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Carlee
Are you interested in the benefits of being more spiritual? But you're not ready for this kind of all or nothing approach? Hi, I'm Carlee Myers, a stress management expert. And this month we're focusing on spirituality. And I brought on an incredible guest, Britta Green Violet, who is a holistic health and lifestyle coach who helps professionals to optimize their energy, reduce stress and weigh what they want and live fully, authentically right. She's also a musician, sound healer and vocal coach, supporting men and women reclaim their voice as an avenue for healing, activism and human connection. I'm so excited to have you on the show Britta.
Britta
Thanks, Carlee. It's so good here.
Carlee
Absolutely. So we go way back. We go way back.
Britta
We do, yeah!
Carlee
I think it was five years ago, five years ago, we met something crazy like that.
Britta
Yeah, it's getting up there.
Carlee
Yeah. So I heard I probably heard your story quite a few times now, but a lot of my my people don't know who you are and they don't know the amazing work that you do. So would you mind sharing a little bit about how you how you ended up here?
Britta
Yeah, totally. Well, it's funny, my story, of course, like all the stories, is still evolving and as as my life continues to take twists and turns, these interesting things, these dots get connected. And the really interesting thing that I'm hearing a lot these days is I tell people my story, namely that I used to be like 50 pounds heavier than I am now. And also that I didn't used to, I used to be so terrified to sing in front of anybody. And people see me as like this. Now they see me as somebody who's, you know, happy and joyous and radiant and singing all the time. And they just like don't buy it. They're like, I don't know who that person was. I don't believe you. So this has been a really interesting for me. And it's it's really led me to this place of realizing just how how great the capacity is for transformation for each of us. And it's this beautiful lesson in like mastery takes time. Right. And transformation, true. Lasting transformation takes time, which is something that I have to remind myself and clients of all the time, particularly in the health industry. I think people want change now and that, you know, the greatest gifts of transformation come in very surprising packages. So my really the heart at the heart of my story is, is spirituality. And that is the fabric underneath everything that I do. And the way that that got revealed was was slowly. It was like I I started dancing like with a hula hoop. And that was way more effective for weight loss than like working out, which I had done avidly. You know, I started getting obsessed with essential oils and started moving away from prescriptions. I totally fell in love with yoga and meditation, started getting into nutrition and found out about mindful eating. And those are all these very practical applications of spirituality. But let me just down this beautiful rabbit hole of really claiming my life, claiming my command over my life in these really radical ways and really subtle ways.
Carlee
And just a shout out for your book, Eat Here Now. It is phenomenal. I think I've read that thing cover to cover three times now. That's how powerful it is. So, guys, if you have not checked it out, please check it out. It is so powerful. And I couldn't I could not get through the show without shouting out your book.
Britta
Thanks. I love my books. You know, I think it's a pretty good book. So, you know, it's easy it's easy to digest, which I think is important when you take on subjects like that, because otherwise it's like, oh my God. I just. How do you even start to do something like that? Eat mindfully.
Carlee
Well, speaking of which, it sounds like I mean, a lot of the. Well, let's say we don't have your book. We're waiting for it to come in the mail. What can we do right now to connect more spiritually, to maybe find that healthier version of ourselves?
Britta
Yeah, beautiful question. There's a couple of things that that I pretty much utilize myself all the time. One of them is a concept call that I like to phrase it as ritualize it. And that means like take take the things that you do in your everyday life that are routines and uplevel them to the ritual status. And really for me, the difference between routine and ritual is just meaning, like it's its meaning and intention that I infuse it with spirit, I infuse it with a sense of the sacred and that can even be doing dishes, you know, it can be eating your salad or your taco, you know, but doing it in a way where you're you're being mindful, you're paying attention, you're slowing down. Noticing your breath. And that's that's another that's kind of my second superhero tool is Breath. Oh, my gosh. Just one of my one of my mentors says, command your breath, command your life. And that has become one of my mantras. So, you know, in the case of eating, just taking a moment to take a couple deep breaths before we start a meal, before we pick up our utensils can be a game changer and paying attention to our breath between every bite. You know, those small little places make a huge difference. It's just me. Yeah.
Carlee
It's funny to me like thinking about just what you just shared just then is like I think one of the tips that you recommended in your book was in terms of virtualizing your meal is to put your fork or your spoon down between bites like as you're chewing and like if that doesn't bring you back. I know for me I was always the person. Sometimes still am gotta be real. That's where I'm just fill. I'm like chewing, filling the utensil with the next bite. Just thinking about the next bite. And if we use you know, if we put that down and we use our breath like that, can. That alone could ritualize just about anything. It seems.
Britta
Yeah, that that tool right there. That is, if you took one thing away from the book, that would be it. I call that the mastication meditation, and it is it is the ultimate non metaphor for how we are living in the future, like planning our next bite, not even paying attention to the bite that's in our mouth.
Carlee
I'm glad I I passed that quiz.
Britta
Yeah. Good job.
Carlee
Thank you. So what? What else do you recommend in terms of next steps?
Britta
Well, I really recommend befriending. You know, I love what you just said about. It's like I don't do it all the time, right? OK. Neither do I. I wrote the book. I don't do it all the time. In fact, I was just musing in my kitchen this morning about places where, like, bad, bad kitchen habits that I have. And and I was just like, OK. Yeah. Let's get into it. Like, it's it's befriending the shadow. It's seeing the places where, you know what? I have work to do and it's all good. Like if I demonized myself, if I make myself bad or wrong for it, that's just turning away right rather than OK. I've got work to do. This is there's a lot of resistance here. For me, this feels really challenging and leaning in. You know, I feel like that's if there is a cornerstone of true spiritual work, that's it. It's befriending your shadow. It's leaning into those places where you'd rather not pay attention. You'd rather just cover it up and turn away. But that's where those are, where the true gifts to know our souls evolution are.
Carlee
Yeah. I have this great affirmation. I read myself every day. That is everything is for. What is it? It's I should know it. I read it first thing. It's the first one on my list. It's all for the growth. It's all for my soul's expansion. It's all for my soul's expansion. And prevent befriending your shadow and my my crap like that is for my soul's expansion. And there's nothing more powerful than that. So really quickly, where can we find you?
Britta
Britta Green Violet is my Web. It's my Instagram handle. You can find me on Facebook. I have a ritualize IT group. And I've got a free, mindful eating meditation on my Web site.
Carlee
And we're gonna put that link in our description. So don't you guys worry about the link for that free gift? We'll make sure that you get it. So we want to know, for those of you who are at home, what are the simple ways that you've already ritualised your life or the simple ways you've already incorporated spirituality into your daily life? Let us know in the comments. We want to get this conversation going. So, Britta, thank you so, so much for coming on the show. This concludes this episode of The Stress Less Show. If you've enjoyed this week's episode, let us know by giving us a big old thumbs up and hitting that follow or subscribe button. Thanks for listening and we'll see you next week.