Interview with Tanja Degitz

This week I spoke with Tanja Degitz, coach, Body-Mind Mentor, and specialist in healing through nervous system regulation. She works on the mind and body connection to reduce pain and find healing. Tanja can be found on Instagram at Making.it_possible and helps you to make it possible to live pain free.

Transcript

[Brandy]: 0:00

Hi, this is Brandy

[Tanja]: 0:01

This is Brandy

[Brandy]: 0:02

Shantz

[Tanja]: 0:02

Shantz

[Brandy]: 0:02

and you're

[Tanja]: 0:02

and

[Brandy]: 0:02

listening

[Tanja]: 0:03

you're listening

[Brandy]: 0:03

to Living

[Tanja]: 0:03

to Living

[Brandy]: 0:04

Chronic.

[Tanja]: 0:04

Chronic.

[Brandy]: 0:04

Today I'm

[Tanja]: 0:05

Today

[Brandy]: 0:05

here

[Tanja]: 0:05

I'm

[Brandy]: 0:05

with

[Tanja]: 0:05

here with

[Brandy]: 0:06

Tanya

[Tanja]: 0:07

Anya

[Brandy]: 0:07

Biggits

[Tanja]: 0:07

Kugit

[Brandy]: 0:07

and she

[Tanja]: 0:08

since

[Brandy]: 0:08

does

[Tanja]: 0:08

she does

[Brandy]: 0:09

some healing

[Tanja]: 0:10

some healing

[Brandy]: 0:10

through

[Tanja]: 0:11

through

[Brandy]: 0:11

nervous system

[Tanja]: 0:11

the nervous

[Brandy]: 0:11

regulation,

[Tanja]: 0:11

system right now.

[Brandy]: 0:13

has an insta, making it possible. He's a coach and she's just really done a lot about, you know, learning how to regulate your own body and your pain and heal from within without necessarily going the drug route. So I'm really excited. Welcome Tanya.

[Tanja]: 0:31

Thank you for having me and hi and welcome everybody that's listening

[Brandy]: 0:36

So again, thank you. I'm really excited. I talk a lot about total wellness and about taking a look at yourself from within. And of course, anybody who's been listening to this podcast for a little while knows that we've had a lot of really great experts on talking about the relationship between your mind and your body, which is something I'm still learning about. And it's really fascinating how much our mind does dictate how we feel. And you... You started with some low back pain, some hip pain, something a lot of people experience, and you found that it wasn't necessarily just due to lack of exercise and sitting, but you didn't really find something outside of the doctors diagnosing you with fibromyalgia or something along that route, and that's when you started studying the healing through the nervous system. So tell me a little bit more that and how you really made that connection.

[Tanja]: 1:41

So when I first had the hip and low back pain, I already hit sky bottom, like rock bottom, you say? Not sky bottoms, rock bottom. But I think it was not rock bottom enough. So when I started experiencing hand pain in both sides as well, which I back then thought I just was going to the gym not regularly enough and then putting too much weight on, even You know, I was telling myself all these stories, like we make up in the mind. Everybody that's probably listening to the podcast can relate to that. And the truth is it isn't always just overuse of joints or having set too long. Because ask yourself, do you think everybody experiences low back pain or hip pain that has been sitting prolonged? I don't think so. There's people out there that sit for 10 hours and they don't have any pain. So that connection didn't really make sense. And when I wasn't able to use my hands anymore, there were a decrease of activities that I was able to do that I loved. Because I loved journaling, mindset journaling, or any journaling for that matter. And baking and anything with my hands, basically. If you can't use your hands, there's not that much. You aren't able to clean your house. You aren't able to do. everyday things.

[Brandy]: 3:09

Mm-hmm.

[Tanja]: 3:09

I'm typing a lot. I'm a coach and a teacher. So I work from home all the time. And when that was happening, and I was like, I need to find another way because the Western Medicine Road wasn't working for me. They just were stuffing me with painkillers. And what it did, it didn't even take the pain away. So that was frustrating thing. It didn't take it all away. I still felt it. It was a little bit reduced, but sometimes it didn't work. And then I just discovered this mentor and she was offering a course around nervous system regulation and somatic healing. And that's how I got into it. And at the beginning I had a lot of resistance and I said, I can't slow down. Like I can't do these things. This is never gonna

[Brandy]: 4:00

many things

[Tanja]: 4:00

work.

[Brandy]: 4:00

to do.

[Tanja]: 4:02

I didn't even have to believe it's gonna work for me, but I knew deep in my soul that I needed to try something outside the box. I've always been a rebel, so I was always going against the crane. I left Germany in 2017, I've quit my job that sucked in Berlin, but all these like traumas from the past were still stuck in my body.

[Brandy]: 4:23

Mm-hmm.

[Tanja]: 4:23

And I didn't really know about it because I tried with mindset coaching, I tried to coach myself, I tried to work with a life coach. And I discovered that I really love coaching, but I didn't discover how to heal my body and mind. So I started deep diving into nervous system regulation and I started really loving it. And I started just experimenting with different exercises, you know, like humming or self-touch, you know, like just putting your hands on your body, breathing, different forms of meditation. barefoot walking, swimming in the ocean, I just figured out what my nervous system likes when it feels dysregulated. Because it's normal to feel dysregulated, everybody gets stressed, but it's really important to complete the loop, to complete the loop of releasing the stress, otherwise it gets stored in the body, then we're in trouble and that's how chronic pain is basically developed. So it's normal if you are diving into this work that you're feeling resistant. Or you might not. The less resistance you have, the faster you're going to make progress. But if you do have resistance,

[Brandy]: 5:37

Right.

[Tanja]: 5:38

then that's also a really good starting point. And the question that I would ask everybody out there that's listening is, when you close your eyes, what are you feeling in your body right now?

[Brandy]: 5:52

Mm-hmm.

[Tanja]: 5:57

What is it that's coming up right now for you? And when

[Brandy]: 6:01

Well, I think

[Tanja]: 6:01

I got

[Brandy]: 6:01

for many

[Tanja]: 6:01

that

[Brandy]: 6:01

of us,

[Tanja]: 6:01

question asked, it was nothing. Sorry.

[Brandy]: 6:04

nothing, oh, I think with so many of us, it's pain. We just live with that pain every day. That's what our body's feeling. What is it? It's the ache, it's the exhaustion, it's the, you know, whatever it is that you're going through at that moment in time.

[Tanja]: 6:22

Yeah, and then I would invite you to feel into that pain. And just

[Brandy]: 6:27

Mm-hmm.

[Tanja]: 6:27

let it be there for a little bit, and then focus on its cultivating. And you can focus on an area that feels neutral in your body or that feels good. Often for me, that's my toes. There's never any pain

[Brandy]: 6:39

No

[Tanja]: 6:40

in

[Brandy]: 6:40

interest.

[Tanja]: 6:40

my toes.

[Brandy]: 6:43

Interesting.

[Tanja]: 6:44

Whereas in my jaw, in my hands, you know, I feel my upper back, that's a new thing as well. But I know it's also just something emotional. So just reminding yourself that most likely if it's prolonged pain and it's chronic, there is an aspect of nervous system dysregulation that you need to look at.

[Brandy]: 7:08

Right.

[Tanja]: 7:08

And it's

[Brandy]: 7:08

You

[Tanja]: 7:08

a

[Brandy]: 7:09

know,

[Tanja]: 7:09

body-mind

[Brandy]: 7:09

I love

[Tanja]: 7:09

issue, how we call it.

[Brandy]: 7:12

that, yes, and your mind, you know, the nervous system as a whole, I'm learning so much about both of these things. And I think many people around the world are. Of course, I've been going through a lot of pain over these past, well, 10 years, really, with the Crohn's, but three years especially. And I've really focused in on what the relationship is between that pain and my mind. But also, like many people, I have some nervous system damage because one, I went through a very serious reaction to a drug I was on, Humira, but also I had COVID. And many people who had COVID now have nervous system damage. So we're learning all these things we never thought about. I mean, I know we all learned about the nervous system in school, maybe even studied, you know, I mean, I... took some exercise science classes in college. That was about the end of that. I keep up my personal training license. So, you know, that system comes up every once in a while, but worldwide, we don't think about the nervous system. But you, before any of us got COVID and had to learn about it, you really focused in on that. So I think this is really important to make those connections between right now. So you're talking about, you know, how your body feels. And of course the nervous system affects everything. your touch, your senses, your feeling. I've learned, you know, now that I have all this lovely numbness in my hands and feet all the time, you know, it affects whether you can feel things or not. So how really do you learn how to regulate it?

[Tanja]: 8:51

I think the most important thing is to realize in which state of your nervous system that you're at. Because we don't

[Brandy]: 8:57

Mm-hmm.

[Tanja]: 8:57

always have to calm down. We sometimes have to up-regulate. So especially if you're feeling really low, really like not motivated for anything, like lack of energy, then it's time to up-regulate and then I would still, I would go outside for a walk, but it would be a walk without my phone. Ideally, I don't always stick to that.

[Brandy]: 9:20

Yeah.

[Tanja]: 9:22

And a walk in nature is really good, but every nervous system is really different. But that's what I do. That's my first go-to unless I don't really have big flare-ups anymore. Like a flare-up would still mean that I am capable and able to clean my house, for example, with regulating in between. So there's many different things that you can do. Barefoot walking, for example, is amazing, like on the grass. just grounding yourself.

[Brandy]: 9:51

Right.

[Tanja]: 9:52

Another one, sorry.

[Brandy]: 9:56

I'm just putting it all together. That feet in the grass is amazing.

[Tanja]: 10:00

Yeah, or in the sand on the beach.

[Brandy]: 10:03

Uh, that's

[Tanja]: 10:04

I live in Spain, usually

[Brandy]: 10:05

weird.

[Tanja]: 10:05

I'm currently visiting. So I'm going for a swim in a cold river, if that's available for you,

[Brandy]: 10:12

and

[Tanja]: 10:13

even just for a couple of minutes, or in the sea, or in the ocean, in the lake, or even just taking a mindful shower. So not doing anything else at the same time, not listening to a podcast or music, or stressing about what you're going to cook for dinner, but really being being present in the moment and feeling like how you rub the soap on your skin, for example, like soaking in that smell. And another really good exercise is, I don't know if I can put it together right now, but it's five things you see and then things you can hear, things you can smell, what you can taste and like focusing on that. So mindfulness is great. When I'm really stressed, I like to meditate. guided or non-guided, doesn't matter. I like to do the yoga pose that's called legs up the wall.

[Brandy]: 11:06

Oh yes.

[Tanja]: 11:06

It's you lay down and you put your legs up the wall and I put one hand on my heart, one hand on my belly. So that's also really great if you are able to do that. In the beginning, I had to flex my knees because I was so stiff I couldn't do it, I had so much tension. And what else? There's so many things really. Also being with somebody that has a regulated nervous system and co-regulating. So what I've noticed is when I had these mysterious bladder issues with the urgency of peeing and stuff in March and April, I noticed that I was hanging out with a friend of mine, which is also a spiritual healer and guide and coach. And we hung out and my symptoms were gone for the time being. So I was feeling safe. And

[Brandy]: 12:02

Yeah.

[Tanja]: 12:02

when

[Brandy]: 12:02

Yes.

[Tanja]: 12:02

I got home, They came back, but still that was already a sign that it is a mind-body issue. And so feeling really stressed, I would always recommend something calming down. And when you're feeling more like low or when you feel numb, for example, it's a good thing to like sway from right to left.

[Brandy]: 12:26

Uh huh.

[Tanja]: 12:27

Or you can do the butterfly hug. It's really nice. Tapping

[Brandy]: 12:32

Oh,

[Tanja]: 12:32

your shoulders

[Brandy]: 12:32

yes.

[Tanja]: 12:32

like that. Yeah. So good. Um,

[Brandy]: 12:39

You know,

[Tanja]: 12:40

yeah.

[Brandy]: 12:40

I've noticed there's a thread. There's definitely a thread. You know, I keep talking to different and it doesn't matter, you know, different viewpoints, whether it's somebody who, who regulates themselves through yoga, or I've had a psychiatrist come on, um, chiropractors, you know, all these various people, and there's just a common thread with a lot of things and one of them is just get outside, go

[Tanja]: 13:07

Yeah,

[Brandy]: 13:07

outside.

[Tanja]: 13:08

when

[Brandy]: 13:08

And

[Tanja]: 13:08

you're

[Brandy]: 13:08

you know,

[Tanja]: 13:09

too

[Brandy]: 13:09

that is

[Tanja]: 13:09

alone.

[Brandy]: 13:09

helpful.

[Tanja]: 13:12

Yeah, when you're alone too much, and I live by myself in Spain, that can also be dis-regulating. I never knew that.

[Brandy]: 13:18

Mm-hmm.

[Tanja]: 13:19

I never knew that.

[Brandy]: 13:20

Yeah.

[Tanja]: 13:20

And one way is just to go outside by yourself because you're still gonna see strangers. That is still some form of connection. You have a connection to yourself. But just being at home a lot, especially now after the pandemic and when you're working

[Brandy]: 13:34

Yes.

[Tanja]: 13:34

from home and you're an entrepreneur like me, it's just, it's damaging to the mental health. And yeah, so that get outside and change

[Brandy]: 13:42

And that's

[Tanja]: 13:42

your

[Brandy]: 13:43

what

[Tanja]: 13:43

environment

[Brandy]: 13:43

I do. Talk about it.

[Tanja]: 13:43

is great. And sometimes I realize I go

[Brandy]: 13:46

Yeah,

[Tanja]: 13:46

outside

[Brandy]: 13:46

talk about worldwide

[Tanja]: 13:47

and I walk.

[Brandy]: 13:47

problems.

[Tanja]: 13:49

Sorry.

[Brandy]: 13:52

Mm-hmm. I think, again, talk about worldwide problems. These are things

[Tanja]: 13:55

Yeah.

[Brandy]: 13:55

that so many people are experiencing, the loneliness, the depression, the feeling alone.

[Tanja]: 14:03

Yep.

[Brandy]: 14:03

So many people are going through that as well.

[Tanja]: 14:05

Especially when you are experiencing pain and there is a time when your friends and family, they had enough of it. Because either they've never had the experience or they are in a similar headspace. So my dad has chronic pain as well and he's not choosing my approach or any body-mind approach for that matter. He's not open to that, not open to change his life either. still eating unhealthy, still drinking alcohol and all that.

[Brandy]: 14:37

I'm sorry.

[Tanja]: 14:38

Whereas you know I've made tons of lifestyle changes as well. I'm not numbing anymore like with alcohol partying or whatever. If I do that it's a conscious choice of I'm gonna go and dance with my friends and I'm having a drink but I haven't really felt

[Brandy]: 14:54

Right.

[Tanja]: 14:54

that need in the last years probably or months.

[Brandy]: 14:59

Good for you. That's a big change. Yeah.

[Tanja]: 15:03

It's been

[Brandy]: 15:04

It's.

[Tanja]: 15:04

two, three years, so it's not something that happens overnight. But a good starting point

[Brandy]: 15:09

Right.

[Tanja]: 15:09

is always to learn more about the nervous system and also to hire support. And that doesn't necessarily have to be me, but just somebody that listens to you and makes you feel seen and heard and is qualified and knows about trauma and the mind-body approach. It's so powerful because I never believed it, but... you are going to be like you are kind of alone in your body like nobody else is in your body. So

[Brandy]: 15:38

Yes.

[Tanja]: 15:39

when you are experiencing that pain free times you want somebody that you can celebrate with and I still

[Brandy]: 15:47

What?

[Tanja]: 15:47

message

[Brandy]: 15:47

Hello?

[Tanja]: 15:47

my mentor from last year and I go I've been on a plane for seven hours from Brazil to Lisbon I'm so happy I had no flare up like it's just great and then also the opposite

[Brandy]: 15:59

I just, I just, that was me.

[Tanja]: 16:02

Sorry.

[Brandy]: 16:04

I aspired to that one day. I was on a plane last year to Paris and back to the US and I thought I was going to die. Yes,

[Tanja]: 16:14

really good tips for

[Brandy]: 16:15

yes.

[Tanja]: 16:15

that if you want.

[Brandy]: 16:16

I, those we need. I swore I was not getting on a plane again and my poor husband is like, when are we going on vacation? And I keep saying wherever we can drive.

[Tanja]: 16:28

Yeah, I totally get that. I had myself prepared and I also had a crystal in my pocket and every time I needed something for safety, like a resource, you call it in the nervous system language, I was

[Brandy]: 16:43

Mm-hmm.

[Tanja]: 16:44

holding that crystal and I was like, okay, trust my body, I know I can do this. And I even had a Chintzivitis all over my gums and also self-healed that.

[Brandy]: 16:55

I hope you enjoyed.

[Tanja]: 16:56

So. like having a resource, crowning yourself in the morning. Also, there's an exercise that you can do, which is called orienting. And it doesn't look as weird

[Brandy]: 17:06

Mm-hmm.

[Tanja]: 17:06

in public because you can just look around and orient yourself in the space and, you know, make sure that you're safe in that space and you can look for a resource. And with a resource, I mean something that makes you feel good. Maybe for me today, for example, I have my oracle cards. or I have my Paulo Santo here, or I have like a pretty shell or a necklace that somebody that loves me gave me or something like that. That's a little bit of a shell and my Paulo Santo and that's always something that makes me feel safe. So that is really something nice to do on a plane and then definitely get some movement in if you can before you go.

[Brandy]: 17:53

So I want to ask you, because you mentioned this earlier, and there's constant debate in my house about how detrimental these phones are to our lives. And I'm a bit older than you, and then my husband's actually almost 10 years older than I am, and we remember a time where we didn't have cell phones at all. And I can talk about how much more productive I am. I can email you from anywhere. I can... you know, leave the office and people can still get a hold of me. But, you know, we also feel a slave to our phones. And my husband is purely of the thought that, you know, the phones are just detrimental to our lives, they're killing us. And, you know, we need to give up the phones. I'm not sure I need to give it up completely, but you talked about, go outside, don't bring the phone. And when I do

[Tanja]: 18:48

Yes.

[Brandy]: 18:48

take my nature wall, when I just need that break, the times I leave my phone behind are the times I really do feel better, center myself, clear my head, and really get to the space I want to be in. So where do you stand on this with the phones? How much do you regulate the phone use? You know the phone is something that is damaging when you're trying to regulate your nervous system.

[Tanja]: 19:16

So the phone is an endless flood of information and our mind is not made for so many information at the same time. You can respond or react to anything. Just going on social media, I find it highly dis-regulating and you know, but it's part of modern life. In many ways, I think it's a great much of a choice honestly. But you can set boundaries around it and you can for example deactivate some of the apps or even delete them over the weekend

[Brandy]: 19:56

Mm-hmm.

[Tanja]: 19:57

or turn off the notifications. So I've done that for all social media. I don't get notifications for Messenger on Facebook. So I can consciously decide to go into it. Another thing is out of sight, out of mind. So just

[Brandy]: 20:14

Yes.

[Tanja]: 20:15

not great for mental health and it's also taking away from your presence. So you're never really present because I spoke about this with my best friend and she said, okay so I'm with somebody and then I get a message and then I'm with somebody else at the same time. So I'm here and there and nowhere really. So but

[Brandy]: 20:35

Mm-hmm.

[Tanja]: 20:35

it's something I'm working through myself. I'm quite addicted to my phone especially as an entrepreneur.

[Brandy]: 20:42

Oh my goodness yes.

[Tanja]: 20:44

And especially if I expect an answer from somebody. Like I'm hosting a women's circle on Monday and there's always a lot of things to organize. Obviously I want to be of great service, but it doesn't have to mean that you need to be reachable all the time. So I think setting these boundaries and what I'm really strict about is not in the bedroom. Not after I do my meditation and it slides off, the phone is gone. And I used to be amazing with not using it in the morning. that's also really important. So an hour before bedtime and when you first wake up, the worst thing you can do, which I'm currently doing the last few weeks, because I've had a location change, went to Germany, so everything is different. And I use that as excuse and I go on my phone and I just get so many messages. So you get outside influence and it does things to you because maybe you get a message and somebody is canceling an appointment you were looking forward to or telling you suck or hating on you on the internet or you know just

[Brandy]: 21:49

Press.

[Tanja]: 21:50

telling you bad news basically that's why I don't watch the news as well so I think the more you can reduce phone time and be strict about it the better but also mindfully using it seeing the gifts in it you know like there's amazing apps like inside timer that you can use to meditate there's so many gifts about phones as well To be completely honest, if I would be retired, I would really consider if I would still be having a phone. Or just be...

[Brandy]: 22:19

You know, I'm like you,

[Tanja]: 22:21

have it

[Brandy]: 22:21

I'm

[Tanja]: 22:21

on airplane

[Brandy]: 22:21

probably like,

[Tanja]: 22:22

mode or something.

[Brandy]: 22:23

we're all alike these days, right? We're all addicted to our phones. And I've often said the same thing, because yes, when you put it down and you walk away, at first you feel anxious, oh my God, I don't have my phone, but then you enjoy life. We went to see, I can't remember, who was the comedian? I know many, many artists do this in their shows now, and Ali Wong, that's who we went to see. And when you, we have tickets to go see her live. And when you walk in, they immediately make you put your phone in this. You have to turn off your phone and then you put it in this bag and they lock it. And that's it. No

[Tanja]: 23:00

Nice.

[Brandy]: 23:00

phone. And I remember thinking, what are they doing to me? What you're taking my phone? I didn't even prepare for this. I, I didn't put out an away message, you know, cause you know, goodness note, what are people going to do when I'm not available from 7 to 9 PM? Right. Um. I didn't prepare, but you know what? At the end of the day, it didn't matter. Nobody asked where I was. And I really enjoyed the show in a way that I don't think I had before. When you have your phone and you're so busy trying to record the moment, take photos for the moment, tweet the moment. You know,

[Tanja]: 23:32

Everything,

[Brandy]: 23:33

you're just

[Tanja]: 23:33

yeah.

[Brandy]: 23:33

infinite.

[Tanja]: 23:35

Yeah.

[Brandy]: 23:35

And it does make a difference.

[Tanja]: 23:38

For sure. I felt so relaxed when I was last year, I was on a cruise with my ex-boyfriend from Barcelona to Sao Paulo to Brazil and we chose not to book the wi-fi package and that was my first real vacation where I really did zero

[Brandy]: 23:53

Bye.

[Tanja]: 23:53

work. Like I did, I really didn't work. I read a couple of self-development books because that's what I do. I love it. I can't stop. And... I journaled and these kind of things, a lot of self-care, but I was able to use my phone, but for podcasts, not for WhatsApp, for nothing that requires the internet. And that's a really great

[Brandy]: 24:13

Right?

[Tanja]: 24:14

use of your phone.

[Brandy]: 24:16

Yes.

[Tanja]: 24:17

I was so much more present. We actually had to old school because I had a friend on the cruise as well. So we had to old school call him in his room

[Brandy]: 24:26

Oh my

[Tanja]: 24:27

to meet up. I loved it. It's

[Brandy]: 24:28

God. Oh,

[Tanja]: 24:30

great.

[Brandy]: 24:30

you know, there's a lot to be said for those days, but you know, there's a relation when we talk about all of these various things, the relationship between our bodies and our minds, and we look at the phones and how we live our modern lives, but you can clearly see, and I'm gonna put together, I've been gathering a lot of this data and I am gonna put a chart up on my website. someday soon, but there's a clear pattern. The increase in the number of chronic illnesses that we have, the pain, chronic pain many people have, and then the increase in the use of phones, the increase in the number of hours we work, it's all related. Working hard is great, putting in those extra hours is great, but turn off the phone. Nobody needs to get a hold of you at 8 p.m.

[Tanja]: 25:21

Exactly. And what's also really important because you've mentioned working long hours, you know, it doesn't have to be as big as a one hour walk in nature to regulate your nervous system. You can do mindful connections, mindful mini breaks, where you just

[Brandy]: 25:37

Mm-hmm.

[Tanja]: 25:37

put your hand on your chest and one hand on your belly or one hand on your heart and one on your belly and just tune into your body and see what it does or what are you feeling at the moment. and feeling into whatever it is that's going on at the moment and then focusing on something good and because our mind is always focusing on the worst case scenario and the negative, but there's so much goodness as well. There's so much joy to have as well. And I think phones

[Brandy]: 26:08

You're

[Tanja]: 26:08

take

[Brandy]: 26:08

right.

[Tanja]: 26:08

some of the joy away.

[Brandy]: 26:13

So you've obviously done so great. You're much better. You told me before we started that you're about 80% healed from where you started. There's just so much to be said for what you do. So I know you provide coaching to others as well. Tell me a little bit about that.

[Tanja]: 26:34

Yes, I provide coaching to women that want to self-heal from chronic symptoms and stress. And I use, I'm getting trauma informed and that's going to be happening within a week. It's a whole course, but I've really binged it since Monday. And I help them dig through the inner child, heal the inner child and you. look at the emotional root cause, so what was going on in your life when you started having these symptoms, what does your body want to tell you, and we look into nervous system regulation, we do an assessment of your nervous system, so we look at, I give them a homework after the first session, which is, it so annoyed me when I had to do it, you have to set an alarm and then you have to tune in and see how your body feels, your body mind and your nervous system, and then you'll learn about different states of the nervous system and it will be a course for the first three to five people I would say I want to co-create it and it would be four months and you are definitely going to reduce your symptoms. I can't promise that it's going to be fully healed, that's not realistic because I mean my nervous system has worked one way for 33 years, 34 years, it's not going to happen from one day to another. So this is really for people that are in it for the long run

[Brandy]: 28:01

Mm-hmm.

[Tanja]: 28:01

and they want to put the work in. And yeah, you'll walk away and be so much more compassionate to yourself, more patient and you'll have better relationship, less pain or less symptoms. You'll get to know yourself better. We dig into values as well. So you, because you kind of like, I don't want people to take this identity of chronic illness on. So. I also help them reframe the language and they can choose how they want to name their symptoms. I used to call it body situation, then I called it chronic pain and now I am at unwanted physical sensations because it

[Brandy]: 28:41

Oh.

[Tanja]: 28:41

just gives it less emotional charge.

[Brandy]: 28:44

Right.

[Tanja]: 28:44

And I say I'm on a healing journey instead of I have chronic pain. And I say I'm experiencing this because it is an experience. It's not me. It's not something I have. and it's not permanent. And it's a mix, my program is a mix of nervous system regulation and mindset work because it goes hand in hand. And what I was missing last year when I worked with different mentors is that there was only the nervous system approach or only the mindset. So I brought it together.

[Brandy]: 29:18

Well, it really makes a difference. I spoke with somebody a few weeks ago who talked about reframing how you think about the pain.

[Tanja]: 29:28

Yeah, that's

[Brandy]: 29:30

And

[Tanja]: 29:30

part of

[Brandy]: 29:30

I think

[Tanja]: 29:30

it too.

[Brandy]: 29:30

it's time to learn that, reframe how I think about both. Is this pain as bad as

[Tanja]: 29:36

Thanks for watching.

[Brandy]: 29:36

I think it is? Is this really affecting me? Do I have to have this pain right now? And it makes a difference, especially when you wake up. You know, I know there's so many people, they're just like me, you're in pain every day of your life. So how are you going to think about that pain?

[Tanja]: 29:51

Exactly.

[Brandy]: 29:51

Refrain that. So it's, the mind is a powerful, powerful organ.

[Tanja]: 29:57

Yes, if we know how to use it. And that's an

[Brandy]: 30:00

Really?

[Tanja]: 30:00

ongoing journey as well. But I think what is different about me compared to other people and the experiences I made with my chiropractor, for example, where I went back for one year and it was always the same crack or click and then I went home and I was better for a day and then I would be back at, you know, the same spot again with my pain or with my unwanted symptoms and I give people the tools to heal themselves and it works. I mean, I'm living proof that it works. And I'm completely open about that it's not fully healed, but I have longer sitting capacity. And I think it's also a little bit like negative to say it's only 80%. People have told me like, I'm a new person. Like you can't compare to two years ago or even one year ago. And this is one year into the work, so imagine what else is possible. And that's why it's called making it possible, because pain-free living is possible.

[Brandy]: 31:03

It is. That's a great way to end this. It is possible. So your Insta is making it possible. You

[Tanja]: 31:09

Yes.

[Brandy]: 31:10

have a website as well, correct? What's your website?

[Tanja]: 31:13

No, I don't have a website. It's not something I believe in yet. I don't think I need it.

[Brandy]: 31:18

I know your Instagram pretty well. It's making it possible. And

[Tanja]: 31:25

And I have a Facebook

[Brandy]: 31:25

you do.

[Tanja]: 31:25

page as well.

[Brandy]: 31:28

is also making it possible.

[Tanja]: 31:30

No, it's Tanya Degg, it's my name.

[Brandy]: 31:32

If it's Mr. Slytana Diggots, V-E-G-I-T-C, I'll put you on my website as well. Also add your information to the show notes. Thank you so

[Tanja]: 31:42

Thanks for watching!

[Brandy]: 31:42

much. This has been a really great episode. I really appreciate you coming on and sharing what you do and helping us all to make it possible and live without pain.

[Tanja]: 31:54

Yes, or any symptoms would not matter.

[Brandy]: 31:58

Yes.