Ready Set Reiki
Welcome to ReadySetReiki®
A podcast about Reiki and Energy work. From the curious beginning to the seasoned Master Teacher. Welcoming all those who work with energy.
Join Reiki Master Tracy Searight as she guides you on a journey through this landscape of energy work. Each guest offers an in-depth unique perspective sharing their journey, which had 'a profound effect on their healing and development as a person. Come along on this journey and explore all the possibilities of working with energy.
www.readysetreiki.com
www.feathersister.com
Tracy Searight is an Educator, Yoga Teacher, Reiki Master, Grandmaster, Sound Practitioner, Author, and Podcaster.
Find her on Feather Sister with Wellness living
offering training in 10 different systems of Reiki
Training in Chair Yoga, Yin Yoga, and Restorative
Ready Set Reiki
Episode #133 LIVE VOD with Alenka Kyslik Healing Journey: From Tech Industry to Holistic Advocate – Embracing Alternative Therapies, Self-Care, and Revolutionizing Holistic Health Platforms
Ready Set Reiki welcomes the transformative Alenka, a former software developer turned holistic health advocate. Alenka's journey from the tech industry to holistic healing is nothing short of inspiring, marked by personal struggles with burnout and a severe ankle injury that conventional medicine couldn't fully address. Discover how these challenges led her to embrace alternative therapies and create Saha Collective, an innovative platform that bridges the gap between holistic practitioners and those seeking personalized care tailored to their unique needs and backgrounds.
Immerse yourself in a discussion on the vast and varied landscape of holistic healing modalities. Alenka has explored nearly 50 different practices to understand what truly works for individual needs, beliefs, and life experiences. The Saha Collective platform embodies this knowledge, offering a "healing journey" approach that empowers users to connect with practitioners who resonate with them on a deeper level. Learn why finding the right practitioner can be a game-changer in your holistic health journey and how Saha Collective is revolutionizing accessibility in this often-complex field.
The episode also delves into the nuances of self-care and burnout, with Alenka sharing her personal insights on overcoming cultural conditioning that labels self-care as selfish. Explore the importance of kindness towards oneself and the need for grace in facing life's minor yet overwhelming challenges. With practical advice and heartfelt anecdotes, listeners are encouraged to take charge of their health journeys, seeking meaningful solutions that foster mental and physical well-being. Join us for an enriching conversation that promises to leave a lasting impact on how you view and prioritize your own health and well-being.
Eldest daughter, overachiever and recovering people pleaser has gone through a series of health issues and after years of looking for answers found a new version of herself. She saw how finding answers for your health is a challenge for so many, and decided to do something about it. With over a decade in building software Alenka decided to build an online platform that is using custom matchmaking to connect people to vetted holistic experts based on shared values and current needs. The mission is to give people back control of their hea
Ready Set Reiki is a journey
From the curious beginner to the Season Master Teacher
All Energy workers of all systems and all levels.
This is Ready Set Reiki, a podcast about Reiki and all energy work, from the curious beginner to the seasoned master teacher, welcoming all systems, all lineages and all levels. Reiki is a journey and not a destination, and on this Ready Set Reiki journey, I refer to myself as a guide. So I'm Tracy Seawright and this is Ready Set Reiki.
Speaker 2:Hello, my wonderful listeners, welcome Ready set Reiki. So today we are beginning another fabulous journey. So my guest is Alenka, and she is the eldest daughter, overachiever and recovering people pleaser. Now she has gone through a series of health issues. After years of looking for answers, found a new version of herself and saw how finding answers for your health challenges is, for so many, something that's so difficult to decide to do something about it. Now she has over a decade in building software and she decided to build an online platform that is using custom matchmaking to connect people to vetted holistic experts based on shared values and current needs, and the mission is to give people back control of their health. Welcome, alenka, to Ready Set Reiki. Hi Tracy, thank you so much for having me Wonderful, so we have a wonderful journey ahead of us, so let's begin. Tell us a little bit about yourself.
Speaker 3:Yeah, so I have always been interested in health, I think it was. It's just something I'm curious about. Right, like you, you live in your own body and it's great to understand what's going on. But until a few years ago, you know, until you hit a certain age, you can kind of just get by. You know, until you hit a certain age, you can kind of just get by, right. All of a sudden, you need to start paying attention because things start to fall apart, right, right. And so I yeah, I had pushed myself really hard my entire life, both from, like a working perspective and like it was just like expectations, right, eldest daughter of immigrant parents.
Speaker 3:And then I burnt out. And when I say that, like I didn't know what it meant at the time, I didn't give it that name, and I think that's really hard for a lot of people. So, like I'm not burnt out, I'm like you can barely wake up in the mornings, you have no energy, you've been working your butt off for 15 years, like I don't know that. You're like fine, like there's a different, the different line here, um, and for me what it looked like was a mixture of those things, right, Like, yes, it was really hard for me to wake up in the mornings.
Speaker 3:Um, I I was in such a stressful situation at work. I was grounding my teeth, not only at night but all day, yeah. And I didn't know this until I went to the doctor because I had like shooting pain in my jaw. And the dentist she said oh yeah, you're that's, you've ground your teeth too much, that's never gonna come back. And I was like that's, that's a thing, that's not. I didn't want to hear that Like yeah, yeah, and I think it's just like I had. I couldn't find joy in things Like there was just so many things that I didn't realize that's what it was. Um, and then, the more research I've done into it, the more it like makes sense. But I think that was the first part of it. And then the second part of my journey was about a year after um, I like had to quit my job, which I'd never done in my life.
Speaker 3:Um, I ended up stepping off a curb and tearing my ankle to shreds and to the point where you show up to urgent care and they're they like, brought over a wheelchair and an ice pack, and they were like, oh, my god, are you okay? And I was like this is again not, not what you want to hear, um, and so what happened throughout that journey is I wasn't finding answers, I wasn't able to get better, and I know it's like oh, it's an ankle, it's not something bigger but at the same time, when you can't walk because you're terrified that you're going to make a slightly wrong step, that impacts every moment of your day. Um, and it it took seven months of re-enduring until I finally was like I am going to figure something out. And so I started going into a deep dive of let me try alternative remedies because the traditional stuff wasn't working. And then it was really interesting. I tried, for example, bioresonance screening, and that came back and showed the same thing that my blood tested in terms of deficiencies and things I needed to work on.
Speaker 3:And it was interesting how these holistic. When you start to listen to a lot of these holistic therapies and holistic health practices, there is a ton of overlap in traditional science and I'm using air quotes in traditional science, because holistic has been around for way longer, but it just opened up my world to see like there is more out there. And just because we don't have studies to back it doesn't mean they're not valid, very useful, helpful tools. And so, like I mentioned, my background is in software and in building software for other companies. I put Wi-Fi on planes, I helped build video games, like I've done a lot of different things.
Speaker 3:And I saw this gap where these holistic practitioners are so incredibly amazing at what they do, like they're just so, but they didn't sign up for when they decided to go down this route to like figure out how to set up an email, like set up a website, or like booking calendars are set up an email like set up a website, or like book booking calendars are kind of finicky, right, like, but all of these things that like that's not their zone of genius but they have. They're like forced to kind of do it, um, and I realized I have a skillset to make all of those tools really easy and straightforward and accessible, so that they can focus on what they're amazing at instead of being drained by all of these, you know, necessary evils, if you will. So that's where we landed.
Speaker 2:Wow. Well, this is what's quite interesting in Reiki. So those who have the calling, so to speak, to go into this modality and then they kind of land here and they're kind of in the land of the loss, because they may not feel confident to say, do a live like you know this, or they may not be able to navigate a booking system or a website. Many struggle on the website, and I also teach yoga as well and I've come across yogis that just struggle. They're like I just can't get this website up, or I can't get on Canva I don't know how to do this or MailChimp. So there's so many things beyond. Okay, well, I'm deciding to start a business. I got a name. Now what? So what a great opportunity for those that you offer this type of service, that, for you, you can put together and help them so that they can do what they do best. Very good, yeah, I love it.
Speaker 2:So holistic health it came into your life right Like gangbusters here. So you know how much did you continue to explore? You know, did it find you, or did you find it in this pursuit of trying to feel better, and what type of holistic care did you choose to seek help with?
Speaker 3:Yeah, so I live in Los Angeles and I say that because theoretically it is like one of the most accessible locations in the world in terms of access to holistic health.
Speaker 3:Yet I would ask everyone you know, I would be walking my dog and I would meet people with dogs, right, this happens, and you, you make friends. And then I'm like, hey, like I, I can't find answers for this, or like I'm still not getting better, because we would talk about it, right, because you could see my ankle brace, um, and I would. I would ask anyone and everyone that I met hey, do you know anyone who could help me with this? Because I am not able to, like, figure this out on my own.
Speaker 3:It's not something you can search is what I discovered like if you don't know what you don't know you, there's no starting point right, like if you, if you know that you want to get Reiki, you can find that like it might not be super straightforward, but it's like at least you have that keyword Reiki. You can find that Like it might not be super straightforward, but it's like at least you have that keyword Reiki, right, and like your location in virtual or in person, like you can start with that. But if you don't know that Reiki is a thing that could help you and most of us don't, right, most of us don't know how Reiki can help, or acupuncture, or Pilates, or meditation, or like breath work, like we don't realize the cause. There's so many ways that these modalities can help you get better and it's like, unless you're an expert in it, you don't know. And so I had to really intentionally seek out very specific practitioners of each of these modalities. So, like I mentioned, I tried acupuncture, I tried role, think, I tried um, lots of different chiropractic, I tried different forms of energy work and, no, I don't remember what they're called because, like one of them was like my friend, whose friend does it out of Estonia and I texted someone like it was just this, like wild. I was like I don't, I'm just going to try it all. I tried different homeopathic things. I tried different types of like. I was across the board I think I wrote it down there was almost 30, there was at least 30, I think I might've hit 50 different types of modalities and treatments that I tried because I was at that point where I wasn't going to let it rule me anymore. Um, and I started to see a lot of trends. I started to see that there are certain types of modalities that hit certain different things, and I say that because I so part of.
Speaker 3:So the platform that I built uses matchmaking and the goal is, like I mentioned, when you don't know what you don't know, to give you some agency and some options. And one of the parts of this matchmaking is what I call a healing journey, and so you kind of start in the place where you just need relief, like you, because you're not going to have the energy to make changes in your life if you're just drained by the exhaustion of what you're going through. And so the healing journey starts with relief and then it gets to like are you ready to understand the root cause? Are you ready to start addressing it? There's kind of this whole flow and it's never a straight line, right. There's always a ton of back and forth. But for some modalities they're primarily giving you relief and other modalities are helping you make changes.
Speaker 3:Like yoga, I would say, is more in the um, like making changes on your life, and like ongoing practice, um, and it might help with some temporary relief, but that's not really. It's a primary thing, like for a lot of us, depending on the style you're practicing, right. So I built that in along with we have a I call it a woo-woo sliding scale jokingly, but right like a belief sliding scale, and we use that and we use symptoms as like our core primary matchmaking pieces. And then there's things like price, location. We also include things like lived experiences as optional right, because if you're partnered, for example, and you're going through something in your relationship, if you're matched with someone who also is partnered, they're going to understand it better than someone who's not.
Speaker 3:Same thing goes for like, if you're neurodivergent or if you have had PTSD, right, like these things, it's better to be aligned with somebody who gets you. And so we match lived experiences, ethnicity, religion, political viewpoints, as well as, like different belief systems. Those are all optional. You don't have to pick it, but it gives you an easier. It means you don't have to explain yourself, and that's my goal. Is that, like when you meet with whoever you end up booking with, right? Right, you don't. You just feel like you get me Right, and that is so hard to find?
Speaker 2:That is right. Instead of you, you know oh, someone told me about this I booked a session, I went there and it just didn't feel right. And you know, when I began my journey, after my sister had passed, I was just pulling from everything. Yeah, and what a wonderful thing to have had that option to put those things in, because, as I started discovering, there's a whole lot of even different styles of yoga, right, and there are so many different systems of Reiki out there. I mean, there's Egyptian, there's animal, there's kid, there's crystal, you can go on and on and on.
Speaker 2:And I had to go through all these things and then, when I discovered one, I heard, like you know, oh wait, there's this, and then I would go over to that. But if I had something that I could fill, you know, oh wait, there's this, and then I would go over to that. But if I had something that I could fill out and say, well, this is this and this is that, and then here we go, give this a try, it would have cut out a lot of legwork. Now, would it made me the person I am today? I'm not sure, you know, having all those experiences. However, it would have made it a little bit, I think, easier in the path that, okay, I can find someone.
Speaker 2:There it is, let's explore it, instead of me trying to wait until someone says, hey, you know, why don't you give this a try? Because that's how I found out about Reiki. You know, my best friend was like I really think you should try this, and I wasn't ready at the time. And then, when everything kind of fell apart in my life, I'm like, oh, let's give it a try. But you normally hear it by word of mouth or someone saying something versus you coming in and, just, you know, filling something out and then matching it. So what a wonderful idea, yeah, and what is the name of your site and what is the name of your site?
Speaker 3:Oh yeah, so sorry. The name of our platform is Saha Collective, so that's S-A-H-A and then sahacollectivecom. Yeah, it's been a really crazy, wonderful journey. I'm doing this because I feel really passionate about empowering providers who have found these amazing forms of care and they've found it so impactful in their lives that they've chosen to dedicate their lives to it and to helping others.
Speaker 3:Platform is live. You can sign up right now. The matchmaking is totally free to be listed as a provider and all we do is we you're, you're on a results page and then we direct people to your website. And the reason for that is like this is a theory, Like this is in my head. I was like this makes sense, but I talked to people and they're like yes, this absolutely makes sense, but we need to like validate it and tweak it and improve it Right, and so that's why it's free and the and it's just been a really beautiful journey of being able to speak to all of these incredible providers and have them also feel hurt and also like yeah, you get my pain, I don't like building my own website, right.
Speaker 2:I know, yeah, and that that struggles because our you know landscape here is changing so much. It's a digital world, right? You need the website because you ask people and you'll be like you know what are some positive things about. You know the practitioner and they say that accessibility, that you're able to look online on the website. They're able. You know they have this and that and this and that that they're able to see who they are. And I know for myself, when I pick teachers, you know it'll be their photo or what's on their website that resonates that I chose them. Right, yeah, so you're working with lots of different individuals in this industry. You've tried. You know traditional doctors. You've done the holistic. What is a common misconception about holistic health?
Speaker 3:Yeah, I think it's the. It's been. The word holistic, I think, has been abused Like. I don't like. I mean this happens in culture, right, we use a word in instances that doesn't make sense and so people get this like misnomer about.
Speaker 3:Holistic just means embracing who you are as a whole person and not being like oh, you have, um, you, you have a lot of cuts on your knees. Like what's going on there? Oh, maybe it's because you keep on knocking to this into the same thing at your house. Oh, is that because maybe you're in your head all the time and you're not paying attention to your surroundings? Right, like, and we're only treating the cut on your knee. You're not dealing with the fact that. Like, maybe you need to slow down and be more mindful and pay attention to everything. Right, like. So that's like a very mini example of holistic. But I think for me the common thread is there's a few things like and this is hard because, especially growing up in Western culture, we're not taught to be intuitive and to listen to our own bodies.
Speaker 3:But when I've gone into different forms of care where I was like this doesn't feel right, this doesn't feel like there was one. It was it's called soft wave therapy, but basically it's high pressure sound waves that are supposed to break up scar tissue and like increase blood flow and do all these things. But I was in so much pain when it was happening that I was sweating, um, like it was just so awful and after a while I was like I don't want to do this anymore, like the amount of stress that I feel going to this appointment and then I'm exhausted afterwards Cause I was so painful, right, like it's not worth it. Initially, when I didn't have any options, that was fine, but like I'd rather go to acupuncture where I chat with my acupuncturist Cause like we've since, but like about different things going on and I have a very calm, beautiful experience.
Speaker 3:Every once in a while a needle hurts, but it's really like rare, like I'd rather do that than this. Um, and I think it was just learning that it needs to feel aligned, it needs to feel right. If you feel uncomfortable or if you don't feel heard, don't do it, because that your body is also not going to be in a state where it can accept the form of treatment anyways, and that's not. It's not like. The provider knows it, you know it. It's not good for either of you, and I think that is probably not the answer you were looking for, but that's what I felt.
Speaker 2:Sure, that's what I tell my students, if it, you know, if I'm, I'm just a guide, I'm guiding them through the experience, and that's why I kind of refer to myself as a guide versus a host here, because I I'm learning as well, and if it doesn't feel right, don't do it, so that I would say every aspect of your life, listen to that inner teacher, that inner guru within you.
Speaker 3:Yeah, yeah, no, I totally agree and I think and now I talk about it when people are like, well, how do you like take care of your body? And I'm like it's little things, like if I eat this thing, do I feel horrible afterwards? Yeah Right. Cause like it's just paying attention to that and cause, yeah, you can go on this diet or that diet or that recommendation and it's not to say that I haven't tried a bunch of these things. But at the same time, like if they tell me to do something that like brings me joy and makes me feel better cause those don't have to be the same thing. Right, it can bring you joy and make you feel worse Then like you gotta listen to it, cause ultimately, you're the only one who knows your own body and I think building that relationship and getting to be an expert at listening is like the best thing you can do for yourself.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and these different things are, you know, teachers in itself, because now you know what you don't like. Right, and that's okay. I mean, yeah, although this is a Reiki podcast, you know it may not be right for someone, and that's okay. You tried it. It wasn't right for you. Go on to the next thing.
Speaker 3:So don't give up, keep going on the journey, and I will say to your point it like Reiki from one person or from another provider can be two totally different experiences. So just because a modality didn't work for you. It could have been the practice of practitioner, the place you were at that day.
Speaker 3:If you had a really bad day, it might you know what I mean. Like some, some types of holistic practices require you to be in a good space in order to be effective, and so I wouldn't say, just because that one experience wasn't good, like write it off. I think it is. Oh yeah, give it tries.
Speaker 2:Yeah, just like with yoga, you may not like a stanga, you may not like H yoga, you may not like a stanga, you may not like hatha, but maybe yin or restorative is just for you. And there's so many different. You know types of Reiki and every practitioner does it different. I could take a training with 10 other people and we're all going to do 10 different things. So keep trying. You know, and just you know. You need a few more experiences perhaps to rule it out. But yeah, even go to someone different. So you're right with that. Yeah, so good point. So what do you wish your younger self knew about holistic health?
Speaker 2:Oh so many things.
Speaker 3:I think. I think I wish my younger self would have known about what holistic health is. Let me rephrase that I wish my younger self knew that holistic health wasn't just food. Okay.
Speaker 2:That there was a huge mental component.
Speaker 3:There was a huge spiritual component. There was a huge component of learning to love and accept yourself Right, because I wasn't taught to do that my entire life. I was taught to be the person, that other, that I thought other people wanted me to be, and that acceptance from other people meant you were doing it right and I've learned to unlearn that. And I think that has been one of the hardest things, because if you don't love and accept yourself, it causes all sorts of like conflicts. Like if you don't love and accept yourself, you're probably not going to say no when somebody asks you to do something when you, when you should, say no, or you're probably not going to have that nap that you should and you're going to be cranky, right, like those types of things I think are. It's. It sounds small, but it makes a really big impact in a lot of ways.
Speaker 2:Right, right, and Reiki level one, it's the gift to yourself. So you're working and giving Reiki to yourself and filling your cup up before you go out and help others. So bringing in, like, the Reiki principles, just for today I will not worry, just for today I'll be kind, and that's the whole kind of basis of it that we get ourselves together before we can go out and be service to others. So, yeah, when you hear that holistic health, you're right. It made me laugh a little bit because of food right, we thought food nutrition, right.
Speaker 2:And then as you get older, and I think, just as women too, we're almost like, from the moment we're born, conditioned to be these people pleasers, right, and caretakers, and that's our role, that's put upon us. And then we get to a certain age and we just get burned out from it, like my goodness, this is all too much. And then we're not taught also during those experiences that you know that we're supposed to fill our cup up. I don't ever recall a time in my childhood where it was like, oh well, you're going to be a good wife and oh, you're going to do this and you know being geared towards, you know, getting married and having a family. But what was it in a way to fill my cup up? You know so I'm not burned out.
Speaker 2:But what was it in a way to fill my cup up? You know so I'm not burned out? There were no tools given to me or say, hey, every now and then give yourself a bubble bath, right? Or join a book club or do something for yourself. It was always geared towards how can you help other people? And then you get into that people pleasing, and then you get burned out. Yeah, so when it's time for you to get a holistic tune up, what are some qualities that you look for in a holistic healer worker?
Speaker 3:Yeah, so I tried to like figure out what exactly I am trying to address. So is it an aspect of my physical health? Because that's a little bit more straightforward for me at least, because I am hypermobile. I have like certain things that I look for, that I know, and I try to find practitioners that understand those very specific things, and so that's a little bit more straightforward. But I think, when it comes to practitioners who deal with either energy or mental health or other things, I think it's for me is do I feel at peace when I speak with them? Yeah, I feel like I have to explain myself. Are they giving me words for things that I'm going through, that I have been unable to like put words to? Because then I can feel like I can be myself and I can relax, rather than trying to justify why I'm there and why I'm trying to see them and why I need their help, because nobody wants that. It's exhausting.
Speaker 2:Right, right, right. So what advice would you give someone who you know has reached their ending point? They're like you know what I got to get some help here. I don't know where to go. What advice do you have for them? Who just is starting?
Speaker 3:Yeah, I think when you're like I've reached my ending point, it's like, okay, what does that exactly look like? Try to break it down a little bit, cause we'll just be like, oh, I'm exhausted. So, like, are you physically exhausted? Are you mentally exhausted? Cause those are two different things. Are there certain things that make you more exhausted? Right, like, is it like I was talking to a friend of mine and her.
Speaker 3:Every time she would have a conversation with this one boss, by the end of the day she would have shooting pain in her neck and she would like not be able to move her head. Right, can you start to identify the little things that are building up, because then you can start to even just being aware of them makes it easier, right, because then you can feel more in control and you know what's happening, even if nothing else changes. That, I think, is big. I think giving yourself grace and not beating yourself up, that's huge. That is huge. It's just that makes.
Speaker 3:Because, if, once you start to like, if, if you wouldn't do this to your best friend, to your, your kid, to your spouse, why are you doing it to yourself in your own head, right? So I think those are that's where I would start and I would give yourself credit for what you're already doing, because oftentimes, like one of my friends she's now, she's actually a Reiki practitioner, but she's taking a break because she burnt out really bad from her corporate job but she's like, oh, I can't, I'm just eating, like these protein shakes and these like prepped meals. I'm like, but you're eating yeah Right, you're still eating and like you need to give yourself credit for what you are doing. And I think once you start to give yourself, you're like I am eating, I'm proud of myself, once you start to do those little things, that starts to really you're. You're not your own enemy in your own head, and that makes everything else easier.
Speaker 2:Right, I know, growing up it was kind of frowned upon for rest, always being busy Go, go, go, go, go, go, go. And I found myself kind of really feeling I'm not doing enough, I'm not doing enough. But then others would say, oh my goodness, like all you move at such a fast pace and you do this. And I would never see it from that angle and it wasn't until, you know, my daughter's now an adult and I she's picked this up and it was like I don't feel like I'm doing enough, I feel like I'm lazy and I'm thinking, oh my goodness, I taught her everything I know. Now we got to undo this and what you said give yourself grace, it's okay, you're working so hard, you're doing this. And I didn't have that person speak over to me and I'm like don't, don't, do you know, do what I say, not what I do you know. And I said let me be a role model to you what burnout could look like and I'll tell my children listen, if there is a season where you have nothing, take it as a gift from God that this is you, resting for the things that are coming.
Speaker 2:I didn't take those times and when I was very young and my grandmother was alive, I would remember she would let me sleep in when I was off of school and my mother would come home from work because we live with my grandparents and my mother be like why did you leave her sleep like till one o'clock? And my grandmother had this wisdom, she was intuitive and things came in dreams. She said she's going to need to let that child sleep, she needs rest. And as an adult I'm like man. She knew what she was talking about. But I as a kid I'm like why did you let me sleep in? I miss most of the day. And she kept saying no, you're really going to need rest. And so now I'm able to give that gift. You know she passed when I was a teenager, so I didn't have that continuation of that encouragement. So now I'm able to do that for my children and say listen, it's self-care, you are doing amazing, you're doing great. You don't always have to keep busy. Give your body rest.
Speaker 3:Yeah, yeah, it's, it's. I think it's really hard because if we feel that our worth is tied to our busyness and our output, it changed. It challenges our worldview. It does. It makes it really really tough to say, oh, I am worth it, even if I'm resting or I like I have value in this world even if I am not currently outputting. Value like this is going to be a really, really weird. But it just came to my mind that, like this metaphor, your car still has value when it's parked, not just when it's driving Right and you maintain it you like.
Speaker 3:you do the oil changes. If something's weird noise, you get it looked at. Why don't we do the same thing for ourselves? Right, Like your car is actually parked most of the day, right? Probably take some and then it. You know when you need it to speed up, because you're about, like something's about to hit you. It does a good job, because it's like taking care of it. But, like I think if we, if we give ourselves the credit we give inanimate objects, we would be in a much better place.
Speaker 2:Isn't that something? I mean, we take care of all these other things and we take care of ourselves. Last yeah, something else. So what books do you recommend?
Speaker 3:Oh, my goodness, I oh, this is a good one. I can't remember what the author's name is.
Speaker 3:Let me pull it up really quick, so Slow Productivity by Cal Newport it's called Slow, slow productivity the lost art of accomplishment without burnout.
Speaker 3:Um, that was one that I uh have read recently and I really or listened to, cause I, that's my new thing, um, and I I.
Speaker 3:What I really liked about it is that he talks and he breaks down like a lot of amazing authors, artists, innovators that have been made incredible changes in um in the world, right From things like Hamilton to different classic book authors, and like how he breaks down the reality of what that took, and often it was walks, often it was taking breaks from like and it was like being in a like house in the middle of nowhere, in a cabin, and that's when and I and I think it's really interesting to like see, oh, innovation actually comes in those slow moments, in those moments where your brain is able to process all of the input it's been getting and take um and then come up with something right. That's why shower moments are a thing, um, so I think that that one um, and then there's another um book, burnout the Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle, by Amelia Nagoski. That one was really good as well, and it was so they're both very like.
Speaker 3:not, they take real world examples and a lot of science and different things, but they're written in such a way that they're really easy. They're not like jargony and full of stuff. Yeah.
Speaker 2:All right. Well, where can someone find you if they want to get in touch with you, if they're interested in being on your platform or just wanting to discuss anything with you?
Speaker 3:Yeah, so you can find the platform. So it's Saha collectivecom. S A H A collectivecom. If you want to sign up, like I said, it's completely free you can sign up there. If you're someone who's looking for providers, you can also. The form to be a provider is a little longer, understandably, than the one looking for providers. Um, you can email me info at saha collective dot com. You can send me a message on instagram saha dot collective.
Speaker 3:Tiktok is also saha dot collective, although I will say I'm not as good about being on it as I should be. And then YouTube is Sahacollective as well, and then I'm more than happy to send over links to like, set up some one-on-one time if you have any questions. The thing that I there's a couple of things that I always forget to mention that I probably should. So the platform is just the matchmaking right now, but as we build out the goal is to be live later this year is it's a full business in a box. It's not exclusive.
Speaker 3:You can run whatever you want on like as well. But meaning, once we help you set up your profile, like you were saying, we'll help you set up pictures, videos et cetera, to like people and get to know who you are, as well as help you describe your services in a way that makes sense. Um, that will be available to the public, but also to businesses as a benefit for their employees. Um, because it just makes it more accessible. Um, and then uh one, and that accessibility piece is really important, and part of that is so. It's a percentage fee that we take from each appointment, but you set the um, you set the rates, cause I don't. I could go on about that, but anyways um a portion of that percentage goes towards a fee.
Speaker 3:that, um, that is, goes towards the platform, and the part of that goes towards a fund, and that fund is available for people who otherwise wouldn't be able to afford services. So, by being on the platform, you are part of this kind of ecosystem that, like when people pay, a part of that goes to people who can't afford to pay, because I think it's really important that we give access to all of these services to people. And you still are getting your full rate.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's wonderful. I mean, as a practitioner, when you go out, you either need to run it out of your home, right, you need to either rent something where you're paying a monthly fee for rent, or a lot of times and this happens too in the yoga world where sometimes it's a percentage They'll take you know, 30%, you get 70%, so somehow you're going to have to pay, so somehow you're going to have to pay.
Speaker 3:Oh, and we're at 18%. To be clear, 30%, I think, is wild.
Speaker 2:I've heard more Well that's what I'm saying as a yoga teacher when I would go for studios unless I'm getting paid for that hour per class, it's a 70-30. Some are even different with it, but yeah, 70-30, I would get the 70%, the studio would get 30%. So 18% is a deal and I have, you know, I've done it all ways and I have my own space and I'm paying an X amount per month and that's with also paying the electricity and they, and the landlord covers everything else. So that's a really good deal at 18% versus the 30 or some places even take 40% of it.
Speaker 3:Yeah, yeah, when I've spoken with therapists specifically, cause there's a lot of therapy platforms out there and we do have therapy as well in different types of coaches, but some of these platforms they'll it's a flat rate and they'll give you $60 an hour, versus when they do private pay, they can make 175. And I think that's insane.
Speaker 2:Yeah Well, just think of this. Some of my trainings are like 2300, okay, or 1800 or 1300. And I would go and I would teach it at a space because I didn't have it. I mean, I have a little space in my home but I also have dogs and not everybody loves dogs right Now. They're sweet little, wonderful little dogs but they want to be in where the action is and that can be distracting for someone.
Speaker 2:So I've had a go and if I have a training for $495 or $1,300, I'm having to give 30% of that to the owner, right? And sometimes it's like, oh, and you think of the work you do, you know you're putting six hours in of training. Some days you're getting the material, you know it's energy work, it's things like that, and yeah, so 70 30 seems to be the norm. When I go for yoga, sometimes it's, you know, $30 that the teacher gets paid, whether you have zero clients or a hundred, right? So what do you? What do you do? And it's based on the number of people. So if I have show up and there's one person, you know that owner gets 30%. If I have a hundred, they get 30% of that.
Speaker 3:Yeah, yeah, no, it's, it's rough, it's really really hard, and I think it's it shouldn't be this complicated which is why I make it a little bit easier. But it's, it's, it's hard, it's and I think it's, I think people do it because they care, and I think sometimes that's taken advantage of.
Speaker 2:It is. And also, too, with Reiki, you know it's considered a gift, like you're giving a gift away. So you're caught between, okay, I want to be of service and help somebody, but you also, you know, have to pay for things as well and live, right. So how do you? How do you balance this out? You have somebody that reaches out and I'm not feeling good and I'm this can you send me Reiki and send me distance Reiki? And at some point it's like okay, there has to be an equal balance here of the energy, right? You have to balance this out, whether it's through payment and service. So, yeah, it's a tough thing because you just want to go out there and do it and share this with the world, right? So, yeah, all right. Well, that ends the first part of our journey, and I'm going to continue to guide you through the second part, this is a social media question.
Speaker 3:So here we go. What is your advice for someone who is dealing with burnout? Be kind to yourself. I think the first one is like super, be kind to yourself when you are dealing with burnout. And I think, just be like take the wins and really appreciate them. Did you drink water today? Right, like just really appreciate that. Did you eat today and ask for help? I think you are not helpless for asking for help, and that is easy to say and really hard to do. So just be like okay with us If that means like somebody. I had a friend come over and she cleaned my countertops and I cried and I don't. Now I cry a lot more because healing does that to you, but like it had, a friend come over and she cleaned my countertops and I cried and I don't.
Speaker 2:Now I cry a lot more because healing does that to you but, um, like it was a lot, um, I just couldn't, I didn't have the energy to do that. Yeah, yeah. And it's so interesting that you say this because this is what I say to my daughters and no one had said that to me at all growing up, even into a young adult, so they'll be overwhelmed. I'm like did you drink something today? Did you at least get your Starbucks today? Did you take a nap? You know, go eat a piece of chocolate. You know, go take a bath or a shower. You know all these questions and it's like one of those is usually a no, we'll go do that. You know, here I'll go door dash you something, go eat something here. You know, here's some money to go through the drive through a Starbucks with that.
Speaker 2:And you do get burnout and it shows up in different ways, like I just been going, going, going, going going and I had something yesterday and the person was supposed to arrive at one o'clock and 15 minutes beforehand and I had prepped, I had did all these things to get ready, for it was actually a photo shoot and 15 minutes before the person said I'm going to be an hour late and I'm just like, and I wasn't going to be able to do it because I had someone else and so I had gone to my space early.
Speaker 2:I had everything fixed candles, you name it, props I was going to use because I was on this timeline and I'm like you know what, let's just cancel it.
Speaker 2:I don't know where I fit it around her schedule, you know, and boxed it that time in and you know I'm getting everything and I go to lock the door and I was just. You know the many things I had ahead of me and there's a place here that I like to get my drink. I like sweet tea and Sprite and my little cup here and it's one of these kind of foam type cups, real cheap cups. And I walked to the car and it's a big drink, it's a big thing of Sprite and my key hit into it and it starts leaking like crazy and I get in my Jeep and I just start to cry and it was the hole being poked in the drink that was the catalyst to oh my goodness, a burnout and I got myself to that point of getting overwhelmed that a hole in the cup brought me to break down the pin on like the camel's back right.
Speaker 2:Exactly, exactly, yes it broke the camel's back, so but again I don't really have that person speaking over me. As I'm to my daughters, you know, make sure to get that. You know, and I remember telling my daughter she goes Is that terrible when you drop your drink? That was like, yeah, drop that coffee and yeah, and it's just that one little thing. So, yeah, it could be anything.
Speaker 3:It could be anything.
Speaker 2:Number two turning your success into making a world the better place. What do you hope to leave as your legacy for Saha?
Speaker 3:Yeah, I think I want to give people back agency and give them back, instead of a world where we're like, just accept, oh, it's just stress, which I, I use, I. It makes me very angry when I hear that, um, I want to create a world where it's oh, like I am feeling this way and I know how to get answers, and I know that there are answers that are going to make an impact. Instead of a pill, that's like a bandaid or a patch on something. So I want to build something that gives people agency. That means that healers are able to do their work full time and get paid and live a good quality of life and not just scrap by. I think those things are really powerful and just, yeah, make. I mean, there's a lot of things I want to do, including funding research for a lot of, because a lot of these people are like, oh well, there's no research behind it and I'm like, yeah, who was going to pay for it? I want Saha to do that. Right, right, right.
Speaker 2:So why is it important to give yourself grace?
Speaker 3:I think no one else is going to do it for you. No one else is going to give you that grace that you can give yourself, and the relationship with yourself is the only one we know you're going to have for the rest of this life. So if you're not giving yourself grace, who's doing it for you? And you're talking to yourself, in whatever format. That is more than anything else, anyone else, and so like would you do the same for the people you love and care about you?
Speaker 3:should love and care about yourself too, so let's give ourselves some grace here, right, right, yeah.
Speaker 2:And just again, conditioning, as you grow up like that culturally created self, that you put yourself last. And then if you make yourself be first, you know, uh, it's considered selfish but it's self-care. Saying no is self-care right.
Speaker 3:Yeah, yeah. I mean, I could go on a whole rant on this, but I think when you start to put yourself first and when you start to say no, the only people that disadvantages is the ones who are taking advantage of you.
Speaker 2:Absolutely, absolutely. And you see how upset they get when you don't you know, uh, move heaven and earth for them, right? If you move mountains, you can move mountains for someone, but if something you know you can't do it, right, then, and there, then they get angry at you and lash out at you. All right, well, that was our last question as we've been talking. Is there anything that you might have forgotten about or something that you want to share?
Speaker 3:I think the biggest thing is just like, if you have the power to make a difference, whatever space, headspace you're at, it is the most beautiful thing you can do for yourself and others. Um, and and be okay that, like today, you might be very in a very different place than you might be tomorrow. Um, it's just depends on what you have space for and that's okay. You don't have to be at a thousand percent every day.
Speaker 2:And you are also uh, you have been on other podcasts as well. If someone wants to dive a little bit deeper into some of these topics, we, we, we went over very lightly over them. But if you want to get a little deeper on burnout, uh, giving grace, you are on other podcasts. Do you have any other videos?
Speaker 3:Yeah, so the easiest way to find those other podcasts is um in the uh, if you go to my website, sahacollectivecom, or the platform's website, under the latest page where we have like the latest news, um, I I include articles I've written um podcasts I've been on Uh, I've been on like 30, 40 different ones, so it's hard to like name them here. But um and I talk about yeah, very good Grace.
Speaker 3:I talk about diving. Some of them are more business podcasts. So if you're curious more about that, if you're curious more about my motivation, the reason I made the decisions I made about building the business, that, those are all there.
Speaker 2:Okay, Okay. And what type of um practitioners do you have on the side? If someone's listening, what are your different types of holistic healers you have on board?
Speaker 3:So, I call it modality agnostic, and I'm using air quotes because I say that and people are like I've never heard that term before and I'm like, yes, we are doing a bunch of things that are innovative, that no one's ever done before. So, yes, we do have Reiki practitioners, we have sound healers, we have more traditional. So we have people who do massage, who do acupuncture, and that's what I call traditional in this space, because that's kind of what I've learned is more on the traditional side. We have people who do functional medicine, who do homeopathic, who are therapists, who do breath work. I have someone who does DNA testing and then will give you a breakdown of what uh like a fitness regime and diet based on your DNA. Um. I have different people who do um. Like one person, she's a therapist but she uses Dungeons and Dragons as her modality, um, and so she'll create a Dungeons and Dragons which is like a board game kind of like an immersive board game and she'll create that um for you.
Speaker 3:I have another woman who does group coaching, using different types of smut, if you will, and then I have people who are more on the conservative, religious side that do different types of coaching. I think it's all from nutrition to energy. It's across the board and it's really intentionally so. I think it's all from nutrition to energy to like. It's across the board and it's really intentionally so, because I think it's important that people get options, because you might like Pilates, might be your thing or Reiki might be your thing, and you won't know until you try it.
Speaker 3:Beautiful, beautiful.
Speaker 2:All right. Well, thank you, Alanka, so much for taking time out of your very busy schedule to go on this journey with me. It's been very educational.
Speaker 3:Oh, you're on mute.
Speaker 2:Thank you so much for joining me on this journey and taking time out of your very busy schedule to answer these questions. It's been very educational. I've loved learning about this. I mean what a great platform that you have that those can come on there and, you know, find their just right. I love it. I love it.
Speaker 3:Oh, I like that. Find your just right. I might write that down.
Speaker 2:It's find your Goldilocks, find your just right. Yeah, yeah, yeah, I love it. All right, Well, thank you so much, and thank you so much to my listeners, and if you would like your question featured on the podcast, reach out to wwwreadysetreikicom. I'm Tracy Seawright and this has been Ready Set Reiki © transcript Emily Beynon.
