Redesigning Life with Sabrina Soto

From Temazcal to Transformation: The Power of Community

• Sabrina Soto • Season 1 • Episode 81

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Have you ever been pushed to your limits, only to come out stronger on the other side? Join me as I recount a life-changing encounter with the ancient Temazcal ritual in Sayulita, Mexico, where I confronted not only intense heat and darkness but also my own lingering grief. This solo episode is a narrative of personal growth through challenge, capturing how a sweat lodge ceremony became a powerful catalyst for emotional release and transformation. I'll also touch on the overwhelming love and support I've received following my engagement and offer a peek into the wedding planning excitement that lies ahead.

I'm also thrilled to announce my latest venture, "The Sabrina Soto Show," where I will bring together diverse experts to share insights on everything from home design to wellness. This new project is set to enrich lives with practical advice and inspiration, and I invite you to help spread the word by sharing and rating the podcast. Thank you for being a part of this incredible journey with me!

Connect with me:

Instagram.com/Sabrina_Soto

Facebook.com/SabrinaSoto

Speaker 1:

Hi, I'm Sabrina Soto. I believe the best conversations are with friends who are really able to open themselves up and share their lives, both the good parts and the bad. You're going to be listening to some of those candid conversations and hopefully gaining some insight to help you redesign your life from the inside out. Welcome to a solo episode of Redesigning Life. I haven't done one of these in a long time and I really enjoy them because I feel like I'm having a like. I'm talking to you directly. Well, cause, I am like, but I feel like I'm having a conversation, even though it's one-sided. I wanted to do this episode by myself, to share an experience that I had a few months ago in a sweat lodge, which was mind-blowing. But first, before I get to that, I want to thank everyone so much for the well-wishes on the engagement. Oh my gosh. First of all, everyone's so sweet. Thank you for all your kind words. The engagement was so unexpected. It was such a surprise. It was so funny and romantic and thoughtful. So maybe Nate will be on the podcast and we can talk about how he did it. It was awesome, and I'm so excited about wedding planning. I keep going back and forth like let's do it here. No, let's do this, and so we're just starting the planning, but it's all so exciting and I just yeah, I'm very, very happy, obviously, and so thank you for all of that. I also want to share a new project that I'm working with. Um, after I talked to you about this, what lodge experience? Um, so stay at the end so I can tell you all about the new show that I'm working on. Stay at the end so I can tell you all about the new show that I'm working on. But the whole purpose of this episode is to talk to you about the sweat lodge that I experienced a few months ago and what I took from it and what I learned from this experience, which I was not expecting.

Speaker 1:

So a few months ago, right after my birthday, right before the new year, nate and I went to Sayulita, mexico, which is about an hour away from Puerto Vallarta, and I signed us up for this sweat lodge. It's called Temazcal and, thank God, nate is just such a trooper. He will basically try anything with me, which I'm so grateful for, because sometimes I have some pretty kooky ideas, but he's such a good sport and so I signed us up, thinking, okay, I could do a sweat lodge, like I love being warm and I love saunas and I love the seat heater in my car, I love hot showers. Let me tell you something. This was something else. So we get to this sort of place that has this igloo it looks like a stone igloo in the corner next to this cold plunge pool, and there's a shaman there and he greets us and there's people trickling in. There's probably about 12 of us at the end who are in this Tamaskal, which really does look like an igloo, and before that the shaman who's in charge has a set intentions.

Speaker 1:

Now this is like an ancient ritual. They've been doing this for hundreds and hundreds of years and I decided to do it. I was just very curious. But people do it for healing, they do it for self-discovery. I just was curious to try something new and to sort of push my boundary. Now, I didn't realize how much I was going to push. I really did not realize how difficult this was going to be, but it just was intense. The intensity of the heat and just the entire, just uncomfortableness pushed me to the edge.

Speaker 1:

So we walk, we do the intentions, everybody sort of prays and meditates for a little bit, we get saged and then, one by one, while we're doing this, they're heating up these stones and so they start piling it into the middle of the room in the igloo inside and we get in and it's hot, I mean, I'm uncomfortable, but it wasn't that bad. And once everybody gets piled in and they put up in all the rocks and you, you know it's very, it's very serious. It's every time a rock comes you sort of give it a prayer and thank it. And then I know that they were going to close the opening with this blanket. But I'm thinking, okay, it's a blanket, so I'll be able to just like see the sun through it.

Speaker 1:

As soon as they closed that blanket, it was so thick, it was completely pitch black in there. I couldn't see anything, which I started panicking just with that alone. Forget about the heat. I was just. It was pitch pitch black and it was hot, it was humid in there and you know I've meditated, so I started just calming my brain down low. You know, deep breaths, slow breaths, and I calmed myself to calm myself down. Now I didn't realize how intense the heat was going to get. Again, I've done hot yoga before in 110 degree rooms. This was nothing like that. The heat was so intense that I think goodness had a like a cotton shirt that I brought in there wrapped around my waist. I put it over my face because I felt like it was burning and it was just intense and that you do four rounds At least we did at this experience. You did four rounds and it was about 10 minutes each.

Speaker 1:

So after the first round I felt like I had already pushed myself to the limit and I kind of gave Nate a look like I don't know if I could do this three more times and he kind of gave me this nod. We didn't talk at all. And then, after the second round, I just started really getting emotional and I think I was just holding grief in from losing Harper. I was just holding grief in from losing Harper, which I'm still dealing with and I just started crying. Really I was just letting go of all this emotion. And again, it was hot. I was crying but I just didn't um worry about anybody else in that room because they were chanting during this time and they had drums in there, so I don't even think anybody could hear me crying, not that I even cared because I was so hot.

Speaker 1:

But after that after that second time they kind of open up the blanket to let some air in and for you to reset before they do it the second and third time. And Nate looked at me like you know we could leave now. But I gave him the look, the look like no, we're going to get through this. And we did, and I couldn't believe it. Especially at the last sort of round. I really, really felt uncomfortable, like really uncomfortable, like I don't think I could do this. But what happened was I, secretly, was hoping somebody else gave up, because I was thinking to myself if somebody else gets up and leaves, then that gives me the permission to get up and leave too. And nobody did, no one in that room.

Speaker 1:

And everybody in that room was from different walks of the earth, like older, younger in that room, was from different walks of the earth, like older, younger, and everybody had their own intention of going in there. But no one gave up At the end. And I'm telling you it was really uncomfortable. I thought I was going to get sick, I thought I may vomit, I thought I was going to maybe pass out and the heat was just so uncomfortable. But I just had my mindset on if nobody else gives up on this, I'm not going to give up on this. And when we all kind of came out, we all gave each other this weird nod of congratulations and acknowledged each other's strengths. Again, I didn't know any of these people. We were in the cold plunge. Everybody got out, we were drinking really nutritious teas and juices and they had watermelon for us. Everybody was sort of sharing their experience.

Speaker 1:

But what I took out of it was the importance of community. And this is coming from somebody who's ultra independent. I don't have a problem going to dinner by myself, going to the movies by myself. I have vacationed alone. Some of my friends think I'm crazy because of it, but no, I just came out of that realizing community is so important because and the company that you keep in your life is so important, because if anyone else would have given up on that sweat lodge and that experience, I would have given up on myself. And I started thinking how important it is to surround myself with people that are like-minded, who are goal-oriented or at least want to up-level their life, because if you surround yourself with stagnant people who just want to stay the same and not grow in any category of their life chances are. It's going to become contagious to you. And if people don't grow and you're not around people who are pushing you to grow too and be the best version of yourself, you're not going to because it's harder, it's very difficult to do it if you don't have a community pushing you.

Speaker 1:

And I realized none of those people gave up on themselves, which gave me the courage to not give up on myself. And who knows, maybe if I would have walked out, somebody else would have walked out too. I don't know, because we all stayed in there together. But the group inside it was this sort of shared space of vulnerability and endurance and that really impacted my mindset and I wonder how often do we push ourselves further when we see others doing the same? The group energy sort of amplifies this resilience and it shifted from this individual struggle that I was going through to this sort of collective and that reflects in my real life.

Speaker 1:

I didn't realize until then I know that sounds silly, but even Nate agreed that had somebody given up I think it was little by little people would have trickled out, and that's the idea that we tend to match the energy of those around us and if we surround ourselves with people who are stagnant, we may stay stagnant ourselves. So it's important to choose to be in the rooms where people are pushing themselves, they're evolving, they're doing hard things and in doing that hard thing, in that sweat lodge that day, I realized that being really uncomfortable it's for the most part not always, but for the most part it's just temporary and getting out of that and pushing through it that's where the growth happens. And I'm somebody who loves to be comfortable. I try to keep my house comfortable and I realize it's in those uncomfortable times where I grow the most and I want to continue to do that in my life.

Speaker 1:

I just wonder have you ever held yourself back because of the company that you keep to, to really assess your inner circle, to do inventory? Are the people around you? Are they inspiring you to do uncomfortable things or go to the next level? Are they draining you or are they just keeping you in the same spot? Sometimes people around you, even if you want to evolve into a new person, they want you to stay the same because it feels comfortable to them or they love that version of you.

Speaker 1:

But if you've outgrown who that is, it's okay to outgrow people, it's okay to move on. And by outgrowing people. It doesn't mean you have to completely push them out of your life, but really surrounding yourself with people that are supporting you being the best version of yourself. And it's okay to fear that outgrowing of people, but it's okay to move on from certain relationships, friendships, even coworkers, whatever. It's okay to move to the next level. And in order for you to do that, is to get yourself into a mindset to attract people who inspire growth, whether that be mentorships, communities, retreats, doing experiences like this. And it doesn't have to be you going to a sweat lodge in Mexico. It could be something simple that maybe you've wanted to do that but maybe you're shy or you're kind of scared to do something by yourself.

Speaker 1:

I promise you it's getting, you know, pushing through that uncomfortableness where you're going to make big strides in your life. Because when I walked out of there and Nate and I were kind of on a high, it was just weird and he took a different. He got a lot out of it too and he also was pretty emotional and everybody was actually when we got out of there. And again, I didn't know. These were all strangers, but they became fast friends just with that shared experience, but it was just all pushing yourself to a level you didn't think you could go. I was so proud of myself. I was so proud of myself for not giving up, not just on myself. I was proud that I didn't give up for the community that was in that sweat lodge as well. And strength comes from enduring, not avoiding, challenges. The discomfort is temporary, but the transformation that happened that day was lasting for me and I realized that the community is just. It's a catalyst. When we grow together, we grow stronger.

Speaker 1:

And I I want you to just figure out in your life how is your community pushing you in your own life or keeping you stagnant? And I challenge you to push yourself out of your own comfort zone. Light at the end of that tunnel, for you to be proud of yourself and I know this is sounds pretty corny, but since then I've done other things that have pushed me to the edge of being uncomfortable, but I've gotten to the other side of it things at work, things physically and I say to myself now, like I'm so proud of you I'll sometimes I say it out loud and I know that sounds corny but I am proud of myself now more and more and the creating of that community, of making sure that I'm around people that are like high quality mindset, not gossiping, not complaining all the time, you know, really sharing ideas and supporting each other. It's just more important to me now more than ever. So I wanted to tell you about that amazing experience.

Speaker 1:

I highly recommend you do something to come out of your comfort zone and also to just take a look at your circle and if you don't have a good circle, start making one. It's never too late. It is never too late for anything in your life. I mean, look at me now talking about engagement. I'm in my late forties and I am so excited to get married and I feel like this is such like, for the first time, the healthiest, most beautiful relationship I've been in. So never give up on anything in your life.

Speaker 1:

And speaking of giving up the project that I wanted to talk to you guys about, this show it's actually my dream Talk show. It's called the sabrina soto show. I've been pitching this idea for 10 plus years. I never gave up on the idea because it has always been a dream of mine. But it has evolved, this idea, and I found the perfect partner. The design network came and allowed me to really create the show that I wanted to watch. So this show is everything I'm passionate about Home obviously, organizing, cleaning. We have chefs coming on, amazing recipes, skincare, spirituality, care, spirituality, parenting, fitness. It was all the experts that I look up to and are friends of mine, and I got everyone together.

Speaker 1:

There were 30 guests. There are 10 shows, three guests per show, and I promised you that when you watch this show, there's not going to be one episode that you're not going to take something away from, whether it be a new modality that you've never tried before that you might integrate into your life, or a new recipe or a new skincare routine. You are going to love the show. I have a smile on my face while I'm editing, in edit and I'm watching the rough cuts before we finish, but I'm so excited to share this new project with you all and I promise, if you follow me on social media, I will start posting more clips from it, but it is going to come out in March. It will be on Samsung, hulu, directv, the Design Network, a few other streamers, so all of them will be listed, but I cannot wait for you to see the show.

Speaker 1:

I'm very excited and then, with the podcast. I have such amazing guests coming on the next few weeks, so, as always, thank you for listening and if you have a chance, please rate and review the podcast wherever you listen. It means the world to me and it really helps the algorithm to get to more people to to even know that it's around. So and share it with your friends if you love any episode, please. I appreciate it so much Until next time. Thank you so much for listening, thank you.