women. But after pregnancy, your bones really soften for, you know, childbirth, and when, right when it snaps back, sometimes things just don't go back in place like these are supposed to be and it's, it causes pain. So these rotations, that and adjustments they did. And when they when the doctor measured one of my legs from hip to the, you know, heel, was just 1/16 of an inch shorter than the other. So then, you know, there's that sort of adjustment that the spine has to make. Yep, so he got like this wedge made out of material that you know, shoe soul, like really, like tough materials, I just put that in the heel area of my shoe. And as I did that, I really made this determination, I have got to like, make more time for yoga, this is for me, okay, like sort of made the deep dive right practicing yoga intentionally to like heel, and this wedge and the doctor's adjustments. And within two or three adjustments in over a year, I was watching that I was doing like really intensive back bends and forward bends and side stretches. And no longer needed. The wedge was able to walk, run and be pain free. So this experience really like, you know, was a lesson that the most sophisticated pharmacy in the world is the human body. And if you just tune it, you listen to it, and you give it what it needs like nourishment, rest, diet, exercise, healing begins. And so that Jennifer really put me on a path right on the weekends, I'd like to have these kids and my toe and go to the library, right and grab books on health, wellness, right, and I started seeking holistic practitioners. At one point, I was seeing seven different doctors all holistic while working nine hours and a two hour daily commute with the kiddos. Mind, but my mind had gotten into that space that healing is possible, my conditions can be reversed, I can go into remission, because every doctor I would speak to about, you know, either tapering or, like, you know, being able to heal where I don't need this medication would all say no. So it was like me against these experts, me against the system of prescribing pills, right. And so, um, you know, there, there came a tipping point, like these illnesses went on for, you know, almost 15 years. But that tipping point, Jennifer was this beautiful victory where all my blood work, I was in perfect range. So then the doctors have no choice but to say, Great, keep doing what you're doing, we're going to take your medication. Yeah. And so, you know, that really became my turning point. And, you know, in my faith community, I'd been like a faith leader who would nourish and support and go pray with a community faith sisters, and uplifting them and nurturing them was sort of like my job right on the weekends and evenings. So I have this community of faith sisters and other friends and co workers whom,
18:33
you know, I'd
18:33
share this story of like, you know, totally like my back pains gone, and like I'm running now in LA. And so everyone would sort of, you know, share that Raj, you've got to share this with more women. And so two years ago, it was like this wake up call, I've got to launch my company, where I can, you know, guide women and share this sort of healing experience and, you know, really help that your mindset when you work on that. And when you embrace you know, this sort of sacred routine of nourishing yourself healing is possible. And that's what sort of catapulted me to write my journey into my book, which is coming soon. In a matter of like, two weeks my book, it's called undefeated woman a memoir is going to be released on Amazon. So together with my company, and my book, really my message and story is, remission is possible. And you know, like, I missed telling you one episode, which was really like, um, you know, how like, you have this sort of epiphany. One time a Jennifer one of you know, I remember I was at home doing something and I had this you know, like, urge gotta go to the restroom. But before I got there, you know, I like really had like bladder control problems. The when I call I potty trained two kids and I know it can be done right? Like, yeah. And when I went to the doctor was crushing when the doctor actually prescribed something to control that. Yeah, that was like, here's the problem here is a pill, right? And there's no, you know, not even that thought process to consider the individual as a whole, like, you know, so I was like, No, like, this was that epiphany, I am not going down this path. Yeah, and one of the medications that, you know, I was taking to be able to, like sleep well would give me like, a severe anxiety, like, at work, like, I'm actually feel chills down my spine. And I would feel like I couldn't sit in one position for more than like, 30 minutes, you know, I'd never faced any of those. But these were all symptoms of anxiety. Right? I started digging, Jennifer, I, you know, how, when you get a prescription to get this booklet, right. So I started going through each one of them and found that several of the medications I was taking, induce the effect of anxiety. Yeah. So I was like, oh, my goodness, right, I really got into these, like, short, but beautiful. I call like, date with myself, you know, I'd be like, on this walk for five minutes, surrounded by trees, I would touch a tree, almost like, you know, telling the tree, here's how I'm feeling, I'm going to heal myself. So you know, I'd feel like I'm sending my message to the tree and the trees, my listener. And, you know, in this way, feel connected with nature that, you know, nature's always around, I may feel alone, but I'm breathing in through that breathing action. I'm one with nature. And Jennifer, these simple affirmations, I got in the habit of doing affirmations that are like, you know, three words that make me feel like, I am healing. I am peaceful. I love myself, you know, like what you want it that desire, rather than focusing on the where you were suffering,
22:18
yeah, and I'd have these little sticky notes, right, and my desk or by my laptop to like, remember, I love myself, I am healing, right. And, you know, also giving myself permission to do things I love, which is listening to music, having that time where there's no expectation, it's me and my favorite songs. And I'm in this spot where I feel like, you know, I'm a baby in like, like a little comfy spot, right? music and just to now from everything else. And I love the grounding exercise you did, because it's my daily routine, I'll just forget everything on my to do list and just have three minutes to just breathe. And remember, I'm this beautiful entity of trillions of cells, they're all working for me. And they have one thing in mind my wellness and for me to thrive as being I'm this microcosm, right, like an A hole like living breathing entity. And that is so grounding to acknowledge, right, that I'm so appreciative, like, of these cells, and the organs and the tissue, right, that's all working for me. Yeah, and at night, you know, have five minutes with some essential oil, you know, rubbing the bottom of my feet, and visualizing, you know, like that. I'm, like, floating in the cloud, like, you know, among the stars, and I'm welcome there. And I'm made of star stuff, right? Things like, completely shifted, how I would feel like the anxiety is gone. The thyroid, doctors, like, I don't know what you're doing, but keep doing it. Right. Right, back pain is gone. And, you know, it's propelled me on this journey of one mission, bringing holistic modalities to busy women so that they can embrace it and make it part of their life and not feel like oh, you know, the the diagnosis is my verdict, right? Yes. So let's, let's
24:26
refocus a little because I want to hear what they say someone has their own health issues that are coming up, but you know, they're in the thick of it, so to speak with the doctors and the medicine. So where would they start? What is that one simple first step that maybe that you took or from your work now that you've seen, where this is the shift that has to happen before the other things can happen?
25:00
Jennifer, I think whoever I work with, the first thing that I do is we sort of write down a few things that, you know, you've been given a diagnosis. And that's when possible because of the research that's available. That is not set in stone. In five years, there can be a miracle pill that people can be prescribed, and you can be completely free. So your journey is to No, this is not like, like a death sentence. Yeah, like, it's not permanent. It's not. Right. And so I start with that activity, like we go through, we talk possibilities, and I, you know, like, literally have them visualizing, if you were completely healthy, what is something you would do right now? And December, like, you know, some of those discovery calls have been like, Oh, you know, I remember as a kid, I would, you know, go hiking. And I'm like, Okay, so let's have this as a target, right? One of the things that you want to accomplish, say, in six months, say in eight months, right, is plan a trip with maybe a friend or two to go this particular place, go hiking, right. And so we do this discovery process, where then you open up a possibility for that person who's in the thick of taking medications, feeling fatigue, feeling overwhelmed that they now right, created a door that they can open to wellness.
26:32
I love that is beautiful. So is there. Like coming back to that anxiety piece? Do you find that that is a symptom that many of your clients are struggling with? Because I have found that anxiety tends to be one of the greatest motivators for figuring stuff out. Where we don't like that feeling of anxiety, it helps us to say, okay, something's off. So how do I fix this? So would you say that people are coming to you with anxiety? Or is it something else that shows up,
27:12
I'm almost confident to say that anxiety is a key ingredient. And underlying that Jennifer is stress. And identifying, like, even accepting that stress is causing this is a big step, because we have this conditioning where, oh, every other woman I know, is a working woman is taking care of family and they're doing it fine. I'm doing it, you know, I'm doing it too. So that comparison game, right, I often make that a key element that you're unique, you know, knowing your limitations is powerful. And, you know,
27:53
I
27:54
oftentimes say that just like anxiety, and stress, stress is always self induced. There is no other stress that's coming from the outside, it's always stress is self induced, that I've got to do this, I should do this, I must do. So letting the pedal off in that one area identifying, like, where is it, then you're feeling this talk? Like, let's discover what's causing you to think this way. And it's a thought we can shift that. That usually Jennifer leads to the underlying, you know, thought process that might be generating some of this anxiety,
28:41
right, sort of that internal motivator that is showing up? Yeah. And I was wondering for you, because I see a lot of my clients that they have to be perfect in certain aspects of their life. So let's say for you, it was that it and the payroll, it sort of, we begin to universalize, where if we have to be perfect here, we have to be perfect everywhere across the board. There has to be, you know, this this pressure, where just saying, Oh, wait, I can sort of take this off, I don't have to wear this perfection all the time. Maybe, you know, if I have a brain surgeon, I want him to be perfect, right? But I don't need him to be perfect at home. I don't need him to be perfect as he does his laundry. Like I don't care about that. So it's for for the rest of us. It's knowing when we need to have that increase of those perfectionistic talents, we'll call them and then when to let them go, which is is a hard thing to do because we just kind of get addicted almost to that or that belief. Absolutely. I completely agree with you. So I always end with a message of hope. So if someone's listening Maybe they're struggling with anxiety? Or maybe there's a health condition that is compounding that, what do you want them to know?
30:09
So Jennifer, something that is like sort of the core of my heart that I've practiced and I've shared over and over is, you are the scriptwriter of your life. And you can steer that story in whatever direction you want. So when you fill yourself with this knowledge that I've been created, in the image of the Creator, when you look at nature, right, it's a perfect sort of thing. The tree doesn't have to be a certain way to be a beautiful tree. It just is. So when I embraced that about myself and let go, I have to be this number on the weight scale, I have to be this on the main, you know, like the waistline or blah, when I let go of all that, then I see under the mask of this image, right under the layers, title and responsibility. Is this being right? Not doing is this being that needs to be okay with just being themselves. So I think I love to share the message that fills yourself with positivity, right, connect yourself with people who are positive, that is like the dose for success. for healing, and wellness.
31:46
Yeah, so it's that, you know, being supported and knowing that you are already worthy, no matter where no matter the number, or the diagnosis, or whatever is showing up for you that you know, takes that mindset away, but that you are already enough. And finding people that reflect that back to you like a mirror is a wonderful suggestion.
32:10
So when we said one of my favorite affirmations, I am enough, I stayed that many times during the day. I love it.
32:19
Yes.
32:21
So if you're listening, repeat that right now.
32:24
I am Anna.
32:27
So where can people find your work? Your book? I know you mentioned Amazon, maybe you can repeat the title or if you have a website that you want to share?
32:35
Yeah, so it's really easy on my website, I kept it as simple as it can be. So it's www dot Raj ne Rahman, ar AJ and I are a ma n.com. And I'm on Facebook and Instagram, the same handle, it's very easy to find me on Instagram. It's wellness with versioning. So my website is a great place to find me. The book title is undefeated woman and memoir. And, again, it's searchable by my first name, last name, and my website can lead you there as well. Wonderful, thank
33:14
you so much for sharing your story and your wisdom. I so appreciate you for coming on today.
33:22
Thank you, Jennifer. I love you know speaking with you. Thank you so much for having me.