Ep 120: The power of choosing yourself

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What if the key to deep healing wasn't pushing harder, but learning how to pivot?

In this conversation, Aimee welcomes Megan Edge, a Master Healer, educator, and author, to explore the profound freedom that comes from choosing yourself, even after you've said yes to everyone else. 

Megan shares her wisdom on how the words we use shape our reality, why true healing requires self-responsibility, and the liberating practice of listening to your body's "no." If you're ready to stop performing and start living from your heart, this episode is your invitation.

Megan takes us through:

• How the language you use keeps you stuck in old stories

• Why saying "no" is an act of profound self-care and bravery

• The difference between being an introvert and hiding from connection

• How to follow the chain of clues from overwhelm back to the core wound

And so much more!

Megan Edge is a Master Healer, educator, and author based in Victoria, Canada. Growing up in a family of foragers, she developed a deep connection with nature and learned the art of harvesting from the wild. Born in Vancouver, BC, she has lived across Canada and holds degrees from Dalhousie University in Women's Studies and Social Work, along with an undergraduate degree in geology.

With an entrepreneurial spirit, Megan has held various managerial roles but ultimately found her passion in self-employment. She creates certification courses and workshops for health professionals, blending her extensive training with alternative healing practices. Megan is the author of "The Heart's Journey: Healing Hearts Oracle Cards and Guidebook" and the manual for her Healer’s certification program, "Falling into Being Human: Intuitive Healing."

As an international radio host and public speaker, she focuses on empowering individuals to access their healing abilities. Megan lives with her family and enjoys foraging for clams, oysters, and wild mushrooms in her spare time. Her mission is to facilitate lasting healing and wellness for all.

Connect with Megan: 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/megan_edge11/ 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/meganedgehealing/ 

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@MeganEdgeHealing 

Discover more at: http://meganedge.ca/  

Connect with Aimee:

Instagram: @aimeetakaya 

Facebook: Aimee Takaya 

Learn more about Aimee Takaya, Hanna Somatic Education, and The Radiance Program at⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠www.freeyoursoma.com⁠⁠⁠.⁠⁠

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A: Hey there, listener. At a time in your life when you might be busy, busy, busy, what would it take to pivot and choose yourself? 

Today I have master healer Megan Edge and we're going to explore what it means to shift your perspective from one where you're externally focused on the things you need to and get done on all the accomplishments, to what it means to start listening to the internal sensations and messages that your body is sending you that you may be able to receive, from the nature and the world around you. When you slow down and tune in, what is it like to be allowed to say no even after you've said yes? So stay tuned 

Intro: Every day there is a forgetting, and every moment there is the possibility of remembering. Remembering who you truly are, awakening to your body to the inner world to the experience of being alive. Here is where you find the beauty, the joy, and here is where you free your Soma. I'm your host, Aimee Takaya. I'm here to help you move from pain to power, from tension to expansion, and ultimately, from fear to love. 

A: Hi Megan, it's so nice to have you on the show. I'm so thrilled to have you here. Thank you for coming on 

M: Oh, well, thank you so much for the invitation Aimee. I'm really looking forward to our conversation today. 

A: Yeah, absolutely. I mean I was looking at your website. You were looking at my website probably going like oh We're gonna have an easy conversation because we're on the same page about a whole bunch of things Right and you know as someone who has been doing this kind of healing work for a long time and who utilizes Different kind of modalities and approaches to your work Maybe you can describe to our audience a little bit about what it's like to work with you or to have you as a healer and guide in their lives 

M: Well, generally speaking by the time most people get to me They've exhausted all other options and opportunities for healing and they've found themselves in a place where it's just not working. You know, they may have had some success with some healing modalities But what they haven't experienced yet is a deep and permanent transformative healing and with the work that I do taking my clients through Sometimes familiar modalities, but also often things that they've not thought of before.

I haven't tried before could be past life regression For example, it could be the reframing it could be looking at their language the words that they're using to describe their stories and Helping them to create a new relationship with those stories Through those processes what I have observed in my clients is that at a certain point They realize that they're no longer caught in the trauma of their experiences and instead have allowed those experiences to become a part of who they are but not a definition of who they are.

And that's where we know that there's been that permanent and deep healing because while they can remember their experiences from their lives They're not triggered back into the responses that they had at the time of those experiences They can observe those experiences and integrate them But not have them be a painful reminder of something that has happened for them 

A: Yes, you know, that's a great word that you just used integration as you were speaking I was thinking you're inviting people and you're showing people the way to actually integrate these things that otherwise sort of stand out as like, you know Our core wounds and like these, you know Pain points and all this kind of other language that we have to talk about these things that plague us over and over and what you're describing is that There is another side like there is what life is like on the other side of Being in that regular cyclical turmoil and what it's like to actually have integrated and experience In your life in your body to the point that it's a it doesn't have the same kind of pull on you Triggers not right there waiting to be pluck, right? 

M: Exactly, and it's really the work that I do is about Healing the relationship that my client has with the story and the way in which they're telling their story Which is where I begin my work with my clients. I listen to where their story Not for the story itself, but for the way in which they are telling the story because there's Words that they're using to describe their experiences and Absolutely, these words are blind spots For them they're unaware of what kind of wording they're using to describe what their life has been like or is like and something as simply as Simple seeming as shifting a word or two in a sentence can have profound Effect and impact on a person's relationship with their story and that's where the healing begins I love that. 

A: That's really incredible. I very much relate to what you're saying as well because You know from what I do what we are I'm very aware that You know they talk about our words having you know all of this power and they do right Our but there are an expression our words are an expression our story is an expression of our somatic experience of what we're experiencing internally And so when we start to shift the way that we are speaking about our lives. 

Right? It literally changes our somatic experience of it the sensations that are arising and you can probably see it It's plain as day like when someone's talking to you and telling you about what happened in their life Their whole body is shifting their face is changing. There's there's certain kinds of expression You can see their biology shifting into a state of fear or overwhelm or grief, right? And and I'm sure the opposite is true when you change and shift the way that they're speaking about something you see a change, right? 

M: Yeah, yeah, and I've seen it when you talk about people's faces If if I've done an intuitive energy massage on someone for example And that's that's some healing modality that I've created through all of my learnings and teachings We go through this process and When they sit up on the table afterwards There's a mirror in my healing room and when they sit up they see themselves and more often than not the face that they came into the session with is no longer the face that they are bringing forward into the world And they can see The difference in how their face looks it usually looks softer. It looks more luminous It often looks more vibrant more vital You know, there's a there's a pallor that disappears When we're no longer in a protective mode when those protections are no longer required It's quite dramatic and really quite wonderful 

A: Did you know that your muscles are holding on to thoughts memories and feelings? If you have a tight neck or back, you're not just getting old You're experiencing a build-up of tension from the life you've lived Most people don't know this but there is a part of your brain that can reverse and prevent chronic tension When you relax your muscles, you not only move better and regulate your nervous system But you also free yourself from the grip the past has over your body So you can live with freedom confidence and enjoy your life now How does that sound? 

Join me Aimee Takaya and discover what my clients are raving about at youcanfreeyorsoma.com Yes, yes, and I mean I'm sure that you can see this like you said even as people make subtle shifts in their perspective, right? That there's this morphing I had a friend once describe it as we're constantly morphing and like Sometimes my nose looks really cute and delicate and other times my nose looks really bulbous and strange And like it's it's based on my mood and how I'm feeling and what I ate that day and how much Exercise I've gotten because we're we don't we're not permanent so much of our physical body is just like nature Constantly shifting and changing even things that we think of as so permanent like a rock We'll take that rock and let's run it under some water and you can watch it change color. 

M: You know, yeah, exactly Exactly. I love that and of course having you having done some of your research on me you know how much I love nature and The whole the whole concept that nature is medicine And that everything in nature cycles everything in nature changes It it speaks to that fundamental belief that the only constant is change And so the more that we're able to flow with change The easier our life is and the less constrained we are by A need to control the outcome of our thoughts and our deeds and our desires 

A: Right and essentially what you're describing with people who come to you They've been stuck for a long time and maybe they've had some success getting unstuck But they're looking for that flow again. They're looking for Their their body and their being to become more like nature again and allowed to shift and change and evolve And maybe that even brings us to another point in our conversation that you brought up at the beginning When we before we started recording I loved this and I would love for you to share your specific story.

But what does it mean to let ourselves pivot? Even in our day-to-day lives when you know, we're full of all these commitments and things that we agreed to do and people who are Counting on us and you know all these different responsibilities I mean it's quite overwhelming for most people in just their daily lives all the different things and moving pieces that people are dealing with right And you know, what would it take for us to like start? prioritizing Our needs in the moment versus just saying well, I guess I signed up for this and I have to show up and I have to show up this way Right, so yeah, I'll let you take it from here. Yes. 

M: Absolutely. I had this amazing experience this morning Which was that I'd already been feeling the nudge Right that emotional or that energetic nudge of I needed to put something down In my enthusiasm to be with people and help people and and teach and share and all of that I have the tendency to say yes Far more often than I say no without really understanding necessarily if I have the bandwidth in that moment to Complete that commitment and in the past I would have just pushed through it. I would have felt resentment, but I would have done it I might have felt the overwhelm but I still would have done it.

And then I would have ended up getting sick And this was a pattern in my life for many decades And it isn't any longer and what was so beautiful about this morning is that as I heard This one thing that you are trying to put all this energy into It will still be there In a few months, but right now It's just too much So Say no And so I did I wrote a really beautiful letter very professional very kind letter with A lot of gratitude for the opportunity that had been presented to me And said I need to step back I need to walk my talk of self-care and right now that is to prioritize prior commitments that I had made before.

I said yes to this project So that I can clear up space both mentally and emotionally and physically To then show up in a much I don't know not better is not the right word, but just to show up in a more focused way To serve those people whom I had been invited to serve and when I hit send on that letter Oh I just felt so Good Because I knew it was the right decision because I listened to my own wisdom And because I trust that it will be received in the way in which it was intended by those People who had extended the invitation in the first place and indeed that I did I got an email back I received an email almost immediately Saying we get it. We love you. There's a space for you when you're ready It's all good And that's just gotta feel beautiful. 

A: Yeah, just gotta feel like such a beautiful recognition a mirror to where you're at in your life That those are the kind of opportunities you're calling in are ones that are actually aligned with your ethos Right that would respect and respond to that not be like what the heck you're just gonna quit on it You know, it's a different life a different version of yourself might have drawn in Opportunities and experiences that would have been not really actually aligned But but what a beautiful mirror to get that response, you know, and I have to say like I I've been in that position before where like I Was feeling a no about something that I'd previously said yes to in life And yet I felt like I couldn't Say no And so I want to just acknowledge like that it takes bravery, right to just really carefully You know go into your writing of that letter. I mean it sounds like you did it And in such a way that it didn't sound like some kind of excuse it sounded like an authentic expression of your needs Right. 

M: Yes. Yeah, it was it was an exercise in self-awareness And I know that for myself personally in my own healing journey and certainly with a lot of the people I've worked with students and clients Self-awareness is something we have to cultivate. We are generally Not brought up to be self-aware and many of us are brought up to be mindful of other people's experience of us to be fearful of their judgment of us and then to act accordingly To those kinds of controls This judgment is a type of control. It's an illusion, but it's still a type of control Even if I had received a different response I knew I felt it in my body that I still would have stood for myself and my own self-care.

In this instance, and I would have found another way to respond again To to insist on the importance of what mattered most to me in this moment, you know But like you say having put out the vibration of of a high vibration in this whole endeavor That's what I received back and it comes back it circles back to Our stories and how we're telling our stories and the language that we're using to express our experiences There's a lot of of talk about vibration and that what we put out is what we bring to ourselves And if that is true and I believe it is but let's just say like let's let's say that's a universal truth Then that piece of self-awareness becomes critical To how we experience our lives What do I want to receive? 

All right, and what I'm receiving is often a reflection of how I feel about myself internally And oftentimes unconsciously Right, so if I've got a client who comes to me and says I don't know why I keep attracting These men who are so abusive But what do you what do you believe about what you? What your value is? What do you believe about what you deserve? 

What were you taught when you were younger? right And let's look at that Like I want to look at that piece of it I want to find the source of this attraction to these men who are being abusive to you as opposed to Getting caught up in the story about all of the abuses. Let's look at where it's coming from so we can shift it And change the vibration of what you're putting out in the world 

A: Right and the the languaging around how you know oftentimes I think people complain about things and they talk about their you know Their things that are happening that they don't like and they don't want and this is happening And I don't like it and I don't want it, but they didn't they are not realizing that As you focus on that Your brain is like literally creating like a ground for more of that to occur because now you're looking for it in the world And as you said like you're attracting it. 

You're looking for it now It's like as if we go outside and we look around and you know We're just walking and talking what your eyes happen to land on might have to do with like What you're used to noticing If you're someone who's really interested in trees and knows all the names of the different trees You know we could be going on a walk and you're just like looking at all the trees But like I'm I don't know any of the names of the trees and maybe for me You know, I'm just enamored with like colors and so for me I'm just looking at all the colors, but I'm not identifying the trees right?

Just like that We tend to focus on what we're paying attention to what we have the most experience with And that's the same thing when people are focused on All the pain that they've been through in their life They don't realize they're looking out in the world through a lens of pain They're speaking through a voice of pain and they're perpetuating it, right? 

M: That's right. Yeah Yes, and so once that self-awareness is identified Once a person starts to look at How they're living their life? What their core beliefs are about themselves or others? 

What their relationship is with their story and then by extension The other people in their lives From an objective standpoint So much can change because the blinders come off Right and we we illuminate the blind spots. We all have blind spots There's all there's always something in our life that we're unaware of that we do You know, it could be a habit. It could be a way of speaking. It could be a belief That once we shed light on that We can get we can then ask the question Is this Purposeful does this help me does this serve me in some way? 

Is this for my highest good? And there's a piece of self responsibility that's so key To any healing journey, which is that the first step is for us to take responsibility For ourselves and our well-being And there can be little steps, but that's where it has to start 

A: Yeah, right because every day these little micro moments there are choices that we're making that are possibly responding to our inner feeling and sensation or Being kind of guided from the outside through our preprogrammed Like, you know behaviors and how can we start kind of marrying those two things so that it's not Compulsive one way or the other, you know, some people maybe you've had people in your client base like this who are very they call themselves like Meaning that everything's kind of inward, but it doesn't necessarily mean that they're reflecting They're kind of like they're kind of like hiding A little bit. 

They're just sort of withdrawn, but it doesn't mean that they're actually Focused on themselves or focused inward. They're just kind of blocking everything else out You know, what do you think about that when you have, you know, in this kind of conversation about Going inward and being able to become self-aware, you know What are some of the things that people think is They're they're self-aware, but they're not like the little pitfalls that we run 

M: into Definitely, I love what you're saying about somebody who who claims to be an introvert You know has taken that moniker and hung it on to themselves like a little label, you know Hi, my name is and I'm an introvert The first thing that I would say to that person is what would it be like if you didn't use that title for yourself? What other words can we find that describe that state of being an introvert? Once we can start to pull that apart and find other words now we can have a conversation About what's really happening internally for them. That's the self-awareness Just saying I know I can be shy isn't self-awareness Why are you shy? Yeah, how does the shyness protect you from the consequence of interacting with somebody? 

A: Yeah, that's great. I guess come from yes I think you know for me and maybe you whoever's listening can probably think of one for themselves But I know that like I've gone through phases where I just you know Not to my clients or my you know colleagues or like the people I'm working with but when I get home I get into this state of just being so overwhelmed like to my husband and my son. I'm just like oh I'm just I'm just so overwhelmed, you know.

And I've I've had to start kind of picking that apart and asking exactly what you just asked Which I think is such a great question for people to ask themselves. You know, why am I overwhelmed? Right like what in what way have I overdrawn my energy that I'm protecting myself from having to give more of it By being in this state of overwhelmedness, you know, or like someone might be protecting themselves by being shy, right? Like because I've totally done that. I've put on this mask or this kind of false identity of overwhelm When I just don't want to like give anymore Of my energy and maybe I want to be helped a little bit But instead of like directly asking that and saying hey, you know, I've had a really long day giving my energy to everyone Can you make dinner? 

Can you you know? Do the laundry like whatever it is asked for something specific to you know, take a little bit off my plate Instead, I just jump into this being overwhelmed space damsel in distress Right, yeah, I love it. 

M: I love I love yourself honesty and self-awareness And it's so true that I think that I mean the word overwhelmed I think gets overused to describe a state of agitation So when I find myself feeling overwhelmed, I tend to take it down a notch and instead I say I'm feeling a bit whelmed I'd love to feel underwhelmed right now, you know, I start playing with the word Because for two reasons one because it it injects humor into the circumstances now. I'm no longer I'm so overwhelmed. 

It's more of a yeah, I'm feeling kind of well. I guess I've put too much on my plate I'm taking responsibility for it Because everything that is happening I've invited it in by saying yes to too many things Right, and that's a pattern of mine. And so when I recognize my pattern and I realize oh There's that familiar feeling. I'm starting to Feel overwhelmed and then I can't think straight and then I've got this whole list of things that happen All of which prevent me From sitting down and saying enough What can I do to change what I've created? Right and that's the piece of self-awareness. 

What can I do? I can take something off my plate and see how that feels And I wrote this in my newsletter this morning. It was the theme of my newsletter, which was self-care equals self-aware equals adulting Yeah Because there is this point this place of Right. I can't blame anybody else. It's no one else's problem or fault I created this Why did I want to say yes to so many things then you see there's another piece of self-awareness? There's a deeper place where we can go which is How much does it matter to me that other people experience me as being available? 

Or as being capable Right. How much does it matter to me? That I show up as The instructor the coach the practitioner Who could potentially help other people how important is that identification to myself? 

And maybe is that why? I said yes a few too many times in the last few months So then there's an opportunity for me to look at that Then I can take it even deeper and I can say okay. What wound might I be holding on to still? Where at some point in my life I didn't feel enough and something about this current landscape that I'm in is triggering A part of that that hasn't yet had a chance to heal because it had to be this triggering that brought it to the surface 

A: right yeah, yeah, I love that I think it's it's such a chain Right of sort of like clues that lead to the next clue that kind of take you through the mystery of why you You know have these Experiences that I mean I'm sure is anyway everyone's listening Everyone can relate to saying yes to too many things Right and then feeling trapped or feeling well or whatnot right and so but there's always a trail of like how this How we created this how we manifested this? Right and there's an opportunity that you're speaking to as well For a deeper healing to occur when we can recognize the chain of events that created the discontent Right or the Experience we're having that is as our body communicating something needs to change 

M: Yes, or or something simply needs to be seen and acknowledged. Yeah I've had clients come to me to and say look. I don't want to go Back to this experience over here. Like I've talked to death about my husband cheating on me and leaving me I don't want to go there. 

I've healed that I've already healed that And I'm not someone to really stand for much BS from my clients I will call them out on what's their what they're trying to get away with And I will point out that if they have brought this to the table Then clearly it isn't completely healed Nor is there any expectation that any one single event in your life Is going to be completely healed whatever that means because as you grow and evolve And as you gather new tools and new awareness and new experiences Something is going to show up that can be healed from those new experiences that you didn't have 10 years ago when you went through therapy for your husband cheating and leaving you So yes, we're going to go there again, but we're going to go there differently We're going to do something different with it and we're going to follow that trail and we're going to go down that rabbit hole All the way down to where we find the reason why you chose to be with this person in the first place Knowing on some level spiritually emotionally or energetically That this was the sort of person that he was going to become and that you were going to attract to your To your life and that takes it all the way to a core self-responsibility 

A: Yeah, I appreciate also like bringing it back to what you said right before this, that sometimes it's not that something needs to dramatically change, right? Or even if we take this example of like saying no to something, yes, sometimes it is the act of saying no that needs to occur. Sometimes it's just the acknowledgement, right? Sometimes it's just seeing it and being with the feelings underneath of our actions that actually brings a sense of completeness without anything in the environment or anything actually having to change or that we have to write a letter, that we have to say something. Sometimes it's enough to really deeply be present with what has been going on under the surface and that that itself lightens the load. 

M: Yes, absolutely. And I find that in and you may find this too in your healing practice that often those moments of healing those aha moments that clients have or that we have as we go through this journey aren't massive, but they're very profound. And we don't have to retraumatize ourselves. We don't have to go back to a particular event and say, oh, that's where this began. 

That's where this habit came from or that's where this belief came from. And now I'm back in it again. It can be enough for the intention of releasing or giving permission to integrate that experience and whatever the learning of that experience could be and to give it value and to give it purpose, but without retraumatizing ourselves. Right. And so that intention is what is so important in any healing journey, I believe I am intending to lighten my load. I'm intending to heal whatever needs to be healed. There's a mantra that I work with with my clients and my students, which is I am ready, willing and able to do this healing work or I am ready, willing and able to release what no longer serves my highest good. I don't need to know what it is, but I'm ready, willing and able to do it. And then the body goes, yay. Okay, we're gonna just release that now. You can feel lighter. It's all good. 

A: Yeah, I love that. You know, what you just described is declaring consent for the process to occur for the natural healing process that your body is always capable of, but you have to get your body, your, you know, being's consent and so you're speaking it when you give them a declaration like that, that they are ready, willing and able. 

I think that's really beautiful. And I don't see that there's that many practitioners who do that they think just because someone walked in the door that they've completely consented to it, but you're really getting that explicit declaration that that's what they're here to do. And that I think that is also part of the self responsibility piece that you're speaking to. Right. 

M: Absolutely. Yeah. And it's the commitment that you make to yourself and to no one else. If you promise someone else that you're going to get better, you are not going to get better. 

Right. You're not because you're not doing it for yourself. You're doing it to appease someone else's experience of you or their worry for you or their concern about you, whatever the reasons are. You're not doing it for yourself. And therefore, it's not going to go into those deep places that need healing or that want the healing. When you say, I'm doing this for me, I know I need to do this for me. Then the healing can happen. 

A: Yeah, it's beautiful, beautiful awareness to invite people into again, like really, you know, the way you speak and I know you said this kind of like being someone who's willing to call out like the bullshit. 

I see you just very clear in your energy that whoever you work with, right, that they step into their power, they step into their power as a person, and they, they claim that they claim the journey that they're on that they've already been on. And they begin to really take away the, the story that somehow it's for other people or for somebody else that they've been living their life. Right. Because even if it's appeared that way, if you dig deep enough, you realize it's always been for you and about you on some level, right. 

M: Yes, which really speaks to, again, that other piece of the self response was many pieces of the self responsibility. It's the understanding that something has benefited you, no matter what the situation has been or is. And I say that very respectfully and I say it also very clearly that this is from the adult perspective. We're not talking about children. 

We're talking about adults. Anything that happened to you as a child is the responsibility of the adult who inflicted it on you. You were the child. But when you become an adult, when you adult, you do the adulting, now you have a responsibility and I considered a sacred responsibility to be present for the little you who took on those experiences. It's your job now that you're the grown up to take care of all aspects of yourself, including the younger self who may have gone through whatever they went through. So the self responsibility piece is an adult piece. Yes. 

A: And this can continue like this lost, you know, exploited child archetype can continue on, even into our adult years. You know, there were times when I looked back on myself in my early 20s, you know, and it might seem like, oh, this event was like something that happened at this time. But when I actually asked, how old was I internally when this happened? 

What are my behaviors and my thoughts and feelings and the structure of how I responded in that situation? Oh, I was actually like six. That was that was my six year old who was, you know, responding to life this way, you know, and so it's when we start taking the responsibility for those younger selves that we actually kind of, I guess, change the direction that our patterns have been going. Right. Like we get to change like how we've been showing up in our lives that maybe has felt like a victim, like a six year old who doesn't have any control over anything. Right. 

But what you're calling people into is, is that integration of like, well, now I'm the grown up and now I'm going to take responsibility for the way that my life is going. Right. That's amazing. 

That's such beautiful work. I, you know, when we were first starting this conversation and I asked you how I should address you and you just said master healer. You know, a lot of times people give me all their list of modalities and the different things. Right. But I can really tell by speaking to you that you really have blended everything that you've learned into your own embodied presence with this work. And so master healer fits. It's not like you're just doing energy work or you're just doing, you know, like NLP like timeline therapy, like whatever kind of like hashtags we could throw at you. 

So it doesn't quite like cover what I'm actually getting right now in terms of what you offer, what you offer is much more complete than any one of those, you know, sound bites could supply. 

M: Well, thank you for thank you for seeing that I when I use the word mat the words master healer first the firstly these were these were words that were given to me by by clients who had had their experience of working with me and who invited me to allow their experience of me to be that of a master healer. And when I was first offered the that that title, I did not want it. I said no, no, no, that sounds presumptuous and that sounds rather grandiose and I feel like I might be an imposter if I were to call myself that. 

And then I recognized after a repeated times of clients separate clients telling me giving me this feedback reflecting back to me what their experience was of me. My not accepting that felt like an insult to their experience of their healing work with me as their mentor, you know, with me as their hand holder, because I am not the one who does the healing. My clients do the healing. They do it in a container that I can create for them, and a way that I can hold them accountable to the commitment that they've made to themselves that this is the time for them to do some of their healing work. And then we do it together. And when you were speaking earlier about empowerment, and you seeing that I want my clients to be empowered, you're absolutely right. 

I do not want a client coming to me every week for 10 years. If that's what's happening, then I have not done my work properly. Right. 

And I would really have to take a hard look at what I was getting out of that relationship. What felt good to me about the fact that this client was so reliant on me that they had to come and see me every week for 10 years. No, I want them to recognize, acknowledge, and know how incredibly brilliant they are, and how wise they are, how much wisdom they have, how they know themselves better than anybody else does. I am not their expert. They are their expert. Right. 

And so that empowerment piece becomes a cornerstone to the work that I do with a client who is oftentimes incredibly disempowered and has become disempowered through their life's experiences and is holding on to a belief that they are a victim of these experiences, or that these experiences define who they are. Right. And so through a process, and sometimes it does take time. It doesn't take 10 years. It might take three months. It might take six months. It might take every two weeks. It might take once a week. But my purpose is to basically cut through all of the trappings and get to the core as gently but as firmly as possible. 

Because as far as I can see, if a person's come to me for their healing work, they're done with feeling unwell, unhappy, or unhealthy. That's why they've come to see me. So let's get at it. Let's do it. 

A: Yeah, absolutely. That's, that's, yeah, that's a very, like, clear, I wouldn't say expectation, but like it's a very clear, like, container and space that you're offering for a very, like, a person who wants to be very intentional, as you said, is done with what was going on before, who's probably been through the hoops and other things. 

And at this point, it's like the only way out is through and you're ready to hold their hand and go through. Yeah, yeah, exactly. Yeah, I love that. So you also have this incredible deck of Oracle cards. 

Right. And I know that you do some work with cards or with Oracle reading. Can you tell us about the value of that within the works that you do to help people, like, kind of understand why, you know, you might use this within, within your work? 

M: Yes, absolutely. I think it's really important and really valuable as healers that we have tools that we can work with our clients with that demonstrates the legitimacy and the validity of the work that we're doing beyond just the words that we're sharing with one another. Oracle cards and similarly tarot cards, which some people may also be familiar with, are just pieces of paper with images and writing on them. 

That's all there is. I do get a lot of questions about tarot and, you know, should we be working with tarot and is there anything negative about tarot? No, they're just cards. They're just pieces of paper with images on them. And these images in the tarot, for example, these are universal symbols that are recognized around the world by cultures throughout time as having a significance when they show up for us, like the sun or the image of death or a cup of coins. 

You know, these all have, they all have meaning that bypass any cultural differences and instead bring us together with the similarity of the value that we put on those symbols. The Oracle cards are different in that they are, they can be anything. Tarot is very specific to the storyline that is being told through those cards and the symbols on each card, if it's a true tarot deck, are going to be the same no matter what the theme is of the tarot deck. But an Oracle card deck can be any story, any theme, any colors, any number, any messages on the back of them, which makes them incredibly versatile, I find, and so approachable as a tool to use during a healing session to reflect back to the client and to myself. 

The conversation that we've been having because inevitably 99.99% of the time, what shows up on an Oracle card is what we've just been talking about. There is something magical, there is something woohoo about it. I don't know what you want to call it, but you can't make that stuff up. And I've been working with these cards for 40 years, Oracle cards and tarot cards, and this is what I see over and over and over again. And that's amazing, because what it shows to the client is that there is more to this than just what's happening for them. It does bring in a spiritual component, an energetic component. How did the cards know? Well, cards are relating, they're connecting with a vibration that you're putting out. 

A: Yeah, it's like an affirmation. It's affirming that, oh, this is real beyond just what we've been talking about, right? And here's a symbol, here's a sign that it's bigger than just the words we've been saying. 

M: That's right. And I've talked to many naysayers over the years who said, well, but from a psychological standpoint, you pull the card, you see it, and you want it to fit subconsciously into what you've been talking about. And so you've somehow done this. 

Well, maybe. I don't think it matters, quite frankly, if a spirit guide pulls a card out and drops it in your hand, or if your psychology has, you know, your psyche has done it for you. The fact of the matter is, you've been given a meditation tool, something to think about to connect to a concept bigger than yourself, right? 

At a deeper level, which is interesting. So my particular deck is all hearts. And these are hearts shapes that I found in nature. 

That's my nature connection to these cards. So they're rocks on the beach. This is a beautiful big rock that I found on the beach. Looks exactly like a heart. This one is a cloud in the sky. And as I was going through the dissolution of my 23 year marriage, I said to the universe, just show me a sign, a symbol, and when I see it, I'll know that I'm following my heart above all other voices. 

And the universe, to anthropomorphize it somewhat, seems to have a good sense of humor. And so I started seeing hearts everywhere. And as I saw these hearts, I started taking photographs of them, just on my cell phone so that I had them as a reminder that I was trying to stay in as much integrity and high vibration as I could as I was going through this process. And once I came out of that marriage and I was on my own again, well, on my own with my, with my daughters and my healing practice had been part time. It now needed to become full time in order to support us. 

Somebody said, probably another client said, Hey, you know, those hearts you were showing me, you need to put those out there. They need to get out in the world somehow. So start throwing them out on Facebook or something like that. And I didn't have a Facebook account at the time, but I got one so that I could start sharing these hearts. And the response was so amazing. And I, in this case, I would say overwhelming in the best, most positive way of people connecting, seeing hearts again, like we were talking about earlier, you know, what you focus on is what you see. 

So suddenly people were seeing hearts all over the place where they hadn't seen them before, or they'd always collected heart rocks, but they'd never really thought much about it. And so we, we created this energy of connecting in with our hearts. And as I just come through heartbreak, and these hearts had been so instrumental for me and reminding me about my heart health and healing, it made sense to turn them into a healing tool that I could then offer to my clients and others to help them with their hearts. And they're heart healing. 

And the messages that are on the back of all the cards, and then in the, it all comes in a box set, and you get a guidebook and you get a notebook that you can write your card pulls in or your laundry, whatever your drawer lists, whatever it is. It, all of it is to help us connect back to the heart and take a moment in these busy overwhelming days that we have to just sit and ask, what does my heart need? What does my heart need in this moment? What does my heart need today? And then take the message into the day. And so as I'm saying that, I've pulled this card here, which is called embedded heart. 

And this is, this is so, so you know how I said 99.99% of the time. It's all right to hold on to some deep loss, one that is embedded in your heart and won't let go. Allow it to remain until such time as you are ready to release it. Breathe into your healing, giving yourself permission to simply be in it. Wow. Yeah. Yeah. 

A: That's how these were. And that's, I feel like that is relative to like our conversation today about listening in and say no, even though we've said yes already to acknowledge the limitations that we come up against inside of ourselves, even things that are unprocessed or unhealed and that it's okay to not be like, you know, just resolving that as quickly as possible, but to just slow down and be with it. Be with that moment of I don't want to do this today, even though I said I was going to do this today. You know, what can I, what can I do to connect in with this feeling inside, you know, of my resistance. 

Right. I know I have, I have resistance come up to my own. I do somatic movement practice and I do it every day for the most part, but I have days where I'm resistant to it where I don't want to lay down and take care of myself in this way, even though my body's asking for it and I know I'll feel better. And I've gotten to the point where I don't force myself. You know, and I might even go a couple of days without doing it. 

You know, but eventually of course I do end up doing it but I try to find a way to allow myself to sit with whatever I'm holding on to that I'm not ready to let go of. Right. What I'm not that I'm not ready to. And we don't have to, you know, as you said, willing ready enable, we can be really willing ready enable. Right. And we cannot be for a moment. And that's okay too. Absolutely. 

M: Absolutely. And the pressure that we put upon ourselves to do everything in our lives, right the right way correctly on time, all of those structures. I'm giving you permission to not have any of that be what puts what propels you through your day. 

I'm giving myself permission for that as well. And that for me is a huge thing. Because I tend to be a go go go kind of person. 

I'm a Gemini by astrology. I'm a busy mind in many places. I'm always thinking about what's the next thing I can create. 

And I don't very often let myself sit, read a book in the middle of the day. I'm working on that. That's a work in progress. 

We're all the work in progress, right. Absolutely. And that but it's that permission. It's the it's okay. It's okay to not feel good sometimes it's okay to not know what to do next. It's okay to sit with a decision and decide later. 

It's okay to do all of that. It's okay to miss your, your somatic practice or not drink your aloe vera one day, you know, your body will find other ways throughout the day for the healing that it requires. If you allow it to. And it might be that what the piece that needs healing is going to best be healed when you go outside for a walk and you end up having a really beautiful conversation with your neighbor that you wouldn't have had because you were doing your somatic exercises. Right. And that's the healing that you needed that day so that's where the resistance came from your body knowing you're going to receive something different for something specific over here. So don't force it over here. Totally. 

A: Yeah, it is that's very true and like the practice is really being present to and responsive to yourself in the moment. Right. And checking in. Yes. Right. And that's that's what we can start inviting more and more to guide us and I think your cards offer a really beautiful doorway into that. Can you tell people like maybe more about where they could find them or where they could get them if they're interested? 

M: Yes, absolutely. Though the best place right now is through my website. And that's Megan edge dot ca and there's a whole page that shows the cards and explains about how they how they work and then if you go over to my YouTube channel I've got a number of workshops that I've done live recorded workshops on working with Oracle cards and the different ways that you can work with them and integrate them into your day to day and your day to your daily life. You can go to Amazon. I think at the moment though there aren't any box sets available through Amazon and the Kindle that my publisher put together. Don't bother because this is an interactive experience you really want to hold those cards in your hand. 

Yeah, totally. Just as the book which you can read the book my personal story is in the book I share about that relationship that marriage and what was happening and the steps that I took as I was moving through it and how these hearts became so integral so you can certainly buy it. You can buy the Kindle and read the book but you won't get the cards and you won't get the journal if you do, if you do that so. 

A: Oh and we want the cards, the cards. Yeah, the cards are the best one of the best parts I'm sure. Yeah, yeah, to be able to interact with them in that way. 

M: Yeah, yeah, and then I have provided for the listeners at 20% evergreen coupon. So when they purchase it through that link they'll get the 20% off of the cost of the cards in the deck. 

A: Fantastic. Yeah, where else can people find you if they're curious about learning more about like your classes or private sessions? 

M: Yeah, I do private sessions both in person and online so from anywhere in the world people can work with me and they can find all that information on my website. I'm also on LinkedIn under Megan Edge and I'm on YouTube under Megan Edge Healing. I have an Etsy store for all of the beautiful healing products that I make to help people with their journeys as they go in between sessions. These are all products that I make from the medicines that I forage in the forests and on the beaches, the beautiful natural medicines. And that's the Etsy shop which is Megan Edge Botanicals. And then Facebook and Instagram. Wow. 

A: Oh, I love it. We didn't even get to talk about all of the beautiful plant medicine, nature medicine stuff. But yeah, but it's a nice teaser for everybody to just see how many facets you have that you're bringing to the table. It's a bit dizzying. 

M: I've had, I've had business coaches over the years say to me, you've got to niche, you've got to figure out what your niche is, get into the niche. Um, no. It works, that works for some people and I'm some days I'm envious for the person who has that thing that they do and that's the thing that they do and they do it really well and that's beautiful. I love, I love learning and I love researching and I love knowing, and then I love being able to blend it all together and bring it back in a synergistic way as a healing modality. Yeah, I like all the different ways in which we need to heal and can heal. 

A: I think that fits, especially for Gemini that fits. Just allow the winds and the air to just blend it all up. And then when the time is right, the winds will settle, right? And the one clear breeze will blow and you'll know exactly where you're going at that moment. 

M: Right. Exactly. I call it one stop, one stop shop healing, which is that if you're going to come to me and we're going to work on your story, and then I can see places in your body where you're holding that story. Why would I send you to a different practitioner to do the physical and energetic work when I can do that with you with already the depth of knowing what it is that you're working with. And similarly, the foods that you're eating, the essential oils that I know could be beneficial emotionally and physically. I have all that information. I'm happy to make that a part of the holistic healing journey. And it's not to say that I'm an expert in everything and there are people who do many other things other than what I do. 

And if it's an appropriate match, then absolutely. But generally speaking, if instead of seeing six specialists, you could see one who could address the core of what you're experiencing, wouldn't that be better? Just more efficient. 

A: Yeah. Much more efficient. Yeah. Less time consuming, not as many cooks in the kitchen were more intimate, right? Yeah. Yeah. Well, it's wonderful. I just really love this conversation. It's felt so resonant and I really think that what you're up to is very cool, especially the cards. I think that, you know, the story you have around them and the time that it kind of took you to create them. It's going to carry that sort of like depth to the to the Oracle deck and I think that's great. So I'm excited for anybody who's listening, go check out the Oracle deck, get a copy for yourself or for your friends, and start exploring this, this connection inward of checking in with ourselves and really acknowledging where we are at at this moment. And as you said so beautifully, what is my heart need, right? What is my body telling me and what small step or what small amount of presence can I bring to that? 

M: Yeah. And then action. Yeah. This is this is the thing we can take that moment and we can put our hands on our heart and we can drop our head because if we're looking up or thinking if we're looking down we're feeling and we can ask, but does my heart need right now? 

And just take that moment. You'll know. You'll know almost immediately. You'll get a something. But if you don't act on it, if you don't then take the action. Yeah. You're not completing the circuit. There you go. Yeah. Yeah. 

A: Beautiful. Well, thank you again for this conversation. I look forward to continuing to be in touch with you joining your newsletter and yeah. 

M: Lovely me as well. Thank you for the space that you hold for these conversations, Amy. 

A: Oh, well, yeah, my pleasure. It's one of my passions. So we'll talk again soon. 

M: Beautiful. Okay. Take care. 

A: Hey there friends. I hope you enjoyed today's episode. I would love to hear your thoughts. Follow me on Instagram @ Aimee Takaya and send me a DM about this episode. I'd like to thank you for being part of the somatic revolution and if you'd like to support the podcast and help more people learn about somatics consider leaving a review or a rating. And finally, if you'd like to have the experience of relief in your tight hips or back and learn to understand what your body is really saying to you, visit youcanfreeyoursoma.com. I can't wait to share with you what is truly possible. Bye for now.