That's Just Human
That’s Just Human, a podcast that explores all aspects of being human, living in a body, and dealing with life’s obstacles. We discuss people’s stories, learn practical tools for growth and healing that help you learn to step into your authentic self and aliveness.
That's Just Human
Episode 11: The Iterations of My Body w/Andrea MacPeters
Summary:
In this heartfelt episode of That's Just Human, Elisha Light Angel interviews her dear friend Andrea MacPeters, who shares her deeply personal journey of healing, self-discovery, and body reclamation. Andrea opens up about growing up in a toxic environment where bodily autonomy was denied, leading to years of trauma, emotional eating, and disconnection from her body. After struggling with weight and body image for over two decades—including reaching 280 lbs—Andrea found healing through therapy, movement practices like yoga and breathwork, and using GLP-1 medication as a short-term tool.
She emphasizes the importance of simple daily practices like butterfly tapping and gratitude as first steps for those feeling stuck. Andrea also talks about the emotional and mental hurdles she overcame, including trauma, fear, and survival-mode living as a single mother. Her message is grounded in compassion: healing takes time, starts small, and is available to everyone. Above all, Andrea leaves listeners with a powerful reminder: “You matter.”
Time Stamps:
[00:00–01:27] Introduction
[00:02:04] Andrea describes childhood trauma and lack of safety in her body.
[00:04:00] She began healing after having children, faced medical and sexual trauma.
[00:06:00] Discusses emotional eating as a coping mechanism; gained 180 lbs.
[00:07:23] Lived in a larger body for ~20 years; found transformation after gastric sleeve and GLP-1.
[00:10:47] Elisha shares her own struggles with movement and body stiffness.
[00:13:04] Andrea discusses making yoga accessible for all bodies.
[00:15:32] Dreams of teaching retreats internationally; learning Spanish.
[00:21:07] First step for someone in pain: butterfly taps, gratitude, gentle movement.
[00:26:37] Recommends Internal Family Systems (IFS) therapy and breathwork for deeper healing.
[00:30:06] Emphasizes trial-and-error in finding the right healing modality.
[00:33:41] Both discuss surviving as single moms in survival mode.
[00:35:48] Visual metaphor: climbing out of “quicksand” to the “summit.”
[00:38:58] Books that helped: The Power (Rhonda Byrne), The Four Agreements (Don Miguel Ruiz).
[00:41:56] Final wisdom: “You matter.”
[00:43:02] Conclusion
Andrea offers free meditations and online challenges every 33 days when you visit her website…….
Follow her on social media…..
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/andreamacpetersllc/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/andrea.maciulapeters
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@andreamacsmiles
Link to Transcript of Show:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1VgdsbPfhnuFfVh5ILHZtjoTRRcIz6ioo/view?usp=sharing
Apply to be on the Show:
Find Elisha Elsewhere on the web:
https://linktr.ee/elishalightangel
Hello and welcome to That's Just Human. It's a podcast that explores all aspects of being human, living in a human body, dealing with life's obstacles. So we discuss people's stories, learn practical tools for growth and healing that help you to learn to step into your authentic self and aliveness. I am Elisha Light Angel. I'm a licensed massage therapist by day and many other things at other times. Just like you, I also live in a body I have lots and lots of human experience to share with you and discuss with all of the wonderful people that come onto my show and choose to share their story. So, join me on welcoming Andrea McPeters. She is a dear friend of mine that I have gotten to make since moving to Stillwater, Oklahoma. And she's one of my favorite people, a ball of joy and energy, and makes me smile. I hope she makes you smile too. So welcome! Thank you. I'm so excited to be here, and just congratulations on your podcast. It's really a wonderful experience to share your joy, your energy, and all of the tools that you have, Alicia. So, I am grateful that you're doing this for others. Thank you very much. So what sparked the idea for today's episode, because she and I always conversate and we see each other frequently throughout the week and we get into the coolest conversations. And this one, Andrea has had many different bodies over the years, as we all do. And we're going to discuss that. I guess growing up, what did you intake and learn about your body from what you observed around you and picked up, I guess, from society, parents, all of that? Wow. You're just going right in. That's deep. So growing up, I lived in a very toxic mother was very much codependent and a conflict avoidant. She also, you know, love was very conditional. So I learned very early on that my body was not mine and I was not allowed to feel joy unless I was told to feel joy. I was not allowed to feel emotions unless I was told to feel emotions. Very early on, I was not safe in my body and I didn't learn until probably two or three years ago, how to feel safety and joy in my body. And it took me 43 years to get there. So it has been a long journey and I have two children and they are the ones who really inspired the changes within myself because I had to go look at the shadows, go look at all of the trauma that happened to me and discover trauma that I didn't remember, especially medical trauma. I had a lot of doctors that did stuff to me that was not consensual. I had, you know, there's sexual trauma. There's all kinds of trauma that happened to my body that I forgot. And so I held it. And The Body Keeps Score was one of the books that I read that really helped to open all of the cellular remembrances. And I did breath work, yoga. I went to multiple therapies. I did the work because I wanted to live and I wanted to show my children that their bodies are theirs and they get to live in their autonomy. They get to be beautiful and joyful and crazy or whatever they want. And I am trying to help other people, mainly women. Women are the ones who have been, you know, kind of, they've been withheld from their bodies. They've been told that they can't do that or they're not, you're not sick or, you know, craziness that happens. And so I really try to help others through movement and dancing and singing and, you know, the playful, try to show people how to play again and how to love life. But yeah, it started in when I was young. Probably with both of my parents, and they were hurt people having a baby. And then all of their stuff, they were just blah, blah, blah. And then I had two younger brothers and I tried to protect them. And so, I mean, it was a long time until I started healing. And it wasn't until I had children of my own that I really started. And that's when I had gained a lot of weight during pregnancy due to hormonal changes and stress. And then I couldn't lose that weight. I was in a body that was around 250 pounds, and I'm 4 '11". It was hard to live. It hurt to exist. And I thought that that's what I deserved. So getting over that and now I'm in a body that feels awesome and I feel strong and every day I'm working to be stronger because I love life and I'm just trying to be my best self and show my kids that life is worth living and it's worth having fun. Oh, for sure. Were you aware of your body, say, as a teenager? I know a lot of us, especially us women, become really self-conscious on how we think that we're supposed to look and I know for me, it sparked an eating disorder that lasted for 17 years, and I have done a lot of work to unravel. That and my relationship with food. I too had an eating disorder. I would use food to feel. And so I would make myself extremely full so that I could feel something in my body. And it took me about 10 years to realize that that's what I was doing. After 10 years of overeating, I had gained 180 pounds. So yeah, I mean, my body size is about, it's supposed to be around, I'd say anywhere from is where I'm supposed to be that feels good on me. And I was at 180 to 280. You know, at my heaviest, I was at 280 pounds and I was about a size, as far as clothing, I was wearing a size 28. Wow. Yeah. Yeah. And so I've lost, I mean, 60 inches in my waist. I mean, I was, I was a whole nother person. The pictures that I see of myself, I'm just, I don't even recognize myself. And most of them, I do not, you do not see my body. You only see my face. That makes so much sense. A lot of people, you're not comfortable. Showing your body but the face is okay, it doesn't show all of the extra fluff or the extra emotions that are being stored in the body through those tissues. Yeah, so how long would you say that you lived in a larger body? I lived in a larger body for 12 years. And so from actually, it was more like 20 years because I was about 21 until 35, they're, you know, 36. And after my kids, you know, I gained a lot of weight and then I would eat really well and try to work out, and then something would happen and I'd go back to food to feel. And so, I mean, I just couldn't stop eating. I had a gastric sleeve done when my daughter, yeah, when in 2015. And that helped me for about 10 years. And I got to my goal weight. I stayed there. But then, menopause happened. And so I was like, 'ah', and I, the, all of the noise come came back. And I like, I was going to therapy. I was doing the breath work. I was like, okay, you don't need to eat, but I couldn't stop. And I was just like, ah, so that's when I decided that I would try this new trend, the GLP one, and it instantly helped stop the food noise. And I was able to control my eating. So I just, I decided right then and there, okay, tool. So I made sure to have all my protein first and my waters and my fiber. Then it was vegetables. Then if I was still hungry, I could choose a carb or, you know, whatever. I'm also gluten-free. So I always have to be careful with that. But this GLP-1 has helped me always choose the protein first, which has helped me build muscle like I've never had. So it's really awesome. Yeah, I'm definitely interested in that. I know you and a couple other people who have gotten are using it. But I don't know. If everyone that is getting on it is making conscious lifestyle decisions. I think that's the problem because if you're not using it as a tool, knowing that you can't, you can't be on it forever. I mean, it's a peptide. It's going to work with your cellular patterns. It's going to work with the synapses in your brain only for so long. And then it probably won't work anymore. So you've got to get the eating right. And you, and like, I mean, I do yoga every day, go and I walk. I have to move my body because otherwise it's going to all come back. And I just, living in a larger body hurts my bones. It physically makes me feel tired and sore. I was beautiful. I look at pictures and I was beautiful in all the phases that I was. But this one feels good. And that's what I want. I want to feel good. You know, it's like, it's just, it's better. It's like, wow, I feel strong and I feel like I can go and I can, I can go on a walk instantly. Or if you call me up and you're like, you want to go do a yoga class? I'd be like, hell yeah, let's do it. So yeah. I love that. It's, it's definitely just a tool. I don't plan on using it forever. It's a fantastic tool for people who are struggling. They may want to give it a try. Maybe not though. Number one is moving, moving that body and getting out of your head. Yeah, I find that hard. I know for myself. I've been in and out of movement in my own body. I can be very heady and often stuck in my head, in my thoughts on what I'm doing. I'm very goal-oriented, future-oriented. So once I get stuck on something, it becomes almost an obsession that I have to complete even if it's a small task; must complete this and so then I go through an entire day and maybe I moved by default doing things, but there was zero intentional moving. There wasn't any cardio. It was just doing the human thing to do this. If it's a struggle for me, then it's a struggle for other people out there. Oh yeah. Yeah. I have; I would say in my life, there was one point in my 30s I was consistent for a year and a half. And that's the longest I've ever been able to consistently keep with something. Now I'm in my forties and like this morning I just woke up stiff. Nothing. I did 10 minutes of yoga. Not much. But I was almost dying with these gentle movements because my body is so stiff. And so part of me, I'm mad that my body feels stiff when I want to be able to get up, feel like I can do a stretch and it feels like a nice stretch instead of, man, this is kind of painful. So I'm going to lean into it to try and just get my body to free up a little bit. And I know I'm working on that for my own life. You're such an inspiration because you're at this point, very consistent. You're teaching yoga and you're teaching people every single day. And if any of y'all visit Stillwater, I highly recommend you come to one of Andrea's classes. She is amazing. Every class she does different flows. She gets you moving your body in fun ways. She makes all of it really enjoyable and she mixes. It's not just yoga. She knows a lot. Yoga for all. And I think the first time I taught yoga to a, it's an older generational class, I went way too hard and they said, 'they're never coming back.' And right there, I learned, oh my gosh, I've got to give cues so that everyone can do this. Because if you haven't moved in a year or whatever, and then you come to my yoga class, all I'm going to have you do is work on your fingers and your toes. Movement. That's yoga.
And that's what I wish people knew:that yoga is every bit of intentional movement and breath. That's all you need. If the words don't fully. Land in your ears properly listeners! It's because there was a little glitch and we had to fix it. Sometimes there's glitches in life, but I was talking about the older generation coming to yoga and I went, 'I, you know, I, as a new yoga teacher, I was just so excited.' And I'm like, 'I worked on this flow and it was too hard.' And they were like, 'We are never coming back to yoga.' And I learned right there that if you don't make a class accessible for everyone who's there at any stage, then you could really mess someone's experience up in this lifetime. And I never want anyone to give up on moving their body. So, when you come to my class, I try to have great music. I try to do small movements in the beginning. And I make it a little bit harder if you want to go to a more, you know, muscular movement. And then I also give cues like, if it hurts, don't do it. Because it's just, people don't listen to their bodies. They push through all the time because we live in like this hustle culture. And we don't need to. to be intentional in the morning for your body, all you need to do is roll those shoulders, do a fold, make sure to move your neck, and just come into your body. What do I need today? And so, yeah. Thanks for the plug on if people come to Stillwater. I also travel if you want to, you know, hire me for traveling yoga events. I'm in. Oh, that can be fun too. I know. Go do some people's retreats, lead some classes. Eventually I do want to do some amazing like retreats in Costa Rica or Dominican Republic. I need to learn Spanish. So that's a goal in the next two years is to learn Spanish. And then I could do retreats in other countries. and also communicate. Oh, that would be fantastic. I know. Good goal. I know. But as far as like your, like you said, you've been disappointed because you only a year and a half of constant movement. That's awesome. I mean, that's epic. If I wasn't teaching yoga, I too would get behind and stop doing it. Like, that's the thing. It's like, I've got to educate others. For my own motivation, it's weird. It's like. Kind of like I'm just this eternal mother. That makes sense. Yeah. The mother in me is always like, 'Well, let's do it this way' and I will show you. I became a Qigong instructor also. It was around that time where I was actually consistently working out. And it was actually my Qigong journey that motivated me to do more working out. And one of the people that was teaching during the instructor's course said, 'If you want to keep doing this, teach.' Yes. Because it motivates you to stay on your A game. Well, I stopped teaching and I stopped doing the things. Wow, I felt really good there was that I was tapped in, I felt with Qigong specifically. I feel like it opens the intuition much greater than when I'm not. It's a meditation through breath and movement. And so it really helps to calm the nervous system and that vagus nerve, which earlier on in my life was way out of whack. I mean, I was, anything could have set me off before Qigong came into my life. Down over the most minute little things, and that's where it was able to change my life so that I could calm down that vagus nerve. I didn't know it at the time. I know it now. But I was just like, wow, well, practicing Qigong, I just feel peaceful. I don't have any other crazy stories, no miracles, just peace. Yeah. It wasn't something that I was familiar with in my life, and now I crave peace. I love that. Yeah. Yeah, I felt joy in my body physically for the first time last year. And I didn't know what that was. Because I mean, you know what it feels like to feel like kind of silly and happy and mad. I knew what mad felt like, but I didn't know what joy felt like. And I felt it in my hips. And it was like this giggling, like happiness coming from within me, and I was like, what is this? It was amazing. And so I was like, this is what people talk about when they're like, 'oh, I feel joy in my body.' I'm like, no, that's weird. Qigong does that. It brings the energetic knowing of life into you. And I feel like yoga, Qigong, these intuitive forms of movement can help us, especially when we have been traumatized as young children or as adults. It can help us get out of that flow of fight or flight and get into a joyful, happy. So, yeah. Wow. I don't know if I've ever felt joy in my body. I do not know what that feeling is. Days in a row before it actually came to me and then it just it felt delicious, like just like yummy, like my body was happy, like after I've had a massage from you, and I'm just like, oh, I'll send out that's what it felt like. It was great. Wow. That's really cool. Well, folks, if you didn't know you could have joy feelings in your body, now you know it is a possibility, but it does take work to get there. What would you say from your perspective? Would be a first step somebody could take like, there maybe they're sitting in their body and they don't like it. They don't feel good in it. It's painful. And even when you're in that pain, it's also hard to motivate to move. Two things that are, you know, logically that it is good for you and that it will help, but the physical act of doing it and getting over that hump is so difficult. What would be my recommendation to somebody that's in that spot right now? First, I just want to tell them that I am so proud of them for noticing they're in their body. And that they're noticing that they're not happy with their body because right there, that's okay. And it's okay to feel that way. And then I would ask them to just do butterfly taps, just tapping each shoulder one at a time and just feeling the hand hit the shoulder and the shoulder hit the hand and just gently noticing that, okay, I'm here. I'm in this present space. Then thinking of some sort of a gratefulness practice is what I would add. So I'm grateful that I get to breathe. I'm grateful that I am here. I am grateful that I get to open my eyes and I'm grateful that I get to see the color blue. Just something small. Start with something small because it's really hard when you are unmotivated, when your body hurts, when you feel heavy. That is, it's the hardest to be grateful because you're just mad. How did I get here? Why did I do this to myself? And you're just blah, blah, blah, you know, and it just comes down on you like mud. And if you can just notice that you're in that mud and that life is full of mountains, you can start walking up the mountain if you want to. But it takes a small, tiny step forward of gratefulness. And all that is, is using one of your senses. So, your sound, you can turn on some wonderful music, and then you can just gently move your body. I mean, if you are so heavy and hurting that you can't get up, then I would just say swaying, swaying back and forth, back and forth, and then maybe making some circles with your body. I used to use Richard Simmons as a motivator. I would watch 'Sweat Into the Oldies.' And it took me a long time to actually do the video. But I eventually could do the video. And when I got to the video, then I would do a little bit more. And sometimes I would only be able to do half a song. But I loved singing and I loved dancing. So for me, that was my motivator. I'm going to sing it and dance it. So I would sit there and sing the whole time. And then I would move for half of a song. And then the next day I'd be like, okay, are you going to do that video again? Okay, you can do it. And this was when I had like kids. And so they, I mean, they were babies and they liked to do little stuff. And yeah, eventually I was able to do the whole DVD. Like, okay. And then my body got stronger. The other thing was making choices that made me feel better. So, eating cake. Made me feel good for the sugar rush, but then I felt horrible because it was so much sugar. And so I started to notice that. And I was like, okay, what makes you feel better? It feels better if you eat a salad first. So even like if I wanted donuts, I would eat a banana first so that I had that potassium and that fiber. And I started doing little habits over and over and over again. And then, you know, Some people take a month. Other people take 20 years. And it's okay. Wherever you're at, if you decide to change, you can. But you have to do the steps. Tiny little habits. So I would say if they're stuck in their body. Do the butterfly taps. It's just a nervous system healing technique I learned from a lady called Kate Northrup. And then I would say, find one of your senses and find something to be grateful for. I like that. Those are really simple. I think anyone would be able to integrate that regardless of the body that they are in. Yeah. Yeah. Most anyone, unless they're quadriplegic. Even if they're quadriplegic. The gratitude and the senses. So those are still something. If they're quadriplegic, they could blink their eyes. They could start by just blinking their eyes and then maybe using, if they have their sense of smell, they could find a smell that they're grateful for and start there. Yeah, I really like that. So I know along with like, these are the physical things we can do, but there's a lot of mental aspects that come with that. Obviously, you know, that's why it takes some people one month and some people 20 years. Some of us just have a lot more stored up trauma and baggage, which has also created patterns of trying to feel safe in our bodies. And we always revert back to those patterns. Recognize some of these patterns to break them and then start something that might serve our bodies, serve our emotional state, serve our mental state a little bit better. So what were some of the things that you encountered over these 20 years that helped you deal with some of those mental aspects and helping to clear some of that trauma, both I guess neurons in your brain as well as from your body? I found internal family systems therapy or IFS therapy was the best for me and my system because I could deal with the voices in my head and the parts of me that had been broken and hurt. So I had a lot of trauma from my younger days. And then I had chosen all of these toxic patterns, going to be murdered. And so for a year and a half, I lived as a hermit hiding from the world because I thought I'd be murdered if I left my house. So, I mean, there were so many things that I had to break through. IFS treatment was one of the best things that ever happened to me. So I would say, look for a therapist that does a sort of treatment that works for you, that resonates with you. Human design and how I had chosen this life and why. And so that's where I could look at my shadows with gratitude. And I could look at the trauma that happened and know that it happened so that I could help someone else because I'm a projector and I see things and I'm like, okay, well, we can do it like this. And, you know, but I have to be asked to respond. So, anyway. Just really, for someone, I would say therapy. I did a lot of breath work. I found a shaman that worked with me for two years on breathing, and I did breath work to look at past lives and some old stuff that had been stored in my body that wasn't mine. Generational curses. I mean, I believe in all of the woo-woo, and I do follow the overall design that we are eternal souls, that our consciousness, chooses to come back to earth to do some certain things. This body of mine hasn't been my only body. but it's mine right now and I love it. And so how can I deal with it? How can I be it? How can you stay present, grateful, and be of service to Earth and to other humans? Mm. Yeah, that's wonderful. I think finding a therapy that resonates, and I think that's hard. It is. That can bounce from therapist to therapist, just looking for a person that they can one resonate with; and when you don’t know what you need, you don’t know yet what you resonate with, which is part of why I want people to share their experiences or things that have helped. Because there's literally thousands of different techniques, modalities, and because we all have such different personalities or we resonate with one thing over another thing; sometimes you have to try several different things before you find the something that works for you. Because I've heard other people, things that work for them, and I'm like, yeah, no way. That will not work for me; yeah, things that work for me there's other people out there going yeah, no, not doing that so it really comes down to what's best for you and there is no right or wrong way; right, and it’s all, it all matters. And in the end, it's like, okay, you've got to just keep trying. Like if it, if it doesn’t work, if you hated that therapist, if it didn't feel good and you don't like it and you're just like, and you're mad at the world; okay, That’s okay. Take a breath, take some time and then go back, go back into the trenches because life is worth living. Life is worth feeling like joy. And you're here to do something. Like your purpose is to live. You're here to experience this experience. And if you're stuck in trauma land. That's the mud that I was talking about earlier. You get to choose to get out of it. Now, some people, if you are at a baseline survival, you can't afford groceries, you can't afford your lights, then you need help. Get all the resources you can. That's where I would say go to the non-profits, United Way. Judith Carmen, all of the ones that are here in town or that are federally funded, which may not be funded anymore. There are places that will help you. Get the help first to feel safe in the base level foundation. And then the next level is your mental status. It needs to feel safe. And so that's where I think therapies, movement, and mindfulness really are key. Find one that works for you and then go full force because you're worth it. I really agree a lot with that because I've been in that survival mode. Me too. Before I came into Qigong, I was a single mom. That is. Probably the hardest experience that I have ever had in my life was trying to survive as a single mom, especially when my nervous system was overstressed. So when you are living in a state of fight, flight, freeze 100% of the time, you are not capable of thinking clearly in any situation, which means you're not capable of pulling yourself out of that muck, that mud that you're in. Because you can't even think of what would be the proper way. And I didn't have a support system. I didn't, anything that I applied for, I wasn't getting approved for help. So I was struggling. And it was doing the Qigong in a state of fight-flight-freeze, in a state of survival, in a state of 'I don't know if I'm going to have my apartment next month, but I can't live out of my car with my son, so I don't have an option other than doing whatever I need to do to make money to make sure that the bills are paid. Yeah, there's food in my son's mouth, but after going through practicing the Qigong just a couple weeks-even my internal self being able to calm down was the start of a process that was allowing me to think more clearly in my life. But it was several years; it wasn't this overnight something happened and bam! I think we look at other people's lives and like, 'Wow, they did that, it was so easy for them.' But I don't think the process is easy; I think it's challenging for a lot of people that go through it. But the thing is, you get up every day and make a choice to do something that catapults you there. That's a beautiful way to say it. And I. I resonate a lot with the single mom-ness. There was a time where, you know, my electricity got turned off. Thankfully, the kiddos were at their dad's house. But I had to come up with enough money to pay the bill that I didn't pay. And so I just begged my friends and they helped me. And it was so like hard to ask for help. At the same point, all of them were able to just come up with exactly $365. And bam, it was paid and the lights were on within 20 minutes. If someone is at that, and I call that the like, that's quicksand mode. So there's mud mode. And then there is quicksand where you are sinking down into the quicksand. Quicksand is when your lights are getting turned off. You are being evicted. You've got a broken car. You've got no, you know, you're living. It's less than paycheck to paycheck because you're not even making enough to make it. That's when you are in the quicksand mode. And that's when your nervous system needs you to heal the most. So, that's when the butterfly taps, the gratefulness, the bare minimum is what you do because all we need you to do at that moment is stay alive and know that you matter and know that someone loves you, even if it's just yourself. And even if you're like, I don't really love myself, you have to tell yourself that you love yourself because you are here. We need you to exist and the earth needs you to do something. Sand and then step into the mud because the mud, the mud is hard but the mud is a little bit better than the quicksand and then next is the rocky path and then the rocky path goes to the sandy path and then the sandy path goes to the mossy path, you know, and then eventually you're at the summit and you're looking out and you're like whoa, how did I do that? And it's just like dang, I love this visual. Thanks. To paint that. A good visual artist. You paint that for us. Yes. Maybe we can get AI to paint that. Oh, yeah. Yeah. So, I mean, it's just like those are the things. That we all may be struggling with. And I want anyone who's listening to this, who was like, well, yeah, you don't know what I'm going through. I'm in the quicksand mode and that, well, I do, I've been there and it is hard. And then I got myself back into the quicksand mode because I didn't do the, you know, cause I didn't do my homework and I didn't do the fixing and it's okay. Whatever mode you're in, just notice it, and then know that it can get better, but you've got to start visualizing the better because if you don't have the ability to dream it, then you won't be able to move there. Yeah. I like um Kind of like climbing a mountain, the idea of a slope going up because you can get up there and then it's that black backslide effect or you rolled down the hill and now you're looking back up and you know where you were And then you have to get the motivation to go back and do this again. Cause you know, it was hard the first time it wasn't. Just. Peaches and cream, and I got there was right work so I I've been there too. I've fallen down some of that mountain, and I'm looking up, going I'm frustrated, I feel defeated but you can remember who gave you a backpack And who gave you a drink of water? And who can help reach out and, like, pull you back up. There's, you know, that's where you have to remember your resources. Like, what helped me get to the summit? And I want to be there again. Absolutely. Yeah, I remember one thing. There was a book, and I was – This was in that terrible quicksand mode of life before Qi Gong came in. And I feel like this book actually helped me give me the mentality or the synchronicities that led to it coming into my life. And it was called The Power. It was like the sequel to it. And. For a lot of people, they'll just read that book, toss it to the side. But for where I was at that point in my life, That book was the words that I needed to hear to help shift just that micro shift in my mental thinking that helped lead me to somewhere else instead of down the woe is me rabbit trail. I don't want to be here anymore. This life sucks. Right. And that's why I was. And so I just needed that one thing to help shift me out. And then other things came into my path. Of us will have different things come to us in our path, but it's whether you're saying yes to it and listening or whether you're still pushing that aside. Yeah. Beautifully said. I think the book for me when I was in the quicksand, and I have it right here. Oh, okay. The Four Agreements, good book. This one, I actually buy it every time I see it and I give it to people because the Four Agreements is just practical. It's a practical guide to get out of the muck. And I love that. Hmm. I like that. A practical guide to get out of muck. Yeah. I've read the four agreements and I would say I've only read it once, but I really enjoy whenever somebody else is kind of getting into it. So they'll post on social media, here's the four agreements and it's a reminder. Yes. Let me, this is a base to go back to and things to contemplate. Especially for me, don't take things personally. Oh, that one. I know. That's the hardest one for me. Every time I start to feel my feelings, I'm like, oh my gosh, they're being judgy. I'm like, wait. The personal agreement, don't take it personally. Yeah. It is definitely a very hard one. Do my best. I can do that. Yeah, for your listeners, here are the four agreements. Be impeccable with your word. Don't take anything personally. Don't make assumptions. And always do your best. Yeah, it's just a wonderful book by Don Miguel Ruiz. We'll link it below. Yeah, and The Power by Rhonda Byrne. I mean, that one also. The Power, The Magic, The Secret. Those three have helped me when I'm in the muck as well. Like, those are right behind me. Those mindfulness books, those metaphysical books, those books that help you just Just remember what you're here for. Yeah, and they're easy to read or to just read a snippet of and not have to read the whole book if you can't get into reading a whole book. Yeah, you can just turn to one page and it'll be like, oh, that's exactly what I needed. Fantastic. Well, I really appreciate everything that you have shared with us today. I feel like there's so many. Bits of wisdom and golden nuggets in there that somebody is going to be able to draw from and make whatever shifts in their life that they need to make. Yeah. As we leave, I would ask you one more question and that is, What out of any of your experiences, either what we've talked today or not, what bit of wisdom would you leave the audience with? Two words, you matter. Mmm. I think that everyone just needs to remember that they do matter. Yes. That's so beautiful. Those would be my words. You matter. Yay. I love it. Thank you so much. It's been an honor to be on here. Such wonderful questions. And I feel like we really got some good nuggets for people. So hopefully, if anyone is feeling stuck or in the quicksand or the mud, they'll stumble upon this podcast. Where can people reach or I guess follow you? called Learning to Love Your Life Again, or LILA. So it's got a little app and a little challenge, and it's fun; 33 days of adding those little habits that I was talking about. And so I do that challenge every 33 days. So if people want to join, there's also little freebies on my website. So andreamacpeters. com. Oh, beautiful. I'm also going to be putting those into the show notes, so you can easily go click on that if you're listening and want to visit that later. If you're listening and you like what you're hearing, please follow me, subscribe. Maybe a friend needs to hear this. Share my podcast. Help me get this out there so that we can help people make the shifts in their lives and change the way that they need to. And. I leave you with this as you embrace your humanness. Be kind. Be you. And remember, Everything is part of the journey.