The Power of Storytelling - Episode 31
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Welcome back to The Power of Storytelling!
Phoebe and Ilyse - thank you for sharing your stories, your words, and your journey with all of us.
This month’s episode reminded me that we’re never alone in what we experience, and there’s a collective healing that comes when we tap into our vulnerability and share our stories. A moment in connection - where we share our smiles, our hearts, our truths, our fears, and our joys - has the ability to heal not only ourselves, but also heal others. Know that you are exactly as you should be, and every step on your journey serves as inspiration, and serves a purpose.
It’s truly my honor to share the stories and provide the space here to share a little bit more about the women behind these words. I encourage you to check out Phoebe and Ilyse after you listen to this week’s new episode.
*Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this episode are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of Seek The Joy Podcast.
Phoebe Leona is the founder of nOMad always at OM, a collective global community of yogis, wellness practitioners, healers, travelers, and wanderers of all kinds.
In this week’s new episode Phoebe shares a story about a vow that her husband made to her to always keep her smiling, and her journey experiencing her smile and joy, on her terms. While there were (many) smiles throughout their marriage, it also wasn’t without its challenges. Phoebe quickly realized that by putting herself aside to be of service to others, she was repeating old patterns, and putting her life’s work, passions, and own life to the side.
Phoebe comes from a strong movement background, and for a long time her identity was always wrapped around what she did. She received her BFA in Modern Dance from University of the Arts in Philadelphia, where she studied technique, anatomy, kinesiology, and pedagogy. As a professional dancer in New York City, her studies continued and she earned her Pilates certification from the Kane School of Core Integration, 500 hour Certification (ERYT500, YACEP) under the guidance of her mentor Jeanmarie Paolillo from YogaWorks and Restorative/Therapeutics training with Jillian Pransky from YogaWorks. She received her trauma informed yoga trainings from both Veteran’s Yoga Project, and Exhale to Inhale. Teaching at various studios/programs in New York City since 2002, Phoebe made the move to the Hudson Valley in 2010. She founded and directed the yoga program, Yoga at the Roundhouse as part of the boutique hotel, The Roundhouse at Beacon Falls in Beacon, NY.
As Phoebe shares, she was was questioning her purpose. After the death of her father, her world came crashing down, everything changed. Soon after, she found her sunshine again - until she found out that her husband wanted a divorce. She realized that she was ignoring the signs, because she was so happy her father was back in her life again, that she ignored the signs of her husband’s struggles. Phoebe began asking herself what she really wanted, and after a transformational experience in Costa Rica, in 2014, she founded nOMad always at OM that brings new experiences on and off the mat to yogis at nOMad's Online Studio, on yoga retreats, and at community events. Her mission through nOMad is to give her students the tools to live a fuller life with more joy, gratitude, confidence, and connection. She found her joy again, the sun began to shine again, and Phoebe now really knows who she is and she won’t stop smiling. As she so beautifully says, “let’s not put our smiles aside for others. Continue to beam and know that you are exactly as you should be. “
“During those nine months in Costa Rica, I was cracked wide open. I was looking at the past patterns of my relationships, the choices that I had made, and I was looking at what do I want? Who am I? Who is this new Phoebe, and what does she want in her life? I realized that this is what I wanted for myself and for others, to see other ways of living and being.”
Ilyse Soutine is an author, speaker, subconscious transformation coach and creator of The Subconscious Shift Method. Our subconscious dominates 95% of our behavior, and Ilyse helps entrepreneurs reprogram their limiting habits, thoughts and beliefs so that they thrive and fulfill what they were born to do in this world.
Ilyse helps online coaches and healers strengthen their business strategies as well as reprogram limiting subconscious beliefs that hold them back so they can get into FLOW and fulfill what they were born to contribute to this world. For Ilyse to do this work, she had to explore and heal her own trauma first. In this week’s episode, Ilyse shares her journey from severe depression and anxiety, to the thriving life she’s living now. Ilyse suffered from PTSD, severe depression, and anxiety for most of her life due to the extreme and severe trauma caused by violence she experienced as a child. Even when the attacks would subside, it was difficult for her to get out of bed. Her depression, fear, anxiety overwhelmed her to body to such a degree that she felt like a heavy weight and she just couldn’t budge.
Despite the challenging dark time, Ilyse felt a burning desire, a pull to fulfill her soul’s calling to do what she was born to do in this world. As Ilyse shares, ever since she was a little girl she knew that she was capable of doing great things in this world, and it was a journey for her to trust that voice inside. No matter what she was going through, this voice of greatness inside was always there tugging at her, gently guiding her forward.
Everything changed when Ilyse found meditation, a new practice, she felt expansive, and she felt hopeful for the future. As Ilyse so beautifully shares, it would have been impossible for her to have grown or evolved without the difficult times, and it’s those difficult times that have given her the greatest gifts that she now uses to serve others. When she was building her business, her subconscious beliefs were out of alignment with who she wanted to be in the world, and with what she was trying to create. As you’ll hear int his week’s new episode, nothing will change until one becomes in alignment with their subconscious beliefs and identity. After Ilyse uncovered her deepest limiting belief, she found her way out of her suffering, and today’s she’s helping others find their way out of suffering too. No matter what or how long you’ve suffered, Ilyse wants to make sure that you know that you also have the possibility of living a life filled with peace, joy, and abundance.
“I developed compassion for myself, and I had to forgive myself for all the decades lost to trauma. My self-compassion helped heal the intense shame I felt for not being able to do anything with my life for so long. I knew that all the answers I needed could be found within myself, and I learned that all the suffering I had been through was preparing me for where I was going and that path was to help others, and to serve humanity in a big way.”
To learn more about Phoebe and her work check out her website www.nOMadalwaysatOM.com and www.phoebemilleryoga.com, and on Facebook @nomadatom and @phoebe.kelly1, Instagram @phoebemiller.love and @nomadalwaysatom and you can find her podcast nOMad’s The Space in Between here
To learn more about Ilyse check out her website https://ilysesoutine.com and you can connect with her on Instagram @ilysesoutine and on Facebook @sheawakens
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