This episode of the Sober Shaman Podcast presents a profound dialogue with Jennifer Pilates, an esteemed intuitive medium and spiritual thought leader.

Central to our discussion is the transformative journey that emerges from the intersection of spirituality and physical wellness, particularly through the lens of Pilates as a healing modality. With over 25 years of experience, Jennifer articulates how her personal encounter with a life-altering car accident catalyzed her awakening and subsequent dedication to helping others align their body, mind, and spirit.

Together, we delve into the nuanced relationship between physical ailments and energetic blockages, emphasizing the importance of holistic healing approaches that integrate emotional and spiritual dimensions. This enlightening conversation not only underscores the significance of empowerment in the recovery process but also invites listeners to reflect on their own paths toward healing and self-discovery.

Takeaways:

• The Sober Shaman Podcast delves into the intersection of spirituality and practical recovery methods for addiction and trauma.
• Jennifer Pilates, a highly esteemed intuitive medium, shares her transformative journey through hardships and healing practices.
• The podcast emphasizes the importance of aligning body, mind, and spirit through practices such as Pilates and Reiki healing.
• Listeners are encouraged to embrace their fears and trust their inner guidance as they navigate personal transformations and spiritual growth.

Links referenced in this episode:

• jenniferpilates.com
• randallyons.com

Welcome to the Sober Shaman Podcast, where we explore ways to make the spiritual practical and apply these medicines to the recovery from addiction and trauma.

Thanks for joining me here on another episode of the Sober Shaman Podcast.

Today I welcome Jennifer Pilates, a globally renowned intuitive medium, spiritual thought leader, and host of the top rated Empowered within podcast.

With over 25 years of experience, she has transformed lives worldwide by guiding others to awaken their intuition, realign with purpose, and rise in empowered alignment.

Well, welcome to this edition of the Sober Shaman Podcast.

Today, I'm very excited to talk to Jennifer Pilates.

I've been reading some of your bios and all of the information you have on your website, and we use a lot of the same language.

And I'm.

I'm going to be curious as to.

For myself to dive in and find out some nuances between how we use things, how we do things.

I'm really looking forward to this, Jennifer.

Thanks for joining me here today.

Thank you so much.

I've been looking forward to this.

Well, you know, if you don't mind me just jumping right in, I think a great place to start would be where a lot of people's stories start.

Whether that's with addiction or whether it's on a healing path and that's in some kind of traumatic, what we didn't want to happen to us happens.

And if you don't mind starting like with that car accident, I would imagine would be the place where it started for you.

As I was reading, could you tell us a little about that and how that steered things for you?

Sure, absolutely.

And I agree with you.

You know, everyone has these pivotal moments in life and it's important to be able to take a moment and sort of step back out of the emotional aspect, I would say, and really look at how is this happening for me.

What are the lessons here?

What are the blessings here?

And I'll be honest, every time I talk about it again, there's sort of something else that shifts and there's something else that comes up that I'm like, wow, that, you know, another blessing that I'm finding out of that.

And so for me, I was in my mid to late 20s, climbing the corporate ladder to doing everything in quotations I should be doing in the world.

While all my friends were off, you know, having fun, just out of college, you know, doing whatever, I was, you know, focused on a 401k and climbing the corporate ladder and doing everything that I could and really taking myself off My path, which I now know I didn't know at that time.

And so I had transferred out west.

I was working on the senior living industry on the east coast, and I transferred out west and everything that my mentor had said to me basically panned out.

She's like, this isn't the job for you.

This isn't who you are.

And I was like, no, I took the job for the money and I took it for the location.

Which are two things that I always tell people, don't do.

It'll never work out.

It never does.

And with this, what happened was I was very unhappy.

I was crying every day.

I was miserable.

I was very young, in an executive position, so there was a huge lack of respect.

There was, you know, it just, it wasn't the heartfelt aspect of the industry that I was used to working in, which was being an advocate for residents, being an advocate for their family, the sales and marketing aspect, it became very numbers orientated, it became very HR esque and it really wasn't who I was and so very unhappy.

Driving home one day, car accident.

Six lanes of traffic.

I look up.

It's one of those things you never want to see an accident happen.

I knew it was coming.

I saw it.

There was nowhere to go.

And the moment happened so quickly.

And the more that I go back and revisit it, it's, you know, it's definite that I definitely probably lost consciousness for, I don't know if a shorter period of time or whatever.

I just know that I looked up and I saw a police officer.

And I thought, wow, coming from the East Coast.

Gosh, they got here really fast.

How did that happen?

Well, come to find out, that was who hit me.

He was on his way home from work.

And so it became this huge shift in my world.

The blessing was this all transpired while I was living in Boulder, Colorado, which at the time was the mecca of alternative holistic healthcare.

Coming.

I say, as a country bumpkin from Cape Cod, I knew nothing about cranial sacral.

I knew nothing really about the expansiveness of a deep massage versus, you know, just a regular massage, acupuncture, chiropractor care, just, it wasn't a big thing on the East Coast.

And so because at that time I had, I had all soft tissue damage from the base of my skull down into my pelvis.

I was out of work.

I was in, in and out of doctor's offices eight hours a day.

Everything from a chiropractor to a massage therapist to, To a neurologist, you name It.

I couldn't sit for more than, like, 20 minutes.

So it really just tossed me into experiencing all this amazing care, unfortunately, in a very painful aspect.

And one of the shifting.

There were numerous shifts in that was when a psychologist and I were talking and he looked at me and he said, you've never lived in your body.

And at the time, I had no idea what the hell he was talking about right now.

Fast forward over the years that, gosh, has such weight for me now.

Yes.

And I now when I look back at it, I realize that doctor knew I was barely holding on to what was happening with the accident.

There was no way we were going to dive into the depths of what, you know, he was speaking of, although I kind of wish we had, but, you know, hindsight.

And so at that point, I was referred to a rehab specialist for Pilates, whom absolutely changed my life.

And I rehabbed for a year.

Within that time, of course, my job changed.

Everything changed, as it normally does in one of these huge spiritual awakenings, pivotal moments in your life, whatever you're comfortable calling it, that's what transpired.

You know, I went from climbing the corporate ladder to not working at all to being a hostess at an adorable Italian restaurant, being a wedding coordinator.

I did all these things that, gosh, were just blessings to do.

They were right up my alley.

I started painting again, all of these creative endeavors, and the huge thing was finding Pilates.

Pilates is all about aligning body, mind, and spirit.

And it was something that I was so not aligned.

I had no idea about.

And that is where my life began to pivot.

And at the end of my rehab, that's also when I got a little bit of settlement.

Back in the days, you got money from.

If you're in a car accident, no coincidences.

It was the exact amount needed to go to the Pilates center in Boulder, which is the Harvard of all Pilates schools.

And I still recommend it to this day.

If anyone wants training, you know that is the place to go to.

When you go there, not only are you receiving the depths of the knowledge of Pilates, the Pilates method, you come out as if you've gone to physical therapy school because it's so anatomy based.

It truly is about that body, mind, spirit connection, and taking you past just in movement, just the exercise or the equipment, which is so imperative when you're in this industry.

So for me, it helped bring me into my body, even in moments when I.

It wasn't comfortable for me.

And it really brought me to this place where I Said if I could help one person not feel the pain that I felt, that was my mission.

Well, now you look two decades later, 25 years later, and I've, you know, been able to help thousands of people.

I've had numerous Pilates studios on the east coast, on the west coast, and now so much of my business is virtual like, like yours, that it's just such a blessing.

It continues.

Pilates continues to give back.

Over and over, it has expanded beyond the equipment, beyond the session, into the coaching, into the spiritual healing realm with the Reiki energy, into light therapy, into intuitively tuning in.

And I just know what's going on within someone.

So it really, it truly.

I always knew I had gifts.

Everyone always knew.

I just knew things.

But it brought in the depth and it brought in sort of like a way to navigate it and understand it better.

Because for me, I'm not.

I'm.

I'm someone that needs A plus B equals C. While I always say, I love, I love unicorns, I love the whole nine yards, but at the end of the day, I'm not the person who's going to sit here and be so woo.

Like, I want the scientific background behind it and I want, I bring the groundedness, I bring the practicality, so people feel comfortable with it.

And that's why my clients return and their transformation that they receive, whether that's through movement, but mindset or spirituality or all of it.

That's wonderful.

I love that explanation.

I'm curious.

Pilates, a lot of people may not be familiar with it.

It's obviously a physical practice, exercise, structure, teaching.

And for when you're working with people, whether it's in person or online, and they're coming in for the phys, they're in physical pain and you're on a zoom.

Well, let's say you're on a zoom call and it's like you start going into mental, emotional and spiritual.

It's like, yeah, but I got back pain.

What does that got doing my back pain?

You know, that for me is I do a triage.

Mental, spiritual, emotional and physical.

And certain people like to speak one language.

Maybe, you know, I want the physical.

So how would you make that bridge for some people and either introduce it to them or maybe they're genuinely curious about it and, you know, it's like they're doing some exercise.

What does this got to do with soul?

How do you do that?

Yeah, it's such a great question.

So for me, when, prior to, whenever I'm working with a client and bringing Them on.

The first thing that we do is we have a complimentary consultation.

And that's where I really get to know you.

You get to know me, and I'll know right away if, if I'm for you and if I'm not, I happily refer you to what's going to be the better fit at that point in time.

I'm already intuitively in tune actually, even prior to the call, so I already know what's going on.

So then I'm guided as to, okay, what depth can I help guide this person to and to see what they're open to.

So I always start with, so you say you have back pain.

That's great.

No, I bet it's low back pain, right?

I'm feeling it in your low back.

Oh, yeah.

What a coincidence.

How do you know that?

Hmm.

You know, all pain, all dis ease in the body comes from energetics that are blocked.

And nine times out of 10, those energetics come from an emotion that we've kind of ignored.

Do you know that the low back has to do with financials, that it has to do with scarcity, has to do with some fear.

And people be like, oh, my goodness.

So I, I gently, right, you can see where I'm blending the practicality with a little bit of the spirituality there.

And people be like, oh, it also helps to build like, no one trusts with someone, wow, she knows me more than that.

And then we begin to dive in and understand that dis ease in the body when it's left to its own demise, right?

Then it becomes a disease and we don't want it to get there.

So here's how I can help you transform body, mind and spirit.

Let's release the pain.

Let's strengthen and lengthen the body.

Align you from head to toe, physically, mentally and spiritually so that you can live your best life.

So that you're walking on your highest timeline, so that you're calling in and you're being able to attract and manifest all that you're wanting in your life so that you can ultimately live that empowered life within.

So I really blend it all.

And then by having that consult with someone, we really, I customize every program for that person and so they have that sense of empowerment.

This is, I'm helping you.

I can give you the tools now let's design it together.

What feels right and that's super important.

Through everything that I do, whether it's a training session, which ultimately turns into coaching and intuitive reading, it's all about empowering the person so that they're aware that they are co creating whatever that is, whether that's the training session, whether that's the Ricky healing, whether that's the intuitive session or a coaching session.

Empowerment, such a, an important ingredient.

If a person is believing that I've got this physical thing and I need it, I need my treatment to be primarily physical and you're meeting them where they're at, do you find that most people, maybe most of the people who are your clients, like you said, if it's not a right fit, maybe you refer out.

Do you find that they're open to this?

Oh, and it's energy, Is it okay?

It's like, yeah, I'll bring in chi.

Chi.

What I got back pain.

What's I got to do with chi?

You know, it's physical.

Do you find that most of the people are open to it who maybe didn't come in open to it.

When.

You start talking to them and using this language and doing the consultation or, you know, take it from there?

Yeah, I would say most people, yes.

I like to say Pilates is like my gateway drug.

Right.

People think they're coming to me for one thing.

Exactly.

And it becomes something else.

So in the same goes vice versa.

Someone thinks they're coming to me for an intuitive reading and the next thing you know we're talking about their energy blocks and the pain they're in and we're flipping it.

So that's the beauty within everything that and how my business has expanded to be able to truly be that.360 for someone, to be able to work with someone, body, mind and spirit.

And so I always say, you know, when someone comes to you, yes.

You meet them where they're at.

Yes.

You give them what they think they need while you're sharing what you know they need.

So I don't necessarily need to talk about Reiki energy healing.

Someone's automatically going to receive that from me, whether that's a Pilates session, whether that's coaching, whether that's a, that's exactly what they're coming to me for, or even in a reading, because that's how my essence works, that's how my work is.

So, you know, I can remember days where in my early days of teaching where people would come in in so much pain, they would leave feeling phenomenal and I would have their pain.

And that was long before I knew, you know, the depths of who I was and what I was doing.

So, you know, just as I'm respectful and meet people where they are you know, God, the universe knew I wasn't just gonna fly off on a unicorn, that I needed to go through it to gently understand, to see the power and the essence behind it, that it just wasn't.

Woo.

You know, people like to use that word that it just wasn't something like that.

It's, it's.

We're all energetic beings and we're all electromagnetic when we get to the scientific aspect of it.

So when you look at that and then you look at the energy that needs to flow through your body, if any energy is stuck, you're going to be thrown off mentally, physically, energetically.

So I'm the like, kind of one.

Stop, Fix it, girl.

Back in the day, when I worked with a lot of professional athletes, that's what I was called, the fix it.

I would get the calls when, you know, they needed to go play and they couldn't play, or the skier that had the broken back but was in the Olympics.

And I got the call and said, fix it, you know.

So it's throughout my world and throughout my practice.

It's gone lots of different ways.

And now it's just.

I love to have that global impact where I'm helping people on every level that I can.

And I really do my best to make my services accessible to everyone that is drawn to me.

That idea of the Pilates, they're coming in for that, I have an idea of what that is.

Okay.

I've seen pictures of it.

I've gone to your website, okay.

There's some contraptions and machines and you're going to be helping me do some things.

So people usually come in, I would imagine, with preconceived notions or they know what it is when you go into the energetic.

Let's go there.

What.

What is the model that you would use and then the language to explain that model to them on the energetic level.

Honestly, not very much when some.

Because when someone's coming in and whether we're doing it virtually and they have their props or maybe it's just the mat.

You know, the big thing that people don't realize about Pilates is that it is a body mind connection and it is a breath work.

So it takes all of the pieces that people go here, there and everywhere to get.

I bring it all in one setting.

And so sometimes it's not so much about what you say as to how you guide a person through a session and how they feel.

And then you can maybe explain it if it's the right setting and if they really want to Hear the details.

Some people don't want the details.

They're just like, I don't know what you just did.

I feel great.

Let's do it again.

And that's where we leave it, because that's where they're at in that moment in time.

And there's nothing wrong with that.

There you go.

I'll equate that to acupuncture or yoga.

You know, with acupuncture, some people want to be babysit.

That's a terrible term.

But it's just.

At least in the beginning, it's like, okay, the needles are okay.

I'm okay.

You can leave me alone for a little while or stay with me.

Or maybe add craniosacral like you used earlier.

Maybe we do some kind of guided imagery or some kind of shamanic journeying to mix that in other people.

It's like, just leave me alone.

I don't know what happened.

It does the work.

I get out of the way.

I'm curious because I didn't know this about Pilates, that idea of incorporating the breath.

So there is this element of coordination of breath with movement.

Absolutely, there is.

And you see, what happened over the years is that the method has gotten very watered down.

Based on certain franchises that have opened.

People have, you know, really pushed things to a different direction than what Pilates really is.

Pilates is a very hard method to really master once you get in there with your body, because it's intricate.

It's not about how much you do.

It's not about pain.

It's about being present in your body.

And the breath flows with the movement, which then gives you your body mind connection, which then allows you to come into your body, which means that you are connected to your spirit.

I love that.

And you used the term earlier of alignment.

And I really resonate with that term, alignment.

And I'm making the equation to Tai chi.

And when 100 times, 210,000 times, doing a movement and you feel that alignment and the breath is incorporated with it, things happen.

We say that you do it the first time for the physical.

You just, oh, yeah, my foot goes here, hands go there.

That's right.

I remember how to do it.

The second time, it's like, all right, really lock in on the breath.

Third time, don't think about anything.

Just completely get out of the way.

Let the body do its thing.

Let the breath do its thing.

And then something else comes in and call it spirit, call it the dao.

You know, personalized, impersonalized.

What you've Been using the term body, mind, spirit.

Do you.

If I can ask personally and.

Or promote with your clients, is your relationship with spirit a personalized spirit, like we have power animals or an angel or something with a face and.

Or is it spirit is also energetic?

Oh, very much.

For me personally, it's very much both.

So I'm definitely someone who all day, my team is God, universe, angels, you know, animals that have passed over.

Everyone is always around me.

And that's the intuitive medium aspect that I've had since childhood.

So I am always in tune.

Well, 99.9% of the time, because we are still human.

There are days where I'm off.

The difference now is I can't stand being off.

I can't stand when I can't hear the messages or I'm not seeing the messages.

And so that's working with that intuitive muscle that I always tell people to bear.

It's equally as important to work with that muscle as it is your physical muscle, whatever that is, that you're looking to improve.

And so for me, absolutely, you know, when I have questions, there are certain practices that I do that help me to receive the messages.

Walking in nature is very important for me.

You know, a shower, I get tons of downloads in showers.

And a lot of people do.

They just don't realize it because you get out of your way.

Years ago, it used to be when I was on a treadmill, the amount of downloads I would receive because that could get out of my way.

And, you know, being at the beach, being near water is super important for me.

And over the years, there are times where I spent nine years in the desert, and the desert has a specific healing aspect for me.

And now my world has shifted so much to the beach and ocean.

For now, I always say, because you never know what.

What God has up his sleeves next.

But for me, it's very personal to be able to lean in, to hear those messages, to be guided.

What's my next right step?

How can I be of service?

Where can I shift and do better?

And that's.

That's been a huge transition for me over the last three or four years now, really.

My business shifting.

And it all started with another, you could call it kind of spiritual awakening, upheaval, pivotal moment in life after a crazy, traumatic hurricane.

And my deck of cards was thrown up and lived here, there and everywhere.

So never quite settled.

And all of these different pieces were coming in over the years.

And it wasn't until about the last three months that I was shown everything coming together.

And I said, oh, oh my gosh, it all makes sense now.

I was so frustrated.

I was feeling so stuck.

But sometimes, you know, God, the universe can't give you everything because it would be very overwhelming for you.

So it comes in pieces.

And then when you're, the moment is right, you can put that whole pie together and then, you know, do with it what you're guided to.

I'm still waiting for the whole pie to come together.

Yes, it changes all the time, right?

Just when you think I have it, you know, then something else happens and you're like, oh, there's something more.

Like there's another layer, which I really call it a cake because there's layers.

That's, that's Shrek.

Maybe you're not old enough to remember Shrek.

It's parfaits.

It's like donkeys, like ogres are like parfaits.

There's layers to it.

You know, listening to you talk about that, I'm curious, for people who you work with, how do you help them know what to trust?

Well, one, one of the things I like to say is stop searching, start trusting.

You know, we spend so much time, you know, doing the scroll, start looking.

It's an outward focused, where's my answer?

As opposed to stop, no, you've already got the answer.

The old story of God's hidden the key inside your heart, it's the last place you're going to look.

The idea of helping people trust what they already know, I like to say that you know it in your bones.

There's certain things that just resonate and ring true.

But in my business dealing with people who have addictions, you know, we are a stubborn lot.

And whether you call that stubbornness, you know, denial or whether you call that stubbornness perseverance, it depends on, you know, what you're aiming that muscle towards.

But the knowing the truth as opposed to knowing what is my own ego, how, how do you slice that up?

How do you help people?

Oh, that is such an onion to peel.

Right.

I think that, and it's.

Even for myself I have to do like check ins like yesterday.

There's something big that I'm working on to release next month.

And I was tweaking a bit of the description of the bio and I was tweaking the piece about me.

Now if I was working for you, it would have been a no brainer.

I could do it in five moments.

You know, like it's fine.

But because it was me, I had to be very cautious then where I was leading with heart versus where I was leading with my ego.

Right?

Like, and it only came down to honest.

It was two words.

It was two words.

And then I had to step back and say, wait, no, this isn't ego anymore.

This is actually me stepping into being seen and people knowing what I've accomplished, which is very different than 30 years ago, 20, you know, 20 years ago, where it would have been vice versa.

So it's very.

It's always a dance.

It's always this little dance that you're doing.

But I think you really know in your gut when something feels like you said, when something feels right versus when something doesn't.

And I always say, you know, it's really pretty simple.

If you've done something or you've said something and it doesn't feel right, now you're accepting the fact that you know better.

So now just do better.

What do you need to do to recorrect that moment, to pivot?

Do you need to go back and say, I'm sorry?

Do you need to go back and say, you know what, I know I did this, but really, now this feels better, and there's nothing wrong with that.

And like you said, you know, everyone looking outward, I always say I have a huge.

I don't even know that it's love hate anymore.

It's more just disdain for social media.

And yesterday I really proved this point to myself because of what I was doing with my business guided off.

It was a day that I spent not ever checking in on my phone, not looking at any app, and I felt delightful.

I felt wonderful.

I wasn't.

And like you said, the misconception is people thinking that they're looking for answers outward.

You think that's what you're doing, but really it becomes comparing.

Yes.

And the moment that you're sitting there scrolling, what you're doing is you are disconnecting from everything that you know in yourself.

And so that's really the distraction that this other part of the world wants you to have.

Because if the world can disconnect you from the empowered self that you are within, it can guide you and tell you everything that it wants.

And you'll follow that path.

You know, and I've seen that with people for business life, what you're eating, how you're working out, I mean, whether you're addicted or not.

And let's be clear, I mean, how many spiritual people have addictions?

All sorts of.

And we're talking from food to shopping to drugs to alcohol to social media.

You know, it's not just a drugs or an alcohol thing.

And I. I want people to understand that too, because I think that gets lost and people are like, well, you know, it's just, you know, TJ Maxx.

It's just a bag of chips.

Just.

Just.

Exactly.

It's just one.

No, no, no.

There's.

There's a lot I can go in there, but I'm.

I'm going to try to stick to what I'm hanging on to in my head, which is.

There's so much you said in there.

And I loved the idea of empowered, powered, giving away your power.

That term power has very specific connotations in shamanic work and dealing with soul.

And it's very different than energy.

And we get picky and very articulate about the differences of the two.

I'm curious as to reclaiming your power.

Helping people disconnect from the things that disconnect them and to reclaim, to plug back into.

How do you.

Their own power?

How do you lead them to do that?

Yeah.

I would say depending on the person is sort of how I'm going to guide or lead and start with my own personal story.

I want you to know that I've walked the path.

You know, I lived most of my life without my own power, without living in my body.

So I get it.

I've been surrounded by narcissists, you know, family, friends, work, people, the whole nine yards.

I mean, I've been through the gauntlet.

So I can say, look, I've been there.

I get what you're going through.

Here's a toolbox that I've developed for two decades.

Can I please help you to not have to go through what I went through for as long as I did, you know, and the disconnect that you have where you feel badly, right, because people will.

People don't want you to have your power.

People don't want you to shine your light, which is your power in essence.

They want you to be who they've always known you to be because that's where they're comfortable.

And within that, there is a power aspect to things.

There's a control aspect of things.

And once you're willing to stand on your own two feet and be who you're meant to be, then that's when everything changes.

And I like at that point to let people know that I'm on that path with them, whether you want me to hold your hand or sometimes maybe I need to give you a little nudge, because I've done that and I've had Those moments where you take a step forward and then you get so scared and you go 12 back, and that's okay.

You don't just wake up one day and go, I'm amazing, and I'm gonna live from this place, and this is how it's going to be.

And I'm never going to step off this rock because I'm so powerful.

I don't care who tells you that.

And I know Randall will say the same thing.

It's not true.

Because this.

We're humans here having this experience in a place called Earth School, which means you're here to learn lessons.

So guess what?

Congratulations that you feel amazing and that you just finished a lesson.

There's another one coming.

That's the beauty.

I want people to always know that if you're not growing, then you're dead.

If you're not expanding and experiencing life and breathing and tuning into it, you're just barely existing.

You're barely holding on.

It's easy cognitively to go.

You know what, Jennifer?

That makes great.

I completely agree.

I'm totally with you 100%.

What do I got to do?

You got to leave that relationship.

Oh, there's the 12 step backwards.

You know what, Randy?

It's great you got me to this point in sobriety.

It's very clear that if I stay in my job, it's ridiculous.

I'm going to relapse.

It's only a matter of time.

What do you suggest I do?

It's not rocket science.

You're gonna have to leave the job.

You're gonna figure.

But I can't leave my job because the family depends on it, because it's the family business.

I'm.

When somebody has that, as you said, you know, now I've just gone back 14 steps, and it's going to take another round of the cycle to get back right up to that precipice again and be able to ask that question, to reclaim their power truly, and make that jump.

And like, I liked what you said about I can help you on this path.

I can be there for you and with you, in your opinion, because obviously, you know the story.

As many people as you help, there's another different story and another really new nuanced way of doing it.

What's your take on that?

Person who's just standing at the edge has been to this edge so many times.

They know it cognitively.

But now what.

What can be the thing that.

That you've got that can help them?

You know, as we jump and worry about it, if we got the parachute on the way down, right?

It's so scary, right?

And people always say that, like, how do you just have that blind face?

It's taken years, years and years and years to have that blind faith.

But the truth is, is when you can put that faith into a higher power, whomever you believe in, and I always say, God, universe, Dalai Lama, Oprah Winfrey, whatever works for you, I just want you to have a higher power.

Because first and foremost, it's important for you to know that you're not it.

There's something bigger that is there to guide you.

And so when you're at that moment in life, it's always good to look at.

How do you feel?

Do you really think you are living your best timeline, that you can continue the rest of your life in this moment the way things are playing out?

Or have you finally gotten to that place where, yes, you want to make the change you're also willing to admit?

I'm scared.

I'm scared of the unknown.

I'm scared I don't have enough money.

I'm scared I don't know if I'm have a job.

I'm scared I'm gonna lose my family, my friends, my dog, my cat, whatever it is.

That is actually the first stop, the first piece, is admitting all of that.

Because once you admit that fear, and then we can break it down.

Remember fear, There's a couple ways to look at it.

Fear is false evidence appearing real.

Nine times out of ten, everything we fear never happens.

Also fear, I always say, you know, fear is about failing forward.

I can't tell you how many times.

If you want to look at it, you can say that I failed at things, but then I pivoted, right.

You're on the road, you're driving, and the GPS goes, hey, there's an accident.

I'm going to pivot you.

Same thing.

Your pivots are your source of protection.

You're trying again, you're rerouting.

And there's absolutely nothing wrong if you reroute every 100ft.

Because you're still moving forward.

And that's the key.

So whether your change takes a month, a year, 12 years, be proud of yourself.

The key is to give yourself grace and know that you're trying and admitting, I'm scared.

I do want changes help.

If nothing else, if you never talk to Randall, if you never talk to me, have that conversation with yourself, with whomever you believe in, even if it's Grandma on the other side, and say, I don't Know what to do.

I'm handing this over to you.

Guide me.

That is so powerful.

And in doing just that, you will change your life.

All right, I love that.

And I have to know, I'm going to get personal on you here.

Can you give me one example that comes to your mind where you might have been in that position yourself and have asked something, someone on the other side and maybe give an example of what came back for you?

Sure.

I mean, literally, that's my life every day, by the way, just so people know, like, I'm not kidding you, Even though, like, yes, I like scientifics and practicality.

That is like every moment of every day.

You know, I would even say I can give from past.

I can most recently.

One thing that stands out is a couple years ago, I was in a spot, like I said, another pivotal moment.

I can't remember if it was three or four years ago now that it'll be next month where this huge hurricane came.

And just, I mean, you want to.

To talk about tore apart families, tore apart.

Just everything flipped me upside down to the point that everything that I thought I knew in the direction I was heading, suddenly I was in a different direction.

And other things was very confusing to me.

And it came to a point where I was crying.

I was down to my last pennies with my two kitties.

Sitting in a hotel room makes me cry.

I think about it and I was like, God, I don't know what to do.

I don't know where you want me.

I don't know where to go.

Surely you have a plan, but I'm not seeing it.

And I can promise you, when I said those words, it wasn't as kindly as I'm saying right now.

My hands are stand.

And that's okay too.

I want people to understand that.

And in that moment, I was sitting on the hotel bed.

I'll never forget it.

There's a computer in front of me and it's.

Something came over me and started typing.

The next thing I know, I was looking for winter rentals in an area I knew nothing about.

I'd never been there.

I would have never thought about it.

Sent out to me two emails.

Within an hour, I received responses.

This was on a Thursday.

And the woman said, can you be here this weekend?

And I said, I have to.

I have no more money.

Like, I. I need to do something.

There's nothing left.

Right.

And she was like, okay, I can get you in on Saturday.

Will that work for you?

Absolutely.

I will be there now again.

And.

And some people Say, oh, but she's such an adventurer.

People call me a gypsy, they call me this, they call me that.

And part of that is true.

But let me tell you, when you've been going for three, three and a half years without quote, unquote, steady home, or at that point it had been two years, you're exhausted, you're doing everything you can to stay grounded, which is.

Is minimal, right?

Like, there's not a lot of groundedness going on.

The ironicness to this, y', all, is that the day that I was driving to go to where I was being guided to go was in a hurricane.

So the girl that fled a ridiculous hurricane was in and out of FEMA hotels, the whole nine yards for almost two straight years, was now driving like crazy into a hurricane to get where she needed to go.

And I didn't think twice about it.

And that is how God in the universe works.

Because I had fear built up around, I never want to be in a state that has a hurricane.

I never want anything to do with them, blah, blah, blah.

At that point, the ocean girl didn't even want to be by the ocean.

Not who I am.

And so that is a huge example of how the universe will shift.

And at that point in time, I ended up in a beautiful place.

I couldn't have managed.

I couldn't have manifested it.

It was absolutely gorgeous.

And something I always say is, it's this or something better, God.

And sometimes I say that happy, and sometimes I say that not so happy.

And I encourage you to use those words because I believe, based on my experience, that God, the universe will always bring you out bigger, better, stronger, and give you more than you ever thought you deserved or you ever thought you could imagined.

And in this moment, that's what God did for me.

And it was amazing.

And we were there for, I think it was like eight or 10 months that we were there.

And it was very healing.

It was a very healing spot.

Settled in for eight or ten months.

You and the two kitties.

Me and the two kitties, yep.

Jennifer, thank you for getting personal and allowing me to ask that and you to answer it and go there.

And I'd like to say that most of us, just about everybody I've ever worked with, we have those moments where if it's not the financial, it's that kind of despair, unknowing rock bottom, as they say in the biz.

And yeah, the amount of surrender, it's easier to have faith and to ask in those situations.

Sometimes it takes a hurricane to blow through Your life.

Right.

To blow away the things that were unnecessary or, you know, maybe I don't want to project onto you.

I've been through plenty of hurricanes, so I'm thinking of my own situations.

Living in Florida for 12 years, that's where I was.

Yeah.

I mean, obviously.

Yeah.

For that one.

That's where I was.

Yeah, it was.

Yeah, it was.

And, you know, it's.

It doesn't have to be a hurricane, but in that moment in time, there's also something that came out of that, and it's a quote.

And I always try to remember this in my head, and you can take it figuratively or you can take it, you know, as it is.

Is.

And it is a quote from the Bible.

If.

Oh, no, I have to remember this.

If I didn't move you.

No.

If I didn't make you uncomfortable, you wouldn't have moved.

And that quote came to me after the hurricane in the middle of hotels, because the key was, was I was struggling with where I was living with.

Was I going to stay close to family?

Was I not going to stay close to family?

There was all these things, but the truth was, was that everyone was on a journey, and everyone needed to go a different direction at that point in time for what everyone was going through.

And if that hadn't happened, I don't.

Yeah.

I mean, so I can look back at it now and be like, blessings in the time, let me tell you.

I mean, and I'm a girl who used to love hotels and not so much anymore.

I mean, I'm pretty good on a hotel.

Yeah.

Can you say the quote again?

Or as close to it as you.

Can get Close to it.

I know, right?

Like, because it's.

It really is something that I remember.

And just in every aspect of my life, if I didn't make you uncomfortable, you would not have moved.

I. I love that.

Oh, if I didn't make your job suck, you might not have left.

If I didn't make your marriage miserable.

Like, I'm try.

The universe is trying, and I always say to work through you.

The universe will whisper, hey, got an idea for you.

And you're like, can't handle it.

Yeah.

And then comes the bee, and you're like.

And then comes the fry pan.

Whether that's the hurricane or you lose your job or you're divorced or the car breaks down.

That's when the universe is like, hi, are you listening?

And I always say, could you please try not to go to those depths?

Right.

Because I've done it a lot Push the envelope, you know, and now I'm all like, universe says jump.

And I'm like, how high did you want me to go?

You know, I, I absolutely love that.

And applying that to big capital letter archetypal ideas of like you said earlier, home, you know, when you're on the move so long, there are aspects of groundedness, another word you use there, but rootedness, feeling settled, having foundation.

There's something about people who stay.

I'm a New Yorker, you know, there's.

There's people who are, you know, that stay and then there's people who leave.

And there's benefits to both and there's drawbacks to both.

And you know, I'm here in Thailand, I'm only here a little over a year.

It's feeling homey.

But I know I'm a guest.

I feel the guest.

I say my prayers as a guest.

I'm very thankful as a guest.

And I was through the floods here last year and all the local people on my road and all the habits on the road and all these wonderful.

When you said, you know, higher power as a grandma, I see my grandmother and all these grandmothers that still live in the houses that, you know, I'm willing to bet they stayed in now, did the universe nudge them or this is all that they could have.

So that lesson of if I didn't nudge you, you wouldn't have moved.

It's.

It can be applied to genealogy.

My ancestors, right.

It's like, why would so much.

You know, how do you explain to the kids?

It's like, why did they.

Well, a suitcase.

That doesn't make any sense.

Well, I did some digging and let me tell you why.

They got nudged.

They got exactly.

They got nudged.

And you know, it is hard when you find your connection with the universe and you do understand co creating and your eyes are open to the world and you now see through however people want to say the Matrix or the drama, whatever.

And you're.

I always say I'm, I'm not partaking.

There are days that, yes, I'm guided to watch the movie because I very much am the earth girl.

I'm earth grounded.

I'm earth.

There's a word for it.

Anyhow, I know if there's a storm coming, I know if there's an earthquake coming, I know.

And it could be in Thailand, it could be in my backyard.

I have different symptoms for each aspect of the earth.

Earth activated.

That's what I am.

So I'm that person who knows now because I've been through.

Well, one, I've been through so much with.

With the storms and everything.

But, you know, that's pretty powerful in and of itself to be able to be that canary, so to speak, for people.

But you also have to understand, and it's.

Oh, I struggle with it tremendously, that some people aren't going to want to leave the storm.

Right.

Whether that is a physical storm, whether that's the relationship, the job, the family, whatever it is.

And I would say that is the hardest aspect of being so connected to yourself.

And you can see so much, and you're going, why.

Why are you not leaving?

Whatever that situation is?

And that is all that I would say is the.

The hardest thing that I have worked through in my life with different aspects of friends and family.

Yeah.

And to be able to just say, this is where I'm guided and, you know, if I've shared what I've shared and you're still doing what you're doing, then, you know, you're where you're at and, you know, perhaps our journey ends here, whatever that is.

And that.

That's.

That's hard.

That's really hard.

Yes, it is.

That's really hard.

That's well said.

And I. I hear the experience of that in your voice.

I can see it on your face.

And you're not alone in that one.

I think many of us have had to make that hard choice.

You know, I tell people I got disowned from my family when I got sober.

It's like, that doesn't make any sense.

It's like, we're not going in that story right now.

But, I mean, it's.

You got.

When you see things clearly, it's like, crap, now I don't have an excuse anymore.

It's like, I have responsibility now, an agency in making this choice.

What am I going to do?

And not easy stuff.

You know, Jennifer, I. I could keep talking.

This went by very fast, and I want to make sure you're hitting.

What.

We're done already.

We.

I feel like we have, like, so much more.

So I do want to find out about your Reiki zoom sessions.

I'm.

You tell me about it.

What do you do monthly there?

So monthly I offer Reiki lunar distant healing.

And the lunar aspect is that twice a month on the new moon and the full moon, I offer Reiki distant healing.

And the beauty of it is I work with the energies of the new moon and the full moon.

I'm a moon girl, and I believe that we're all cyclical.

Beings.

And while a lot of us don't believe that the calendars are right or the days in the month are right or whatever, the moon is right, the moon is fine.

So when I hold these events, you can see it on my website.

Jennifer Pilates.com can pre sign up.

The beauty is you don't have to do anything.

There is no zoom, there is no tech.

All you have to do is sign up.

You'll receive a reminder, you can find a quiet space.

Maybe you're out walking.

You just have to be open for half an hour and you will receive the energetic healing to your body, mind, spirit to help cleanse and clear your chakras, to help the alignment to come in and above and beyond that to allow healing to begin.

I've had incredible experiences actually this past month.

A woman reached out to me and she said, who are you and what did you do to me?

And I said, are you okay?

And she said, I, I hadn't walked in a long period of time.

She had on flip flops and walked the whole Santa Monica Pier.

She was in tears, her husband was in tears.

I was then in tears and I was like, oh my God.

You know, my friend comes running and he was, oh my God, you're crying.

What's the matter?

I'm like, my client just had the most amazing experience.

And it's moments like that that I lean so much deeper into what I'm doing because of that.

And so those sessions are twice a month.

You go, you can sign up for them if you want to go deeper.

You can also do one on one Reiki energetic, distant healing sessions.

But it's a beautiful way to taste test what is it like?

Some people won't feel anything.

But what I say is the energy integrates for up to the way that I do it for up to 72 hours later.

So, aha.

Moments, all of a sudden, doors opening, all of a sudden, clarity coming in, just an overall sense of well being, good night's sleep.

If nothing else, you're getting a good night's sleep.

But generally speaking, there's a laundry list that people come back and say, oh my gosh, if this is what it's like in a group setting, what is it like one on one.

So I have been doing those now, I think it's like five or six months.

We've, we've been doing those out to the public.

I'd always been doing them, but now we've put them out there.

So those are amazing.

And you can go, we have them open through the rest of this year.

So there's space to go and sign up for those.

And every new moon, and every full moon is different energetically.

So based on the planets, based on the month, based on the season.

So because people go, well, isn't every full moon.

No, everything is different.

So the energies you receive will be different.

It will.

It's always evolving.

So they're wonderful to try.

You can head over to jenniferplates.com and sign up for those.

Fantastic.

And the one more thing you wanted to mention is that you do have something rolling out.

I do have something.

Oh, it gives me goosebumps.

I have something rolling out.

I'm so excited.

So everything that we've talked about today is all about transforming body, mind, and spirit and bringing those three aspects together.

And for a long time, I feel like there isn't a place that does that, a container.

And so I am.

And this is an exclusive here I am launching what's called the Empowered within collective.

And within that collective, there are all of my Pilates Fusion on Demand videos, my Reiki meditations, my Pilates Reiki movement sessions, my somatic Pilates healing sessions.

Everything is in this container, along with two of the distant Reiki healing sessions a month.

So that you have one container that you can go to that will truly help and guide you.

Body, mind, and spirit.

That was fantastic, and it sounds wonderful.

Thank you.

I'm gonna go there and check it out.

Yeah, absolutely do.

Now, you see, you got me thinking about the moon.

I know we just had a full moon.

We just had an incredible Reiki session a couple of nights ago.

So we're gonna do the full.

The new moon in another week and a half.

I'm getting the timing down.

Thank you.

That's right.

Because we are recording the session on August 13th right now.

So the idea then of timing and place, of where you are curious, if you don't mind sharing where you're located generally or specifically.

Yeah.

So right now I'm in the Southeast.

Right now I'm in the Carolinas.

And so the beauty of the Reiki lunar distant healing sessions is that not only would I be working on you, Randall, and not only are you specifically being sent energy, then that goes out to the area in the country of what you're in.

And so, like, the last session, we had people in Germany, we had people in California.

Unfortunately, this session abruptly ended and Zoom cut us off there.

So that is the quick ending to my talk with Jennifer Pilates on this episode of the Sober Shaman podcast.

We did get in almost an hour's worth of engaging information, a great talk, and please check out her website.

All of the information will be in the show Notes.

Thank you.

Thank you for joining me today.

Thanks for listening to the Sober Shaman Podcast where we explore ways to make the spiritual practical.

Please subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts.

Send me any questions or comments you have.

Check out the website randallions.com I look forward to hearing from you.

Until next time, Blessings.