DISCOVERING BODY AWARENESS, EMOTIONAL HEALING, AND MANIFESTATION THROUGH TAPPING w MARIA BONITA

Do you ever feel disconnected from your body or overwhelmed by negative emotions? Discover the transformative power of somatic practices, specifically tapping, with our expert guest Maria Bonita.  Maria Bonita is a Tapping Expert that teaches women a simple method to get out of their heads, into their bodies and taking the aligned action.In this episode, we explore the world of tapping, its roots in ancient Chinese medicine, and its potential to heal emotional traumas, neutralize negative emotions, and empower us to align with our true selves.

Learn the importance of tuning in to our bodies and trusting our intuition, as we share various ways to do so beyond tapping, such as breathwork and meditation. We also delve into the topic of traumatic experiences, like abortion and miscarriage, which often go unrecognized and can lead to PTSD. Maria opens up about her own journey of healing from a traumatic abortion using tapping and how it inspired her to develop her own method and teach others.

Finally, we discuss the potential of tapping for manifesting abundance and growth in our lives and businesses. Listen to inspiring stories of how Maria's clients have manifested their soul mates and other desires through tapping, and how she manifested a perfect job contract for her visa process. Embrace the importance of approaching tapping from a place of joy and openness, allowing other possibilities to exist. Don't miss this enlightening conversation with Maria Bonita, and learn how tapping can change your life for the better.

CONNET HERE

Hannah's IG > https://www.instagram.com/hannahkategarner/
Maria's IG > https://www.instagram.com/thevidabonita/
Other resources > https://linkr.bio/the_vida_bonita

Transcript

Speaker 1: 1:25

Hello and welcome back to Empower Thyself podcast. I'm your host, hannah Garner. Thank you all so much for being here. If you're new here, don't forget to subscribe and make sure you don't miss out on future episodes. And, for those who listen in regularly, thank you so much for being here. I do really appreciate it and I love all the support that you've been giving the episodes so far. So, before we dive into today's topic, i'm just going to caveat it and say first of all, it's hot here in the UK and we love to see it, but I have had to open windows, which I don't normally do. So, being in London, if you hear sirens or aeroplanes, i do apologize, but hopefully it shouldn't be too bad.

Speaker 1: 2:04

And now this episode is a long time coming. This was something that me and my guests actually spoke about about 18 months ago. We were in the midst of lockdown and things just weren't right. She was in a different country, timings and everything like that. We finally come together today and we are going to be diving into how you can get back into your body using somatic practices, in particular, tapping, because she is a tapping queen. So I'm not going to go into too much detail about that, because I'm going to allow her to go into it for us. But this is going to be as well about how to kind of step back into your power, and we are going to be letting the conversation flow, and I just want to give a heads up that some of the things you might talk about could be triggering. We are going to be potentially talking around abortion and a few other things, and so I just wanted to give you the heads up for those of you who might find that difficult to listen.

Speaker 1: 2:58

Obviously, if this isn't the episode for you, not a problem, but I think it's going to be an absolutely wonderful and powerful episode, and definitely one that, honestly, the conversation needs to happen more around, which is why we decided to go there in this conversation. So, without further ado, i want to introduce my guest, who is Maria Bonita, and she is a tapping queen. As I've said, she's a tapping expert that teaches women a simple method to get out of their heads into their bodies and take aligned action. So thank you for joining me today. Hello, hannah, how's it going? I'm excited to be here, me too. So I think, first things first, let's tell the listeners a bit about you, what your journey's been like how you got here, how you became so into your tapping and actually sharing that with the world.

Speaker 2: 3:47

Yeah. So I think, like a lot of people, i was sort of on that journey of how can I feel a bit better? What else is out there asking those questions? I think a lot of people have been asking, especially since the whole COVID lockdown situation. We're just sort of wanting to tune back into our own truth, because there's a lot of questions of can I trust the information that's coming at me? Is this in alignment with what I really believe? And so I think I've been on that journey like a lot of people.

Speaker 2: 4:15

And I was living in Columbia and I came across tapping, kind of by accident. A friend was like oh, i'm training, can I practice with you? So I thought this would be fun And I kind of thought there's no way this is really going to do anything. And I was shocked that in sort of 10 minutes I'd been feeling a little bit anxious, a little bit sort of on edge, completely disappeared And I was like, wow, how can something that looks just so simple work? basically, and that was kind of my first introduction to tapping And living in Columbia.

Speaker 2: 4:47

So I mean, as I mentioned at the beginning, i experienced a really traumatic abortion. It wasn't done in the way that it might have been done here in the UK And it left me with some residual PTSD. At the time I didn't even realize it was PTSD. I was keeping it to myself Like my husband, didn't even realize what was going on, and in one tapping session it completely disappeared. No more flashbacks, no more panic attacks, no more triggers, because one of the triggers I kept getting was smells like hospital smells like that bleach smell and stuff like that Completely disappeared. And I was like how? how is that possible? Because my understanding was that the only way things like that can clear are after years of therapy. You have to talk through it for ages. You have to go over it. How is it possible? So since that day, i've just been dedicated to studying it, applying it, developing my own method and then teaching women how they can use it on a daily basis and create their own way of tapping, because there really is so many different ways to do it.

Speaker 1: 5:47

It's quite a flexible modality, let's say Yeah, I love that And I think, before we dive into obviously the deeper stuff around what you've just shared, maybe for those who are thinking I don't know what tapping is, or I've never seen it or I don't understand it. Why don't we just break it down in simple terms? just a bit about it the background, how it works, how you do it. as you've said, it can be flexible, but just the general principles of it, yeah.

Speaker 2: 6:16

So tapping is based on the fact that any energetical, any illness or any negative thought or any negative emotions are based on an energetical imbalance in your body, in your body's meridian system. And this is all based on 5,000-year-old Chinese medicine that has been around for forever. But it was discovered, sort of stumbled upon again by accident, in the 90s, where this psychologist was treating a woman for fear of water and he was about to give up and be like I don't know how I can even help you anymore, and he was like just tap under your eye because he happened to be reading something about Chinese medicine and it worked, and so that blew his own mind and then he developed what we know as TFT or Thought Field Therapy, which is something I also use. It's a slightly more difficult version of tapping because it's like specific algorithms and that later evolved into, like EFT, emotional Freedom Technique, which more people are familiar with, and it basically is just tapping on different meridians or pressure points, we can say, on different parts of your body, and different ones are connected to different emotions. So on your hand there's one around guilt under the eye.

Speaker 2: 7:23

That I mentioned earlier is specifically normally for fear. They kind of all overlap, which is why we can just tap on all different ones and you don't have to worry about which ones you tap on. But as you tap on them, you can either out loud, state what you're feeling. There's a ways of doing it without even talking, but that would be the basic. The basis of it is just tapping on different pressure points whilst connecting to different emotions. And what happens is the official studies that say, like the scientifically proven ones that we've got, say that it connects to the amygdala and it calms the amygdala. So you're able to. The amygdala is the part of the brain that connects emotions to memories. So, for example, in my case, a traumatic experience we're able to neutralize all the negative moments around the experience. So I can run it through my brain and it's not like I've forgotten about it, but it's no longer making me feel like crying or bringing up any shame or any of the strong emotions that were associated with it before.

Speaker 1: 8:23

Yeah, i think that's an amazing explanation of it And it's something that I've definitely used before, although probably not as much as I'd like to, and I'm definitely stepping back more into that somatic realm with breath work and tapping and things like that. So for those as well. a lot of people don't necessarily Like we hear words flung around. What do we mean by somatic?

Speaker 2: 8:46

Really, in the simplistic sense, it's just body based. It's just the recognition that a lot of us are aware, let's say, of the mind, that we're aware that, talking about our feelings, we're able to afloat. then we feel a bit better And like sort of a lot of the clients that come to me they're ones that have done talk therapy but there's that missing connection that we're more aware of, where it's not just the mind, it's the mind connected to the body, and so when we use tapping we can connect it to the body and we can release those emotions that are stored in the body. The next level, which depends sort of like how woo-woo you want to get with them, be the soul. Like if you want to bring in the intuition universe, god or whatever, or if that makes you feel uncomfortable and you don't want to bring that in, you don't even have to. you can just take it from the scientific aspect.

Speaker 1: 9:32

Yeah, no, i think that's really helpful And I think, you know, most tools are very powerful, but we're definitely moving into an era where we're going looking more back at the body base And I think the reason that's so important is because so many of us you know, i've discussed it on the podcast before we know, like we know, that physical ailments can be as a result of holding trauma, of stuck emotion, but it's not been something that historically. Yes, in Eastern medicine, as you say, thousands of years ago, they knew this and that information has always been there. We're not like new creating this stuff. It's just as the Western societies have developed. We've moved so far away from that that we've been ignoring the fact that this is happening, and it's only now, with the rise of all these diseases and ailments and anxieties and things that are going on, that I think people are suddenly like whoa wait, what is going on?

Speaker 1: 10:27

We need to dive into this more, and I think that is why tapping, and especially because it's so accessible.

Speaker 1: 10:35

It's free, like, yes, of course, people can come to an expert like you and have support, and I think that's amazing.

Speaker 1: 10:41

But having tools and rituals that are accessible to everybody is game changing, in my opinion, because there is so much out there where it's like, oh, you can only really do that if you have the luxury of money or the luxury of time, which not everybody has that at their disposal at all times, whereas this is something you can do right now at home. You know, i know you have an amazing YouTube which we can get linked and everything we'll talk about at the end, but that is a really powerful thing for me, and so this is why I'm really excited to dive into that with you, whilst also going into all the bits around stepping back into your power And I know that you mentioned before we started talking this was a big thing that you had struggled with in the past that, by tapping and using practices like that have allowed you to really change that about you. So do you want to just delve into that journey a bit more and what that looked like?

Speaker 2: 11:38

Yeah, so I think I mean in the most basic sense is what we call the gut feeling. You know, you get that feeling. Sometimes something feels good. You don't really know why something feels off And I think the way we've been brought up, like you say, in the western world, is to ignore that.

Speaker 2: 11:54

It's like you need to. If you don't know anything about cars, you have to go to a mechanic and you have to put your 100% cock you're cool your confidence, all your beliefs into this other person who studied. And whilst I totally respect that, like you know, if there's something that I don't know, like, go and get help someone else who's, you know, more knowledgeable than yourself. But at the end of the day, you always have that gut feeling and sometimes you know when something is right and sometimes you know when something is wrong. You don't need to know all of the information And I think we're just so programmed to just turn that off, to just completely turn that off, and I've noticed that sort of. All the mistakes that I've made, all the quote, unquote errors because you know, really it's all just a process of learning has been when I thought you know what, i don't know what's best and I need to give it up to someone else, be it like. Sometimes, when I've worked with business, coaches have been like this is how you need to run a business, this is know what you need to do, and I've always thought, okay, i'm just starting out, i don't know what I'm doing, i need to trust someone else above myself, and I think that tapping is one of those ways that we can really begin to tune into our body.

Speaker 2: 13:03

It's not the only way. Like you mentioned, you know breathwork. There's all these different things that you can do and I think people just need to play around and find which one works for them, what really, really helps you tune into your body. I'm also a big fan of, like muscle testing or kinesiology. I think that one is incredible and I found that really, really helpful in terms of making decisions, because you know, when it comes to making a decision, what are you taught like? write a pros and cons list, analyze it. Then you spend three days worrying about are you going to make the right decision? You don't need to do that. You're playing the long game that you don't need to do that. You can just tune into your body.

Speaker 1: 13:43

So, yeah, i think, yeah, i think that's really an amazing thing and, interestingly, after this recording, i do actually have a kinesiologist coming on to talk about all of that stuff, because I'm very in that zone, as I said, at the moment all the somatic stuff and sharing that message with people so that they can start as well exploring that if it resonates. And I think the thing is that I always just like to mention, you know, like, as humans, it's amazing that we have people that have expertise and knowledge in areas that we don't, and it absolutely is so powerful and it's so amazing to share, like the same way you're sharing your tapping expertise. We can use that. But I think the distinction with pulling on people's knowledge and looking to people for guidance in the sense of increasing your own knowledge or gaps in areas that you don't know about, is one thing versus actually taking that information and dissecting it in a way that is usable for you, in a way that feels good, and it doesn't feel good not using that or altering it or, you know, shifting it in a way that works for you. And I think that's the bit that we forgot is we just consume, consume, consume, outsource, outsource, outsource. And, yes, outsourcing expertise can allow your healing journey to be, you know, rapidly increased, much quicker. Your, you know learning, you know the skills for something like anything like that. Of course, that is perfect, but we forget along the journey. Wait, they've said that, but actually that's perfect, that it worked for them.

Speaker 1: 15:21

But knowing me and knowing who I am, well, actually that probably doesn't work for me, because maybe your personality is different, or the way that you receive information or the way that you process information or the way you share information, so the same way, somebody might be like oh my gosh, an email marketing list is amazing and we need to do it this way and this is the only way to build a business, for example. Well, actually I'm much better talking, i can write, but I don't enjoy it, so my energy and my things wouldn't come across that way. Does that mean that actually I shouldn't have an email list? No, because connecting with an audience and having a community that you can tap into is really powerful, so that in itself, i need to, i want to learn about, i want to know. But am I going to be writing lengthy blog posts the same way somebody else might recommend? No, because I'm not a good writer. In that sense it doesn't bring me joy. Instead I can keep it short, sweet, keep connected. But actually my thing is like my podcasting, my videoing, my speaking, and so it's examples like that where I think if we can start bringing that into our day to day lives everywhere, we're going to start to find that harmony and more of that power.

Speaker 1: 16:28

So from your experience then you mentioned, as I said, and I think we should just dive straight into it you had a really traumatic experience.

Speaker 1: 16:36

It created PTSD and a lot of people, and especially women, are going to have similar stories around their reproductive organs and it might look very different. It might not exactly be an abortion, it might be a loss of a child, a miscarriage, so many things. But a lot of us don't realize how traumatic that event can be, even if we have come to, you know, peace with it in the sense of like this happened to me, it is, you know that's my choice or this is what happened, and you know I'm living with it. But I don't think many of us realize how much it stores in our body and how it then impacts what we do in other areas of our life. Like you said, you had a trigger around hospitals smells and bleaches and so that, like I imagine, if you smelt it when someone was cleaning or in certain environments, that is such a powerful thing to like not not have control of so how did you get that?

Speaker 1: 17:37

because it must have been really hard when you're storing it all inside and sometimes you don't even realize how much you're storing inside.

Speaker 2: 17:44

Yeah, yeah because I think, although my experience was sort of very particular, like I said, because it probably, if I've been in the UK, it would have been different however, everyone who goes through an experience like that, or even a miscarriage, or even just, you know, like trying to have a baby, not being able to, whatever it is, you experience all these deep feelings of shame, of your body being somehow against you, of embarrassment, of, you know, not wanting to really talk about it, not understanding that actually, for example, even just in the case of miscarriage, it's like really, really common abortion as well, i think it's like one in three, like it's incredibly common, but we don't talk about these things. So then you internalize it and for me, for example, i didn't even know what was going on. I didn't even realize like I was falling asleep and as I would fall asleep, i would start having flashbacks, but I didn't even have sort of the language to be like, oh, i'm having a flashback. I was like, oh, i'm just feeling anxious, i'm not being able to deal with this, i'm having a hard time getting over it. I didn't even know what was going on and I think at that point in my life I was lucky enough that I had had a little bit of experience with panic attacks and I was able to bring myself out of it. So I never got to the really really bad point, which is also, i think you know, the worse it gets, the more likely you are to seek help, maybe realize something is going on. So a panic attack would come on, but I would be able to like take really really deep breaths and it wouldn't sort of materialize 100%, but I think it was.

Speaker 2: 19:15

It wasn't until I discovered tapping that I even realized it was a possibility to have it go away, because when I asked the practitioner to work on that, i didn't even expect the side effects, like the flashbacks and the triggers and stuff, to go away. I just wanted to feel better about myself. I just didn't want to feel shame anymore. I just didn't want to feel anger at myself. I just didn't want to feel sort of like beating myself up about the whole situation. I didn't even like the fact that everything went away. It was almost like a secondary miracle that I wasn't even expecting and I was massively grateful for.

Speaker 2: 19:50

But I think, yeah, as everyone sort of has similar emotions going through those experiences, and I think the main thing I want people to take away is that it doesn't have to be forever.

Speaker 2: 20:02

Even if you've been experiencing something for many years, even if you think like, oh, i've been told it's not possible to get over this, or I think you know it's going to take years and years to get over it, there are simple things that you can do right now and, like you mentioned, i have like maybe over 100 videos of tapping that you can access for free and, whilst I wouldn't recommend anyone to necessarily apply them by themselves to go into really deep traumatic experiences, you can use them just to feel marginally better on a daily basis.

Speaker 2: 20:32

And if you're someone who's you know maybe you're feeling, like your anxieties, that I can get over it, even if you're able to get it down two or three points, that's a big shift for you on a daily basis. That's going to make a knock on impact and then that ripples. You know, you feel a little bit better, start looking at things a little bit differently, your outlook changes, you become a bit more positive, maybe you find something else, you reach out to someone. So I think it's just that getting into that positive spiral.

Speaker 1: 20:58

Yeah, 100%. And I think, like you say, sometimes it's just managing or reducing that experience, because there's nothing worse even if it's not full when panic attack, it's nothing worse than when you wake up or you're going throughout your day and you've just got that anxious like feeling and you're like I know it could brutal something more and I don't want to, and then you almost panic yourself more because I don't want to let that escalate. Well, actually it's at that point at all, like tapping can be really great just to bring you down from like that tipping point right. And I think What's really interesting about it is When I was first introduced to it. It's like you know when you're tapping on your hand and you're tapping different points. It does seem so simple and you do wonder well, how is this helping? But because, as you've mentioned, it's like the meridian points and it's like channels. I guess that's trying to like work through and blocking channels of stuck energy and emotions and all of that.

Speaker 1: 21:54

But I think one of the biggest things I learned with all of these type of practices is your body knows the score.

Speaker 1: 22:01

Whatever that is inside your body really does, and you've got to trust as long as you're open to receiving whatever's meant to come through, your body knows. So, even if on the outside, to our logical mind, we think this seems too simple to do anything, this doesn't seem like I'm gonna get any changes. I think when we attach so much expectation to having a certain outcome, that's when we block all of these potential miracles. And the way that you said I wasn't even expecting to remove that is probably why you were able to, because you were just open to allowing your body to do what it needed to do, with a bit of support, a bit of guidance. And so how do you, when people are doing this, what would you say is the best kind of tips and tools that you would use when you're like watching your videos and when you're like working on these somatic practices, to make sure that, i guess, you get the most out of it?

Speaker 2: 22:54

Yeah. So I think there's a few little things you can do. One again I would come back to intuition. Like, intuitively, which videos are you drawn to or which person are you drawn to working with? Who do you feel safe around? What feels like a safe environment for you? The other thing that some people don't realize about is drinking lots of water, because energy you know like how water is a conductor, right.

Speaker 2: 23:20

So the more hydrated you are, the better it's gonna work. If you're dehydrated, it might not work as well. So that would be the next thing. The other thing would be not worrying about getting it right. Quote unquote. And this is one of the reasons. one of the issues I have with sort of mainstream clinical EFT was I think it's great and I love it. I think that they focus so much like the way it was taught for me was you have to say it this way, you have to tap on this exact point and say this phrase three times, or it's not gonna work.

Speaker 1: 23:50

And it's complete.

Speaker 2: 23:50

BS. It's not true And I think some people get stuck on. Okay, do I do it with my eyes open? Do I do it with my eyes shut? Okay, what feels better to you? How do you wanna do it? Can I tap? Do I have to follow the exact tapping points that you're tapping on? No, you know, if someone, for example, has some kind of mobility issue and they struggle to tap on the top of their head, say, you could just do the whole sequence tapping on the side of your hand on what we call the PR spot or karate chop point that it's known on, you can do it any way that you like.

Speaker 2: 24:22

If someone's tapping, if you're tapping along with a video, and someone says something that doesn't resonate with you, you can just skip that and you can replace it with different phrasing that does resonate with you. Cause, really, the words that people sometimes ask okay, is this the right way of saying it? And I find it kind of funny. I'm like the right way of saying it is the words that you would use or the client that you're working with would use. That's the most powerful thing And that's why, when I create in a sort of like personalized scripts, it is a little bit more powerful, but you can just switch it up to what you feel comfortable with and the words that resonate with you.

Speaker 1: 24:58

Yeah, i think that's really important, cause I'd definitely been guilty of that when I'm. When I'm introducing things, i'm like, oh, i have to get it perfect. But actually, like you say, sometimes we know ourselves better And if you know, using a word that you don't, you can't even say properly, let's just say that's not going to sink in anyway. So why are you trying to make yourself say something that's not sinking in just because that's what that person said, and that again, these are all micro examples of giving your power away And it's bringing it back and being like, hmm, okay, this is the tool, this is the principles. Now how do I get the most out of it? And different days you're probably gonna experience different things. Like I know, when I was tapping Sometimes I'm a very brain-racy person, i'm very a hundred mile an hour person and there's nothing wrong with that.

Speaker 1: 25:46

Long, long tapping for me doesn't work As much as I've tried it. I can't tap for 20 minutes. I don't like it. But I remember when I was first introduced to it it was like you have to go through the cycle, like you say, three times And by the time I'd done it it was like 18 minutes in. I was like flipping board like this is not helping, whereas actually for me, sometimes just doing the short and the sweet, you know, five, 10 minutes max, i get the best. And again, that was me. I had to learn that hard way of being like, but it's being able to identify. Oh, actually, this isn't working for me, but this does work for me, this practice, just maybe in a slightly different way. And then when I realized that I was like, oh, this is so much better And actually you end up getting more out there anyway, exactly, exactly. I love it.

Speaker 1: 26:29

And so when it comes to your journey I know that we have talked about you know, taking your power back You had a period of time where you were maybe giving your power away without necessarily realizing, and there were consequences of that. Do you want to dive into that a bit more, just to give people listening, cause I'm sure so many, we've all done it, we've all been there, just so they can kind of understand, cause you're like fully in your power. Now You're really, you know, doing things the way you you want to do them, growing your business the way you want to do it, showing up as you and not you know somebody else who does tap it, but that was a journey, right. It didn't always look like that. So what was that experience like, and you know how was that for you.

Speaker 2: 27:13

Yeah, so I mean, the first example that pops up for me is like straight after the abortion I obviously cause I was told that I couldn't even get pregnant because my husband was like supposedly infertile. So I was like, oh my God, now suddenly I can get pregnant. Oh my God, okay, i need to like get onto some sort of contraception. And like I tried the pill and I hated it. I tried it multiple times and I felt like it completely like messed up with my emotions and everything, and I really didn't want to do that. So I reached out to two different doctors like one in the UK and a local doctor in Columbia and they both told me to get a hormonal coil And I was like, okay, again, you guys are the experts. Two experts have told me this is the best option for me And I asked about, like fertility awareness and I was told like oh no, that's ridiculous.

Speaker 2: 27:59

Like you're just that's like you know, that doesn't even count, that's not a form of contraception. Like you can't do that. I'm not going to recommend that to you. But I was really curious and I was really reading up on it. But I thought, you know, i don't want to go through this again. Like it's better that I listen to these people rather than follow my gut. And so I listened to them and I got the IUD put in and it was just sort of, i would say, a really, really negative experience for me.

Speaker 2: 28:25

I was struggling, like I was waking up every day with anxiety. It was affecting, like, my weight, it was affecting the decisions that I was making. I realized that I was losing touch with my body in some ways and I was connecting with the wrong people and just so many odd things that it got to the point where I was sort of losing the function not losing the ability to sort of function normally and I could really see myself going on this downward spiral. So I was like, okay, i need to get this removed. And the minute I got it removed like I'm not joking like the minute it was out of my body, the anxiety that I'd been dealing with for months completely disappeared.

Speaker 2: 29:05

And that's not to say it's the same thing for every single person, because people do it and it's like the best thing for them. But it was again. Someone told me did you muscle test it before putting it in your body? And I said, no, right, that's something that people, a practical thing that people could do, like if this is something you are choosing to do, like muscle test it see if it's gonna go in, it's gonna work for you. And so I moved on to fertility awareness, which gets a really bad rap, but I'm really really careful, you know, it's basically taking-.

Speaker 2: 29:37

What is beauty when it's like Yeah, so you have to take your basal body temperature every single morning before you get out of bed. So for some people it's really not practical. Like I literally put the thermometer next to my bed and get it before do my temperature before getting out of bed. I hardly ever drink alcohol. I sleep really well. My cycle's really regular.

Speaker 2: 29:59

If you're someone, for example, that's like when I was younger and like 18 and I was going out like three times a week, you can't do it, you can't use it, it's not gonna work for you. But now that I'm married and I'm a little bit older and I'm a lot more kind of chilled out, it's a really, really good option. And I think it would have been a good option if I'd have listened to myself a few years back. But you kind of have to go through those things to come out the other end and realize I feel like a lot of life is that journey of like okay, tune back into myself. What's my body saying here? Even with small things, like with food and stuff, people say this is a really healthy food, like, this is fine to eat, like for me, soy. I was always told soy's fine, soy's fine, you don't need to worry about it. It doesn't work for me, right? For other people it's something else. Just keep tuning in and finding what works for you.

Speaker 1: 30:48

Yeah, and it's so interesting you say that because you know if it's the first time you hear it oh, the hormonal anything hormonal in a woman's body, oh, you know, like thousands of women take it all over the world. It's great, this and the other, and don't get me wrong, like for some people, it absolutely is. I've had my own experiences, which I've spoke about in other podcasts, around hormonal health, so check that out if you want to. I'm not going to dive in here, but what's really interesting is there is literally science coming out now that is saying women on the pill are attracted to different mating partners than women off the pill.

Speaker 1: 31:21

You're literally the smells, the pheromones that you are attracted to are different. So there are women who you know, like we do at 15 or 16 or whatever age, as a young teenage girl thinking you know, i don't want to get pregnant now, but I've started my period and whatever, and you stay on it for 10 years or a long time, whatever that looks like, you're potentially going to be attracted to people that when you're off it you can't stand or you're not attracted to. And I was mind blown by this. And it makes sense because I've not been on the contraceptive for a while now because, as I said, i had my own experience with it and it messed with me as well, with anxiety and stuff, and when I came off it like it was the best thing that I have ever done.

Speaker 1: 32:08

But it is interesting because, like it's really important to me, like I like a manly man and I know that now, and it's not that, i know that the people I date before weren't that, but they were, if you looked at my dating history, my dating past, very different, very different. And of course that's because I don't necessarily have particular preferences, but I do go back now I know that bit of information. I'm like, hmm, i wonder if I made that decision because of that influence or part of that. And so, yeah, again, like you say, muscle testing, how can we do that? Because I know I use it quite a lot. Actually, it's something that my mentor that I used, that I have kind of showed me how to use it more regularly. How do you use that? Because I know some people might not even know what muscle testing is.

Speaker 2: 32:55

So there's a bunch of different ways and I would say the simplest way that I think anyone can find, like that's accessible to anyone right now, without kind of going through a training and stuff, is really just standing up straight taking some really deep breaths, like connecting with your body. You know, if you're sort of anxious and you're overthinking, like meditate for a moment or whatever it is, to sort of get yourself into that space And then ask yourself a really kind of stupid question that you know the answer is yes to. So, like is my name Maria or whatever, and you should feel your body start leaning forwards a little bit and then come back to the center and ask yourself a really silly question that you know the answer is no to, and you'll feel your body lean back slightly And as you can just sort of play around with this and you can say, okay, do I want to have I don't know like spaghetti for dinner today? do I want to have a coffee, like little things that aren't that big, that aren't that important, and you can play around with it for that and ask yourself, okay, do I want to go out tonight, do I want to do a yoga class on Saturday And the more you use it.

Speaker 2: 33:55

Again, literally, it's a muscle that you're practicing with. You can start using it for bigger decisions, okay, because sometimes you're going to make decisions that might not make sense to someone else. Should I go, i don't know. Should I move abroad, should I join this program? And if you connect to your body, you're going to get rid of so much overthinking. You're going to develop that trust and you're just going to know that you're supported. You have that guidance. You don't need to worry about other people And, again, use it to connect with other people.

Speaker 2: 34:28

Is this a person that I want to work with? Is this I don't know a TV show that is aligned with me? like, what does my body feel like? Because, like you said, the body stores everything and it's like good, the positive and the negative, like the trauma, but also the good things and the positive things that make you feel relaxed And you can sort of play around with that and lean into it. Like really kind of small example is I love to buy flowers. Every time I buy flowers, i look at them, they make me smile, they make me feel good, they lift my mood, but small little things make you feel that way and then play around with the muscle testing.

Speaker 1: 35:03

Yeah, now, i think that's really powerful and I absolutely use it quite a lot. But it's really interesting when it comes to a more kind of recent example for me about how our body knows stuff and it's really interesting. And it's one about chairs, probably a bit jarring, but I'm going to share it just because it's a really powerful example, so for me anyway. So when I so the last couple of weeks we had a family loss and my uncle was actually murdered and it was under really quite wild circumstances And you know the details of such were kind of shared in the news and on social media, like quite quickly up from where my family live up north And you know we're dealing with that and going through those emotions at the moment. However, given the circumstances of what happened, i made the mistake. I love John Wick films right, i love them. I think they're great. I love Keanu Reeves. But that weekend, not long after I found out about this, i decided to watch John Wick.

Speaker 1: 36:02

4. My body, because I had that emotion and understanding of what just happened in my life with a family member. My body was not ready to see violence, it just was not ready. But me being me and being just not thinking about that like and putting myself watching that like my body, like I couldn't enjoy the film. Because my body was like you're not ready for this right now, like you're associating too much of what you've just learned about with this film And like it's, you know, too much violence going on And you know some people just can't watch violent films at all. I'm normally okay with that And my body was literally like it wasn't even my mind. My body was like like tensing up And I was like I was like I need to listen to this And that was a really like. That's quite an extreme example And I know not everyone's going to necessarily resonate with something that crazy, but your body will tell you And because I've got so in tune with my body when I've, when that happened I was like I can't watch this. I'm going to just take myself up to bed Now. If I'm to watch that film in six months time or a time that feels good, i'll probably really enjoy it for like what it is, but in that moment I could not. And that is an example, like a prime example.

Speaker 1: 37:13

And now that I was become aware of that I was like okay, actually, do you know what? recently I haven't been tapping into my body as much as I would like to in terms of checking in does this feel good, does this not? I've just been kind of more in the mind, so it was a very strong reminder to me. Okay, start checking back in with yourself, hannah, because actually you need to do that, because there are things that are going to go on if you don't. And that was just really powerful. So you know, as I said, not everyone's going to be that strong, but, as I said, our bodies do know. And that just reminded me wow, we really do have the power, the power within us, if we choose to listen to it.

Speaker 1: 37:49

But a lot of people will override that. Right, we won't listen to it, and it's hard when we're in society, because we're like, oh well, so and so said, i had to do this. So I'm going to override that feeling. Actually, in this world, the only definite thing that we know is that we have ourselves to trust. Yes, we might have family and we might have husbands and wives and all of these things. Yes, we can trust them, but there's still the only bottom line person that we can trust us ourselves. So we have to lean into that guidance And this is exactly what I feel like you say somatic practices can do. So when we're kind of going on this journey and people are thinking like, right, i'm going to start listening to my body more, i'm going to start using muscle testing, i might try tapping, can there be some negative side effects at the start when the ego gets in the way of what can come up for people that might make them feel resistant to going there? Is there anything that you've experienced with your clients or yourself?

Speaker 2: 38:44

Yeah, i think some people really get stuck in their head. Yeah, they get stuck in their head and they think, oh, i'm over analyzing it. And that's why I said, in terms of muscle testing, the standing up example that I gave you is like the best one, because there are some other ones, but I find that the other ones are a little bit more advanced and they're the ones that people struggle with because they get stuck in their head and they're like my body is doing this on purpose or they start doubting themselves, or just little things like, if you've, because this starts from childhood. It starts from things like kids saying that they don't want to eat something and the parents saying I'm sorry, you've got to finish the plate anyway, right, and you're not. You start turning off your body. Or you know a kid doesn't want to do something, you have to go and hug your aunt and you don't want to hug your aunt, but you're forced to hug your aunt anyway, stuff like that, right?

Speaker 2: 39:27

So I've noticed that, for example, if you've had a lot of programming around like dieting and food and you start feeling drawn towards eating something that might not be like the most nutritious thing, you start thinking, oh, but I can't eat that, but I shouldn't eat that. But, oh my God, why is my body telling me to eat that? And you start questioning everything. So that's why I say the best thing to start with is small, little things and getting quiet. I think meditating really is a massive help as well.

Speaker 2: 39:55

Whatever, however you interpret the idea of meditating, whatever that means to you, or practicing yoga, i think some kind of practice like that that's just really about focusing on just getting everything quiet helps you tune inwards and then just giving it a go. Giving it a go and not trying to get it perfect, and just trying to have fun with it, rather than seeing it as like something overwhelming that you have to force yourself to learn that you have to get right on the first go It's like, okay, how can I just have fun and practice with this? And even little things, like leaning into things that feel good in your body, so that then you're more aware of what feels good. So, like small examples, like clothes, like does this dress feel good or do these shoes feel really constrictive? because the more you practice it with these tiny things, the easier it gets with bigger things, because it's never, about like the thing or the person.

Speaker 2: 40:48

Like the example that you gave with a movie is like a great example, because it's not like the movie is bad or it's not like the movie is evil and it's trying to cause you pain. It just is what it is And at that moment it happened to be a trigger for you and you know it's not the right thing. And it's the same, like with people. You might feel your body clench up around someone. It doesn't automatically mean that person's like a bad person or something, or that the food is a bad food or whatever it is. It's just not the right one for you. So the more you lean into it, the more you practice, the easier it gets and the less you have to kind of Do it. So consciously, you start to just do it unconsciously and then it becomes, you know, like anything, a habit You develop. After a while You don't even have to think about it later on.

Speaker 1: 41:29

Yeah, 100%, and I think as well, like what I realize over time, by choosing the micro things that feel good, actually, you almost like set your own standards higher, like. It's almost like, once you get to a point where you're, you're more in tune with your body, it's like you just can't, you just can't physically ignore it anymore. Something doesn't feel good, whereas when I was more disconnected, when I wasn't listening to my body, it was very easy to self-sabotage over and dodging alcohol Because that was the done thing. And I'm not saying it's a bad thing, we all go through different phases in our life. But all of a sudden it was like well, actually this doesn't feel good.

Speaker 1: 42:05

But back then I could just easily override it and just be like oh, it's just a hangover, it's just this, is just that, and I'm having a good time, which in some cases I was.

Speaker 1: 42:13

But now it's like, if my body doesn't want to do it, in this moment I'm not gonna force myself to do it like, whereas before, like if I was like When I, when I what I mean by that is like if I was going out and I didn't really feel like drinking I would still drink just because it was being the done thing, whereas now I'll still go out but I'll, just, like you know what I fancy one glass of wine or a fancy lime and soda, but that's it.

Speaker 1: 42:36

I'm not drinking, as maybe I I had thought might end up or I was open to, whereas before. I'd override that and I do really think those micro little decisions that sound so Like all their trivial, it doesn't matter, it's not gonna change my life. Actually it does, because it raises your general bar of how, your acceptance of what you'll tolerate, you'll, you, you'll, you'll tolerate less. I don't want to say shit, because at different times in your life There's gonna be different things you need, but you just, i like well, actually, this just doesn't feel good and actually like your body speaks louder, gets louder is what I'd say That's why I was like no, you can't do, not, you can't do this.

Speaker 1: 43:13

But no, this is a right for you right now. And I think that's what people miss is just like don't try and go for the big, audacious changes First. Just go for the little things, low hanging fruit, and see, oh actually, and then actually, by, by default, you'll get to the big things anyway, because actually you'll slowly build up of that like internal system, of like well, i can't do that anyway because it just feels so Not right for me in this moment and I think that was one of the biggest lessons that I've learned on this kind of More somatic spiritual journey for me, and I wonder, like whether things have you experienced that? is that something you've had, you've like learned about as you've come back and stepped into your power?

Speaker 2: 43:55

Yeah, a hundred percent. A hundred percent, i think it's the really, really small things. I think a lot of times we want these big quantum leaps and we want this kind of like magical, like okay, i can do this like magical thing for you and your entire life is gonna be changed. And Now and again there are things like the example, the whole example, i gave you with PTSD. That's almost like a complete 360 in Instantly and every but everyone's journey is a completely different.

Speaker 2: 44:20

But that's why I think tapping is so good, because you can just do five, ten minutes a day and that adds up and you shift your Sense of self-worth and your ability to hold good things. Because I personally believe that we kind of have like a thermostat on like how much ease, flow, abundance, joy that we're able to hold. And it's like when you open yourself up in those tiny moments And you set those boundaries and you respect your own joy, you're signative, signaling to the universe Okay, i'm one, i'm worthy, i believe in my worth and I'm able to do this and I have the capacity to hold more. And I think The more that we focus on those little micro things, that's where the magic is, rather than trying to do everything at once and trying to find this kind of magical pill That's just gonna kind of flip the switch instantly. It's those small, tiny little moments that really, really make the difference.

Speaker 1: 45:18

Yeah, i think that's so fantastically put because One million percent. You know people often say they want all these big things. But then when we like, if we were to like, if you truly think about it right now, after something really big that you want, would you be able to hold that? What if somebody gave you what you want right now? How would you deal with that If you're already feeling overwhelmed and busy in your life and you've not got time for things? Okay, well, imagine you suddenly got a hundred clients. Can you hold those hundred clients? yet Probably not, because you can't.

Speaker 1: 45:46

You're not even like learning how to appreciate and hold One or two clients.

Speaker 1: 45:52

You're like, oh my gosh, i'm always this, i'm always that I'm busy, i don't have time, i've let go of this, of myself care, i've done that, and so Like, sometimes we need the little steps to be able to hold the big steps anyway. And I think we often forget that because society just shows us this you know massive, you know like highlight reel on socials and elsewhere, and actually Most people like that person's probably weight has in most instances either it's not real, which we forget about, but if it is real that person's had their own journey to get there. It might not look like it to you because you've just found them on Instagram, but they've probably had all of the Lessons and the the work to do in the little micro wins and also the big losses, in order to be able to get to a point where they can be like you know what I deserve? this, i, i, i built this hundred clients or whatever it is, and I think when you have that reframe, it makes It makes life and the journey more enjoyable anyway, doesn't it?

Speaker 1: 46:48

Yeah, we can actually live in the moment. We can practice being in the moment and, like you say, almost sparking that signal to the universe of like, oh, this is such a tiny thing, but I really enjoy this, or this is like I'm really open to more of this, and that's what I've been trying to do is like I'm open to more of this, like I Wasn't even showing the universe that that was something I wanted before, and so, just by taking those little steps, it's like, oh, okay, well, i've put that signal out, now something's gonna come back. And With tapping, can people use it for abundance, like? I know this is a big Like word that people throw around now and, yes, like it's a great word, but I think it's used just so kind of frivolously.

Speaker 1: 47:29

But Can tapping help you attract more, receive more? like is because I know that a lot of people Want to know those kind of things. How have you found that, when it's come to you know Growing your business and doing those kind of things? Is it, is it something that you can use for that or not really?

Speaker 2: 47:46

Um, definitely, again, coming back to, depends on the way you define it. I tend to align again more with the word alignment because I think What everyone desires, everyone sort of desires similar things like we all want that kind of freedom, we will want that ease, we all want to enjoy life, but what that looks like is really really different and sometimes we can push ourselves Because, like you mentioned social media and stuff in thinking that it is just gonna look one way, like having lots of money Or having lots of clients or whatever it is. And and I have had those instances where clients have, you know, come to me, done a tapping sequence and, you know, manifested something which has seemed kind of almost like magic, like One of my clients was talking about finally, she did a sequence on finding her soulmate and met someone literally within days And that, you know, feels completely like magic. But I think You and you can definitely use tapping for those things.

Speaker 2: 48:45

But I would focus more on What's an alignment for you, wearing you out in your life, what do you want to align with, what kind of emotions you want to be feeling. And I would go from the emotional point. I do think sometimes you can do tapping sequences like on money and stuff. I have stuff like that and people you know write these incredible messages and stuff. But I think you have to come at it from a place of like fun, like I'm just gonna give this a go and this is gonna be fun and I'm gonna see where it goes.

Speaker 2: 49:14

Or I feel intuitively drawn towards this tapping and I'm gonna do it. If you come in it from a chore, like, okay, i have to, i don't know, make 10,000 a month. Therefore, i'm gonna do this 10,000 month tapping and I'm gonna. It has to work and you're kind of like Forcing at it and you're coming at it from a place of lack. It's not gonna do the job. So, like anything it's, the tools can work, but what are your intentions behind it? Is it for your highest good or are you doing it to drive kind of some ego belief or some kind of ego fear? It's not gonna work for you. So really, it's like what do you want? What are your intentions behind it, and can you come at it with this kind of light energy? Can you come at it with openness and being willing to receive whatever you're supposed to receive? so to do like like a little example is My.

Speaker 2: 50:05

I'm currently I'm going through this kind of visa process with my husband and I found out that I well Manifested, basically, and I do, which I would credit tapping to this, but just not not solely on tapping, but because I was open, i managed to meet an immigration lawyer in a coffee shop who's offered to help me pro bono right The most the strangest thing that happened. And then she said to me basically that Because I've only just moved back to the UK and stuff, you probably won't get a visa if you apply self-employed, as I was going to do through my business. She said go and get a job. And I was thinking to myself, oh, but that goes against you know, like I'm building a business, why would I go and get a regular job? Like it felt like it was going against me.

Speaker 2: 50:48

But I ended up getting a job instantly, like I literally was just handed the perfect contract. Everything was just sort of handed to me almost like magic and it's actually become so much fun. And if I had resisted that and said no, no, no, that isn't you know, that isn't my journey, that isn't where I'm supposed to be supposed to be, it Might not have happened. So I think sometimes you kind of call to put your ego to one side and I might open to receiving Whatever it is that I'm supposed to receive in this moment and I'm not trying to force it to look a specific way. And If you do that, i think tapping can be absolutely incredibly magical for you.

Speaker 1: 51:27

Yeah, i think that's really a really great way of explaining it, because actually, you know, sometimes we don't even we miss the miracles that could drop in and the things that, like you say, we would never imagine in our head because we want things a certain way, but actually it's like well, what? How do we know what's for our highest good if we don't even open ourselves up to that? we think we do, but Most of the time we don't, because it's it's not fat, we can't. Yes, we can have visions in our brain, but it's not. We can't Envision our highest selves all of the time, because it's too logicized, sometimes Unexplained things, man, like you say it might be magic, like some people can't say magic. Some people say manifesting, some people just like It's just allowing other possibilities to exist and seeing, okay, what's meant to come in right now.

Speaker 1: 52:17

And I think that, again, taking it back to that can become really fun. That can become almost like a game. When you first do it it can feel like, oh gosh, i don't like giving up that control. But then, when these things start coming in, you're like, oh, i wasn't expecting that, oh, this wasn't something I thought about, but actually this is so great, or this is like a real great opportunity or really fun, or this or that. You're then like, oh okay, let me try and make a game out of it, and so that's what I've started doing.

Speaker 1: 52:42

So now I'm less about pushing for the. I know the long-term goal, how I want my life to look and feel, but I don't have like these goals where I'm like I want X amount of money, i want this, i want that. I'm like right, my podcasting is my thing. I know I'm gonna make this into something that impacts thousands of people at some point, but let me just enjoy the journey of what that looks like. On the way, bring me things that are gonna open up more opportunities within this that I don't even know about yet.

Speaker 1: 53:08

And especially with the way the world is working and how fast things are moving with technology and so many other things. there's a lot of things that we can't, that doesn't even exist, that in a few years even are gonna exist. So I don't wanna block myself off from those because they're not even here yet. but then they might be here and it might be a perfect opportunity for me. But if I'm there like I can only do X, y, z this way, i'm gonna miss out on all of these things that potentially are gonna be created that I don't even know about yet, and I think that's just a really great reminder for people listening, just to have a bit more fun with it.

Speaker 1: 53:42

And like that is probably the biggest thing as adults we lack right is having fun and joy with things. We do it as kids, we don't do it as adults. So I think we've really covered loads today and I would love just to kind of, before we round up, just check in and see is there anything else you wanted to add, any bits of information you think we might have missed or you wanted to touch on, because I know that we kind of delve into a lot there.

Speaker 2: 54:07

Oh yes, no, we've definitely dealt into a lot, i think. Just play around with it, don't take everything so seriously. I love that you said think of life as a game, see where it takes you, be open to anything and just sort of test out. If you're curious about tapping, have a little go. You can check out. You know, one of the videos I've got on YouTube or one of the videos someone else has. Whoever you feel intuitively drawn towards working with, give it a go, see if you feel better and just have fun. Have fun leaning into your body and playing around with all the things that feel good, Amazing.

Speaker 1: 54:39

And to end the episode, I always ask my guests the same question, and it doesn't have to be related. I just love to see what's going on for people in their lives. What is one thing right now that's exciting you, whether that's a material thing, a product, a service, something you're working on, like anything. What is lighting you up right now?

Speaker 2: 54:59

So my favorite thing at the moment has been playing around on YouTube. I've really just been talking to different people because before I was creating videos, like what was I thinking of doing? And I realized that I just had to ask people questions and the information I was getting was blowing my mind and I've been able to create things for other people that I never would have been able to create. So just literally just reaching out and being like what would be useful, Put posing a few questions here and there, asking some people, and it's like completely blown my mind how much fun it can be and how much I'm genuinely feeling of service, which I think is what we really want to feel at the end of the day, that you're actually kind of making an impact and improving someone's life.

Speaker 1: 55:42

Yeah, I absolutely love that. Yeah, amazing. So how can people, if they would like to tap into energy, where's the best place to find you? I know we said YouTube, but what's the names and all the handles and things? I'll make sure it's in the show notes, but just so people can hear now and go off and find you if they want to.

Speaker 2: 55:58

Yeah, so you can find me pretty much on all platforms Instagram, facebook, youtube, tiktok at the Vida Bonita, i think. if you wanna DM me, reach out, like on Instagram, normally, but YouTube is where you're gonna find all the longer tapping sequences.

Speaker 1: 56:14

Amazing. Thank you so much for joining me today. I've really enjoyed our conversation.

Speaker 2: 56:18

Thank you for having me on here. It's been forever in the works, i know.