EP #1167: Soul Care and Mindful Movement with Steven Washington

Lisa is joined by Steven Washington who talks about his combining Pilates and Qigong as well as his book, Recovering You: Soul Care and Mindful Movement for Overcoming Addiction.  He also talks about his online studio SWE where you can take his classes virtually!

He is a Movement Master, Author, and Recovery Advocate who is passionate about helping others navigate towards a happier, healthier life. His lifelong love and a key foundation to his own spiritual fitness is movement ​and he firmly believes our relationship with our body is vital for emotional, physical, and spiritual health.  

Steven had a successful career as a contemporary dancer, working at New York City Opera, Metropolitan Opera, and appearing on Broadway in Disney’s, The Lion King but to help him cope with anxiety and self-doubt, he often relied on drugs and alcohol. Twenty years ago, Steven made a conscious decision to get sober and his true life’s work began. Since then, he has impacted countless lives through movement and his keen ability to connect ​and relate to others.   

During his study of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Steven fell in love with Qigong, which he describes as, "A moving meditation that supports the health of our body, mind, and spirit.” He is a Certified Qigong Instructor and a Pilates teacher and has taught individuals and groups for over 20 years. Adding to his knowledge of the body and its energy systems, Steven is also a qualified Neuromuscular Massage Therapist.  

Steven’s online members' community, SWE Studio, has a unique focus on a Pilates/Qigong fusion class and an extensive library of movement, meditation, and other resources for the body, mind, and soul. 

Steven’s writings, articles, and life experiences created the inspiration for his first book, Recovering You, Soul Care and Mindful Movement for Overcoming Addiction. Published by New World Library, the book’s unique self-care focus is complemented by the use of Qigong movements. The opportunity to be of service through his book is particularly meaningful to Steven as it enhances his own growth and recovery while helping others to do the same.  

Steven hosts a monthly Heart/Mind Moments YouTube series with videos on physical, emotional, and spiritual health, and his movement and mindfulness work has received over one million views on YouTube.

Book description:

Substance abuse issues have worsened dramatically in recent years, with alcohol and drug addiction soaring. Our collective anxiety also shows up in many other insidious ways — from overeating to mindless scrolling to excessive online spending and more. Whether you are on the path of recovery, taking your first step in that direction, or simply feeling adrift and unmoored, Recovering Youoffers a lifeline to the discovery of a new and better way of being.

Steven Washington shares his story of growing up around alcoholism and going into recovery for his own drug and alcohol addiction. But the heart and soul of this book is his process of guiding readers through fear, shame, and regret and into community and gratitude. Self-massage, breathing, meditation, and, uniquely, a focus on qigong — the ancient movement practice at the heart of Chinese medicine and Taoist philosophy — liberate, energize, and soothe. Washington designed this book to cast a warm and clarifying light on what you most need to care for your body and soul.

Transcript

44:52

Owner: Lisa Davis
SUMMARY KEYWORDS 
pilates , qigong , life , chi gong , practices , body , people , drinking , movement , book , create , feel , important , studio , energy , menopause , helped , drugs , trauma , probiotics 

Lisa 
0:00
Are you in perimenopause or menopause? Are you in perimenopause or menopause and have questions? My co host? Andrea Donsky has a podcast called "Menopause Reimagined," where she answers your questions about this phase of life. So stay tuned at the end where I will share five minutes of her amazing podcast. And there will be a link in the show notes where you can go and listen to the whole episode. Andrea is brilliant, and she has worked so hard and knows her stuff. So be sure to check out menopause reimagined after this episode of help power. Thanks. 

Starting on January 11. Health power we'll be posting every Tuesday instead of every Tuesday and Thursday. On Thursdays starting on the 12 You're gonna get "DOG-EARED with Lisa Davis," they write books about dogs, I interview them. So if you're a dog lover, I hope you will check it out. Tell your friends, tell your family also tell them about health power. So again, health power every Tuesday dog here with Lisa Davis every Thursday, hope you'll tune in.

 If you listen to this show, you know that I love Pilates. I've been doing Pilates now. Oh my gosh, since 2010. And it's kind of funny. I'll tell you a quick story. So I was producing and hosting a little segment on a show called My New England. And I put this proposal and it was an existing show where this man and woman would go around New England at different restaurants and different places. And I said they should have something healthy. So I did this thing called Healthy Living. I was getting mixed up living healthy in New England. One of them was on Pilates. So what is Pilates studio, I had no idea and she took me through some exercises and I just instantly fell in love. Now. I knew about chi gong for a long time. And my husband's like, you know, you're kind of high strong and you should be doing tai chi or so I'm super excited because the reason I'm telling you this story is we have the fantastic Steven Washington and today he's going to talk about the combination of Pilates and Qi Gong. He is also the author of recovering you soul care and mindful movement for overcoming addiction. Now, I'm going to have him back in March because I wanted I was very upfront. I think y'all know if you listen, I read the books. I've been having some medical things and some other things going on. And so I said, Listen, Steven, I'm gonna read your book, and then have you back. So today we're going to talk about Pilates and Qigong. And I'm super excited. Steven Washington, welcome to "Health Power". Oh, it's great to have you on. I mean, I really fell for Pilates. As a matter of fact, I was able to get a secondhand reformer pretty cheap compared to like what they cost new, I still have it. And I use it a couple times a week. And I love it. And I do find grounding and mindfulness in Pilates by itself. Because I have to really focus on the movements. But I love the idea of Qigong. So for people who aren't familiar, tell us about Pilates. And then tell us about Chi Gong, and then how this helped with your healing and how you brought these together.

Steve 
3:03
Well, Pilates was created by Joseph Pilates, and I believe, I believe he brought this method or created this method, I think, in the 1920s. And he was a boxer. And he was a very athletic guy. And he created this method of movement that he taught to soldiers in the internment camps during the, I think the First World War. And he noticed that the people that worked with him, and he created exercises and a lot of the exercises he created for them that they could do while they were in their hospital beds. He literally took the springs from a mattress, attach them to the wall behind the person who's laying on the bed, so that they can lay down but still work their arms, work their legs and just create movement because he knew that movement was healing. He knew that movement was vital to a healthy life. And so those people who worked with him fared better. They got better, they they healed, and those who didn't get different results. So he created this method. Eventually he made his way to America. He opened up a studio in New York City. And the method is basically we always when we hear about Pilates, we always think oh applied, it's about core strength. It's about you know, strengthening your core. Yes, that is true. And your core muscles are not just your abdominals and you know, it's not just your your six pack. It's It's the deepest layer of muscle underneath all of that that wraps around your spine to support your spine. It's essentially spinal health. Joseph said that we're only as young as our spine is flexible. And in addition to working on building strength in your core, we also work on flexibility in your body and mobile Lydia in the joints. Joseph believe that breath is life, right we can, we can, we can go a while without eating or drinking. But we can't go very long without breathing. And he believed that many of us don't breathe properly. And that if we will only learn how to breathe properly, we'd be able to enhance our health and well being. So breath work is very important in Pilates concentration, flow, strength, stability, balance, he really felt that, in order for a person to live a life that was healthy, but balanced body, mind and spirit, you have to come about it from the body. And that if the body is all those things, were able to achieve other other levels of health and well being, which is sound want mind balanced emotions through movement. So that's Pilates, and it can be done on a mat or on equipment, like you said, the reformer or the Cadillac, there's so many different pieces of equipment that he invented. He was a brilliant man.

Lisa 
6:04
Actually, before you jump into Qigong. I just wanted to say, I think one of the sad things is that I feel like Pilates has been sort of CO opted by rich white women who are all in great shape and have the right clothes and the right everything. And I think it's too bad because all talk about Pilates and people like oh, that's not for me, you know, depending on who I'm talking to, whether it's a person of color, or a person and larger body or white person, larger body or to it and I'm like no, no, I mean it, find something online, right? Like maybe if you go to class and their stops and tell them to eff off and find something else. But I speak my mind, say to them nicely, this doesn't feel welcoming, or your body shaming me or, but it it doesn't seem like that. And it's unfortunate because what you're describing it, it's like this, this should be for everybody, not just,

Steve 
6:52
it's a good point that you're making. I mean, you know, I've taught in many different Pilates Studios in New York City, and then even in Silicon Valley. And a lot of the studios were were a lot of the clients were very wealthy white women, of course, other people as well. But there is this conception, that Pilates is only something that that the rich can do. And the folks who who have an abundance of free time can do. But really, it's a practice that's available to each and every one of us and you don't need to do, you don't need equipment in order to do it. Because there's a whole mat series. Equipment is great, because it also helps you if you're weak in your body, it helps give you assistance. But it can also challenge you as well. There's so many different people out there teaching Pilates, and people taking Pilates. And I love that all the people that I have discovered over the years on social media, who are who look like me who are teaching Pilates, there's black girl Pilates on on Instagram and and I can't remember this man a Pilates, there's so many different groups. Because it's a it's a practice that takes whatever it is that you do in life, and helps you do it better.

Lisa 
8:10
Now that's so you know, it's funny, I've seen that with yoga, I've seen more people of color, I've seen more larger bodies. I didn't know that was happening in Pilates. So I'm going to look that up. That's great.

Steve 
8:19
Absolutely, it's really is for everyone. And again, it does make you help you do everything better, because you first of all, if you feel better in your body, you're going to show up to life in a different way than if you don't feel better in your body. And one of the ways that we feel better in our body is by having better posture and we have better posture, we're able to breathe deeply. And when we're able to breathe deeply, we're able to nourish our tissues with oxygen. And also it affects the way that our mind works. So it's a win win and on so many different levels. And so Pilates is it's fantastic. I found my way to Chi Gong when I was in Chinese medicine school. And I would say what was it I was about 10 years sober. And I found my way to Chi Gong because it was part of the curriculum. I was going through a really difficult time really stressed out felt really overwhelmed in life thought I was going to lose my mind during that time. I thought it was going to relapse. And one of the one of the saving graces at that time was the introduction of qi gong into my life and for those of you who don't know Qi Gong is an ancient Chinese health care system that combines following movement, standing postures, deep breathing, focused intention to activate, cultivate and circulate. lifeforce energy, and lifeforce energy is energy that makes our heartbeat. It's the energy that that makes our organs work. It's the energy that's behind our emotions and our thoughts and our consciousness. And there's lots of ways that we get energy. You know, we're born with a certain amount of energy, but we also get it from the air We breathe. We also get it from the food that we eat, the things that we drink, we get energy from sleeping, making sure that we have enough rest. And there are lots of things that can deplete us of our energy. And one of the things that depletes our energy, the most stress, stress, unhealthy lifestyles, like too much fried food, too much processed foods, too much sugar, alcohol, drugs, cigarettes, things like that. And it's important that we have practices that help us to cultivate energy circulate it, and as well as become more skillful at managing it. There's so many things that can drain our energy, people situations can drain our energy. So it's really important that we have practices that help us to fortify ourselves and also to release energy that really doesn't serve us and it doesn't belong to us. So all that can be found in and and qi gong, I got the idea years ago to bring these two practices together. Because one of the principles of movement in Pilates as well as Qi Gong is the center, the strength and the power in the center of the body, that this is where we held our power in the center of the body, we should move our bodies from a stable, grounded, connected center. And so our extremities from there can move with this anchor. And they both are very mindful movement practice are very mindful, there's a lot of mindfulness, you talked about that a few moments ago. It's important while you're doing Pilates, while you're doing chi gong to pay attention to what you're doing, and how you're doing it. And coordinating the movements with the breath. Which brings us into the present moment, which is such an incredible gift. So many of us focus on the past, you know, thinking about the past, regretting the past, staring at the past, we don't have any power, looking at the past and regretting it. Or we focus on the future with worry or anxiety. Sometimes fearing that we're not going to get what we want, or that we're going to lose what we have. But practices like politeness and Qigong bring us to the present moment, connecting our bodies in the present time, can I think our breath and when we're able to do that we're able to slow down our thoughts a bit more. Also helps us to zoom out. Especially when we're going through stuff, it's really easy to almost feel like you are in a tunnel with tunnel vision and you can't see beyond your situation. But I love how these practices give us space. So in a nutshell, that's Pilates and Qigong and how they work so well together, and, and how important that they've been in my life. And that's what I offer in my membership community SWAT studio. I offer great Pilates, Qigong, meditation, dance, laughter, medicine, all those good things to help us to bring about more balance, harmony, well being joy into our lives.

Lisa 
13:21
That's beautiful. Now in the workout itself, do you sort of go back and forth between Chi Gong and Pilates? Or do you do like Pilates first and then Qigong? Or do you kind of mix up the exercises,

Steve 
13:33
what I wanted to do when I was creating my Pilates, Qigong fusion, as I didn't want to try to create a whole new language, I really wanted to maintain the integrity of each practice, but just bring them into a to a space in a room where they can exist at the same time, and have one flow into the other. I felt as though that was going to be more true to to the integrity of each practice. And I knew that they would just marry really well, at the same time.

Lisa 
14:11
Now with Chi Gong, I'm thinking about the movement and you're standing up and there's this flow. So I have a heel spur at the moment. And so I have a lot of pain in my heel, and I still do things and I gotta walk the dogs and I got to do stuff, but I've tried to do things, something sitting down and the nice thing about Pilates is you're lying down and I have to actually wear my tennis shoes. I can't be barefoot unfortunately. Can you sit down and get any benefit out of Qigong?

Steve 
14:37
You can you can get benefit out of Qigong lying down some practices that you can do lying down as well. So that's one of the great things about Qigong as well as Pilates are there they are highly adaptable. So which which makes them very accessible to each and every one of us. And a key component of Qigong is the Breathing. So if you can breathe deeply and breathe with awareness, you're doing Qigong. Right, but there's just so many exercises that you can do while seated that that invigorate your spine that helped to nourish and, and tonify your organ systems that stretch the body that stretch the meridians exercises that activates the energy in your body exercises that clear the energy from your body. There's so much that can be done. That's the exciting thing about that practically. Yeah.

Lisa
15:36
Now you mentioned laughter medicine. I did a show on laughter yoga, where you you're not even really doing yoga. You're just making you know, you start by fake laughing. And then it's kind of funny. So becomes real laughing new do breathing exercises, is that the kind of thing? Or is this something different?

Steve
15:53
How I Use laughter medicine is kind a little different. Now I studied laughter yoga, I took a a, a training weekend many years ago in San Francisco. And I thought I was going to be the laughter yoga teacher of the Bay Area. And that didn't happen quite that way. But one thing that that stuck with me is just the power of laughter and that it's something that it doesn't take much for us to access that. And to and to bring it into any moment of our day. Right. I was at a church when I was living in the Bay Area. And the minister started off her talk. With just two minutes of laughter, she just invited us all to just laugh with her. And that was amazing. It was it was revel it was revelatory for me. And so that's what inspired me to get certified. But what I have done in my practices in what I teach in SW studios, in Swat studio is that I just throw a couple of minutes of laughter in the beginning of say, my Pilates class or in the beginning of my Qigong class, and I just invite people to laugh with me. Now, some people have difficulty laughing, tapping into their joy. And what I always say to, to them, is to not force themselves to laugh. But can you start with a smile, like lifting the corners of your mouth and maybe showing your teeth and just smiling because when we activate the muscles in the face, it communicates with the brain. And we we release those feel good hormones and, and chemicals in the body that we also do when we laugh. Yeah, so start there. It's wonderful to do that. And then just see how it goes from there. I think when you have difficulty laughing I think just finding a moment like I'm describing where you kind of hit a wall with it is really valuable. Just so that you know where you are in your ability to experience joy. I think joy is an important part of living. Just like sadness is an important part of living as well. Having sadness and experiencing sadness makes us appreciate joy.

Lisa 
18:27
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Lisa 
19:57
Yeah, that's true. Yeah, it's fun. I mean, I laughs super easily. Like sometimes I have to go back and listen to the show and edit. I'm like, that wasn't even that funny. Why did I like laugh like now like, I've got my own ridiculousness, but I'm kind of a big goof. So I do tend to laugh easily. But I think that's, I think that's really good. I wanted, you know, I mentioned that I'm going to read your book, but you'd mentioned earlier how these practices helped you. So just tell us a little bit about your journey with addiction. And we'll dive in deeper when I read. Yeah,

Steve
20:27
sure, yeah. I came from a very traumatic upbringing. There's a lot of chaos in my, in my household, my parents were dealing with trauma, they didn't even know they were dealing with trauma. Some of the ways that they dealt with it was to drink. And smoke and family member members did drugs and, and it was a chaotic environment where folks were not very happy, and didn't know how to manage their emotions. And me being the sensitive child that I was, me being a young person who was who inside knew that it was very, it was very different from the other kids. I later came to realize that not only was I sensitive and introverted, but I was also gay. And getting the signals that that it's not okay to be any of those things. So I immediately started to do things to help me self soothe and self regulate, because no one was really available to help me do that. As a child, I would bite my nails, and other things I would eat, to change the way that I felt. And then eventually, by the time I was 16, I was 15. I had my first beer. And it was at a pub in Germany, one summer, when I was dancing with my dance school. And I found relief. I say this a lot. I felt like up until that moment, I was holding my breath. And then finally I was able to breathe. I felt like I was able to be myself. I felt like I was funny. The chatter in my mind that was constantly stopped, quieted, quieted down. And I knew that from that moment on, I was going to try to recreate that, because it felt so good. So that became my way of navigating the world. I always I felt better in my body. And I felt better in the world knowing that I had that. So I chased that for a long time. And then fast forward moving through high school moving through through college in New York at NYU as a dancer, I always chased the party being a dancer, and being a performer is the perfect, perfect career for someone with an alcohol or drug

Lisa
23:03
that surprises me because it seems like there's so much discipline, especially being a dancer and your body's your instrument, and you gotta keep it tight and strong and flexible. How does that balance work with the drinking?

Steve
23:16
It just does. For me that for me, you know, I also I came I came from I came from an environment where we're drinking was commonplace. And, and I think about my father and my father had an incredible tolerance for alcohol. Maybe I inherited that, I don't know, and it's something that grows over time. And, and I, who knows, maybe I just conditioned myself to be able to function at such a high level of athleticism, with my dance as I was able to achieve and still be able to drink and do drugs and smoke cigarettes and things like that. So I did that for a long time. And, and without, without great consequence. There would be things that were consequential that would happen like I'll never forget, one two years, drinking and drugging so much that I lost my ability to see,

Lisa 
24:13
oh my gosh

Steve
24:15
I was staring at my friend and I could all of a sudden I couldn't see. A normal person would think, Wow, that was horrible. I'll never do that again. But you know, a few days later, I was back at it. So that is I think when I look back that was one of the first signs of my alcoholism and drug addiction, that despite negative consequences. I continue to take the same actions but expecting a different result. So I did that for years and years and things came to a head back in 2001 when I had the best dance job of my life dancing and Disney's The Lion King, I was part of the I was part of the Toronto cast of the show, and then eventually made my way to Broadway and eventually went on the national tour and then Dr. Broadway for over a span of like nine years. But things came to a head where I was drinking and drugging, just in order to survive and feel like I could just be in the world, I was having such a hard time managing life. And that was one of the things that was helping me breathe. However, I got to this point where I crossed that invisible line where I lost the the I lost the ability to choose as to whether or not I was going to do it, I was just going to do it. I would start off the beginning of my day saying, oh, Steven, you're not going to drink today. Or you're not going to do cocaine today. And then as the day would wear on. And then by the time by the end of the day, I am at the liquor store again. And I would have bounced around a different liquor stores in Toronto, because I didn't want the cashier to think, Gosh, he's here a lot. What's wrong with him? So not that they were even thinking about me in that way? But I was Yeah, but I was trying to manage all that which in and of itself should be a sign that something's not right. But yeah, I just I got to the point where I couldn't imagine another day of drinking and drugging. But I also couldn't imagine a life without it. So I was at a jumping off point. And luckily, I had a friend who was in recovery, who was always a beacon of light, for me, always demonstrated what, how beautiful, and how fulfilling and how radiant a sober life could be. But he never forced it on me. He never preached to me. Nothing. He was just he was just living his life. And so when I found myself in trouble, I went to him. And I confessed to him, what was going on? And he said, The most interesting thing to me. He and his partner had seen me perform in the show, maybe a week or two weeks before this the day that I was sitting on his couch telling him my truth. And he said, You know, it's funny. Kelvin, his partner said after I brought them backstage, he said to crack he said, what's going on with Stephen? Is he okay? And he said, there's normally a brightness about him. He's normally a very bright light. And that light just seems like it's been turned away down. And he was absolutely right. But I was pretending as though I had it all together, and that there was nothing wrong. But anyone who was intuitive, and just paying attention, could see that and he saw that. And so when I'm confessing to my friend was going on, and he tells me that I really knew that oh, okay, it's over. So I have a choice to make. And so that was the beginning of my sober journey, and I've been sober for 20 years. Fantastic.

Lisa
28:22
And how soon did you discover the movement? I mean, you've been doing dance, but the Pilates the Chi Gong, and wanting to go to school for Chinese medicine?

Steve
28:34
Yeah, well, I started, I started studying Pilates in a serious way. When I was doing Lion King and I was on tour. It was just something that I felt like I could do for myself. And so I started to do that then, but as far as having a movement practice that nourished me and helped me manage my emotions, and, and helped me manage stress in a very conscious way. That wasn't until I was 10 years sober. And desperation really made me cling to the movement practices and, and all the some of the other things that I teach in the book, like the drawing would cling to a life preserver. And, and I wish that I had those skills or those tools earlier on in sobriety, but it's okay, we were with the lessons and the teachers come when the student is ready. And so at that point, I was very ready. And I knew from early on in that experience of being exposed to those practices, that that's something I would do for the rest of my life, and that it was my mission, to share it with others. And that's what I do in my book recovering you and that's what I do in Swat studios. I share those practices because I know that they work work. I know that they're useful. And I know that they're fun to do

Lisa 
30:03
now what? Steve Washington, what is the E stand for? In the SW E?

Steve
30:08
Experience

Lisa 
30:10
Oh, I love that, oh, I really am, you know, I'm gonna sign up, I'm super excited because I definitely need something to help calm me down. I got a lot going on. And you know, just listening to your story, you know, my best friend from childhood. You know, like, so many of us had dysfunctional family and a lot of trauma. And they all their parents were alcoholics and some of their siblings, it was eight kids, and she started drinking and then doing drugs, and she died at 51. She got her everything was like just shutting down. And it was really sudden, and it was just absolutely heartbreaking. You have to be able to make that decision that the pain is just too much the cost, the price, what is doing to my life that I'm going to face that fear of whatever it is to get better. And people have to find that on their own.

Clive
31:04
Yeah, I from my experience, and I and I talked to a lot of other people who are dealing with addiction that one of the common threads is trauma. Oh, yeah, definitely. And I know that trauma is kind of an overused word now. But nonetheless, it is real, it exists. And there are many ways that one can experience trauma, that it doesn't have to be going off to war or, or surviving a rape or being in a car accident, or a mugging or all the things that we think of as really big deals and ways of experiencing bad things. But there are just so many things that one can go through that are traumatic and have an effect on us physiologically, and can affect the brain and rewire the brain, especially when they happen when we're young, when our brains are just developing. And so that, coupled with other things can lead us into developing these habits. And these habits are ways of self soothing and self regulating. Albeit misguided, albeit dangerous, unhealthy. There is some aspect of it that works or works for a period of time, until it doesn't work anymore. It

Lisa
32:37
doesn't right. And it causes more problems like I was Yeah,

Steve
32:41
yeah. And then you again, you come to that jumping off point where you're either going to stop what you're doing, and try something new. Or just keep doing it. And getting the same results over and over again, although you might be expecting something else. But there's no way to move, I think into healing. And resolving some of those issues and, and entering some form of recovery. Until you look at some of the trauma until you do until you address it until you identify it and work work through it. And that's one of the reasons why I teach movement because I know that the body as Bessel Vander Kolk says in his book, The Body Keeps the Score, the body keeps a record of all of our traumatic experiences. And the one of the ways one of the most effective ways to unlock that and to heal that and to move that energy. Because I do feel as though it's stuck energy, trapped energy is to connect to the body, connect to the breath. Become aware of your body and your sensations in your body because so many of us disconnect we disassociate from our bodies. And our bodies are truly our friends. But I think on some level, many of us forget that it really is it is rough. It is rough. And one of the things that I talked about in the book and I and I stress the importance of and and I feel as though even in Swat studio, I create this sense of community. No one gets through this life alone. We all need help. We all need each other. And and it's studies have shown that connection is important for better mental health. And, and this last few years moving through the pandemic that's taught us that all of us have been touched by that in ways that we had never experienced before. So community is so important. Having people around you who have your best inch Just at heart who support you, where you can be honest about what you're going through? And not keep secrets? And hide and live in the shame?

Lisa 
35:11
Yeah, yeah. It's interesting too, because and I know I've said this a lot lately, but it keeps coming up that loneliness is really dangerous. You know, loneliness is worse for you than smoking. I'm not telling anyone to go on smoke. But it's pretty astounding. You know, if you if you look at research and public health, how dangerous and unhealthy it is that loneliness, it's crazy. So get connected. Now, I'll go ahead.

Steve
35:37
No, no, I think what you're saying is absolutely true. And that loneliness is it's a big, it's, it's, it can lead to so many other issues, whether it's health, physical health issues, mental and emotional, health issues, just having connection is so important for us to, to live a life that's more balanced and healthy and, and to be well. And I was thinking that what's interesting is for me, I know that I am more of an introverted person. I'm an introverted person with some extroverted tendencies. I love being alone, I get energy from being alone. But there still has to be a balance, right? I can't stay alone, forever, I need to connect, I need to be out in the world I need to let people in. So it's, it's important for each of us to find what that right balance is to not look towards our neighbor and who maybe it's a bit more extroverted, and it's out in the world in a different way. And think to yourself, Well, why can't I be more like them? It should I be like them, and then beat yourself up because you're different. I did that for a long time. And alcohol and drugs helped me be in the world and be like them. Right, I finally was able to begin to become more comfortable being me, which is not that not them. It's just me. And I am a mixture and a blend of it all. And and it's all good.

Lisa 
37:20
You're beautiful. And was there anything you wanted to add? And I can't wait to have you back. I mean, I just love to to have you on regularly just to talk about healing and trauma and movement and all this great stuff. You're a gem?

Steve
37:32
I would love that. I would love that. Yeah,

Lisa 
37:35
you're beautiful. Was there anything else today? Because I'm going to have you back in March. So we'll take a deeper dive.

Steve 
37:43
No, I think I think we covered a lot. And there's more to cover. But maybe it's not meant to happen today. I'm so glad that you created an opportunity for me to talk about swat studio because that's when I think about the last few years of my life between Creek writing, recovering you and creating SMB studio, which just celebrated its second anniversary last November. Thank you. It's like the book came out mid November SGBV. Studio was two years old. And they're just major milestones for me in terms of my life as a creative. And I'm so proud of I'm so proud of SWAT studio in this book. Because I really are want to create. I wanted to create an accessible, affordable place to create and share wellness content with people. I mean, my membership is only $22 a month. No, I was shocked. 20 I mean, how often how quickly, how quickly do we move through $22 That's what two drinks at Starbucks. That's incredible.

Lisa 
38:54
I was blown away because I was I looked at your trailer and I was like for your fusion of Pilates and Qigong. And I was like, but what I thought, is that a class or no? Do you have a studio people can go to or is it all virtual?

Steve 
39:10
It's all virtual, and we film it at our studio here in in Southern California. I have a great team that helps me thank you create such a beautiful presentation, create a space for me to just go in and just show up and do what I do and do what I do so well and then put it out there into the world. In my membership community. There's over 300 videos of full length classes, abbreviated classes, depending upon how much time you have, like I said, it's the Pilates Qigong fusion, it's the dance, it's the meditation, it's laughter medicine, so much there to help people live their best life that

Lisa 
39:53
is fantastic. Even you are such a gem. I tell everybody how they can get your book recovering you I'm sorry, let me say that again recovering new soul care and mindful movement for overcoming addiction and also how they can join s w e and get the Steve Washington experience.

Steve 
40:10
Well, you can go to Steven Washington experience.com, where you can find how to buy recovering you there are links to Amazon. And you can find it on Amazon, you can get the audiobook version on Audible. Other booksellers are also carrying the book and if you go into a bookstore and they don't have it, ask them to get you a copy. And then SW e Studio. You can also find more information about that on my website as well. And you can sign up and join this fabulous community that that I am a part of man I've helped. Well I'm joining

Lisa 
40:45
it. I need it. I'm excited and you are just a beautiful person. I'm so excited that you came on the show. If people want to follow me on social media, you can follow me at Lisa Davis mph lots of dogs. With my new venture dog eared with Lisa Davis. They write about dogs I interview them everybody check out health powered and dog eared keep coming back rate review and subscribe. I hope you enjoy this episode of health power. Coming up next is five minutes of the wonderful podcast menopause reimagined with Andrea donsky. This is episode 55 bioidentical hormones BHRT menopause with Dr. Chris shade, so be sure to go to where you get your podcast so you can keep listening and type in menopause reimagined.

Andrea Donsky 
41:28
Welcome to the amorphous menopause podcast and YouTube show. I'm your host, Andrea donsky. And I'm the co founder of we are morphus.com. Today I'm interviewing Dr. Chris shade. He's a CEO and founder of Quicksilver Scientific, and we're going to be talking about hormones, specifically BHRT which is body identical hormones. That's coming up right now. Chris, I am so happy to have you on the Morpheus from menopause podcast.

guest
41:57
Thanks, Andrea. Great to be here.

Andrea
41:59
I'm happy to have you now I've interviewed you before for the for the summit, our amazing menopause shift summit and your information was so great that I wanted to have you on the podcast because I want us to really dig deep into bioidentical hormones. And I know that as the founder of Quicksilver Scientific, you sell you have it on your website, people are able to get it and I would love to just talk a little bit about you know, do we need a prescription we can get it directly from you. Give us a little bit of the backstory. Yeah,

Guest
42:27
prescriptions usually going around compounded hormones and certain forms oral you need prescriptions for but those so let's go back to supplements. So what do you allow to get over the counter DHEA and pregnenolone for oral use as a supplement, then the hormones that aren't allowed for oral use or as a supplement or testosterone, progesterone, estradiol as trial or stone so the estrogens but progesterone and the estrogens can be used as a topical as a you know as a beauty cream. And so you can look on the web and you know, you can go on to you know Amazon you can find estrogen creams and so we have estrogen and progesterone as topical nano serums. And then we have an oral DHEA and pregnenolone blend. Now the only thing we haven't talked about here is testosterone. Testosterone is either going to be a prescription cream, it's almost never done oral, except for a sublingual format that we have, but that's only through compounding pharmacies. So it's usually taken as a cream as an injectable, or as a pellet. But for women, if you get DHEA levels up high enough, that all converts over into testosterone. So that nano DHEA pregnenolone gives you DHEA pregnenolone and testosterone. And then the topical progesterone gives you the progesterone and estrogen either you're going to make enough for the DHEA or you're going to need a little extra as the topical estrogen dial or topical s trial

Lisa 
44:12
episode 55 bioidentical hormones BHRT menopause with Dr. Chris shade, so be sure to go to where you get your podcasts so you can keep listening and type in menopause reimagined.

Andrea 
44:24
Well, that's it for our show today. Thank you so much for listening. We appreciate you. And we would appreciate if you could please rate and review and leave a comment because the more you engage with our podcasts, the more you will find it and help other people find it wherever they listen to their podcast, so be sure to follow us I'm at Andrea donsky and at naturally savvy and Lisa at Lisa Davis mph. Thank you so much and please share this episode because the more you share shows you care. We'll see you next time