Unlocking Your Body's Inner Wisdom: Healing the Mind-Body Connection

:: 00:00

So welcome to this edition of the The Mindful Coach Association podcast. I'm your host, Brettt Hill, founder of the The Mindful Coach Association association and a coach. And this week I'm so excited to have April Wyatt, a wellness advocate who's passionate about assisting others on their healing journey. And she says now more than ever, people are experiencing a disconnect and they feel locked out, uncertain about themselves and the world. April created living with intention to offer guidance to explore different modalities of wellness, from mindfulness and the power of thought to understanding the mind body connection. These modalities allow you to connect to yourself the deeper part of you, to unlock the potential to have a happier and healthier life. And so welcome to the show, April. I'm so happy to have you here.

:: 00:49

Oh, thank you, Brettt, for having me. This is very exciting.

:: 00:54

Well, thank know we had a great conversation kind of in our pre show meeting, and I just wanted to explore a little bit the kind of work that you do so that listeners can get a sense of what you're about and what brings you, what calls you forth, so to speak, to help people be more integrated. The kind of integration, if I can be so bold, is to assert that we're talking about is not simply how do I achieve my goals, but rather something deeper that you're after here. Would that be fair to say?

:: 01:31

Oh, most definitely. In fact, I call it really working from the inside out. And that's the modalities that I offer with mind body connection by working with, of course, mindfulness and different modalities. It just depends on the person, right. And the organization and their needs and how people can really connect back to themselves because we're so distracted more than ever. And it seems like we have these amazing minds. Don't get me wrong, we need them, but we tend to drag our bodies around, and our bodies are highly intelligent, and in fact, it knows more than our minds do. And that's why we're feeling run down. That's why people are feeling the way they're feeling right now because of the disconnect between themselves, the mind and the body connection. I hope I was clear as mud on that one.

:: 02:43

Well, let me ask you about something you said just then, which is that the body knows more than the mind does. Now, most people think, well, the brain, that's the repository of all knowledge. And if I ask my hand to think about my goals, it doesn't know. So what do you mean by that when you say something like, what does the body know that the mind doesn't?

:: 03:09

Yeah, that's a great question. Our minds is programmed to plan, to think, to organize, to get things done, and yet it cannot live really in the present moment. And that's where our power is. And our bodies are here for us as a foundation of support. It has its own emotional intelligence, and there is studies showing how our hearts so powerful, in fact, it can light a light bulb like a 25 watt light bulb. It has power in it. Kind of reminds me of the Iron man. Iron man. His little glowy air in our heart space. Yeah. And so our minds tell us, no, we can't stop. We can't slow down, because we still have to do x, Y, and Z. That keeps us on the hamster wheel. That's where burnout happens. That's where we disconnect from ourselves and our family members and our coworkers, because we're just driving that force of moving forward instead of inviting a pause, tuning into the body and asking, what do I need right now? Maybe it's just a simple, easy breath break, maybe more hydration. If we're focused so much on tasks at hand, especially around electronics and things, that really depletes our energy and affects our physicality as well. So by being more mindful of our body and giving itself care, then we can fill our cups and we'll have more to offer others, because then we're not working from bone dry cup that's cracked. And we have that internal resource which is our body.

:: 05:32

What inspired you to kind of look in this direction for the way to kind of find this internal resource? What was it in your life that said, oh, my gosh, this is really where the source of true inspiration, authenticity, connection, lies. How did you come to that?

:: 05:52

Well, I have to say, Brett, I am a little selfish. Everything I do, I really do, I do it. For me, it's like, oh, this looks amazing. I want to try this because I'm feeling pulled to do that. And the first cornerstone for me is Reiki. So that is energy practice. That's giving back to myself. And for those of you who aren't into energy work, I understand. But think about the science behind it. It's really about relaxing your nervous system, shifting from the sympathetic to the parasympathetic. Excuse me. So that way you can relax, you can restore your own energy. Right? The body can heal itself. And then from Reiki, then I discovered biodynamic breath work. So it's bBtrs, biodynamic breath work, and trauma release system. And I came to find that amazing training when I was working in correctional facilities. And I was teaching them about basic, simple wellness practices, such as the box breathing or square breathing. And I found it fascinating, as people experienced just a simple breath practice, how when they were done, just the shift of their energy and how they were like, what just happened? Right. They didn't even understand what was happening in their bodies. Because I believe people that are incarcerated, they had a lifetime of survival that throws them into survival mode.

:: 07:45

Even being in that environment based trauma, it's like, gosh, I can't even imagine.

:: 07:51

Yes. So then I found the BBTRs training, and that's when I really discovered that mind body connection, because I experienced it myself in there in depth training through the breath work, which is connected breathing. It's not the holotropic where you're trying to get out of your body and having an out of body experience. I'm not saying that's wrong or bad.

:: 08:16

Yeah. It's just a different intention.

:: 08:18

It is. And it's a connected, embodied breath. So that way you're very aware of what's happening, and it just brings the person to the little outer edges of that activation of the sympathetic nervous system. So that way they can witness the tensions in their body and then find a safe space within their body to resource. And so it kind of pendulates back and forth between the activation and then back into the parasympathetic nervous system. And that really builds resiliency to stress.

:: 08:59

And what I ask, I'm sorry to interrupt just a moment. Can you just define for people who may not know what the parasympathetic nervous system is?

:: 09:08

Okay. Yes, that's great. So we have two main nervous systems, and one is the sympathetic nervous system, which is that fight, flight, freeze, fawning. That's that activation when we don't feel safe, when we feel that we're go, go, going type of thing. And then you have the sympathetic nervous, parasympathetic nervous system, which is the rest. And digest. This is where it switches on. When you can breathe, you can breathe a little easier. That's part of the autonomic nervous system. So the breath is the only thing that we can control as part of the autonomic nervous system. So that's the first thing they teach everywhere.

:: 09:58

Right?

:: 09:58

When you're feeling activated, tune into the breath, because the breath is the only thing that we can control in that moment. But it takes awareness. It takes awareness to be able to be aware of when the body we're experiencing those activated responses of the body and those racing thoughts.

:: 10:22

About using breath then to come. I'm sorry, it feels like I'm interrupting you.

:: 10:28

It's okay, you're keeping me on track.

:: 10:31

I wanted to come back to the thread that I interrupted before, which was you were talking about using breath to move between the sympathetic and the parasympathetic. So I wanted to kind of have a little cognitive overlay there so people can understand what you're trying to describe. And me too, for that matter.

:: 10:50

Yes.

:: 10:52

And you're doing work. This worked with prisoners basically, right?

:: 10:57

Is this the facility? When I was in that facilities working with returning citizens, those were work release. I noticed just by the simple box breathing, how they were just, wow, what just happened? And then it was like, oh, there's something to breathing techniques, to breath work. And so that's when I started researching and I found BBTRs. I have not gone into any correctional facilities to offer that, but that would be amazing if they would allow something.

:: 11:39

So the box breathing you referred to a couple of times, could you describe what that is and when a person might use that, just so people who might not have heard of that can understand the usefulness in what you're referencing to there?

:: 11:57

Yes, I can. So that's this very simple technique. Anybody can use it anytime. And basically you focus in your mind's eye, a box, or you can even look at a square if that helps you. And so you breathe in for four, account of four. Like at the top of the box going from left to right, and then down the side, you hold for account of four. And then at the bottom, you exhale for account of four, and then going up the side, then you hold for account of four. And then you repeat that three times. And that helps to get back into the body, helps to reset the nervous system into that parasympathetic. This is where we have clarity, right? We gain more clarity. We can let the kind of the dust settle in the mind and be more present.

:: 13:01

Yes, exactly. I teach this in the The Mindful Coach Association method as one of the breathing techniques that I like for coaches to know because one of these days I'm going to do a class or a lecture on what I call mindful triage. And this is one of the techniques that's going to be in there because it's so good, particularly when you're activated. I read an article about it, that this is something they teach navy Seals when they're in other elite teams, when they're about to go into combat or in stressful situations. They teach them to sit in a plane while they're deployed and do these box breathing stuff to kind of like connect. Get out of your head and connect to your somatic experience. And the other thing I wanted to highlight here is the difference between the kind of holotropic breath work, the difference between that and sort of mindful breath work, because in mindfulness, and I'm not trying to say one is better than the other, it's just they're different methodologies for different purposes. I'll talk about the mindfulness one because that's my thing, and I'd like for you to differentiate how it's different than the holotropic. Is that okay with you?

:: 14:24

I'm not schooled in the holotropic. I'm not aware of that. I'm trained and certified in the biodynamic breath work.

:: 14:35

Okay, my mistake. And biodynamic breath work, then? Yes.

:: 14:40

And we can cut that part out.

:: 14:42

Okay. Absolutely. Okay. So here we go. So what I'd like to do is to talk just for a moment, about what the mindfulness practice is, and then if you could just comment on how that's different in the biodynamics breath work that you do. Did I get it right? Still, biodynamics. Is that right?

:: 15:03

Yeah. Bbtrs biodynamic breath work. Yeah.

:: 15:07

Okay, great. So I was wondering if what I'd like to do, if it's okay with you, is explain or not explain, but talk about the mindfulness breath practice, and then if you could comment on how that might be similar or different to the breath work that you're used to doing. Is that a fair question?

:: 15:27

Oh, sure.

:: 15:28

Okay, great. So in mindfulness training, the traditional kind of mindfulness training, I should say, there's an attention training practice, which is kind of the basic practice, and it's a fabulous one where you just simply go inside, get peaceful, and you pay attention to your breathing, and there's lots of different modalities for that. But you pay attention to your breath, and then what will happen is that we only have a limited capacity to pay attention on purpose in the moment. And then your brain will use up that capacity, and then you'll be in your thoughts and you'll be thinking about, what do you got to do today? Or wonder why I'm thinking that? Or, oh, I've got a song playing in my head, and whatever's going on is fine, but when you notice that you're not paying attention to your breathing, then you just go, oh, I'm going to come back and start noticing my breath and so it's a process of deciding on purpose, in the moment, non judgmentally, to use the John Cabot sin definition, of paying attention to what's happening in your inner world, and particularly in this case, your breath, noticing and naming your experience. And then as soon as you lose the capacity to do that, you're in your thoughts, and you go, oh, I'm not breathing. I'm not paying attention to my breath. Come back to paying attention, going out, coming back to paying attention over and over again. And the intention of that is sort of like getting on a bicycle so that you can learn to catch your balance. It's like, oh, I'm falling off. Get back on the bike, and you ride it again. And you're literally training your neurology of your brain to come back on purpose to your in the moment experience. You're flexing that neurological muscle. Very popular, very powerful practice. And there are lots of different ways that people do breath work. So I'm curious about your experience with your experience with the breath work that you do and how that either is different or similar to the kind of thing I just described. And again, I'm not trying to make a judgment here. I'm just curious.

:: 17:32

Yeah, and I love that you're bringing this up, because, actually, the biodynamic breath work kind of dovetails into that, but it really brings it into the somatics of the body. So it's a connected breath. So it's the even breath in and even breath out continuum breath. And so that helps to get us connected to our bodies. And through that breath, then we can become more aware of the tensions in the body. And then there's movement. So there's six modalities. So there's the breath. So connecting to that connected breath. So that's a breath in, like, half a circle, breath out the other half a circle. And you keep that repetitive breathing practice the best you can. And that's why I'm here, to support people with that. And then there's movement. So the movement allows your body to move with the breath. So even us breathing here, if you're consciously breathing, you're really focusing on, like, diaphragmatic breath right into the lower lobes of the lungs and moving your diaphragm, and that's movement already. Your body's already moving. And I could see you took a little deeper breath as I talked about that. And also there's touch, so it works with acupressure points and also human touch. We need that touch, and we tend to forget that. We can add support to ourselves through touch. And if you're working in person with a practitioner, having that practitioner support you with touch, that's also wonderful because we're connected right that way. Humans. And then sound. Sound is the fourth one. So sound that's in our DNA, just even ancestral. There was toning, there was singing, there was music. So sound really affects us on a cellular level and helps to kind of loosen things up, so that way we can expand and just really go a little deeper in with the breathing and then with that sound, even our own voices adding even a sigh, that helps to release emotions. So emotions are part of it as well, because it's shown in science now that the fascia that is, that connected tissue between the muscles, actually holds memories and emotions. And so when we really get into the somatics of it, then people can allow those tensions, those layers to melt and let those emotions go because we hold on to those, especially like grief. That's really strong. And then the last six is meditation. So we start with meditation and we end with meditation to really integrate what's happening, what you experienced in the session. And this is a series of sessions. It's not a one and done like going to a massage therapist and oh, I feel so good, and I'm done because we are working through layers of the body. And so it's a series of seven sessions that I offer, but I also offer a free, complimentary first one, which is then it would be eight sessions, really, to see if biodynamic breath work would be a good fit for someone. Because also, people have to feel safe and comfortable when they are breathing, when they are being witnessed and guided into going a little deeper within themselves. And it really restructures your whole nervous system. This breath work, it's amazing.

:: 21:51

It sounds like you're working through all the senses here. And I very much like that because people come to coaches and come to work with other people, and they have orientations around their senses in certain ways. And some people are visual, some people are auditory, some people are kinetic. And so using the method that you've described, you're going to hit people in their strong suit somewhere along the way, and you're also going to have people kind of flex their muscles in ways that are maybe a little less graceful for them as well, that they're not, how should I say, naturally inclined to have a lot of capacity with.

:: 22:38

It's about being a little bit vulnerable and transparent because we're holding so much in our bodies and we're not letting it go. And we don't have to hold this armor all the time for protection. Right. This is how we can release that so we can make a better connection to ourselves, build that relationship, and that ripples out. Right. To others. So as we build that relationship to ourselves, we're building a better relationship with others in the community that we work in.

:: 23:17

So I really like it that you put that relational frame in here, because I value that immensely. So I'm hearing in the language that you use around releasing that a lot of the. Would I be mistaken or would it be an assumption to say that a lot of the work that you're doing, you experience people releasing a lot and that that's a healing experience for people?

:: 23:46

Yes. And it depends on the person. Just as you said, Brett, how deep are they willing to go? I have some people that we're doing the breath work or Reiki or just mindfulness techniques. And on the outside, I guess you could call me a coach or wellness advocate. I just hold space, allow them to have that experience without judgment, and then I simply ask, how was that experience for you? And more times, I'm pleasantly surprised to where they say, oh, my gosh, I have such a clear mind now. I actually feel like I'm in my body. Even though they don't have a physical release or something huge happening. Right. It's just a subtle shift within that mind body connection. Yeah. So that's the release I'm talking about now, in the biodynamic breath work, there can be a little bigger releases, of course, but it's just I meet a person where they're at and support them on their journey to allow themselves to let go, because that's what we want. We want to feel better. We want to flow easier in life, don't we?

:: 25:16

I think so. I do. Can I raise my hand?

:: 25:21

Yeah. And people might be wondering if you're watching the video. Speaking of flowing easier in life, this is my life. This is my RV that I do my podcasts and recordings in. So welcome to my world. And you probably heard a little puppy barking. That's also another addition to our family living the best life, just being open and curious about what else can happen, what else is out there. How can I connect with communities? How can I connect with that deeper part of myself, and how am I showing up? I think that's what we all need.

:: 26:07

To start asking ourselves, how can we show up? Is that the question?

:: 26:17

How are we showing up for ourselves and just really being a little bit more present and being aware.

:: 26:30

So important. And you mentioned that when people do this, releasing or integration work or connecting work, that that impacts their relationships. Can you say more about that? Like, how does that work?

:: 26:44

Yeah. So I'm glad that you brought that up. And we go throughout our days thinking that we have to do everything on our own. There's a to do list. There's whatever work or there's family life happening, and we take those burdens on ourselves. And it's also conditioning, right? As we are raised in different cultures, different family dynamics, and that really isolates us. It really does. It separates us. And so by being aware, with just even that simple box breath or checking in with yourself throughout the day, relaxing into that parasympathetic nervous system, then we're a little bit more open and we can have more compassion for ourselves and others. So that way, when we are interacting with others, then that builds that relationship. And, Brett, you were just on my know, from transactional to transformational know. We talked about that, how we can do that. And it all starts within ourselves. It really does. We can read self help books. That's great. We're seeking. We're looking for different ways and things, but it really starts within ourselves and asking those questions, how do I want to show up? How is my body feeling right now? What can I do to just shift it just a little bit to ease my mind and my body?

:: 28:34

Perfect. I love that so much. It's such powerful work to help people be more present with their in the moment experience. And in my world, in my belief system, there isn't anything more important than that to help us connect with the truth of who we are in the moment so that we can connect with the truth of other people and the truth of the world. Sometimes I say this is an original thought, but you can't really know other people till you know yourself. It's like we wander around in this world of disconnection, and you're really just so right about that in terms of this, I would almost call an epidemic of disconnection and isolation. And people are longing for this connection, and they wonder, how do I do that? And the disconnection often starts within first, and then you're disconnected from your world. So people who are looking for, oh, yeah, that's me. You're listening to this. You're going, I feel disconnected. I'd like to be more connected then. I think April's words are very wise in terms of landing into the truth of your in the moment experience as a way to connect to the world.

:: 29:59

Oh, yeah, because we're all interconnected. We need each other. That's what humans are. That's what we do. Right. And we can feel it when we are in sync with other people. Right. We feel more vibrant, more alive, want to be around those people. They lift us up. It's us remembering those parts of ourselves. They're like mirrors of us, and we can remember that. And before we leave, I just want to invite people to an amazing event that I'm offering in Bali, and that's in November, and it's a reset and restore your mind and body in Bali. And you can find that information this year 24. Yes, this year 24. And there will be more reset, restore retreats moving forward, too, because that's reset, restore, retreat.

:: 31:02

I think that's amazing. And of course, Bali, what a great place to do that work. Just set on the beach and be restored, man.

:: 31:11

Yeah. And I like that you said that because that's exactly part of the retreat, is that. Yes, we're going to do light kind of breath work, some movement meditations. This is for easy stuff. It's nothing that you have to have any prior training or anything. It's just an open mind and an open heart and curiosity. But what sets this apart is in midday, we have, like over a two hour break to where you can go to the beach because the resort is right there. It has its own private beach. You can go take a nap, you can go to the waterfalls or go to one of the temples. We're intentionally, no pun intended, setting it up to where you'll feel restored after this retreat. You won't need a vacation from your vacation.

:: 32:08

Vacation from your vacation.

:: 32:10

Yeah. A lot of people return from vacation and it's like, I did so much.

:: 32:15

What was that?

:: 32:17

And now I got to get back to work. Exactly.

:: 32:22

It's almost like holidays sometimes. It's like, oh, my God, the holidays are over. Now I can relax.

:: 32:30

That's right. So this is our intention. So it's myself and a wonderful co host of mine. We're offering that. So that will be also on my website as well. So check that out. And please, anybody, reach out to me if you have any questions or want to know more information. I'm open. I'm here.

:: 32:56

Well, we'll put all your details in the show notes so people can see them there. And really appreciate you having you on the show. And thank you for doing the amazing work that you're doing, calling people to go deeper and be more present and graceful forces in the world. And I really appreciate also the focus on taking responsibility for kind of how people are showing up or asking people to look into how am I showing up? What's my impact on the world? Because I truly believe that that is the next step. It's like it's one thing to kind of begin to develop your inner awareness. It's another thing to take ownership of the way you manifest in the world and take and your impact. And I know I had a big learning curve about that and it's important to me. So thank you for.

:: 33:50

Oh, you're most welcome, Brett.

:: 33:52

So thank you and we'll talk soon. And everybody, be sure to check out connecting with April. Also, if you've enjoyed this conversation, there's a whole bunch more on the The Mindful Coach Association podcast with some amazing, courageous coaches doing fabulous work. You can connect with any of them on the show notes there and listen to some of their amazing insights. And if you're interested in actually meeting some of these people, go over to the The The Mindful Coach Association Association and sign up and you can come to our meetings. Meet these people firsthand. Connect, collaborate, communicate. It's all about community. We're not trying to sell you anything there. And it's a fabulous experience for those of you who are mindful professionals, coaches who value mindfulness in your life and your work. It's great experiment that we're doing. And I say it's an experiment because it's not about making money. It's not like $50 a month. It's only $20 a year to be a member. And we have amazing, amazing benefits. So check it out. The The Mindful Coach Association Association. Thank you once again and we'll talk soon.