Nurturing Ourselves Through Healing

Underneath disease and illness and that feeling of being unwell in whatever capacity that looks like emotionally, spiritually, physically, financially, mentally, the list goes on. We can experience dis ease, and we do on so many levels. Often we recognize it, but so often we don't recognize it because it's just what we're used to. Okay, we're going. Okay. Three, two, one, go. Today, I am so honored to bring in the phenomenal Teresa V. As an expert in sports, spiritual health and wellness and physical health and wellness. It is October. It is breast cancer awareness month as well as domestic violence awareness month. And this is the perfect season to address our health and what gets in the way. Welcome to the Healing is possible experience. I am your host, Rebecca Silence. This show is here to take you on a journey of hope and healing. And I am very excited to for today's conversation with Teresa. Teresa, welcome to the show. So grateful that you are joining us today.

Thank you so much for having me. I am really excited to be here.

Yeah, let's just dive in and have you share with us. You know, what is dis ease?

That's a big question, you know, but basically, dis ease is anything that. Anything in our whole lives, every aspect of our lives, that makes us uncomfortable. It's when the energy isn't flowing properly anywhere at any time. And sometimes we're aware of it, and sometimes we're not. And we need to start to get ourselves so in tune with our bodies, our minds, our emotions that we can notice those stops or those blockages in flow as soon as they are happening so that we can have the best chance of working through them before they become a bigger and bigger problem.

Yeah. And I think that's a really important point. It can start super subtle. And if we're not connected to our bodies, and that was. That was my story. I was so busy and ambitious that I would literally say, I don't have time to get sick. I don't get sick. I don't have time to get sick. I can't even tell you how many hundreds of times a month I would have probably been saying that for years. And then I end up with stage three malignant melanoma while I'm pregnant. And I got a reality check that I can get sick. I do get sick. Can you talk to people about when they notice disease or even they're sick, whatever that looks like, from cold level sick to cancer level sick? Whose fault is it? I think this is a really important conversation and question that I'm very curious to hear your Answer to I love.

This question because I deal with very highly spiritual people. What we like to do is we like to take our human healing into our own hands and do a lot of preventive types of things in our bodies, in our systems, which is really great. When the body breaks down, right? You have a car and your car will break down periodically. It's no one's fault. Your car breaks down because it's normal wear and tear, right? The body does the same thing. The body needs attention, the body needs maintenance. And when it doesn't get that, it starts to give us clues. And sometimes we get the clues and ignore them. Sometimes we completely miss them. But the idea here is that it's really important when we do have a moment of dis. Ease, whether it's a cold or cancer, like you're saying, that we stop and we just say, okay, where am I? What's going on? What needs to be addressed without judgment? So much of what we do in the community that, that I work in is, is we beat ourselves for like what practice didn't I do? I didn't do it for long enough. I am so stupid. Like in that negative self talk, that violence, that self violence, you know, that really starts to come in and we put ourselves in a position where we're abusing ourselves because we should have, could have, would have done something differently. And what this does is it lowers our vibration. It takes us into a place of feeling less than, of feeling ashamed, of feeling small. And. And when we're in that place, we cannot access the powers of healing. Right? We can't access the grace that healing requires, the intuition that healing requires. And so what's important for us to. What it's important for us to do is to kind of take as good care of ourselves as possible in every moment. And some days that might mean you eat three candy bars because it's what's available to you. Right. But if that's the best you can do that day, that's what you did, you know, so. So it's really about that and, and about noticing what's going on and being as judgment free as possible because that allows us the deepest access to healing that we can. We can accomplish. Really?

Yeah. Well, and you've been instrumental in my healing journey on so many levels. But I think the biggest lesson I've learned in working with you and knowing you and being so close to you is that my body actually wants to heal and can.

Yes.

You know, and it brings tears to my eyes. Just reflecting back on the paradigms I was in when I met you, that was like a dream that that could be a possibility, but I didn't believe it. And I just want to share with our audience today your body wants to heal and whatever it is, symptom wise, diagnosis wise, that's showing up, it's showing up in a moment. That moment doesn't define you and it doesn't have to become part of your identity. And I mean so many people are unhealthy blatantly and they don't end up with cancer or die young. I mean it's nobody's fault. It's just are you paying attention and course correcting when you notice where you're maybe not honoring and respecting your physical health or your health on any level, in any way, shape or form. I want everyone to know that the most non threatening way to address your healing is to be willing to pay attention and be willing to see the truth, be willing to have compassion and be willing to see your body as capable of healing and wanting that.

Yeah, your body, go ahead. I was going to say your body has this innate wisdom. It knows what to do, it knows how to heal. It's beautiful.

And what would you say to someone that just thinks, well, their body is the one that, that doesn't have all of you know what would be needed for the healing. What would you say and why do people do this to themselves where they think their body is the one that can't heal.

So there's so many reasons. One of them, it's really interesting because a lot of us have the experience of we'll go to a medical professional and they'll say something like, well, I'm not sure why this is happening to you. You don't fit me the profile. You're not doing xyz, so why is this happening in your body? And then we start to question ourselves, you know, or it just doesn't make sense. Well, I'm vegetarian, I'm doing this, I do yoga five times a week. Why am I experiencing this? Right? And one of my favorite teachers in the whole world is like, why not? Who are you to think that you are above experiencing what it is to be human? You know? And what I would say to people is just know that your body knows what to do. You are equipped with everything you need. As much as like Rebecca just said, as much as you are manifesting this in one moment, right? This is where you are in this moment. In the next moment you can heal. It only takes one moment to heal. It's unbelievable, right? It's just amazing. And you're not different. You. Well, you're not different in that you. You're the person who can't heal. You are different than everybody else. I am different than everybody else. So is Rebecca. And what we need to do is start seeing ourselves as individuals in relation to the whole and realize that healing is not one size fits all. Healing is very different for each and every one of us, even if we're healing from the same condition. And to honor ourselves as individuals and the process we've gone through and what we've lived through is to heal. And that is one of the most beautiful things about this process of being human, is that in order to. To achieve the next level of what that means, we need to honor ourselves.

Yeah. And one of the ways you teach your community how to honor themselves is to find their purpose. Can you talk the correlation between purpose and healing and what you want people to know about purpose in relationship to healing?

So many people have all of these things going on in their system because they are in a situation that is wrong for them in some way. And this is said without judgment. It's just. You're getting the memo over and over. I don't fit here. This doesn't feel good to me anymore. I don't like this. I. But for whatever reason, we keep going back there. And that's when our body, our mind, our spirit is trying to say to us, hey, no, this isn't working. And when we keep putting ourselves back in that seat, back in that position, then that's when things start to break down. And what we need to be able to do is to kind of feel into, what is it that I feel called to do here with this life that I have now? And the more we can align with what that is, it doesn't mean we drop everything and just go in that direction if that's not feasible for us. But if we start moving one step at a time in that direction, we allow that energy to flow instead of continuing to get stuck, which is when disease builds up, when energy gets stuck, we can continue moving. We can continue feeling fulfilled, like we're doing something, like we're honoring ourselves. And then that energy continues to flow. Our life continues to flow, and it's so, so important. One of the things I always think about is humans aren't really that different from dogs. You know, like, I had a teacher who always used to say, dogs need a purpose. Dogs need a job. They need something to do, and otherwise they're miserable. You'll see Dogs get depressed or, you know, and I think, you know, about myself like that. I'm like, well, that's me too. If I don't feel like I'm living, I'm making a difference, I'm. I'm living my purpose. I feel like that. So. So I need a purpose. We all need some sort of purpose. And. And that changes, you know, with who we are and where we are in our lives, and we have to. To really honor that. And, you know, continuous evolution, change is the only thing that is a constant in our lifetime, and we have to be open to it.

Yeah, well, and I think, you know, the conversation about healing and disease and purpose, all of these three conversations, the let alone when we throw them all into the same conversation, it can be extremely overwhelming. And I just want people to consider, you know, I say it all the time, but I have to say it here. There's not a right way or wrong way to live. There's not a right way or a wrong way to heal. There's just what works for you. And for me, when I think about purpose, I just think about, am I living how I want to live? And I try to make it that simple. It's not easy, but it is that simple. And I believe that the more aligned we are with being the person that is brave enough to live how we want to live, regardless of reactions, regardless of external factors, the more healthy we are and the more of a space for healing we are. What would you have to say about that?

I totally agree. It is how we want to live, how we feel good living. A lot of us do the shoulds. I should do this, I should do this. But it's not what we want to do, but it's what we feel we should be doing because of whatever framework that we're following. And then we still go to bed every night feeling like we didn't actually live. And so living is the key to healing. Like that energy that life force needs.

A great quote, Theresa. Living, heated healing.

It truly is. You know, and when we start simple, simple is sometimes hard, right? Like everything, all the biggest concepts in life are truly simple, but they're so hard because they're so simple. So, you know, one of the things we always say in ayurvedic counseling is we commit crimes against wisdom. So, you know, if I go to have the third cup of tea, and my body says, please don't have another cup of tea, but I feel like I need the cup of tea in order to, like, have this day be fulfilled, but my Body's telling me it doesn't want it. That's a crime against wisdom. My body knows what it needs, and I'm not listening. You know, if it's like, oh, I should call mom, and everything in me is screaming, please, not today. You're feeling so centered. Don't do this right now. Or you're not in the space for this. And we do it anyway. Crimes against wisdom. And that is the biggest factor for us developing dis ease is not listening to what we already know, not listening to those signs that we're giving ourselves in service to doing or being something that the world wants or expects us to be.

That's so good. Right? And sometimes the only thing we have to fall back on is what we know or what we think we should be doing. And I just want to invite people to trust your body enough to guide you. And it can only do that if you believe it has guidance available to you. What are some simple practices, Theresa, that you can share with our audience and healing as possible family about how to connect to their body and that that guidance and internal wisd that exists inside of them if they're at home going, I have no idea how to do that. I don't even believe that my body is capable of telling me what I do next.

One of the first things I will say to anybody is move. Move your body, right? No matter what you're feeling, if you're stuck in a thought loop, if you're feeling something, move your body. That is the way to get energy moving. And it doesn't have to look any specific way. You can jump up and down, you can go for a walk, you can roll around on the floor. Just move your body. That's one of the first things. Because a lot of times we lose touch with our body because the energy isn't flowing. We are stagnant. We are stuck. You know, one of the other things, I think we've all had that experience of that one gut feeling where we just knew, like, don't talk to this person. Don't make this investment. Like, whatever it is for you, like, your gut knows exactly what it is. So when you feel like you're getting pulled or punched in the gut or something, listen to that. Like, really. And it'll also feel good if. If you look at an apple and you start to salivate, eat the apple, your body's telling you that you want it. One of the other things I love having people start to play with is the full body. Yes. Right. And it's. If someone asks you to do something. If you get an invitation to a party and you just sit with it and there is even one cell in your body that does not want to do this, then it's a no. Right? You wait till you get that full body yes. That knowing that sense of alignment, there's no anxiety, There could be excitement, but there's nothing that doesn't feel right about this situation. And then you make your decision from that place and just start with little things. You know, start with do I want a tuna sandwich or a salad for lunch? And feel it. And that's how we build those muscles of trust.

Yeah. And I think about it as well and teach in the practice of emotional healing that everything, it's a yes or no. It's that simple. There really isn't gray. And for a black and white personality and thinker like me, I've gotten a lot of comfort. Like, this doctor is either a yes or a no. This treatment is either a yes or a no. I'm an example of someone in the middle of cancer. I quit chemotherapy. I don't recommend that for other people. Recommend that you find what's right for you. But for me, that was a pivotal decision in my life. The first was to decide I was going to live. Like, I was going to live versus cancer could take me out. And living in that paradigm, I decided I was going to live and that I was more powerful than the cancer and that I was held safe and supported. And I was going to go for it. Like, of course I was going to come out the other side knowing I might not. But I didn't want to be living in the gray. I wanted a clear focus. And I think that goes back to what you were talking about. The purpose. My purpose was to live and to live. Like, of course I was going to live. And then every treatment, every doctor, every practitioner, and I threw the kitchen sink at cancer. So many holistic healers, as well as traditional medicine, and it just became really clear. Chemo's a no. I was fading fast. And I made the decision to trust my body, trust my guidance, and to not argue with the no. And I just think when we argue with our truth, we create more disease unnecessarily and without meaning to. And I just think even if it feels crazy, practice leaning into and trust falling into your yes, that's the right direction for you. Because just like there's yes or no, there's the right direction in the wrong direction. And you know it's the wrong direction because it's out of Alignment with your truth. And this can be so complex, but it can also be simple. What else would you say about this, Teresa?

Well, I totally agree with, with exactly what you're saying is we are all completely different individuals, right? And so chemotherapy wasn't working for you. However, the next person, maybe it's the best thing that they're working and they love it. You know, they're really happy with what's happening in their body. The thing is, when we are in that place of misalignment of I feel uncomfortable with this, it doesn't feel exactly right to me. But I don't know what else to do. And we're sitting in that in between, right where it's like I need to decide, but I'm not ready yet. I don't know. That uses so much of our energy, that takes so much energy to stay there. It's called. We call it in yoga, we call it a state of vikal. And it just takes energy over and over and over. That energy could be used for your healing. Whether you choose X or Y, chemo or holistic, like whatever it is for you, that energy is needed for your healing. So the longer we put off making the decision, granted, if you don't know, if you're sort of like, I'm not sure yet, then that's one thing. If you're waiting for that calm, centered feeling. But if you already know and you fight yourself, you say, well, if I give up chemo, everyone in my life is going to give me a hard time. Everyone's going to look at me like xyz, like this and that. You know, when you are sure and you don't make the decision, then you're eating up your own energy. And that state is. I mean, isn't that dis ease? You are not in ease, you are in disease. You're putting yourself there every day. So that is really an important thing. You know, it's as individuals, we all have our predispositions. We all have physical, emotional, genetic predispositions to dis ease, right? We might be genetically predisposed to a certain kind of cancer or emotionally predisposed to reacting a certain way. The thing is that knowing that is so empowering, right? Because you can start making decisions to align yourself with the outcome you actually want instead of the one you believe that you are destined to have. And you know, we call those things kavaigunya. We call those things like defective spaces in the body. And, you know, when we know where they are, we can account for them and so I think this is a really important concept because not only will things that can cause disease affect us differently, but treatments will affect us differently as well.

And there's more healing opportunities and possibilities available than what we've seen. Right? Like our parents and how health and wellness was acknowledged and supported growing up. That isn't it. There's so much more available. So my challenge to everybody is be brave enough to take the risk to find out your way to healing, your way to full self expression, self love and optimal wellness for you. And I am an example of somebody where there was no genetic predisposition when it came to cancer. No one else had had this type of cancer in my family ever. Certainly not at 34 years old. There's a lot of heart disease in my family and not a lot of cancer, and especially not close, close to my generation. So sometimes you're experiencing what other family members have experienced and that predisposition isn't a surprise. But sometimes it might be. Either way, I just want people to know you're not wrong, you're not bad, it's not your fault. And the question becomes, who am I going to be? And sometimes finding your yes, it's not ideal. I'll just vulnerably share. In two days, I'm in for my 14th cancer surgery. The 14th one. I don't have cancer currently, but I knew my body told me that I had a mole that was not well and it needed to get looked at. I went into the oncologist, he did a surgery, took it out, did pathology. Tissue was diseased, precancerous, damaged, and we need to do a surgery to take more margins. So I go in for that surgery on Thursday. Now, this isn't ideal, this isn't fun, another surgery, you know, but it is what's real. And I am pursuing the right, correct next steps for me and not arguing with how much I wish it wasn't happening because I can't change it. And I think when you were mentioning earlier, Teresa, like the energy spent when we fight with the truth about what's needed and what's next and what's real, we're adding to the disease versus adding to the healing. So sometimes there's no predisposition position. There's a blind side. You can't see it coming. Sometimes it's not ideal. And yet you can create the most ideal space inside of you for optimal healing, regardless of whether or not this is what we want. Right. So I just wanted to share that story to let people know, wherever you find Yourself, healing is possible, and your body will give you the access to the right next steps for you. Will you talk about nature, please?

Yes. And you let in to this topic perfectly. Our nature and nature, like nature, is not separate from us. We start to really view ourselves. We're in here, nature's out there, you know? Yeah, we are nature. So what I love about nature is it provides everything that we need for healing. Right. There is so much richness there. There's the herbs, there's food. You know, what I love is that wherever you live, the food that is growing in that season is exactly what is needed for your body to counterbalance what is happening in that season. And so when we start eating seasonally, we start to align ourselves with nature. We start to counterbalance, like, the cold or the heat or whatever is happen in the area at the time. So these are the little ways, you know, where I live, it's one of the biggest breast cancer hotspots in the country. And dandelion. Dandelion greens are known to have profound effects on dealing with breast cancer, like, really helping breast cancer patients to heal. And dandelions grow here perhaps more than anywhere else, because nature is giving us what we need to heal that particular issue. And so when we can align ourselves with nature, listening to what our bodies need, really aligning with what's growing in the area. When. When am I going to bed? When am I waking up? Am I looking at screens right before bed? Like, really think about what would I be doing if I lived out in the wild and. And kind of bring more of that in. It's so important, because when we live in a way that is different or in opposition to our nature, that's when we start to confuse the body and we start to create situations that can allow dis ease to grow and to progress. And to your point about predisposition, the thing that I've learned that is amazing is we are all predisposed to something in some way. And that doesn't just mean genetically, you know, it can mean that, you know, if we're a very hot, fiery personality, we can be predisposed to the hot, fiery types of conditions like ulcers or stomach acid. So just knowing ourselves well enough, we can start to navigate, okay, I'm a really hot personality. Summer. I need to make sure that I keep myself cool. I'm always cold. I need to make sure I keep myself warm in the winter. Like, common sense type things that can align us more with what's around us, you know, one, like I said, before, when we eat in season, then that's a tremendous thing, because in the grocery stores now, we have access to all sorts of foods all year long. Right. But are watermelons growing in the middle of winter? No, not unless you're living in a climate where that's happening. Don't eat them, you know, or if you eat them, make sure you counter it with something else, like a squash or a potato or so it's just. It's just really about tuning in and doing these little things that can have such a profound effect on our system.

So where could people get themselves educated? So, for example, I would have no clue what's in season, what's not season, no idea. Right. So where could we get ourselves educated on seasonal eating? Because you are an Ayurvedic counselor, this is your wheelhouse. Give us a little bit more of an understanding around what Ayurvedic counseling is. And how can we access the correct information about seasonal eating if we have no clue? Right. You're in Long island, right? So the dandelions grow there, the breast cancer. The. The point about nature gives us what we need. Where we are is brilliant and profound. But then what do we do if we don't know what to eat?

So if you're not sure what's growing in your area, perhaps the best way to do to figure that out is to talk to a farmer. Like, find a farmer in your area and say, what grows at this time, not in a greenhouse, you know, like what grows naturally? And then that's how you start to find out. Or you, you know, you find sort of someplace that sells local produce and you'll start selling, seeing what's there. So that's one of the best ways to figure it out. I do provide seasonal foods lists, but again, you know, if you're living in Hawaii versus if you're living in Vermont, those lists are going to look a little bit different. So really, getting in touch with local farmers is probably your best way. Or like the local CSA or farmers market or something like that in terms of Ayurvedic counseling. So what Ayurveda is, is. It's. It's an Indian science of medicine. It's the science of life, right? And. And it developed like over 5,000 years ago, and it has been just tried and true for 5,000 years, where these things are proven over and over and over again. And what I love now is really taking Ayurveda and meshing it with our modern life. Like, how does this look today? How can we use this in combination with other forms of medicine that we are using, like whether it be allopathic Western medicine or natural medicine, or a combination of all integrative medicine, you know, how do these things work together for us to get the optimal result that we desire? And that's really my passion. My passion is to get everybody in tune with their own superpowers. They, so they can live their purpose and be as healthy and healed as possible. And that on all levels involves an integrative approach. And I just think that's where the world is going right now, especially seeing what we saw in the last few years. We really need to start viewing ourselves from a bigger, from the bigger picture. You know, we are no longer just the body. We are no longer the body and the energy system. We are now the body, the energy system and the spiritual system. And we need to make room for all of that in our health, in our healing and in our day to day life.

Yeah. And each one of us that's brave enough to pursue optimal wellness and alignment with our souls, it is healing the collective. It absolutely matters. You're one, but you're one person that energetically is either contributing to disease or, or to healing. And I just, if you are here, want to suggest that you deserve and are meant to and have what it takes to get to a place where you know yourself, you trust yourself, you listen to your body, you know what works for you and you don't have to do it alone. I have had a team supporting me around my wellness for well over a decade. We had literally a different holistic healer in my bed working on me while I was sick seven days a week. Cranial, sacral, chiropractic, acupuncture, reiki, massage, yoga, therapy, I mean, the list goes on. And my body just told me this is what you need. And I remember my husband saying, well, how the hell do you know what's even working? Like you're doing so much right. And I was like, it all is, it's all working, it's all needed. He's like, well, how do you know? Like I just do, right? And, and I wasn't confused about that. And I just want to suggest that you listening to you, that's enough. And you don't have to be confused about the guidance and the answer, even if it seems weird or so different than what you would have expected or what you've seen, trust, listen and then follow. And if it works, great, keep it. And if it didn't, there's no harm, there's no foul. You listened, you got more, you know, connected to your body and to your truth. So I just think that is all really, really important. Teresa, this has been awesome. You've got embrace your energy flow and heal into your true potential. A workshop coming up. Will you, will you share with us what that event is when it is how people can get in touch with you?

Sure. So the event is coming up in November. It's a two part series, so it'll be one week and then the following week will be the other half of the series and we'll be looking at and diving deep into kind of getting to know ourselves and leveraging the world around us so that we can be as healthy, as energized and as on purpose as possible. And you know, what I really strive to do in all of my work is to make it simple. Right. We don't need more complex things so that we can take these small steps, play with them, try them out and like you said, see what works, keep it or let it go and then try the next thing. And that's how I healed myself as well. You know, trying the little things, keeping what works, getting rid of what didn't feel necessary. And so that's what's coming up. November 16th and the 23rd. Those are the two dates of the workshops. And you can. I sent the link, so you'll see the link. You can sign up through the link or read more if you're interested in reading more about the workshops and what's offered.

Yeah. And is there a charge to this event?

The event, I believe the event is $88. So yeah. So it's a two part series for $88 and it's recorded, so you'll have the recordings and you will also have like a workbook of materials that you'll be leaving with, so you'll have the materials to use forever and ever and ever.

What a deal. What a steal like this is so worth taking the time to pursue. Everyone watching. Teresa is a master and she's really humble. She got into this work because of her own health issues and has helped people miraculously heal all across the globe. Her work has reached well over a million people and it works. So for $88, two days for a masterclass on you, learning you and what's possible for you. What an amazing opportunity. And there's a recording. So definitely, definitely, definitely check it out. How else can people get a hold of you? Just in general.

So my website is teresav.com t h e r e s a v e.com and Teresa v. On all the socials. So you'll be able to find me that way.

Awesome. And what are your final thoughts? And maybe even an assignment for our gorgeous audience today?

So I think, I think that what you brought up is really the best final thought ever. It's. Listen to your guidance. Especially if it's weird. If it's weird, that's, that's very often how universe, how our higher self, how intuition speaks to us. It's so weird that we can't doubt that it's coming from someplace that's trying to guide us. Right. Because no one else would be telling us to do this. So listen, especially if it's weird. And I think in terms of an assignment, what I would say to you, to start small and just find out what's growing in your area at this time of year. Just find out. And then you don't have to only eat those foods, but maybe try eating a little bit more of those foods and see how you feel.

I love that. And healing truly is possible, not just for some of us, but for all of us. And thank you for joining us on the healing is possible experience today. Teresa, thank you to all of you that are watching. The darkness is real and so is the light. But we can't source the light in us, which is what gives us access to healing if we're sourcing from fear. So when it comes to your health, my final thought is know that the highest, wisest, you know, best version of you that isn't sourcing from fear, but instead is just sourcing simply from what's possible. Looking for the yeses and the no's. You know, that's the version of you needed, not the version of you in fear. The unhealed inner child. Let's connect to that wisest, highest you when it comes to your health, even if it is just for today, and see where that takes you. You can absolutely read about my health journey in my new book, Coming Back to Life. You can order it anywhere books are sold. And that book, the whole point is to help you connect to you and your truth and what's possible for you. So lots of great resources for you today. Thank you for watching. Healing is possible always for any of us, for anybody. I stand by it. I say it loud, I say it proud. It is possible for you. So don't think it isn't. What if it is? And what if you have everything it takes? And what if you have everything you need to get to a place of peace and wellness? And what if that's the only purpose that matters. I love you all. Teresa. I love you. Thank you for being here. See you all so very soon.