Eldra Jackson III

Eldra served 24 years of a life sentence; the last eight were spent sitting with Inside Circle eventually leading to his release from New Folsom Prison in 2014. A living example of successful rehabilitation and re-entry, Eldra has dedicated his free time on the outside to serving at-risk youth, and acting as a facilitator, trainer, and mentor.  He is a writer and sought after public speaker on the topics of at-risk youth advocacy, effective criminal justice rehabilitation and turning around ‘toxic’ masculinity. He also hosts the Inside Circle Podcast.

The Inside Circle

The Inside Circle exists to reduce recidivism and all forms of violence-physical, emotional, and psychological— in our prisons and communities. Using the power of human connection found in peer-guided healing circles, Inside Circle transforms lives, reducing violence inside and outside adult and juvenile prisons, lowering recidivism rates, and building social-emotional literacy.

They Operate regularly within and around California State Prison, Sacramento (New Folsom), Sierra Conservation Center, and New Jersey’s Juvenile Medium Security Facility. They have ignited and run programs in an array of adult and juvenile detention centers and community settings across the United States.

After sitting in group with Inside Circle for an average of 3 years, members show shifts in resilience, empathy, self-regulation, and perspective taking. For participants, There’s an 80% decline in the number of “115” rule violations. 70% of participants dropped 1-3 security levels. 44% of the men who were serving and went through the program are no longer in prison but instead serving their communities and contributing to society, and 0% of released participants returned to prison within three years of release. For more on The Inside Circle watch The Work documentary available on Amazon.

Discussed In This Episode:

• Eldra’s background and his story
• What went through Eldra’s mind when he was sentenced and his first years in prison
• Toxic masculinity, Eldra’s definition of it, and how it impacted his life
• What we need to know about prison life
• Racial segregation in CA prisons and why this remains in practice
• The Circle — how Eldra found it and how it heals
• What led to Eldra’s freedom and eventual release
• The adjustment to being out of prison and the biggest challenges
• The pain of healing
• How to reduce incarceration
• Call to action

Important Links:

• Waiting For An Echo by Christine Montross
• The Work documentary
• Eldra Jackson and The Circle on Instagram

Other Episodes Like This:

• Healing From An Act Of Violence
• Parenting a Child With Autism

Happy Listening!

With Fun and Love,

Jackie

Deborah Thompson Cox

Deborah Thompson Cox has a private practice specializing
in addressing the after-effects of childhood trauma in adults. Deborah is based
in the Greater Los Angeles area yet her work with others extends across the
country. Deborah’s work with clients is designed to support the self-healing intelligence
of the body’s life energy. She views the body and mind as one coherent
system, and both can be affected by a combination of healing modalities. This
elastic body of work is inclusive of the following approaches:
Somatic Experiencing (SE) which guides the client’s attention to their bodily
sensations, connecting these to their thoughts, expressions/movements, images
and emotions in a way that opens the neural pathways and allows trauma-bound
(adrenaline-produced) energy to discharge. Quiet spaciousness between
interventions allows the profound, and healing, reorganization of the body-mind.
Early Attachment Patterning which provides a foundational understanding
of the four core Attachment Styles, their origins, the way they reveal themselves
in relationships, and methods for transforming attachment hurt into healing. I use
the terms Secure, Avoidant, Ambivalent, and Disorganized Attachment.
Somatic Integration which promotes the body’s capacity to hold and expand
a wide range of emotions via how the energy runs through the body which
includes understanding Defense Mechanisms and how the Brain Develops
throughout early childhood via Family Dynamics.
And finally, She fuses these modalities by introducing the client to a mindful
practice of yoga and meditation based upon the ancient wisdom of Kundalini
Yoga.
Contact Deborah @ [email protected] or go to her website here

Discussed In This Episode:

• How educating yourself on trauma can begin the process of healing trauma
• The amygdala function in the brain & The nervous system
• A working definition of trauma
• Attachment Patterns
• Deborah’s story
• Trauma focused CBT
• Kundalini
• Peter Levine
• Somatic Experiencing
• Alcoholism and addiction
• ACES
• Neuroplasticity

Resources Mentioned

• ACES test
• Dr. Arlene Drake
• Waking The Tiger by Peter Levine

Other Episodes Like This

• Jessica Graham How Trauma Affects Us and How To Heal

Happy Listening!

Fun & Love,

Jackie

Ashley Cantley

Ashley Cantley is the Author of High-Vibe Feng Shui: 11 Steps to Achieving Your Best Life. She is passionate about living well and helping others do the same through the ancient principles of Feng Shui. Her modern practice pulls from Traditional Chinese Medicine, shamanism, Ayurveda, and current studies of energetics to design a life of abundance. As a certified Feng Shui expert and a Red Ribbon Professional (the highest recognition) through the International Feng Shui Guild, she has worked with celebrity clients and has been  featured as a go-to source for media outlets such as Bravo TV and Real Simple.

Discussed In This Episode:

• The lifestyle of Feng Shui
• What is modern Feng Shui according to Ashley Cantley
• Intuition and deepening your relationship with yourself
• Being authentic and how that’s the only way to “do Feng Shui right”
• Why using environmentally friendly products matters
• Being intentional in everything you do
• Tips from the Feng Shui toolbox
• Mantras
• The Sacred Pause
• Having faith and trust in the sacred pause
• How doing all of the “spiritual work’ doesn’t stop life from happening
• How Ashley is moving through her stillbirth and grieving her baby girl
• How to support others when they’re in deep grief and trauma
• How Ashley is using Feng Shui to help

Links:

• Jackie Shea
• Ashley Cantley
• The Sixth Stage of Grief
• Rachel’s Gift
• It’s OK That You’re Not OK

Other Episodes Like This:

• Ashley Cantley’s First Episode on Feng Shui For Health
• How to Help a Sick Friend

Happy Listening!

Fun & Love Always.

Amy B Scher:

AMY B SCHER is an award-winning and bestselling author of four books on human-ing and healing. She’s been featured in Washington Post, Cosmopolitan, CNN, CBS, The Los Angeles Review of Books, The Rumpus and more. Scher was also named one of Advocate’s “40 Under 40.” Amy’s books have been translated into thirteen languages and endorsed by notable authors such as Elizabeth Gilbert (Eat, Pray Love); Vikas Swarup (Slumdog Millionaire); and Sanjiv Chopra, MD, MACP, Harvard Medical School and (Brotherhood with Deepak Chopra). Amy lives in New York City with her beautiful wife and bad cat. www.amybscher.com

Discussed In This Episode:

• A balanced view on what depression is from an energetic standpoint
• Burying ourselves for others and the ramifications
• Being practical — what you have to do vs. what can you choose
• The symptoms of depression
• How indecisiveness plays into depression
• People-pleasing
• surrender to where you are.
• Wanting to move forward but not needing to move forward
• What is self-healing? Doing the parts that no one else can do but you!
• Combining Western and Eastern
• Amy B Scher’s 3-step approach to energetically healing depression
• What is energy therapy
• Changing thoughts, emotions and beliefs. Releasing stuck energy
• The Sweep script for changing our beliefs and why that’s important
• Why we sometimes subconsciously keep ourselves sick
• Amy B Scher advice! The brave lifestyle of staying healthy and depression free
• Living authentically
• Boundaries and how they play a role in depression. Boundaries and being an empath
• Getting into action “Sometimes we forget when we are spiritual people and we’ve been using these tools that we can also just DO STUFF”
• The combo of gentleness and tough love
• The fear of being unloved based on living our lives for ourselves
• Harm vs. disappointment
• What is the path of least resistance?
• Taking on other’s feelings
• Amy B Scher advice! How to start taking action today — tell yourself the truth!

Other Episodes Like This:

• Amy B Scher on Lyme Disease
• Amy B Scher on Healing Anxiety

Happy Listening!

With Fun and Love,

Jackie

Amy Marcs, Sex and (Self) Love after a Double Mastectomy:

In 2009, Amy received a breast cancer diagnosis and intuitively knew that a double mastectomy was her best option—no easy decision for “a petite Jewish girl with great boobs.” (No easy decision for anyone, ever). Marcs loved her breasts—her journey through the grieving process is heartbreaking, touching, inspiring and hilarious. It’s a grieving process that many sick people can relate to as all of us lose a part of our identities we were once attached to. We get down to business in this episode, intimately discussing sex and (self) love after a double mastectomy.  Today, on the other side, Amy (and her new boobs) tours her one woman show, “Nice Tits,” and speaks out about the specific pains of breast cancer and double mastectomies. (http://nicetitstheshow.com )

Weekly Challenge:

“Take your broken heart and make it into art” -Carrie Fisher

I love this challenge, my friends! Amy wrote as a way to move through her experience so it’s only fitting that her challenge to you is to find a creative expression on your journey. I did it, and it worked wonder. Check out how creativity helped me heal in this blog post on my photo 365 challenge. You can do anything: Paint, draw, garden, take photos, write, sing, pick up an instrument, color, act, dance, knit, sew, make pottery, and the list goes on. There’s no shortage on creative outlets, AND you have the time (and energy)! Commit to ten minutes a day if you can and if you’re bed bound like I was then pick something low-impact. Keep me updated on my Instagram @sheajackie. I’ll be looking for you #holweeklychallenge

Discussed in this Episode:

• DCIS
• BRCA genes
• How Amy got diagnosed (when mammograms don’t work)
• Amy’s treatment protocol
• Double Mastectomy
• Finding a doctor right for you
• Amy’s grieving process (goodbye parties for your boobs)
• The surgery
• How to save your nipple
• 3D nipples
• Amy’s writing and performing process
• Losing parts of your identity
• Sex after a double mastectomy
• Dating after cancer
• Following your own truth
• Humor in the face of illness
• How creativity can save your life

Resources Mentioned:

• DCIS
• Tamoxifen
• Aware causes pink necklace
• Iyengar yoga
• Vinni Myers/ 3D nipples

Other Episodes Like This:

• Ovarian Cancer at 29 years old
• How to Navigate a Cancer Diagnosis

Support this Podcast:

• Subscribe/rate/review on iTunes
• Follow me at www.jackieshea.com
• Follow me @sheajackie on Instagram
• Join the Healing Out Loud with Jackie Shea Facebook community 

Happy Listening, my friends!

Mindfulness and Chronic Illness:

Nichole Proffitt ( http://www.presencemindfulness.com/ ) had been
seriously practicing meditation for years when her first fibromyalgia
symptoms developed, and (plot-twist) meditation was making it all worse.
This isn’t an episode about traditional meditation and using it to heal
from illness.  It’s an episode about accepting what is, seeking out
your truth, surrendering to your truth, and then being willing to let
go… of everything.  The closer Nichole got to her absolute truth
( whether that truth was that she couldn’t hang out with toxic people
anymore, or eat her favorite foods, or stay up past 10pm
even though she’s always been a night owl) and the more she surrendered
to them, the healthier and happier she has become.  She said, “These
truths, as hard as they are to come by, and even harder to live by, are
what give me back my life… the years, relationships, friendships, jobs
and everything I have lost.” THIS is mindfulness and chronic illness.

Nichole’s Facebook

Weekly Challenge:

Ask yourself deeper questions and become open to your own deeper
answers. What a doozy, huh? This may seem totally overwhelming. Often,
it’s those deep—DEEP—answers that we are trying to avoid so that we can
hang on tightly to our own visions. But, this week, gently try to go
inward, listen just a little closer, and allow small parts of your truth
to emerge. Tune in to the episode to hear more about how to actually do
this. Follow me @sheajackie for weekly challenge updates and more
wellness fun.

Discussed in this Episode:

• Trauma
• Violence/ rape
• Illness and trauma link
• Why healing your trauma is necessary to heal your illness sometimes
• The desire to be fully well
• How coping mechanisms can make us sicker
• What happens to our learned coping mechanisms when we get sick
• Rage
• Building up a reference point for pleasure and delight
• Grief
• Nichole’s darkest hours and how she made it through
• Fibromyalgia/ Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/ interstitial Cystitis
• Surrender/ let go/ accept
• Mindfulness and chronic illness
• Presence
• Your truth
• Self-love
• How to make your own yogurt
• Triumphs/ how Nichole manages a big full life with self-care
• Deep listening to yourself

Support this Podcast:

• Check out my new Patreon page here! Check out what perks there are for becoming a patron.
• Follow me at www.jackieshea.com for more updates and my coaching services
• Follow me on IG @sheajackie
• Join the Healing Out Loud with Jackie Shea Facebook Community 
• Subscribe/rate/review on iTunes or any other podcasting platform

Other Podcasts Like This:

How Trauma Affects Us and How to Heal

Listening to Your Body’s Wisdom

Happy Listening, dear friends!

Feng Shui for Health:

Ashley Cantley was drawn to this ancient Chinese practice when faced with healing from a toxic relationship. Similarly, I only started putting attention on my living space when I was sick and doing some healing of my own.  Most people who have a current #lifegoal of “heal from illness” are in bed, and, in that case, shouldn’t the bedroom feel like a sanctuary?  I believe that my living space is a reflection of how I am in the world, and I committed to making my whole home a giant vision board: Everything in it should make me feel good! Essentially, how to feng shui for health. That being said, I knew very little about the actual art and science of Feng Shui, so I was pretty pumped to get Ashley on and talk about practical suggestions to use Feng Shui for health and healing. How is Feng Shui an extension of holistic health? And how does it enhance other self-care practices? How can we make small changes in our home to enhance our health? Listen in here!

Find Ashley for more Feng Shui tips on IG @fengshuiash and at her blog and website here.

Weekly Challenge:

This one can be a real game-changer! Clean and de-clutter the center
of your home or living space. The center of your home is where the
health and wellness energy resides. Of course it’s in the center, right?
It can be the most important piece of our lives. After a deep clean and
serious de-clutter, purchase a swarovski crystal here and hang  it. 

In the episode (around minute 20) we get into the deets behind WHY
this crystal is the jam! Follow me @sheajackie on IG for weekly
challenge updates.

Discussed in this Episode:

• What Feng Shui is
• My personal journey of de-cluttering to heal
• Why Ashley turned to Feng Shui after a break-up
• How changing your space enhances your energy
• The Life-changing Magic of Tidying Up
• What is a Feng Shui cure
• Acupuncture
• Traumatic Miscarriages
• Feng Shui for fertility
• Little adjustments you can make to enhance your health (like the sheet color on your bed!)
• Feng Shui for health and wellness
• Mudras
• Mantras
• Intentions
• Conscious living with makeup, food and clothes

Resources Mentioned in this Episode:

• Bayou with love
• The Life-changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo
• Ott Light for wellness
• Mudras
• Mantras

Other Episodes that May Interest You:

• Infertility 
• Vaginal Steaming

SUPPORT THIS PODCAST:

• follow me at jackieshea.com
• Subscribe/ rate/ review on iTunes
• Follow me on IG @sheajackie
• Join the Healing Out Loud Facebook group
• Share with your friends

Amy B. Scher, How to Heal Anxiety

Amy B. Scher ( https://amybscher.com/ ) is the best-selling author of the new book How To Heal Yourself From Anxiety When No One Else Can. As
an expert in mind-body healing, she uses energy therapy techniques to
help those experiencing emotional and physical challenges to move on and
heal permanently and completely. Amy has been featured in CNN, CBS, Cosmopolitan, Washington Post, and more.  Most importantly, she lives by her self-created motto: When life kicks your ass, kick-back.  In this episode get an in-depth look at how to heal anxiety.

Discussed in this Episode:

• What inspired Amy to write this book
• What anxiety is
• How to know if you have anxiety
• How to heal anxiety
• To-do lists: The debate! And how to make them work FOR you.
• How does technology add to our anxiety
• What happens when you avoid your feelings
• Big traumas vs. smaller traumas and which is more harmful?
• Anger
• Immune system and feelings
• Talk-therapy downfalls
• Decision making
• Emotional Freedom Technique
• Letting go
• Why you don’t need to worry
• Perfectionism
• Thymus gland tapping
• Old beliefs
• Muscle testing
• When to turn toward your feelings and when to turn away
• Laughing at yourself

Resources:

• Amy’s book, How to Heal Yourself from Anxiety when No One Else Can
• Amy’s instagram
• Our previous episode

Self-Care Tool:

This episode, Amy teaches us how to use thymus gland tapping to help us heal stuck emotions, anxiety and our immune systems. Did you know that the Thymus gland is the master gland of the immune system? Learn how to use it to benefit you.

How to Support this Podcast:

• Subscribe/rate/review on iTunes
• Follow me on IG @sheajackie (my fave platform!)
• Follow me at www.jackieshea.com for more
• Join the Healing Out Loud Facebook group 

Other Episodes like This:

• Listening to Your Own Body’s Wisdom

Megan’s Story:

Twenty years ago, on a beautiful Monday afternoon in Portland, Oregon,  Megan was violently attacked and sexually assaulted by a stranger. It was luck that saved her life, but the emotional wounds carried on for years to follow. In this episode, Megan bravely shares her story and the tools she used to navigate this random act of violence. Today, in her big, full life, she is free from the power he had over her, and she has come to a place of total forgiveness.

Interested in forgiving your perpetrator? If you want to contact Megan please write to me first and I will put you in touch

Weekly Challenge:

This is straight from Megan’s toolbox: Write a fear list and then (plot-twist) write a gratitude list twice as long! I love this challenge. I always say that I don’t “gratitude-list my way out of feelings,” but I use them to get a more balanced view of reality. When our fears are raging, we often lose sight of what’s real—gratitude can help. Give it a try and tell me what you think.

Follow me @sheajackie for weekly challenge updates.

Discussed in this episode:

• Acts of Violence
• Sexual assault
• Trusting your Instincts
• Adrenaline/ shock
• PTSD
• fear
• Therapy
• Self-judgment / negative self-talk
• Asking for help
• How to identify your feelings
• Writing
• Grief
• Forgiving your perpetrator
• Walking through the pain
• Acceptance
• Anger and how to let it out
• Expressing feelings in a productive way
• Dating after sexual and physical trauma

Resources Mentioned:

• Gratitude 
• Hal Elrod

Support this podcast:

• Subscribe/rate/review on itunes or on your podcasting platform
• Follow me @sheajackie on IG
• Follow me at www.jackieshea.com
• Share with your friends!

Other episodes like this;

– Latisha Singletary Life After Parlysis victim of random act of violence. 

Vaginal Steaming 101:

How many of you are shaking your heads in amusement? How many of you are doing that but also VERY curious? And how many of you are just like, this sounds weird but I am excited! After so many years dealing with periods that are so heavy I’m left chronically anemic, I had an entirely open mind when I first heard about vaginal steaming. Five months ago, a friend responded to a Facebook post I had written (Ladies! Any and all advice to slow the flow??) emphatically suggesting vaginal steaming. That was only five months ago, but the idea of steaming my uterus piqued my interest so much that I have been following around Steamy Chick on social media, reading her blogs, and steaming at home myself since. I’m so pumped that Keli Garza, founder of Steamy Chick, came on the show and now I get to share this gem with all of you!

This episode is your vaginal steaming 101 course. We discuss its ancient origin (this is not some new trend, you guys), exactly how, when, and why to steam—steaming has been shown to help with everything from infertility to missing periods to blood clots. Plus, it literally feels like a sauna for your uterus. Those of you who are following along with my period series, this episode is part II. I am still in my trial period with vaginal steaming and will have a lot more to say about it in the coming months, but, for now, ENJOY this vaginal steaming 101 course.

Weekly Challenge:

Steamy Chick challenges us to steam at home this week! You don’t need to buy anything, you can steam using things you already have: A pot, some tea, salt, and water. I just finished steaming five days in a row as per Keli’s suggestion, and I’m meant to wait until the end of my period to steam for three more days (find out why in this episode!). So, my steam may or may not be lining up with the weekly challenge, but I WILL be waiting to hear from all of you on this! Dear naysayers, what have you got to lose? NOTHING. Unless your pregnant then PLEASE do not do this because you absolutely have something to lose.

Follow me @sheajackie for more weekly challenge gems

Discussed in this Episode:

• How to vaginal steam
• Why to vaginal steam
• Who should/ shouldn’t vaginal steam
• When to vaginal steam
• How I got introduced to vaginal steaming
• Success stories
• How Keli ended up on this life path
• Why Keli has dedicated her life to this work
• Why tampons are so harmful
• What to use instead of tampons
• The signs that your period is not right
• The signs that you aren’t getting a full uterine cleanse
• What cramps are/ what brown blood means
• Infertility and why vaginal steaming helps
• Steaming at-home, free of charge
• Self-care practices for women
• Taking rest seriously during your period and why

Resources Mentioned in this Episode:

• Steamy Chick website 
• La Loba Loca pads
• The Moon Medicine Course 
• Seaweed sponges 

Support this Podcast:

• Follow me IG @sheajackie
• Join the Healing Out Loud Facebook community
• subscribe/rate/review on iTunes
• Share with your friends!

Kerah Henebery and Food to Heal

Kerah obtained both her B.S. in Dietetics and M.S. in Health Promotion/Allied Health Sciences from the University of Connecticut. Her diverse background as a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist includes both clinical inpatient and outpatient support for pediatric and adult populations, but her true passion lies in using food to heal and applying an integrative approach to patient care in her private practice, Pursue Wellness. Kerah has particular interests in food sensitivities, digestive wellness, nutrigenomics, and hormonal balance. Kerah is a Certified LEAP Therapist and uses the Mediator Release Test (MRT) in practice to help target food sensitivities that may be contributing to chronic illness, inflammation, and symptoms associated with Lyme disease, Migraines, Irritable Bowel Syndrome, Fibromyalgia- -to name a few!

Kerah places emphasis on the whole-person and recognizes no two individuals are the same. She applies a unique combination of functional nutrition with an integrative approach to identify the root cause of chronic health concerns. Using whole foods and lifestyle changes, she develops personalized plans tailored to a patient’s individual needs to facilitate preventative and restorative health. Her true joy comes from connecting with each person and helping them live life to the fullest.

Discussed in this Episode:

• Using food to heal
• What got Kerah into nutrition work
• Secondary Infertility
• Clean Fifteen and Dirt Dozen
• DIY Natural cleaning products
• Ingredient labels—what to avoid at all costs
• Genetics and nutrition
• Gut-Brain connection
• Making yourself a priority
• Scheduling self-care time

Resources Mentioned:

• Heal Documentary
• Headspace App
• EWG dirty dozen and clean fifteen
• Cindy Kennedy’s episode

Self-Care Tool:

Simple and effective when applied: Make yourself a priority! Tips inside the episode on how to do this and what it could do for your life.

Support this Podcast:

• Subscribe/rate/review on iTunes
• Follow me on IG @sheajackie (my fave platform!)
• Follow me at www.jackieshea.com for more
• Join the Healing Out Loud Facebook group 

More Episodes Like This:

• Non-Toxic Beauty Tips
• Naturopathic Medicine Tips

Happy Listening!