How to Regain Your Health and Thrive | Podcast | Eva Vennari
In this Audacious Life podcast episode, host Steph Roberts interviews Eva Vennari, a former victim of an emotionally abusive, narcissistic relationship who escaped while pregnant and raised two children as a single mother. Eva recounts the physical and emotional toll of the abuse— chronic illness, scarlet fever, hypothyroidism, infertility, fibromyalgia, and other unexplained symptoms— and how the medical community often dismissed her concerns. She describes her decisive break from the relationship, the legal battles over alimony and child support, and the challenges of single‑parenting while working full‑time in the stone‑industry. Through self‑directed research she discovered a talent for health investigation, leading her to study nutritional balancing and hair mineral analysis. This sparked the creation of the Elevate Institute, a holistic health practice that uses hair mineral testing, personalized supplement protocols, detox and mineral repletion, and intuitive coaching to help primarily women (ages 35‑65) recover from “mysterious” illnesses linked to toxic relationships, adrenal burnout, and environmental toxins. Eva emphasizes the importance of trusting one’s intuition, setting boundaries, and rebuilding emotional muscles, using metaphors like fire‑hoses, cars, and the Leaning Tower of Pisa to illustrate the healing process. She also shares practical tools such as “finger yoga” for emotional regulation. The conversation highlights the intersection of trauma, chronic disease, and holistic detox, offering a roadmap for survivors to regain health, confidence, and agency.
Chapters
Like, you're the only one who lives in your body. You know better than anybody what you're experiencing. Like, stop listening to the excuses that doctors give you as to why it's okay to be in pain and suffering. It's not okay ever. For women who were abused, oftentimes they're told, right? So they're told that their intuition is wrong.
Yep.
And there's a disconnect there between really trusting that intuition and owning it As opposed to listening to that other person outside of you to give you the information that they, they think you need. And that's the dependency.
Welcome to The Audacious Life Podcast. I'm your host, Steph Roberts, and today I'm excited because I have someone who, boy, she represents everything that I talk about here, which is the overlap between the person who survived a situation where there was abuse of some kind, and then evolving into an entrepreneur. It's interesting, the correlation between the two. So she and I met at the New Media Summit in San Diego, and it was super brief. Didn't really get to talk to her too much. And then when we hopped on for this interview, at the beginning, I was like, okay, so what, what do you want to talk about? These are my two shows. And as I began to listen, I was just blown away. I mean, basically, she clearly knows her stuff with abuse. She's been through it. She actually was an advocate for women for many years, and she's definitely an inspiring example of what can happen when you actually call it what it is, decide to leave, and then make a life for yourself no matter what. And that's really what she did. And she started with a whole bunch of physical problems that were manifesting in her life in many different ways when she was very young, like 19, 20, early 20s, and how she worked through that and how that kind of led to just this epiphany and I think a calling to help other people with similar issues where they can't quite identify— the doctors can't quite identify what's going on with you. And I think that she also saw that link that we've talked about many times if you've listened to the show between You know, just adrenal burnout, autoimmune disorders, all kinds of I guess we'll call them mysterious illnesses that affect our bodies that are related to adrenaline anxiety living in that fight or flight state for so long and what that can do to to you. But the good news is there is a way out of it. There's a way to heal, and I'm so excited to share her story with you. So I think you'll be riveted and inspired. So. Without further ado, here she is, Eva Vennari.
Balance, balance, right? Yeah, keeping all the plates spinning. And then my other one, The Audacious Life, which I'm kind of reviving, that one is people stuck in toxic relationships and trying to get out. And those people often suffer from all kinds of autoimmune disorders.
Yeah, they do. That was my history. So I was, you know, the reason for the divorce was he was violent. emotionally abusive and not physically, but emotionally and mentally abusive. And so I left and became educated about relationships, what they're supposed to be, and domestic violence, and how the particular of the whole, you know, codependent relationship, what it's all about, the circular pattern of abuse. And I became an advocate.
Wow!
And I just, yeah, became an advocate for battered women and discovered how many people, women especially, who are Sensitive. And usually, usually that— there's that narcissist and the empath. I was the empath. He was the narcissist. And they tend to attract each other, right? I know nothing about that.
No. No. You're no expert.
Yeah. So now relationships, I think that loving yourself is key. And women in general, I mean, that message could apply to both of them, but women, they said they tend to wear their fatigue as a badge of honor. Look at all that I've done and who I've done it for. Yeah, as opposed to taking care of ourselves. And then we're blamed for it, for taking care of ourselves. I think that's it.
Like, that's the key because that's the difference between, like, you know, for the mompreneurs, many of them actually have really supportive husbands and partners. Not all, but many do, and that's why they're so successful. But then on the other hand, with, you know, the women who are trying to get out of— and men, but mostly women trying to get out of these toxic relationships— you could try some self-care, but the amount of guilt and the eggshell walking and the shaming and the comments— like, if you're already beaten down, it is usually the last thing that they think to do because it's just not possible.
Well, it's not possible, and that is the great point. There's no sense in feeling bad about any of it either, because it's— I relate it to how the body works. If you think about when it's time to digest, your body goes into a different state of healing. And that's, you know, if you're in fight or flight and you've got, you know, something chasing you, that's no time to be digesting.
Right.
Right. So you can't be doing self-care while someone is abusing you and you're allowing it. So it's like you have to call the fire department and get the hose on the water that's on the house that's burning down, you know, it's no time to call a plumber.
Yeah, yeah, exactly.
I get through a lot of ideas through metaphors. I use cars, I use emergency vehicles, I use tigers, whatever I have to. Seriously, no, that's a good one.
I like that.
Yeah.
Wow.
So your journey started really with that and then empowering yourself to get out and focus on your health, would you say? Or was there another point before that while you were in the relationship where you made that?
It was definitely a double-prong approach because I knew there was something wrong with the relationship. And I knew that it was beating me down, but it was survival, you know, to— I knew if I wasn't going to get me out, no one else was going to. So I had to try to make that decision. And there was none of this back and forth business like most women do. Oh, he hit me, but I'm going to go back with him because he's not all bad. No, no, no. I— once I made my decision, I announced to him, and I was 8 months pregnant, and I go, Mm-hmm. You know what? This is going to be easier without you. Once she is born, I want you out and I'm divorcing you. And that was it.
Wow, good for you. Very clear.
Yeah, very clear.
There's no waffling.
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Once I make a decision, I don't like to go back on it like that. And then while I was married to him, I noticed he had medical issues. And so I would kind of assist in the doctor's whole— they presented it a lot, but I would say, well, what about Crohn's disease? Or what about Candida or whatever, and I'd be suggesting things that could be going on in his body. And I discovered I had a knack for research, and I had my own issues I was trying to support. And so it was, yes, I know I need to get out of this relationship, but I can't take care of— Yeah, it goes back to that. You're either doing one or the other. While you're being abused, you don't have time to take care of yourself.
Yeah.
And I was the breadwinner too. So all these, all these, these men who are, who, right? Yeah, it's opposite. Most, most of the time in an abusive relationship, the man makes the money and keeps the woman at home, segregated and isolated. And for me, I was the breadwinner.
Was he taking all your money though? I've definitely heard that where even though you're the breadwinner, there's so much power behind closed doors that basically you never even have access to your own money.
Well, he started doing some funny things that I had never been exposed to before, and I didn't know how to say no, and no didn't work. Um, I would be punished in other ways, you know how that goes. He would ask— he would say, hey, can you, can you call your boss and ask for an advance? I need $300. Well, and there was the whole conversation, what do you need it for? It doesn't matter, I'm getting this, not— it's a good deal and I have to do it and you don't understand. And you know, the whole Yeah.
Wow, crazy. And then you did— you actually asked for an advance or no?
Yeah, I mean, there was— it made it to the point where I felt like I had no choice.
Yeah. Wow, that is just like the height of intimidation and manipulation, right? Yep.
And that today, that wouldn't happen. It would not even be a— yeah, yeah, it's a— it's The difference in how I look today in pictures, and that's— I understand. I don't know what's going on with my light. Zoom is really terrible at auto-adjusting for the light in my camera.
We'll just use little pieces of it for promo. Don't worry about it. Okay, it's not worth it. So, so you were with him, you made that decision, and then so how did you pick up the pieces after you decided to leave, and how much of his health and his stuff going on came with you as a co-parent?
Oh goodness, um, this is the part of the story that really raises eyebrows. Um, okay, so I just remembered something that I hadn't remembered in a long time that derailed answering the question, so ask me the question.
Are you okay?
Yeah, I just, I want to share it, but I want to make sure that I answer the question too.
So I was just wondering, because you left when you were pregnant and you were the breadwinner, Obviously, it's his child. So when you leave, like, after that, how much of his health issue— and I think I actually am wondering about the financial— like, was he depending on you as a co-parent, like, financially, the breadwinner? Like, how much of your life was he in?
Oh yeah, yeah, yeah. He, he wanted to take claim to my income and try to get Oh, okay.
Are you in California? I think it's alimony in California.
No, it was Idaho where we were living at the time. Yeah, so he, he won alimony, I guess. So it would be alimony. Yeah, yeah. Not that— I mean, I wouldn't be eligible for it because he didn't make any money. He couldn't keep a job, right? And he had committed fraud, insurance fraud, and I was the prime witness.
Wow.
So there was all sorts of interesting drama that went on. I, I worked at a place where the AG's office was in the same building, and so the Attorney General was giving me advice on how to navigate. We'd become friends because I was working in tech at the time. I was an IT tech person, information technology on computers, and so You know, you become a savior to an attorney who's trying to figure something out and he can't get on his computer, right? So anyways, this relationship started with my questioning of what can I do to protect myself, and it turned into a what's going on with this case. And it had come to his attention that, that my ex, or soon-to-be, was under the microscope for some insurance fraud, and I became The witness, I actually had to testify in federal court against him and he went to jail post the divorce. So he was in prison for 5 years and I had to work. I took care of the kids by myself. He didn't pay child support. I would say for 95% of the time that he was still alive after the divorce and supposed to pay, he did not pay. So all of the burden was on my shoulders.
How many kids did you have?
We had 2 together.
Okay. Yeah. And how old was your other child? So you had a baby and then—
2 babies because they're only 54 weeks apart. Yeah, the one was planned. I was told I was infertile. That was part of the whole, you know, sick thing. I became— see, we were married at 20, and right before we married, I had come down with scarlet fever. And that should tell you like how poorly my body was functioning. Yeah, I almost died. Wow.
Yeah, scarlet fever. Little House on the Prairie.
I know, who has scarlet fever anymore?
Right?
Yeah, yeah. So, um, came down with scarlet fever, recovered, and then we got married. And in short order, I found out I was pregnant, but I lost that child. I couldn't hold on to the child. I was told, oh, you've got hypothyroidism. So they put me on Synthroid, and then they said, oh, wait a minute, you're not just having issues with your thyroid, but you are infertile. I was diagnosed infertile, had all sorts of problems with my cycle, and, you know, so they wanted to put me on medication. So it was like one medication after another to get these. So Courtney, our firstborn, she was planned. The second one, I thought, oh, I'm infertile, I don't have to worry about this. Yeah, not so much. She came right away. Yeah, it was not planned, but yeah, it was short order, right before Morgan, the second child, right before she was born, I said, enough is enough. I can't do this anymore. I cannot raise children in this environment and let them see that this is the way women are supposed to be treated. It's not okay.
That's a lot of courage for somebody— you were only in your early 20s?
Yeah, I was 23. 23. So it took a year for me to get pregnant with Courtney after the loss. So that made 21, 22, and then 23 when I had Morgan, and then 24 by the time the divorce was final.
Oh my gosh. What state were you in?
Idaho. Who—
Idaho good to single moms?
No, they're terrible. And I'm sure we'll get hate mail for this one. If you weren't married, yeah, and you had children, you were somehow, you know, a plague on society and a threat to all married men.
Oh, of course. Yes.
So they kept saying, you know, I'm from California, I'm from LA. So they would say to me, go back to LA.
Wow.
Yeah, go back to LA where you belong. And I found a position that would move me and I says, you know what, I think I will. And I've been in LA since then. I enjoy it here. This is my home. This is where I was born and raised. Good.
Good for you. You found your tribe, your people, your land, your whatever. Oh my gosh.
Wow.
So you were that young. You got out of that terrible situation. Then you're a single mom to 2 very young babies. You're trying to build your career, and you're still trying to figure out what the hell's going on with your body.
Yeah, yeah, and it, you know, the whole survival mode was primary and the drama that ensues with being a single mom, and I'm still single, I'm not, I haven't remarried, it's been 20 years.
20 years, yeah, I believe it, wow.
No, longer than that. I divorced at 24, so it's been, yeah, more. So we won't say, but more. It's been a while. Yeah, and I remember thinking, is it normal to have this many problems?
And so what did you do? So I'm just thinking about your experience as an adult, but it sounds like this really started way back when you were a kid. But do you feel like the situation, the abusive situation, all the emotional highs and lows and the stress with all that contributed, or do you just feel like Something was haywire to begin with.
Well, I was definitely conditioned somehow to be receptive, you know, as an empath, you live your life a certain way until you learn compassion, so that wasn't something I learned until even just a few short years ago about, you know, separating yourself with a good boundary emotionally so that you don't get too involved with other people and make their problems your own, huge, huge. Yeah, so yeah, there's that and I think the contributing factor and the compounding effect that happens with Toxic relationships over a period of your life, they cause this cavitation. I feel like that's what I call it. It's that disparity between what you think and what you feel. You do things because of obligation instead of because you really want to. You don't necessarily think the same as the other person, but because they're pushing you with this, you know— what is the word I'm looking for? It's, it's a brainwashing effect.
Yeah.
The control that they have over you. So I found myself feeling like I was conditioned and set up for having a relationship like that, and it wasn't until I made the decision, you know what, I don't want this type of relationship in my life anymore, that that stopped. But until then, it just contributed to the greater amount of stress internally. You can have 2 different kinds of stress, and I was experiencing both, which makes a lot of sense. So you have the internal stress of all of those imbalances— toxic chemicals, toxic metals, Toxic exposure to foods that weren't properly, you know, I wasn't eating organic for a long time, didn't even know what that was. And then you have all those toxic relationships. Where is your energy? Yeah.
So when you're talking about the toxic relationships, are you saying that like after you left him, in your life in general, you attracted more toxic people, whether friends, coworkers, romantic relationships?
Well, yeah, the big one was the romantic relationships. My efforts to remarry, I was so desperate to not repeat.
Yeah, yeah.
That I would reject suitor after suitor. I mean, I was proposed to several times and I was like, no, this feels too much like it's gonna head in the wrong direction. I'm not going to do it. And so I, I would rather be in a relationship for a short while and break up and then get in a different one than actually have a nice, healthy relationship. And it hasn't been until the last couple of years. I was single for 2 years and did not date for 2 years before I found my now boyfriend. And this is the healthiest relationship I've ever had. It's really enjoyable.
Awesome.
Congratulations.
Thank you.
You find somebody who's actually like, wow, this is healthy. Oh my God.
Oh, you mean we can have— yeah, exactly. We can have open dialogue, right?
Yeah.
Wow, well, congratulations. That's huge.
Yeah.
So tell me a little bit more about what you're doing now. Like, so you gave us this great background, but so what are you doing now with helping other people unwind this mystery with their bodies and all that?
Yeah, if they're in a place where it's, it's not an emergency situation like that, you know, I'm finding that the people that I work with are usually women in their middle of life, somewhere between 35 and 65. That's a nice big cushion.
Yeah.
Where they've been through some difficult times, but it's more like in their past, and now they're ready to put a focus on their health, and they want to do it without drugs, and they want to do it holistically. So they've been through some challenges, and now they're ready for something different. What I'm helping them do at that, at that point, they're open. They're open to suggestion. They're open to change. And the idea that we're taking a little bit of their hair and like creating a personalized manual. This is how if you take care of yourself, taking these supplements, eating these, these foods, not as a diet, but kind of as a daily consideration. Here's a framework from which to think so you don't have to constantly be worrying about, should I eat this or should I not eat that, you know.
Okay.
If you, if you have a general idea of how to take care of yourself, then there's less stress internally. If there's less stress internally, now you can deal with the drama of life better. I call it the lanes of the freeway open up in your mind, and now you're able to process things that you couldn't before. Right. That makes sense. Yeah.
You're cleared in every aspect almost.
Yeah. Yeah, I hear that. I hear that from people after being with me for a little while. For most adults, and it did for me, it took me 3 years to recover fully, but most adults need about 2 years working with me to get rid of toxins and create a new foundation using minerals and detox modalities. And during the course of that time, I love the conversations that start to occur after like the 2nd or 3rd test because this is a really crazy thing that started to happen to me is when your body becomes cellularly strong, you become more toxic-free, I call it static-free, then chakra centers start to align on their own. Body systems start to work without you having to worry about, should I flush my liver, should I flush my gallbladder, right? You don't have to worry about these things. The body knows what it needs to do. And when your energy systems start to function on their own more Clearly, now you're more in touch with your intuition. And for women who were abused, oftentimes they're told, right? So they're told that their intuition is wrong.
Yeah.
And there's a disconnect there between really trusting that intuition and owning it, as opposed to listening to that other person outside of you to give you the information that they, they think you need. And that's the dependency. So it's a, it's a habit to break. If we can come to that place, right? Doesn't that make sense? If we can come to that place where we can trust our own intuition, your mind is clear, your heart is in alignment with what you're, you're feeling, what you're thinking is true. And then intuition comes into play and you can trust that. And that's something that abused women especially, and men, do not trust initially. And it's a muscle that I kind of help people build a little bit in conversation. And that's— those are the fun conversations.
I love them. Yeah, so you really start the beginning of an ultimate transformation for somebody who's assuming they're out, because I think it actually could empower them if they're not yet out to start to feel better, to get the clarity, to really take action and do so in a way that's empowering. And also just, they start to feel better and not so cloudy. And I remember I said this, I was just interviewed the other day, but I was remembering like the statement that I, when I left, I fled and I was in a different place for like a week. And that was the first night that I, I just felt so mentally relaxed and myself again, because I had been on high alert for so long and my sleep was totally messed up. Totally. So I mean, I'm just imagining what this It feels like when somebody starts to focus, even if they're still entrenched in that bad relationship, this could so bolster and empower somebody to really, really fight that battle, so to speak, you know.
It could if the partner who's abusing them lets them take their supplements and lets them eat right. And that's the part where they start to see a disconnect. So the— and this is so difficult for a person who is in the middle of that abusive relationship A toxic relationship of any kind, whether it's with a parent, with a child, or with their spouse, is that they are so used to having their way. The abused— abusive person is so used to having their way. And if you— if they discover that you're getting stronger in your ability to live your life without them, whatever it is that's the contributing factor, they're going to sabotage. Yeah. Yeah, very good point.
Yeah, so it's better to do something like this on the slide. You're listening and you're in this position, you know you need to care for yourself and this might be something that could help you. You don't want to go public with it. It's something—
Yeah.
You could do behind the scenes because they are so self-absorbed most of the time that if you're not talking about it, they're never going to know. They're just going to be like, well, why is she feeling better? I mean, they all do that. Once you make that decision and you start shifting your behavior, They get triggered, things shift, they get scared, it gets scarier.
Yes, yes.
Totally common. But at least if you don't get sabotaged and you can take care of yourself, you're going to be that much more prepared to really think on your feet and have that strength.
Yeah, because all of that takes energy, um, the, the moving yourself, because usually you can't stay in the same home. Usually they will take take ownership of the home or the place, and then you have to move. So that takes energy. Taking care of the kids, if there are any, usually goes with the mom. That takes a lot of energy there. And then you have to deal with court systems, lawyers, and it all takes a lot of energy. And where is that going to come from? People used to ask me, Eva, how— I don't know how you do it, raising these 2 kids on your own and a full-time job, you know, and doing something on the side. I was doing the Elevators to See it on the side. And I says, I don't— I guess I just have to. And there are things that fall by the wayside there. Nobody's making lunches in the mornings the way my mom used to. She was a stay-at-home mom. It was a '50s generation household. Dad worked, mom stayed home. She did PTA and Mary Kay, right?
Mm-hmm.
And she made lunches at night and did the grocery shopping and cooked the meals. They were— dinner was on the table at 6:30 every night. That was clockwork. And there was not those types of things happening in my house because I'm a single mom and I can't do it all. And to expect me to do it all, uh-uh.
You've got to cut corners. Yeah.
Yeah.
Send them to school, they can buy lunch.
That's right.
Yeah.
When I first left, I was so happy when I found like a daycare for my younger daughter, like 15 months old, and my older was in school. But it was like when I found the daycare that had They actually had meals included. I was like, hallelujah. Yeah, just like that in itself saved so much time. It's crazy. Yeah. Yeah, gotta do what you gotta do.
Exactly. And I was asking my daughter about this. I was aware of the fact that I was doing less than my mother did for me. And Morgan might have been 6 at the time, so she was going into first grade or something. And I said, I'm sorry, Morgan, I just— I can't do— I can't do everything that I want to do for you. And she just looked at me, she goes, Mom, We don't know any other way. So I'm hoping like that little, that little thing right there, if you're worried about not doing enough for your kids, like they don't know anything other than what you've been doing, right? Only you're the one batting yourself over the head trying to do more.
It is tricky though, that when they're in towns or school systems where it's— you are the minority Right. And that's just, you know, whatever. But that's good. Kids are amazing. They're resilient. They're super aware.
And they both grew up fine. They'll be 21 and 22 this summer, adulting. Yep. They moved out of the house. They both have management positions in companies and happy and thriving. Yeah.
That's great.
Thank you.
And then, so you're— and your success, it sounds like you're doing amazing with your Elevator Institute.
Yeah, I'm putting all of my first and best energy into this business, and it is like my baby. So I no longer have the kids in tow to worry about to the detail that you have to when they're growing up and depending on you. And I no longer have to give my first and best energy to another company. I was an architectural rep for 16 years in the stone industry. I used to visit architects and designers all throughout Los Angeles and Orange Counties, helping people design projects all over the world. It was a lot of fun, but it's a lot of stress and leaves me very little time for, you know, running the business. So since August of 2016, I've been able to put all of my best and first energy into the Elevate Institute and have been able to develop new products and services along with What I originally offered, which was just the hair mineral analysis. It is still the foundation of all of the work, but as, you know, we talked about, the development, the human development, the spiritual development that occurs has been something that was just a hobby of mine that I have now been able to bring in as a facet and layer of the services that I offer, which I really truly enjoy that.
Yeah, so say more about What Elevate actually is? Like, let's hear, I met you at a cocktail party, what are you gonna tell me that you do?
The basics of it is we're taking the guesswork out of detox, and most people are extremely concerned about their energy, and they're also concerned about how they look and feel. They kinda wanna look and feel 10 years, you know, younger than they do right now. Yeah, that's a lot of us, and we're kind of poking around in the dark. What do we do?
Right.
We try the master cleanse, and we go and get a massage, and then we try the liver flush and the 10-day or the 48-hour Hollywood diet. Remember when that was huge? Yeah, I mean, we try all these things, and we're not quite sure how it's affecting us other than a physical aspect. You know, did we lose 5 pounds? Did we lose 10 pounds? Did we keep it off? And that's not always a good measure of health other than— you know, and then the other prong is we go to the doctor. So he'll say, oh, you're symptom-free, or everything looks good on paper. But there's always a difference between what we are experiencing in our bodies and how we know we are in our personality and how we present ourselves internally, that internal voice, and what we're presenting out to the world. And my job is to make those two more of the same.
Mm-hmm.
Like, be your best self. What does that look like? And, and focus on achieving that. And that's the Elevate Institute. Wow.
So do you— so when people find you, are they typically aware of, like, what their best self even is? Because I know there are many people who are just, like, so out of touch with their bodies, you know what I mean? They're just so stuck in, like, everydayville.
Yeah, that's a great question. And it is true that we get caught up in our habits. And become unconscious to what is really going on, we can think about what we have to do, because we do that all the time. Think about how when we're in bed and we first wake up, what are we thinking about? We got to go do that thing, whether that's, I've got to brush my teeth. And while we're brushing our teeth, I've got to take a shower. And while we're taking a shower, oh, I've got that appointment. And then we're at that appointment, we're like, oh, I know I've got this other appointment. So we're always thinking, yeah, ahead as opposed to—
We're building life like it's Pulling you ahead with all these shoulds and right tasks versus being self-aware and like, well, what do I want? What am I feeling?
Exactly.
Am I even right? Like, yeah, yeah, not everyone's in touch with that.
Yeah, it's in that. Then that's a huge topic of conversation, is part of it is that self-balance of awareness in our minds. And emotionally, are we taking care of ourselves? And are you familiar with the term indigo children? Have you heard of that before?
Yeah, I'm sure my listeners are not though, necessarily.
Okay, well, we can kind of— I'm trying to figure out how. So most people who are of the indigo children, they're sensitive emotionally, highly intelligent, and they think. They're very cerebral. Everything is up in their heads, and they're not feeling comfortable in their bodies. So they haven't dropped their awareness down into their body most of the time because there's a lot of pain there. And that, those, again, those are the sensitive people, emotionally and physically sensitive people I tend to work with. That's their scenario. And they, again, they're not necessarily familiar with the term either. I just thought I'd bring it up and see.
Yeah, no, I think it's fascinating. What is the other one for children now?
Oh, there's crystal children and now there's rainbow children.
One rainbow, yeah. I've got at least— I don't know if I've got one of each, but I like that.
I knew I had a crystal child. Morgan, my younger one, when she was just a baby, she loved rocks and she wanted to put them in her mouth all the time.
Oh, wow.
Yeah, very connected to the energy of rocks.
Yeah, that's cool. Yeah, so people should Google this stuff because it's fascinating. Yeah, it is. Yeah, look for it on YouTube. I think there's some good stuff on YouTube about it too.
Yeah, the original book was written by Lee Carroll. It's called the Indigo Children.
That's fascinating. So, so those are the people who are kind of self-selecting. They're already— they know they're different.
Yes.
And they're probably looking for a way to feel more okay. Is that what you're saying?
Yeah, feeling more okay. There's a lot of questions behind it. Um, the whole spiritual conversation of You know, the basics of human questions. Where do we come from? Why am I here? The depression that goes along with not feeling connected. And depression, depression cannot only come from those spiritual questions of not knowing how, how we belong and why are we being abused. And, you know, what, what is my suffering all about? You know, why, why isn't life fair for me? Subject of suicide kind of comes up into that play, but Where I found a lot of strength was in discovering that I was an indigo child myself and came to the decision and understanding and belief. And that was the, that was the journey, a decision and understanding, a belief that I wanted and I chose to be here. So there must be something for me to do.
Sounds like you've done a lot.
A little bit.
And so with your, you know, so we met through, I'm just gonna say that was, so we met at the New Media Summit. Actually, I don't even know if we physically met, did we?
I don't think so. I don't think we had a chance to have a conversation. No.
There's so many people there. It was probably the highest vibe, most amazing group of people I've ever had contact with in one space like that. It's pretty amazing.
Yeah.
But, um, so when you were there, like, what is the thing I think that you felt resonated with, with many of the people there that kind of attracted them to you?
I remember just being up on stage and doing the pitch and the unusual amount of eyeballs on me when I was talking about not being able to get up off the couch to tuck my kids in at bed at night because I was that tired. And I remember that moment like it was yesterday. I do remember being on the couch And looking at my daughters who were almost as tall as the couch and saying, I'm sorry, I can't tuck you into bed tonight. Go brush your teeth, get your jammies on. And I'm going to be here.
Yeah.
And yeah, and I think we've all been that tired. But when you're that tired for not just weeks, not just months, but for years.
How did you even function? So you've got 2 little kids, you're doing 2 jobs. Were you doing 2 at that time, or were you doing—
Well, the full-time mom is a job right there, but—
3 jobs, actually, if you count. Yeah.
Well, I didn't have— yeah, at that time I hadn't discovered nutritional balancing, and so I was muddling through going to doctors and trying to figure out what was going on. I had one doctor actually turn his back on me and say, Eva, you have hypochondria. You should go see a psychologist.
Wow.
Yeah, that was enjoyable.
So— Well, I think when they, you know, it's that there's this negative stereotype now, and I don't know if this was the case then when you first probably started, but just the whole, like, if you're somebody who Googles and actually reads medical papers and research, they think there's something wrong with you. It's like, no, it's called critical thinking. This is my one and only body, and I do know how to do research. research, so why wouldn't I? Or even if it's about your children or somebody, you know, another loved one. Yeah, that's mind-boggling to me. Questioned, you know?
Yeah, they don't. They don't want to be questioned, or at least the ones that I was going to. And I kept asking why. Why is this happening to me? Why am I getting lumps? I found a lump in my right breast. I had to go through the 2 weeks of waiting to find out if it was cancer. So it turned out to be benign, but I still had it removed because it was growing. And I had— they thought I had the start of endometriosis. They started— they had fibromyalgia. And I said, why am I getting lumpy. Like, what is going on? And doctor— there was 3 different doctors handling all 3 different situations, and they all said, we don't know. And it's not that I'm saying they don't know. I'm saying they told me, we don't know. So as a medical community, they all spoke for each other when they said we. I'm going to believe them.
Yeah.
They don't know. But here's the thing that was really cool is after I completed my term Doing nutritional balancing using the hair mineral analysis, all of those symptoms abated. I no longer have fibromyalgia. No more cysts in my breasts or in my uterus. I'm not lumpy.
That's huge. I mean, this audience, you know, again, back to the whole emotional abuse, toxic relationships, domestic violence, like the damage that that does to your body. I've just met so many women who have all of that.
Yep.
Yeah, there's a huge amount of stress levels. The relationship of minerals in the body determines how well we're able to function. It's like, how did I function during those times? I didn't. I felt terrible. I knew I felt terrible. My skin started to turn a gray color in my face. Massages, I would go and get a massage to try to get some release. And I would end at the end of the massage and go, I don't know what the fuss is because I don't feel any better.
Mmm.
And it wasn't until I got those minerals in balance in my body when something was now allowing me to feel more like I could enjoy a massage. And at the end of that, I was like, oh, that's the big deal. I get it now. But it took a while.
It took some healing.
And it's all related to the toxins in our environment. And the toxic relationships and what that does to our thinking creates that whole adrenal burnout situation going on. Yeah. Wow.
So what is the first step for somebody who wants to work with you? They decide, like, I'm intrigued by this, I think she could help me. What should they do?
Yeah, I mean, if it makes sense what I've talked about so far, I do offer a free phone consultation. Because there's always personal questions. No matter how many times I can explain what it has done for me, there's always a personal story. And so that conversation is open and I offer those. But if a person says, yes, I want to move forward, I have clients all over the world. Most of them are here in the States, but I have a hair test kit and they can call me and ask for that, and then we can continue the conversation that So the hair test kit, is that something that you order and then you— I make it up. It's my own kit. It comes in a number 10 business envelope and I mail it to them. It has how to prepare the hair instructions, an intake form, envelope for the hair sample itself, and a little scale so you know exactly how much hair to cut. Oh wow, okay. Yeah, all of that comes in the kit along with an envelope to send it all back to me. I process it. It takes about couple of weeks and then we go over the whole test together. So there's no— we make sense of the symptoms when we look at the test. And usually when I'm done with the consultation, I'll hear a comment something similar to, wow, Eva, I've always known this about my body but no doctor has been able to explain it so that it made sense to me like this.
And then once they start with you, like how quickly Do they start to feel better?
That's always a question that I get. Eva, how soon am I going to start feeling better? I have no idea.
I'm sure it varies based on how bad or how you're wired, or like not how bad you are, but yeah.
Well, yeah, and I kind of equate it to if— what if you were to say that your body's healing patterns, or what your body's going to work on first, second, or third, is kind of like being a construction site. So I love to talk about how our body and our energy system and the relationships of minerals in our body are kind of like the Leaning Tower of Pisa.
Hmm.
Right? So imbalances, they pass from us to the— from the mother in the womb through to the child, and we're born with those imbalances and have to overcome them our whole life. The Leaning Tower was built on shifted sand to begin with, right?
Hmm.
And I don't know if you know this, but they closed it down for 10 years and then they Repaired it. So what they had to do was put scaffolding up. They put weights on one side, huge, huge weights to keep it from falling over while they took the foundation out from underneath and filled that in with cement. Right. And they corrected the lean just enough because they like their tourism.
Yeah, exactly.
But it's now— yeah, it's now leaning at a stable place. But yeah, they— that took time to do. And so some people need more scaffolding, more weights. Some people need less. And that's the best way I can kind of describe it.
It really is. No, that's very visual.
I love that.
Yeah, but I think that this is great. I'm so glad that I had you on because I feel like in all the people that I've interviewed, and we do talk about this physical aspect of what people are going through. I've never really had somebody address it quite this way. And it sounds like you are not only somebody who can help, you can empathize with just how bad it's been and truly struggling on your own. It sounds like you didn't have really any help. You did everything yourself, really.
The help that I had was, um, I had to fight for it. I'll put it that way. Yeah, yeah, I get it.
Wow, come a long way, baby.
Yeah, yeah, no, it's so exciting to be able to share the journey without being so attached to the journey. I can empathize and, and not get stuck in the story. And, um, I'm hoping you weren't looking for tears because I'm, I'm kind of over everything that happened.
Oh, you're kidding me. No, I mean, if anything, this audience in particular needs The strength, the levity, you know, like, let's, let's have some lightness. This is getting to the other side, that light at the end of the tunnel.
Yes.
And, you know, I think there are a lot of us who've come through this, but then are still stuck in being a victim, being triggered. And unfortunately, there's just a ton of information out there about all the things that we've talked about, the toxic piece, But not a lot about owning yourself, owning your self-care, owning all the crap that's in there. Like, I was in 2 really toxic relationships that were long-term, and I'm the common denominator in both of those things. And so if I want that to shift, I have to invest that time, the money, whatever, in healing and getting myself to a better place. So they don't make those choices again and again and again, which is again the cycle that we talked about. So it's really good to hear that you figured that out at such a young age. Sounds like you've had your path with maybe some romantic partners and the bell went off. And but it sounds like you're in a really good place now, both with your— well, with every aspect of your life, actually.
Don't be jealous. No, and that's what I'm trying to say. Don't be jealous. No, I mean, there's— and here's the really cool thing is to be able to share that even once you get to the place where it's more ideal, not perfect, but more ideal, there are still problems and there's still things that I have to address and there's still the power of learning communication. Oh my God, I'm really trying to master my communication, you know, not be passive. And then aggressive with my communication, just be right on target. Like, if I feel something in the moment, muster that courage, use the muscle, emotional muscle, and speak. And use the words that the other person can hear. This has been like— the learning never stops, and that's really what I want to say.
Yeah, that's beautiful. I totally agree with that. I've found some really helpful books in the last year that have helped me with that piece of it. Like, yes, you have that thought, and then it's you who decides whether to risk and share and get close to that person, or maybe it's going to flop. But even if it flops, you at least released that thought. You know, we're empaths, so it's not— I mean, most of what we have to share is usually pretty good stuff. It's not like we're poisonous and we're trying to hurt anyone, right?
So yeah. Yeah, no, yeah, you said it, said it very well. And, and I have a similar way of stating it in fewer words, but I call it just if you're allowing yourself to be vulnerable to the other person and then whatever happens as a result of that vulnerability, it's good information.
It's all more information. Yeah.
Yes.
In a better way.
Yeah.
Yeah.
So I— and that judgment is another thing I work on, is to not judge what people say out of the gate as negative or positive. It's just information. Yeah, and that's really gone a long way to releasing the bound-up emotional triggers, you know, in the body.
That acceptance— I talk about acceptance a lot. Yes, accepting what is. It's a little Byron Katie-ish, I guess, but just, I think I think of it in a slightly different way than the way she does, but it's truly just not letting stuff stick, like, especially when it's external, it's another person.
Yeah.
And when you're tired and exhausted and not feeling well, that is not something that you do. You're usually triggered by even, you know, your children doing something totally normal. So I think the wellness piece is a huge part of just basic harmony with other human beings and within your home and your relationships and your work and everything. So, yeah.
Yeah. Well, I mean, there's some things that a person could do if they're in a relationship now and can't quite get themselves out of it but wants to calm their body, I call them a life hack, and some people call it finger yoga. Have you heard of this before?
No, not finger yoga. That's cool.
Yeah, you take your, your opposite hand and you just kind of encompass one finger at a time for 4 seconds, and they release emotions, different emotions, each finger. And this can also help center you, ground you, bring you to a place of calm. Nobody will know you're doing it.
I'm going to teach this to my daughter.
Yeah, yeah, 4 seconds at a time. Yeah, and you can feel how each finger is affected in your body, and the one that needs to be cleared the most will have— especially for empaths, you'll feel it as a pulling down in the center of the body.
Do they each represent a different emotion?
Yeah, they, they do. And what did I do with that? I had a short list. It was giving me reminders. I want to say that the pinky is fear. I don't remember them off the top of my head.
What's it called? Is it literally called finger yoga?
Finger yoga. Mm-hmm. I'm gonna find— I'll find my little cheat sheet that I wrote down what each finger stands for and I'll email it to you.
This has been fantastic. I love it. Thank you.
You're welcome.
So for somebody looking for you, do they go to—
what's the best It's, uh, the website is called theelevateinstitute.com, and I have a free gift. It's on the menu, or you can go right to the page, theelevateinstitute.com/freegift. And what's there is a free thyroid assessment and the first 2 chapters of my book called Owning Your Beauty.
Okay.
And this is all about my journey and how I didn't know that I was covering up signs of illness with beauty treatments and how you can see if you're doing the same thing.
Oh, I love that.
Yeah.
Now that's a whole other topic. Now that you said that, I'm like, like dark circles under your eyes, the condition of your hair, and the condition of your nail.
They all speak to something. And for some reason, medical community, they don't look at them in quite the same way.
I will put that link in the, uh, in the show notes, but it's theelevateinstitute.com/health. /freegift.
Gift.
Okay, awesome. Thank you so much. I really enjoyed this, Eva.
Oh, I love the conversation.
Thanks for tuning in to this episode with Eva. It was so much fun talking to her, and I learned a ton. So you can go check her out, but I also just wanted to remind you that we do have a closed Facebook group, and in that group you can ask to be a member and I'll let you in. And in In that group, we share some of the outtakes from the interviews. Most of those are videos. I will have— my goal is to have the finger yoga piece up there so you can see what that's about. And that's just a place for you to go to connect with other women who are like you, going through some of the same things, but keeping things light and positive and all about moving forward. Maybe not so light, some of it's heavy, but just trying to trying to keep things positive to move forward in the healthiest way possible. And I invite some of the former guests to come in, speak to you guys there. You can ask them questions. And this is just kind of ramping up. It's an idea I had a few weeks ago after Jason LaVoy was on, and people are interested in coming in and talking to you guys. So let's build up the group. And if you enjoyed this episode, please do Go leave a review if you haven't already, and subscribe and share this with anybody you know who may need this kind of information. Be happy to have you in the group, and always happy to have you as a listener. So thanks for tuning in, and next week I have an episode that's really powerful with a woman named Emerald Green Forest. Yes, that is her legal name, and we talk about that in the episode. She is another person who was a and is a powerful businesswoman, but at home things were kind of spiraling out of control. So she talks about that situation, how it started, kind of takes us through that journey and out the other side. And if you have any issues in your life with children who are you know hard to deal with, maybe. There are addictions in your family, just repeated patterns in your family dynamic with abuse, addiction, just toxic personalities and relationships and what that can do to you. Definitely, definitely tune in. There's so much good in this episode. I think you're going to really enjoy it. So that's the next one coming up soon. Stay tuned and I will see you then. Have a good one. Bye.
