The Creative Minute

22 // [INTERVIEW] Unlock Creative Confidence: Somatic Tips for Entrepreneurs With Kate Kilian

• Shana Yurko

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Ready to feel calm, confident, and creative when it matters most? In this episode of The Creative Minute, I'm chatting with my friend, somatic coach and award-winning musician, Kate Kilian, to explore how body-based practices can help you overcome nerves and unlock your creative flow—whether you’re on stage, on camera, or simply putting yourself out there in a new way.

🎧 In this episode, you’ll learn:

  • How somatic practices can help you manage nerves and panic before speaking or performing
  • Step-by-step methods to release nervous energy and reconnect with your body
  • Why understanding your body’s signals is key to authentic stage and camera presence
  • Simple techniques for sparking creativity—even if you think you’re not creative
  • How to rewire your approach to personal growth and productivity for sustainable confidence

✨ Don’t forget to subscribe for more tactical tips on visibility, creativity, and personal growth!


Episode Links & Resources:


What’s in this episode:

[00:00:00] Introducing Kate Kilian

[00:02:00] What is a Somatic Coach?

[00:03:53] Dealing with Stage Fright and Nerves

[00:05:09] The “Freeze” When Recording Yourself

[00:08:18] Actionable Somatic Tools for Calming Nerves

[00:10:05] Getting Curious About Body Sensations

[00:15:11] Translating Somatic Work to Video Creation

[00:26:12] Unlocking Creativity and Overcoming Blocks

[00:33:05] How to Work with Kate and Connect Online


Connect with Kate

✉️ kate@unlearnbecome.com

Instagram

Work with Kate

Shana:
Hey friend. Welcome back to my channel for entrepreneurs who want to learn how to get visible online with video content. I'm Shana Yurko. I'm so thrilled you're here with me today. I'm about to show you a podcast episode with Kate Kilian. She is a somatic coach, healer and award winning musician. And she came on the podcast to talk about stage presence and getting confident in front of an audience, whether that is on a stage or online. And this conversation was so, so eye opening for me personally.

Shana:
And I'm actually someone who teaches people how to be confident on camera. But Kate gave so many juicy nuggets about how to like use somatic practices and I didn't even know what somatic meant like a year ago. But basically she teaches you, like how to use your body and its wisdom and calm your body down in those moments where we feel like we're being chased by a bear. So without further ado, let's get into this episode. I can't wait to hear what you think. Oh, and don't forget to hit subscribe if you're watching this on YouTube. If you just hear me in your earbuds on the podcast. I'm so thrilled you're here.

Shana:
Can't wait to get into this conversation with you, my friend. Let's get into it. Hi friend. Welcome to the Creative Minute, a podcast for the entrepreneur who's obsessed with personal growth, creativity and marketing strategy. My name is Shauna and I am a super nerd about all things content and entrepreneurship. In this space, we are sharing stories, tips and actionable steps that will help you get more creative and have more fun with content creation. I'm all about making content fast and easily so that you can crush your visibility goals and actually move the needle in your business. Plus, we'll talk about how to chase after the best and most authentic version of yourself in your life, business relationships and more.

Shana:
So pull up a seat and let's have a brunch style chat and break things down in a way that feels easy so you can focus more on doing the things that you actually love and want to spend your time doing. Let's get into it. Hi friend. Welcome back to the Creative Minute. I am so excited for our guest today. We have Kate Kilian with us. Kate, tell me and our listeners, what do you do?

Kate Kilian:
I am a somatic coach for creatives, for visionaries, for leaders, anybody who is creating something net new in the world and is a little bit hot under the collar about it. It's kind of like What I like to say. And in particular, I specialize in helping people who have been really. They've like, basically tried to go about building their business or doing their art in a way that's very analytical and, like, following all the steps and following all the processes, but that isn't really getting them where they want to go as quickly as they would desire. And I specialize in helping those folks get connected to their bodies so they can make more intuitive decisions and just have more fun in general.

Shana:
So I want to give our listeners a little bit of backstory here on how we connected since. So Kate and I are both part of an amazing networking group in the Denver area. It's called the Illum Collective, Shout Out, Holler. Love them. But Kate and I have connected over the past few weeks specifically because I actually recently just spoke on a stage for the first time and she came up to me. She was like, oh my gosh, congrats. Just the more conversations that we had, I was like, oh my gosh, this is something that you help people with. And I had a really, like, epiphany moment where she helps people to diffuse nerves, like when she.

Shana:
When you're going onto a stage or into a high vision visibility situation. And I was like, oh my God, this could totally translate into video. And I have to have you on the podcast because the more different approaches we can get to help people be able to step into their visibility and step into their power in a confident way when they're getting on camera, the better we can be. So I'm so excited to pick your brain and get all your actionable tips about how to be confident in these high visibility situations. And God, talk to me about some of the nerves that you've dealt with with some of your clients. Like, do you help people in person? How exactly do you support people?

Kate Kilian:
Yeah. So, yeah, I know this journey well myself. I think I want to start with that first because I was a professional violinist and I had panic attacks before I went on stage. Even though I was like, at the top 1% of my field, I was still dealing with panic. So it's not about necessarily how. Well, I mean, preparation is important. Practice is important in all of these contexts of like, if you're playing an instrument, if you're speaking, if you're going on video, like, prep, I don't want to discount that, but there's another layer here. And so, yeah, the work, like, there's one client in particular.

Kate Kilian:
Well, I have so many examples of this, but there are a couple of examples That I would love to share. One is, there was a singer songwriter that I worked with who she, again, like, really knew exactly what she was doing. She had literally written the song that she was performing, and yet she's, like, really kind of feeling really nervous. And even to just record it for me, like, the whole objective of us working together was I want to feel more comfortable in my own skin. I just don't really feel like I can be me while I'm performing right now. And so what we did is, like, she recorded herself, and she got nervous before she recorded herself. Like, how many times has that happened to, like, you, me, anybody else who's, like, recording content for social media? Like, it's. It's very common for people to know what they want to say.

Kate Kilian:
And then as soon as they press record, it's like, oh, my God, it all goes away.

Shana:
It leaves your brain.

Kate Kilian:
Yeah, right. So then noticing, like, what is my body doing? What. What is my body trying to protect me from feeling? And, like, maybe if I don't. If I stop just labeling this as nervousness, if. And I actually get experience, curious about the felt experience in my own body, like, what if this nervousness or this tension or this was its own little character? What does it have to say to me? Like, what does it actually want? So that is how I approach my, like, me working with my own nervousness. That's why I approached it with this one client. And she realized after we worked with her body for a little bit that it was like, there was a part of her that was like, f this shit, I don't want to, Like, I don't want to be nice when I'm performing. She had this narrative that I have to be, like, nice and, you know, polite or whatever.

Kate Kilian:
And so then we practiced performing her song in a way that kind of communicated a whole different spirit. And after she did that a couple times, she was like, oh, my gosh, this feels so much better, and I'm not nervous anymore. The nervousness was actually pointing out, again, when you just label it as nervousness and then push it away or try to, like, you know, distract yourself, you don't actually get to the goals that's underneath, like, why that nervousness is even there in the first place. And so that's just one example. I've also worked with speakers, obviously, like, this is a big part of what I do now, too, is supporting speakers and entrepreneurs especially, who have this mission that they know they want to get on stage and supporting a couple women before their conference that they Were speaking at really, again, helping them connect to. Where is this activation and nervousness in your body? And how can I. Like, how can we use somatic tools to basically bring out the goodness and the gold that's underneath that nervousness integrated into how you want to communicate on stage? And they walked off stage being like, that was the most comfortable I've been on stage in my entire life.

Shana:
Oh, my gosh. So, okay, so first, I. I just want to, like, point out a couple of things to our listeners from what you just said. That was. That was really impactful for me, first of all. And wow. But I love that you pointed out, like, no matter how experienced you are, you can still experience this stress, this fright, saying that you were the top 1% of the violinists and you still would have panic attacks. I struggle with panic attacks as well, for completely different reasons.

Shana:
Not really with stage fright, but with just in general. And it's like the worst feeling in the whole world. I can't imagine having to go on and perform in front of people after having a panic attack. So, first of all, props to you for being able to figure out, like, how to. How would you say this? Like, redirect the energy in your body and be able to, like, harness it almost.

Kate Kilian:
Yeah. Redirect it. Harness it is kind of the ultimate, like, outcome of the work. But it all starts with not just labeling it as, I don't want this.

Shana:
Yeah.

Kate Kilian:
And just compulsively pushing it away, which is what all of us basically do with anything we don't like. We're just like, bye. I don't want you.

Shana:
Go away. So what should people do instead in that moment when you're like, oh, I'm feeling nervous. I don't want to feel this. What should they do instead?

Kate Kilian:
Yeah. So the first thing is like, some is true that, like, a surplus of energy in your body, it needs to go somewhere. So what I would say is like, the deep breathing, like, the slow breathing and the affirmationing and just kind of like walking around with, like, little. Trying to shake your hands out just a little bit.

Shana:
Yeah.

Kate Kilian:
Not the place to start, actually. What I would say is actually stuff like find a wall and do a lunge into a wall. Like you're trying to move this wall. Wall.

Shana:
Interesting.

Kate Kilian:
Yeah. The reason why that's actually works for. If you think about it, it's like this nervousness is fight or flight energy. So you're either gonna fight or you're gonna run. So that means do a little bit of one of those whatever you can. I know sometimes before you go on stage or whatever, you're all, like, glammed up. You don't want to, like, mess up your hair. Right.

Kate Kilian:
That's why lunging into a wall, like, actually, like, pushing your hands up against a wall, getting into a lunge position, and really, like, using your hips as if you're trying to literally move this wall, you're not gonna hurt the wal. And that, like, using your big hip muscles actually is what expends the most energy. Okay, so after you, like, way more than you just, like, kind of shaking your hands here a little bit.

Shana:
Yeah, yeah.

Kate Kilian:
So that's thing number one. But then thing number two, after you kind of, like, almost skim the top off of, like, that really intense activation of energy is like, where do I feel this in my body right now, first of all. So that's the second step is find it. Like, is it in my neck? Is it in my shoulder? Is it in my abdomen? Like, where is it? And you can even ask yourself color questions. Like, what color is it? What texture is it? Like, does it have a shape? Okay, is, I don't know, some imaginary character coming to mind of, like, who this is?

Shana:
Like, an inside out?

Kate Kilian:
Yeah, exactly.

Shana:
Oh, my God, I love it.

Kate Kilian:
And then just ask it. So step three, ask it. What do you need from me? Like, how can I support you?

Shana:
Okay, so, yeah, I'm. First of all, I'm obsessed. I love this. And I'm very new in the whole somatic world. Like, I'm a big therapy person. I love, like, intellectually working things out, and I almost call it, like, detangling spaghetti in my brain and, like, making things work out. I also have used the analogy, like, I. I have little filing cabinets in my brain, and if information doesn't necessarily fit into one of those filing cabinets, it causes stress, and I need it to fit somewhere and, like.

Shana:
But I've learned that about myself, and I've learned, like, ways of dealing with that. But identifying it in your body is really interesting for me because it's new one and fun fact. Kate and I actually went to an enneagram workshop together where one of the gals in our networking group was teaching on centers of intelligence. And apparently there's a body, a mind, and a heart. I am naturally a heart person, and so I am, like, feelings oriented, and that very much tracks. But body is my least developed center of intelligence. But I think it's your first. Is it, Kate?

Kate Kilian:
It is. But here's the thing. It's like. And I have so much more to learn about the Enneagram after that workshop. It was amazing. Shout out to Michelle if anybody knows who we're talking about. Go.

Shana:
We'll tag her.

Kate Kilian:
More about her. But yeah, technically I am. My first center is like the body intelligence one. But when I tell you that I basically went through life thinking that my body was a head transportation device. Like it had no other use for me. And you know, whenever I would have. Whenever I would have the panic attacks, whenever I would have ibs, whenever anything else would happen or like, for example, I tried to do yoga because you know, you're supposed to like. Totally.

Kate Kilian:
Is supposed to be good for you. You know, I. In my quest because I'm also. I went to therapy for a decade.

Shana:
Amazing.

Kate Kilian:
Doing like traditional talk therapy stuff. So have definitely been on the self improvement, at least for me. That's why I looked at it. Self improvement, personal development train for a long time. Totally. And so yoga. I was like, why is this leg doing this? Why am I feeling this this way? This is wrong. Exactly.

Kate Kilian:
All about my body. So what I'm saying is like, even though technically this is supposed to be in my first center of intelligence, I was at war with my body for a long time and I just thought any sensations were like a sign that something was wrong basically. So I through my whole. Like once I found and discovered somatic work, it was like my whole life did a giant like 3:60 because I. Well first 180. Because I was like, maybe every way that I've been relating with myself is like a lie.

Shana:
What a place to be.

Kate Kilian:
I know. So anyway, yeah, I. I guess just answering your question, like about this body stuff has not come naturally to me. This was. This is all learned. Like being able to learn to actually feel sensations in my body and then get to the good information underneath it is a skill. And I think that's what I would love for your audience to know is that all of this is a skill and you can learn it. It is learnable.

Kate Kilian:
Okay.

Shana:
That's something that I say about bravery all the time. Like bravery is a skill. It's not something you're just born with. So. Oh my God, that makes me so happy because this doesn't come naturally to me, but I want it to. So yay, we can learn it. And our steps that you said were first release some energy, then try and find it in your body. Like name it, what color is it?

Kate Kilian:
Like give it a Persona almost exactly like. Yeah, I loved your inside out analogy of like you're finding who is the little character? And maybe it doesn't have a label like an emotion right now. Yeah, maybe it's just like Stuart or something like obsessed. But once you locate it then you're like, hey, Stu, how you doing?

Shana:
Hey, dude.

Kate Kilian:
Yeah, what's up? Genuinely, like open heartedly, why are you here and what needs to change? And you know, these are kind of like the open ended questions that we would do if I were working more like one on one with someone. But yeah, really just asking curious questions. Because the thing is, is that emotions and sensations are here for a reason.

Shana:
True.

Kate Kilian:
They're messengers for something and that's ultimately, it's like, just have to. If we're actually taking that lens on it, then you want to get to know it. Why is it here? And that's what's going to unearth. Like. So for example, one of the speakers that I worked with when we did that exercise, the sensation was like, I want to feel more connected with the audience. I'm nervous that I'm not going to feel connected with them when I'm up on stage because I'm so far away. Ooh, interesting. We figured out ways of using her body, ways of visualizing that helped her feel that like intimacy and connection with the audience, even though she was technically like way higher up than them.

Shana:
Interesting. What were a couple of the things that you did with her? Because I feel like that is something that people complain about about video because they're like, I'm just talking to a camera. I don't feel like I'm talking to people. I'm not having that connection.

Kate Kilian:
So once you figure out like first of all, those first three steps are like what we did. This was even before the how I work with speakers and anybody who's on stage or high visibility situations is we do a series of pre sessions, either one or multiple, to help them prepare.

Shana:
Beautiful.

Kate Kilian:
But at least one of those sessions is this embodiment work of really noticing what are the sensations and emotions and what's the motivation behind why this nervousness is here. So this is what we did in this pre session is we did those first three steps that I already described. And then once you get the answer of like why they feel, why that nervousness is here, then you get to begin to devise strategies of like, so what will help me feel what in the case of this person they were. The nervousness was there because it's like, I don't want to lose that connection. Okay, okay, so what do we do now? Both from like a mindset and emotional stance and also from a strategic stance.

Shana:
Yes.

Kate Kilian:
What do we do to help solidify that connection with the audience? Okay, so for your listeners. Audience, I would. If they're like on camera or they're doing video of themselves and again, they need to ask themselves like, why is this nervousness here? Because it's going to be different for everybody.

Shana:
Yes.

Kate Kilian:
But once they get the answer to that, then it's like, okay, how can I use visualization? How can I use literally like moving my body in a certain way that helps me create a feeling, like an emotion?

Shana:
Yes.

Kate Kilian:
Before I press record, how can I maybe change how I'm showing up on video to maybe ask more questions or just hold myself in a different literal physical posture or. Again, it's going to be a little bit different than everyone. But the next the bridge is basically asking yourself like, okay, I know what I need now because I got curious about my nervousness and now let me figure out very practical, strategic ways to help myself get that feeling or get that, you know, express that new thing that I've been wanting to express.

Shana:
I love this. I love this. It's like I talk so much about rewiring your brain, but this is like rewiring your brain and its response using your body's wisdom.

Kate Kilian:
It's so cool. Yeah, I, I mean I'm super hype about it, obviously. This is. I literally. But I'm hype. I do this work because it changed my life so much ultimately. Like, because music is one of the top loves of my life. So to be able to not like be able to go on stage and be able to feel connected with myself and connected with the music and the audience, it was incredibly painful.

Kate Kilian:
And so I just like, because I have found this work and it's changed me so much. Just like on a mission to get it out to as many people as possible and. Yeah. And regarding the white rewiring thing, what you said, like there are so many different amazing tools for rewiring your subconscious mind. Like there's eft, there's hypnosis, there's. I mean there's like five kabillion things basically. But have you ever heard people say that like the body keeps the score?

Shana:
Yes. So on my tbr, right.

Kate Kilian:
Yeah, it's a really intense book, honestly. Not gonna lie, I haven't even made it all the way through cuz it's kind of triggering. But I think the takeaway is your tissues actually store memory. Like your body is the unconscious. That's another thing that a lot of People say kind of in the healing space. And so ultimately, if you're working directly with your body and changing, like how you move, how you gesture, how you breathe, how you walk, there are different ways of doing those things that can help you feel more or less connected to yourself, more or less at ease in your own skin and. Or also, like, maybe showing up as a version of yourself that you've been scared to show up as before. And it's like, so exciting.

Shana:
That's so exciting. That's so cool. Okay, so first you shared those amazing four steps. The release, the energy, find it in your body, name it, give it a Persona or name. I'm calling it Stuart. I love it. It's stuck. And then forming that strategy, basically what you're saying is it's best to kind of like, work through and find that strategy before you step on stage or on camera, right?

Kate Kilian:
Ideally, yeah. Yeah. Because when you're in a high pressure situation, you don't necessarily have the bandwidth to be like, let me. Where am I doing this in my body right now? Yeah. But it's like that whole series of questions walking through that. I honestly think if you, like, give yourself an undistracted, dedicated moment, it should probably take about 15 minutes or so to, like, walk yourself through those questions. Cool. And think about, like, especially.

Kate Kilian:
Yeah. Now that I know what matters to me underneath this nervousness, what do I want to change about how I'm showing up on camera? What do I want to change about maybe even how I've scripted this out? Maybe there's something that feels. That's another thing that I've worked with, with people is like, I've put together this whole presentation, but it feels disingenuous. It doesn't feel like me. And that's why their nervousness is showing up, is because it's like pointing out that there's a mismatch between how they think that they're supposed to show up and who they actually are. So, yeah, I know. So it's like, that's what I'm. I think the biggest takeaway for folks is, like, your nervousness is not just this one monolithic thing that you should just push away, get to know it.

Kate Kilian:
And then, like, once you actually sit and have a, like a chill conversation with it, you'll be so much better off. And this conversation really doesn't have to take that long. It can only take, like. I mean, if you have some practice at this, it can take like two minutes. But at first I would say probably, like, devote of maybe a 15 minute time block to maybe do a little bit of journaling, notice where the sensations are in your body and then you'll be every little bit of new information that they get, they'll be better off for it.

Shana:
So, so if someone was brand new to any of this, brand new to even just like personal development. Because I want us to be able to speak to a whole spectrum of it. Because a lot of times people will come and they're like, okay, I just need you to show me how to make a good video. And in my head I'm like, well, yes, there's all the technical pieces, but it's not just get the best camera and the best lights. It's about like, God, my business coach actually said it the best the other day. She was like, if you fix your life, your life, you'll fix your business. It's the same with like being on camera but at the same time, like I always tell people you put in the reps and your videos are going to get better no matter what. Right? Like, because you'll notice things as long as you are approaching it from a perspective where you make a video and then you watch it and you say, okay, I'd like to do this one thing better.

Shana:
Not, it's not an opportunity to tear yourself apart. You just want to do the one thing better and then you get 1% better every time you film. Right. But it will. I feel like you can God, the buzzwords right now are like collapse time. If you were to do this work that you're talking about, the somatic work and also just really being able to face the reasons that we are so nervous head on. Right?

Kate Kilian:
Yeah. Yeah. So you kind of let off this arm of the discussion with talking about people who haven't done any personal development work and how they, they just like tell me what to do. And I mean, I get it. I person I was like strategy queen for years. I was looking for, you know, the 1010 step list sickle that would tell me exactly how to write a song. I was looking for or record a YouTube video. Right?

Shana:
Yeah.

Kate Kilian:
I was looking for just the next productivity hack that would finally get me unnervous enough.

Shana:
Fix us.

Kate Kilian:
Yeah, exactly. So I feel you if you're in this place where you're like, well, I just want the story. Straightforward freaking answer. Like, don't tell me that I have to do all this other stuff. And the thing that I would say to you is if you're in this position, okay, where did you learn this urgency from? Who did you like, where did you learn this message that you have to fix yourself stat otherwise you're gonna be rejected? Oh, that.

Shana:
I got goosebumps.

Kate Kilian:
I mean, I know that's a real question, but that's the, that's. This is the shit. Like this is actually what. Because again from. I know because I did all this stuff for years. So when I actually was confronted with that question of like, why am I not willing to let go of the next productivity hack, the next, you know, quick fix for figuring out how to show up as my authentic self or whatever on video.

Shana:
Yeah.

Kate Kilian:
And I actually accepted. Okay, I guess I need to go slow to go fast. I need to like be sit with myself and like go through some of this emotional processing stuff. And then ultimately what helped me is building evidence of like every time I would take the risk to let go of my productivity hacking or looking for the next quick tip. And I did, you know, some of these more emotional, touchy feely type exercises that people were always telling me I should do.

Shana:
Uh huh.

Kate Kilian:
I had to literally be a scientist and stack up the evidence that showed me when I do that, where I actually sit and feel my feelings for 15 minutes, I can write, you know, I don't know, paragraphs upon paragraphs with almost no effort after that. Whereas maybe before I was like struggling for hours to even get a couple sentences out. And that's again, I'm actually thinking of a literal example of a couple clients that I worked with where there was one woman, we did a somatic practice and she was like, well, I just busted out an email in 20 minutes that I was trying to write for four hours yesterday because I did the somatic practice. Another client that I worked with, we did somatic work together. The very similar to this dialoguing with, you know, a part of you thing, the inside out thing.

Shana:
Yeah.

Kate Kilian:
And she went from writer's block to writing 20K words the following week. Okay, 20 freaking K. And she showed up to the next coaching session, she was like, well, so I don't think I have writer's block anymore.

Shana:
That's amazing.

Kate Kilian:
So that's like. But the thing is the people listening. And I know I'm saying this because this was me, the people listening saying, oh, that works for them, it won't work for me. Build up the evidence, try it, and then make your own little log of like, I did this, you know, thing, more personal development type thing rather than a productivity thing.

Shana:
Yeah.

Kate Kilian:
And then here's what the result was. I did it. And then here's what the result was, I did it. And then here's what the result was. And then eventually that'll begin to convince your brain that this might be a good thing to default to first.

Shana:
Oh, my God.

Kate Kilian:
Yeah.

Shana:
So good. Okay, so wait, I want to shift the conversation a little bit because you've given some huge, mind blowing, amazing tips on nerves and being able to get to a place where we can show up confidently. I want to shift a little bit into creativity because you just talked about writer's block and how a client went from writing 0 words to 20,000 words the next week. Amazing. Do you have any tips on creativity that you could share with our listeners? Because some people will be like, well, I'm just not creative. So I don't know how to get into this space of being creative and like making things that people actually want to watch.

Kate Kilian:
Okay. Yes. So again, can relate. For years I told myself, even though as a violinist it's a very academic thing to do, you're kind of just, you have to do other people's work perfectly rather than coming up with your own stuff.

Shana:
Yeah.

Kate Kilian:
And so I, I was like, I want to be a songwriter, but I'm not creative. I can't do that. So the place that I recommend that people start, if they're in this place where they're saying not creative, you are, you just need to reveal it. And revealing it looks like learning to bring your instincts back to life. Because again, so many people who say that they're not creative, they have internalized that there are so many right ways and wrong ways to live their life, to do anything. Even, even if they pick up like a hobby, like calligraphy or knitting, they're probably approaching that creativity in the same exact way that somebody is approaching, like getting an A versus getting a C on a paper.

Shana:
Yeah.

Kate Kilian:
At least the folks that I work with and that tend to gravitate towards my work pretty much everything in the world. Like, they are the hammer. It's all a nail. And they're all approaching it with the same right, wrong mindset. Because that's how we're all conditioned. Like from school, from sometimes from our families. Like, so what I would encourage those folks to do is to get back in touch with their curiosity and their ooh. Like the things that make them tingle.

Shana:
Oh, my God, I love it.

Kate Kilian:
And so ultimately, again, that's an answer that sometimes people don't like to hear it because they're like, well, I want to learn how to be creative, but it's like your creativity. Yeah, exactly. Like you making stuff is inherently a marriage of you and another thing. And so you. Your life force energy is inherently part of whatever you make. Like, that's the gift that you have to offer through your creativity. And so if you want to be a creative person, that means you need to bring yourself back to life so that you can infuse yourself into whatever you're making. And, yeah, there's so much more I could say about that, but I love it.

Shana:
I love it. So get curious, bring back wonder, and really reconnect with yourself so that you can get to that creative place of creation. Yeah.

Kate Kilian:
Yes. And, like, again, there's a lot of somatic work that you can even do to figure out, like, well, what gives me those tingly feelings and what doesn't.

Shana:
Ooh. Can you walk us through that really quick?

Kate Kilian:
Yes, absolutely. So this is a modified exercise from a coach that I learned this from, but it's called the first instinct strategy, and it's really all about, first, you just practice with, like, inanimate objects.

Shana:
Okay.

Kate Kilian:
Environment. So, for example, I have this tissue pack here. Right.

Shana:
Amazing. That's my coffee mug.

Kate Kilian:
Yeah. So when you. Hold on, I'm gonna actually backtrack a little bit. So first thing that I do with my clients is I have them basically calibrate, like, what a yes feels like in their body and what a no feels like in their body. So what we do is we go through. We can do this right now just a little tiny bit.

Shana:
Okay.

Kate Kilian:
Think about. First, bring to mind something that was, like, mildly negative or mild to moderately.

Shana:
Negative, like, in my business or in anything, really. Okay.

Kate Kilian:
Relationships, business, past experiences. It's usually better if it's a past experience that's resolved.

Shana:
Okay.

Kate Kilian:
Not something that's active.

Shana:
I have one in mind.

Kate Kilian:
Okay. So when you're thinking about that, what happens in your body? Like. Yeah. What areas. Is there constriction anywhere? Does your breath change?

Shana:
Yes.

Kate Kilian:
Are there colors, textures that are coming to mind as you think about that experience? Oof.

Shana:
It's more like an ick. Like a full body.

Kate Kilian:
Like, do you see what you just did with your butt? Yes.

Shana:
Yeah.

Kate Kilian:
It's like there's an actual gesture that goes along with that.

Shana:
For anyone who's just listening, I basically, like, rolled my shoulders back and, like, kind of put my chest out like an ick and open my hands to the side.

Kate Kilian:
Yeah. So it's like. And again, like, one person's ick is gonna show up in their body really differently than your ick. Show it up. Right.

Shana:
Interesting.

Kate Kilian:
So now that you know that, and you know the sensations that are kind of associated with that. And obviously, when I would work with you or another client directly, like, for. We would actually go deeper into this.

Shana:
Yes, yes.

Kate Kilian:
But now, call to mind something that you knew was really good for you, and it doesn't matter if it was, like, an easy yes or even if it terrified you at first, but then it turned out amazing. Bring if. If you have something in mind from the past that was, like, really good for you.

Shana:
I find myself sitting up straighter, and I still have, like, my chest sticking out, but not in a way where it's like. It's more like I'm leaning in instead of, like, trying to get away.

Kate Kilian:
Right. Do you feel expansive?

Shana:
Do you feel expansive?

Kate Kilian:
Is it smooth? Is it zingy? Is it bubbly?

Shana:
I think zingy is. Right. Like, I feel zingy's up the back. My upper back.

Kate Kilian:
Okay.

Shana:
Excited.

Kate Kilian:
So those are your somatic clues that you're on a no path or you're on a yes path. So obviously, like, all of that's on a spectrum. So hopefully, if y' all were listening or watching and following along, you did a mini version of this yourself. Go walk around the world and now begin to react to first inanimate objects in your room. Does this give me ick or does this give me zingy ick or zingy? Or, you know, somewhere in the middle where you're like, I don't care.

Shana:
You know, I love it. I have no feelings.

Kate Kilian:
Right? So. Well, that's where some people actually start, is they don't have a reaction to anything.

Shana:
Okay.

Kate Kilian:
But eventually you will notice. Like, if you just do this enough, you'll be like, ooh. And maybe some days it's like, oh, I love this. I'm holding a yellow flower crown for those of you who are only listening that maybe this gives me a warm, expansive feeling in my chest one day, but then another day, I'm like, that's too much. You know?

Shana:
Got it. Okay.

Kate Kilian:
So. And this is how you can begin to use your body's cues to, again, help you figure out, even if it doesn't make sense to your logical mind. I get these zingy feelings. I think I'm curious about that. I think I want to move closer to that.

Shana:
Identifying curiosity.

Kate Kilian:
Yes. And that's how that connects with figuring out, like, relearning what you're instinctually drawn to and. And run away from and what you're really curious about. Because, again, that is the foundation of your Creativity. Creativity is all about, in my opinion, following your love, following your curiosity, and following your desire. And there's essentially no morality to creativity in a lot of ways. Like yeah, people make, I mean, anything that you can dream up that you want to exist in the world, you can make it happen.

Shana:
True.

Kate Kilian:
Yeah. So that's what I've got to share with you.

Shana:
That was that, that was absolutely amazing. Thank you for sharing those two really valuable and really applicable basically tools for us. I'm. My mind is blown. I know our listeners minds will be blown as well. Kate, where can people find you?

Kate Kilian:
They can find me on Instagram. My handle is, it's Kate Kilian. So no apostrophes, no spaces, no periods, just all one word. They can also find me@Unlearn Become.com. that was the first name of my business and that URL has stuck around.

Shana:
Amazing.

Kate Kilian:
Yeah. And then kind of all the socials just Kate Kilian, just search for me and you'll find me.

Shana:
Beautiful. And how do you work with clients? You mentioned coaching one on one.

Kate Kilian:
Yes, I do one on one coaching both in a broader creative capacity as well as for people who are specifically preparing for high visibility situations. Like I have a specific coaching package for that and then I am actually enrolling in a little underground speakeasy group program behind the scenes.

Shana:
I love it.

Kate Kilian:
That is all about like doing a really deep dive into my method, which is the Alive Artist method, which really encapsulates all of the tools that we talked about today and more. And I'm really intending this to be like the place where you can get ongoing feedback from me. Great community with people who are like motivated and ambitious and sensitive creatives and yeah, just have all the tools at your disposal to be able to navigate through your work in a way where it's joyful, it's sustainable, it's fun, and no more productivity hacking and procrastinating and love it. All those things.

Shana:
Oh my gosh, Kate. Well, thank you so much for sharing your wisdom with us today. I appreciate you much, so, so much. And I can't wait to maybe bring you back for a part two sometime because this was so good.

Kate Kilian:
I'm very, very grateful to be here and I'm just so glad to know you.

Shana:
So thank you, thank you, thank you so much. Hey friend, thanks so much for listening. I hope you loved this podcast as much as I loved recording it for you. It would mean the world to me if you would share this podcast with your friends or on your Instagram story like, oh my Gosh, I just listened to the Creative Minute but podcast and it was so good. It means the world to me when you help get the word out there. And if you'd like to work Together, head to shawnayerko.com to see all the great ways that we could connect and work together. Don't forget to follow the podcast the Creative Minute Podcast on Instagram. Get educational content from me at Shawna Yurko S H a N a Y U R K O Can't wait to connect with you my friend.

Shana:
I will catch you in the next episode.