School of Shamanism

S1 EP19: Growing into what you manifest with Nyhallay

• School of Shamanism • Season 1 • Episode 19

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In this episode of Walking Between Worlds, Giada is joined by Nyhallay, co-founder of Holistically Secret, for a raw and honest conversation about confidence, manifestation, community, and becoming who you were always meant to be.

Chatting from London, Nyhallay shares her journey from self-doubt and people-pleasing to building a wellness brand rooted in integrity, spiritual hygiene, and intentional manifestation. She speaks openly about coming out of a dark period, facing her shadow, and learning that manifesting your dreams also means accepting the tests that come with them.

Together, they explore what it really means to walk between worlds, the old life that feels comfortable and the new life that demands courage. They discuss healing chronic conditions, building community in unconventional spaces, attracting aligned clients, and why confidence isn’t about perfection, it’s about self-forgiveness.

This is a conversation about stepping out of hermit mode, putting a face to your mission, and trusting that what’s meant for you will meet you, sometimes in the most unexpected places.

Connect with Nyhallay:

Connect with Giada Gaslini:

About the Host

Originally hailing from the vibrant city of Milan, I’ve spent the past two decades traversing the globe in a quest for spiritual and personal growth and combined with 25 years of international corporate work experience. From navigating the vast landscapes of Australia in a campervan to finding tranquility living in a Buddhist monastery in Nepal, my journey is nothing short of extraordinary. Along the way, I’ve delved deep into Buddhist teachings, yoga, and shamanism, becoming Shamanic Teacher,  Forest Therapy Guide, Esoteric Numerologist, Shamanic and Integral Yoga Teacher and Ikigai Coach. In 2013 I settled in Edinburgh, where  I founded the Art and Spirituality Centre, a social enterprise and the School of Shamanism, where I passionately help others on their own transformative journeys.

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CHAPTERS

Welcome Nyhallay from Holistically Secret

 Leaving the comfortable behind

Be careful what you manifest

Aligned clients, aligned life

Where to find Nyhallay

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Nyhallay

Everything that my higher self has wanted, everything that I've manifested is here, but I'm in the position where I'm like, am I gonna fully grab onto it or am I gonna keep on suppressing myself. H

Giada

Hello everyone, I'm Giada from School of Shamanism and welcome, uh, to my podcast, School of Shamanism in the season Walking between the Worlds. And today I've got the pleasure to have me with me from London, Nyhallay from Holistically Secret. Thanks so much for accepting my invitation. Would you like to let us know a little bit about what you do? Of course, you are in the well-being industry as well.

Nyhallay

Yes, so I'm the owner of a wellness business called Holistically Secret. One half of it, I run it with my partner. We've done a lot of healing for individuals, for other small businesses, other wellness businesses, and brands who are now taking us on as the aftercare for yoga, Pilates, birth doolers, Reiki healers, massage therapists, just everyone really in the wellness industry we've put ourselves out to be able to put out some organic aftercare.

Giada

Yeah, wonderful. And there is so much need of more and more organic uh services with products. Nowadays, there is more request for sure. I'm sure in London, plenty, plenty of it. Here we can't find so many, honestly, in Edinburgh.

Nyhallay

Yeah, there is a lot. I think that a lot of people now are starting to go into self-healing and self-care. And I just feel like when you kind of have the opportunity to put something like that out there, it's not just about the business being built, but how we can help other people and how everything that we make actually benefits people. I think that's the most important part.

Giada

Yeah. Yeah, absolutely. It's all about healing and self-healing first, which is a constant work, a work in progress. But if we don't clean ourselves, if we don't heal ourselves, we are too full of our own toxins elements in order to help others.

Nyhallay

And it stops our growth as well. I feel like on the surface level, on the outside, people just think, oh, it's wellness, it's body cream, it's oils, it's just the kind of our outer appearance. But the more that you work on yourself, it it helps with your spiritual hygiene as well. I feel like everything from outside came from within.

Leaving the comfortable behind

Giada

Yes. Yeah, exactly. Exactly. Uh yeah, you see that personally, how much it affects your spiritual practice when your outside life doesn't mirror back exactly your your inner journey. Yeah. And what are the worlds that you're walking between?

Nyhallay

Oh my gosh. Um I feel like in terms of the worlds that I'm walking between, it's like I'm at a push-pool at the moment. So everything that my higher self has wanted, everything that I've manifested is here. But I'm in the position where I'm like, am I gonna fully grab onto it or am I gonna keep on suppressing myself? Is a really hard place to be. Because you're kind of where at the peak of where everything you wanted, and then it's just like my old life also feels comfortable. The people that I was around also felt comfortable to me. I'm always stepping into the unknown, but for once I'm kind of afraid of the unknown because a lot is just rushing in at the moment.

Giada

Yeah, yeah. And what what do you feel that there is? Uh, is it because at some point you arrive to that level of the peak of what you have wanted in that peak is not something that inspires you in more and you just want to move a little bit further? Or is it for the opportunity of renewing yourself, renewing your inner challenges as well?

Nyhallay

Yeah, I think it's definitely on the renewal side of things because for the past five or six years I faced multiple challenges, a lot of them alone, and a lot of them were challenges I didn't think that I'd get out of. I had completely different, you know, I've always been spiritual. Since I was young, a lot of people knew that about me, but I didn't understand it. There wasn't much guidance with it. So I just feel like I was living in more of my lower vibration, and it's not really in the sense of even just how I was acting or things I was indulging in. It could be something smaller, self-doubt. I used to doubt myself a lot. I had no confidence, I was people pleasing a lot, I was putting myself in places and positions that I knew weren't for me. So when I've now stepped out of it, I've worked on myself so much, even I don't recognize myself. But I feel like what's beautiful about it is that my inner child that was kind of screaming, that wanted the joys in life, the peace, the harmony, I've given that to myself. So I feel like a better version of myself, more confident, more assured, and I'm actually living in alignment for what I wanted before. I just say, oh, I want this, I'd manifest it. I could get it, but I wouldn't be able to hold on to it because I didn't have the inner strength and I didn't even understand how precious everything that we get is. So I feel like this is just a renewed stage and kind of coming out of the hermit is so scary.

Giada

It's so scary.

Nyhallay

So I feel like manifestation has always just been a part of us. Everything that I've always visualized or wanted has come to me. But I feel like I became very conscious two years ago about what I'm manifesting. You know, some people will just say, Oh, I want a house, I want a car, but what's going to come with that? Or I want this relationship, I want this business. But when you manifest something, you're manifesting everything that comes with it. Yes, with interest. Everything, the good, the bad, everything. So I just feel like for people who want to align themselves with their higher self, you should also think about how it's going to affect you in the long run, what comes with it, how you're going to be as a person and live in that truth. I think living in truth especially, it helps.

Be careful what you manifest

Giada

Yeah. So are you careful in detailing exactly what you were asking to come to you, or how do you avoid the the challenges in the package and the let's say in the gift?

Nyhallay

I feel like I went through I came out of a dark place in 2023, and I spent only three months in hermit mode. I wrote down everything that I wanted. I worked so hard for it. It was not in alignment with me. None of it was me. It just felt kind of like what everything in my old life wanted. The people in my old life who I could impress. So all of the baggage that came with it, it just hasn't been worth it. It really set me back and it put me into a worse place because at the time it was more superficial. So it was just, oh yeah, wow, look at me, everyone. I've gone through this, I've come back out of it. But in actual fact, it didn't make me feel satisfied within myself. And since then, I've been very careful, very intentional about my manifestations, what could help the world, the things that I can do with, you know, the gifts that I have, how I can actually help people to ascend and kind of you know live in this world in harmony in a better way.

Giada

Yeah, yeah. And so connecting also in reinforcing or building the self-confidence in people that listen to you right now, and they say, Oh wow, that seems so easy. It worked for her, it wouldn't for me.

Nyhallay

It's not easy. I feel like everyone shows different parts of their journey. I've become more transparent on showing, you know, the hard days, the things that go wrong, because some people just look at it and just say, Oh, she's lucky, she didn't work hard for it. But no one sees what came from within, the things that I had to go through behind closed doors, the health issues that came with it. You know, there were days I didn't even think that I'd still be here. And it's that scary, but it's actually very real. Because you have to work on yourself and say, okay, am I gonna stay in this place or am I gonna really fight through and align myself with what I want? And the challenges are there, you know, everyone believes in something. Some people believe the universe guides them, some people believe that God guides them. But when you get through kind of the hardest part of your manifestation, it comes with the test as well. You know, if you really want it, if that's really what's aligned with you. So it's not easy.

Giada

No, absolutely not. There are so many challenges, even if sometimes we don't show them, or uh we always say, yes, it's an opportunity for the soul, make fun of that, but also because we need to make fun of the difficulties, because when we take them too seriously in a to such a serious way, they become dramas.

Nyhallay

Yes, it can take over your life in a big way, and other people can either look outside in and just be like, Wow, that person's living in chaos, or wow, that person's living in a dark light. You know, people don't really see how you can transmute the energy of what you're given, whether is good or bad.

Giada

Yeah, yeah, absolutely. And is it something that in your in your business as well, when what what what are people uh are struggling with? The I mean it's the the the biggest struggles that you find when people come to you in your business at the moment.

Nyhallay

I feel like it's it's weird how you're saying this because I feel like it is confidence. You know, um I started off just helping people with their psoriasis because I was able to heal my psoriasis and a few other chronic conditions that I have. And then a lot of people will just come and say, you know, I don't feel like I'm confident, I can't show myself, or they'll place limitations on themselves. So, for example, some of the wellness people that I work with, they'll say, Oh, you know, I want to do this practice, whether it's yoga, whether it's Pilates, and then I'll just be like, So why can't you do it? Oh, because I'm in pain, I have this injury. But the injury, if you don't work on it, nurture it, help yourself, then you're just gonna stay stuck in the position. So I feel like with that, with all of the work that I do, I feel like it's helping people become unstuck, helping people go into the unknown, build their confidence, and just grow kind of a community as well. Because the vegan, the organic, plant-based community is not as strong here as it is in other countries, or not welcomed that much. I feel like holistic remedies as well, not as welcomed here than in other places. So I feel like growing that community, growing people's confidence, and giving people a safe space because I felt so alone, especially even before I went into Hammet mode. I had so many people around me, but I knew deep down that I wasn't like them. So I feel like finding a community is the most important thing for us. We could sell so many body butters, so many oils, so many herbs. But what matters to me most is just feeling like I have a family within my business. It is really nice.

Giada

Yeah, yeah, I know. That's why I start I opened Art Spirituality, which is the studio where I'm based now. It's my community, my social enterprise in Edinburgh. Uh, it's it's open to other facilitators, other therapists, other teachers, and it's amazing because we have created this wonderful community here. Not necessarily just from local people, they travel from also other cities, actually, because we offer a lot of free classes, those activities, and there is really this sense of um connections, which is really strong. Lots of them have become friends, I've become friends with them, so it's really wonderful when you make people happy and then they can exchange the same challenges and then find the answer, maybe from exactly.

Nyhallay

It's always nice to have community than going through it alone, and it just makes you feel a piece of fulfillment as well, you know, knowing you have your people and you kind of see why you've been aligned with these people too. Because I'm sure with you, people come to you for help, and some of those people could have ended up being your long-term friends or long-term clients. So, yeah, it always works out.

Giada

You go beyond, I mean, I've always gone beyond like there are lots of therapies or whatever that keep the distinction from clients. I don't become friends with clients, I don't want to create borders. It's just like therapies that don't share anything about themselves when they are in a session. But why? I'm not there as a neutral element, listening like uh like an ex that is over there listening. Uh, if I can, also because the clients come to me, always come for with teachings that are for me as well. So when I'm sharing, look, I've been where you are exactly me too, I don't know, a few months ago, last year, or right now. So I can perfectly understand what you're struggling with. And this is what I did. Then, of course, in my therapies, there are the spirits working through me, so it's not me healing you, and that's different, that's different. But I find that the let's say the me too element is very powerful.

Nyhallay

Yeah. Help each other ascend. Yeah, you're right. Even some of my clients have really, really helped me heal.

Aligned clients, aligned life

Giada

Yeah, yeah, yeah. I always say, okay, speech, or they come with messages of things that I don't do. And I always say when I listen to the clients, I say, okay, spirits, I got it. I got the message. It's clear. Yeah, yeah, amazing. And how do you find your clients or how do you attract the clients that come to you? Or do you think that it's your uh another secret uh recipe?

Nyhallay

It's been the most amazing process. For the first time in my life, I'm not scared of people that come with me, come to me, sorry, because I feel as though before I didn't always attract the best people. And sometimes it's not even about myself as a person or what I've done to attract them. Sometimes it's like your trauma, you know. As I said before, people pleasing. You just want to keep people around so that they don't dislike you. So when I came into this, especially, I was laughed at, doubted. There was zero, zero support. And with myself and my partner, we're very aligned. Um, he's more conscious, I'm the spiritual one. But somehow, both of the goals we had in life, because he was always selling plant-based butters and healing oils. So it was very weird when we came together, but then you feel alone because no one outside of us has gone through this unconventional route. You know, a lot of people in my family just work in healthcare or that in the office. So when you come to this, people are just like, What are you doing? Like, I still have some people that don't know about holistically secret, so they're just like, Are you still doing that thing?

Giada

That thing, that project, that hobby.

Nyhallay

Yeah. When we first started, it was so hard getting exposure, it was so hard getting clients or for even people to sell to us. So we just thought if we put ourselves in a space that is aligned with us, so I started going to a lot of pop-ups, I started meeting a lot of people, but the interactions were really positive. And then I was just thinking, okay, this is a bit different, you know. I wasn't really used to having that many good people around me. So the more and more that I just kept putting myself out there, a lot of people were reaching out, or I bump into, I bumped into some of our customers in the airport on a plane. I was speaking to someone about fruits. They ended up being, you know, a part of building this. There's a lot of people that I've met who have been just aligned. And I feel like it wasn't really anything that I did, it was more of what I had manifested. Because that is one thing that I said that I hope this time, you know, I'd be able to gain a community, people who support me, people who have a similar interest, people who this will benefit. So I feel like it kind of just came to us, but even so, the people that I put myself out there and reached out to were very reciprocal. Yeah. So the work spoke for itself because it make it made people comfortable enough to put their trust in us. You know, there's a lot of people and a lot of companies that I've kind of spoken with, networked with, done collaborations with, and I'm just like, wow, me, like I don't think that I'd be able to gain these connections.

Giada

Yeah. And sometimes exactly when there are also big brands or whatever, and there is no personal or are, or also medium brands, and there are there is no personal face behind that, which I really strong strongly believed in the personal touch of businesses. Of course, it can remain when you are on a small, maximum, medium level, because then it when it grows too much, then you need to either outsource or you've got a team of people. And there is where somehow the business lack uh loses a little bit of the flavors of the humanity humanity element approach in terms of there is a real person behind that, there is a personal connection that I can sometimes I got people asking me when I don't know in the spirituality Instagram account. But is it really you replying when you are replying? Or something? Yes, it's me. Yes, I have someone helping me to do the post, but then if they're tagging me and I'm it's resharing, it's me. It's not any robot or any other person in general, because sometimes maybe they see that I collaborate with other people and then they're not quite sure. I mean, they still want to keep that personal connection.

Nyhallay

And I feel like that's really important as a business owner, as a healer, for people to understand that this is actually coming from somewhere. Because even going back to what you were speaking over about struggles and challenges, because of what we've come out of, a lot of people don't actually see the struggle because maybe you might come out of it and look perfect or look like everything's going well, or I have this amazing business. But in actual fact, it's real people, real stories. Yeah, a lot of this that I've done, even me, I was very scared. I was shy. I don't know if you've seen a lot of our page. It I was my photographer was our model. So a lot of people, when they see me, they're just like, oh, I thought it's the other girl that owns the business. So I just said, you know what? In terms of my self-confidence, I need to put myself out there, not just for people to see me, but there's so many thousands of people who have the same story or have the same struggles. And it's important to be a face and to show, hey, I'm human too.

Giada

Yeah, exactly. So the let's say the step number one to do that, uh, what would you say to people? Got a person, yes, again, listening and saying, okay, I don't know where to start. Step number one for building the self-confidence today that someone can do today, an easy one.

Nyhallay

I'd say obviously, from my own words, I'd say shadow work. But a lot of people don't understand that concept. A lot of people demonize it, a lot of people kind of overlook it. But the shadow work I had to do was not for the weak. And I'd say stepping into yourself, I'm not just speaking, you know, little habits, bad habits. I went all the way back to childhood. Everything that's ever affected me, I researched more about my bloodline. You know, my family are very cultured. So even though we do live here in England, I'm grateful enough that I was taught a lot about my culture since I was young. I had to go into every interaction I've had in my life, you know, friends, classmates, school, school teachers, results that I've had, you know, just every single part of my life went into, and I also had to put a mirror in front of myself, which was something I did not used to do. I used to be very stubborn growing up, you know. And when you're somebody who just always wants to kind of achieve something, you kind of just look at yourself as, yeah, I'm fine. There's nothing that needs to change about me. But now that I've gone into myself, I've forgiven myself for every mistake I've made, whether it was good or bad, I've kind of grown and what I want as a woman and how I want to live my life. I think that's the only way to be confident. Because even now I'm still not as confident as you'd think. But I'm very happy with what I found in myself. And I feel like that's the first way to get through because we're all judged, we all do things, we all have people that like us, we all have people who, you know, like us as much. But when you're yourself, that's all you have.

Giada

Yeah, yeah, exactly. 100%. Yeah. Sometimes, I mean, I even if people always see myself very confident, sometimes there are those days when the challenge is so big and you're thinking, oh my god, how am I going to do that? At times, and then at some point you just remember that you did something not similar, different, of course, when you were thinking, starting from zero, starting from nothing, and then you just think, I made it, I did that. So I can do the same this time. Yeah, it can be successful, not successful, shorter in times, longer, whatever it has to be. And if I don't have the resources right now, they will come my way to.

Nyhallay

As long as you're living in alignment and you're following whatever you want to do, however long it takes, it will come. I started this maybe two years ago now, nearly three years, and it's only now that something's really coming to fruition. So as long as you have the confidence, everything that's written for you, you'll be able to align yourself with all the resources will come, even months where there hasn't been much profit, or there isn't, you know, we will be invited to a pop-up and it's just like, oh my gosh, you know, there's always some sort of expense. Yes. Something will always work out. I haven't missed any opportunity in this.

Giada

Yes, exactly. I always say universal, say yes, then it's your business to help me. Yeah, yeah. And especially when it's for helping others.

Nyhallay

Yeah, that always, yeah.

unknown

Yeah.

Nyhallay

So it's again kind of growing, you realize what you're supposed to do, what your purpose is. So as long as you follow the purpose and it helps others, then that's the bigger kind of karmic retribution. You get more.

Where to find Nyhallay

Giada

Yes, exactly, exactly. That's what I say. You do it, help the others, and then things come back multiplied all the time. Yeah, beautiful. And where can people find yourself if they want to be in touch with you?

Nyhallay

Yeah, you can find us on Instagram via email through our website. I'm always there to reply.

Giada

We have kind of started So it's a holistically secret the handle.

Nyhallay

So www.holisticallysecret.co.uk or holistically secret on Instagram, and I'm always there to respond.

Giada

Yes, I know because we were communicating uh one or the other souls that replies uh straight away. Sometimes I have to force myself not to check messages. There is an automatic one that goes out, but I'm very bad.

Nyhallay

It's okay. I'm really grateful that you were able to respond because this is a really great opportunity for me, myself to understand more about, you know, even just what I do, be able to speak about it, let people know as well.

Giada

Yeah, absolutely, because despite being shamanism, it's uh it's I mean, it's a conversation that is open to any form of healing. And when I say any form of healing, it doesn't mean necessarily to be spiritual, because I had interviews also with people that were artists and not necessarily spiritual people, but the healing comes through the way they are expressing their art. That's why I open a space called art and spirituality because spirituality, because they are both forms of healing.

Nyhallay

Yes, yeah, beautiful. I realize there's a lot of forms of healing. Before I just used to think, oh, you know, you could be a rain healer, a sound healer, um, you can just go into shamanism itself. But you realize, you know, people who sing, make art, create businesses, build is all something as long as it's healing yourself as well.

Giada

Yeah, yeah, exactly. Exactly. Beautiful. Thank you so much. I can't I can't wait to meet you in in person. We will be uh connected again so end of May, in May, when we are meeting each other in person finally in London. Uh and thank you so much for today. And I'll uh I hope to be um to have you again in another in another interview with a new topic uh in in a few months, and then maybe when you start your own podcast.

Nyhallay

Yeah, you'll definitely be one of my first guests. Thank you so much.

Giada

Beautiful, thank you, thank you so much. Thank you.