WITH SARA McCREADY
About This Episode:
How important is it for you to be in the right energetic space when you're working with your clients or working in your business?
So often as coaches and entrepreneurs, we tend to bypass how we feel what's going on in our bodies, and really look for the strategy, look at things that we can implement, to help us grow in an area of business. But what are you doing when it comes to growing energetically?
Sara McCready is an Intuitive Toxic Relationship Coach + Reiki Master, Solopreneur, and lover of all things self-care healing and wellness. Her passions are working with energy and intuition, and normalizing spirituality for everyone.
Connect With Sara: Instagram + Website
Connect with Andrea on IG: @andreacrispcoach @the.couragecast
To book a FREE 20-minute Discovery Call with Andrea: www.andreacrisp.ca/schedule
Listen Here:
Your mindset is your greatest asset! But it is also what may be holding you back from taking that next step in your life. Are you ready to reframe your mindset so that you can step more confidently into your purpose?
0:00
How important is it for you to be in the right energetic space, when you're working with your clients or working in your business? So often as coaches and entrepreneurs, we tend to bypass how we feel what's going on in our bodies, and really look for the strategy, look at things that we can implement, to help us grow in an area of business. But what are you doing when it comes to growing energetically?
0:35
Particularly for coaches, your self care practice, your healing journey is critical to you being able to show up and that's actually how you and I ended up working together because you want it to be able to serve at a higher level. And clear that last little bit of debris, energetic debris that was you can feel it, but you couldn't identify it and you knew that it just needed like a little nudge, a little energetic nudge to be able to fully step into that best version of Andrea. Yeah. Yeah, yeah. And this is the thing about energy work.
You are working at, again, the energetic body, so working with the chakras, but it's my knowingness and my understanding of the chakra system that helps integrate those energies into your physical body. So our chakra system has a direct impact on our physical body and our mental bodies, so more emotional, mental and physical. And when we haven't done the energetic clearing or tuneups, there is stickiness in our real lives our everyday lives either as a coach or in our personal relationship. And it's the best way to move the needle on any situation is to examine the energetic aspect of it, you're listening to the courage cast a show to equip and empower you to live bravely.
2:20
Each week, we'll share solo episodes and conversations with amazing people who have been willing to face their fear and pursue their purpose. With a blend of practical and spiritual advice. We'll help you take brave steps in your own life. Now, here's your host, mindset and confidence coach, author, and your secret weapon.
2:41
Hey there, welcome to The Couragecast. My name is Andrea, I am your host. And I'm also a mindset and confidence coach. And I'll tell you friends, over the past few years, I have had huge amounts of growth in my life and in my business. And if it weren't for the healing that I've experienced in my own life, I have to tell you that I would not be in the place that I am today. And so I'm so excited to be able to share with you a conversation that I had in my Facebook group, the confident coach collective with my good friend and also my energy healer, Sara McCready, she goes by @illuminatedjoy, and we were able to chat about energy and how we need to move the energy through our bodies and how that affects our business and how we're showing up, you know, creating boundaries within our lives. And in our business. It's just such a rich, rich conversation. And it was such a good conversation that I wanted to put it here on the podcast as well so that you could hear it. And I just trust that this is really going to help you shift. And if you're having any difficulties in your own life you have, you want to experience more growth. I want you I want to encourage you to take a look at maybe where you're holding energetically things that can be released in your life, through Reiki, through hypnotherapy, through all sorts of modalities, but in this case, we're going to talk about some of the modalities that Sara does, which includes data, data, Reiki, all sorts of stuff. So anyways, without further ado, here is my conversation with Sara.
Hello, Sara, it's so good to chat with you this morning.
4:39
Hello, Andrea, thank you so much for having me. This is going to be an amazing conversation. I can't wait.
4:47
You know, it's so far we're we have to joke all the time about you know, technology. And it's like one of those things where it's taken us a little bit of time to figure out how we're going to do this today, but here we are. I'm excited. to chat with you and for people to get to know you a little bit better. And I love for you this like, I mean, I could introduce you, but you're better to introduce yourself because you know you. So tell us a little bit about who you are and who you serve.
5:18
Thank you. Yeah, so my name is Sara McCready. And my business name is I Illuminated joy. So I have been down a very windy path for the last three to four years. And it has led me into this very beautiful space of coaching, mentorship and energy healing. So I am a 25 years survivor of toxic relationships, I have been in multiple, highly toxic relationships. And it was the fourth relationship that resulted in a marriage and the dissolution of a marriage. That was the pinnacle that prepared me to be able to take this step in the healing direction. So to begin my healing journey, to start to unravel what a toxic relationship is, and what energy healing can do for you when you're in emotional recovery. So I started my own practice in, it'll be two years this September. So in September of 2020, I opened the doors to what was really going to be an in person service. And it has really transformed in the last year as a result of being open and close so many times. And it was through the through lock downs and closures that it became apparent that I was going to be using the online space as my avenue to connect with people. And to bring this work to the masses. And it's been so much more than I ever anticipated it would be it's been a huge learning curve, but at the same time, so expansive, and so rewarding to be able to move my entire practice on line from formerly in person services. So I work in the energy world. So lots of healing modalities that I practice, and the primary one is Reiki, but I also have a modality called Theta Healing. And I combine a lot of energy healing modalities as well, I've kind of cobbled them together to create my own healing modality that helps you go through any grief or trauma that you may have experienced that helps you unpack that and heal those wounds or that trauma that is preventing you from possibly stepping fully into your highest self or just really experiencing life at its fullest version.
8:27
Amazing. It's so amazing. Of course, I have experienced that myself, I've experienced your work. So I know what that that looks like. But I'm sure people, you know, maybe are curious or like, you know, energy yearling? What does that mean? Like how well you know, what is data? How do I how do I do all of these things? What does this even mean? So, when you're working with with people, what are you what are you doing, like what does that mean? Is it magic?
8:56
What? Actually, I have started saying it's magic because at least it's magic is relatable. However, it is it is relatable, but it's not just sleight of hand there is actual physical healing that takes place during an energy healing sessions. So, with the energy healing, you are working on what we call the energetic body or the aura, but there is actual physical healing that takes place as well. So, when I work with my clients, I take them into what they call theta brain wave state, so theta state and that is a hypnosis type of healing modality so you are guided into it In this very relaxed state, and it is through that relaxed state that I am able to connect into your energy. So there is some magic at play. And the magic really is learning to work with other people's energy. So we all have the ability to do this. And this is what I have been called to do through the trauma and the emotional healing that I went through, is to really recognize those aspects of myself that were always there but weren't really necessarily tapped into. So I use the word intuition or intuitive, I use my intuitive abilities. Some people refer to them as psychic abilities, to be able to help guide the conversations that I have with the clients, I'm able to pinpoint an experience that occurred in their lives, that can be what I call capital T trauma, or little T trauma, you know, traumas not always something super dramatic. It can be an experience that you had when you were younger. And it's left its mark. So those are the type of traumas that are little T traumas that can show up later in life as a block of some sort, that you don't really realize is there. And so there is, like I said, this connection between our physical bodies and our energetic bodies, we are all energy, everything is energy. And so it is working at the energetic level, clearing the chakra system, working with those points within your physical body that allow the release, the energy healing really provides this release for the client to process the emotions that went behind the experience the trauma.
12:30
Hmm, yeah. So it's, it's, it's having an opportunity for them to actually work energetically and heal, you know, some trauma that's taking place in their life. And you're kind of the guide.
12:42
Yeah, facilitating, I call it facilitating, I'm just I, I say I'm a channel I am the channel to facilitate this experience for you to help. The energy work really helps you process the emotion because we tap into the nervous system, we're able to relax the nervous system. And the energy work also expedites the healing, healing process. It because it allows your nervous system to relax, it allows more awareness around and experience than you would otherwise have. So it can happen more quickly. Because you're in a relaxed state, you can kind of connect the dots and put the pieces together a little more quickly than you would if you weren't using energy work to help process that experience or those emotions.
13:43
So I'm curious, like, you know, a lot of a lot of, you know, online entrepreneurs and coaches, you know, one of the things that I really stress when I'm talking with them is like, you know, your life is really, you know, your life and your business. Like they're there in tandem, they work together, what affects your life affects your business. If you're, if you're not in a place in your life, where you're feeling like you're worthy, or you're feeling, you know, valued or loved, or you've been, you know, going through different things in your life that outworks within your business, because, you know, at some level, we carry all of those things, you know, we are the business. So there's a lot of coaches, a lot of online entrepreneurs who are struggling with, you know, trying to figure out how do I, you know, get over this, you know, hurt or this, you know, rejection that I have been feeling, how does that work? When, you know, they come to you and they've maybe experienced some sort of rejection or wounding? How can how can you work with them to help them heal so that it actually benefits not only their life, but their business?
14:56
Hmm, that's a really great question. So So it goes back to what you were saying at the beginning of that, which is, it is all connected. So there, there is no separation between the person you are in your everyday life and the person you are in your business we bring to our businesses in our everyday lives, the same emotions and the same energy. Together and individually. So you're, again, it's not a separation between work and life. And so if there is something bothering you in your everyday life, if there's something that you haven't been able to release or process emotionally, if you've had an experience that was not, that was traumatic, like I said, either capital T, or lowercase t trauma, that can impact how we show up, and it shows up subtly. So those experiences that happen in our youth are not always remembered. And so as we go along, we develop ways of being coping mechanisms, the ways that we show up the way that we process information and emotions, without really realizing that we're even doing it in a way that's protective. And at a certain point in our lives, that becomes no longer beneficial for us to operate in that way that we had been. And it's usually around that point in time, when you're struggling with something in your everyday life or your business life, that you start to wonder why isn't this working? It's always worked before, why why doesn't this work for me now, and when I'm saying that I'm talking about either, you know, just ignoring things and sweeping them under the carpet, or just, you know, like, continuing to talk yourself up so that you can get through something that may have worked for you for a number of years, being really driven, just like having yourself scheduled to the hilt and being constantly driven. These are some of the coping mechanisms that we develop in our youth and that continue on, and they help us achieve and succeed. But then they stop. They work until they don't. And so when we arrive at that space in place where what was working before is no longer working, is when we need to start examining what is underneath that experience or that emotion that you're incurring at this stage and place in your life. So we get to with my clients, I get to what I call the bottom belief, we work energetically to understand what that programming was that bottom belief was that you've built your whole life around. And we dismantle it safely and gently. And again, this is all done through energetic healing, through awareness through conversation, and you're able to understand when we arrive in that place and space, you're able to understand how that programming worked for you before and how it's no longer working for you. And and then we build a new program that you begin to operate out of a new belief.
18:50
It's beautiful. Yeah, it's beautiful. And I know that you'd have powerful it Yeah. Powerful. I can say I can testify to that. You also work, you know, directly with relationship issues as well.
19:04
Yes, absolutely. That is the basis for how I've arrived here in this space in time, was as a result of the 25 years of relationships, four separate relationships. Like I said, there's a lot of wisdom and experience that has come from being inside of those relationships. And so I'm able to help the client identify how those patterns keep appearing not just in romantic relationships, but in our familial relationships, our friend relationships, our work relationships, colleagues, peers, that sort of thing. So yeah, I I'm able to help the client identify those patterns as well, and where they're showing up and what they look like because again, we're quite ate, oblivious to what that patterning is? Yeah, until we are in a position, like I said, where things aren't working anymore, and we're ready to address what's happening.
20:13
Yeah, exactly. So is this something that both men and women do like can do or work with you or? Yeah, rarely women are.
20:21
So in my, in my private practice, I typically am seeing women, but I have worked with men as well. This these modalities work for everybody there. They're not gender specific. So, yes. Men and women, the coaching program that I have outside of this is specifically for women who have left toxic relationships. But the Theta Healing program is for everybody.
21:00
Okay, awesome. And what is the the coaching program look like? What is that for, like you're mentioning for women?
21:07
Yeah, so I have a coaching program called the evolution path. And that was a program that was created last year for women who have left a toxic relationship. And I work with them to navigate the trauma and the drama and the chaos that you experience inside a toxic relationship. These relationships are very nuanced and very specific. And so this evolution PATH program was built specifically to help guide women who have left those relationships and want to move into that peace, clarity, calm and joy, it's, it's a very lengthy journey, when you've left a toxic relationship that requires multi layered healing. So the program that I built uses the energy healing, as well as the Theta Healing. And there's like specific components that we address inside of that program. So that's, that's the coaching program for women's specific, and then the theta healing modality is, like I said, it's for everybody, it's an amazing resource to be able to use when you're trying to take your game to the next level. So if you've, like I said, if you've noticed a pattern of behavior that's no longer serving you. And you can't really identify why you keep doing the same thing. Data healing is a fantastic modality to drill down on to what that bottom belief is usually, as a result of something that we've buried or suppressed, and then we're able to pull that and then install the new programming, or the new belief that helps you operate in your highest version, like the best version of yourself is where the theta healing modality will help you go.
23:21
Hmm, and I would like to add to that, because, you know, I've experienced it, so I'm gonna, I'm gonna give my take on it. Yeah, please. You know, it's really interesting. I think a lot of coaches and entrepreneurs are doing personal development work, right, they're doing this work in tandem with what they do, because they know how beneficial it is for their lives and for their business. But even as like a coach and somebody who is, you know, for me, you know, I'm doing all sorts of modalities I'm doing. Also, I'm working with clients doing this type of work. You know, when I think about, you know, when I'm feeling that I'm stuck somewhere, like I've come to you in multiple instances where I have, you know, said, this is where I'm at, I've done the work I've done the mindset work and now I'd like to do some more clearing and like almost like quantum leap to another level. Yeah, and I think we're Yeah, heard a lot of times we we assume that it's like well, I you know, I already do this work I don't need anything besides this, you know, like, but I would say you know, for for coaches for for people who are like have already done the work. This expedites the process, and this actually takes it to another level things that you've said to me before. Are it's easier to clear, and it's easier to do the work with you, Andrea, because you're already doing the work.
24:51
Yes, yes. I love working with people who have already started down the path as I call it. Clearing Being having those awarenesses it? Absolutely. This, like you said just changes. It's a game changer, it changes the game because it allows you to take your processing to another level.
25:13
Yeah, that's yeah, it's the integration piece of it that, you know, because a lot of times when I'm, I've come to you I already have the answer, like, I already know what, but I feel like there's something that needs to be integrated energetically, that is maybe not actually manifested yet. And that's a great place. So I just encourage people who are even doing this work, and have gotten to a place where like, yeah, this resonates with me, but I do this work. This is a great add to the work you're currently doing to what you've already done in your in your own self development, professional development, to actually move you forward, whether it be relationally, you know, for your life personally, whether it be something that you're working on yourself, so that he will help you with your business, because I think no matter how you look at it, it's going to outwork within your business. So it's going to make a big difference. And to that end, when we do that, we are able to really help our clients. And it gives us an avenue to help them and impact them even more. That's right. So
26:29
and as the old adage goes, you can't pour from from an empty cup, and particularly for coaches, your self care practice, your healing journey is critical to you being able to show up and that's actually how you and I ended up working together because you want it to be able to serve at a higher level. And clear that last little bit of debris, energetic debris that was you can feel it, but you couldn't identify it and you knew that it just needed like a little nudge, a little energetic nudge to be able to fully step into that best version of Andrea. Yeah. Yeah, yeah. And this is the thing about energy work. You are working at, again, the energetic body, so working with the chakras, but it's my knowingness and my understanding of the chakra system that helps integrate those energies into your physical body. So our chakra system has a direct impact on our physical body and our mental bodies. So more emotional, mental and physical. And when we haven't done the energetic clearing or tuneups, there is stickiness in our real lives, our everyday lives either as a coach or in our personal relationship. And it's the best way to move the needle on any situation is to examine the energetic aspect of it. That is the end. It's the quickest way if you if you want to move quickly. And yeah, get on to the next level, that the energy healing aspect of it will get you there quicker and faster than if you were to just work at the cognitive level.
28:35
Oh, for sure. Absolutely. That's actually what I started with with mindset was chakra clearing. That's kind of what got me into this field. Like it was it was through my, my natural health practitioner was introducing me to my chakra system, and I was like, what kind of magic is this? Yeah, I was like, I'm like, Are you a witch? She's like, No, she's like, No, I'm not. And I was, you know, but I can't of course came from a different background. But um, you know, I've since started to understand that it's, you know, the the chakras and clearing that really does, you know, give me that leg up when I am. Especially for someone who works in in their intuitive, you know, this is, I think so. I mean, it's important for everybody, but yeah, you know, for me, I can tell if I'm off, if something's off, I'm like, okay, something needs to move through clear. And like, it kind of feels like an upgrade for me. It's like, you know, upgrading my my software system. You know, getting the glitches out.
29:45
Yeah, exactly what it is. Yeah, that's a great way to describe it. Because you physically feel lighter and brighter. So our like I said, our chakra system is directly tied to our physical body. And so for instance, like the root chakra, which is a spot just below your tailbone is tied to your sense of safety and certainty. And when we've been made to feel unsafe for an extended period of time, however, that shows up, whether it's, you know, through financial lack, or literally safety for our physical well being, whatever that may look like that chakra is now out of balance, and you show up in the world physically, in restriction and in protection, and in lack, so when we show up that way, physically, mentally and emotionally, we're not going to be achieving those things that we are looking to achieve, we're not going to be operating at our highest and brightest. And so that's an example of the root and then it's typically the lower three chakras that are impacting our ways that we're showing up in the physical world, and that are possibly blocking our achievements at a certain point in time, through our working world or our personal world. So the sacral chakra is related to our creativity and our expression of self and our connection and relationships. So again, if there's been some sort of experience that has occurred that resulted in the experience of trauma, you know, our physical body experiences trauma as well, even though we might not register it emotionally, we may feel it physically. So again, impacting the chakras. And so there is a clearing and energetic clearing that happens to those chakras that allows your physical body to align itself to be balanced to be able to integrate, like he said, those energies and body those energies, yeah, you're operating at the brightest light.
32:17
Exactly. The highest wattage. Exactly. And that's, I think, I think it's so important for, you know, expediting the process, I think, when I look back on my coaching journey, and all the things that I have done, you know, there there is self development and personal work that that needs to be done, but you get to a certain point, and it really is important to, you know, be operating at a at a higher level. And I just know, for myself that, you know, feeling clear, energetically clear, has, you know, really shifted things for me. And it makes things faster, making things easier, it makes things burdensome,
33:02
yeah, you have a clarity you have, until clarity when you're doing the energy work that you don't necessarily have otherwise. Or you may have it and then it disappears. And then you have it again, and you think you're just tired, or you you know, haven't eaten properly, or, you know, you attribute it to all these things. When really, it's, you know, your energy field needs to be balanced and cleared out. Yeah, yeah.
33:32
And I know, absolutely, energetically, I'm the type of person who, where I'm like, I can feel the energies of other people. And I'm like, Isn't my energy is their energy? Yeah, who's you know, so I think it's so important to kind of have a space where we can. And as coaches as people who are doing this work, I think so often it feels like, well, I can do this, I can do this myself. And and I think there's a real wisdom behind saying, and being coachable. And being able to say, You know what, I can do this myself, I couldn't figure it out myself and I could get there. It's gonna take me longer if I do. Yeah. Or I can, you know, go to someone who's that's their gift, like yourself and say, Help me, help me, help me help me with
34:27
self care as a coach is a really big piece of the puzzle to being able to sustain and maintain a certain level of consistency. So being able to show up for your clients requires you to look after yourself in a way that you wouldn't have necessarily considered and I also just want to touch back on the energetics of being a coach you are you are or you are in other people's energy field. So whether you're doing energy work or not, just by the very virtue of the fact that you are engaging with another person on on a very personal level, you are your energies are getting tangled up into each other. Yeah. So because we are all energy, everything is energy you are your energies are interacting with each other. And so if you're not incorporating some some sort of self care around energy clearing, there is going to be a build up. And that's going to cause physical symptoms. Like I said, you're going to feel tired and not know why even if you've had like a great sleep, or you try to get more sleep, and you still feel tired. These are things that happen over time when you're working with other humans and not clearing yourself. So yeah, I've coaching. And I also say this to like massage therapists, anybody who's working with other humans, you're interacting with their energy. And if there's not an awareness around that, then what tends to happen is like I said, there's this built up, you get this residual or residue that starts to accumulate, and it's not yours. Like you don't know that.
36:38
You know, so funny just brought this up to me, I used to have a student voice student who'd come into a lesson. And she always bringing this crazy energy into the session. Not good. Like, yeah, you should walk in it was chaotic. Oh, yeah. And I told her one day, I was like, you needed to stop bringing that energy in here. And she said, What do you mean? And, and this is before I was doing the work? Mm hmm. So I was, but I would sense it. I was like, I don't want it. Yeah. And so now I understand how important it is to like, after every session to clear that energy myself. And to get in a place where I'm like, I ground by, they're actually doing like a releasing of it. Or I play music or I go outside or I do something that you know, physically release the energy. Yeah, back when I didn't understand. I was like, wondering, why am I getting so worked up over all of these things? never really been able to come down. It almost felt like I was constantly vibrating. Yeah. And now I understand you were. And I was like, and I was like, saying it, you know, it's It's you It's you. But really, I didn't know how to handle it. That's right. So now
37:51
it is always about us. Yeah, I didn't know that. Yeah. Yeah. And so these are the conversations that I have. I talk about how energy impacts our physical world. And one of the things I like to say one of my talking points is I like to normalize the whoo or normalize spirituality, because it does impact our everyday lives. And we when we're not aware of it, it shows up in funky ways.
38:22
Yeah. It really, truly does. And now, now that I have learned how to navigate it myself, it really has made a huge difference. Because I'm showing up differently. I'm holding space differently. I'm not carrying what my clients are going through into my day with me anymore. I'm able to release it. I noticed even like in personal relationships, you know, it's easier for me to release things there. Because I know it's like, oh, this is not necessarily about me. And I now don't have
38:57
to carry it. So well back to that clarity it gives you when you start minding your energy and doing some energy work. It gives you that sense of clarity that you don't otherwise have and you're able to discern what's yours and what other people's and you don't take things so personally and you're able to like you said clear clients energy as well. You're not taking it to bed with you were carrying it throughout the day, you know, when we when we're not aware of the distinction between our energy and other people's energy, we carry things around mentally and emotionally. We think about you know, renew, ruminate on the problem that had been discussed in the coaching session, or we feel like a sense of helplessness, possibly like we should be doing more we want to do more to help them and that all disappears when you start minding your energy and By paying attention to it, working with it, clearing it and supporting yourself energetically, you just show up in all aspects of your life much more fully and completely. And that clarity, that's the biggest piece, I think that I have found two is that peace, ease and clarity has been like, over the last three years since I've been doing this work. It has been the biggest asset and especially given everything we've gone through the last 24 months. Oh, yeah, having that sense of clarity has been huge for me. And that's, that's the piece I love. Being able to share with my clients is giving them that or not, I'm not giving it to them. But I'm helping guide them to get to that space in place where things finally make sense. And they're super crystal clear. And you are able to have answers for yourself. You make decisions choices easier. And you experience other people more easily.
41:07
Yeah, it's beautiful. It's beautiful work. Yeah. So how do people connect with you? Like how do they
41:13
Oh, okay. So illuminated joy is the business name. So I am located on the web at illuminated joy.com. I hang out mostly on Instagram. Ad eliminated joy, all one word, lowercase letters, Facebook as well. Illuminated joy, capital I capital J two separate words. places you can find me
41:44
in the search bar. Yeah, yeah. I'll make sure to link you link you up as well here. But thanks for hanging out with me and having a conversation. For doing this work. It is such an incredible and powerful work and so, so grateful that you're in this space, and that you're helping others with
42:03
it. So thank you. It's my honor. And it's my privilege. And I truly mean that when I say that, I feel blessed. And I feel so grateful that this work came into my world and that I get to share it with others now. And I'm very grateful that my life took the path that it did so that I could arrive in this space in place today.
42:27
Well, thank you, Sara. Thank you, Andrea. Wow, I just love having conversations with people who are going to continually help me in my journey of expansion. And I trust that this also helped you today as well. I really want to encourage you to connect with Sarah, this is something that has really helped me by doing these energetic sessions. And one thing that I want to reiterate is that there are often times where we've done the inner work, we've done the inner healing, we've done the mindset work, we've gone to therapy, but there are just little things energetically that just remain. And being able to go through this and to clear those chakras and that energy. quantum leaps you to the next level. And so if you're ready to go to the next level, I really encourage you to reach out to Sarah, I will put all of her information in the show notes, and you can be able to connect with her there. And I'm just so glad that you joined us today that you are hanging out with us. You know I love connecting with you. So make sure you connect with me over on Instagram, and also jump into my brand new Facebook group all those links are in the show notes. Until next time, remember, you have everything you need to live briefly.
43:49
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