Ep #109 Living Calmly and Consciously In A Busy World – Rachel Beanland, M.D., Yoga and Meditation Teacher

0 (1s):
Welcome to the Soul Science Nutrition Podcast, where you’ll discover that when it comes to your health, you’re so much more powerful than you’ve been led to believe. And now your host, she’s a Holistic Nutrition and Lifestyle Coach, Chef, Author, and Yogi, Christine Okezie.

Christine Okezie (22s):
Hello, and welcome to the Soul Science Nutrition Podcast. I’m Christine Okezie. Thanks so much for listening. A core theme that runs through the stories I share on this podcast is the importance of listening to our own inner voice as a source of guidance. It’s turning inward to hear what our body and soul are saying before looking to the external world for direction, time and time again. It’s when we begin to hear trust and follow our inner voice, when it seems that miracles happen, creative solutions appear and opportunities for living more freely as our authentic selves unfold in ways that are better than we could ever imagine. Today’s guest is a powerful example of the gift that comes with following that inner knowing she’s Rachel Greenland, medical doctor, yoga meditation teacher, and holistic health coach with 20 years specializing in infectious disease and population health Rachel’s discovery of the science and philosophy of yoga guided her to do the healing work she does today in a way that aligns with her passion and authentic self.

Christine Okezie (1m 23s):
Rachel supports busy women working in the medical field to prioritize their health, find better work-life balance and create a life they love Rachel’s own experience using the wisdom teachings and practice of yoga and meditation led her to create a more sustainable lifestyle, transforming anxiety and overwhelm and live her dream life. Rachel’s love for nature guided her to her peaceful home and the French Pyrenees, where she operates her online business resilience, yoga sharing evidence-based approaches with doctors so they can live more mindfully and feel more empowered in their life. I can’t wait for you to listen to this wonderful conversation, and if you do like it, I’d love to hear from you. So please feel free to visit apple podcast and leave a rating and review.

Christine Okezie (2m 6s):
And if you haven’t already hit the subscribe button, please do so it helps me keep the podcast growing. Thanks so much for listening everybody and enjoy the episode. Hi, Rachel. It’s so good to have you here. Welcome.

Rachel Beanland (2m 19s):
Thank you. Thank you for inviting me. I’m really excited to chat with you today.

Christine Okezie (2m 24s):
Same here. So I’d love if we would just start, you know, what brought you to, you know, this magical little village in the Pyrenees mountains, it’s quite, it’s been quite a journey for you and maybe just help us understand like how that unfolded and in terms of leading you to the work that you do now.

Rachel Beanland (2m 41s):
Yeah, so you’re right. I live in a tiny village up in the mountains and the is in France and I’ve always really wanted to live this life, but I guess I started on a very different path. You know, I left school, I trained as a doctor. I worked in clinical medicine. I shifted into working in public health and looking at prevention and kind of population health. And that, at some point I was drawn to moving to France, I think with sweet spent a lot of time, myself and my husband on holiday here. And I had a moment where I thought, you know, I want to make my life, my holiday and my life, the same thing rather than waiting for that moment.

Rachel Beanland (3m 28s):
So it’s been a long journey to get to where we are now, but yeah, I’m very much surrounded by nature, which is a big sort of influence in my life, very grounding for me. And, you know, I’ve tried to connect as much as I can with the land around me growing my own food, thinking about my own impact on the environment. And I think that’s sort of, that’s developed over time, I guess, as I’ve been exposed to different things, but really interesting. I’ve found something amazing the other day is that when I was going through my own career transitions, I had some coaching and this would be nearly 10 years ago and I made some notes and it was all handwritten and I happened to scan them in and I came across this the other day and I described exactly what I wanted my life to look like.

Rachel Beanland (4m 19s):
And it’s yeah. I mean, it’s pretty, pretty similar, so I’m very grateful. I’m very happy. And yeah, I just believe that you can live that life that you dream of. I do believe that you can make that happen.

Christine Okezie (4m 35s):
That’s incredible. Thank you. So your, your path in medicine and then onto public health, what were some of the key themes that were really playing out and sort of awakening you to, you know, creating this life that was more aligned with, you know, what you wanted to do?

Rachel Beanland (4m 53s):
Yeah, so I suppose I started off in a very traditional role. You know, I worked in a hospital, I looked after adults coming in. So, you know, internal medicine, I loved the environment. It was very impactful. You had great relationships with patients, but I started to see patients coming in again and again, with problems that were related to their lifestyle. So their diet, you know, smoking lack of exercise. And I think I’d had several moments in my career where I’d been exposed to environments where they didn’t have resources. So I worked for some time in Honduras and in South Africa.

Rachel Beanland (5m 38s):
And I think it started me realizing that I wanted to focus on prevention that so many of these illnesses I was seeing on a day-to-day basis could be prevented by adopting a different lifestyle by thinking about what we’re eating, thinking about, how we’re moving our bodies. And I think that was the big shift for me of starting to think, how can I use the skills I’ve got and how can I gain more skills to support people, to prevent illness and disease as well as providing the treatment? You know, we, but we need both, but it was a real push from me. I think seeing people kind of, again and again, and feeling like I was just putting a plaster over something rather than really getting to the often the root causes of what was going on for them.

Christine Okezie (6m 26s):
Yeah, I get it. I totally get that. And so it’s out of that, you know, kind of pivot to look at, you know, how you can best serve and how you can best utilize, you know, your skillset in a more meaningful way to yourself. That was so key. So how did you start to find these more holistic health tools to serve that, you know, when it came to working with a different angle on health and medicine?

Rachel Beanland (6m 56s):
Yeah. So I think some of that came from my own individual shift because at the clinician, I was super busy. I lived the hectic lifestyle. I was doing nights, you know, share. I was chaotic really. It w it was non-sustainable, but I don’t think I ever realized how bad it was for my physical and mental health.

Christine Okezie (7m 17s):
So your health was suffering alongside this, you know, everything you’re taking in. Okay. Yeah.

Rachel Beanland (7m 22s):
Yeah. And so then I think when I had a shift and started to think about what I wanted to develop skills for, to serve my patients, I also was able to reflect, like, what does that mean for me? You know, how can I add in some of these practices? And yoga had always been something that I had, I kind of dipped in and out before. I was never really sure whether I belonged there. I was a bit intimidated by it. You know, I would book sessions and not turn up because I was too busy. Same story. I’m sure lots of people can.

Christine Okezie (7m 59s):
Yeah,

Rachel Beanland (7m 60s):
Sure. And there was something that I just started to add into my life a little bit more. And I think committing to seeing the benefits for me of adding in that kind of regular practice that was more holistic has just led on to me, exploring that more, you know, adding in meditation, kind of expanding my yoga practice, eventually deciding to teach and train, to be a teacher. Yes. And then think about yoga more as less of a movement practice, but more of like a lifestyle. And in terms of that consciousness, you know, thinking about what we’re actually doing and how we’re responding to things around us and how we can interact with people.

Rachel Beanland (8m 45s):
And so I suppose that journey has kind of evolved as my career changed.

Christine Okezie (8m 52s):
That’s beautiful. And so what, you know, share how it’s shifted in terms of working now, you know, with a different angle on, on the healthcare industry.

Rachel Beanland (9m 2s):
Yeah. So I still do work in public health. So I still work looking at population health, particularly around infectious diseases. And I do still enjoy that part of my job, but what I can able to do with a yoga teaching meditation teaching is now support other healthcare workers. So I like to work with doctors and I do one-to-one work with doctors to try and support them on their transitions and, you know, using the experience of my own career transition, I’m realizing how I wanted to create that work-life balance. I can now support other people to do the same.

Rachel Beanland (9m 43s):
And what I really find that that work is that you can impact one person. So you might impact one doctor, but that doctor is also has a role in society. I mean, all of us do. Right. So whatever that person does as an individual essentially has a knock-on around them. You know, what we take on as individuals can impact all of our friends, our families, our neighbors, our communities. Yeah. So that’s it, that’s the delight of it really. I think working with that group of people.

Christine Okezie (10m 14s):
Yeah. That’s so beautiful. It’s extremely impactful. And in the times that we’re living in, we were talking before we started recording, it’s not lost on me, how much more meaningful and significant that, you know, choice to serve in that way is so I think that’s beautiful. And, and so work-life balance for people in healthcare for the population that you’re working with, doctors, you know, other medical health technician, what is, you know, what are you seeing? Like what’s the real kind of shift around people sort of going, wait, you know, there’s gotta be a different way to do something. You know, I want, I can keep doing my job. I can keep being of service, you know, in the medical field, but it’s starting to, you know, kind of, really not be sustainable for so many.

Christine Okezie (10m 59s):
What’s the fi what’s the, what’s that point where people make that decision to go ahead and do something different, like yoga and meditation. Right.

Rachel Beanland (11m 7s):
So I think unfortunately for some people it can really be a, a peak moment, like getting to be real burnout. And I think that people are seeing much more of that coming through with, with so many occupations, really this isn’t exclusive to doctors.

Christine Okezie (11m 25s):
It’s very true,

Rachel Beanland (11m 27s):
Right? Yeah. There’s lots of people who are continually put under stress and in environments that are very demanding. So I think that can sometimes be a trigger, but I think what also happens is a moment sometimes in people’s lives where they realize that they don’t have the energy or the time to, to prioritize someone else. And that’s often the, the initial parts of that often can happen with children or relatives, you know, maybe parents get older, wanting to care for them or a relationship, you know, thinking about your partner and how you’re interacting with them.

Rachel Beanland (12m 7s):
And then I think that then tends to sit into what am I doing for myself, but often that’s the very last piece. Yeah,

Christine Okezie (12m 16s):
Absolutely. I love that insight because I, I observed the same thing. Right. We’re always so good at like, well, you know, I can’t, reflect on like, I’m not showing up for another person, right? Yeah, yeah.

Rachel Beanland (12m 27s):
Yeah. And I think for people who are carers, whatever role they are as a carer, they’re very used to giving. So they’re almost muted to take, to receiving because their role is to give, you know, that’s part of what they do every day. So it’s easier for them to identify, what am I not giving to someone else? Where am I missing those things? And then, then actually turning it around and saying, what am I giving to myself can be really, can be really hard. I think. And I’ve been in that situation to know, I have a natural tendency to want to care for people and support people. And I’m still doing that with my work.

Rachel Beanland (13m 8s):
But I think what I’ve been able to do with some of these tools is realize where the priority needs to shift sometimes to think about my own mental health and my own physical health.

Christine Okezie (13m 22s):
I love this. Yeah. Because, you know, it’s interesting. So the term work-life balance is definitely a key theme here, but I think you bring up kind of the heart of the matter, you know, which is really, you know, sort of flipping the paradigm when it comes to being able to give and receive right. And over caring or over-giving is, is kind of an epidemic, you know, or at least for a lot of us, you know, and coming into awareness around that I think is relatively new. You know, it’s, it’s, it’s kind of bucking the system, if you will, even our own programming now, nevermind societal constructs, but our own programming, just coming up for me coming into that awareness, you know, at deeper, deeper levels of, you know, where is the balance within that before I even look at work-life balance.

Christine Okezie (14m 9s):
Right.

Rachel Beanland (14m 10s):
Yeah. Yeah. And receiving can be very uncomfortable if you’re not used to it. Yes. You know, that sort of sense of asking for help can be very difficult for a lot of people because it’s almost easier to shut that off and just kind of try to keep your head down. I’m going to get through this. But by doing that, I think what you do is you’re not really, you’re definitely not in that being state you’re in that doing right. You’re just doing, doing, doing, and you’re not really feeling some of those uncomfortable things that are going on because if you can really sit and feel those things and then reach out to ask for someone to, for support, then you have to allow someone in and that’s a vulnerable thing, isn’t it for all of us, you know,

Christine Okezie (14m 58s):
Mobility, right.

Rachel Beanland (14m 60s):
Yeah.

Christine Okezie (15m 1s):
Yeah, definitely. So I’m also curious that you you’re so relatable because you’ve been in exactly the same part, you know, place that they’ve been. So you’re relatable. So tell me how you kind of translate that for them.

Rachel Beanland (15m 16s):
Yeah. So I think you’re right. That’s exactly that the word is the translation, because I think in my own journey with yoga, you know, particularly when I was doing my yoga teacher training, there were times where someone was sharing the philosophy of yoga. And I was having to think, well, this is maybe very different to what I would think in a scientific sense.

Christine Okezie (15m 42s):
Right.

Rachel Beanland (15m 45s):
And to be open to it and not to just shut it down, you know, but it would sort of maybe challenge some of the things I was, have been trained to believe or to think. And I think that that can be uncomfortable in itself. And so what I really try to do with people is to, I think it’s helpful to focus on the, what we know is really beneficial because I think that does speak to the world of medicine whereby we are very driven by what the evidence shows us, what the research shows this. And that is so much research on yoga meditation, you know, for chronic conditions, for stress, anxiety, and all sorts of different professions and environments.

Rachel Beanland (16m 28s):
So I think that does help translating it. And I think it does help to be able to give that personal experience. That’s How I’ve been able to bring it into my life. I think any of us that do that sort of one-to-one work, I think people are looking for your own experience to understand, well, you did this, but you also work in a very scientific environment. So how do you marry the two of those things? I think it’s totally possible. I think it is totally possible to have those two aligned. And I, I, my wish really is that we can be more open to the holistic approaches in a more mainstream kind of medical environment because there’s so many of these approaches are so beneficial for people that are often very accessible and there’s often very few side effects, you know, not like it’s not like, you know,

Christine Okezie (17m 27s):
Side benefits, right? Yeah,

Rachel Beanland (17m 29s):
Exactly. What is the biggest side effect of meditation? I mean, yeah. Okay. For some people it can be a real challenge, particularly if you have other mental conditions that mean that, you know, thinking or trauma, sometimes it can be triggering. So there are things to be aware of, but there are very few, yeah. There are very few side effects to starting some of these practices. That’s great. So yeah, I think it’s that translation and that’s what I always try to do is kind of bridge between those two worlds.

Christine Okezie (17m 57s):
Yeah. And I think, you know, I’m, I’m, I’m definitely inspired by the, the acceleration and the momentum that’s behind those two worlds now really merging. I mean, more than ever. I think, you know, that, that thin line, cause it’s always really been just an arbitrary line between quote unquote traditional and modern medicine, you know, is blurring more and more. I always say I there’s so many wonderful quotes out there. I saw one the other day. It was something like, you know, what the saints have known science is now setting out to prove something. Right. So it’s, it’s, it’s just, I’d like to say it’s kind of just a language at this point. So, you know, whether we’re using, you know, psychological terms, neurological terms, or, you know, more spiritual terms, you know, kind of, you know, whatever, whatever penetrates, whatever resonates, you know, in my practice, I, I can totally relate to that.

Christine Okezie (18m 51s):
So

Rachel Beanland (18m 53s):
Yeah. I mean, if you look at yoga, I mean, some of the things that they discovered, you know, thousands and thousands of year ago, years ago with the Upanishads.

Christine Okezie (19m 2s):
That’s right.

Rachel Beanland (19m 2s):
Like you’re like, how did they, how did they even think about this in the sense of the body? You know, like the chakra system, you know, all the, all the neural pathways, it’s, it’s quite fabulous really, when you start to think of it, it’s, it’s fascinating. It’s like, how did they do that?

Christine Okezie (19m 18s):
I know, I know before they, even again, you know, even in Traditional Chinese Medicine, from what I gathered, they didn’t even do autopsies, you know, because that’s not what you did. And so the mapping of the body, you know, at that level of accuracy and detail is mind blowing. I totally agree. Totally agree. Yeah. Yeah.

Rachel Beanland (19m 35s):
It’s amazing.

Christine Okezie (19m 37s):
So how did you bring, you know, talking about spirituality and sort of, you know, again, I’d love to know your definition in your journey of how you, how, and I liked the way you said, you know, yoga is a lifestyle because that’s the area that we’re talking about. How did that evolve for you and how, what have you, what are the benefits that you have seen for yourself? You know, bringing that, that perspective in, and then maybe how that share how you found a ways that are impactful to share that, you know, in your, in your work that you do.

Rachel Beanland (20m 10s):
Yeah. So I think for me to begin with, well, it’s very much a physical practice. You know, I was doing an asana practice. It was very physically based.

Christine Okezie (20m 19s):
Sure.

Rachel Beanland (20m 19s):
But then as I started to read more, learn more and I think it expand my knowledge at the philosophy of it and the broader sense of yoga, some of the aspects around the approach of living, particularly around being a Karma Yogi, so kind of using action to live in that way and really starting to see yourself as part of what surrounds you rather than separate to it. I think the biggest shift I’ve been able to find is that’s that move from the subconscious to the conscious, I think I was very much in my subconscious most of the time.

Rachel Beanland (21m 3s):
And I think a lot of us are we’re so programmed aren’t we, you know, sometimes we still do that. It’s like, it’s, it’s just, it’s just what happens. But I think it’s been that shift to the conscious decision-making. So that can be on something very simple, like, you know what I’m going to have for breakfast, or it can be, how do I want to live? Like, what’s the environment I want to surround myself with the people I want to surround myself with. I think that for me has been under the biggest shifts as my yoga journey has kind of expanded Conscious. I like to call it my kind of conscious awakening, you know, like something did shift for me where I thought, okay, I want to be more conscious about what I’m putting in my body, how I’m moving my body.

Rachel Beanland (21m 45s):
Yeah. Just how I’m living, I think.

Christine Okezie (21m 48s):
Right, right. Yeah. No, I, I, and I think it’s such a powerful process, you know, that awakening consciousness, which, you know, again, is, it doesn’t necessarily come for people in the same way, but I do find, I think what I’m hearing is when you help people find that balance in their work life and family and all of that, we need awareness. You know, we need awareness sometimes of what, sometimes it’s just like what we don’t want. What’s not working right now. What’s been happening kind of by default. Right. I think that’s oftentimes the first step in this type of work.

Rachel Beanland (22m 27s):
Yeah. And I find that with a lot of the people that I work with is that they have very few of them have had a chance to reflect. So they don’t have a chance to really reflect on what’s going on. Are they happy with what’s going on? If they’re not happy with what’s going away, what is it that’s different? You know, what is, and a lot of people have really never really had time to think about their values and whether their values are being met by the work or the work environment that they’re in. So the first step really is starting to get that awareness of what is actually going on around you, which can be challenging. But I think without that, it’s very hard to move forward because like you say, if you don’t know what you don’t want, it’s very hard to understand exactly what you do.

Christine Okezie (23m 14s):
You know, you mentioned Karma Yogi, can you tell me a little bit about that? What does that mean exactly to you?

Rachel Beanland (23m 19s):
Yeah. So the way that I interpret it is sort of practicing by your actions and not being attached to the outcome of this actions. So kind of thinking as you’re going through your day or as you’re going through your life, that everything you do has a results, but if the results good or bad, it’s not, you’re not attached to whether you do it better or worse, you know? So the, the best example I can kind of give is that sort of community sense. So like if you’re working in a community and I guess all of us should really see ourselves as citizens of a community, whether that’s in, where we live or in the broader sense of a global community, is what we’re doing has an impact on those other people.

Rachel Beanland (24m 3s):
So by acting consciously, you can be part of the solution you can be contributing. And so I think that’s the way that I like to try and think is that everything that I’m doing has a knock on effect, whether that’s to the like, environment around me, like, so here, it’s very obvious, you know, if, if I do something on the land here, it has impact on all the nature around me. Right. But it also has an impact on my neighbors and the people I don’t know who live down in the village and that, that neighbors and their families.

Rachel Beanland (24m 44s):
So I think it’s just feeling like your actions are contributing to something bigger, but at the same time, not only not just doing it because you want to get a praise,

Christine Okezie (25m 0s):
Right. Not ego.

Rachel Beanland (25m 4s):
Yeah. Really taking the ego completely out of it.

Christine Okezie (25m 9s):
That’s beautiful. Yeah. Yeah. That’s a, that’s a very different lens, very empowering lens and also very peaceful lens. I think, you know, to adopt as we go through, like you said, micro, macro situations, right. Feeling part of something greater whole, you know, different level of consciousness altogether, right?

Rachel Beanland (25m 29s):
Yeah. Yeah. And I think somehow for me, it gives me, brings me some positivity and hope when sometimes the world can be a very difficult place to live in. Do you know, we have a lot of things going on that are very difficult and challenging, traumatic. And I think for me, it helps me to believe that I can control, I can, I can act in a certain way to support the community and the world around me and contribute. And I think that’s, that’s all I can kind of really, I feel like that’s all I can kind of really hope for right out of the side that I’m on this earth, you know, and it’s my sole purpose, then, then that’s, you know, that’s good for me.

Rachel Beanland (26m 18s):
That’s that feels like a good thing yeah.

Christine Okezie (26m 21s):
On purpose. Right. And conscious. Yeah. I love that. Yeah. Thank you. Do you have, you know, like some important lessons, you know, that you’d love to share with us that kind of resonate in your practice or in the work that you do?

Rachel Beanland (26m 36s):
I think I’m one of the big things that I still work on is about listening. I think to myself and following that intuition, I think if you start to bring in yoga, meditation and other holistic practices into your life, what you do bring in is that sense of being in tune with what’s really going on, whether that’s your, you know, your mood or your thoughts, or whether that’s something physical for you. For me, it’s often about my energy and really understanding what my energy feels like.

Rachel Beanland (27m 17s):
Have I expended too much energy? Do I need to conserve some that’s right. And, and I think that sense of intuition and sort of being in tune with what’s going on in your body, I think as you bring in practices, you can really enhance that. But it’s something I have to often come back to something sometimes, you know, you get carried away and then think there, hang on a minute. What’s going on here? Why is it like, why do you feel off, you know, why do I feel unbalanced? And it’s, it’s often that just kind of listening. That’s why does something feel, feel difficult? And I think that’s what you were saying. Like, people don’t know what they don’t want, but sometimes they can feel it. So the more you can get in tune with that feeling, The more you can kind of problem solve yourself.

Christine Okezie (27m 59s):
Yeah. Yeah. No, I love that. That’s very embodied, you know, a way to move through kind of our inner guidance system. Right. It’s, it’s very, and that’s why I do, you know, I very much appreciate the technology and the art of yoga to unite that head and heart, you know, and again, working with busy medical professionals, that’s a huge, you know, it’s a great place to work, you know, getting out of the head and a little bit deeper and connected into, into that heart space. Right.

Rachel Beanland (28m 29s):
Yeah. Which is why I love breathwork so much because I think that that is something that people often have zero awareness of, of how they’re breathing, whether they’re breathing very shallowly or deeply at all, or using their bellies or not, you know, and I think when you can start to share really simple breath work practices, it can really help people just bring them. It brings that center, doesn’t it, it just gives you that moment of like, okay, this is my breath. I’m actually connecting to something. And I think that can be a really easy pathway into starting. Some of those team are more connected to practices really.

Christine Okezie (29m 8s):
Yeah. And for, and as you mentioned, you know, for someone who’s at say not a longtime meditator who has, you know, a high tendency towards worrying and a busy mind breath work is meditation. That seems a lot easier or more inviting and just more, you know, kind of less daunting, you know, if the sitting in silence, you know, so yeah. Yeah. So breath work, yoga. What other kind of, sort of initial practices, you know, do you share with folks in you’re helping that work-life balance?

Rachel Beanland (29m 42s):
Yeah. So one of the things I really think is helpful is journaling. And also as part of that, I really like to share with people a gratitude practice, because I think that that can really help people focus. The journaling is great for focusing on maybe what’s what’s going on. So getting some of that busy stuff out of your head and really getting it out. So let that slight download so that you can get clarity. And then I think bringing in the gratitude just brings in the positivity, which, you know, can be the simplest of things, but done regularly can really make you feel so kind of, yeah.

Rachel Beanland (30m 24s):
I mean, you just get that gratitude for what’s around you. And by doing that, you, you can notice the small things. And I think there’s something about that and the can still be very difficult things going on, but by bringing yourself back to those smaller things, I think that can bring that positivity into today. So I really loved both of those whose as, you know, very easy practices, but they don’t take time and I’ve had clients. Yeah. I’ve had clients who do gratitude with their families. So, you know, sit down for a meal that all go around one by one and say three things that they’re grateful for that day. And, you know, there’s that simple practice that you can bring into your life.

Rachel Beanland (31m 6s):
And it can just remind you that there are positive things in your, in your day.

Christine Okezie (31m 11s):
Yeah. Yeah. You know, find how helping us find neutral ground a little bit easier with these tools. And again, speaking to your point about, you know, the science behind the emotion of gratitude and the practice of gratitude is overwhelming. You know what I mean? It’s just, it, it creates a palpable, real shift in the entire body mind system. So why not? Right. Yeah. That’s awesome. That’s awesome. I guess, what is the biggest takeaway Rachel, like you want folks to, you know, take away from this, this conversation?

Rachel Beanland (31m 45s):
I think I would say to anyone who’s intrigued by getting more connection, whether that’s with themselves and that buddy, or wanting to get more connected to the world around them, just to, just to try to just be open to trying and realize we all started somewhere. You know, I love meditation, but I used to think that you had to sit for hours and hours a day and I just would see people and think, oh, that’s not me.

Rachel Beanland (32m 25s):
But I started meditating for like five minutes a day. I built my meditation practice app. I went to a meditation retreat where I did sit all day long for days on end. So I think it’s what I would love to show by those examples is don’t be afraid of trying because you, if you don’t expose yourself to something different and try something and stay open for it, you’ll never allow the effect of the practice to, to really work. So that was what I think that would be my take take home is just to be open, stay open. And I guess that’s such a Yogi thing, isn’t it keeping that beginner’s mind, you know, beautiful.

Rachel Beanland (33m 8s):
And I think, yeah, and I, I hope I always do that. You know, like obviously I have my practices that I do now, but I also like to try and make sure, you know, I love it when someone sends me a new practice that I’ve never heard of, or someone will say, well, I can do your session on this. Like, but just try it, try it, see what it feels like.

Christine Okezie (33m 29s):
Right. Yeah. No, a hundred percent. Thank you. I think that’s a huge opening and that’s actually the inspiration for bringing you and you know, all the other guests I have on the podcast, which is, I hope that, you know, people recognize that they just have a, a broader menu of options, you know, to explore and to learn and grow and support their own self healing journey, you know, more, more so than, you know, we’ve been led to believe with regard to kind of, you know, like you said, programming or society or, or, you know, the, there’s just so many more things, especially I think in this extraordinary time we’re living in to really explore, really explore.

Rachel Beanland (34m 5s):
And we’re fortunate, right. We have so much available at our fingertips so you can access anything. So yeah, last year I had a physical injury and I was healing from that. And I started to listen to some crystal soundbites on YouTube. Wow. Absolute beautiful, absolutely amazing.

Christine Okezie (34m 25s):
And it comes through, right?

Rachel Beanland (34m 26s):
Yeah. It’s, it’s an, and that is just, I think that is the beauty of the technology that we have, that you can try these things and access these things. Yeah. It’s hard to do that. Yeah. Yeah.

Christine Okezie (34m 38s):
So where can we people find you because you do teach online, right. You’re accessible, you know, where one-on-one and all of that. So please share Rachel your, your information so we can get you out there.

Rachel Beanland (34m 51s):
Thank you. Yeah. So my brand is called Resilience Yoga. So my website is www.resilienceyoa.fr because I’m in France. I currently teach on the Insight Timer App, which anyone’s not sure of. Then it’s a great app for exploring meditations. So I’ve been doing some breath work on there at the moment. Cause I find that’s a really nice way to share breathwork sessions. And you can find me on Facebook, Rachel being Linda on Facebook. If anyone wants to send me a DM and connect or ask any questions, I’m really happy to chat to somebody.

Christine Okezie (35m 24s):
Oh, thank you so much. This has been amazing. And is there anything else maybe I didn’t know enough to ask something that you wanted to share?

Rachel Beanland (35m 32s):
No, that is wonderful. It’s been an absolute pleasure chatting to you. Yeah. Thank you so much,

Christine Okezie (35m 37s):
Rachel. Thank you so much. It’s been a wonderful to get to know you and thank you for all you do in the world.

Rachel Beanland (35m 41s):
Thank you. Thank you.

Christine Okezie (35m 43s):
Take care.