What Babies Teach Us About Intuitive Wellness (and a Peek Inside Casey's Morning Routine)
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Casey: you ever get tired of trying out wellness practices that excite you at first and then all too quickly, fizzle out, keeping you seeking the next solution for wellness success. I know I'm not alone here. Maybe you feel like a failure for not being able to follow through with someone else's wisdom or advice about how to eat, sleep, move, meditate, be well.
Casey: And just honestly, frankly, survive in this wild world. Or perhaps you've received the call to level up yourself care game. If you're here, you've probably tried on a bunch of different ways to be well, I mean, most smart, ambitious, spiritually curious growth oriented humans. It K the people who tend to be attracted to worthy and well, and the purpose map podcast.
Casey: Most of them. I have done it all. And maybe some of those different ways to be well have worked for you and some [00:01:00] of them haven't welcome back to the purpose map podcast. I'm your host, Casey Burgland and founder of where the end. Well, last week we wrapped up our first worthy and well aligned. Did you catch those episodes?
Casey: We had four of them that we're here to help you feel connected with who you are, what you're here for, so that you can live more in flow, like with more ease and less resistance. I'm curious how you found those episodes today. We're moving into a new series. This is the worthy and well-nourished series.
Casey: If you've worked through our free mini course, your ultimate guide to inner fulfillment and aligned success. You learned about the interconnections among the different areas of the purpose map, framework, health, wealth, relationships, connection to deeper purpose. And you also learned how to use the, let your buddy lead method to help you [00:02:00] feel worthy and well aligned.
Casey: Well-nourished well loved and well. Working one area of the purpose map framework impacts every other area. If you've not yet completed this mini training, you can do that by heading to let your body lead.com forward slash ultimate guide. That guide that training will absolutely compliment what you hear on the purpose map podcast and help you integrate into your life.
Casey: A deeper sense of fulfillment and success. That's actually meaningful to. Now in this very moment, it is. Dark outside. I have a candle lit and I've just moved through some different pieces of my own morning routine. And I haven't quite finished because I had this idea that maybe I'd let you in on how it goes for me, how I tend to.
Casey: I don't know, set myself up to feel worthy. And well-nourished [00:03:00] considering over the next few weeks, we're going to be talking about wellness practices. Self-care um, really honoring what it is that you need to feel good. I thought it might be nice to kind of take you on a little journey with. So before this moment I actually got up and, uh, a cold shower tends to wake me up in the morning.
Casey: So I had a nice little cold shower and put on my robe and lit the candles on my altar. Um, I never really even knew exactly what an altar was until earlier this year. But then I realized that I've kind of had an altar for a really long time, AKA a space in my home that I considered to be sacred that has candles on it and allows me to kind of just like drop in.
Casey: This is the first time I'm speaking this morning. So I'm noticing my, my mouth is a little dry. I almost have to [00:04:00] warm up a bit with you. So bear with me anyway. I liked the candles on my altar and I make myself a beautiful coffee and I sit down and I recently this year started doing, um, energy healing with, uh, a mentor who honestly, I feel like I've been calling in for quite some time.
Casey: Um, she's in her seventies and is. Kind of out of this world, I really, really appreciate and respect her and have been learning so, so much from her about consciousness and energy and healing and using various techniques and practices to support myself feeling in alignment, feeling well, but also, you know, tapping into practices that help me to support my clients in even deeper ways.
Casey: She works a lot with sound as well, sound healing. And so I have actually a crystal singing bowl that I [00:05:00] use in the mornings to get me centered anyway. So I'll light my altar. I, um, will get my coffee. I'll sit down and I will play this singing bowl. Or at least I did that this morning. And then I did a little meditation.
Casey: And let me just tell you that meditating consistently was definitely something that was a should, that, you know, when I was trying to listen to the experts out there, but what you should do in your morning practice, it was one of those things that I wasn't doing, and I felt it was hard to do. And I would beat myself up over until, you know, years passed and suddenly it became.
Casey: Easy. I don't even know what shifted. It was just like, okay. It's time to meditate now. And I started to feel so good through those meditation practices that I just continued to do it. So this morning I've already meditated and I also. I have written in my journal. [00:06:00] Now this might already sound quite extensive for you.
Casey: I'm going to give you permission to not do what I do. I'm just letting you in on my morning routine. So after I meditate, I. Do morning pages, maybe you've heard of it. Maybe you haven't. Uh, Julia Cameron is an incredible woman who wrote the book the artist's way. And one of the core practices in the artist's way is morning pages where you write out stream of consciousness, style three.
Casey: Pages pen to paper. And the purpose of it is to kind of get all the gunk out of your head and onto paper, even if it starts with like, I don't know what to write today, what am I supposed to write? What needs to come out of me? Sometimes I start my morning pages with those questions and then I get into this flow and I write and I write and I write.
Casey: And for me, it's. It kind of becomes another type of meditation and it just makes me feel really centered, really relaxed. [00:07:00] It reminds me of things that I need to do that are most important in the day. And sometimes it just gets, I don't know, thoughts that are gunking up my brain out and onto paper. So I did my morning pages and then I decided to set up.
Casey: My mic and record this episode, because another thing that I sometimes do sometimes don't do is, um, pull a card. And it's so funny because years ago, especially when I was like, you know, I'm fresh out of a science degree and practicing evidence-based nutrition as a dietician, I had this sort of internalized judgment around spiritual practice.
Casey: And I don't know, I've come to really embrace spiritual practice and learn how much value it offers to me in my life. And it took some kind of deconditioning of those thoughts around like what's real and what's valid and what's legit to be able to do. [00:08:00] Not just own it privately for myself in my practices, but also share about it.
Casey: Like I am now on this podcast. So I love using Oracle cards, tarot cards to help instigate some introspection. And I actually do consider them divination tools, like ways of communicating with my, you know, guides or ancestors, or even just. Collective energy. I don't really care how I speak to it. It makes me feel good.
Casey: And if that doesn't resonate with you, even just using cards as a tool to connect with in, with your own intuition, like if that's what it is for you, that is hugely beneficial to pull a card and notice what, seeing the image on the card or reading the description in the card kind of brings about in your own body or in your own system.
Casey: Like that's super [00:09:00] useful, you know? So anyway, I thought I would pull a card with you right now. Right now I'm using this deck. That's called energy by Sandra and Taylor. And I love this deck because it's got quick little descriptions that usually offer me a bit of wisdom that supports my day. So I'm going to give them a little shuffle here.
Casey: And I'm just going to ask a pretty broad question. Like, I don't know what wisdom do I need today? What message is here for me today?
Casey: Okay. I pulled the card. That is the fourth chakra. Archangel Raphael and I pulled it upside down. So this is in reverse and this deck offers up reverse readings. What I noticed when I look at this [00:10:00] card and I've pulled this card, um, recently, so I've been kind of contemplating it a bit lately, but it's got this beautiful kind of green purple tone to it.
Casey: And I mean, an angel, I would assume Archangel Raphael with these like big wings. And I guess what I'm feeling when I look at it is just a sense of, uh, power, this, this image evokes this like power or empowerment that. Comes from, I think the, the heart center there's sort of like a, I don't know how to describe this image, but a light, uh, a sphere, almost like a glow or a seed coming from this Angel's heart center.
Casey: So I pulled it upside down and typically the reverse, uh, has something to do with. Maybe like an imbalance or a [00:11:00] disconnect. Anyway, let's see what the book has to say here.
Casey: All right. So the, the essence of this card is around love, compassion, and self-acceptance, and here's the reversed. This card reversed indicate some blocks in the flow of your heart center energy. Perhaps it's an old sense of abandonment or grief of a broken heart lingering from a long past event, whether it's recent or not.
Casey: This blocked energy stops you from caring for yourself and attracting love from others. And it can create an undercurrent of unhappiness that permeates your life. It's time to heal the old stuck stuff and move on. Don't bypass the pain and pretend it doesn't exist. Instead. Ventilate it in your journal and release it with an intention to be clear, happy, and self-loving [00:12:00] meditate on the increasing light in your heart center.
Casey: And call on Raphael to help bring healing and clarity there. Love yourself and give yourself the approval you used to need from others. The healing will take place and happiness will return. So initially my response or reaction is. Come on. I feel like my heart is open. I feel like there's energy flowing there.
Casey: I love myself. And in part that feels like really true. And this line really stood out to me. Love yourself and give yourself the approval. You used to need from others. I'm, uh, going through a little bit of a transition in terms of like my environment and my living situation and in that transition and realizing how much I need to continue to validate myself and offer myself [00:13:00] recognition, worthiness.
Casey: Um, it's sneaky sometimes. How. I can not even realize it, but be basing my worth and my sense of being loved on like what I'm receiving from other people. And I think that's completely natural and normal for people to do. And for me to do, and. That line is really in alignment with what I've been writing about and been conscious of lately is like, how can I so nurture myself and love myself and treat myself like a queen and like value myself and honor myself enough to, to just like, feel whole and to, of course we need each other, like we need support.
Casey: Um, Maybe it may be [00:14:00] in the next couple of weeks, I'll share more about like self-regulation and co-regulation and the nervous system as pathways to self care, but we need each other for co-regulation for feeling like we can be safe and, and regulate ourselves and be in our bodies. And I think it's really helpful to.
Casey: For me to offer myself what I need while being open to being supported by others. Um, so this card really brings up to me this extra emphasis on something that I've been really doubling down on lately, which is self-love and self-love practices. So there you have it. That's what this card offers me today.
Casey: And I'm curious if that reading was for you as well. Yeah, definitely email me and, or send me a note if you feel like that reading was for you. So thank you for joining me in that part of [00:15:00] my morning practice and. And, you know, the other thing that I'm kind of contemplating right now around how I can feel worthy and malnourished.
Casey: And of course, I think about nourishment in an integrative like broad way. Um, I've been thinking about how I want my movement or exercise routine to shift. I've been a morning workout or for the last few months. And. Truly, it's just been in the last few months, I started strength training. Again, it's felt so amazing and helped me to feel like really strong in many ways, physically, mentally, emotionally, emotionally resilient.
Casey: So it's been offering me so much. Goodness. And lately I've been finding that. The morning time with it being darker for longer in the morning. And also I'm sort of noticing how my creativity is highest in the morning that likes sometimes there's a beautiful opportunity. Like I am right now to create content right after my morning pages, instead of cutting off [00:16:00] that process and going to the gym, for example.
Casey: So I'm right in a transition of trying to tune into myself around what I need in terms of that movement routine. And even if my movement routine needs to shift and change a bit, I've been feeling more. Lately. So I've been doing gentler movement. So. I'm trying out for the next couple of weeks, I'm letting myself jump right into creating content after my morning routine, instead of going to the gym and then exercising a little later in the day and we'll see how it goes.
Casey: I don't know how it's going to work. Sometimes I have a hard time moving after I've eaten food. So the morning time works nice, nicely, because I like to work out on an empty stomach, but, um, we'll see how it goes. Keep you posted. Anyway, I am sharing this right now. Not because I think you should do the same as me.
Casey: In fact, I don't think you should do the same as me in terms of wellness practices, but rather to show you how [00:17:00] I let my body lead and how I guide my own nourishment practices from a place of tuning into myself, rather than following someone else's wisdom and. I guess also to show you that, you know, we think about how we want to adapt sustainable wellness practices or adopt sustainable wellness practices.
Casey: And like, what does that even mean to have sustainable practices? Because I actually think that my practices need to change, um, seasonal. You know, and that seems to be a helpful cadence for me, is to reflect on what changes need to be, make, be made quarterly. So for me, sustainability is being able to, uh, have some space for exploration or playing in the sandbox or, and discovering what works for me and then building a habit or routine around it that will last.
Casey: [00:18:00] Two three months before I tweak it again. That's what that means to me. And I suppose through this series, my hope is that you feel inspired to reverse the conditioning that you may be are carrying from. Diet culture and toxic wellness culture, and rather empower yourself to find something that works for you, you know, to let your body lead you to the wellness practices.
Casey: The self-care practices is self love, self nourishment practices that actually work for you. There are. Outside sources telling you how to eat, sleep, move, meditate, start your morning routine. And I'm definitely not here to add to that pile of sheds more so to remind you that you already know, you know, who reminds me that I already know babies in my life.
Casey: I think about my [00:19:00] nephews, each of my nephews, when they were born, reminded me. Various things about how to take care of myself. Do you have any babies in your life? Any like sweet little things, maybe have a child of your own, um, or maybe you are, and on turn uncle, if you haven't baby in your life, there's so much you can learn from that baby.
Casey: I had this beautiful opportunity this past summer to spend a month with. Or close to family in Saskatchewan, my home province, where all my family lives, my brother and his wife brought a new baby boy into the world. And he is such a little sweetie. And I got to live in an apartment above them and be near them in the first few weeks of my nephew's life.
Casey: And it was so beautiful to realize again, How [00:20:00] much I learn from babies and how much my nephew is a teacher healer guide for me, if you have babies near or Abbey near, I just invite, you know, watch the baby and learn from them. I would spend so much time with, you know, let's call him w I, uh, I'm really mindful to not share too much about children that aren't my own and, you know, share their identities in a public way.
Casey: Anyway. Um, when I would hold w. And he would get stressed and, uh, cry and dysregulated, you know, sometimes it's, it's wild. The sounds that can come out of a baby's mouth. Um, he would actually remind me that [00:21:00] I was that way too. At one point, like I too was a baby and. When I got stressed and anxious and dysregulated, even while I was there in different moments, just spending that time with him while he was stressed, reminded me how vulnerable he.
Casey: Is, and in some ways how vulnerable I am, how that like little BB parts still lives within me. And I would just notice myself caring for w with a sort of tenderness. Like, I mean, everyone in my family did that, you know, his parents would just, you know, were there for him, are there for him and, and. Treat him with such a care because he's a baby, you know, and I mean, I hope you're following along here in some ways it made me remember that I too, um, vulnerable and [00:22:00] need to be treated with softness and sweetness, especially when I'm stressed and anxious and dysregulated.
Casey: You know, BBW reminded me about compassion. I thought to myself in moments that were hard for me while I was back home around family, like how could I treat myself? Like I would my nephew, how could I approach myself with a sort of tenderness and care that I would, my nephew babies are beautiful. Teachers of compassion.
Casey: He also taught me a lot about food and intuitive eating, you know, a baby roots for milk or cries when they're hungry and they stop when their fault it's like, They're born with this intuitive, innate knowing about how to be nourished with food. Like they're [00:23:00] not following some outside diet plan to teach them how to eat.
Casey: And yes, of course there might be certain circumstances that are challenging as it relates to infant feeding. I'm no expert here. I'm not a parent. I really don't know anything about this. I just know about my own experience and that's what I'm sharing. But when I would witness him ask for milk when he was hungry and then stop when he was full.
Casey: It reminded me that, oh yeah. I used to do that too. Like I used to have an instinct or an intuition around how and how much to eat. Like what if that's still in me intuitive eating. We all have this innate ability to attune to our bodies and listen to our bodies as it relates to eating. But I think we sometimes forget, you know, it's easy to almost outsource power to a plan.
Casey: That's not [00:24:00] meant for us rather than trusting our own bodies to tell us how to eat little w w reminded me of this, that oh yeah. I can be an intuitive eater too. When he was fed and his diaper was changed and, you know, he was still fussy. I learned through trial and error that taking him outside really helped him set up.
Casey: And like bouncing him or rocking him or tapping him on the bum really helped him settle. And then I'd realize like, oh my goodness, my nervous system works the same way when I've eaten, when I'm fed and I'm still fussy, going outside really helps swinging on a swing or rocking myself is soothing. Just like it is for my baby nephew.
Casey: And you know [00:25:00] what I think about how sometimes in my own life, as an adult, when I just can't seem to do it on my own, like I'm so dysregulated, I'm stressed. I'm not feeling good. I haven't slept enough. I just think that the world is going to end. I get overwhelmed by the state of things. When I can't manage on my own, I need.
Casey: Someone else just like my baby nephew sometimes just needs to be held and cuddled, you know, there were moments when I was with him where I realized that if I deepened my breath and I regulated my own system, he too would settle almost like he would mirror my energy. And then I remembered, oh yeah, this is how co-regulation works.
Casey: Oh yeah. I need this for myself. Sometimes. Sometimes when I can't handle it on my own for me to feel well, [00:26:00] I need my friends or a therapist or a coach or communities that can help me co-regulate because I'm not meant to do it alone. Babies are incredible teachers. And specifically, I found that my time in Saskatchewan, near my nephew and when my other nephews were born and new and I would spend time with them, I felt the same way.
Casey: It taught me and continues to teach me that there's this remembering, there's this instinctual sort of embodied knowing of what I need, that I completely forget it, but when I don't do it, Yeah, I need to be reminded how to let my body lead. Sometimes. Oftentimes I need to be reminded to not outsource my power to other people's systems or plans around wellness, but rather to tune into myself and [00:27:00] my own needs.
Casey: And I think my baby nephews remind me of this. I just felt called to share that story, because my hope through this series is that your nourishment, your self-care self-love sense of wellness, the practices that you adopt or are inspired to do, perhaps through listening, come from a deep place of self love, like come from a place of self-knowing and self awareness.
Casey: In a couple of weeks, I'm going to share more about the, how, the, how of letting your body lead the how of discovering what wellness practices will work for you. The how of co-regulation. And self-regulation, I might even put my teacher hat on a little bit, um, and, and share with you. [00:28:00] Exactly how you can stop outsourcing your power and start tuning in and letting that inner awareness guide how you treat yourself.
Casey: And for now, I really wanted to introduce this topic by letting you in on my morning routine and sharing this little story about the lessons I learned from my baby now. As we wrap up, I invite you to over the next couple of weeks, start to take note of the things that you're doing or not doing, and feeling like guilty or shameful around because those things aren't even really aligned for you.
Casey: What I mean by this, a little hint is like, just notice over the next couple of weeks where you're should. As they relate to wellness practices. When you say should, like, I should be doing that often, it indicates where you've sort of taken on someone [00:29:00] else's wisdom, or you've internalized a message from culture, but it's not actually working for you.
Casey: And I invite you over the next couple of weeks to give yourself permission, to stop trying to follow that external wisdom and begin to tune into your own. Believe me, when I say that you have your own inner wisdom, that can guide the way that you eat, move, sleep, meditate. Be well, et cetera. Baby's habit.
Casey: And you were once a baby. So you have it. Like I said earlier, I'll be sharing more about the how, in terms of letting your body lead and helping you to feel where the amount of nourished in the next couple of weeks. In the meantime, having an understanding of the purpose map framework and the light, your body lead method will be super supportive on your journey.
Casey: You can work through our free mini training called your ultimate guide to inner [00:30:00] fulfillment and aligned [email protected] forward slash ultimate guide. That will give you a definite sort of like framework and insight that will support how you integrate the wisdom from this podcast and the lessons that we share here and through our company.
Casey: I'm so, so grateful for you being here today. And I can't wait for you to be part of this incredible journey. Next week, we have a wonderful human coming on to talk about different dimensions of wellness. And she's going to share about just some of the ways in which she's helped herself and others assess their sense of wellness.
Casey: And self-care. And then how they adopt in a holistic and integrative way, different practices that really help to support and serve them. So you're going to love that episode and then more to come after that. [00:31:00] All right. Take really good care. And I can't wait to talk with you soon. Bye bye.
