EP 51: Breast Cancer, Intuition, and Spiritual Healing: Recovering from the Inside Out with Stacey Garcia

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Hey gorgeous—today’s conversation centers the power of listening to your body, honoring your intuition, and turning life’s most terrifying moments into a spiritual awakening. Stacey Garcia — health coach, Reiki master, former dancer, studio owner, and host of Never Miss a Monday — joins me for a raw, honest, deeply spiritual conversation about surviving breast cancer, reinventing herself, and choosing to live with a capital L.

This episode is for you if you're craving inspiration, resilience, and the reminder that your healing is holy work.

Inside this episode, we talk about:

• The middle-of-the-night moment her intuition refused to stay quiet—and why it ended up saving her life.
• A healing experience so profound it eclipsed years of traditional therapy and opened a doorway she didn’t know existed.
• How saying “yes” to receiving reshaped her relationships, her boundaries, and the way she moves through the world.
• The simple—but radical—daily practices that helped her hear her own inner voice again.
  
  

This conversation is an invitation to slow down, listen deeply, and trust the wisdom that’s been whispering to you all along.

Love Stacey as much as I do? Connect with her here:

Never Miss a Monday Podcast / Website / Instagram

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DM me on Instagram what you’d LOVE and we’ll celebrate + amplify your next level success in recovery together.

Hey gorgeous.

I love you.

I'm so proud of you.

And I believe in your ability to create a life you absolutely love.

Transcript

0:00

Welcome to the Girls Who Recover podcast with Dana Hunter Fradella, where incredible women just like you, go to transform life's biggest setbacks into your most powerful comebacks so that you can live a life you. Love. I'm your host, Dana Hunter Fradella, transformational coach and founder of Girls Who Recover, and my mission is to pull back the curtain on our mistakes, failures, shame and personal disasters, and light the way for how to use those to create your biggest and most gorgeous comebacks. Follow the show now. Grab your iced coffee and turn up the volume for girls who recover. Let's light it up. Well, hello, gorgeous. Hello, gorgeous. I'm so glad. I'm so glad you're here. I'm so glad that you are here, listener, and welcome back to another gorgeous interview with the Girls Who Recover podcast. I'm Dana Hunter Fela, your host. And it is my distinct pleasure to introduce my new friend and guest in conversation today, miss Stacy Garcia. Stacy is a health coach, a reiki master, and a podcaster, so you can guess how we found each other. Stacy, as a third generation dancer, she's always prioritized health and wellness with over 15 years of experience in the fitness industry. She transitioned into the wellness space as a personal trainer and health coach, eventually co-owning a boutique fitness studio with her husband. Yes. In 2024, a cancer diagnosis led her to reinvent herself, becoming a Reiki master practitioner and. Launching her own podcast. Never Miss a Monday. And our conversation on that podcast was featured in September, 2025. So check that one out. And right now, she's passionate about guiding others on their journey to a happier, healthier, and more fulfilling life. Can I get an amen on a weekday for all three of those things? Welcome, Stacy to Girls Who Recover. So pumped that you're here. Thank you so much, Dana. It's an honor and a privilege to be here with you today. Ooh, we had a good time on. Never missed a Monday, so I know we're about to have a blast on. We sure did. In this conversation. So let's do a breakthrough question. What is the thing that you are most lit up about right now in your life or your business? Ooh, what I'm most lit up about right now, living. I am so grateful that I get to be here. Um, a year and a half ago I was surviving and I feel like today I am thriving and I wake up every day so honored and blessed to live. In my passion every single day in my work with my family, with being of service and giving back to my community with my podcast, with all of it, I feel so damn lucky. Yes. How about we just went full Monty. It's living. Yes. Yes. It's living and really living like with a capital L. So I'm excited to hear about what that sounds like and looks like for you, and it reminds me. Earlier I was at the eye doctor and unexpectedly got dilated pupil's dilated, which is a little confusing, but that's okay. And she said, how may I ask how old you are? And I said, please do. I just turned 44 last week. Isn't that amazing? And she said, that is not how people normally look at birthdays. And I said, well listen, I shouldn't have one. I shouldn't get to have another birthday. And I do. So you better believe that we're gonna. Celebrate it every year that I get one and be grateful. So happy we have that in common. I love that. I actually have to tell you, so my 44th birthday last year, I had a huge theme because I was just told I was cancer free right before my 44th birthday, so it was 44 and cancer no more. My sister had all over my home for a party, so I'm like 44 is magic. That's so interesting. You won't be surprised to hear this is that is the theme of my 44. It's 44 The year of magic. Yes. And so I think we're destined to meet here at this moment in this conversation, and so let's get to it. Perfect segue. You know that conversations on girls who recover are all about women sharing their stories from how they transform setbacks into gorgeous comebacks. And so I will. Literally hand you the microphone through the screen and take some time to tell us your story, Stacy. Yeah, absolutely. So, I just, like you said, third generation dancer in my family, my mother, my grandmother and I all dance professionally. And when I was around 30, I decided to like. Traded my dance shoes and become a personal trainer at my husband's gym. And I didn't say goodbye to dancing forever. I took my knowledge and I started teaching ballet bar classes, um, Pilates classes, and I always took dance with me, which I just always, it's just, it makes me happy. It's just such a joy in my life. And, um, I helped run that gym for 15 years. Was a health coach, ran all kinds of programs really. Loved the community aspect, loved everything. The pandemic hit really hard time for everyone, especially gym owners. We were legally closed in Los Angeles for 15 months, I think it was. It was just crazy, and we went completely online. Anyways the gym business was on its way out. We were ready to say goodbye and around that time I was diagnosed with breast cancer. So everything was what it felt like falling apart obviously did not fall apart, but it felt super, super heavy. And I'd like to talk about my breast cancer diagnosis and journey just because I think there's a lot of misconceptions out there with breast cancer and I think knowledge is power. The way mine was caught was very. Strange and interesting and deeply spiritual, to be honest. So I went to sleep one night. I had a terrible nightmare and I don't normally, number one, get jolted by nightmares or dreams, but I don't remember all of my dreams like I used to. And this nightmare, which I still, it's hard for me to even say out loud'cause it had to do with one of my children. Jolted me and I gassed out of bed. And I sat up and I was like, and my husband put his hand on my chest to say, you're okay, you're okay. And he's like, wait, what's that? And he felt a lump in the middle of the night. And needless to say, I didn't go back to sleep after that. Woke up, made an appointment to get a mammogram I got in the following day, which was amazing. Clean, clear. Nothing. And I had other friends that had recently gone through scares or gone through actual diagnosis saying, you gotta get an ultrasound advocate for that ultrasound. So I did and I had to wait for the ultrasound. And in the ultrasound they found the lump that I was able to feel and it was like the slightest chance of being malignant. And they found two on my right that they called benign. Okay. So get the ultrasound, then get the biopsy, and I am waiting, which felt like forever to get that call. And finally I called in'cause I couldn't wait any longer and they put me through to the doctor and he's like, yeah, you have cancer. Like, it was so nonchalant and I was driving home from work and I was like, oh my God, like what is happening? And so I made it home, told my husband, I called my parents, called my sister. And it was, it happened so quickly, Dana, where the following day I was already in the surgeon's office and. My sister knows me so incredibly well. She's like, I'm gonna pick you up. I'm gonna take you to your appointment. And I don't even think she said hello. I get into her car, she has a meditation playing. So my whole drive, I was in my meditative state when we parked, the meditation ended. I got out of the car as clear-minded and calm as could be to walk into a surgeon's office saying, here are your choices. A, B, C, like it was just like, wait, what? Like, this happened so quickly and I chose that day. I wanted a double mastectomy because the. Mammogram did not pick up my lump, and I had something called ultra dense breast tissue. So for all of you women out there, you now legally, yeah. So if you know, it'll say on your mammogram if you have dense breast tissue or ultra dense breast tissue, which means it's so much harder for mammograms to pick up. Anything. So getting an ultrasound, so going back and forth, there's so many different modalities. Self-exam is number one. Like we should be giving ourselves self-exam starting in our twenties. Come on. Yes. A not thirties, not forties. I had. One aunt that had breast cancer and that's it. And all of the tests she took, just like me, came back negative for any kind of uh, mutation in our genes. Like this was not a genetic component, so it wasn't on my radar. And in this work I'm in now of advocacy and education, I have. So many women, so young before they're getting screened that end up having cancer. And so self-check is everything because the earlier we can catch this, the better right now. And so, so I chose the double mastectomy. I had my parents come over, we had like a round table talk and I just wanted their blessing and they're like, Stacy, anything that you feel, do it. And then it was more of like, oh my God, how am I gonna tell my children? My children were six and nine at the time. And yeah, it was like, how do I tell my children that mommy has cancer? And I. I researched a lot. I talked to social workers. I watched videos and my husband lost his mom at a very young age. Actually, I was diagnosed at 43 and she passed away when she was 43. So there was a lot that my husband had to deal with as well. He's like, I don't wanna tell the kids until we know exactly what's happening. I wanted to tell them right away because that's just, I'm just an open book with my children. So then I had to tell the kids they took it really well, and I was so lucky that. I, it didn't spread. I mean, I was stage one and when I got all the pathology results back, and this is like, ladies, listen to your intuition. When I decided to remove both of my breasts and everything came back and what they said was benign was already pre-cancerous. And my doctor said, thank God you listen to your body. And that's just the biggest lesson is listen to your body. And so that was my journey and we ended up closing the doors of the gym. I think it was the week before. Yeah, the week before. My double mastectomy, which gave me the time and the space to heal. Emotionally, physically, mentally heal from everything and the spiritual journey that I have been on. And I, I was just told my therapist the other day, I was pushed into a healing journey. I didn't choose it, but I'm so thankful that I had it because I don't think. Everyone is gifted with a healing journey where they really get to D dig deep. Because when I sat in my surgeon's office and he's like, Stacy, I don't, you know, like I don't understand. This has to be genetic. I mean, you eat so incredibly well. You exercise every day. You met, you have a meditation practice. Like I was doing all of the right things and he's like, you're so lucky that you have all of that in place. Could you imagine like having to send you into like lifestyle counseling and coaching? Even though I appreciated it and I agreed with him and I was like, no, I am very lucky I have all this in place. It didn't feel like enough. And I was like, I am missing something here. And I realized, yes, I have a meditation practice, but that's only 15 minutes of my day. What am I doing the rest of the day? And that's what got me into reiki and energy healing. Breathing intentionally throughout the day, and all the practices that I do now and coach others is really what we're doing with every second of our day as opposed to 15 minutes here, you know, and kind of scheduling things out. It's, this is how I live my life now, and so that, that's my story in a nutshell, Dana. Wow. I have, so I have so many notes. I have so many questions. I feel like you have just given us so much to work with. So let's start with, I just wanna notice I'm gonna go ahead and notice again, but now you moved your head. So I'm gonna notice two things. So I noticed Louise Hayes book, you Can Heal Your Life in the Background, and now I See Becoming Supernatural from Joe Dispenza. Yeah. And it seems to go to, I'm just gonna jump right to the heart of what sounds like is the transformation, is this idea of expanding from a spiritual practice to a spiritual being. Spiritual living. Mm-hmm. And so let's run with this. Yeah. Say more about what you mean. You had a meditation practice, you were doing all the things and as it turns out, we get to be human. Although I sometimes forget we get to be human beings versus human doings. Yes. So what, say, speak into the role that this spiritual expansion has played in your journey. Absolutely. It was huge. So in my second week of my recovery, my sister gifted me two sessions with the Reiki healer that she had gone to. And in my first session, and I am not saying I don't believe in therapy, I am a huge believer in therapy. I have a therapist, love her. Okay. But what I got out of my first session in my reiki healing was more than I ever got outta therapy. And I felt so connected. I learned so deeply about myself in that moment, and I realized, I've always known I'm an empath. I internalized feelings, other people's feelings, stress. I've been told I'm the glue. In a lot of my relationships and I overextend myself, and so I started being really mindful and actually my Reiki healer had a lot of experience working in hospitals with other breast cancer survivors, and she was like, listen, I'm not a specialist, but from my experience. Every survivor is a woman that overextends herself. And it really woke me up and I was like, oh my goodness, it is time to start putting myself first. And that was very foreign for me. Incredibly foreign. And so that's really what I started digging with. And it's really wild, I'm not gonna lie, that you lose a lot as you're gaining. Your most authentic self and it's people like my relationships have shifted dramatically over the past year. It's been a cleansing of all kinds of things, and I didn't know what was going on. I do now, but I really realize once you're really in that healing state, which I have been in since then and really woke to everything, is number one. Not carrying other people's stress, which is really, really hard for me. Um, still to this day, putting myself and my feelings and my boundaries first. Mm-hmm. And I've learned to do that. And, uh, you lose a lot of people along the way because they don't really quite understand what, what's happening. Well, you've let me do X, Y, and Z for so long and now all of a sudden you're telling me not to, and they're out. A lot of people can't admit what they've done. They rather just apart. And you've gotta just let them. And the Let Them Theory was also, also a good book that was groundbreaking this year. That was the book of 2025. That's right. That's right. Like I read that the first of the year and I was like, holy mother of God. Like it resonated so much with me, and so that's where the spiritual journey started. The Reiki healing. I give myself Reiki healing every day. I wake up first Sling in the morning before the hustle and bustle, and I have. Specific grounding techniques, meditations, reiki, prayers that I do before I start my day. For my listener who's like Reiki, what is reiki? Can you give us the simplest? I know what it is. I'm, I'm trained up until level two, so, Ooh, that's so cool. And use, use it with my kids and my, and my, um, massage therapy practice. And in the world, and for the world. But can you make it super simple? What does reiki mean to you? Yes. Mm-hmm. Oh, that's so cool, Dana. Okay, so it's universal life. Energy, it's our life force. And so I'm a vessel, um, I'm a vessel and I can take the energy and output it to my client and it same thing comes right back to me. So when I am giving, I'm also receiving and it is amazing, amazing feeling. And it is, it is amazing energy. It's Japanese, so the way I like to like. Kind of dumb it down, to be honest, is looking at the Chinese healing modalities of like acupuncture. Yes. And this is the Japanese form without any needles. But you definitely go into your chakras, your energy sources to help balance you feel. Amazing afterwards. Um, you know, you can have lots of different, amazing experiences during a reiki session, but the best thing I can say is, and I live in Los Angeles after a reiki session, I am driving where everyone's crazy all over the place and I don't care at all. I am so, so incredibly centered, but it can help with like inflammation and any kind of healing. And it's just a beautiful spiritual tool. Yes. Yes. And it's almost like you become more of a soul and less of a body. That's, that's been my experience. Mm-hmm. The, the dial and the soul gets turned way up because all of the energy is accessed, it's flowing and connected, which of course that means, of course you're less inflamed because your whole body and your spirit are working together, and I am so glad you said it. That, or you didn't say it your reiki practitioner said it for you. But Louise Hay has a whole, she has a whole thing about women and being overextended and overgiving and over caring and over. And what do all of our survivors have in common? It's this feature. Yeah. Listen, I'm not a doctor. But don't come for me or do whatever. But Louise Hay, one thing I love about her, and I think Joe de spends it too, and everybody who's in this spiritual work, what we're saying is it's not an accident that our physical body is manifesting what it is, and it's a call for something. And there's always this energetic connection between, you can call it mindbody spirit, you can call it prana, you call it whatever, who, it doesn't care what you call it. I think the, the folks that have the most problem with it are the ones who really believe that we're only here to be human. Having a human experience be, you know, and that's all there is. And then we look to MDs like their mini divines instead of remembering that we have ultimate and unlimited access to the largest energy source that has ever been. So I'm curious about. I'm curious about this this, let's keep going with spirituality. So you're on a spiritual journey and you're letting things fall away as you become in this vibration of healing. And what role has this played in your relationships? Like with, you mentioned your kids. Can you speak more into healing and energy as it relates to your relationship with your kids? Oh, I love that. So I think about my son automatically because he is a deep feeler, like me, we're very, very, very similar in so many ways. And he practices, he obviously, he hasn't had an any reiki attunements, but he provides Reiki to family members. Mm-hmm. And he does it to me. So if I. The other day I had a, I had a tummy ache and he is like, mommy, lay down. Let me give you some reiki. He puts on my Reiki music. He knows everything about Reiki, the symbols. He and I like kind of opened my eyes a little and I watched this 8-year-old. Amazing human just become this vessel of beautiful energy and it's connected us deeply when it comes to spirituality. My, especially my son and I and my daughter, she really stepped up in a way where she was like, I got you mom. Like, she started making me meals. She learned how to do laundry and started cooking a lot earlier than most kids. And then we called it the silver lining. So in my. First season of the podcast, I think it was like the third episode I brought my kids on and we talked about the silver linings and what they learned and what they got of it and what they can help Other friends, God forbid, their parents are diagnosed with something and how they can stand up and be there for them. And so there's so much beauty in the ugly. And we made sure that we saw a lot of it for me personally. So I had my double mastectomy the day before they got out of school for the summer. And so there was like a good 10 days when they didn't have any camp and I reached out to my community. And they came and stepped up so hard every day. A family picked up my kids and did something really fun with them, and so they weren't there to see mommy in pain like the first week and a half. They were there at night to like tuck me in and be with me. But like they. And that was just, you know, this is a totally different like, but this was the beauty of the community and how much it helped them and how much it strengthened our bond and our connection. But my children are, are my absolute everything as I'm sure they are to you too. Amen. They absolutely are, and they're little light beings themselves and don't, in my opinion, they don't need attunement. Attunement is really just to help us bypass our adult mind so that we can access our natural flow of energy being energy source. So true. But I also wanna acknowledge something that you said that is a big deal. And I think Mo, in my experience, a lot of women shy away from even the day after surgery. I heard you say you reached out and asked for support. When you leaned, you let yourself lean in to your community and say, I, can you help me please? So can you talk a little bit about the shift that you've made? That's an example of it, but it sounds like you've made a pretty massive shift. From overgiving over functioning. You didn't use that word, but I will for us both. Oh, yeah. Okay. From over caring into, you said, learning how to put your feelings and your, your experiences and yourself first, like, what is, tell us about that shift. What did it look like? How does it feel now? I think it was a beautiful exchange of energy. So I and again, there are positives of being an over extender. Like I was there for so many people in so many ways. And so when I said, Hey guys, it's my turn. People stepped up and it was. Unbelievably amazing. And I remember I had a couple of complications. I ended up in the ER one day, and I remember it was either my sister or my cousin sitting with me saying, Stacy, close your eyes and go to your happy place. And I closed my eyes and I was surrounded by a blanket of amazingly caring people. And it was the people, it was the energy, it was the community. That was my happy place. It wasn't Disneyland, although I love Disneyland more than anything. It was. Just being surrounded by so much love. And I also have a type A personality in a way where I needed to make sure I had everything covered. So when I went in,'cause I didn't really know what to expect with the recovery, except for I might not be able to leave my bed for a week. I might not be able to move my arms. And let me tell you, I wasn't able to use my arms for a couple of weeks. Like I needed help with eating with everything. And it was amazing the people that showed up for me with that. And everyone showed up in a different way and everyone used their own strengths. And so my little village of my cousins and my sister, each one showed up in their strength, but they knew I needed it. So I have a cousin who loves to cook. It's her love language. She made sure I had. All of this food when I came home from surgery and my other cousin was like, spoonfeeding me. You know, I have one cousin that's in the medical field. She was there to like help, you know, change my drains and be there for me in that way. And you know, my sister just was so calming and she was like washing my hair in the sink and like taking care of me. And then I had another cousin's, like I'm, I got the kids. I'm all about the, you know, and I just, everyone kind of like divided and conquered and I think I had never felt so much love. Have you ever seen the movie Encanto, Stacy? No. Oh, Encanto, yes, of course, of course, of course. Yes. Do you know that's what's playing through my mind right now, is all of the characters in your life have these beautiful, unique and distinct gifts. They're surrounding Abel, which in this case is you, who's the miracle? And all of the gifts are being used in service in so many ways, and this is happening for you. And like that's what builds the house of magic ultimately, it sounds like, for your life. And then also for one of my favorite Disney movies ever, please, since you love Disney, I'm like, you have to have seen it. You know what? I'm gonna have to rewatch it. I watched it so much when it came out and now I'm thinking about it. And you're absolutely right, Dana. That's so beautiful. Yeah. And you get in this, in this experience, you get to meet our battle. You're the miracle. You are the miracle. Wow. And I just, you welcoming in the support, which is a huge move. And isn't that how energy in the universe work? Is that when we aren't available for healing, or we aren't available for love, or we aren't available for whatever reason? No judgment, it can't come in, we can't enter. We can't practice reiki with somebody who's not available for it. It's so true. And so it still sounds like a little bit of a shift. Is that something that you became more available to receive just because you had no other option, or was there something more expansive than that? Because it sounds like you changed a lot about the way you were functioning or operating in the world. Absolutely to receive more. Yeah, no, absolutely. To receive more. And then that shifted a lot of relationships, to be honest. And so I think I'm still finding my balance with it all and creating that balance and and yeah, so I'm definitely still, I think, figuring that aspect. But I have to tell you, since you are a woman in recovery, I had two friends in recovery. That had a very different way of caring for me than anyone else. So when people came and dropped off their meals, most not everyone would drop off the meal. Like, I love you, Stacy, and like would leave. But I had friends that were like, can I sit with you and can I be there with you? And checking in on me in a way that was very different and that I didn't realize how terribly badly I needed that. Too. Yeah. Just wanted to share that with you. I'm like having a moment because that's who that is a future of real recovery. It's like, no, no, no. Like, yes, I wanna offer you gifts and love and support, but also like. Let's link arms and go eye gazing together and like let's just walk through this valley. We're we got you. Yep. We're gonna be in the middle of the storm with you. Absolutely. And to just be with and hold space. And I am a beneficiary of that. And every, after every baby and after every drama, and when my, you know, after every death, it's, yes, there's food, there's always food because we love food. And then there's this deeper intimacy even with people that I'm not even like technically that close with. And we say, we got you in a way that's feels, it feels deeper and so much more intimate to be in that kind of community because we s. From my experience, it's like, oh, because I know what, I know what it feels like. If not this particular situation, I know what it feels like to walk through the valley and need somebody to walk next to me. Absolutely. And I, I keep on going back to your what you post on an Instagram about the difference between being sober and being in recovery. And I see it so clearly and it shows so immensely. You can tell. People, and I have so much admiration for those that have taken the steps to be in recovery. Yes. I just wanted you to know that I'm receiving that. I'm so grateful. My full body chills. I don't normally cry on my own podcast, but like, Hey, it's happening today. There's a first time for everything. It's normally the other person. We're gonna be welcoming. Welcoming in all of it. Let's talk about healing. Mm-hmm. You said. After you closed the gym and had the double mastectomy that you allowed yourself this time and space and resources to heal, can you speak more into what that looked like maybe externally, but also what healing means to you or meant to you internally during that time? Absolutely. Externally and internally I started going to my reiki practitioner and she really started, so the books that you see behind me that you spoke about, she recommended for me to read. I read. A lot, a lot, a lot. And I was also given, so I was so thankful. I didn't need chemotherapy. Like that was everything for me. And the doctors were like, well, you're gonna be on this chemo pill Tamoxifen for five years, but don't worry. It's like, no big deal. No big deal. It sucked the literal life outta me. There was four months I could barely get outta bed. All I could do was take my kids to and from school. Like I had to rest to get my, like, pick up my kids in the afternoon. Like it was awful. I felt terrible. And I started seeing a homeopathic doctor as well, and I was like, I need to see the whole picture of this. You know, when you go to a medical physician and God bless'em, we need them so terribly, but they give you A, B, and C. They don't give you d. And there's more out there than what is presented. And so my message to everyone is to get not only second opinions, but third and fourth and expand your horizons. I don't know, it's like where you live, but in Los Angeles, going to an integrated physician that has a PhD and an MD that's all out of network, out of pocket is. It's out of reach for so many people. And so we have to do our best to do our own research. So I did a lot of research with my homeopathic and after four months I chose to get off of the tamoxifen. And because I realized, and this is where it's like this world we live in is so backwards sometimes, but. You know when I get presented, well, you don't need chemotherapy because urea current rate is X, Y, and Z. If you take tamoxifen, well, what if I don't take Tamoxifen? Is my recurrence rate gonna be 1% higher or 30% higher? Like, I need to know these things. We don't know. Well, who funds these studies? Tamoxifen. Where it's like, oh my god. You know? And so it's really up to us to become our own advocate. And so, like I said, I had the physical time, so I did the physical research and I asked the right questions and I finally stumped. My oncologist was like, yeah, you know, like going this a natural way may be the best shoe. When I finally met with my oncologist,'cause she was at maternity leave and I was so afraid to tell her I went off and I was gonna tell her about all the herbs that I'm on now and everything. And she's like, Stacy, all I want is for you to have the highest quality of life. And I just started crying. I felt really seen. I felt really heard. And she said, what you're feeling is so normal, you're in your forties and we're cutting off your hormones. Like you still have a lot. And then I was thinking, oh my god, women in their thirties, women in their twenties going through this treatment has got to be horrific. And it's so bio-individual. Um, but I felt, I felt so seen and so heard. And so my journey of healing really came from sitting in. How I live my life. Taking the strengths and then really working on the weakness part of it, because there is a lot of strength of being an empathetic soul, but there's also a lot of weakness and boundary setting that I never had done before. And so learning that and reading a lot, a lot. I mean, in my good months I probably read like three books a month. So I am inhaling a lot of information and being the student, which is a position I really love to be in. Mm-hmm. And then. God bless my podcast and then I get to share it with everyone. Like, look what I learned. This is, you know, it's such a gift to give it back. Isn't that funny how it's, we are set up in that way. So a setback is really a setup for what you're clearly supposed to be doing. Absolutely. Absolutely. I mean, being a guest on your podcast was such an honor. You're so incredible. It was one of the, one of my favorite conversations and. Each of your episodes makes a real difference in the world, and so what a gift to be able to. I'd just like to take a step back because you're not gonna keep Stacey Garcia down and this beautiful, so I'm wondering, like, this is a random question, but how you love dancing, and so how does dancing tie into the ways that you've been flexible and navigated and danced and rested? Stretched and like how does dancing connect to all of this? Because it clearly does. That's such a great question, Dana. And the first thing that came to my mind was something my grandmother,'cause my grandmother was a dance teacher told me, so she was like, Stacey, you always danced because you'd say it makes your heart so happy. And that's something, and I'm getting chills thinking about my grandma right now, but like just. I have fallen, followed my heart in so many ways. I. Try to say no to nine to five jobs. It's not my jam. I believe that I shine most brightly in the world when I follow what I love to do. So yes, dancing taught me a lot of resilience. I mean, stepping into auditions when I would be tar, sometimes I would run out because I was like, I can't do this. Like what it would teach me to actually finish an audition or book a job would be like. Yes, girl, you can do this. So it has taught me so much, but what it's taught me the most is to follow my dreams and follow my heart. And you've continued to do that, and it seems like it's all coming from this. You're saying, listen to your body. Listen to your body, listen to your body. But it's like you've got this internal compass that is very pronounced and can get louder to until you feel it. What are some ways that you might encourage our listener to be in closer touch with her own knowing? Right. Which expresses through the body, but it's, for me, it's deeper than that. Yeah. The body, once I, once the body starts screaming like, I missed something, you know? Mm-hmm. But what are, what are the. What are the avenues into listening more deeply to our inner selves that you recommend? I love that question so deeply, and it's so funny you asked that because so many of my conversations this season is about listening to your intuition, your gut, your voice, all of the things, and it's really sitting in silence. And this sounds so easy, but not in the society that we live in. We have background noise. All the time. We have our phones near us all the time, so, and it's something we talked about on my podcast was the inputting before the outputting. And I think that's something that most people do not do. And it's such a small, actionable step and it will change your morning. There's Miracle Mornings where you are doing so much for yourself before others. And I think that is, and we're talking about before the kids wake up. If you don't have kids before you check your phone, before you check your emails, you are. Quiet. You can be reading, you can be breathing, you can be meditating. But the more that we can sit in silence. So something that I actually started in my healing journey and I used to love jogging. I fell in love with walking because that's all I could do after my surgeries was walk. Yeah. And I found trails. That and that my kids go to a school where there's trails all over the place. I have a trail and it's now named my healing trail because I go there when I need anything. If I need to brainstorm for work, I'm brainstorming as I'm walking. If I need to forest bathe, which really can change yourselves, just going and being in nature. If I wanna get a good hike, whatever I'm doing, it is there. And so connecting with nature. So huge. We'll come up with so many more ideas than you would ever think about if you were connected to a screen in any way. So I listen to podcasts. Sometimes I'll listen to certain meditations while I'm walking. It's really connecting to your most authentic self, and sitting in silence is the quickest way to get there. Because that's when we hear the, the voice of the infinite comes through the side. And you might not like what she's saying for a little bit. No, and that's okay. You have to get used to her. You have to learn to trust her. And she's quiet. She's not loud, she's not like, you know, you're watching a horror movie and you see a girl that's about to get slaughtered, like get out the way. That's not what she's saying. Like it is a really quiet voice in you and it, she'll come back and you have to sit and listen and not push that away. Yes. Yes. Hold on. Lemme just have a moment, like a spiritual moment. Yes. To all of this. And what happens in the, we think it's a practice, but we remember that we're actually spiritual beings having a human experience. So I'm hearing you say a few things. I wanna hover here for a second. One is hang out in the stillness, hang out in the silence, and you can say that again in capital letters. That it is getting more challenging and more challenging and more challenging. And I don't really wanna take this conversation all the way to this next level, but it's, we're set up that way. So like the companies that are in charge of the distraction, benefit by the distraction. Absolutely. So that we, we don't even have any access to our inner knowing, the still small voice because we're so mesmerized by the shiny noise that is everywhere. I mean, it's everywhere. The second thing I heard you say is movement. Huge. So you're into exercise, you're out, and you're out outside in the movement. And so it's not just stillness, like no movement, no thinking, no, like it's not that about that at all. And then there's a second route, which is movement, and then this third addition, which is nature. Not surprising that we get the frequency and the messaging of the infinite when we're in the land of the infinite. Absolutely. And all of that leads to you becoming the spiritual essence of you. So who is that? Stacey? Who are you at your spiritual essence? I am a giver. What makes me happiest is to give back period, end of story. And that can be listening to someone that can be helping someone. I am just I'm a person of service and that makes me the happiest to be brutally honest. Yes. Yes. And I'll add just from this vantage point, a giver and a healer and a healer. This is the whole point of these conversations is that in the truth of the setback to comeback, we become healers for the next woman or the woman who's walking next to us or even in front of us, but we're also healing ourselves at the same time. Yes, and it starts there. You nailed it. When, at what point did you make the decision to sw? I mean, it's kind of a swerve, right? It wasn't like a, a tiptoe. It was like, oh, we're swerving and now we're taking care of ourselves, you know? So I started studying integrative health and nutrition about, I think it was about the year before our gym closed, so I was the one. With all of the weight loss competitions and making everyone feel great and look great, and it was great. And then one day I was like, there's more to this puzzle. And I started looking at the whole human and that kind of started feeding into the cancer diagnosis and being like, God, on paper, you're doing everything right. What is the missing piece? Found the missing piece of how I handle stress and internalized stress, and then that is something that kind of led to me where I am now with, with the reiki. And so now I train people online and I love it. So I do personal training. I do reiki healing online or in person. I have the podcast where it started off with all of my non-negotiables in life. But bringing in these conversations and learning so much about other people and their non-negotiables and their stories and their passions has completely transformed my life. That's gorgeous. That is so gorgeous. I'm gonna go a different direction just because it, it keeps coming back. You are clearly a fierce self-advocate, and I have two questions around that. One, how did you learn how to do that? And two, how can other women do that? So it doesn't feel like we're all self advocating in these islands of personal healing. That's a really great question, Dana. I like to look at myself as I'm the CEO of my own health and my own journey. Yes. And so, and it's something that you kind of have to look in the mirror and tell yourself every day, and it might be uncomfortable for a while but you'll get there. But it starts with telling yourself, this is who I am. And not taking no for an answer, not taking. This is your plan for an answer and doing your own research and reaching out to people and like-minded individuals that will help support you in that as well. Um, because all of the outside noise and who you surround yourself with really kind of sometimes dictates which way we're gonna go. So making sure that you're connected with the right people to support you and where you wanna be. But it is really starting with telling yourself, I am the CEO of my own health, and I am going to figure out what feels best for me. And so that's really where I feel it starts and ends is that yes. Can I add one thing that I've noticed that you did? Okay, please. You made the decision. And what I believe about the U Universal will is that it will never override personal will. We're created in the image of the universe. Then the universe is gonna respect what we decide mostly. So it's so powerful. This suggestion that you're looking the CEO of your life in the mirror, and you're saying today I'm deciding what's best for me. Then you took the spiritual accelerant by opening yourself up to divine guidance and the divine resources that look like the right people in the right places, and the right doctors, and the right books, and the right reiki and the right meditation. All the things. So I'm hearing like how, I wonder how all those things lined up for her so quickly and you just answered it. You decide, and then you make yourself open to hear. The call from the direct line of the, of the Creator universe, whatever we're calling it today. I called her Dolly Parton. I'm like, today we're calling you Dolly. Come on, let's go. We're wearing glitter. It's so true, and the most important thing during the journey of becoming your own CEO is being patient with yourself. This is not something that's gonna happen overnight and be patient with that and go to sleep knowing I did so much today and tomorrow is a brand new day. To do something else amazing to make these extra steps to where I wanna be. So it, that's something to really think about is like wherever we wanna go, it's not gonna happen overnight. And to really be patient and to, like, when I go into bed, I think about three things that I'm massively grateful for before I fall asleep. And it puts me in a state of like, you've done what you can do today. I'm proud of you. Girl. Tomorrow is a new day. Yes. What I understand about the energy that you go to sleep with your subconscious dance is with all night. So if I'm going to sleep thinking about how angry I am about X, Y, Z, right? Politics, my husband, blah, blah, blah, whatever noise is filling up the cup. Then that is what my subconscious dance is with all night. So guess how I'm gonna wake up in the morning? Probably salty. Mm-hmm. Exactly. And using this practice. The three things that you're feeling, and you use the word massively grateful. And so with my clients, it's like, no, no, no. I need you to stop thinking about the gratitude. I want you to drop it into your heart space and feel it with such a force. It feels like you're about to have some sort of like gratitude orgasm or something like that. This but the same force, and then your mind dances with that, which means your frequency and your body and your energy. And how does that impact the way you wake up in the morning? Please tell us. Yeah, no, I mean, I wake up every morning so thankful. I just do. I wake up so thankful. And am I where I wanna be right now? No. I mean, I'm happy with where I am, but I have got so much more to do, but I'm so proud of myself with each and every day. So I do wake up and I do feel very thankful for a new day and a new slate. And what can I do today to change the world and to change myself along the way? Yes. It's a both and. Mm-hmm. I'm grateful for how it is now. And because you are an expression of the universe, which is always expanding, of course there's more. Of course there is. And I get up on the box and I set fire to the idea that is often sold to women, that we should just be grateful for what we have. Yes, absolutely. We are grateful for all that is and all that ever has been. And because the word desire literally means of the creator, it is a spiritual expression of life to desire more and to want more and to make a bigger impact, and to have bigger change and to do bigger things. So I'm really celebrating you. I'm celebrating you for honoring that journey. I am wondering about the work that you do in the world. How that matches your mission. Tell us about the work that you do in the world, what your mission is and how you create both giving and healing in your practice. I love that. So I'm still, I feel like a newbie in this new stage of my life. It's been a year and so I've had my podcast now for eight months and it's been a wild, amazing eight months and I cannot wait for that to continue to soar because that really. Is my creative outlet. So the dance was super creative for me. Now, the podcast and the community is so incredibly creative to me, so I love my podcast more than anything. Never miss a Monday. Your episode. I have to say, Dana has been one of my absolute favorites. I've listened to it a few times and I get something out of it every single time, and it just makes me feel so good. So I just, I'm so, so blessed that you are a part of it. And training. I love. Training and I make it really fun. We have fun music because I believe in physical activity. Of course, as we get older we should be doing resistance training, right? We wanna make sure we're keeping our muscle tone and all of that for bone health. And I do do incorporate all of that, but you need to do something you love. Or like, not all of us love to exercise. I absolutely love to exercise. Same. And so like, yeah, so you gotta do what you love to do. Whatever makes you happy, that's gonna develop the consistency. Um, I do love that. I love health coaching, so I'm a, I'm a health coach as well as a reiki master practitioner, so I like to incorporate both. Yes, I love to work with others and work. On whatever their goals may be, small actionable goals and attainable steps, and then reiki healing at the end of that to just create an amazing session. And so that's what I'm doing. I, I would love to, I haven't started. But I really would like to write a book and share my story more broadly. And I love doing group work too. I love, I do that about three times a year while I do small groups and I lead them through my non-negotiables, my, my lifestyle practices. Do you know your book title? No. Not yet idea. I can just, I can see it on the background. Well, if you listen to this episode, you're gonna find out what it is. That's the way it works. I love it. So I'll let you know. I wonder about. I just had two questions come through. Sure. Who's your soulmate client? Who? Who's the the, when you work with this person, you're like, yes. Where have you been on my life? I'm so grateful that we're a match. Oh, wow. That's such a great question. Definitely a woman, someone who is just like me, to be honest. Someone that. Feels like they've pretty much figured it out, but there's missing pieces that we get to uncover together and'cause there's always something to learn and someone with a growth mindset. I need to work with people that want to learn, want to read. I mean, reading is part of my program is reading or listening to podcasts like yours, Dana. Just anything that's gonna get you thinking and feeling. And most of the time it's a mom. A mom too that really overextends herself to her family and her kids, and really learning to create the balance because we cannot be the givers we wanna be. If we have, we're pouring from an empty cup. Yes. Yes to all of that. This is the thing that came through. I lost it, is the experience with you sounds like it's coherence. We're creating coherence between mind and body and spirit, and what else is there really? What a gift to work with you. Thank you. Before we, before we, we talk about how can we work with you. I have one more question and it's about your dreams. So you mentioned a book and you mentioned a group program. When you're in the stillness and you're dancing with the Infinite and you're getting so called forward and so excited about what your assignment is here, what is coming through for you that you're excited to create? It's more freedom. So freedom to create in a way where I can still be with my kids and have that perfect, I'm gonna use the term perfect balance of family time and work time, but it's really what I'm currently doing just on a grandeur level is really what it's, yes. So the feeling is freedom and what it looks like? Yes. Is you're open to that? Oh yes. Traveling more with my kids. All the good stuff. That is so gorgeous, and that's for you. What I've deeply believe and emphasize in my practice is if you can dream it, if you can be in your meditation practice and feel that it's already done and you can envision it or sense it or smell it or hear it, that's your assignment. Mm-hmm. So we don't even need to hope anymore. We can just decide that it's done and start showing up with the energy of freedom. Absolutely. And couldn't agree more, Dana? Yes. Okay. So Stacy, yes, my love. I'm already obsessed with you and I'm sure all the listeners are as well. And so where's your favorite place to hang out and how can we find and work with you? I love it. So the Never Miss a Monday podcast. Check us out. We're there every Monday with inspiring conversations to start your week off strong. Um, I'm on Instagram self-care with Stacy. I have an underscore in between each word, so self underscore self-care with Stacy and never miss a Monday podcast. Um, and you can email me at selfcare with stacy@gmail.com and we can work together as well. B UT full. So if you had one shot to invite someone in to remember how powerful the connection between mind, body, and Spirit are, what might you say to her? Oh my goodness. It starts with your Monday magic. It really, really does. It starts with starting off and listen, I, I, I use the word Monday, but it could be any day of the week. It could be any fresh start is like waking up and choosing you. Choose you today. Yes, if you will, Stacey, as we close out, let's just breathe in together. And I'll open my heart and invite you to open yours. And as we exhale, please receive this in my heart to yours. I love you. I'm so grateful for you. I'm so proud of you, and I deeply believe in your ability to create your biggest dreams and a life that you absolutely love. Thank you so much for coming on. The Girls Who Recover Podcast today, I love you. I love you. Thank you so much, Dana. Mm-hmm. Wow. Oh, whoa. Did you just feel what I felt? There is a whole lot of that and more to help you create miracles in your life. On upcoming episodes of the Girls Who Recover a podcast now ranked in the top 5% of podcasts globally. If you've built a strong recovery foundation and you're feeling ready to break through life's glass ceilings, let's make it happen together. In the show notes, you'll find a link to book a free one-on-one conversation with me and in that conversation. We'll get clear on what next level success even looks like for your life. We'll create some powerfully aligned goals and a plan. We're gonna talk about the big thing holding you back, and you will walk away with a roadmap for how to create a life you are obsessed with. Because hear this from me, my friend. You deserve. Success and freedom and the full identity of a woman who knows what she's capable of and who she is. And I wanna help you get there. So book your free call in the notes. And if you love this episode, follow us five stars, write a review, share it with your best friend, share it with your mom. And in case you haven't heard it today, I love you. I'm so proud of you, and I believe in your ability to create a gorgeous life. You are madly in love with starting. Right now and I'll see you in the next episode, mwuah!.