Ep#115 How I Found My Voice and Healed My Life – With Lisa Annese, Author, Sound Healer & Kundalini Yoga Practitioner

0 (1s):
Welcome to the Soul Science Nutrition Podcast, where you’ll discover that when it comes to your health, you are 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 (23s):
Hello, and welcome to the Soul Science Nutrition Podcast. I’m Christine Okezie., thanks so much for listening. I’ve come to know that navigating our lives from our heart space is actually our natural design while operating from our head is what we’ve learned over time. In other words, over time, we get disconnected from this natural ability to handle life based, purely on our body’s energy and cues. We get programmed with societal and family expectations, cultural norms, and opinions, and all of that causes us over time to habitually rely, learn to rely on our analytical selves. i,e, your head and turn away from our true feelings.

Christine Okezie (1m 4s):
i.e. Your heart. And it’s this way of being that seems to be at the root of so much of our suffering on all levels of our being physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual. If we just remember the head thinks, and the heart feels we can start to be more in touch with the cues, our bodies are sending us instead of the fear. And the doubt that our minds are generating life gives us so many opportunities to make this shift back into our natural way of being. And when we do, when we finally take that leap and listen to our inner knowing a whole new realm of possibilities to heal and transform opens up well, today’s special guest is a dear friend and fellow Yogi, who I met in my Kini teacher training, who is a perfect example of this journey.

Christine Okezie (1m 54s):
Lisa Annese is a dedicated practitioner and teacher Kundalini Yoga and Meditation. She’s a sound healer and spiritual guide as a divorced woman, single mother, and hearing loss advocate, supporting the needs of her son who has permanent hearing loss. She chose to walk the path of trusting her own spirit, strength, grace, and her heart and light. As the answer to her darkness. She’s the author of a newly launched book. “I Am Light 180 Days To Remember Who You Are,” available now on Amazon. This short, easily assimilated daily reflections in this book with companion video and sound healing modules empowers us to see how our challenges can be our greatest blessings and doorway back to our true selves.

Christine Okezie (2m 43s):
You can learn more about Lisa and her sound healing services at her website, www.lisaannese.com. I can’t wait for you to listen to this incredibly inspiring conversation. I’d love to hear from you. So if you feel so inspired, please leave a rating and review on apple podcast. And if you haven’t already hit that subscribe button, please do so. So you don’t miss an episode that came out every Thursday. Thanks so much for listening everyone and enjoy the episode. Hey, Lisa, so good to be with you here today and this great new way to connect. Welcome.

Lisa Annese (3m 18s):
Thank you. Thank you for having me, Christine.

Christine Okezie (3m 20s):
This is wonderful. So let’s jump in. I’d love. If you could take us back Lisa, to a time in your life before you discovered the tools and the practice Kini, yoga and meditation.

Lisa Annese (3m 35s):
Sure. I’d be happy to. So my time in my life was very dark. It was very heavy. It was confusing. I didn’t feel like I was living for me. I felt like I was living for other people, always on the go. I was raising young children, stay home mother, which I was very grateful to have the opportunity to do so, but I felt I had so much to give to the world. And I was confused as to how I, I was stuck, how I could do that. I felt I had a blockage that I could go no further. And also before introducing myself to healing techniques, I was physically in pain.

Lisa Annese (4m 18s):
I had health issues. That was basically where a lot of this has started. It was a triangle effect of healing. First with my physical body. I couldn’t lose weight. My children were young, maybe three and five or so, and I couldn’t lose weight. And I ended up going down functional doctor path who discovered some different intolerances. I had, I had gut issues with junior fatigue. I had a slew of things that were preventing me from, you know, losing weight. That was the first thing that I was interested in. And then from there he says, you know, you really need to start looking into meditation, breath, work, maybe seeing a, a therapist. And so, so I first had done the physical part in 2016 and then 2017, after a couple months of saying, I don’t need a therapist, I could do it on my own.

Lisa Annese (5m 6s):
I had found my therapist. So that was the mental piece, which I’m still, you know, pursuing, which is a glorious gift to have found my therapist and a trusted friend that she has become. So I was in 2017, but I never really had a spiritual practice. I never had something where I looked outside of myself for the answers or, or not outside of myself for answers, but trusting something else besides myself. And so always loving the idea of yoga, but never finding the different, the type of yoga that worked for me. And I came across Kini. It was in a studio next town of mine. And I really valued the practice in a way I never understood.

Lisa Annese (5m 49s):
I could value before I really connected with my heart. I love whether I wore white. I love, I covered my head with a, a head wrap. I love that we chant in a different language, but also I loved the people who were there. I loved the, the connection, the openness. They didn’t know who I was. And they opened me with loving arms and I felt good about myself. I felt like I had a tribe of people finally. So those are some things that had transpired before I found my true spiritual awakening, which had to happen because I had to be aware of these changes in my life that, you know, to make myself, to make my truth, come out, to be able to recognize and live as my truth.

Lisa Annese (6m 30s):
And that’s where I believe I am today is fully living my purpose and my dharma on my path of life. And then only happened because I lived to the dark. I lived in the dark, which allowed me to recognize what it is like to be in the light.

Christine Okezie (6m 46s):
Mm, thank you so much. Yeah. That’s beautiful contrast. Right. Sometimes we don’t really know, you know, what we’re going for, but we know that our, our current state, you know, there has to be something more. Right. And so listening to that, that, that inner knowing, it sounds like from right away, you just sort of honored there’s something missing here. Right. And again, probably from the outside may a lot of people, a lot of women who can relate this from the outside, everything probably look pretty good. Right. I mean, you got the kids, you got the family, you know, you’re active in the community. Right. So it takes a lot of courage to kind of say, you know, thank you.

Christine Okezie (7m 26s):
I heard grateful for sure. Right. But, you know, kind of knowing there’s, there’s just something missing, right? Yeah. Yeah.

Lisa Annese (7m 34s):
And I struggle with that. I struggle with that. It was a journey that I was with my therapist of like, I have everything that you could think you could possibly want, but I still was missing who Lisa was at the core and remembering who I was and what brought me joy and happiness. I always looked outside myself for those things. And my spiritual journey brought it back to me. And that is something that in connection with my heart. So I true is I always live for my head space in my mind. My background is in accounting. So I’m very logical person. And so I found my hearts and living for gratitude is a new practice of mine as well of thankful for everything that comes my way.

Lisa Annese (8m 26s):
And that’s when things start to feel alive for me and recognizing the simplicity and the present of this moment, because that’s all that exists right now is you and I speaking together is in the moment and enjoying what that experience brings to us. And that is what I strive for every day. Making sure I’m open to and aware of

Christine Okezie (8m 49s):
Yeah, that’s a game changer in it itself. You know, I, I can totally relate to that, you know, coming from, you know, overreliance or overdependence on the thinking, you know, rational, logical mind it’s useful, but you know, in, in our conditioning, we’re certainly, you know, led to believe it’s where all the answers lie, you know, and then we, and that’s why doing all the right things, you know, check the box, check the box. Okay. All the logical things we seem to still come up short. So thank you for sharing all of that. I’m just curious if we could just go a little bit more into the, the doorway though. The doorway was through your physical symptom, right?

Christine Okezie (9m 29s):
Yeah. And as you said, that was kind of what got your attention as most things do. It’s, it’s the most tangible in our growth and learning journey, looking back right on all the good work that you did to get you where you are now, place of more stability and contentment, how do you reflect on your body’s messaging that was happening at the time? Like must have some insights into what was going on, looking in the rear view mirror.

Lisa Annese (10m 2s):
Oh yeah. I, for many, many, many, many, many years, my body was screaming at me. Stop slow down, not just the physical, the, the, the weight part, but just the way that I, I didn’t breathe, Christine, I didn’t breathe. I held, obviously I was breathing every day, but I didn’t consciously breathe. Yes. I found myself in stressful situations, feeling dizzy and lightheaded. And I didn’t understand what was happening is because I was going so fast. I wasn’t stopping to pause and consciously say, this is just, this is just a blip, right? It’s a little flip in my day.

Lisa Annese (10m 42s):
It’s not gonna control me. So those are some things that I look back now and I, you know, were on a, on a audio, but I have a tattoo on my hand that is in Sanskrit for breathe because I consciously have to remind myself to breathe. And now everyone can see it wherever I go. But also I see it. And I look at it all day long and I just look at my hand and I just inhale and exhale and whatever is going on, goes away. It exists, but I’m able to manage it because I’m consciously breathing through it. So that’s one big thing. I look back on, you know, obviously the physical piece and I had a lot of gut issues.

Lisa Annese (11m 27s):
I was eating the wrong foods for my body, and now I have that in check, but I still have, you know, bad days we all do right. You know, emotional ups and downs. And I tend to go for food. I don’t eat dairy or gluten because it affects tolerances for that. And I feel better when I don’t need that. You know, I have dairy for ice cream. That’ll eat when I’m having something stressful. And you know, sometimes I feel in my belly and it gives me little pains, but you know, know what, it’s something that I accept that my body needed at the time. And I run with it. I go with the flow and the next day is better. So I don’t let it derail me. I don’t let those, I, I give myself those little pleasures at the moment that it’s necessary.

Lisa Annese (12m 9s):
And then I recognize some other, other things that I can do, because that was a big thing. In the past. I felt a lot of guilt for eating yes. Something, a cookie or whatever may be. Oh, and the scale. And I was so focused on the number on the scale, but that’s not a full representation of who you are as a person. My worth was on the scale as a child, I was, I was an obese child and I put a lot of weight into my physical. No one’s gonna like me if I’m fat. So that was something that was in my head. And now I’ve come to fully accept that I’ve had two children, I’ve gone through a divorce and things now are different as a 42 year old woman on the other side of spiritual life.

Lisa Annese (12m 51s):
And I’m okay with who I am now because I present myself to the world in a certain way. And I accept whoever wants to come through my path. And if you don’t like me, because maybe I have a, you know, I eat something different than you do. So be it, you know? So I am true to who I am so beautiful. So those are some things that I’ve learned to accept because I put myself down, a lot of women do and people do that. I’m not good enough.

Christine Okezie (13m 17s):
Yes.

Lisa Annese (13m 18s):
And now I do truly feel in my heart for the first time that I am enough. And that was through my spiritual work.

Christine Okezie (13m 27s):
Thank you so much. Yeah. Yeah. Such the doorway of, you know, our health challenges could be to real deep embodied self acceptance and all the gifts of that. And, and you, you resonate with, with all of that. It’s so beautiful. Okay. So I’m gonna ask, you know, what was your wake up call, or maybe there were more than one, you know, more than one catalyst for taking that leap into the unknown of listening to your heart of ultimately finding the path of, you know, sound healing and yoga.

Lisa Annese (13m 60s):
A lot of different factors were involved. I think I was always striving for connection and community. I, I wasn’t able to have it in my home. So I looked outside of my home to get those connections. So I was heavily volunteered in school at different different board functions. And, and I always gave, gave, gave other people cause I was trying to fulfill what was missing inside. Mm. And recognizing my relationship wasn’t where I’d like it to have been. But I kind of went through the motions cause I, I can’t get divorced. How would it get divorced? What would that look like? I have, let me talk before I have the house, I have the children, right.

Lisa Annese (14m 42s):
I’m grateful to be home, but I, I wanted to do more. I wanted to give more. So it really was Kini yoga. So the, the yoga of awareness where we obviously have met and we am grateful to have be in your presence in our, your training program, same. I would sit in that class and have like a cloud over me. We would talk about truth and living your truth and chanting sat. And I was like, I am living, not living my truth. So talking about karma and our teacher training program, we all have karma and just, they saw no tier karma and move on, learn your lesson and don’t hold onto it.

Lisa Annese (15m 24s):
It’s weighing you down. These are some, some, some messaging that we had learned in our training class that were, that carried me through this process of, can I leave my home? So I was, you know, during the COVID pandemic, we were in our homes and we were all were on lockdown. And I just was getting visibly ill internally. And like my body, my, my stress goes to my gut. And so I was having a lot of physical symptoms in that area because I knew I had to use my voice to speak up and come clean to, I think we sh to my husband, we should consider separating.

Lisa Annese (16m 8s):
So that was a difficult discussion, but I got through it. Yes. And I had an apartment. Yeah. And I moved out and I did not know what was going to happen. All I knew Christine was for the first time it was a heart decision. It was not a logical mind decision. And I kept stressing. I just know my soul needs to experience this. Wow. And I did not know if it would be final, but I had to experience it. And so what helped me emotionally was having the tools of Kini every day I would get up and move my body and I would breathe. And I was working on particular kriya , but I would, I was doing different postures.

Lisa Annese (16m 52s):
So I was working on my solar plexus. So I did Sat Kriya and I was working on my heart. So I was doing Aad Guray Nameh, projecting from my heart because the mantra, Aad Guray Name, because I wanted to so deeply open up and live my heart and accept myself and forgive myself because I didn’t wanna hurt anyone. I didn’t wanna hurt my family. I, you know, so that’s how that piece happened. And then the sound healing, as you know, in Kundalin i, we had gongs and during deep relaxation, which I loved the gong, but my son was diagnosed with a permanent hearing loss around the same time I moved outta my house. Wow.

Lisa Annese (17m 32s):
And I had a psychic reading done by a friend and she said, you know, you’ll figure out your son what’s going on, but sound only could help him. So I said, okay, you know, I knew sound was through the gong, but I wanted to explore more of this path of sound. And I had experimented with some crystal bowls, which I do have, but the ancient Betten bowls became my go to of just path of this joy of the sound vibrations. And my teacher, Katherine Hammer, her and I connected, I wanna say in the fall of 2020. Okay. And I talked, we talked with her about becoming a practitioner in training to become a teacher, a teacher of the bowls, but a practitioner on, on people.

Lisa Annese (18m 14s):
So yes, each of the bowls are tuned to the chakras. And what happens with the bowls when you play them on your body is they move energy and everything is energy. So with my son’s hearing loss, there’s energy. There there’s things that aren’t belonging that needs to be unstuck. So I was just infatuated with how does this work? And I wanna learn more. And so I switched gears and I truly trusted this path because when I moved out on my home, you know, I have an accounting background, but I was suddenly become a real estate agent because I thought, you know what? I need to make an income. I knew that was a steady type of, of career that I would be successful at.

Lisa Annese (18m 55s):
So I was toggling this like double world of doing real estate, but also I really wanna pursue this sound path. And so during my teacher training with my, my sound teacher, that’s when she solidified it, she says, you’re a healer. You’re doing people disservice by not showing up and giving them your light for doing a path that’s no longer you and really wasn’t you. So that’s how I found the, this becoming sound healer is like I said through my son, but I just wanted to utilize it to help him, but not realizing I could help other people in the process. And that’s how it slowly camp to build. And so I found my joy through a challenge.

Lisa Annese (19m 38s):
So my son being diagnosed with disability, someone think it’s a, it’s a challenge, which, you know, it is, it was a challenge, but we figured it out and he is going leaps and bounds recognizing who he is and finding his own voice. Oh my goodness. And him and I both found our voices at around the same time.

Christine Okezie (19m 56s):
Wow.

Lisa Annese (19m 57s):
So, and he’s nine now. And he found his voice and I’m was 40 years old. I moved outta my house. And so like, I’m grateful that we can both now live our truth and who we are and him at a younger age. I can’t wait to see how he blooms, you know, and I’ll be there to score

Christine Okezie (20m 15s):
Him. Extraordinary. Extraordinary. Thank you so much. Oh my goodness. So, you know, talk to us about, you’ve mentioned it, you know, several times this, this, this experience of, of stepping into your light of shining your light of connecting to your heart. And, and that brings us to your beautiful book, which you’ve just bursted into the world. In fact, the book title is “I Am Light, right.

Lisa Annese (20m 43s):
I am Light 180 Days To Remember Who You Are.

Christine Okezie (20m 46s):
Yes. So, so tell us about the book. What was your inspiration, you know, did you have a notion that you wanted to write? Were you an author? Was there, you know, an author waiting to come out and, and who was the book for

Lisa Annese (20m 60s):
Sure. No, no problem. So I found writing as a healing tool for myself when I was processing the most different types of emotions with a divorce separation, my son, just a change of life. And I really enjoyed writing. I did not like writing as a younger person and I didn’t understand the value of writing, but what was interesting Christine was when I wrote, I got all my thoughts down and then they kind of like disappeared. They still, you know, not disappeared, but meaning like they didn’t affect me anymore. They didn’t weigh me down. So I felt lighter recognizing processing and then releasing them.

Lisa Annese (21m 40s):
So I ended up writing to myself, but then my son’s diagnosis with the hearing loss. For some reason, I decided to go public on social media because I felt I wanted to share our story. And it wasn’t a story of poor us. It was a story of it gets through together kind of thing. And I just wanna educate people. And I learned that other people were interested when I was writing about, and they would come talk to me. And wow. And so this idea of wanting to write a book, real book, you know, became to light. Yes. I wasn’t sure what it would be.

Lisa Annese (22m 20s):
I first saw initially a book on children’s hearing loss because I didn’t really love the books that were out there at the time for my son to connect with. Okay. But then I was like, you know what, we’ll just see how it goes. You know, I’m just gonna flow with it. And so I wrote for about a year. Okay. And I, then I connected with my publisher. So divine timing through a podcast. I heard her on someone’s podcast, the power of social media podcast for, for sure, indeed. And I really trusted the divine timing because a year prior I didn’t have enough confidence or strength within me or trust within me that I could produce a book and do it well.

Lisa Annese (23m 2s):
So I am also a working on my lack of perfectionism. So that’s something that, that I brilliant has a trait. And I had to work through that to recognize I didn’t have to be perfect. I just had to get the words out there because the goal is to share and serve other people. That is, that is what it was. Yes. So, so I met my publisher, discussed my ideas and she said, you have a creative fire within you. I don’t wanna extinguish. And the whole idea of 180 days became to life because I was comfortable writing about quotes. I love quotes. Yes. Something I deeply reflected on. And every day of the book is a new quote that I personally reflect on with experiences.

Lisa Annese (23m 46s):
And a lot of it is before and after my spiritual awakening of how I viewed the life mm. My life and sharing other people a different way. Mm. And so every day is this reflection that you would read and it’s under 500 words. So it’s a very quick read. And then, because writing became a tool that I really gravitated and healed from, I’m asking the reader to personally reflect on that quote passage story with a question that I proposed because I received healing. Like my book, Christine was a healing process in its own, as I, yes. As I traveled through the different areas and I was forced to look at things and I was like, wow, I didn’t realize this was, this was a wound still.

Lisa Annese (24m 29s):
So it was beautiful. So the book has a couple components to it. So you read, and then I go into healing techniques and I educate the reader on these are the healing techniques. I personally use to help myself with my situation. So I knew that moving my body with yoga postures was important to move energy, to wake up your body, to elevate yourself, yes. Elevate your consciousness. So that is in my book every month. There’s five new postures that I’m recommending that you utilize. And it’s something that it’s, there’s no set time. There’s no sitting on the mat for an hour and it’s three myths, whatever you can do.

Lisa Annese (25m 12s):
It’s just the objective of developing a daily practice that works for you and your lifestyle. Okay. Yes. So yoga and then going into meditation, as you know, Kini, we chant with mantra, meditations, love mantras. That was my most favorite part of ele class. So mantra is chanting in Sanskrit and it’s over and over again, a repetitive verse that connects with our consciousness. So each chapter has a new mantra connecting with that chapter with a lot of the chapters are based on the chakra system. Okay. So that’s in there and then going into deep relaxation with sound healing.

Lisa Annese (25m 53s):
So yeah, I have recordings of sound healing for the, the listen to, to listen to awesome and helping share my gifts with other people. That’s basically what it is and to become light that’s, that’s utilizing these techniques. And that was something that I feel I went from dark to light for myself.

Christine Okezie (26m 15s):
That’s what the book about. Oh, thank you, Lisa. This is brilliant. Can you share an example? Maybe you have the book in front of you. I know I do. I would love if you maybe just flip to an example of a quote that really resonates and provided some deep healing for you.

Lisa Annese (26m 32s):
Yes. Yes. So from day 12 in the book, this is one of my, one of my favorite quotes. It actually originated, or I became aware of this quote for my therapist.

Christine Okezie (26m 41s):
Okay.

Lisa Annese (26m 42s):
So day 12, this is in chapter one, chapter one is called I am Truth. So in, I am the, I am Truth chapter. We connect with the throat chakra, which is the fifth chakra and the root chakra, which is the first chakra, because just, just a combination of the two, it made sense. So “the wound is a place where the light enters you,” Rumi. So looking at this quote it’s we talked about this before you, you only can appreciate and love the light because you’ve been into the dark and the wound is where we need work. We love the wound. It’s something, that’s an awareness to an area that we don’t wanna shy away from and pretend doesn’t exist.

Lisa Annese (27m 24s):
We wanna say, yes, you exist. Yes. I love your love, the wound. What can I learn from you that way it no longer is carrying around with me and weighing me down and letting it go. So this quote is beautiful because how is that? I just talk about that. And also I go into, on this day, I talk about my healing techniques that helped me, which we, we just were going through with the yoga and the sound and, and meditations. And at the end of this day, I ask the reader, are you aware of any wounds or issues that are currently weighing you down when you bring awareness to those wounds reflect on appropriate healing methods that could help you release them.

Lisa Annese (28m 7s):
So I’m asking the reader to stop after you read and pause and think about what are some wounds that are currently going on, because when you actually pause and you could say, yeah, I’m having an issue with this, or this is bothering me today. You write ’em down and then you’re kind of like releasing them, you know, you recognize them bringing them to the surface. And I know it’s a little little task to do, but it’s something that I feel has deep value yes. For healing.

Christine Okezie (28m 36s):
Absolutely. Yes. So yes, awareness. I love the kind invitation that really, you know, this work is about, you know, and, and in fact, coming from that place of, of real radical self acceptance, right. Which is, yes, I’ve got some stuff and, you know, thank you. I love that part of me that has all that stuff. I love those parts of me that need healing. I love those parts of me that need to, you know, come into my awareness so that we can shift them and, and bring them into the light. So this is very, very deep and compassionate work. And I think you, your, your, your approach and the expertise you bring really hold space for people to hold themselves.

Christine Okezie (29m 23s):
And like, you know, it’s, it’s courageous things that women do when they decide to break from convention. It is, it’s probably the most courageous thing they can do, to be honest with you is I’ve come to know in our lifetime, you know? Yeah. But they’re incredible doorways to let the light in. So thank you for sharing that, your vulnerability with that. So if I could ask, you know, what role did your separation divorce becoming a single mom, raising two boys? You know, how has that shaped your transformation? Looking back now?

Lisa Annese (29m 60s):
Oh, I think this, obviously didn’t go into a marriage saying I’m gonna get divorced you. I was never on my to-do list. I had lot to-do list, never on my to-do list

Christine Okezie (30m 13s):
Indeed.

Lisa Annese (30m 13s):
But it was the best thing that could have happened to our family because it’s accepting that our relationship wasn’t working for either of us and it’s, and it allows energies that are meant for us to come into our lives. And, you know, I wanted my children to see what real love was. Yeah. I wanted them to experience that. And because I had the courage to speak up and speak my truth, which was obviously very difficult, cause I didn’t wanna hurt anyone.

Lisa Annese (30m 57s):
Yes. I became free to be me. Mm. And to talk to my children and care for my children, the way I believed that they deserve to be cared for and not through a bail of, well, my partner thinks we should care from this way. So I’m only getting care for ’em this way. It was something that opened up to, like I mentioned my heart, I really had to work on my heart. And now I feel through them. I no longer mentally connect with them.

Christine Okezie (31m 38s):
Yeah.

Lisa Annese (31m 39s):
In the past, when I was living in my home with my, my, with my husband, it was more of a mental connection with my children.

Christine Okezie (31m 47s):
Interesting.

Lisa Annese (31m 47s):
But, but now that I’m living fully from myself in my heart sensor, I feel my children, I feel them. And I connect with them in a way I’ve never experienced before. And this is something that I always wanted. And it took me to find myself to understand how to deliver that way of living and being to them that way they grow up with that background and foundation of true love. And because I live for my spirit, I allow them to BeLive from their spirit. Yeah. And I consciously talk with them about this is your past own past mommy spoke up, spoke her truth.

Lisa Annese (32m 35s):
I need you to speak your truth. So I gave them the door to speak up and feel comfortable. Yes. With me. And we have a relationship now that is stronger, deeper than I’ve ever experienced. And I was a stay-home mom, you know, I lived with them, obviously. Sure. I was over seven with them. Yes. And, and I’m now I’m 50% with them, which is totally fine. I’m accepting of that. That’s what happens with divorce, but I have a much deeper, stronger connection than I ever have. And that is a product of me living for who I am. And, but before I moved out in January 20, 20, I’m sorry, June of 2020, I still was striving for something else to connect me and the kids.

Lisa Annese (33m 21s):
Cause I knew that there was something I’ll say missing, but I still to work on and, and hearing Michael’s hearing loss diagnosis did that for me because it forced me to slow down even more and let life changed. That was our focus. And now he’s stable and, but it’s stable. Meaning we know how to handle with school and his services, whatever it is and how to communicate with him. And I’m no longer afraid of what’s gonna happen. His future, his future’s bright. So

Christine Okezie (33m 51s):
Wow, beautiful.

Lisa Annese (33m 52s):
That’s a hearing loss did for me. And, but I did a lot of work on myself to get here and I’m so grateful that I spoke up, but also looking at their dad. And I want him to have, find what his, his relationship or what’s meant for him because everything’s a lesson Christine, there’s nothing’s wrong or bad. It’s all learning experiences for us and our highest self. Yes. So, so this allows an opportunity for him to find what will make him happy. And I want that so very deeply. Hmm. I know it’s hard in a moment to view things that way, but in the end it’ll all make sense.

Lisa Annese (34m 36s):
And I think he’ll be grateful for it as well.

Christine Okezie (34m 38s):
Oh my gosh. Thank you so much. Yeah. So much wisdom in that and so much peace, you know. Thank you. Thank you. Oh my gosh. So I would love, you know, for you to share about, you know, what this looks like now, you’re sitting in this beautiful healing center. This is another thing you’ve birthed into the world unleashed. If you will, you know, connecting to your heart, tell us about how that came to be. And, and what, what does that look like?

Lisa Annese (35m 2s):
Yes, yes. So, so as we shared, you know, before I became certified or I was starting to become a sounding practitioner and so I’d practice on friends and then I did little events at people’s houses and, and sound healing comes with a lot of stuff. It’s a lot of heavy bowls and drums and gongs and, and they all my apartment and a teacher, she said, you know, Lisa, you need a space because you have a space. And then, you know, you just lock the door and you have clients come. And I, and I, but I wasn’t ready at the time and I didn’t feel comfortable with myself. And there were things going on. Sure. So as I was, was writing my book, what’s interesting about the book is I was handling things in my life that I would write about it and then they would happen.

Lisa Annese (35m 45s):
So in the chapter about power, that’s the third shock where the solar plexes, where a strength and courage come from. That’s when I signed the lease or my, my healing center. And I looked at the, I was writing about, and it’s just, I was ready. That’s right. So, and where my it’s located in YCO New Jersey down the street from where I first practiced kine yoga, which go figure full circle. I know, right. Raise a full circle. And also my building is another sound healer. So wow. Out of all the buildings in the world, I thought another sound healer and which meant that this was meant to be, it just flowed in.

Lisa Annese (36m 26s):
And what I learned from this experience, Christine was I didn’t have to force it. It just naturally happened. I had an event, I hurt my back, carrying my stuff. It was time to find a space and brilliant, and it worked, it worked and it’s about three minutes from my apartment. So it’s very easy for me to come and go and take care of my children. And so at my healing center, I offer classes, group sessions. I do things around the moon cycles and I do a lot of private parties. So people come together and they want a different kind of experience with their friends. And so I offer that offer individual treatments here for the bowls.

Lisa Annese (37m 9s):
And also I use it as my home, my office, and I’ve been writing here and, and having different experiences. So it’s, it’s, it first came into this space as renting over healing center, but then it came into Lisa’s Lisa’s space. And, and I do multiple things here, but it’s allowed me to focus more than I ever have been before. And I just feel so much passion for what I’m able to bring to the world and give the world and help other people. My spiritual name came through during, when we had couldn yoga train together. And my spiritual name is prem live jot, which I talk about in my book, but it’s the goddess using God’s divine love and light as our one point of devotion.

Lisa Annese (37m 52s):
And this is something that I’ve always done. I’ve always helped share other people. But when I gave, received my spiritual name, I said, wow, I cried because that’s really who I am, but that’s who your purpose is. And that’s tattooed on your forehead as we learned in training. And so now I have a place to come to and share with the world and help people. And that fills me with joy. And because my purpose, I now am living with so much vitality that I’m not that I’m giving to the world I’m giving, but also it’s helping myself. It’s my teacher always says, you give a healing, you get a healing. And that’s so very true because when you help other people, you’re helping yourself in the process.

Christine Okezie (38m 35s):
Mm. Thank you so much. It’s beautiful to see you blossoming. And you know, and I love the, I was ready. You you’ve said that several times now in our, in our discussion and it’s such a different way to move through our day, you know, our life, which is just to receive and be open as opposed to kind of fix and make things happen and that perfectionism and do do do right. And then of course, what I’m hearing has made all the difference is it being anchored in, in service, you know, and that’s such a, as, you know, such a big part of, you know, the yoga path, yoga path, which is, you know, in service to, for all wellbeings.

Christine Okezie (39m 17s):
Right. And, and, and it’s such a, it’s a beautiful, like, you know, win-win in that regard, right. Same path. Thank you. So I would love, you know, as you reflect, you’ve shared so much, what’s the number one thing you want your readers to take away from your book?

Lisa Annese (39m 35s):
I would love my readers to learn how to be true and live with authenticity. So they turn, can feel free freedom because that is where I am today. And I’ve never felt fully felt free before. And I feel like I could do anything. I feel like I could fly if I wanted to. I don’t know. You know, it’s, it was something

Christine Okezie (39m 60s):
You are flying. Yes,

Lisa Annese (40m 2s):
I am flying. I am flying. Yeah. It’s something I never truly experience. And that is what I would love my readers to understand that they have the same power within them. And that’s what I’m sharing.

Christine Okezie (40m 19s):
Thank you. And then I just love to close with, you know, it’s a question that I’ve, I, I like to reflect on, you know, in, in our journey, you know, if you could go back few years, you know, let’s say, let’s say around 2016, 2017, to that version of yourself, that was really just starting to, you know, come into awareness of her struggle and just how hard things were, what message would you have for her that might be helpful.

Lisa Annese (40m 49s):
I would share with her to just focus on love because I never focused on love and love for myself. It was something that I gave to other people and never truly felt that I deserve the same amount of love and understanding that things are temporary. You know, it is just a little blip, so,

Christine Okezie (41m 15s):
Wow, wow.

Lisa Annese (41m 15s):
To share. So I love to share that with her because everything works out the way it was supposed to work out. You know, obviously we know that I can appreciate self love now and, and caring for myself now because I never did so for 40 years, but I just would love to share that that with her and, and make sure she understands that that, that I deserve love to. And as is everyone.

Christine Okezie (41m 39s):
Thank you, Lisa. This has been profound so much, so many things exciting, you know, so many exciting things to look forward to. I can just see your just on fire as this. A lot of people have said, who have, thank you, watched you launch. So let’s wrap up with where can people get? I am light and what’s next? Are there any special events, you know, opportunities to connect and, and celebrate, you know, what’s going on in your life?

Lisa Annese (42m 5s):
Sure. So my book officially launches on July 19th. Okay. And it’s available on Amazon, where books are, are sold also my website. So my website is Lisa ane.com. I’ll have links on there with how to purchase the book locally. If people are in New Jersey, I’m having a book event, launch party. If you wanna say on September 21st in Franklin Lakes, NJ at the Indian trail club, it’s a morning session. The intention is to be a workshop style where we actually are sitting on the ground while in chairs. And we’re talking about the book and how to utilize the technique, some reflection, some writing, cause I wanted to be, I wanted people to really experience how to utilize that way.

Lisa Annese (42m 50s):
Cause it’s a journey. It’s not a book you read all weekend. It’s a book that you read once a day and to have a practice. So I really wanted to make sure people understood the daily practice. That’s the event on September 21st. But also if people were to purchase my book online, I’m having virtual sessions once a month for the readers, they can free access to my sessions where I’ll be some kind of format where we’ve discussed the book and the teachings and experiences sound that way we can connect together, ask questions. So I’m very big on connecting as you can tell. And so I wanna be able to access and be open to those interested in learning more about healing and how to help themselves.

Lisa Annese (43m 31s):
So all those things are on my website and people who purchase the book, they get access to. I have on the website, they’re on a hidden webpage for all the videos and modules of postures, how to do meditations, how to do sound healing. So once you go to that website, then you’ll be invited to an event and you can pick from a slew of different dates that would work for your schedule. Beautiful. So that’s basically the way it works.

Christine Okezie (43m 56s):
Oh my God. So many great opportunities to connect and experience all the wisdom in your book. So I’ll include all of that in the show notes. Thank you so much, Lisa. This has been such a gift.