Miss Liz Serves Laura Yates The Hummingbird Life

I'm over here. Have a moment with me. My name is Miss Lizzie. I don't ever smoke the dizzy, but we can always share some dizzies.

It's just a cup in time. This song doesn't have to run. Like all of us not every moment we can be feeling fine.

I want to share a moment just a second if you will. Maybe even a cup of thrill.

We could share this performance. It's tea time comes here with me.

Well, welcome guys. We are back in the house and it is evening tea time. But where we're heading today, we're going to Singapore and it is morning over there. That is right. We are traveling today.

So I just want to thank everybody for joining me this afternoon with Anne. We have an incredible tea time and we talked about acting and all of that.

We have a lot of stuff and getting bold in our lives as moms. You know, sometimes we all put the focus on the children and then we forget about ourselves, right? Well, we have dreams and goals tool.

So we're going to continue that conversation tonight with Laura Yates and we're going to be serving her tea and her tea tonight that we are serving is sharing the nectar of life, nature lover and joy in nighter.

That is the TV or serene tonight into night's house. But before we get started, you guys know how misles roles go over to all those platforms, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, shop, Spotify, Shopify. Here we go again.

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They do make a difference for the guests and for anybody that resonates with the topic. So let's get started with this clamor and then a beautiful intro and then we're going to get Laura in here and we're going to serve some tea with you guys this up this evening and this morning. It's in the form.

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Tea time of misles is serving truth and awareness one cup at a time.

Welcome to tea time with misles where we slow down breathe deeper and return to what is real today's guest brings us into the body into the heart and into the truth of what it means to come back to ourselves after life polls us away.

Please join me in welcoming Laura Yates founder of the hummingbird life facilitator spaceholder and guide for transformation through lived experience.

Laura's journey began in a high performance corporate world that the on the outside looked successful but on the inside felt disconnected through burnout anxiety and a deep unraveling she chose a different path.

One rooted in embodiment nervous system healing and community from building global moments experience like so word dance gatherings to leading retreats and ceremonies around the world.

Laura now creates space where people can reconnect with their bodies release what they have been holding and return to a sense of aliveness her work reminds us that healing is not something we think.

Our way through it is something we feel move and breathe our ways into so grab your cup and settle in today's tea time is about coming home to yourself one breath at a time let me get Laura Yates in here and let's spill some tea.

Welcome Laura.

Hi Liz thank you thank you good evening afternoon evening afternoon morning where are we are in the world right.

We'll learn to start with who is Laura as a little girl and who is Laura now.

Wow Laura's a little girl actually is quite similar to the Laura now before societal influences so barefoot usually on the grass I am a little farm girl I grew up on an avocado farm in South Africa in a rural area in South Africa and I think part of that still lives in me today.

I am a very supportive parents but an alcoholic father which did influence my sense of safety in childhood but yeah this tiny little place in South Africa is has North Africa itself has a very special place in my heart.

So but I've always been outdoors and always dancing and always dressing up actually that was definitely as a half of the kids photos of me are dressing up and dancing and definitely some other bad dogs.

And you carried that on to who you are today right the dancing and playfulness yeah.

So Laura if you could explain yourself in three words today what would you how would you describe yourself.

Contrasting.

Joyful.

And.

We were.

Woo.

Yeah.

I like that.

You know this is how we break the ice we get the woo woo out there.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Just.

Claim it.

Let's just claim it right.

That's the beat of the music.

Laura I want to get into your TV before we get a couple of people that are coming in with questions.

The tea that you shared with me tonight is sharing the nectar of life nature lover and joy in nature.

Tell me why you gave me that as your tea.

Um I think for me I've always seen a curiosity in life and the more curious we are the more we can find the how I would call the sweet nectar of life.

And it's in the little things not in the big things not in the I'll be happy when all of these.

You know when I when I tickle these boxes but actually in the tiny little things which is why I actually have a.

The hummingbird life is my business name and my profile.

It's because the hummingbird does fly from flower to flower and then shares the sweet nectar of life with people and part of that really is around like.

What is the sweet nectar for us and how do we find our own in a joy spark.

Because joy is something that's different for each and every one of us but it's about breaking down all those societal norms and all those beliefs and can we come back to.

To finding the beauty that is within ourselves because the beauty we see around us the sweetness we see around us especially in nature.

The best way to connect to the sweetness is is actually a mirror of what's inside us absolutely yeah.

Laura is your sound full blast on your end let me check.

We just have like a little echoing going on yeah I could hear that.

I thought it was a bunch of hummingbirds.

It's now full blast is that better yes that's better.

Oh we still have like a little echo what's going on over there.

We didn't have that before we went live I wonder what's going on.

We quickly changed something on my side the DB is that is that making any difference.

No it's still like a little winding sound.

Does that help.

Oh that's a little bit better there we go.

So Laura let's get into the hummingbird way how do you got the name.

Sorry I missed the first part you said how did I get the name of the hummingbird life yes.

So actually it was I've always been a person that loves trying new things and so as a child it was oh let me learn piano for a year.

Let me do gymnastics for two years and then let me learn something else and something else.

And I always it was something negative it was why can't you stick to one thing.

And I used to still remember this quite clearly is probably about 10 years ago now a friend of mine.

We were talking about ADHD and whether this is you know maybe that's what I've got.

This echo is quite crazy isn't it.

Yeah it's kind of like a really bunch of birds tweeting over here.

Is that making any difference?

That does and then it comes back.

Oh now I hear myself.

I clicked on echo cancellation.

I can hear me on your side.

Oh no okay let's try that.

There we go.

Oh I can still hear myself.

Okay let's try that.

We're just having a couple of issues.

Is that okay is that better?

Can you hear me?

I can.

And I don't hear myself.

Okay I think that's better.

So yes the hangbird a friend of mine Pam.

We were always talking about how we don't have this.

Well how different it is that I'm like I'm always interested in so many different things.

And how it was seen as something negative.

And oh well I can't you stick to one thing.

And so she sent me actually a podcast of Elizabeth Gilbert and Oprah Winfrey.

And they were talking about Jack Hammers and hummingbirds.

And Elizabeth Gilbert said that some people in the world will know that they they know their purpose.

They know they they know what they want.

And so for example like her she's a writer and she said so she just goes.

Goes for it.

Oh let's try and echo.

But I'm going to do Laura's I'm going to get you to sign out and sign back in and see if that helps.

Okay perfect let's give that a best.

So Laura will be right back and we will continue the conversation.

And I do see the questions that are coming in.

So I will get those out to Laura as soon as she comes back.

We just want to make sure that it's a good recording.

So that you guys enjoyed the live episode as well.

Because with the high pitch wine.

I'm sure it is driving some of you guys crazy like it was us.

So tonight we are talking with Laura Yase and she's coming in from Singapore.

And she's talking about the hummingbird life and her journey and that as well.

Uh some retreats that she has some good stuff all of that good stuff.

If you check out her website at the hummingbirdlife.com you can check out and see what she has coming up.

Uh tonight we're also going to be talking about what she offers for services.

We've already spoken about her tea a little bit.

So her tea tonight is sharing a nectar of life nature lover and joyy nighter.

That is the seed that we are serving tonight in the house for all you guys that are tuning in for the first time.

If you haven't followed Miss Liz's YouTube channel give that a good quick.

Subscribe and give that a follow get past these tea times out because they do make a difference for the guest and for people that are listening to for these conversations because each conversation brings a different type of tea.

If you guys have any questions or anything and you'd like to find out more.

You can follow Miss Liz as you see across the bottom of the screen.

I have my website there as well.

And we're just going to pop Laura back in here and we're going to continue where we left off.

We're just going to make sure she's signing on its early morning over there in Singapore.

So it could be birds in the background.

We're not sure what's going on, but we're going to try and make this as enjoyable as we can for all of you guys that are tuning in.

I do appreciate all of you new tuners that are tuning in and following Miss Liz without you guys that could not do this.

So thank you for the support.

And thank you for the comments because they do help.

I will pop up those questions as soon as Laura gets back in here and we will continue with this tea.

Some of the retreats that we're going to be talking about tonight are going to be in Sri Lanka, Gastonbury and South Africa.

So we're going to be talking about those as well.

Let me get Laura in here.

Laura is that better for you?

Much better.

Is that better for you?

That is really good for me now.

Okay.

Sorry about that.

Sometimes we have technical issues and I just try to get you guys in and out and back in so we can have a good conversation.

So while you were gone, we had a couple of questions that came in for you, Laura.

So we'll get those out to you.

I'm just going to pop up this first one and it said, how did Laura first realize she was experiencing burnout?

So I was in the corporate role.

I was an investment banker.

I'm actually a chartered accountant by a profession.

And the first really was my physical body.

I started.

I actually lost a lot of weight, which was a bonus, but not a cool way.

But the big thing was my anxiety level increased significantly.

And my behavior changed at work.

I just actually could not function anymore.

The more I slept and thought I was tired, so I slept, I woke up tired.

I, um, yeah, my, my, my entire demeanor change.

And I think the biggest thing was this level of exhaustion that just wouldn't go away with sleep.

And my health started to take, um, take a, take a real toll.

And the reason, and I think with that was just, I am quite a perfectionist and an atar personality.

And I put a lot of pressure on myself at work.

And an investment bank is often that.

And, um, so the first almost layer of burnout that I had read.

I've had numerous burnouts.

But, um, learned my lesson the hard way.

Um, but I think that was, yeah, the first was these physical symptoms.

And for me, the biggest, the biggest highlight was, um,

continuing to sleep and still waking up tired and still being exhausted.

That was probably like the biggest trigger for me.

Um, yeah, and my behavior, my behavior changed.

So the next question we have for you to come in is, what was the turning point that changed everything for you?

I've had so many, so many turning points.

Um, but honestly, I almost think my mental health, um, anxiety and burnout and depression were, um, my, my biggest ways of actually finally taking it, taking a change.

And, um, in 20, I've, I'd suffered from my mental health issues and anxiety for quite a long time.

And what I always did is I would struggle with it and then I would pull myself away.

Um, and I'd come back to yoga or work, you know, some way of actually helping myself, but they were like little plugins.

And in 2013, I ended up in the psychiatric hospital for, for three weeks with serious anxiety, burnout and depression.

I was suicidal, um, and yeah, it was not, it was not a good place.

Um, actually, but the clinic was really, really good for me.

And that was, um, that was a big turning point. I realized something had to change.

So I really changed a lot in my career and my lifestyle.

And then saying that, again, in 2018, I actually was, I was relying on alcohol a lot.

So even then, 2013, I had that sex, that burnout got into, it was a turning point for me, but almost not enough.

I just got pumped with medication and misdiagnosed with bipolar.

When meantime, that wasn't, that wasn't what I, what I had.

Um, and eventually I then, um, about four years later, I was relying on alcohol plus a lot of medication.

And I actually, um, was driving on a very rural road and I had a drunken driving car accident.

And that was the biggest turning point.

So, yeah, the good thing was I was alone and, but it was the bigger, my, that realization,

the next that, when I was lying in bed the next day, my thought was, if I had been on a public road, I could have killed myself.

I could have killed someone else. That was like my, and I was like, I could never do, like, I could never be responsible for something.

But my biggest thought, my next thought was, but why didn't I die?

Why, why am I still alive?

And that was my biggest turning point, my point of sobriety, but also of literally, I felt like it was a universe smacking me on the head,

um, in a car accident to actually go, something has to change.

And, and that's when I probably think, yeah, most of the transformation happened after that.

Real kick in the butt.

So, Laura, did you find that alcohol was something that you could turn to because you had mentioned your father was an alcoholic?

Is it because of the upbringing?

Yeah, I think it was interesting. I mean, I think my siblings are quite fine.

I'm the dysfunctional one.

But, um, I mean, it is, there is a genetic, um, part in it, but, um, I, I have got that kind of addictive personality.

And for me, it was two reasons that I probably drank.

One was social anxiety. I was very misaligned in my corporate career.

And so just being in those, like, if it was a networking event or something like that, I felt I needed a crutch in order for people to see the happy me.

And, um, and so that was one of my crutches because I just, I felt so misaligned, even talking to some of the people there, like these are not my people.

That and the influence of seeing, like, um, yeah, I definitely think, um, my dad had an influence on me going, okay, well, that is a way to cope.

And, and that, and so it was, it was a real place to fall back, something to fall back on with me.

And also, I think just that the, the, it was really difficult when I actually did become sober because most of the people we hang around with, I mean, it's not just South Africans, but there are a lot of people that we drink.

The drinking culture can be big, especially, I think, in my generation, I'm almost 46.

And it's, for us, it was like, well, why aren't you drinking or you, uh, pregnant?

Um, what's wrong? Why are you still not drinking?

So, yeah, unfortunately, I think it was, it was a big realization for me to go, okay, this is her, there is a hereditary part.

But also, I, uh, I can't blame that I also have my own, uh, yeah, my own reasons for drinking.

And I needed to acknowledge those things.

Well, in society tells us, right, if we're not party, we're not drinking, we're not doing drugs, we're not, we're a party pooper, right?

We're not, we're not, we're not, we're not, we're not a tea to us.

We, we like to ruin the party, right?

right? Because we're sober. We would like a glass of pop instead of a glass of wine.

You know, I really wish society would change the way that it

proceeds having a good time. Besides getting drunk or getting, you know, having drugs or

anything like that. And they are ways. They are so many ways to have a good time without it.

I feel like I'm more joyful and happy now than I ever was.

That goes on to the question that we just had. And it came in and it says,

what does joy as a practice look like dearly for you, Laura?

Oh yeah, Olivia. Oh, that's a great question.

For me, my answer always comes down to nature, to be honest.

And one of my biggest things, joy as a practice for me is for one, having a dance party,

even if it's like a one song dance party in my own home and in my bedroom.

For me, music and whatever kind of music floats your boat.

Music and movement are two of the most healing practices that any of us can,

any of us can actually connect to. And it's whatever movement works.

I mean, dance, even if we can't dance, it might be just rolling around on the floor or swaying

on our, you know, on two feet. And added to that, I find just being outdoors and noticing

the little things in nature with the curiosity of a child is one of the most joyful things

because I'm just like, wow, isn't that little spiral incredible or look at that tiny bird as we

come into spring? These things, it's seeing, seeing nature as something which it is so miraculous.

But so obvious and it's right in front of us, right? It's a simple things, right?

It's right in front of us, but we just don't pay attention. Those are eyes to it, right?

Yeah. And it's not, and I think sorry, one more thing is just that it's, it's not even,

I think we're always looking for joy outside of ourselves.

And that's it. No one else can give it to us. No one else, I think maybe the only external

thing is nature, but actually nature, we are nature. And it's actually about finding,

finding that within ourselves rather than finding someone else or something else.

Even for me, like alcohol to find the joy. Yeah.

What kind of goes into this question that came in from Richard, how do you start reconnecting with yourself?

Breath, honestly, I think one mindfulness meditation was probably one of my biggest

ways of coming back to myself. And the reason was I learnt the neuroscience behind it. So it wasn't

all just woo-woo. It was actually like, oh, there's scientific proof around this. And so for me,

I really think it is about giving yourself time and space. And that might mean whether it is

a meditation or even just going to sit under a tree. And the hardest thing is the moment we give

ourselves time and space, we then have to sit with our feelings. And that's when most of us would

rather stay busy because the moment we are silent and quiet, everything comes up in our mind.

And for me, I'm not saying meditation is the key for everyone, but it's a prime example

of people say to me, but isn't meditation, aren't you supposed to still your mind? And I'm saying,

no, the mind is meant to be busy. That's a misconception. But if we can just be the witnesses of that,

rather than jumping down it and getting taken down this rabbit hole of what our thoughts are,

oh, our feelings, what if we could just sit and hold ourselves back a little child? Yeah,

just sit and play. Play. And again, that's why I asked that question when we first started,

right? Who you were as a little girl and who you are now? And you brought it together.

Same as this afternoon's conversation, we're still one. We're just aging. We're just finding

the wisdom, finding new tools and tips to get through life like everyone else. I want to talk to you

about some of the services that you offer and not as well, Laura, because I went and did my homework.

And I want to talk about this dancing. I want to talk about the dance. Where did I find?

We're in my nose here. What do we got here? Oh, the deep dance journey. What is that about?

Oh, it's so much fun. So actually, I can't take all the credit for this. I have two amazing

friends in South Africa who created something called Secret Sunrise. And the idea was, so definitely

please look them up. And they were one of the primary ways of me finding myself back to music and

music movement. And what we did was we used wireless headsets and we were dance sober at Sunrise.

And out of nature, because we're using wireless headsets, we could be anywhere in the outdoors.

And from that, so I actually started something called Secret Sunrise. I brought it over to Singapore.

And the deep dance journeys are a culmination of what I learned from them, but also my 20 years of

facilitation and dance in my own way. But the idea is simple is we are made to move. We are

made to be in nature. And music is one of the best medicines that we can have. And so I take people,

I use wireless headsets. And the main reason is because I do it outdoors. And that just in itself

is healing. We can do it in the trees. And whether it's Sunrise Sunset, middle of the day,

at night under the full moon. And these deep dance journeys is essentially I curate a playlist.

And I facilitate. So I take people on this beautiful journey. And we actually start by

sitting quietly or lying down on the lawn, looking up at the stars, if it's at night,

and really just connecting them back to our breath and to ourselves. And I usually take people

through an imaginative journey. And as we go through, it's, can we bring this imagination of,

oh, you're walking through a forest. And we start bringing in the curiosity and imagination of a

child into our own physical movements. And the way I facilitate then is to bring those two together

that we start actually physically moving our bodies. As we go through this journey. And also part

of, if you think of the journey of life, we're always going to have some ups and downs. So in this

dance journey, there will be music available for us to have some sacred rage and scream and shout.

The wonderful thing is you've got headsets on and you can sing out loud and no one else around you

is hearing you. And so there's that idea of let's give space for our feelings to be felt.

And let's, if we want to cry, let's cry, let's, and the music and the movement and being in nature

helps to bring that up. It helps to just, I mean, that's what the healing comes. And then eventually,

we come down into, once we can release what is what's holding us like this, that's when we find

the joy and the beauty. And once we let go of those emotions and actually let them flow,

we can come back to our own hearts. And that's actually what the entire deep journey is about.

And then we come back to a place of stillness, but in a very different way from the way we started.

And that's a really, just naturally, we automatically come back to a place of deep gratitude

for ourselves and just being in nature. So, yeah, music, movement, and nature, I think,

three of the most powerful, powerful medicines in the world. Absolutely. And when I seen that,

I was just like, and then you're explaining in the sunrise, like, that's a beautiful way to start

your day, right? Absolutely. And wriggle in there and the movement and close your eyes, feel the music.

You know, yeah, before you have a cup of coffee, like, just get out of here.

The thing is, the sun rises is, they're such a liminal space. And they really is this magic in

that pause between dark and light. So, even it's so symbolic of, as we moving from dark to light

and embracing both our shadow and our light side. So, there's so much symbolism in the sunrise

and the sunset, but as an early bird, I feel like this, because also we haven't had the day to

to get the thoughts in and the chaos. We're waking up and we step into ourselves and we're still a

little bit in that. Alpha, I'm never know, the brainwaves, you know. Alpha, or the rhyme,

already call it the rhyme. Yeah. We're still a little bit in that and we ease into it slowly.

One of those. Yeah. We have some more questions coming in the studio. I just want to get those

out to you. When inspired to hummingbird live concept? So, actually, before we were having the

take-ins. Birds were coming in and the nowhere coming in. So, the hummingbird basically came when

a friend of mine sent me this podcast and Elizabeth Gilbert was like, they are jackhammers in the

world and they are hummingbirds. And she said, that jackhammers are like, I know my purpose. So, she

said, I'm a writer, blah, blah, blah, blah. You know, I will focus on being a writer for my entire life.

And then she said, and then she realised there are hummingbirds. There are people that don't

stick to one thing and they fly like a hummingbird from flower to flower, sharing the sweet nectar of

love. And for me, it was permission. I went, oh, called my friend, I'm like, I'm having

bird, there's nothing wrong with me. I was like, oh, and then I delve deeper. So, for me, I was just,

oh, a permission to be me. I've permission to try new things and not feel guilty about it or feel

like there's something wrong with jumping from one thing to another. And it's purely because I'm

excited to live on this life, in this earth. And there are so many things to try. Why would we stick

to one thing when there's so many things to try in the world? And then evolved into I started

looking more ironically, at the same time, I just got back from Costa Rica and had experienced

hummingbirds for the first time in my life because we don't have them in South Africa or in Singapore.

And so, I then delve deeper into like the spirit animal of the hummingbird. And there were these

little things like the hummingbird is tiny, tiny. And so am I. And I've always, that's always been

something that has, I've seen as something that goes against me. Oh, Laura, you're so little.

Dynamite comes in small packages. All of these words that, you know, and

and and and. And it's tiny little hummingbird. You know, how fierce and resilient they are.

And I was like, damn, I can, this is amazing. It's just the hummingbird, yeah, and layers and layers

she flies from from the north to the south of America and trust in nature to sustain her.

And she has this deep, deep trust in nature, and the trust in herself, these tiny little

wings, and she's fierce, she's fierce, but beautiful, and she has the sweet, sweet nectar

of life.

And I was just, yeah, so many layers of, so the hummingbird leopard actually started as

the dance of the hummingbird, and which, you know, it just meant a lot for me, and it started

as a blog, and in my travels, in my spiritual travels, particularly to India and some other

places, I would just write down my thoughts and feelings, and the blog is still called

the dance of the hummingbird.

I don't write so much anymore, to be honest.

But for me, the hummingbird just encapsulates everything, permission to be me, in all aspects.

Yeah.

You know, we're going to look at hummingbirds differently after tonight's tea time.

Yes.

The hummingbird gave permission to be yourself, you know, and they come in so many different

colors and flows, and they change when they move, like the movement and the body.

And I can see how that could be like a dance, the bird dancing.

Yeah.

And there's even this idea of stillness and motion.

They sit there, and they do this, but they can do so still.

And so with the chaos of the world around us, can we, can we find our own stillness?

They can teach us so much.

So much.

Absolutely.

It kind of goes into the question that just came in from Rochelle.

How do you stay consistent with mindfulness practices?

Oh, I'll be honest with you.

It's a struggle for me.

So even as someone who teaches it, I often, I'm like, whoa, I really need to practice what

I preach more.

It is tricky because life gets away with us.

But one of my meditation teachers always said, if you don't have time for meditation,

it means you need more than 10 minutes.

But if you have time, you only need five minutes.

And this is true.

Honestly, it's really is about, I put some time in my diary every day.

And one thing my husband and I actually do is, in the morning, when we're having our

cup of tea, we use an app called Inside Timer, and actually some of my recordings are on

there.

Yeah, it's really great.

It's a free app.

There is a premium version, but it's got so many mindfulness practices, and you can

even choose morning motivation, or help me to sleep, all of these different things.

And my recordings are on there, but we don't listen to mine because my husband and I can't

hear my voice in a meditation.

This one.

I can't do it.

Yeah, she's nagging at me already, I don't need to listen to her in my meditation.

But honestly, we just, we go five minutes, like choose a five or ten minute meditation,

while the tea is still a little bit too hot to drink, we stay in bed, and we just sit

up, and we do that for five minutes.

And I would say, you know, it doesn't have to be some elaborate thing.

It's even, can your meditation be, can you walk without looking at your phone, or listening

to music?

Can you just go for a walk?

Just, that's already a mindfulness practice.

Mindfulness practices really are just about being present in that moment and seeing things

without judgment.

So I would say, if it's a little thing that you can do by taking a five minute break,

and going to sit under a tree, but the, how I stay consistent, honestly, it's a discipline.

I have changed the word from discipline to devotion, and it's about, yeah, and it can

be because discipline for me then makes me want to be rebellious and not, and go against

it.

Whereas devotion, and I'm like, devotion only to myself, I'm like, can I devote five minutes

to myself today?

And it's part of my self-care, and just being kind to myself, I know I'm a better person

if I'm practicing mindfulness, so it's being kind to myself, and in return, I'm going

to be a nicer person to everyone else that I meet in the world.

Yeah, but it's changing.

Yeah, and it kind of goes into the next question that came in from Ariel.

How do you balance work in the inner peace?

You know what I've, I've decided.

Do you balance in the inner peace?

Are you like, the scale's here, the scale's there.

This is exactly, so actually I, my theory in the world, is that there's no such thing

as balance, but we have harmony, and unfortunately it is, if you think of a, of a, of a,

these things called seasaw, yeah, you know, when is the, if you are sitting, if you and

someone else are sitting on the seasaw, the seasaw even on its own will never just stay

like this.

Always like this, right?

And that is life, so can we go about seeing, just being more compassionate with ourselves,

and actually seeing that life, like the waves, that we have our ebbs and floats.

If we can have these tiny little moments, then yes, maybe we have a little bit more harmony

on a weekend, or when we're on holiday, and we, yes, we do need to bring in these little

acts of devotion or discipline into our everyday, but for me, it's more about being compassionate

with ourselves, the harder we are on ourselves about trying to find balance, the more we

going to rebel against it.

And so it's actually being more accepting of, okay, work, work is, work is going to be

like this right now, so then what can I, how can I book into my day, just with a little

bit to help support that?

And so I would say, yeah, my thing is there's no such thing as balance, there's only harmony,

and can we go, even the seasons teach us that.

You can't have winter without summer, it's free to have a mix when mother nature decides

that she wants winter and summer.

One day you go, green grass, the next day you got snow like here in Canada, oh there

you go.

And you know what?

Even that, so one day changes to the next, even by the day just going, well, she's never,

she's never equal.

Never balanced, there's no balance, no, there's always one or the other and that's even what

are going to with the divine feminine and the divine masculine is we need both.

We need that creativity and we need action and there's a different time and space and

a different season for each of these, everything that we need to do, yeah.

I like that.

I like that you've changed words.

You know, because we can change anything we want.

We have a choice to make a choice and to change, right?

And I like that you took in the word discipline to devotion because discipline for me, I feel

like I'm like a drill sergeant, like I got to get it done, like it better get done, it's

kind of like an order to yourself, right?

Where devotion is, can I give myself grace?

Can I take a pause, can I take a minute from myself?

I let that you change that and for all the listeners out there, you know, have you ever

changed your words or the way that you've looked at things?

Was there a belief that you believed about yourself, Lord, that you do not believe in

it anymore today?

Yes.

My biggest one was that there was a horrible monster inside me.

I have a very short temper and I can actually be quite a biatch, if I can say that.

And I always thought I was a very horrible, horrible person.

And sometimes that belief comes back a little bit and I've realised though it's when my

boundaries have been crossed and I'm not looking after myself.

And I think the biggest thing was realising that when I felt unsafe and when, yeah, many,

and I felt unsafe, this monster inside me would come out and be everyone, beep off, leave

me alone and I would create further boundaries and it was my way of protecting myself.

And I always used to call it the monster and I think I've done a lot of inner work and

a lot of maybe some people in the psychological background would call it your shadow.

I've done a lot of shadow work on going, okay, so how do you serve me?

How does this monster serve me?

And this monster comes up when I say I need a break or my work-life balance is not,

my harmony has been compromised.

And I think that's what's changed, does I really change the narrative around?

This is not a monster inside me, it's actually just a really big indicator of what my needs

are and when they come up.

Well, growing up in an environment where there is no structure and stuff like that,

there's monsters around us all the time, our shadows around us, or that darkness.

So that creeps in once in a while when we get overwhelmed or too much on the plate or

and that's why we wanted to have you, Laura, because I wanted to understand, like, you're

in Singapore, I'm in Canada.

We all struggle with mental health.

We all struggle with addictions and stuff like that around the globe.

And that's where we have international guests on T-Time because we want to share that

it's not just Canada, United States that are suffering with these things, it's across

the globe, you know, and we really need to start supporting one another in different

countries and different areas and say, what this works for me, this might not work for

me, you know, like the dance, the deep dance.

When's the last time anybody is one dancing, right?

Sova, you're sober on top of that in the morning.

Maybe that's a new routine that we can all put in place, right?

These are things.

But I want to talk about some of the retreats that you offer and stuff as well, because

you have some really cool retreats coming and I got some dates as well.

So events coming up for March 31st, April 16th and July 22nd to the 27th.

So the first one is the deep dance on March 31st, do you want to share a little bit about

that one?

Yeah, so it isn't Singapore, but I'm actually starting to think I should do some online

more online offerings, because like you say, I've got a beautiful community here, but

often people leave Singapore and it's really beautiful for us to, it can be lonely for

us, especially if we move countries and for anyone and for me, I really think that if

we can know, like you said, that we're not alone and across the world, we can connect

to a community, why don't I facilitate these when you can do, put your headsets on and

you can take it self-region in your own home or in your own garden.

So yeah, so the one on the 31st is here in Singapore, but watch the space.

I think some online, some nice online offerings are going to come up.

Oh, I like it.

I like it.

I might just become a morning person.

There you go.

Is she about work for you if I do one in the morning, it works for you in the afternoon

evening.

So you see her times I might work for you.

There we go.

I'm just putting it in my mind that I am in Singapore doing it in the morning routine.

Yeah.

You know, just imagine that you're in a different country, you know, doing this way,

doing waves and palm trees.

Absolutely, right?

Well, the second one I have here is April 16th, and that's done.

Which one is that?

Kakao ceremony.

Yes.

What is that about?

Oh.

Kakao is such beautiful medicine.

So how much time do we have?

I've got a lot to find.

Okay.

Kakao.

I've really delved into, I've got a very long standing relationship with Kakao as

it's as pure medicine.

So Kakao coming from the cocoa, like the pod, from the Kakao tree, and it's eventually,

you know, a lot of people will basically split the Kakao, put it into a process and make

chocolate.

But in its most pure form, it has a lot of medicinal properties, but the main one actually

is the abromine.

And that actually can help us drop from our head to our heart and into a meditative state,

in a physical way.

And many people, I think it's really important, I just want to do a little caveat here from

the ethics of it, is a lot of people are jumping on this bandwagon about Kakao ceremonies.

And there are a lot of people, elders in Central America and in South America that have been

using this Kakao as medicine and seeing who has revered as a sacred plant for centuries.

And they have carried this beautiful tradition.

The modern Kakao ceremonies are not what was before, they, you know, but a lot of people

like myself, I have learned from some really beautiful elders and grew of how to really

revere this plant and use and commune with her as a sacred ally.

And so what I do with the Kakao ceremonies is I bring her in as a way for us.

So we basically sit in a beautiful circle, we, I spend about three hours dancing around

my kitchen before preparing and brewing.

So basically melting this pure Kakao paste down and then making it into a nice drink.

So it's like, but she's super bitter, bitter, bitter because it's most pure form.

Add a little bit of honey.

And then I hold people in a very sacred space where we sip the Kakao in a mindful way.

And again, I bring in because music and movement is my medicine, I bring in music and guidance

for people to just start bringing in their intentions, feeling their bodies and starting to connect

to their bodies as the Kakao starts moving through them.

And the fascinating thing about Kakao, it can take us to, it's not a lucid genic, which

is why I can use it in Singapore.

But it can actually, with the combination of music and movement, it can take us to almost

a different state.

And what I mean by that is once we start moving and Kakao moves through us, we can get into

a meditative state a lot quicker.

And it's phenomenal, I could honestly go on forever about Kakao.

She's taught me so much over the years and actually Kakao was one of the things that helped

me with my sobriety because it was a way of me connecting back to earth, back to nature

and finding something that actually was beautiful, but that could help me to at the same time.

And yeah, so these Kakao ceremonies are then help people go through a bit of movement.

And then we go through a meditative journey, and it's quite phenomenal what comes up.

It's a, because theobromine actually helps to pump blood to our hearts, it can be a really

beautiful emotional release.

And this really helps people to go through, it's a three hour ceremony, actually, that

I take people through, but it's exceptionally, exceptionally healing.

And I could, I don't even know how to, for me I always say people like, what does

the Kakao ceremony?

I'm like, you have to come try one to know what it is, but there are so many in the world

and I just want to say that as a caveat, there are so many and some are doing it beautifully,

some are jumping on the wellness fad of it.

So I always say to people, when you're listening, just trust your gut and trust your intuition

of if you see Kakao ceremonies happening, maybe also just look at where the people are

getting the Kakao from, what variety it is.

These are really important things to, is it sustainably sourced?

Do they know about it?

And what lineage have they actually been taught by people that have given the information

to use Kakao in ceremony?

Yeah.

Yeah.

And the reason that I wanted to get that information out there is because there is a lot of misinformation

about these ceremonies and, you know, and that's why in the disclaimer, you know, go to

people that are actually trained in these events and stuff.

And the next one you have coming up is in July, it's a retreat from the 22nd to the

27th.

Do you want to tell us about that one?

Yes, I'm so excited about that one.

So it's in Glastonbury in the UK and most people think Glastonbury like, oh, the festival,

you know, the famous Glastonbury, music festival, but there's so much more to Glastonbury than

that.

Glastonbury town lies on laylines, which are, you know, energetic, I don't know, if I should

need to explain laylines, but basically they're the energetic lines that cross the world.

Some people call them dragon lines, song lines, depends on what culture you in.

And these, this crossing is some, it is said that the heart chakra of the world of the

earth is in Glastonbury.

So these laylines are seen as quite a powerful vortex.

And Glastonbury itself actually stems back to a place of pilgrimage all the way back

to through Christian times, through, for pagans, for murs, for a number of different

spiritual seekers.

And so it's steeped in history and layers and layers, it's got a beautiful abbey ruins.

There's actually the Holy Thorn, which is said to have come from Jesus's crown, I think,

is grows there.

And so there's, it's almost this beautiful harmony of religions and spiritual seekers.

And within this place, there are these sacred wells.

And well, the well springs are known in, especially in a lot of pagan or Celtic or earth

based practices, wells are known as portals to the earth.

They are known as the womb of mother earth and are way for us to connect to her.

And sacred wells, as you know, like holy water, sacred wells have been something that

water is so healing for us.

And in Glastonbury, there are these two wells.

One is called the chalice well and the other one is called the white spring.

And the white spring, you can actually, we can go through a beautiful ritual and you

can bathe in this white spring.

It's, it's magnificent.

And for me, I've, I've, I go on pilgrimage there probably every two years to Glastonbury

on my own and I've had some profound experiences there, very otherworldly.

And just it's been incredible to see how the breadcrumbs of synchronicity have come into

my life whenever I've been there.

Also, you walk down the street and it feels like you're in Harry Potter, it's like Diagon

Ellie.

I asked you before we went live, right, I was just like, is that the Harry Potter kind

of land?

Honestly, there's, there's a crystal shop, there's an incense shop, there's, you know,

there's, it honestly, and there's even there's someone walking down there in a wizard costume.

It's, it's just, it's a place where everyone has permission to be themselves.

And that's what I think is so beautiful, buskers on the street and it's a really magical

place, but very steeped in, in sacred sites and powerful portals.

And this is what my plan is to, I'm excited because I've gone there and pilgrimage so many

times, I want to share it with the world.

And so we are, so I'm taking people on a five night six day retreat and then book ending

it, there might be like if anyone wants to go to Avery or Stonehenge, some of the other

sacred sites nearby, I can give advice on how to, how to do that.

So yeah, so think about, like, and again, we're actually staying in a place for three of

the knots that has the own stone circle.

So we're going to put the headsets on and dance in the stone circle around a fire and

bring back, bring back the witches, bring back the, the, you know, the power of the we

were in nature.

Yeah.

I love it.

And so then anybody would like to sign up as I for women only, is it for man?

Yeah, and it's in the moment, um, no, any age, any age, um, well, I just wouldn't assume

any teenagers would come or kids, so maybe I'll say over 18, um, but yeah, and it is at

the moment is a woman only retreat, but I think if I do hold any in the future, I think

I will open up to anyone.

Yeah.

Yeah.

And the main reason is because we actually bathe naked in the well.

Yeah.

Well, that's going back to Mother Nature, right?

Yeah.

Is our bathing suits, our real bathing suits, not correct, correct.

Correct.

Yes.

So all the details are there on my website and you can also, um, and through that connect

with me and ask, you know, asking the questions.

Yeah.

Absolutely.

You know, and this is what I love, I love learning so much from all of my guests.

Like I've had so much with your teas and the work and services that you guys offer,

you know, and connecting to different continents and countries in that as well.

We learn a little bit from there.

The services that you also offer are private consultations.

Uh, you do the woman's circles.

Let's talk about the woman's circles really quick.

Yeah.

So, um, those are actually, again, I actually hold them in Singapore and the reason what,

this was a real, like, download aha moment that I actually had in Glastonbury, funnily

enough, um, back in 2022 and it was, I, I did a meditation and I actually saw a whole

woman, a whole bunch of women in red coming towards me up a hill.

This was before I went to Glastonbury.

I got to Glastonbury and here I was on the top of the Glastonbury tour, which is a very

sacred site at sunrise, drinking my cacao, doing my thing on my own.

Next thing I turned and a whole group of women in red robes started walking up the hill

and I went, what?

This is exactly how my dream was like, am I on something?

But these, and basically we, they were all on their own pilgrimage in this divine feminine

retreat and they invited us all to come in and we all sang and held hands and danced

and sunrise, it was magnificent and for me it was that I was like, this is what we,

we need to come back to that real divine feminine essence and that where we can be raw

and real and apologetic and I've noticed not just in Singapore, there are so many women

especially going from their late deities into forties, fifties where we start questioning

our identity, we start looking at life in a different way and it can be a very lonely

path.

It can be really lonely to be like, well, will my friends who I used to know understand

the questions I'm asking and maybe, you know, maybe I'm going on a new, on a new journey.

And so it was very clear, I had, I had this real image of, of just a group of women dancing

around a fire together, not that we can have fires in the parks here, but the idea was,

can we get like, I need to create a chance for people to come and feel what it feels like

to be in a sisterhood.

And so we meet every month and we sit and we meet outdoors and in a park called Fort

Canning here in Singapore and we sit under the trees and we chat.

So first it's a really beautiful share, everyone talks about what's happening and others

can give either, whether it's advice or even just, I see you and I hear you and I've

been through this too, so you know that you're not alone.

And then I usually will share, yeah, and then usually I will share something that's a really

like a practice, a meditation or we dance or we do something that I share some of my medicine.

And then what we also do is we have something called the Wheel of the Yo and we celebrate

the equinoxes, the solstices and the turning of the seasons.

And so we gather the same group of women, we gather at my house and we all bring potluck

and we go back to, so we bring a potluck dinner and we go back to the old ways of weaving

and crafting.

And so I bring in a seasonal theme.

So for example, we just had the spring equinox and we made candles out of egg shells.

So yeah, so we have these, just these little gatherings of women just coming back to celebrating

nature and celebrating seasons.

And again, I'm actually in about two months' time, about to launch the online version

of that because once again, I mean it's wonderful, for me the raw and real human connection

is so essential, but some of us don't have that opportunity and so I really want to spread

that and it's important for people to really think, not just women, but for everyone to

go through, we're not alone and the more we speak up when I spoke up about my mental

health and started writing my blog, I was surprised how many people then responded to

me saying, Laura, I'm so glad you shared this, I have been through this and this.

And I just realized the more we actually share, the more others realize that they're not

alone.

And for me, that's part of what the women circles are about, yeah.

And that's kind of what tea time is all about, right?

When we get the stories out there, we get to services and books and all that good stuff

out there, but just having that open conversation and getting to know a person from across the

globe, like, you know, or across the street, I've had people that live in my own community

on tea time, you know, it's just sharing the story and knowing that you're not alone.

And that's what went to health is really awareness about is sharing the stories and having

somebody come up to you and saying, you know what, thank you for sharing your story because

it made a difference in my story.

Exactly.

And I love that you said that I see you and I hear you.

What for no message would you have for everybody tonight on tea time?

I think be gentle on yourself and be compassionate with yourself.

We are so hard on ourselves with trying to fit in and survive and actually if you can

just give yourself a moment to hug that little child inside, you're a boy or whoever,

hug that little child inside and spend some time in nature and just realise that you

are a child of the earth.

And the more you can speak up, even if it's just with one person, it can make the world

of difference if you're feeling alone.

Absolutely.

Thank you so much, Laura.

Thank you for joining me tonight on tea time.

Thank you to all the listeners and viewers out there.

We couldn't do this if we didn't all work together.

So, you know, Mrs. Liz is not alone because I have my tea and me, which makes an amazing

team of people out there in the world.

So thank you all for joining me.

I'm just going to do a little wrap up of what tonight's tea time was.

What a deeply grounded and beautiful conversation.

Laura, thank you for reminding us that healing does not always come from doing more.

Sometimes it comes from slowing down enough to feel what has been waiting to be acknowledged.

Tonight we were reminded that the body holds wisdom, that connection begins within and

that true transformation happens when we allow ourselves to be present, not perfect.

Your work shows up, it shows us that the aliveness is not something we chase.

It is something we return to.

To everyone listening, here is something to carry with you after this tea time.

When was the last time you truly paused?

Felt your breath and listen to what your body has been trying to tell you.

Until our next cup, keep sharing, keep choosing presents, keep choosing connection and keep

finding your way to yourself.

And I'll see everybody tomorrow with a rescheduled tea time at 7 p.m.

So I'll see you guys tomorrow at 7 p.m.

Thank you.