Ep. 71 Your Joy Prescription: Music, Movement, Connection—with Nicole Ahima

Hey friend,

Have you ever felt like you’re living in your head 24/7—thinking, planning, managing everyone else’s needs—but rarely feeling anything yourself?

What if the key to balancing your hormones and calming your stress wasn’t another supplement, protocol, or diet… but adding a little more rhythm to your life? 💃

In this week’s episode of The Balanced Hormone Solution Podcast, I’m joined by one of my favorite people and fellow salsa dance teacher, Nicole from Nashville Salsa Dancing, for a conversation that will inspire you to move, feel, and reconnect with yourself in ways you may have forgotten were possible.

Inside this episode, we talk about:

👉 How dance helps women get out of their heads and back into their bodies

👉 The neuroscience of movement—why rhythm and music lower cortisol and raise oxytocin

👉 Why feeling safe in your body is the foundation for hormone healing

👉 The surprising emotional breakthroughs that happen on the dance floor

👉 How movement can help you process stress, reconnect with your feminine energy, and feel alive again

Nicole shares her incredible story of how she went from resisting dance as a child to teaching hundreds of women to move, connect, and rediscover joy through salsa. Together, we unpack how dance isn’t just an art form—it’s medicine for your mind, body, and soul.

If you’ve been craving a deeper connection with yourself—or you’ve forgotten what joy feels like—this conversation will reignite something powerful inside you.

🎧 Listen now to learn how to move your body, calm your mind, and let your hormones finally exhale.

💫 Your Weekly Challenge

This week, I want you to turn on your favorite song, close the door, and just move.

No mirror. No choreography. No judgment.

Notice how your energy shifts—that’s your nervous system remembering what safety feels like.

✨ Join The Balanced Hormone Solution

If you’re ready to stop guessing and finally feel good in your body again, join me inside The Balanced Hormone Solution—my 90-day root-cause reset for women 35+. We calm cortisol, reset your metabolism, and rebuild your energy—so you can dance through life again feeling vibrant, confident, and fully alive.

➡️ Learn more at TracyErinWellness.com

💖 Connect with Nicole

Follow Nicole and her incredible community at NashvilleSalsaDancing.com or @nashvillesalsadancing on Instagram and TikTok.

Transcript

Audio Only - All Participants: 0:02

Have you ever felt like you are living in your head 24 7? Thinking, planning, doing, but rarely feeling what if The key to balancing your hormones and calming your stress wasn't another supplement or diet, but adding a little bit more rhythm in your life.

Speaker 3: 0:34

Welcome to the Balance Hormone Solution Podcast. If you're a woman 35 plus feeling exhausted, struggling to lose weight, and wondering where your libido went, this is for you. I am Tracy Aaron, a functional medicine practitioner who helps women balance their hormones naturally. Without prescriptions, guesswork, or trending Nonsense.'cause here's the truth, your symptoms aren't random. They're signals. And if you know how to listen, you can fix the root cause and start feeling like yourself again. If you're ready for real solutions, let's get to it.

Audio Only - All Participants: 1:13

If you're a woman, 35 plus trying to do it all, hold it all and still feel good in your body, then this episode is for you. I am your host, Tracy Aaron, a registered nurse and integrative health practitioner, helping women balance their hormones naturally without prescriptions, guesswork, or burnout. And today we're talking about one of my very favorite ways to reconnect with yourself. Dance. And I have invited one of my dear friends and fellow salsa dance teachers to join me for this conversation about how movement, music, and community can bring you back into your body, lower your stress, and reignite your confidence. So welcome, Nicole. Hey. Hello. Hello. Thank you for having me. I'm so glad that you're here today. I wanna think back about how, um, how I met you. You, it must have obviously been in a dance class. Mm-hmm. Nicole was an amazing salsa teacher, and I want you to go into how you found the love of dance yourself here in a second, but must have been in a salsa class. And I just thought you had so much energy, you had such an amazing vibe, so much confidence, and you have a magnetism about you that draws people in and, um. I have to say it's very inspiring to watch. So I think I did levels of your classes mm-hmm. And fell in love through the process with dance myself. And, um, anyway, as my kids say, I'm glazing you right now, and I'm happy to do that. Oh, so, so what, what does that mean? Glazing? Am I a donut? I love it. Yeah. I love This is the new glazing. Yeah. Right. Glazing is, this is my, my kids say it's when you're, when you, um, talk highly of somebody or if you point out positive things or you, you talk in a way that makes them feel good, my kids will be like, mom, stop glazing them. Okay. Okay. So I love this, I love having adult friend like parents who can tell me the words that kids are using these days.'cause I have no idea what they're talking about ever. Okay. Well, you know what six, seven means, right? I know when I'm counting the class into start dancing, but what is that? Oh my, let me just tell you. If you had elementary, pre-teens or teenagers in your class, you would not, you would get nothing done because every time you said six, seven, the class would erupt either in laughter or eye rolls.'cause that's what happens to me. And I actually don't know what the, um, where this thing got started. Okay. I think it was a meme. I actually, I've heard it was a meme. I've also heard it's the height of a certain basketball player. Okay. Somebody, I don't know. Interesting is six feet tall and seven inches. And somehow the world grabbed a hold. The young world grabbed a hold of this young world and have made a just. The saying and anytime six, seven comes up in conversation or on a clock or, I mean, it's so bad right now. My, my youngest is now, uh, well he just turned 10. He, he has access to a phone and whenever that phone has a battery percentage of 67%, he will screenshot it and send it to the group. Family chat. And everybody thinks it's funny, but his parents, me and Right.'cause we're like, who cares? What does that mean? Yeah. Like, what is this n next it'll be 66%. What's the big deal? Right. But anytime we say six, seven or something like the other day, uh, you were on fall break right now. So he didn't wanna get his math work homework done like he should have. And I opened the lesson for him and, and problem number one had four edition problems and one of the four was six plus seven, and he decided he was gonna do the work. Okay, well if it's getting them to do stuff, then, so I don't know what it is. It's maybe somebody out there can inform us of the real humor behind six seven. But it's a thing just like glazing. And I'm happy to glaze you because I, I just think that you're amazing. But. Before we jump in, um, let me just tell you a little bit about why this topic matters to me so much. Okay. And that is for years I have lived almost entirely inside of my head. Um, yeah, I'm a homeschool mom. I've been a stay at home mom, so I'm, you get really good at things like organizing and planning and scheduling ahead of time and managing kids. And now that I have a business, managing clients and caring for them and, uh, managing the house and chores and, um, all the things. And after a while you go through the motion so much that you begin to feel numb. Mm-hmm. You are just robotically going through what needs to get done without really the stopping long enough to feel the sensations of your body and get into yourself and connect. Even if it's just with yourself. And so I had a good friend, a dear friend of mine years ago, she was going through her own health journey and she had seen a doctor, um, in Spain of all places. She did this telehealth visit with him and he said, you've got to do something that makes you happy. Mm-hmm. You have to get out of your head and into your body. Do I am forcing you? She also was a homeschool mom, managing her home and dedicated her whole life to this process. Mm-hmm. And he said, you gotta do something that makes you happy. Doctor's orders. And she immediately remembered when she was a little girl, she loved to dance. Oh. And she thought of me and she goes, well, Tracy will go with me. She, she does all this stuff. She, she won't say no. And she was right. She, she invited me to a class and we went to a class, and then we went to Acme Feed and Seed. Okay. Down to Nashville. Yes. We had no idea what we were doing, but we stood on the side and, and we, you know, got invited to a couple dances, but nonetheless, we had so much fun at the end of the night. Yeah. She was like, I, we need to keep doing this. And for me, that began a journey. Um, now, let's see, I think I'm two and a half years in now of learning salsa and bachata, Latin dance in the Nashville area. And, um, when I tell people that I actually like to salsa or bachata, they give me a sideways look. Like I shock them. Yeah. Yeah. And I frequently am saying, you know, I, it's, it's one of the best ways for me to get out of my head and connect with myself. Yeah. But I, but let's talk at some point also about how, how important it is to, to connect with others. Mm-hmm. And that's a beauty of social Latin dancing. I'll also get a lot of people who are like, but you're married. How do you do social dancing? You know, how do you dance with other men? And I'm like, well, I, I'm not looking for a relationship. No. I'm literally sharing a moment in time, and we happen to be doing the same steps. And when we connect, it can be the most beautiful, freeing thing. Yes. And guess what? As soon as that song is over, you walk away. You do. And you start all over again with somebody else. It's the best. It's the best. Yeah. And then I, you know, and then, and my husband eventually started dancing. He did. And, um, and I told him, oh, I got Nicole on the podcast today. I can't wait. And he goes, tell her I'm gonna get back into her classes. Aw. So he's, you'll see him again soon. But anyway, dancing for me has just changed my life. And it's the one thing that I can do during the week that, um, where I can set everything aside. Mm-hmm. Um, my family stays at home. I can go by myself or with friends. Yeah. And I can literally just get into my body and let go. Yes. Ugh. Yes. It's amazing. And as I've gotten older and I'm now in the perimenopausal years and, you know, expecting hormonal changes and just moving through the seasons of womanhood mm-hmm. To, to find ways to feel, again outside of my to-do list or, uh. Responsibility has been probably one of the best things I have done for my own health. Yeah. And people don't believe me until they try it themselves. Yeah. It's true. It's true. They think, oh, it's just for fun. Or, or you know, at worst they think I'm like out at clubs dancing, you know, like, I dunno. Right. With club music or something. Like, you don't, no, no, no. This is a totally different classy environment. But yeah, it's structured, it's organized, it's, there's safety measures. Like it's, yeah. And on top of that, it's just so much fun. Right. And there's, so, there's so much we can talk about because there's the um, there's the confidence aspect and what and joy that we find in ourselves. There's the, it, it, there's the aspect where it's, um, it brings, you know what it, for me, it brought up a lot of insecurity too. Mm-hmm. Like. I'm standing on the side available to dance, and nobody's asking me why is nobody asking me to dance? Am I, am I not a good dancer? Am I ugly? Yeah. Am I fat? What? Like all yes. In middle school again? Yes. Yes. Oh, it, it can be torturous. And it has been a personal, um, reflection journey for me is so much growth. So it's, it's hormone health, it's physical health, it's personal growth, it's all these things. But anyway, we're gonna touch on a couple of, um, of these things as we talk today. So tell me first, like, how did you get involved with dance? How did this become a passion of yours? Oh my goodness. You said so many good things. My brain is like reeling, but unless, so let's, let's get here. Uh, I started dancing. I actually hated dance growing up when I was a kid. Like my parents are from Ghana and so our culture, and they moved here as dancers and drummers are part of a dance troupe. And so it was a part of my life for my whole life and I wanted nothing to do with it. I wanted nothing to do with it. Um, the elders told me I was stiff. I wasn't a good dancer. Talk about insecurities, like it just was not my jam. But then of course, like as I was growing up, Britney Spears became popular and all these like girl pop groups and whatever, and they're doing a lot of dancing in their videos. So I would like move around in the, like in the den when nobody's there, try to copy the moves from the video. Um, and then there was a girl in my high school who danced belly dance and I thought that was really cool. And so I took like some, like I had her show me some stuff and she told me when I got to college, she was like, I think you have really natural rhythm, just like you need to work on your arms, which if you ever start dancing salsa, that's the one question that every follow or woman wants to know is like what they're supposed to do with their arms. And so when I got to college, I started taking classes and then I ended up with a dance minor. Everything works out how it's supposed to. It's just crazy. Whoa. Um. Then right after I graduated from college, I injured myself. I was doing freelance dancing on like some modern dance company, dance theater stuff. And I pulled a muscle in my back and I wasn't able to do like that full range, like swingy, contemporary modern movement. And I remember somebody had told me about a club down the street from my house called Ibiza Nightclub, and I was like, I really love dancing now. I need to be able to keep dancing. So I went to Ibiza and I never left. That was in 2011. 20 10, 20 10. And I've not stopped dancing salsa since. It's insane. So there was salsa that night at that club? Yeah, every, and it was, it was mostly like a salsa club. It was all, it's a Latin, like it's a Latin bar and they had a salsa night specifically. Um, because a lot of people fusion people. Yeah. Okay. So a lot of people will think that when you go to a Latin club that it's gonna be salsa and bachata. No. Like a Latin club, especially in Nashville is like a club that Latinos go to to blow off steam. So it's like their music reggaeton, which is like their version of hip hop, blah, blah, blah. So they have special nights for salsa.'cause a lot of the younger kids don't dance salsa. It's usually the older generation. Um. But we've made it really popular, so we danced it all the time, but I went, there was salsa that night and like, I was like, what is this? And it didn't hurt. That was the thing that it like,'cause I stand upright, I'm not bending or twisting as much. And so it didn't hurt and I was like, here we are. The rhythms made so much sense because the rhythms are based in like African rhythms, which are things that I heard growing up my whole life. And so it just like really came full circle. The music made sense to me right away. The movement made sense to me right away. I was not great at following. I will say that I think a lot of women when they start dancing have a tr have trouble following because you usually lead in your life, like you said, you, you are Yes. The homeschool mom. Yes. You're the, you're the house manager. Like you have your business, you're always taking care of things. So it's so hard to step into a classroom to be in the role of receiving. I find that a lot of women who come into my classes have a very hard time, myself included, receiving. Yes. And so it makes it really hard. It's like, it's a really, it's that's, I feel like the, the follows journey is like your follow your, your, your route back to learning how to receive. And so when I started dancing, I thought I was doing all the things, but I realized I was backleading. So backleading is a term that we use for the listeners, uh, when the follow is doing whatever they want, just because they want to and not what was actually led. And it's so easy to do'cause you think that you're being helpful or you think that you know what's gonna happen.'cause you probably do. But. Yeah. In this role in salsa, your job is to listen and receive and not have to be in charge of anything except your own autonomy. And yeah, it's, oh, it can be really tough. And so then I started this journey probably six years into my dancing of like, how do you actually follow? Like how do I, well how do you actually do this? What?'cause I started leading'cause I was like, oh, the leads aren't good. They're not dah, dah, dah. And then I started leading and I was like, wait, these follows are really like resistant. Like they're, they feel physically hard to move.'cause they're thinking, you can feel that they're thinking and they don't. Yes. They don't wanna respond. That's it. Yeah. So I was like, what is going on here? And I was like, do I feel like that? So then it sent me down this journey of like, okay, I'm gonna learn. To follow and what does that mean? And I,'cause I took a class in New York and I took a private lesson with a guy and he was like, you're not actually following anything that I'm leading. You're just doing whatever. And I was like, excuse me. And so it just sent me down this path. And now Tough love. Yeah, tough love for sure. And so now it's sent me down this path of like, how do we inspire women to be better follows on the dance floor, but also like, how do you learn to receive in your life? Because out, I find that anything that we work on in the classroom is a direct reflection of things that people are encountering in their life. And it can also help the things that they're dealing with in their life. Like I've seen so many people come through with their confidence has changed. I've seen people who have left. Relationships that no longer serve them. Like it has changed so much about these women in my classes and their experience. And so even just, I had one woman who said the way that the men, so in traditionally men lead and women follow, and I have people do both in my classes. Like women can lead or follow, men can lead or follow. It actually helps with the skillset later on, both skill sets later on. But um, I had one woman who said to be treated with the respect and the care that these men lead us with in class and to know that that's not what I'm getting at home. Mm wow. Made me realize like. I have been unhappy for a very long time and I was like, she said, so I have my, she's like, I want to thank you for encourage. She said, I want, she said, I want to thank you for my divorce. And I was like, that was the first line she came at me with. And I was like, excuse me, what do you mean? She was like, and then she told me all of that and I was like, wow. Wow. That is insane. That's insane. Yeah, it's, yeah. So you are not just teaching footsteps and hand movements, girl. No. You are changing lives. It's wild. Whenever I hear a story like that, I'm just like, this is so much bigger than me, and this is so much bigger than what anybody signed up for. Nobody came here thinking that they were gonna get all of that. Right. And that's the point, is this whole MINDBODY connection is, you know, I I probably have encountered zero women in my practice who don't live a life of, of some sort of, um, massive stressor. Yes. And it's different for everybody, and doesn't matter their age or station in life, but the, the body is under a tremendous amount of stress. And the beautiful thing about dance is that when you are moving your hips, you begin to release that overthinking. And when you surrender to things like music and movement, that's that process of getting out of your head and into your body. And when you finally get there, Hmm. It's like. A whole new level of awareness turns on for you. Yes. And you do start noticing the, that it ripples over into other areas of life. Yes. Ugh. Beautiful. It's like you're forced. Yeah. Being forced to feel makes you realize all the other parts of your day when you're not feeling anything. Yes. It's so true. It is. That is exactly it. It's the, it's the lack of feeling. Like I have to tell my followers in class. Yeah. Constantly. I'm like, follow what you feel. Follow what you feel. Follow what you feel. And they're like, what am I supposed to feel? And I'm like, what do you feel? We don't know how to do that. Yeah. What do you feel?'cause they're, they, it's, I think too, our society defaults to like, uh, knowledge and education are king. So then it's like, leave your feelings behind, leave emotions out of everything. People are always like, it is just business, which means it's just a thoughtful thing and it shouldn't have your feelings involved. And so there's so much. Separation of mind and feeling. In our lives. Yeah. That in order to get ahead, sometimes it feels like you do have to leave your feelings behind, but there's so much power in our emotions and understanding and feel because it has everything to do with how you love yourself. Mm. Because you can feel when things aren't right. You can feel that's a feeling. It's not a thought if you overthink it. You move yourself away from what you originally feel, which is the, in the, your instinct for what is correct. And so, uh, I'm just trying to get myself back to that and because that's what I'm doing, that's also the lens through which I teach. Yeah. And then we all hopefully arrive at some point or another. I see it happen, you know, piece by piece. Like somebody's shoulders are more up than they were before. There's a light in their eye that wasn't there before. Or they speak more than they did before.'cause I've had people who come in and are completely shy and like closed off. And you can tell I love somatics. I love body language. I love, um. The things that people's bodies tell me, and to watch them just like literally go from being in a shell and down on their selves to expanding in their own light, ugh, there's nothing that gives me more joy. I love that you just said that because I was gonna ask you about this transformation, which you must see from, from when a woman comes in and begins her dance journey to when she finally, do you see it, is it like a, a switch that flips for her at some point and, and she gets into her body? Yes. Yes. It must be amazing to watch. It is incredible to watch. There's one I can think of right now. I actually just was talking to her about it the other day. I was like, I just wanna let you know that I've seen, I've, I see you now. You used to hide yourself, but I see you now. I saw you on the dance floor. I saw you hold your head up high with confidence. You weren't second guessing. You weren't apologizing if things went wrong, like you just danced the dance and you smiled, you smiled, and you didn't look stressed, and you didn't look like you were mm-hmm. Apologetic for existing like. You have changed. And I don't know if you know that. I don't know if you feel that. I don't know if you sense that, but I need you to know that I see it. And she was just like, mm-hmm. Teary-eyed. Thank you. Like I, I notice that I feel more empowered to speak up about things that feel off, and it's just, it's a while. It's wild to see that.'cause the, the prison, not the prison, but like the cage that we put ourselves in, the, the overthinking is one that we, we put ourselves there, but we don't realize that there's an option for something else because it seems like that's the only way to do it. Um, I struggle with it every, every day all the time. Like it's not, I don't think it's something that ever goes away. I think it's part of the human experience in general, but the more time you spend feeling, the less you care because then it's just like, that doesn't feel right. I'm not engaging with that. I love it. Just in life. Like you don't Exactly. Yeah. You don't. I feel like I tolerate less because I feel now more I tolerate less things that don't feel right. Mm-hmm. From the offset, I don't have to negotiate in my mind the pros and the cons and whether it should actually do this or not. Like if it feels like a no, it's a no. And I can be okay with that'cause I know what feels good and I know what doesn't. But before I didn't know that at all. And so dance has really opened that for me. I love that and I can completely relate. And some of the fear, when we grow up in this western world and we're academic minded and logical, and we do things in black and white, this or that, um, extremes. Then, you know, we, we maybe even subconsciously might think, Ooh, if I shut my mind off and get into my body, first off, we're afraid of that. Like, what are we capable of? And what's gonna happen to us? And all this, right? Mm-hmm. But you what if it's what if it's both? And what if by sharpening our feelings and our emotions and getting connected to ourselves and our bodies, our mind actually gets sharper as well. And that's what you're just describing. I would agree with that. I would agree with that. I do think'cause it's, it's an extra support system to your mind. Yeah. It's extra input. Yeah. So we, we improve ourselves and our thinking and our analytical is, and the way that we process things when we know what it feels like to also be in our body. It's a yes, it's a benefit, not a liability. No, and it's interesting too because dance is a, one of the top five fears, like it's right up there with public speaking. Mm-hmm. A lot of people have a fear of moving their body and, and being seen, but a lot of people feel uncoordinated and don't feel like they have the, they feel like they have to be trained to dance and. So while I'm coming from a train perspective, there are many nights that there is music on in my house and I'm just wiggling around. Yeah. You know, and it feels so good. And I think that that's where people need to start for themselves. It's just like, turn on some music that you enjoy. It doesn't matter if it's dance music or not, it doesn't matter what it is. Turn away from a mirror. Do not look at yourself.'cause you will stop. Yeah, yeah. And like maybe turn the lights down low or whatever and just like move your shoulders or move your head or tap your foot and let that be enough to start. And you'll find that over time you'll move more and more.'cause it just feels so damn good. And it unlocks these emotions that are stuck in the body.'cause from the somatic point of view, like there's emotional centers in the body, like your hips hold a lot of emotional, uh, emotional, you know, trauma and your chest holds a lot. I see so much in the chest. In my community, I see so many women who like their cha, their chest is concave. Mm. Or it's rigid, or they just, they won't. I'm like, and I say, lead with your heart. You have to lead with your heart. You have to open your heart. And they just don't know how. They don't know. Done. I've had tears. We've had like, you know, and I'm unfortunately, I actually have stopped doing as many private lessons because of that. I'm working on training on how to like deal withhold, not deal with how to hold space for that type of thing. Because I'm very blunt and when I see it, I say something about it. I'm like, what happened to you? Your hips are really locked up. And they're like, what do you mean? Because a lot of people think that they're hiding that, that you can't see that. They don't even know that it's something that you can see. And I'm like, did something happen to you? You refuse to move your hips. Like you won't, they're locked, you're holding them back. What happened? And then it becomes this long, this conversation that I opened, this can of worms that I need, I feel like I need to be better equipped to hold space for, because there's a lot of trauma that is in these spaces. Um. But yeah, chest is a big one, especially if it's a woman that has a heavier, like a larger chest, because she's probably been, she probably got her chest when she was 10 or 11 or very young, became sexualized at a very young age. And she wants to hide them. Yeah. And so they dance like with their shoulders forward and their chest back and they're like just trying to hide this part of their body. And I'm like, you have, you can't dance like that. You can't live like that. You know, if it's a weight thing, like if it's like literally the weight of them, I get that, but this is not, this is not that. I can tell the difference. And so just getting them to open their heart and moving through that space is, it's tough for a lot of people. So dance outside of the fact that people are nervous to dance in front of other people, the things that it makes you, it reveals to you and the feelings that it releases into your system, things that you've hidden and don't want to deal with, it brings up a lot of that and a lot of people. Um, some people will face it head on'cause it's also a gentle space to experience that. Mm-hmm. But also some people, they're so, they don't want to see it and then they just, they move away from dancing. Yeah. But I, I'm always like, as long as you are here, I will be with you to get you through this. Like, yeah, I'll do everything that I can, but once you leave, there's nothing I can do to help you anymore. And so, um, I try to get as many of them to stay and I reach out and check on them. But sometimes it's just a lot. It's a lot. It can be a lot. In my practice. I don't know if you've ever heard of the book, but I talk about it a lot. The title is The Body Keeps the Score. Yes, I have listened to that on audio. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, the title says it All right. Yeah. The book is three inches thick and it's a, it's a well worth read, but you already know what it's about because of the title, which is explaining exactly what you're saying, which is we can't hide from our traumas. No, we can't hide from our disconnect and we really even can't hide from our stress. And it's gonna come out in small ways and we continue to suppress, suppress, suppress eventually, you know, the top blows off and we get massive, let's say in the medical world, like symptoms later on. Yeah. When we just repas them with medications or something.

Speaker 5: 29:19

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Audio Only - All Participants: 29:54

Now. But dance is, allows you to get this up close view of other people and how it's really amazing.'cause I'm, as I'm talking about this with you, I'm making the connection myself about. Mm-hmm. Healing. Yes. Emotional, healing, physical healing, and, and dance really being a beautiful, um, mechanism for that. I mean, I think of movement in terms of how it lowers our cortisol levels. It reduces stress in our lives. So what that means to me in my world is balancing our hormones. Yeah. So we're getting increase of oxytocin and, you know, I work with women in a 90 day container and we walk through all the things that, that it requires for them to balance their hormones naturally. And yes, I teach stress reduction. Yes. We work on deep breathing, relaxation, Epsom salt baths. I mean, I've got all the tools in the toolbox for women. Mm-hmm. But the light bulbs go off when I say, you know, the fastest way to actually lower your cortisol is to increase your oxytocin. Yeah. Like, rather than doing all these things over here, uhhuh to lower stress. Which stresses us out more.'cause guess what? I'm gonna help you. You gotta meditate, you gotta, did you take a bath? It's like you just added extra things to my plate. What if instead of taking away, we just added something. And what that piece is for me, and what we're talking about today is if you add that piece of joy, you add that piece of connection, you add that piece that is going to build that oxytocin. High cortisol cannot exist when oxytocin is high, right? Mm-hmm. Like, uh, I mean, okay, we all think of oxytocin. It's the love hormone, but like it's the highest hormone at the point of orgasm. Okay? You're not thinking about the dentist appointment you missed out on and your schedule, you or the dishes in the sink, right? You're like in euphoria. Yeah. So that's the point is like, just raise your oxytocin level. Yeah. And then all of a sudden, instant. Cortisol decrease. It's the fastest way to balance hormone. It's like a hack. Yes. Yes. And dance. When the music starts, you start moving your body oxytocin is gonna increase. Yeah. And that cortisol is gonna decrease. And you can go into a social dance night with all the burdens on your back. Mm. You can remember all the ways that you failed the world, that you disappointed in yourself, that you know, you don't look the way that you wanted to look and, and you didn't get that job, and you don't have the money you wanna have, whatever. It's, and you dance and all of a sudden it's all, it doesn't matter. It doesn't matter. It goes into perspective almost instantly. Yes. It's the best. It is the best. It really, it really, really is the best. So in that sense, it's not only getting us into a parasympathetic state faster, right? How many women are running around in that sympathetic state where they're just, yeah. It's that, that's that fight or flight. You know, we're always chasing a tiger, correct. Or running from a tiger. And it's almost like that music starts and the chase ends and you can just be, and um, it gives you a reprieve. Gives you a reprieve from life. And just to speak on what you were just saying, you know, I can think of a thousand times that I thought, you know what, maybe I need to find another hobby. Like, this is hard uhhuh and it brings up so much of my own insecurities. And I, I've had to ask myself over and over, do I really wanna face this? You know, like, why do I do, I feel so insecure on the, on the dance floor and I, you know, like I alluded to before, like, not being asked or messing up or feeling like I can't keep up. And if, if, if you've got that negative self-talk in your brain, something like this. Almost like just turns that volume up. Yeah. And it's an opportunity though. And I have continued to pursue dance because I want, I don't wanna give into that and I don't wanna give up. Yeah. And I know, I know I'm at risk of just going, you know, this is too hard and I'm not gonna do it. But I, every time I say yes, I get better. And every time, every time I try something new in the realm of dance, I get more rewards. Yes. And so it's not that it's a journey without difficulty. Correct. Because it brings up something for everyone, every single person. We all have something, but it's worth the work. Yes. It's worth the work to, to keep going, to get to the other side because what's, dang, what, what carrot is dangling at the end of the nose is this freedom that we find in ourselves. And yes, I find it so lovely when a dance is perfection and I've connected with a stranger. Yes, that's a miracle in and of itself. Yes, we can get there, but what I love the most is finding myself, connecting with myself. Like I, you know, especially, I don't mean to go back to this and we don't have to stay there, but I have hope. Five kids, you know, I've been a wife for 25 years. I am an extension of this unit. Yes. So for me to do something that is just me. Yeah. Isn't it nice? It's, it's like, it's the, it's the greatest gift. It is a gift. I think that it's, there's nothing in life that. Especially if you're living your life in your head constantly, there's not gonna be any activity or hobby that you do that's not gonna make you face yourself. Yeah. You're going to have to, because to have joy, you have to work through, you have to make space for it. And if all of the other things are taking up space, you won't have space. I do think that, and I can, I can only speak to this because I've done dance. I don't really know, I haven't tried a lot of other hobbies, but I do feel like dance can be a very gentle way. Mm-hmm. To face your stuff, face yourself. Like it brings up questions in the moment, maybe when you're dancing, especially because it is, we're we're talking specifically about a partner work, partner style. So you are dancing with another person and it, I feel like it's, I tell people it's a, um, it's like a, it's a symbol of relationship in life. Like how do you deal with, um. Not knowing, how do you deal with things going wrong? How do you deal with, um, how you feel that day in the presence of another person? You know? So it's, it's like a, my, it's like a tiny little way of facing yourself.'cause everything we learn is through relationship. All we do is all we do is interact with other people. You read books, but that's, somebody wrote that, like you, I'm talking to you. That's a relationship. Like we are relating to each other. And so dance gives you kind of a partner. Dance, excuse me, gives you a way to explore how you are in relationships in a gentle way, I think. Mm-hmm. Especially if you have any type of like, tough relationships that you're encountering or dealing with. It's like, how do I find myself in this space here? How do I find my voice? Because as a follow, I think the, the misinterpretation for follows a lot of the time is. That because I'm following. I'm just at the mercy of the lead. And that's not true. You do still have a voice. You 100% have a voice. Because I know, and it might be controversial in the larger dance world, but I actually think that the lead is following the follow because you can only do what we allow. I like that because it's my body. And so then it's always like the lead, the follow makes the lead look good. Yeah, because you have to work with me. You have to work with me where I am. Yes. So you And you, if you're leading me, you have. I love it that, so this teacher, I had to come in town, he said. If I'm, if I throw a ball against a wall, like as a game and I want to catch that ball, I have to keep my eyes on the ball. If, like, if you're playing tennis, you send the ball over, but you have to follow and track the ball to get it and receive it and like send it back. And that's the same with leading and following. He's like, I toss the ball, but I have to see where it's going and follow it to make sure I can execute the next move. So I have to follow the follow. And I was like, exactly. It does take both of us in this relationship, in this partnership to make it work. It takes you and your boss to make work, work. It takes you and your husband to make work for your relationship to work. It takes you and your kids to have a successful parent, uh, child relationship. Like your friends have to be, they have to engage with you. You have to receive, they have to give, like, it goes back and forth. And so, yeah, I feel like the, the lead has to cater. In a way, like they have to cater to the follow. They have to follow us. And so we get to lead that. So you're not just giving away your power. And that's something that I think is really important for women to know if they're going into a dance class. And it's something that I have to remind followers of. Constantly going back to some things that you said, it's like you're in your head, you're in there, whatever. I like at the beginning of class, the first day of class for anybody. I'm like, I need everybody to make 10 mistakes. I need you. I need you. You give them permission to make 10 mistakes and you're gonna say, fuck yes, I did it. I made a mistake. And be okay with that. Yeah.'cause as you become adults, you're so used to like, you've been a wife for 25 years, you've been raising your family for 25 years, however long. And so you're good at that. You know how to do that. And then you step into a salsa class and this is something that you don't know how to do. And you're like, I should be able to do this. I have legs. I know how to walk. I know how to move my arms. Like, why is this so hard? Like, you go into your head and I'm like, okay, when you're an adult, when is the last time you've learned something new? Give yourself some grace and please make 10 mistakes. If you make more, you win. Yeah. You should come in here ready to fail.'cause it's not, it's not supposed to be perfect.'cause life is messy. Learning new things is messy. And then for my follows. I do a little spiel before we go into partnership with another person. I actually have the follows ask. I have the women ask the men to dance, and I say, close mouths, don't get fed. If you want to dance, you need to ask for it. I know that a lot of the times we're waiting on a man to like do something for us or lead us or whatever. I was like, look at how many follows we have in class. There's usually twice as many as there are leads and there are gonna be follows that you're like, they dance with them all the time. It's'cause they ask them in advance.'cause they know how many follows are here.'cause closed mouths don't get fed. Now number two, you're gonna sit there, you're gonna go to a party and be like, nobody ask me to dance. And you're gonna make up every reason that society has told you something is wrong with you. Anything that society, anything you've seen in any marketing that tells you that you are not perfect, you're gonna pick that as the thing and the reason why somebody didn't ask you to dance, that's not why they didn't ask you to dance. They didn't ask you to dance.'cause you're sitting there overthinking and you look miserable. And we are here to be enjoy and nobody wants to pick up the miserable person. So when you allow yourself to be like, I'm here, I'm gonna enjoy this moment and I'm gonna ask for what I want. It's a container to do that.'cause sometimes it's scared to ask for what you want outside of that. Like maybe for instance, I know this is a stretch, this is gonna sound crazy, but like people advocating for them and their selves and their medical stuff, right? Mm-hmm. Like they're afraid to open their mouth and say, well I don't think that that's right. Or I would like a second opinion, or I would like da da da da da. They don't even know where to go. Some of them may not know that you exist and that this is a possibility outside of what their standard doctor is. Their p their PCP is telling them, right? So now in class you get to practice, well, I don't like that. That didn't feel good to me. Um, I want to dance. I dance like this. I did this, and you have to follow this. It starts giving you little tiny micro permissions to where you're gonna encounter a situation where you're like, no, I don't like that. I don't like the way that that sounds. Is there another option? Yeah. It builds those muscles. Yeah. And that is the benefit of dance that a lot of people don't realize, especially in partner dance because you're communicating silently with a person. And if you're able to do that, it becomes easier to use your voice later on. Drop the mic right there. Perfect. I mean, a hundred percent. I couldn't agree more. Yeah. Beautifully said. I mean, I'm thinking the, some of the best dances I've had, um, are where I can tell the lead in the first 30 seconds is, um, assessing what my skill level is. Yes. And trying some moves. And if I'm tracking and I'm right with them Yeah. He goes a little bit more. Yeah. And a little bit more, and a little bit more until he finds wherever my boundary is and I'm like, I can't do that triple spin. Yeah. I dunno how to do, I never did that. Left turn. And then I end up in, you know, this position. Like I, I'm not there yet. And I love that part of discovery too, that you get to do with another person. It's like, where, how far can we expand with each other? Where, what are we working with consequently, or alternatively, the worst dances are those where the lead just does whatever they're gonna do and they're not checking in with you at all. No. And they're gonna triple spin you whether you wanna triple spin or not. Oh, those are the worst. Yeah. And sometimes you feel like, oh gosh, I'm not very good. I should be better uhhuh, I I that it's me, you know? And so then all that, the stories come back in our head. Yeah. And um, but the, it is relationship and so, you know, whatever's going on over there is affecting what has nothing to do with you. Yeah. It has everything to do. That's with that. That's a life lesson. It's that the four, uh, what is that book? The Four, four Keys to Life or something? It was, ah, I can't remember the name of it, but it's like, don't take it personally. Mm. Yeah. One of the four things was don't, like, don't take it personal because you'll dance with some people and it doesn't seem like they're into it. Or you'll Yeah. Like you also might, they might just be presenting that way or they're dealing with a lot of stuff and you have no idea what they're dealing with. And so the, you know, we've agreed to this dance. They've asked you or you've asked them, we're here now. Like, how do I make the best of a shit situation? Yeah. Or how do I, like, how can I actually be physically touching your hand and keep your energy where your energy is and not let it affect mine? There's just so many opportunities to try different, uh, to experience life differently in a dance. To interact with people. Yeah. It's just, it's, so the more I learn, the more I do it, the more I'm like, wow, this is really, this is a transform transformational practice, and I love it. I love it so much. Yeah, a hundred percent. Let's talk about that, um, that confidence and that empowerment piece. I mean, most of the women that I work with in my practice are, you know, uh, 35 plus. And a lot of them Yeah. Like you said, they're the bosses of their life. Yes. They're, they're school teachers. Um, they're healthcare providers. They're, they're, they're mothers. Um, they're, they're taking care of other people and they're good at that. And there's a certain aspect that we can lose of our own. Um, I don't know, maybe sensuality is the right word along the way. Like we give and give and give and, and then we just find ourselves like spent and, and we, we, there's just an issue here I don't even have the exact words to describe this scenario. I've experienced it myself. I witness it in others, and it's like dance. What it does is it's like this gift that helps bring some of that energy back, that, that vitality back, that, that like, that embodied confidence that Yes is unspoken. Mm-hmm. It's energetic. It's um, it's just something, it's something very deep and profound. So it's not any, you know, I'm not even talking about appearance. Yeah. I'm not talking about the superficial things. No. I'm talking about a way that a woman feels about herself, her own skin. Yes. Then it becomes about this energy and expression. So what I wanna know is,'cause you get to see this happen so many times is like, what is it like to watch a woman let go of the judgment she has for herself? It is the most beautiful thing to be a witness to because it doesn't, it's not something that we see a lot just in. Life. I feel like if you know anybody that has like this confidence and this power like this, this energy about them, we all feel like it's so far off. Like they were born like that. And that that is just not me because I've always been shy or I've always been this or I've always been that, or I have a million things going on over here. I don't have time to be that person. Um, even though I feel like some of the strongest people are the ones who need that love poured into them themselves more than anybody. Yeah. Uh, yeah. Who can feel the least confident, but you just move because you have to.'cause life is like, you gotta get this done. Uh, it's just, it's so rewarding to see that because that's, that is probably one of the main reasons now that I do what I do. It was just that when I started it, it was like, I love this dance thing so much and this music is so amazing. Like, how do people, and I feel like for me, it feels like church almost. Like I feel so connected to something bigger than myself every time I dance. Especially if it's a good, good dance. Like everything worked out. Like I felt in my power. They were in their, like they were in their masculine. Especially like if I'm dancing with a man that's a lead, they were in their masculine protecting me, making sure that I had my, like they were holding a container and a space for me to express myself and my full sensuality, my full femininity, my full, I also had to work really hard to allow myself to even go there when I'm dancing, but like, that's what I'm talking about. Yeah. That's hard for us. Yeah. It is. It's, it's, I started playing this game with myself when I dance. Tell me if, if I'm dancing with a lead who makes me feel really safe and feel, and I feel like they know what they're doing, they're dancing to my level. They're not gonna do anything crazy. I do, I, in my head, this is gonna sound so crazy. I'm like, I am a queen. And they are so grateful to be in my presence. Mm-hmm. And the way that they're te they're treating me and the way that they're guiding me and they know that they're here for my support and they're here for my, like, and I allow myself to just like embody this queen energy when I'm dancing. And it makes, it almost makes the dance even more divine. Like,'cause I feel like the lead response, the lead as a man responds to that. Like they can feel when. I'm fully settled in who I am going to be and who I am, and that they, they're, they can lead me truly because I think sometimes when, if as follows, we go, we are trying to do it right. So we start, this is very common for all followers, which is why that transformation of seeing them come into their own confidence is so beautiful. When we start, we want to be right for the lead. We want the lead to think that we're good, that we're doing things right, and we wanna make sure that they're happy with what we're doing. Because a lot of the times in life we're providing for other people. So then the experience becomes, how do I make sure that this, he likes how I dance, rather than how do I enjoy how I dance? And he or this person gets to be in witness of that. And so as people dance more and more and more and more like it just, if it's not intentional, it happens over time, but it always happens. It always happens that they find their confidence. It always happens that they can settle into themselves because they know that they're taken care of. I think it has to be that. I had, I actually spoke about this recently on Insta, on an Instagram Live. If a follow doesn't feel safe, we can't be creative in the dance. Mm-hmm. But also in life, if I don't feel safe, I'm not gonna like venture out and do things that bring me joy.'cause I'm doing everything I need to just keep up with like, what I need to stay alive. Like my, my uh, like not the bare minimum, but like my to-do list. This is, this is safe.'cause I know that if I do this, it will produce this outcome and I will be okay. But to like be creative is such a, it's unknown. We don't really know what's gonna happen when we're creative. We don't know if it's gonna, if something's gonna flop, which it never really flops. It's just an opportunity to learn more about a different direction. But like. We don't really know. But when you're dancing and you want to, and like you go from, okay, I have to be in this place because the lead put me there and I have to do this to, I'm dancing. I know my timing, I know where I'm gonna be. I know how my body moves. And this is the dance that you get, sir. And like when you really come into that, the lead will always meet you where you're at because they're like, you know who you are and I know who I'm dancing with rather than I'm dancing with somebody who's trying to perform to be perfect for me.'cause you never can be that. You can only be perfect for yourself and that is just whoever you are that day. And that moment I tell my follows all the time. I was like, who I dance as when I'm on my period versus who I am when my son is sick versus who I am when, uh, the studio plumbing went to shit like all of these things. Inform who I am in that moment. I'm not always gonna have the same dance with the, if I dance with one person one day and then I dance with them the next day, I'm not the same person. And that's okay. But we always try, when we start to arrive as like this perfect version of whoever the fuck we think we're supposed to be, which is not, it's a part, it's part of the process. I will say that. But when you get to that point, if you're able to make it intentional, which I think happens when we have teachers who remind us to be intentional about finding our confidence and being ourselves and loving ourselves. Um,'cause that's, that's another different, that's a different conversation for the salsa world where I don't feel like that's seen all the time. But once you're intentional about it, it happens quicker. But even if you're not intentional about it, it happens over time that you just kind of like. You start to draw parallels and you start to just demand a little bit more respect for yourself and you, you seek safety in different situations so that you can relax and be yourself, because you don't want that feeling of safety and joy to only exist on the dance floor. It has to, once you taste it, it can't just be on the dance floor. Mm-hmm. And then your confidence grows outside of the dance floor. That was a long-winded way of saying that, but yeah, it's such a powerful point. Um, I love the concept of safety. Uh, I tell women who come to me and they just have not been able to lose weight. They've tried all the things and no matter what they do, they can't lose the weight. And so we start working together. I get them on my nutrition plan, they start eating more food. They start texting me, how am I ever gonna lose weight eating all this food? And I say, trust, trust. And through the process they continue to eat more and more and more. Plus the, uh, the supplements that I'm helping them with and then the lifestyle measures that they're doing. All of this is working together to communicate one thing in their body and that is safety. Yeah. And then when their body reaches the point where it believes it is safe, the pounds start to fly off. It's so unreal to watch. Yeah. And women say, I've tried everything. I can't believe this works. I really thought that I would have to eat less and move more, just like I've been told my whole life and I'm over here going, it's all about safety. And the need, the need that we desperately need to feel safe. And you're bringing it up in the dance world. I'm talking a little bit more on like the cellular level. Mm-hmm. You know, how we're interacting, um, as, as a cells and mitochondria and inflammatory processes and everything. And we begin to experience healing when our body feels safe to do so.'cause we've got a nervous system that is quite alert and very good at keeping us alive and in survival mode. And that's where cortisol gets high and stays high. And that's where everything is like, um, alarms, flashing anxiety, constant anxiety. Because we're just like, just defend yourself. Uhhuh. We are in a war here. Yeah. And when you can diffuse the message that you're in a war and you can communicate safety in a variety of ways, the body begins to heal and dance as you're describing it, is one of the fastest ways to bring that, that connection piece back in. And we learn mm-hmm. How to feel safe in ourselves and with other people and what is safe. And we, we have these micro tests of boundaries with ourselves. And did that feel good? Did that not feel good? Do I like stepping there? Do I like that closeness when my hand is held like that? I mean, there's uhhuh so many things, a, a lifetime of learning. Yeah. And, and like you said, no dance is ever the same. And we learn something new about ourselves all the time. The, the connection piece is just, you know, so, so crazy here. Um, but, you know, so for everybody listening to this, I just want you to practice this one thing this week. Well, first off, let me just say, if you're in the Nashville area and you're not taking Nicole's salsa lessons, like what in the world? Get into her classes and make yourself available to learn all of these things that we're talking about today. Because your life will change. And we're not just talking about you're gonna feel better about yourself, that that will happen. Yes. But all these other benefits are going to come too. Um, but, you know, get put this week, like put on your favorite song, like Nicole is saying, turn the music up. Turn the lights down low, close the door. Leave yourself consciousness. Somewhere else and just sway, move your hips, feel the music, get into yourself and let that movement heal and pay attention. Like notice how your energy shifts. That's, that's that nervous system that we're talking about, that's trying to get you the message that you are safe. And the more you can provide for your nervous system to know that it's safe, the more your nervous system can begin to heal. But Nicole, I just love this conversation so much and, um, I love you. You're such an asset to the Nashville dancing community and, um, I would just love to know like, what is one thing that you do for your own health on a daily basis? Okay. So after listening to your podcast, I drink distilled water every day with salt. Amazing. With, uh, wait, what? It is like a Irish salter. What is it called? It's like Celtic Celtic Salt. Yes, with Celtic Salt. I'm like Ireland or something, somewhere up there. I drink that every morning. That has been. So hydrating for me, especially because I dance so much and for whatever reason, don't drink a lot of water. That has really, like if I'm tired, it makes my eyes open up like even more so than coffee. That has been extremely important for me. But most of all, what I've been doing for my health lately, I have a 4-year-old son. Um, and you get into that like you're the mom and we've gotta get all your activities. And I feed him first. And so then I barely eat. And then I'm eating at like four o'clock in the afternoon doing all the things, trying to keep up with him. Yeah. And uh, my therapist was like, I can't believe I'm gonna have to tell this to a dance teacher, but you need to go dance. Mm. You need your own medicine, my own medicine. And so lately I've been like, even if it's one day I'll fly out to New York and go dance, or I'll fly to some city for a night and just go dance with other people who are not my students. So that I. So I'm not like, they're not looking at me to be, they don't think I'm judging them. They don't think I'm like,'cause my students do. They're like, what do I need to work on? What do you think? I'm like, I was just trying to enjoy the dance. So I get to go, because even with my students, it's like I'm a mother to, all right, because they learn how to dance with me. So they're looking to me to like. I'm aware of everything that I'm keeping the, when I'm at my own socials, like I'm making sure that it's safe for everybody and all the things. And so when I get to go out of town, that's already been taken care of for me. So I make sure that the things that my follows get to experience that I make a container for, I also get to receive that in another space. So I've been traveling, um, without my son dancing and have a good time. And so that's been really, that's been very healing.'cause like you said, you dance and then as soon as I leave the floor for the night, I am on a high that I can't even mm-hmm. Drive. Like, and I'm just in the best mood. My sleep is good. The next day is good. Nothing can bring me down and I just, it, I need that medicine. I have to have it. Yeah. Because that's why I got in the first place. Something about it just made me feel so good. And it's now I, as I've delved deeper into teaching, I realized what all of those things are and I was still. Keeping myself from that. So now I make sure once a month I get a daily dose of many hours of dancing for myself. You know, people when I tell them how the Latin dance world goes, how social starts so late, and if you go to a Congress and you might dance till four in the morning, and, and people just look at you like you got two heads. How, how crazy that I'm like, I am not even tired. I don't know how, but for three days I am on the biggest high, like cloud nine. It's probably the only thing I could stay up doing until 4:00 AM Same. Same. Yeah. Because no other place in my life will you have me up until that time. No, no. Nothing else is worth that. No. So it's, yeah, it's incredible. I love it. It it does. It's like once that oxytocin goes up, you can do anything. You could do anything. Yeah. Especially if it's all night long. Ain't giving you the oxytocin. You're like, let's keep dancing. Yes, yes. Exactly. Yeah. And if you can get outta your own insecurities and, and, and just have fun. I remember you used to say in your classes, you probably still do you say like, you know, pick your eyes up, you're dancing with the person.'cause me, myself and o I'm sure others is like, our habit is we look at our feet, we look at the floor, we're very concerned about, are we stepping correctly? Yeah. Um, but you're just like, get outta your head and enjoy. Just have fun. Yes. It doesn't matter if you do it right or wrong, at the end of the day, are you having a good time? Because that's the only way that it's Right. If it's miserable, then something's not going real well, and then we need to have a conversation. But yeah, it's, it's, it's one of those things too where you unlearn that things have to be right or wrong. Sure there's a way to do things, but at the be like, just take, it's a, it's a marathon, not a sprint. Mm. I remind people of that. I'm like, you're not gonna be perfect overnight. You can practice all the things that you want, but you're just making yourself more stressed because now you're making a to-do list for that activity that's supposed to give you freedom. Yeah, yeah, yeah. You're turning it into more work. Stop that, right? Yes, exactly. And you know, because I, I feel like I've pushed through a lot of the, um, the skill obstacles I came across. And now, you know, I decided I had to make lots of micro decisions. This is worth it. Keep facing your fears. Face yourself. Don't quit. Take more classes, go to more socials, you will keep improving. Yeah. You know, a lot of self-talk had to go into all that. Still does. But, um, now I can go like to Plaza on a Thursday night and dance all night long and I didn't think about the steps once. It's like muscle memory kicks in and now am I as good as, as I could be? No, that's not the point. I'm good enough. To, to be in my body now. Yes. And that is the true prize. And yeah, that's, to me, it, the reward is one, I've got the prize. Yes, I'll keep dancing, I'll keep taking lessons, I'll keep going places. I wanna always get better and better and better, but I pushed through enough to the, where I'm at now is I can literally enjoy a dance and not be in my head. Uh, to me it's amazing. That's freedom. That is freedom. Freedom. Yeah. Well, tell, tell everybody where they can find you. You can find me@nashvillesalsadancing.com or you can find me on Instagram or TikTok at Nashville Salsa dancing. And yeah, it's the same. Every, every, you just Google it. You'll find me in a million places. Nashville Salsa dancing. Yes. And I can't wait. I hope to meet some of you in class and, uh, thank you Tracy, so much for having me. Thank you so much for this show that you're doing. Thank you for the container that you hold for women. Uh, and, and 35 plus that are encountering these things in their lives and making sure that we know that we're not alone. Thank you. Mm, yeah. It's, it's so powerful. I mean, in a very real sense. You and I do the same work, but in different ways. Yeah. Yeah. I love it. So, um, yeah, serving women is a, is a really beautiful thing. So, um, I could just keep talking with you for hours. There's so much to discuss here. Um, but let, let me just conclude by just saying that our bodies, they are designed to move, to express and to feel. And so if you got anything out of this today, I hope you know that when you re reconnect with that truth, your stress melts, your hormones balance, and life starts to flow again. So dance is not just about the steps, it's about coming home to yourself. If you love this episode, please share it with a friend who needs a reminder that her body is her greatest ally and not her enemy. That healing is always available to us, and if you're ready to feel good in your body again from the inside out, join the Balanced hormone solution. We calm your cortisol, reset your metabolism. We rebuild your energy so you can dance with Nicole through life again, feeling vibrant, confident, and fully alive. I will see you next time on the Balanced Hormone Solution Podcast.

Speaker: 1:07:24

That's it for today's episode of the Balanced Hormone Solution Podcast. If this resonated, don't just listen. Do something about it. Make sure to subscribe so you don't miss what's coming next. And if you know another woman who's tired of feeling like a stranger in her own body. Send her this way for more support. Check out the show notes. I've got resources to help you get started. Just remember, your body isn't broken, you just need the right tools. See you next time.