← The Spiritual Hustler
The Spiritual Hustler
Instagram Wellness Is Making You Sicker: Why You Can’t Supplement Your Way Out of Your Suffering with Functional Medicine Coach, Sheeva Stephens
00:50:16
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- [00:02]
A
Welcome to the Spiritual Hustler podcast. I'm your host, Jessica Zweig, multi seven figure serial entrepreneur, best selling author and branding and business coach. And this is a show where we are redefining the word hustle. Reclaiming our true feminine nature of magnetism and putting down the self judgments and shame around loving to work and making a lot of money at it. On this show, you're going to learn how to stop hustling and start spiritually hustling. By pressing play, you are now part of a new movement of women who don't hustle for money. We hustle for meaning. We don't hustle from lack. We hustle for love. We don't hustle from survival. We hustle for humanity's thriving. We hustle toward healing the ancestral programming of fear and step into a new understanding of safety in the body to receive. This shift isn't going to only heal your life. It's going to make you a whole lot richer too. This is the Spiritual Hustler Podcast. Well, hello my beautiful spiritual hustlers and welcome back to the podcast. I am your host, Jess, and as always, I'm so excited to be with you today. I've been especially excited to be dropping this conversation, you guys. It's been a minute since I've brought you a guest and I've got such an incredible lineup of guests coming on the podcast in the next couple of months. And you know, so much of the conversation we have here on the Spiritual Hustler podcast is rooted in all things business, branding, leadership, impact, money, all of the jam. You know, I love to celebrate the female entrepreneurs on the planet at this time and all things spiritual. Right. That's the show where we talk about everything from feng shui to crystals to akashic records to astrology to aliens and the micro dosing and whatnot. But one of the things that I truly believe, I don't just believe, I know sits at the heart of us living our best lives, building our most abundant businesses, being the most connected to the divine, having fun on this planet, which you guys know, is a theme for me in 2026. It's like the highest frequency is our health. Health is wealth. We cannot grow, expand. So succeed, travel, grow a business, grow a team, build a community, thrive in our relationships to experience full vitality. Unless we're in right relationship with our bodies. Yes, more than anything, just know what the is happening inside of our bodies. We cannot leave this piece of being a spiritual hustler out of the equation. We. Which is why I Wanted to bring on my incredible guest today. She happens to be one of my closest sisters here in Nashville. I felt such an instant connection to this girl years ago when we met, and today you're going to understand why. Shiva Stevens is a root cause functional medicine coach for ambitious women, founders, executives, and high achieving women who are done feeling exhausted all the time, anxious all the time, stuck in her body all the time, foggy in her brain all the time. Maybe you guys relate. Yep. This is why I wanted her on the show. Because I know if you have been building a dream that at times our bodies can sometimes feel like the enemy when really they're our biggest asset and our biggest ally. And the reason why I trust Shiva, she's been in the space of functional medicine for a minute, but her story dates back all the way to her childhood. This girl has been through so many challenges with her own body, and I believe that there is no one to really learn from or be taught by or be coached by who hasn't walked their own walk and remains a student to their own teachings. And today, you're going to learn a lot. You guys, this is a classroom episode. You're going to want to take a lot of notes. We talk about gut health, we talk about supplements, we talk about blood work, we talk about energy, we talk about adhd, we talk about mold. It goes into so many beautiful directions. And at the end of the day, all of us are impacted by all of the above. And if we're not looking under the hood of what's really at the root of our symptoms, we're never going to thrive. And I just hope that this conversation is not only a wake up call, but a big, beautiful invitation into coming back home into your own body, to regulate your own inflammation, to build true resiliency in your body that supports your success as a female lightworker, spiritual hustler of this time. We cannot do the work that we came here to do unless we are vibrant in our vitality. And so Shiva breaks it all down today. She's a goddess. You guys are going to love her. She's got an incredible 360 root cause analysis that she offers to her clients. You can go de book a call with her. I'll leave the link in the show notes to really understand and address the potential deep underlying causes of what you think your challenges are coming from to what they really are. And Shiva breaks it all down today. And so, without further ado, here is my amazing, amazing conversation with my sister and one of the most beautiful voices in the functional medicine space. Shiva Stevens. Shiva Sister. Welcome to my podcast.
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Believe it.
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I can't believe it. I can't believe I met you.
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B
I know.
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What a true gift from the universe. The very first time I met you, I walked up to Shiva, and she was talking about her. Like, I. I knew you for two seconds, and you open your mouth, you're like, yeah, I just got off this parasite cleanse.
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I'm like, we're gonna be friends.
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Who's this girl?
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Instant.
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It was instant. And I think it was your authenticity as much as your background and, like, who you are and what you're passionate about that really drew me to you.
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And same for you. Thank you.
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Yeah, thank you. I think we're such kindred spirits, and we do very, very different things, but I do believe we're here in many ways for the same mission.
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B
Yes.
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Which is to help women rise, reclaim their freedom, live their best lives. That's really. We're both doing that.
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Yes. That is at the root of what I do, to be honest. I always talk about this with my clients. It's like, great, you lost the way. Great. You know, you've got these symptoms that are gone now, but at the root, I get off of these calls, and they're like, I'm confident in making, you know, better decisions in business. I'm more confident, or I have a better relationship with my husband. You know, like, I'm happier. Like, I just have more joy on a regular basis. Yeah.
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It's everything. Our vitality, our health, our embodiment. So you teach this. This is your life's work, and we're going to get into all of the ways that you support women. And I have so many questions for you around root cause, healing and optimizing our bodies and all of this. But what's so fascinating to me about you, Shiva, is that you. This wasn't always what you did.
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No.
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You, like, owned a gym. Like, you have such a total, like, past life, like, many chapters.
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Yeah.
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And I want to just click into your journey with your ADHD and the dependency you have Adderall. Yeah. And how that really became, like, an opening and a breakthrough and a pivot point for you. So can we kind of go back to who Shiva was before this Shiva is that I see here today?
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B
Yeah. So when I was younger, first of all, Persian girl in the south, so my parents came to the US and we. They moved to Tennessee, and I always felt a little bit out of place where we lived in Franklin, and. Yeah. And so that was a big one. For me, and as I, you know, grew up in the system and the school system, a lot of teachers were like, she is constantly trying to get out of class. Like, you know, we can't get her to sit still. And I had a lot of teachers tell my parents, you need to put her on meds. And so my parents were actually very against medication. You know, they don't drink alcohol. They're very actually healthy. Like, I remember my mom sending me to school with, like, the healthy food. Like, it was something that she really believed in. Wouldn't take Tylenol. Like, was really, really big about that back in the day. But I, of course, struggled. So I was like, you know, well, yeah, if everyone's telling me I need this, let's try. Was around the time I was around 12 years old, is around the time I was starting my period, changes were happening for me hormonally. And I think that was a big part of what kind of exasperated me into having to look at medications. And at the time, we didn't know what functional medicine was. We didn't understand any of that stuff. And kids were being put on, you know, Adderall left and right. And so we tried it. And I remember the first time I tried it, I was like, wow. Like, I have so much confidence. Like, I had so much energy from, like, the class clown to the teacher's pet. Wow. It was instant. And so, you know, as we. We started that journey, it was great for me, and I felt really good and powerful and. But at the same time, we didn't know how to take this drug the right way. And so there's a lot of trial and error. I went to the hospital twice for anxiety attacks because I thought I was dying. Like, I didn't know what an anxiety attack was at 12, you know, so I was dealing with a lot of that. But I kind of went through that process of being on that medication. And then I hit, you know, high school and college, and then the anxiety and ADHD came in with the side effects and the symptoms of this drug. And not to mention, I wasn't. I didn't, you know, eat well and, you know, do all the things I do now. And so little by little, I started to see the repercussions of it. And so fast forward to owning the gyms and here locally, I found myself in a place that I just didn't understand. I mean, I have a nutrition and exercise science degree. I understood weight loss. I understood good, you know, nutrition to an extent. And I was all of a sudden Gaining weight out of nowhere, 20, 30 pound weight gain. My anxiety was so bad, sometimes I couldn't leave the house. I was struggling with feeling like I. I don't know who I am anymore. I was having anger outbursts. So, you know, I had a team of people, and I was having a hard time controlling my emotions. And again, everything led back to, well, let's put you at, you know, Dale Carnegie leadership schools, and, you know, maybe that's your problem. And it was always like, this was my personality, right. And that was the problem because I had been on it for as long as.
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Since you were 12.
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Since. Since I was in my developmental stages. Right. And so, you know, I always thought, this is just me and I'm the flaw. Right. And so I got to a place. I was about five years into the business, and it was that time where, like, everyone was getting married, having kids, and I felt like, okay, I've done what I need to in Tennessee. And I'm feeling like I'm hitting a wall with pretty much everything I have, everything that I have ever dreamed of. I wanted the business, I wanted the community. I had it all. I felt really, really confident there, but in my body, I felt like it was foreign, right? Like. And so I basically, at that point, decided I had tried a couple times getting off the meds and was not successful. And then I had a guy that I was dating at the time that was like, when you don't take this drug, you're a completely different person. I really genuinely think this is your problem.
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Wow.
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And so at the time, I didn't believe him. I was like, whatever. And we, at that point, he was like, I can't be with you anymore. This is. You're too much when you're on this drug. And so we actually broke up. And at that time, I kind of felt like I had kind of lost myself. I didn't know where, you know, who I was, all the things. So I decided to get off of the medication. And at the same time, I decided to move across the country to California.
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Yes.
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This was about 10 years ago. And 10 years ago, I decided to, you know, start to dive into other doctors and people who might understand tapering off of medications. I couldn't find anyone who got it
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who could help you taper off.
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Who could help me taper off of this? At. At one point in the journey, I was having a hard time, like, forming sentences, getting off of this drug. I was having major psychosis. Like, it was nuts. And so somehow successfully tapered off of multiple medications. Because at the time, you know, I had gotten on an anxiety, met a dep med from those years of the side effects kind of kicking in. And so I somehow, you know, took off. I took off life, you know, put my, my businesses in my partner's hand and took off about six months and somehow was still like kind of doing some work on the side, but tapered off of three medications in a West Hollywood apartment by myself. And at that point is when I started to learn about functional medicine. And it was just these really eye opening moments. Like I would have like a green juice or like a more protein and I'd be like, man, I have more energy. Like that's crazy. And I just started to put piece by piece together like what I was experiencing and I started talking about it online. And when I started talking about online, it was really scary for me because I was like, no one's going to understand this. People have told me from day one. My doctor looked me straight in the face and said, what you're experiencing with these withdrawal symptoms is not real. Like we've never seen this before. Like, this is crazy. You, you probably just need to be on the drug.
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Western medicine is so.
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Yeah, it really, it really is. So, so he was basically gaslighting me and saying like, what you're experiencing isn't right. So I thought I was going nuts. Like, I was like, what's wrong with me? You know, so, so anyways, I started to dabble into functional medicine and then I started to work with some functional medicine doctors out in California and learn a little bit more. And so that really opened my eyes to, you know, what was possible. And starting to look at root cause medicine. I learned that I had Hashimoto's with, with you know, thyroid issues, which is very much by the way, linked to long term Adderall use. I learned about a lot of different things that were kind of underlying for me. And at the time I started to learn that I had an HLA gene mutation with not being able to detoxify mold and, or other things like, you know, CO spike proteins, lime, like all of those things weren't. I can't get rid of them the way other people can. And so it was just very eye opening to me what was going on. And so I went back to school and here we are.
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Here we are.
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Yeah, here we are.
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Okay, you guys, here's the truth that most female entrepreneurs never heard. Your nervous system is running your entire business, your entire life, not your mindset. So you can have all the vision and all the strategy. But if your body is carrying chronic stress, inflammation or pain, everything is always going to feel harder than it needs to be. And this is where Microflow comes in. Now this brand, I swear by Microflow, it has changed my entire life. It's founded by root cause health expert Christy Naltre. And Microflow creates the cleanest micro dosing supplement on the market. Okay. It's 100% organic, third party, lab tested, Raiki infused and intentionally formulated for women. Now each blend is designed to support brain heart coherence, your nervous system regulation and neuroplasticity, which helps you at the end of the day shift out of survival and into sustainable growth. And here is what's actually happening. Microflow helps quiet the default mode network in your brain. It's the autopilot in your mind, while activating neurogenesis so that you can build new pathways wired for creativity, clarity and resilience. This is why thousands and thousands of people who've used Microflow has said that it is the one thing that has drastically, clearly, evidently changed their life. And now Microflow has introduced a brand new blend that I am also obsessed with called Rapid Relief, which is the next evolution of holistic pain support. Now, Rapid Relief works with your body, not against it. It supports your innate healing intelligence so that discomfort can finally resolve at the root without harsh downstream effects. Think of this as like your new one stop shop, Midol, Advil, Tylenol. But better because it's formulated with with Microflow Magic micro doses, regeneratively farmed CBD and ancient botanicals. I've used it every single week since. I've got it. It helps calm inflammation, soften tension and restore the flow back into your body. 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Okay, sit with that for a second and let's talk about my sister, Tally Kogan. All right, many of you know who she is. She's been my stylist for over 10 years. But she is not just a stylist. She is an activation, a fashion alchemist and true soul whisperer. Tali helps women from across the country embody their next level. Yes, through style, activating the manifesting power of what you wear and how you feel every single day when you walk out of your closet. Whether you're stepping into a rebrand, launching your next big offer, or are simply tired of hiding behind the same three comfortable outfits. Okay. She is the woman that you call. I've worked with Tali for over a decade and she is the magic behind my signature style. I never go to an event, host a retreat, do a brand shoot without consulting with her. And she has not just changed how I dress, she's changed how I see myself. It's impacted not just my confidence and my energy, which is true, but my entire business. Her signature two day experience is called Calling Forth the Queen, which is a luxurious soul LED styling and photo shoot journey for the woman who is ready not just for a new wardrobe, but for an entirely new identity. You'll leave with countless styled looks for speaking engagements, podcast interviews, travel and everyday Life. Plus over 100 stunning high end editorial brand photos to use across your platform. And yes, I said 100. If you've been feeling the nudge to elevate your brand, your identity, your entire life. Life, babe. This is your sign. Head to tallykogan.com to book your transformational session right now. Because as Tally often says, you can have anything you want in life if you dress for it. It's true. Mention Jessica when you book your Calling Forth the Queen session and receive your own crown. A complimentary Malkari jewelry stack of three pieces styled just for you, valued at over $750. Yep, when you mention the word Jessica, when you book your Calling Forth the Queen session, you're going to receive $750 of Malkari jewelry just because you came from my community. So head to tokogan.com today and step forth into your inner queen. I. I've heard pieces of that story before, but really to hear it in its summarized totality is just so inspiring to me. Because of the work you really took, all of that healed your body. You're still on that journey, which we'll talk about, but You've made this your work, you've made this your career and you've devoted your days to, to paying this forward. Because so many women don't know what the is going on with their bodies. And they go to what we've been taught to go to the doctor. And the gaslighting happens. The prescription drugs get prescribed and I, I love you. There's so many points of view. Every time I'm with you, I'm like, you're a encyclopedia and a wealth of knowledge on all directions of root cause healing. But it really, I think, has a starting point, can be labs, right?
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Yes.
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And like everyone says, go get your labs, go get your labs. Talk to me about what's happening in like the blood work, that when we go to a traditional doctor, what we're seeing versus what we're not seeing, how can we use that part of the process to really understand what's happening with our bodies and then we'll get into the steps we can take from there.
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Labs are really vital and important. It's definitely one piece of the puzzle. There's multiple others we can talk about in a minute. But what we're missing with labs is that when we go to conventional medicine doctor, you are getting a standard 30, 20 to 30 markers. And they're looking at it from a conventional medicine range. And these are all labs that are covered under insurance. So they're not going to go out of what is covered under insurance. Which when it comes down to it, it's not the doctor that's the problem, it's the system that is the problem. Right, of course. And so we're dealing with that is not performing in a way that is going to get to root cause in the first place. And so on these labs, they're looking at conventional ranges, which is sick America. That's majority of our population. That's where they're going at. We look at functional ranges. And so functional ranges are. We're looking to optimize your body. So I'll give you an example. We might have T3, which is a thyroid marker, be at 2.3. That's going to be normal in conventional medicine range. So in a functional medicine range, we know that that is going to be a marker that can cause, if you're that low, can cause iron absorption issues, it can cause weight loss resistance, it can cause, you know, a lot of different symptoms that the person is dealing with. And if they're seeing those symptoms, then we need to pay attention to the fact that their T3 is low. There can be a conversion issue in your gut, for example. And we need to improve the gut function to then improve the thyroid function. Right. And so, of course, as a whole, we're looking at the body as a whole, we're not looking at just each system.
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Right.
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And so that's one thing. Two, we look at 75, 200 biomarkers
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versus 20 to 30.
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Correct?
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Yeah.
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And so I'm looking a lot deeper. I'll. I'll stick with thyroid. Thyroid, normally they're going to run two markers. I'm going to be looking at five to six different markers. And that really gives me the full picture of what is actually going on with the thyroid. Not to mention, we also need to look at iron absorption or iron just in general, or zinc and selenium. Like, we need to look at some other things to see, or are you getting the nutrients to support your thyroid? Including. We also have other labs that are specialty labs that are not even offered at conventional medicine. I had a client come to me that is having severe gut issues. She went and got a colonoscopy at the GI Doc. She got some testing done. Everything came back normal. We did a GI map on her. I've never seen such a bad GI Map in my whole entire life. She had C. Diff. She had a bunch of things on there that were very, very scary that needed to be taken care of. And her GI Doctor told her everything was normal.
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That's why.
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And so if we don't get the proper testing and we don't get the proper evaluation and we aren't being listened to, the fact that we have these symptoms, it's like, okay, I'm telling you I'm having all of these problems. What, your solution is nothing. Right? And so they're looking at you saying, well, your labs are normal, you're fine. Instead of. Let me think about this for a second, okay? This woman is telling me she's got these symptoms. It always goes towards, oh, well, it might be your hormones or it might be, you know, mental health issues. You just. You're probably just having anxiety, right? And so it just becomes this circle of, am I nuts? Like, is there something wrong with me? And, no, you're not crazy and you're not alone in this. There's so many women dealing with the exact same thing. And so further investigation is really important. And, guys, it's not just your labs. It's lifestyle, it's environmental. And so that's how we do things very differently in my business, is there is no stone that goes on you know, that does not go in, turn right, or what's that?
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That's the phrase.
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That's the phrase.
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That's why.
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So we look at. We look at everything. And so it's really important at one point in your life that you do this type of investigation, this deep dive into what is going on. We are busy. Right. We are constantly on the go. And we know that if we don't do the work in these areas, just like we do the work in other areas in our lives, there's no understanding of what's actually going on.
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Totally. And this is why people come to you.
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Yeah.
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I have a question on the GI mapping.
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Yeah.
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So. Because I do believe, and I know you would agree, so much of our gut health is the foundation to our entire health, Mental health, emotional health, physical health, vitality, energy, all of it. Mood, hormones, GI mapping is what. Explain the process.
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Yeah.
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And that story about that woman that missed like from colonoscopy and her GI doctor was like, you're fine.
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Yeah.
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And then you have her take a GI map and you can find all of this information. So explain that process because I just think it's like really fun to normalize it.
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Yeah. So it's a stool sample and you're getting a kit sent to your house. And that kit is going to. We're going to take a little scoop of the poop and we're going to put a little in a little tube and we're going to send it off to the lab. And the lab is going to kind of tell us what's going on. And some of the things that we look at in a GI map is we're looking at pathogens, we're looking at viruses, we're looking at. The intestinal health markers are really, really cool because we can see. Are you digesting fats or absorbing fats? Are you. Do you have enough digestive enzymes to digest your food? Do you have inflammation in your gut? What's the immune system of your gut looking like? So 70% of our immune system is in our gut. So if we are not paying attention to that and we have an immune system response right now, then that's a problem. So we look at the lining of the gut. So zonulin. Is your zonulin high? If your zonulin is high, that means that. So we have the lining of our gut and there's tight junctions all across that lining. When there's gaps that form in between those tight junctions, that causes toxic toxins to go through those tight junctions. And that is what causes a lot of symptoms as well. So we want to improve the gut lining as well. So there's so many facets to that that we really need to improve. And then on top of that, which a lot of people miss, is that why is the gut off? Right, right. And so as. Although that can be a root cause, it can also be because of environmental toxins. And people don't realize that if you're living in mold, for example, that you're going to have a gut that is not performing at its best and is allowing other things to kind of come in and be a problem for you.
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I want to get to mold and I want to get to environment. But I. You said something really, really profound a couple minutes ago around how we're busy.
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Yes.
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Like women are. We've a lot going on. Schedule is real. And yet it seems like. And I don't want to make too much of a blanket statement, I was a part of this collective for quite some time. High performing.
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Yeah.
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Highly stressed, busy women seem to have like the most suffering. Right. You see this in your clientele.
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Yeah, that's the only type of woman that I normally work with. It's the executives, the CEOs, the owners of the businesses, the ones that are just non stop and with women, for some reason they tend to not want to ask for help and they're like, I can do this on my own, I can figure this out. And. And they have a million different things. Some have kids too. On top of that, there's a lot that they're dealing with. And what I will tell you is this. For me as a business owner, it is not a question in my mind to take care of my health and to invest in my health. Because if my health is not doing well, and I've experienced it multiple times throughout my life, my business suffers big time. Oh, it's a right.
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It's a strategic advantage to be healthy
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hands for your business, hands down. And so I always let people know, like, just because your life is busy doesn't mean that you bringing this into it is going to make it harder. It's actually going to make it easier in time. You're hiring someone to take this off of your plate instead of you having to, you know, search on the Internet and try this and that. That normally doesn't work, by the way. You know, think about your business in this way. You outsource the things that you're not good at in your business so that you can focus on what you're best at doing. Why aren't you doing this with your health as well? Right. Make it to where you have a system now that works for you with your busy lifestyle. And so I think it's one of the most vital things to invest in for myself.
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I mean, health is wealth.
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Yeah.
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Hands down.
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Hands down, hands down.
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Like, I remember I had an autoimmune disorder for 10 years and it was a. This vicious cycle because it was my business that was making me sick because I was so stressed out, I was so inflamed, I was so exhausted. And it kept me in this big state of constant anxiety and burnout. And like, it all comes back to the body. And I think we as a collective, especially the women who are listening, like, know that.
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B
Yeah.
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But we turn to what's trending or we turn to Instagram or we like listen to what our friends are doing that's working for them. What I love so much about your work is how thorough and deep you dive to really create a true data driven, on paper, science backed look under the hood of what's really, really happening. With that being said. Not everyone to spend the money.
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Yeah.
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Or take the time. So they just transact on like what Instagram is selling them.
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And you're wasting time and money. For me, time is money. That's number one.
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Totally.
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And then two, you're wasting money on a bunch of things that are not going to work for you long term. Right.
- [30:19]
A
You have a very strong point of view on the supplement world.
- [30:22]
B
Yeah.
- [30:23]
A
And we were over at my house a couple months ago and I was like, I'm trying this and I'm trying. You're like, Jessica, like, let me show you the way. You're like, I've got what you need.
- [30:32]
B
Yeah.
- [30:32]
A
There's a lot of great marketing out there.
- [30:35]
B
Yeah. A lot of noise.
- [30:36]
A
And so how do we decipher and cut through the noise and really know what to trust when it comes to supplements? Because it's all the rage.
- [30:44]
B
Yeah. So one, my first message is get an individualized strategy. Like, period, end of story. It's so worth it because every single thing that you are taking can cause more of a problem. And so, for example, colostrum, I was with a girl two days ago that was like picking my brain about something. And she was like, yeah. I started colostrum. I'm like, how are your bowel movements? And she was like, I'm constipated. And I said, that means that colostrum is probably not best for you right now. You're not probably doing well with it. Right. And so they don't understand, like, well, I was told that it can work for me. I'm like, well, do you have a dairy allergy? Is that something that you can actually tolerate? You know? And so how much are you taking? What brand are you taking? And so when it comes to supplements, number one, we want to make sure they're third party tested, physician formulated. Right. We want to make sure we're looking at brands that don't have a ton of fillers in them. And so this is the work that I do and vetting these companies that I actually promote because I want to make sure that they are good products that you're actually absorbing. Like, is your gut even absorbing the nutrients that you're putting into your body on a regular basis? So we've got to look at that as well because it can be a lot of waste of time. I'll give you an example of one that's really popular. Turmeric. People are like, oh, well, turmeric can lower inflammation. Well, do you have low iron? Because you have low iron, you're probably eating up your iron and making your symptoms even worse. For example, zinc. Everyone's like, oh yeah, take high doses of zinc. Well, where's your copper levels at? So we need to look at copper levels. Where are you at there? I can go on and on about how one thing can mess with another thing if you don't actually know what's going on. That's why things like neutrophil, for example, I see people turn, have full blown hormone imbalances from taking things like neutrophil. I have people who are taking multivitamins that will take high doses of something like a B vitamin and they get to the point of er visits because their body can't handle it. Right.
- [32:31]
A
Wow.
- [32:31]
B
Also, these things, when they put multiple things in one capsule, some of them need to be taken at different times with different things. Some need to be taken with food, some don't need to be taken with food. Right. Some need to be taken in the morning, some need to be taken at night. Like that depends too. So there's so much to learn in Supplement World and I used to actually promote a ton of supplements on social media and I stopped, I just stopped promoting anything that I didn't think could help the total population. And if I was to give something that can help the total population on a standpoint of supplements, depending on what your symptoms are, obviously. But overall magnesium is one that I think everyone could specify the type of. Correct. Correct. So magnesium glycinate is what we would prefer. But it depends. Like oxide is not as bioavailable. Right. And so insane with citrate can actually have mold in it. And so there's so many different nuances on understanding like the right type for the right person. Omegas are pro resolving mediators are really, really great for inflammation. Again, depends on the person, but I think that is an overall one. Having a good clean protein powder is really good because most women are not getting enough protein in their diets and then having like a digestive enzyme. Right.
- [33:42]
A
You got me on those. Game changer.
- [33:44]
B
So doing something along that line and if, you know, those would be the ones that I feel the most confident about publicly discussing. But the rest can cause issues. And if it can cause issues for people, I won't feel comfortable promoting it to the masses.
- [33:58]
A
I mean, I love that, love that breakdown. That's a great bullet point list. I remember during my chapter of I was sick for 10 years, 30 to 40, and I had a full on fucking apothecary in my house.
- [34:13]
B
Oh yeah.
- [34:14]
A
I had never been taking more supplements and been more sick and never had been more sick taking more supplements. Does that make sense? I would like pack an extra suitcase.
- [34:23]
B
Yeah.
- [34:23]
A
Because whenever I traveled I would bring three full Ziploc bags.
- [34:28]
B
Wow.
- [34:28]
A
Of supplements.
- [34:29]
B
Yeah. Yeah.
- [34:30]
A
Now I take a small handful.
- [34:32]
B
Yeah.
- [34:33]
A
And I've never been healthier. You know, I'm not saying my health is perfect. I still need to do a GI trip with you. But it's, it's a counterintuitive approach. But it's so powerful what you're saying.
- [34:45]
B
Two things I want to make note of that subject is one, my goal is always to get you on the least amount of supplements possible. Not saying I might not get you on 8 to 10 to start. That might be where roundabout where we're at. But if you're on 20 plus supplements by like, no, we're taking too many. Okay. My hope is that we get you down to like four. Right. Four solid ones that we stick with once your body is in more of a homeostasis place. Right. So that's really, really important to note on a standpoint of what we're looking at for supplements specifically.
- [35:14]
A
So I'm a woman and I'm listening right now. And I'm like, like, okay, I think I'm not quite yet ready to poop on a stick and send it in the mail. And I don't like needles in my arm. Some people are really freaked out by the blood labs. Might give shiva A call. But in the meantime, you know, she's feeling off. She's lethargic, she's hormonal, she knows intuitively there's some inflammation going on. She suffers from bad headaches, she gets anxiety like, hello, welcome to the Mass Collective. What can she do today?
- [35:43]
B
Yeah, it's the diet and most women don't want to look at that. But I will tell you right now, that is going to be the biggest game changer ever. One that I actually missed on the supplement standpoint is electrolyte. So a lot of women are lacking the minerals and increasing hydration with good clean water and then it's protein intake and blood sugar balance. So, you know, obviously I need to know your specific unique body to tell you exactly how, what your macros are going to look like. But at the minimum, trying to go for like that 30 grams of protein per meal. No skipping meals. Ladies, I know you aren't hungry in the morning, but the reason why you're not hungry in the morning is that you are running on cortisol and you're absolutely telling your body you're not hungry. You can train your body to be hungry in the morning. I see it with every client that I work with. By week three or four, they're like, I have hunger cues again. And I'm like, yep, that's right. You can tell your body that you are hungry. And by the way, eating less or eating under eating is going to make you gain weight, is going to cause more symptoms in general. So not skipping meals, you know, having a good adequate amount of protein per meal, getting enough sleep. Right. So figuring out if you're waking up multiple times through the night, what's going on there? Daily bowel movements, if we can have daily bowel movements, toxins aren't backing up in the system. Right. And so, you know, obviously going towards more whole foods in general, not saying that you can't go out and eat dinner and have fun and do those things, but majority of what you eat is more whole food base. And then stop eating protein popcorns and protein chips and expect to get your protein goals. Ladies, we want to get protein from real food, not from, you know, random snacks that are really not helping you.
- [37:22]
A
So good. What are your thoughts on peptides and not just GLP ones, but although that's like the peptide conversation. But what are your thoughts on.
- [37:28]
B
I am doing a lot of research on peptides right now and I think they can be very, very supportive for the right person. What I think is happening that I do not like is that women are. It's too. It's too easy to get them. Which that's about to change, by the way, because FDA is. Things are changing with that in our government. So I think that it's too easy to get it. And we're not looking at the. The person as a whole to say, this is where we need to start. You. And I think that's the problem with health in general. And. And what's being given is like, maybe you only need five units of this verse, 25 units. Right. And so listening to the person and their profile is really important. One that I'm really loving right now and that I've been researching more on and that I'm actually starting to experiment with clients is kpv.
- [38:16]
A
What is that?
- [38:18]
B
So that is amino. There's a set of amino acids. And so that actually has been proven and researched to be protective against mold. It is actually very. So basically, it shuts down the overactive immune response to things. Right. So it calms inflammation across the board. It can actually treat things like Candida in the gut, so it can improve the gut lining. So I'm seeing some really cool things with that one. And then, you know, there's other ones that I'm researching and looking at. I'm still not on board with GLP1s because of how I'm seeing so many side effects from it, from the women who come to me and realizing it's being caused by the GLP1 and to wean them off of it. And so I want everyone to just hear this when I say you can fix it at a root cause, and if you can't, we can look at peptides to see what's best for you. But be mindful of the fact that this can cause side effects and don't stay on something just because you want to keep losing weight, which I'm seeing a lot of. It's like, I have horrible gut issues, but, like, I'm losing weight, so I'm not going to stop this. And so I'm having to really battle that with clients and try to figure out a happy medium of like, all right, well, can we at least microdose it for now? You know, so I'm having a hard time with that one still. I'm not saying that my mind won't change at some point, but right now, the way it's being given out, we just need to be mindful of what we're putting in our bodies.
- [39:39]
A
I completely agree with that. And I think there's like, this Whole influencer movement on.
- [39:44]
B
Yeah, don't get me started.
- [39:45]
A
DM me comment peptide and I'll send you my peptide code. I know, I know. We could definitely go down that rabbit hole. But I think we understand we've said enough. Yes. We're on the same road. You've mentioned mold a couple times.
- [39:56]
B
Yeah. Yeah.
- [39:57]
A
You're very passionate.
- [39:58]
B
I'm very passionate about it.
- [39:59]
A
Your husband started a mold company just the other day. Why? Why start with. You have quite a relationship and story around itself.
- [40:08]
B
Yeah. So I've known about the mold world for probably, I would say about six years. My brother actually got kind of sick from it first, and that was kind of our first, like eye opening moment. My brother never had issues like I did growing up. He was like always even keeled and like very different types of people. And when he got sick out of nowhere, it was very, very odd. And so that's kind of when we started to understand it better. But what really set things off for me was Covid. And so when Covid happened, we're seeing a wave of chronic illness after Covid. And what we're seeing is that it turned things on in the body that were dormant at the time. Right. And so if there was, you know, certain genes or things that then were mutated because of this of COVID that's when things got really chronic for me and I had to start paying attention to it. And so the world of mold is.
- [41:05]
A
It's pervasive.
- [41:07]
B
Yeah. And everywhere. It's everywhere. And so we have to be really mindful about this conversation because, you know, it does not need to be fear based. Right. And I want to just clarify that I am currently living in some mold, and that's okay. And I'm still healing in that. But we have to also not say I'm just going to ignore this and keep spending thousands of dollars on other things and not paying attention to the fact that the root cause could be the home that I'm currently living in. Right.
- [41:33]
A
Yeah.
- [41:33]
B
And so when it comes to this, how what we experienced, to give you a little bit of background, we bought a three year old home and that home was even inspected by the best mold inspector in Nashville. And they gaslit me and were like, there's nothing here, you're fine. We had some buckled flooring in the hardwood floor in the master bedroom. And they were like, there's no moisture there. We've tested it, there's. It's all good. And there was like a line on the wall that showed some work had been Done there. We. We knew something was there. We got lied to by the owners of the home, saying that there was no previous water damage. After a week of me being in this house, I was almost bedridden and I could not function at all. From there, we went through probably one of the hardest things I've ever gone through in my whole entire life. We were jumping from Airbnb to Airbnb because I was reacting so poorly to the house and houses in general from there, because of my exposure. And we went through a process of having four different inspectors out and, like, no one could find it. No one could figure it out. I just kept being like, y', all, there's something in this home. Figure it out. We finally found it with actually a mold dog at the time. And then we found that there was previous water damage and mold all underneath our hardwood floor.
- [42:46]
A
In your bedroom?
- [42:47]
B
In our bedroom to one. And then also in the crawl space. So the crawl space is an area that if you have a crawl space at all in the state of Tennessee, you have mold in your home. And so do you think that's common across states? It can be, but we're in a really humid climate. But yes, if you don't have a fully encapsulated crawl space with a dehumidifier, you have mold in your home. Home. Okay. So what's crazy about it is my husband was perfectly fine and I was sick. Really, really sick. And that's because of my gene mutation that I have. And so we commonly see this, now that I work more in the mold space is that the wife and the kids are sick and the husband's perfectly fine, or there's one or the other. Sometimes it's the husband, too, but more than ever, it's normally the wife and the kids that are not feeling well. And so then they get gaslit and they're like, it's just the anxiety or it's this or that, you know, so they go down this rabbit hole of like, this isn't it? Until they finally find it. And so from there, the issues that happen is that we have to properly remediate this. And this is a very, very corrupt industry that does not know how to properly do things. And so we've spent the last three to four years really understanding how to do this the right way, from inspection to remediation. And with the business that we've started, we are almost consulting you and being your right hand person, to make sure that the process is done correctly. So you don't throw $30,000 down the drain. $50,000 down the drain. Right. And so we're really passionate about it because I've seen how much living in different environments just make or break my health. I mean, I can go one week into a house with zero mold in it or low, low, low, low, low levels where I'm, like, feeling like a million bucks.
- [44:26]
A
Right.
- [44:27]
B
And it's very quick and instant how I'm feeling about it. Yeah.
- [44:30]
A
I have so much to say. Shiva, you're spiritual hustler. Do you know that? You are because your husband and you started this mold business.
- [44:37]
B
Yeah.
- [44:38]
A
You're running your own.
- [44:39]
B
Yeah.
- [44:40]
A
Root cause business. Everything that I'm just threading threads as I'm listening to you, you have created to be of service as a business, to make money. It's all been rooted in paying it forward and helping the people that you once were.
- [44:52]
B
Yeah.
- [44:53]
A
I just want to call that out. It's really beautiful, beautiful quality of your soul.
- [44:56]
B
I just don't ever want anyone suffer the way I did. I. I felt very alone. And going through that process, no one understood it. Same with the Adderall thing. No one understood that it was so challenging to go through something that everyone's like, oh, I'm sorry. Like, if you break a leg or if you have cancer, people are like, oh, my gosh, what can I do for you with this? It felt very different, and it was. You don't understand. You can't see it. You know, you can't see my sickness. And so because you can't see it, a lot of people don't understand. And I don't want anyone else to feel the loneliness that I felt through this whole entire process. So. Yeah.
- [45:33]
A
Well, as someone who spends a lot of time with you and it's such a gift to, you know, have created this friendship. And, like, I roll deep with you, and I know all of these things about you. I know about your genetic mutation. I know about the mold background, and you still show up. I mean, you obviously have to take days for yourself, and you're very open about that. But my question that I'm getting to, and I'll. I'll start kind of with me as a reflection of what I've witnessed in you, is when I was going through my sickness again, 10 years.
- [46:07]
B
Yeah.
- [46:07]
A
I don't even like to talk about it because it has, you know, such a traumatic layer because I talked about it so much.
- [46:13]
B
Yeah.
- [46:14]
A
It became my identity. It became my personality. I was super hypersensitive to wherever I went. I was like, I'm Immunocompromised. Just know that about me. Like, super particular about when I went out to eat. I, like, was just kind of in the drama of it.
- [46:31]
B
Yeah.
- [46:32]
A
And you're not like that. Like, you are very open and you're very sovereign when you have to, like, take days off or you're not able to make something because you. It's like up and down with you. But I think there's a page that a lot of women can take from that, because whether it's our anxiety or it's our hormone imbalances, or it's our. Our menstrual cramps, or it's our autoimmune disorder, it can take up so much space. And you show up for your life, for your clients, for your community online. And I know it's not easy for your friends, you know, for your husband. And I guess I want to know how, like, what is happening on the inside and what advice do you have for the women listening who can kind of relate to that version.
- [47:19]
B
Yeah.
- [47:19]
A
Or they make their issue, their personality.
- [47:22]
B
Yeah. So don't get me wrong. I've had moments where I've done the same. And when I was going through the mold thing, it felt like my identity because I was so in it. But the last year has been very, very expansive for me and very healing for me because I have not made it to my identity. It's rooted in practice. Right. Because without that constant practice of when I'm in this woe is me moment of like, why me? Why is this happening to me? Like, you know, everyone else can do this and I can't. And, you know, if I wasn't sick, then I. My business would be here instead of here. And, you know, like, I go through all of these thoughts in my head. I always have those moments, but the second that happens, I'm like, look at what you've accomplished with what you're going through. Look at where you are at with what you are going through. And this is incredible where you're at. And I have to reframe it every single time. And, you know, a lot of people don't see what I go through behind the scenes. My husband would be the only one that. That really does. But the more and more I focus on others and the more and more I focus on giving back and what I can do, the more healed I feel and the more I pull away from that identity, that this is what I'm going through. And so it's been really powerful. You know, again, I'm not perfect and I will always have those moments. I want to show up in the best that I can give to others. And I've just always been that way. And I don't love a victim mentality. I never want to be that person. So I do kind of leave that to where I need to give it to, which is therapy, which is friends that absolutely get it and are going through it as well. We'll have our moments where we talk about it for a minute to get it out of our system and then we move on from it. Right, great. And so that's been really helpful for me. And then getting in nature and like making sure I'm putting moments that feel spiritual for me and feel really, really positive for me that pull me out of those moments. Right. Because we're human. Right. But the victim mentality is not it for me and I, I won't ever get stuck there.
- [49:24]
A
It's great advice.
- [49:25]
B
Yeah.
- [49:25]
A
Beautiful advice. Tell us more about your business.
- [49:28]
B
Yeah.
- [49:29]
A
Baddie entrepreneur, breadwinner, built a amazing company. How can people work with you? What does that process look like?
- [49:37]
B
Yeah, so I do one on one right now. I, I feel that's really vital, important. I've thought about it multiple times, like, should I go into groups? But with what I do, it's really important to do that one on one work. I work with women, you know, who are really being dismissed by doctors and do not understand what is going on with their bodies and they want root cause and they want education around their health. Because more than anything, I want you to leave empowered that you know what's going on with your body and you can ask questions in a way. If you do go to a doctor here and there or speak to other people about your health, you're very aware about what is going on. But yeah, I, I do coaching programs where we work very one on one for, you know, three months, six months, two months depending on the person and where they're at in their journey for, for their health.
- [50:24]
A
Incredible. And we're going to leave a link to all of the things in the show notes. I just, I'm really meant when I said like there's a, a hustling energy. This is the whole, you know, show, like hustling against something versus for something, you know, hustling in the name of, of surviving versus thriving.
- [50:45]
B
Yeah.
- [50:45]
A
And like I said, health is wealth. There's like no better term in, in I think the history of like business and vitality and how important it is that women really see their health as a strategic advantage to be working with someone like you on it, who has been where they have been. Like, to walk to the walk, to still walking the walk, and has designed an entire business around paying it forward. It's rare.
- [51:10]
B
Thank you.
- [51:11]
A
It is. I really, truly mean that. And I'm just so grateful that you. You're so honest, Shiva. The way that you just open up and give voice to the truth, it's amazing. You're a truth teller is what you really are.
- [51:26]
B
Yeah. I don't know how to be any other way to be honest. I know. You know, that's what vomit famous personality. I will tell you my whole entire life story. That's how we bond.
- [51:37]
A
And she's like, oh, she just came off of a parasite cleanse. I want to be friends with her.
- [51:42]
B
Yeah.
- [51:42]
A
I just have a few more quick fire questions for you, and I ask every guest these. So do you have a archetype, an angel, a deity, a goddess? Like, any connection to any higher being that you have come close to?
- [51:56]
B
Yeah, I. I do believe in God, and I do think that. I think that where I feel more spiritual and where I feel more connected to the universe is in nature, and I feel very, very, very powerful there. And it's. I, like, I got emotional being in, like, Zion, for example. Like, there's certain places that I just can feel it. I can feel the presence of a higher power or spirituality in general. And I've always said, like, you know, we've talked about religion in general and my relationship with that, but I feel that I. What I give out to the world is part of my spirituality, and what I can give to others is part of that journey for me, and that makes me closer to spirituality in general. So that's kind of my take on that.
- [52:49]
A
I have the chills. No, you really are healing the earth with your work. I think that's what we're all doing. To be honest. I say this all the time, like, we all have different gifts and modalities and technique and background, but if you're a conscious light worker, spiritual hustling women, you're here to heal the planet.
- [53:09]
B
Yeah.
- [53:09]
A
And to make this world a better place. And it starts by healing ourselves.
- [53:12]
B
Yeah.
- [53:14]
A
Do you believe in aliens?
- [53:18]
B
I. I think it's absolutely possible for there to be aliens. I just don't know how there wouldn't be. I don't know.
- [53:26]
A
You know, you're friends with an alien.
- [53:28]
B
I mean. I mean, yeah. Anything that is, like, outrageous to some people, I'm like, no, I think that's a possibility. You know, like, I I genuinely do think that that's. That's possible. Yeah. Yeah.
- [53:39]
A
I love that answer. Final question.
- [53:41]
B
Okay.
- [53:42]
A
What does it mean to you, Shiva, to be a co creator of the new Earth?
- [53:47]
B
I feel like my part in that is to help, you know, obviously women in general feel better, do better, you know, live the life. We have one life. Right. We have one life to live. And my goal is to make sure that women know that you don't have to suffer through it. Right. And that you are able to enjoy every moment. Right. I think that that's my mission. Sure. Right.
- [54:12]
A
That's right.
- [54:13]
B
And yeah.
- [54:14]
A
You are co creating the new Earth in that exact mission. That is the. The whole, in my experience, my opinion, my perspective, that's the whole game is to enjoy life.
- [54:25]
B
Yes. Like Joy. Joy, we talked about this this past year. We've talked about how like this year is Joy. This is like, we've got to throw that in there, you know, and we've got to make sure that we're doing that regularly.
- [54:38]
A
And the program.
- [54:40]
B
Yes.
- [54:40]
A
It has to be hard. That it has to. We have to suffer to succeed. We have to suffer to survive. No, it's the old world. It's the old earth. It's the old paradigm.
- [54:50]
B
Yeah.
- [54:50]
A
And we're entering a new paradigm of awakening and consciousness. That is 5D consciousness. That is new earth consciousness. And you are absolutely contributing to it by teaching women and co creating this new Earth. The work that you do by allowing women to get back into their bodies and thrive.
- [55:08]
B
Yes.
- [55:08]
A
Because when we're thriving, we're happy.
- [55:10]
B
Oh, yeah.
- [55:11]
A
You know, so we got there, baby. Fist pump. Look at our nails. Our joint fist pump. I love you so much.
- [55:18]
B
I love you too.
- [55:19]
A
Thank you for dropping your medicine, your codes, your brilliance. I wanted you on my show for so many reasons because I love hanging out with you. But I truly feel that there is no more essential foundation to us being spiritual hustlers than getting our bodies optimized as much as our spiritual ascension. It's all through the body.
- [55:37]
B
Yeah.
- [55:37]
A
And I want to thank you for being here today. I learned so much.
- [55:42]
B
Thank you.
- [55:42]
A
I love you.
- [55:43]
B
I love you.