Know Your Physio

Harmonizing Health: An East-Meets-West Bridge to Breathwork, The Gut-Brain Axis, and Consciousness

• Alexandra Sheth • Episode 126

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In this insightful episode, I sit down with Alexandra Sheth, a Master of Public Health in Dietetics and Nutritional Sciences and an expert in nervous system regulation. With a background in neuroscience and a passion for blending Western science with Eastern practices, Alexandra has carved a unique path in health and wellness. Her approach merges the tangible with the intangible, creating a holistic framework that embraces both the measurable aspects of health and the deeper, more subtle dimensions of our inner worlds.

Our conversation explores Alexandra's transformative journey from conventional medicine to a holistic approach that emphasizes the synergy between mind, body, and energy. We delve into her experiences with somatic breathwork, acupuncture, and functional nutrition, uncovering how these practices can dissolve internal stagnation and restore balance. 

Whether you’re seeking to deepen your connection to your body, cultivate resilience, or integrate holistic practices into your daily life, Alexandra’s journey and expertise provide a compelling roadmap to living with purpose and intention. Tune in and discover how aligning with the rhythm of life’s seasons can lead to lasting health and fulfillment.

Key Points From This Episode:

East meets West healing approach. [00:06:14]
Muscle testing and holistic health. [00:13:53]
Breathing as effective therapy. [00:19:18]
Responsibility for modern detachment. [00:28:48]
Brain vs. Mind distinction. [00:38:35]
Interoception and wearable devices. [00:45:10]
Movement, mindfulness, and meals. [00:52:19]
Trauma's effect on the body. [01:02:09]
Community as a source of strength. [01:09:35]
Costa Rica retreat adventure. [01:11:26]

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Alexandra Sheth:
Imagine a river and the water is meant to flow through a river with ease. But if there's big boulders in a riverbed, it's going to prevent the flow and create stagnancy in the river. Acupuncture supports the stagnancy. These big rocks to dissolve, to no longer stagnate the energy flow, the water, and create pure natural flow throughout the body. Our water in our body is blood. So acupuncture utilizes needles to stimulate particular energetic points in the body called meridians. So acupuncture removes the rocks from my rivers in order to support energy to flow head to toe. Wow. look at a dog, look at particular other animals, they see different color spectrums than we do, they see different frequencies than we do. We know that there's different dimensions of reality that we simply cannot perceive due to the anatomical function of our brain. Opening your mind to those possibilities will allow you to connect to other things,

Andrés Preschel: There is only one supplement that I think almost everyone on this planet should be taking, and that's a full-spectrum and highly bioavailable magnesium supplement. Because, well, let's face it, ever since the industrial revolution, our soil has been depleted of magnesium, and therefore our food is depleted of magnesium. And on top of that, our modern environments, which are inherently overstimulating and stressful, are constantly depleting our body of magnesium. And unlike other nutrients, this is not something that your body can produce on its own. It literally needs to get it from the diet. And one individual kind of magnesium alone is not enough. You actually need seven different kinds to support over 300 biochemical reactions that help regulate your nervous system, red blood cell production, energy production, managing stress and emotions, etc. And so the folks at Bioptimizers have made it very easy and convenient to add back in what the modern world leaves out. They've created magnesium breakthrough. Now I've been taking this for the past two years and the biggest benefits that I've seen are related to my evening wind down sessions and my sleep. I tend to be pretty overactive in the evenings, just totally overthinking everything that I do. And this has helped me wind down and get more restorative, more efficient to sleep. So I wake up feeling way more refreshed, more energized, more clear, more ready for the day. And the way that I see it, sleep is upstream of essentially every other health and wellness related habit and decision. Because if you're sleeping better, automatically you're going to have more regular cravings, you're going to have higher insulin sensitivity, you can derive more of all these inputs like fitness, right? You make more gains, you gain more muscle, you burn more calories, and you wake up feeling refreshed so that you can do it again and again and again. And then beyond the fitness, you have more energy to go for a walk, to do fun activities with friends. You are less stressed, so you can socialize anxiety free. And you're also going to be retaining, refreshing and refining your skills and information much, much better. So you won't forget any names. And, yeah, I mean, like I said, over 300 biochemical processes that you're supporting with magnesium. And then sleep, I mean, wow, better sleep is just a better life in general. So, I found that extremely helpful on a personal level, and I'm sure that you guys will find it helpful too. Your mind and body, and maybe even your spirit will thank you. So anyway, if you want to get a sweet little discount off of this amazing, amazing magnesium supplement from Bioptimizers, all you have to do is visit the show notes. So you scroll down right now, takes just a couple seconds and boom, you'll have access to all seven different kinds of magnesium that your body needs. All you have to do is hit the link and use code KYP from Know Your Physio. KYP. That's all. Enjoy 10 to 22% off depending on the package you choose, whether or not you subscribe. I'm obviously subscribed because I don't even want to think about whether or not I'm going to get this essential supplement in the mail. And yeah, hope you guys enjoy that awesome stuff. And that's all for now. I'll see you guys on the show. Before we dive in, why don't we share with the listeners how we met?

Alexandra Sheth: Let's do it.

Andrés Preschel: You want to tell a story?

Alexandra Sheth: Yeah. We're at a communal dinner party in South Beach, Miami, and I'm sitting on the couch and this guy, you, walk in and say, I just caught this fish. And you tell us about how you just spearfished this, what kind of fish?

Andrés Preschel: It was a gag grouper.

Alexandra Sheth: Uh-huh, a gag grouper. And I was just right off of the grill and ready for us to eat.

Andrés Preschel: And I thought, honestly, like, you know, it's this potluck and I thought everyone had made everything from scratch and I was like, man, you know, all I brought was this fish that I caught. Like, I wonder what everyone else brought. And then I'm like asking around, like, oh, what did you guys bring? Oh, you know, this and that and the farro rice. And I forgot what you brought. Did you bring the farro rice? No. And then everyone was like, yeah, you know, we just went the whole place. Oh my God. I was like stressed out. I was like, oh my God, everyone probably brought, you know, something that they made from scratch with their bare hands and probably a side. And all I have is this fish. But it seemed like it was well received.

Alexandra Sheth: Well received. Yeah. I brought some kind of salad, but I was really happy to hear that you spearfished. Yeah. And I wanted to hear more.

Andrés Preschel: And you want to get into spearfishing, potentially.

Alexandra Sheth: And I 100% want to get into spearfishing.

Andrés Preschel: You want to become a speara. I do. Very nice. Nice. Well, we'll show you the way. We'll get you dive certified, and we'll do some spearfishing. Let's do it. Sweet. So before we jump in here, why don't you share with our listeners a little bit about your background and why you do what you do? Because you're obviously very passionate about it, and I think it's through your passion they've been able to absorb and do so much. So why don't you tell us a little bit about that?

Alexandra Sheth: Yeah, so my name's Alexandra Sheth. I'm a Master of Public Health in Dietetics and Nutritional Sciences, and my background's in neuroscience. I studied at the University of Michigan for both of those degrees, and that actually kept me in Michigan for 30 years. I've always been extremely passionate and interested in the science, the tangible, the quantifiable, the measurable. And over the years I've come into more of an Eastern philosophy space where now I'm studying energy, the intangible, the immeasurable almost. And I've learned how to blend both worlds in an East meets West approach to nervous system regulation healing. So, I was back when I was 18, I was on the path of becoming a medical doctor. I'd always wanted to become a doctor. And it wasn't until I was actually taking the MCAT that I had my first gut intuition signal that at the time I didn't know what that even meant. I just felt something weird in my belly say, this isn't for you. And I had my first quarterly life crisis where as a fourth year neuroscience student at the University of Michigan who had spent hundreds and hundreds of hours studying, now taking this exam, step back and take a year off. And opened my mind and heart to the possibilities. I'm raised by an Indian family that pursues education and not simply an undergraduate degree. So at that point, I knew that there was something next for me. I just didn't know what that was. So I was the primary research assistant in the trauma burn ICU and surgical ICU studying everything from necrotizing fasciitis to depression and doing research behind the screens, behind the scenes, a lot of numbers, a lot of computers, not that much human interaction. That led me to wanting to step away from that a little bit and go to Southeast Asia. I backpacked Southeast Asia for two and a half months with one of my best friends at the time, also a neuroscience major. and we had the time of our lives. We went to Southeast Asia, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Bali, and we decided not to get SIM cards for our phones for two and a half months.

Andrés Preschel: Oh my gosh. Wow. That is, that's real.

Alexandra Sheth: Wow. So no Google Maps, no iMessages, no… Local knowledge and intuition. Yeah. No Google Translate. Wow. Reading off of a real paper map in order to navigate and also utilizing our own senses in order to know when we are in danger, when we are safe, when to turn right, when to turn left, all things like this.

Andrés Preschel: And everything went well. You guys are safe. Nothing… Extremely safe.

Alexandra Sheth: Which is interesting because we were both raised by very westernized American cultured families that said trust nobody. As two females you are in danger going into this scenario in the first place. So everything on the external was telling us you're not safe. And we learned exactly the opposite.

Andrés Preschel: What about survivorship bias? Something could have happened. It would have had a very different description of this trip if something had happened.

Alexandra Sheth: There was many different things that certainly raised flags and asked us to be more intuitive, to be more sharp, to be more aware. and certainly not ignorant in any ways. We needed to have our own bags and be very sharp and aware. And both she and I were extremely interested in yoga at the time, so that brought us together. And, you know, as Westerners, it was extremely beautiful to go there without a SIM card and not only study the Eastern philosophy, but experience it and also learn the genuine, kind, atmosphere, that is Southeast Asia, and that is the people and the culture. So that was a groundbreaking time in my life. I came back, drew this little pictograph of me with all the different options outside of it of what I could do moving forward to pursue my education, thought about a deal, a lot of different things, but I landed a master's of public health, nutritional sciences, dietetics.

Andrés Preschel: And if you can recall, I mean, I'm sure this was a combination of many moments, experiences, and reflections. But what were some of the most memorable moments of introspection when you realized you had to make this shift from the more quantitative, you know, Western medicine to, you know, Eastern style and maybe blending the two together?

Alexandra Sheth: Absolutely. Well, it did start with yoga. When I first went to U of M, I was a soccer player. Really?

Andrés Preschel: Yeah. What position?

Alexandra Sheth: Wide. Wide? Okay, cool. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Either mid or D, but either way I was on the wide end of it. Yeah. I was not selfish enough ever to be a striker. Or a goalie. Or a goalie. That's my sister. But it started with yoga and that was very uncomfortable for me. My fingers couldn't even touch my knees. I was a competitor. I looked around. I was consistently comparing, like the mindset that I had going into college was very different than The one I had when I had this, you know, quarter life crisis. And when I was a junior in college, my mom died by suicide. And that changed everything. That changed everything. I went from Wanting to be a doctor and looking inside of myself and realizing that I wanted to support others to support themselves through preventative medicine to help themselves before it got too late, before chronic illness hit, before loneliness hit. And that was so clear for me. Yoga supported me to look introspectively through mindfulness and awareness, but losing my mom in that way, I completely changed the trajectory to a very surprising path. So I would say that was definitely the key moment in my life.

Andrés Preschel: Okay. And so if we can look at this on a timeline, how many years had you spent you know, with this Western approach and how did this change the trajectory in terms of, like, when did you, when did you make that shift?

Alexandra Sheth: Absolutely. You know, I thought it was when I went into my Master's of Public Health, but it wasn't until COVID hit actually around 2020. That's when I went into, so I graduated in 2019 with my Master's of Public Health and Nutritional Sciences. But that was pretty westernized as well. I would have become a dietician in a hospital setting and I realized again, this isn't where I want to be. I want to be in a more holistic health field. So it was when COVID hit and I was working in a functional nutrition clinic doing muscle testing. Are you familiar with muscle testing?

Andrés Preschel: Take us through it.

Alexandra Sheth: Muscle testing is a nervous system regulation technique that utilizes particular points on the physical body. The practitioner will use their hands and apply pressure to different points on the body, your organs, your intra-abdominal organs that come close to the blood supply and the skin by placing just a little bit of physical pressure. Okay, so somebody is laying down on the table, I'm the practitioner, they put their hand up to your physical body like this, your arm is out, and I press, say, on your heart like this. Instead of your arm staying out strong, you can lift it like this. If the heart is weak, the hand goes completely down. Not strong like this, but completely down. And so you go to different parts of the body, and I saw individuals' arms go completely limp. That demonstrated to the practitioner where the primary stressor was. This is where I come in, where there's an entire wall of natural supplements, 100% natural supplements, of where I pull, say, the heart protocol supplements, and then I give them to the practitioner, and they start to put these supplements on the individual's belly button. A neuronal plexus, right? A bunch of different neurons coming together at your belly button. So an arm that was going weak and falling limp is now strong. It will not go down no matter what.

Andrés Preschel: So you would bring the supplement to the person's neuronal plexus, in this case being the belly button, and if their body agreed with the supplement encased in a capsule within another capsule.

Alexandra Sheth: Centrifuged. So being like a hundred times stronger of the essence than… In a centrifuge.

Andrés Preschel: Yeah. So you're placing a centrifuge as someone's belly button.

Alexandra Sheth: No, but the centrifuge is what creates the supplement to be a hundred times stronger than the original supplement. Okay. And this is what you're placing on their belly button. Okay.

Andrés Preschel: Yes. Okay. And so, and then, so if you do this, now you pass the muscle test.

Alexandra Sheth: Yes. Well, and not even pass it, you, you figure out what the, you figure out what the solution is for you in a bio-individualized manner. And it has to be in the form of supplements? For this practice, yes.

Andrés Preschel: So what if my heart's weak but what I need to do is more exercise?

Alexandra Sheth: So let's take a step back for a moment. So this was my first introduction to muscle testing. This was my first introduction to anything that's functional nutrition like this. It's even a little bit challenging for me to explain right now because I was so westernized. I was so tangible. I was so based in neuroscience that for the first six months in this position, I didn't believe it because I didn't understand it. Instead of judgment, I decided to put on the lens of curiosity, just ask myself, let's see, let's observe what's actually happening here. Over time, I would be able to know the supplement that would be the solution for this individual, one, two, or three of them. And I saw how this was actually working through whole food, natural supplementations for the individual. As a practitioner's assistant, I did recommend particular exercise, particular breathwork protocols, particular lifestyle regimens, things like this. But to get us back on track, COVID hit and I realized that this wasn't the place for me. People were spending a lot of money on supplements and although they were healing, I didn't see how this could be sustainable for anybody if supplements is really the primary solution that we're giving them. I wanted to learn more about what's happening on the inside. So I stepped away from that job. I opened up my own private practice in yoga. And then that's when I started to study breathwork and I became certified as a breathwork coach five years ago. That was an XPT athletic performance in breathwork. So that was still, you know, based with athletes. But now I'm learning about the biomechanics of respiration and also physiology. particularly around nervous system regulation. This is also COVID in Michigan, so I'm working one-on-one with individuals. So now I get to observe how people are how people's physiology bio-individualizes stress and the somatic representations of that. So I was working with so many people, hundreds of individuals over the years, and I was simply learning from my own lived experience through observation of these individuals. So what once started as a yoga private practice evolved into a somatic breathwork private practice.

Andrés Preschel: Can I just, I want to jump in and share an observation. So, you know, the night that we met at that potluck, it was a beautiful group of people, like amazing, absolutely amazing. It was really special. And you and I were sitting across from each other. And I remember at one point someone asked something about like, I hate to put it this way because it sounds like any other get-together in Miami like, oh, what do you do for work? You know, but it was like someone asked me along the lines of like, how do you help people or something like that? Yeah. We started getting into it. And I think, you know, we all went around and you were like, yeah, I help people regulate their nervous system. And I was something like that. And I was like, wait, I do that. And then we kind of just hit it off from there. So I think that's really, really cool, you know, that you can boil all of this down to something that sounds so simple, but it really just provokes curiosity into our inner worlds and how complex it can be, but how something so simple is really sometimes the most effective therapy, because something that you can do at any point in time, right? Like we're breathing all the time, and so most people overlook it, but that's exactly why it's such a powerful therapy. Absolutely. Because you can overlook it, but because you do it all the time, now guess what? You can gain some amount of autonomy and self-sufficiency in the process of living a better life.

Alexandra Sheth: Absolutely.

Andrés Preschel: People overlook it because it influences everything else in such an incredibly powerful way. And simultaneously, because it's something that is such a clear and effective path towards enabling presence, which I think most people could use a little more of, to put it nicely. inevitably it can inspire that sort of curiosity and reflection on our inner world. And then that can pave the path to other methods and modalities in the health and wellness and applied science field. Absolutely.

Alexandra Sheth: Absolutely. Respiration being an autonomic nervous system function, it happens unconsciously, just like our thinking does, just like being in a space does. All of these things happen unconsciously, similarly to digestion. And when we make the choice to become aware of these functions, we regain sovereignty into our internal landscape, which also translates to the way we move through our external landscape. So, I completely agree. We don't need to be conscious of our respiration. It happens just like sleeping, just like digestion. With that said, I'm very curious about what it means to be a human being on planet Earth and when we observe what it actually means to be a human being on planet Earth in modern technological society. we start to pick up the minor and the major stressors that are creating loneliness, depression, anxiety, all of these chronic illnesses that cause us to not only separate from ourselves, but from others as well. And so that's why during COVID, you asked me in the beginning, why do I do what I do? One, I'm a naturally curious individual. Ever since I was a kid, I've always been very curious. And through that curiosity, when I observed how loneliness affected each of us individually, as well as collectively during the pandemic, I witnessed the stress that it took toll, how the stress took a toll on our nervous systems and our ability to function and connect as human beings on planet Earth. And I wanted to learn more about that. not using people as experiments, but really actually honing in on myself and learning about myself. So you also asked, how did I get more into the energy and the preventative medicine and things like that? It was through learning about acupuncture, qigong, tai chi, things that back in, you know, high school, college, I would have rolled my eyes into the back of my head. Yeah, I totally wouldn't have believed in the power of it at all. And now I'm studying it and I'm being deeply moved by it. And I also started to receive acupuncture once a week for every two years, for the first two years. And then I took a little time off, but now I've been doing it again. And I had results. I would go in having insomnia or sleep issues, and it would be very much resolved because they were getting down to the root problem, to the energetic problem.

Andrés Preschel: Yeah. How would you describe acupuncture for folks that, because, you know, if you had asked me a year ago, what's acupuncture, I'd say, oh, when they put needles on your body and ask you to relax, you know what I mean? Yeah. But can you take us through your definition of acupuncture and how it's helped you and how it can help someone, you know, get in touch with their body and their health?

Alexandra Sheth: Absolutely. So TCM, traditional Chinese medicine, is based off of Taoism. Taoism observes nature as its teacher. So it learns about the biorhythms of the seasons and of the earth in order to learn about our own seasons and our body and our own earth body as well. So the principles that we apply to nature, we apply to our bodies. So the way that I'll explain acupuncture is in a metaphor of nature, which is imagine a river and the water is meant to flow through a river with ease, correct? But if there's big boulders, huge big rocks in a riverbed, it's going to prevent the flow and create stagnancy in the river. Acupuncture supports the stagnancy, these big rocks to dissolve, to no longer stagnate the energy flow, the water, and create pure natural flow throughout the body. Our water in our body is blood. So acupuncture utilizes needles to stimulate particular energetic points in the body called meridians. In yoga, we call them something like chakras or nadis. Same, same, but different, just different semantics. The more that I study these different philosophies, the more I realize just like religions, a lot more is related than it isn't. So, acupuncture removes the rocks from our rivers in order to support energy to flow head to toe.

Andrés Preschel: Wow. That's wonderful. That's very well said.

Alexandra Sheth: Yeah. And what can we feel from that? Increased circulation, increased energy, not chi or prana, but increased energy, like you would with a cup of coffee, but without the raising heart rate.

Andrés Preschel: Increased I would say just decreased illness in general more regulation more balance Yeah, super profound well and I mean, you know if someone I'm sure those people tuning in now that Have heard of these things and maybe they're curious about them but perhaps they feel almost intimidated because you know going off the deep end on this It can be a lot. How can someone learn to incorporate some of these modalities into their everyday life without having to go out of their way backpacking Asia or doing a master's degree? How can they apply some of this?

Alexandra Sheth: It all comes down to becoming more connected to the source, the source of life, which is energy. And that means generally plants and things that are born in nature. So you can begin with one, nutrition. What you put inside of your body. We are not machines. We're gardens. We're designed to not stuff things into our body but be very intentional with them. So eat matter that is natural and from the source, from the ground, that hasn't been shipped across the United States and is actually still alive, right? So, one, nutrition from the source, more natural, whether that's animals, whether that's plants, it's really important that it's full of energy, full of life force, what we also call prana in yoga, what we call qi in Chinese medicine.

Andrés Preschel: Do you mind if I quickly, if we can amplify this point real quick? Is this something that people can feel? What? So eating food that has more life, more prana. I understand having this sort of intuition and clarity with your body, I think that's a privilege in this modern day. Absolutely. And is that a requirement in order to feel the difference that these different foods could have? Is it something that anyone can feel?

Alexandra Sheth: It requires a sensitive degree of awareness in order to feel these subtle differences and at the end of the day that it comes with practice of consciousness of what we are aware of. I'd say for most people and this helps me to remember you know for the majority of people You know, it's more like, are we grabbing a bag of Cheetos or are we grabbing an apple? Right? Most people may not at first notice the subtle differences. No. Their awareness is not fine-tuned enough. Right? I think most people, it's like if you're playing a violin, they'll know the difference between a G string and an E string. But if you're playing, you know, a very fine-tuned note on one of those strings, they wouldn't know the difference. You know what I mean? So for most people, no. with time and with practice and sincerity and the ability to pick up subtle signals, yes, of course, it makes a huge difference.

Andrés Preschel: And, you know, as they say, it's almost like there's a quote by Gabor Mate, you know, this incredible psychologist specializing in early childhood trauma, among other things. He's prolific, absolutely legendary. He goes, you know, your trauma is not your fault, but it is your responsibility. And I feel like we can almost apply this in this context in the sense that when you go to the supermarket, all the odds are stacked against you. It's not our fault in a lot of ways that we are living in this modern life that is so detached from the natural world and our body inevitably suffers because our technology evolves exponentially, our physiology evolves linearly, and there's this huge gap between our natural design and the world around us. at least for most people, especially people that can tune into this podcast on an iPhone, 2024. So that's not our fault. When you walk into the grocery store, it's not your fault that things that aren't healthy seem to be healthy. If you look at the NOVA classification for food processing, if you go down to level three or four processing, like highly processed foods, one of the characteristics and criteria to meet that classification is they are marketed to be these healthy, low-fat, cholesterol-free foods. Because otherwise, if there's no marketing dollars behind them, they won't sell. It's just crap. Whereas if you stay on the periphery of the grocery store and you have access to fresh meat, fresh dairy, eggs, fish, vegetables, they don't need any marketing. That's the lowest level of processing. It's not processed. It's whole food. So the point I'm trying to make here is like, well, my question for you is, would you agree that it's not our fault that we're so detached from the natural world? It's not our fault that we can't tune into frequencies like the ones you're describing. However, it is, in order to live the human experience that we're designed to cherish, really, it's our responsibility to tap into this and to go out of our way and to put back in what the modern world leaves out.

Alexandra Sheth: Absolutely. So I hear a lot of things. It's certainly not our fault. And also that highlights one of my pillars and foundations of life, which is we do not need to shame or blame ourselves or others into behavior change. Shame and blame are not helpful for motivation. And you asked the question, you know, if we can't, you know, backpack the world or go to acupuncture every week, like what is it we can do? Awareness, right? First, it starts with being aware. It starts with being conscious too. that which is dulling our senses, that which is inhibiting our senses. So it's not necessarily knowledge, like knowledge is power, it's more consciousness, it's more what are we paying attention to, paying. Attention is one of the most priceless currencies in the entire world, and yet we focus so much on money Right. But what are we actually paying attention to? What are we conscious of? So it starts with awareness. No, it's not our fault. But when you say the word responsibility, that's a second foundation, which for me is response dash ability. Our responsibility is to have the ability to respond.

Andrés Preschel: Wow.

Alexandra Sheth: We're not, when we, and when I say we, I mean human beings, when human beings are in a state of survival, which most of us are, always looking forward with our pupils constricted, focused on what's ahead, not exploring our environments with curiosity like a hawk or like an amphibian, but we're so focused on what's happening forward. This also dulls our senses and this creates a very reactionary, a very trigger-based mammal that has a very low allostatic capacity for stress. You know allostasis, yeah?

Andrés Preschel: Can you fill us in?

Alexandra Sheth: Yeah, so allostatic capacity is your nervous system's capacity to be able to take on particular stress loads and not become reactive, not become survival. So the higher your allostatic capacity… The more resilient you are. which is also in my world called the zone of resilience. The zone of resilience is that zone in between your sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems response. And regardless of if a trigger is present in the environment or not, for example, you are driving down I-95 in Miami and people are driving like crazy and honking their horns. Many people might get triggered into sympathetic nervous system activation to where their heart rates are racing, their pupils are constricting more, Anger is starting to arise, impatience is starting to arise, and they're becoming dysregulated. That is generally a low allostatic capacity because they're triggered very quickly, seemingly out of control, right? If you have a wider zone of resilience, That stimulus, all those stimuli are still occurring, but you're not being jetted out of your capacity to handle that stress. You're not becoming dysregulated. In fact, you're staying optimal. Your heart rate is baseline. Your eyes are regular. Things like this, right? Your emotions aren't dysregulated. You are, quote unquote, in control. You have the ability to respond and actually navigate the situation with flow and ease and confidence.

Andrés Preschel: And you can measure this with HRV, for example, right?

Alexandra Sheth: Yeah, 100%. Yeah, so it comes down to the ability to respond and also what are you consciously aware of and starting simple. On a food label, if you can't pronounce it, you probably shouldn't be eating it. If it has over 10 ingredients, same. If it has food coloring, food dye, things like that, again, you shouldn't be consuming it or you can make the choice not to. I think it's keeping things Simple and becoming more aware of what we're putting into our bodies because we're making the choice to And that again, I'll come back to your original question. No, you don't need to travel the world No, you don't have to go to acupuncture every week. You start by making small simple conscious choices Just like the food that we ingest What are the people that you ingest? What are who do you surround yourself with?

Andrés Preschel: Yeah, what are you scrolling on your phone?

Alexandra Sheth: Same with the phone, same with anything that you're bringing in through your senses. What music are you listening to? That you're surrounding yourself with. You can imagine it's really helpful to see like a rotten apple next to a bag of other apples. How quickly do the rest of the other apples become rotten? Very quickly, like that. That can be applied to everything in our life. So, I think, yeah, that answers the question.

Andrés Preschel: That's why I stopped taking Uber because the poor quality music and the air fresheners that, I mean, I just had to get.

Alexandra Sheth: That's where my control comes into play a little bit. But, yeah, at times they don't allow you to manipulate the situation.

Andrés Preschel: Yeah, I told them, oh, change the music or I need to open the window.

Alexandra Sheth: That in itself is a pattern interrupter to me and reminds me of at times how naive I am of how many people are still sleeping.

Andrés Preschel: I'd like to imagine at least that I don't judge those people, you know what I mean? It's their job, it's their living. They have to transport so many individuals that they might as well have something to keep their car smelling fresh and music that most people would be okay with.

Alexandra Sheth: But it comes back to your question. I actually believe in those circumstances. I am not God, nor am I somebody who's going to change another person's whole life. But in that moment, I have the choice to speak up and share rather than preach. I would prefer to teach than preach or just share rather than even teach with another person. I don't know who they are. I don't know where they're coming from. I don't know what they know. I don't need to. If I share, oh, by the way, that's really harmful for your health. That one thing, maybe I'm the pattern interrupter that now changes every drive they have moving forward because one, they didn't know. That's where ignorance is not bliss. Two, there's other options. You know, there's other options. There's essential oil diffusers. There's some things that are, yes, a little more expensive and also you can put a cotton ball in an essential oil and like put it in your AC. You know, there's different things. I think Andrew Huberman just shared something about bill, or what is it, like paper receipts and plastic bottles. He just said somebody on Xenoestrogens who affirmed that that's actually obviously detrimental to our health. Yeah. But it, you know, it isn't sometimes until somebody, you know, as impactful as Andrew Huberman clarifies and affirms these particular health risks, that will start to listen. But you don't have to be somebody like that to have impact. You have the confidence to share with clarity. Whether the person receives it or not isn't your responsibility. It's simply your responsibility to speak up in the places where you can.

Andrés Preschel: rather than just like, you know, be all sour about it and resent someone like them or Uber in general, you know, people that are, you know, spending their time helping you get from point A to point B. Absolutely.

Alexandra Sheth: I also think it's about, you know, you and I have been speaking about the internal world and I'd like to make a distinction with that. The internal world, first of all, the nervous system is not just your body. The nervous system is your brain and the neuronal connections connected to your body. Also, your brain is distinctly different than your mind. What do you think the difference between brain and mind is?

Andrés Preschel: What do I think it is? I think the mind is the magic of how it all comes together to form our subjective human experience in ways that science still can't fully describe with words because there is magic to it. And I think a lot of scientists over the course of history have, the most famous scientists of all history, have in some way, shape, or form described how the more scientific they became, the more science they got into, they realize that there's a God. You know, there's something out there that science can't explain. It'll always be there. And I think that's the difference between, you know, the brain and the mind.

Alexandra Sheth: Beautiful. Beautiful. Yeah. The brain being that actual material substance, right? Your cerebellum, your cortex. And the mind, there's three parts of your mind, the subconscious, the unconscious, and the conscious. And some brainwave data, like I also, I'm the primary neuroscience coach for supermind, which quantifies the energy in your unconscious and subconscious. in order to determine how much of the energy in your nervous system are you using to survive when you're actually alive and you're wasting that energy and how can we, by quantifying this, shift your energy into a more thrival state where you can remind your nervous system that I have everything I need, I have my basic needs met, food, water, shelter, human connection and love. Thus, I can use this energy in order to optimize my nervous system and use it for things like inspiration, creativity, different things like this, right? So the other part of being connected to energy is, like you said, connecting to something bigger than yourself. So that comes down to what you fundamentally believe. And if you only believe in that which you can tangibly touch and measure, it probably prevents you from all of the things that humans cannot perceive. Humans can only perceive a particular color spectrum that look at a dog, look at particular other animals. They see different color spectrums than we do. They see different frequencies than we do. We know that there's different dimensions of reality that we simply cannot perceive due to the anatomical function of our brain, right? So there's much more to life than we can see. So opening your mind to those possibilities will allow you to connect to other things. Now I remember how I got there.

Andrés Preschel: Tangent off of the Uber drivers and your roles and responsibilities.

Alexandra Sheth: The internal world. No, the internal world. Because you and I are really fascinated by… By interoception.

Andrés Preschel: I beat you to it.

Alexandra Sheth: Andres and I have a favorite word. And that's actually one of the other things that totally connected us. It's not in the dictionary. It's not in the dictionary. And that night at the dinner party, as we were speaking about nervous system regulation, I say this word interoception and his eyes light up. And I light up because he knows what I'm saying. And that really fascinated me. Interoception is your nervous system's capacity to pick up on the internal cues that your body is sending your brain. So your body sending your brain, not your brain sending your body, for example. Enteroceptive signals are satiety, like your belly grumbling, temperature differences, like the back of your neck being colder than your belly. That is how it should be. The back of our neck should be colder than the temperature of our belly. It's also that feeling, that sense of when your guts are tight and in a panic, and though it doesn't make sense to your brain, all of your body is saying, you are not safe. Get out of here. Run. These are interoceptive signals that we usually bypass because we're too caught in the brain. And I just wanted to clarify, earlier we were talking about how important it is to connect to our internal world. And yes, I agree, but I'd like to make the distinction that actually most of us are so caught up in our mind and our thoughts and our thinking patterns that one, we're bypassing the internal landscape of our body that other half of the nervous system, right and Also, we are bypassing the external world around us the beauty of the trees changing colors the the beauty all around us I'll say right and that's because we're caught in a different part of our internal world and that's our mind Wow

Andrés Preschel: And, you know, on the subject of interoception, I want to give a little shout out to my friend John, who is a very special person in my life. And he actually made me a little clay pot by hand, and he put my favorite word on it. I want to show it to you. Okay. Our favorite word.

Alexandra Sheth: Yay. He knew this word before he made it.

Andrés Preschel: Here it is. Look at this. Isn't this beautiful? Made this by hand.

Alexandra Sheth: That's amazing.

Andrés Preschel: We've mentored each other in a lot of ways and I had him in one of my courses, coaching coaches. So I was coaching him and this topic came up pretty frequently in our classes, this idea of interoception and inviting people to tune into it and giving the tools and the know-how. And yeah, one day he decided to make me this little gift and he And I didn't notice it at first. I was like, oh, he just put something on there. And then I picked it up one day and I was like, wow. And I call him and he's like, yeah, man, put your favorite word on there. So yeah.

Alexandra Sheth: That's beautiful. And it's beautiful, particularly that you were able to work together and create a stream of inspiration that then his hands crafted something to give back to you. And I'm curious what one of the tools you utilize as a coach to support others in interoception is. How do you do that?

Andrés Preschel: Well, you know how many people that are curious about health and fitness nowadays, they'll get a wearable device like a Whoop or an Oura. And I love that. I mean, I'm so, I think that's so cool. know that most people, they don't really know what to do with that data or how to make sense of it, how to apply it, how to listen to it. Because at this point, these devices are clinical grade. They give you really valuable data. And yeah, there's AIs built into it that can suggest what to do generally based on the trends and such. When you wake up in the morning, before you look at your scores, just give yourself an opportunity to reflect and see how you feel. See if you can almost guess what the scores are going to be. And make that a habit, you know? And it doesn't have to be a full-on, you know, full-on meditation session. Just wake up, open your eyes. Before you reach for your phone, before you get up out of bed, hey, how do I feel today? What's my body telling me? And then see how that lines up with the objective data. And over time, you know, as you make this a habit, you start to see a sort of like a match right between your subjective experience and the objective data. And all right now try spending a few days without the device and see how you feel and see if you can titrate in the right habits based on that. Oh and then add the device back in see if your recovery scores are higher your sleep scores are better. So, we play this sort of like this game, right? We gamify the experience of drawing parallels between subjective and objective data. And I think it's a really fun and engaging way to harness interoception. I tell my clients nowadays, like I'll follow my clients on Whoop, for example, right? And we can see each other's scores. Unfortunately, over the past couple of months for some of my clients, they haven't had the chance to see my scores because, you know, I've worn devices now for five years and I can tell you with a great degree of certainty, generally what my sleep quality was like or my recovery scores look like. Well, actually not generally, pretty specifically what that looks like based on how I feel. And I think that nowadays mastering that intuitive ability is more important for me than just noticing that I got a 100% sleep score again. Absolutely. Yeah, that's beautiful. Yeah, so I think it's a fun way, you know for those who are already because I guess most people that have a device like that they meet the curiosity prerequisite, you know to an extent so I that's that's fantastic to hear the main quality that I heard you say is trust and

Alexandra Sheth: And a lot of times we're placing our trust in external, whatever it might be, something extrinsic outside of ourselves. And so how important to be able to trust our own bodies, to be able to trust what we sense, what we feel without that external validation. Whether that be of our friends, our family, our device, or the world around us. And, you know, when it comes to numbers, out of 100% of the neurons in our nervous system, about 20% of your neurons connect from your brain to your body, and 80%, 8-0, connect from your body to your brain. Most of the time, we're only picking up the data that makes sense to us, that we're used to. That's only the 20%. 80% we're bypassing. One, because we think it's woo-woo, because when we hear intuition, one, we either think feminine or we think, yeah, what does that even mean? We don't really know what it actually means. But intuition means your interoceptive capacity to pick up on the data that the 80% of your neurons from your gut to your brain, how that's sending, right? And, you know, what makes matters worse is that any type of inflammatory condition, not a disease, but inflammatory condition, which means microstressors, which means what we eat and if it creates some type of gastric distress. Anything that causes inflammation inside of our gastro system impedes and impairs the serotonin in our belly, right? Or in our gut, correct? Which influences how these neurons send their data and thus preventing us to be connected to our bodies.

Andrés Preschel: So most people are, well, I don't want to say most people, but you could technically leave 80% on the table of that connection with your body and understanding the signals that your body is giving you to perform and live optimally.

Alexandra Sheth: Most people are in a micro dissociative state. Dissociation is a word that we generally only use in psychology or psychotic episodes, things like that. And that's not the accurate way to use that word because we are human beings on planet earth right now in a modern society with a lot of technology, which is yes, a tool and also at times a barrier for true embodied connection. Yes, most of us are living in a micro dissociated state, because we are Desiring to be optimized, to be performance-based, to, yeah, get our numbers higher and higher. Speaking back to the whoop, for sure. And so when we can let the whoop go- Some higher, some lower. Some higher, some lower. You're right. Better, better, better, right? It's just whatever's best, whatever's better. Same with likes, right, on social media. It's like whatever the metric is that will allow us to be accepted by our tribe more, That's what we're aiming for. And that's what's creating micro dissociations and people because we're aiming to be more accepted by others around us, which is superhuman. Like that's very human of us to obviously want to be a part of our tribe. And also it prevents us from truly connecting one to our heart, two to our gut, three to our nervous system in totality.

Andrés Preschel: Wow. Man, I just need a moment to absorb all this because the way you've connected all these dots and shown us how much we're leaving on the table, it's unbelievable. And it's unbelievable because this is something that is evolutionarily preserved in each and every one of us. Yeah, optimal health and living a happy, fulfilling, you know, long lifespan, enjoying a long lifespan. It's so unique to each and every one of us, but what you're describing is something that we all have in common. You know, to get there in a personalized and context-dependent way, yeah, that's your own journey, but we all have that journey within us.

Alexandra Sheth: That's a beautiful, that's a beautiful way to say that. Absolutely. Absolutely. And that calls us to be curious about what connects us individually to our body. If we have all of this, all of us have this in common with that said, Everybody has a different way of connecting to their body, whether it be soccer or dance, or for some people, even cleaning. But there's, for every single person, there's a different way that they feel fully embodied through movement, which connects them to their body, to that 80%. Which is exciting.

Andrés Preschel: Yeah, it's very exciting. I'm just really taken aback by it.

Alexandra Sheth: For most of us, we sit. We're stagnant. Even if we're standing, right? Standing desk. With that said, how important is it to circulate?

Andrés Preschel: Should I install a treadmill under my standing desk?

Alexandra Sheth: No, you walk a lot. You walk a lot, don't you? Yeah, yeah. When it comes to movement and when it comes to longevity, when it comes to optimization, It's not that hard at the end of the day. When I've considered what will support my longevity, what will support my health, particularly when I'm in a high season as an entrepreneur of serving a lot of people through somatic breathwork, and you know, I find myself not serving myself. What I mean by that is not taking care of myself. I break it down to the three M's. Movement, mindfulness, and meals. I don't need to meditate 30 minutes to 60 minutes a day for it to be effective. I can meditate for five minutes and that's effective. Movement, what's key to that? Circulation. Circulation of your resources. All of us circulate our resources and our money all the time, right? But circulating your oxygen through conscious respiration, circulating your blood flow through movement, circulating your thoughts, you know, 90% of our thoughts are the same today as they were yesterday. 90% of your past is imprinted on the here and now. Consistently. Wow. Because we're just we're circulating the same things over and over. We're not actually allowing it to change. And then the last one is meals. Again, particularly when life gets stressful, it doesn't need to be. It should. It shouldn't be. I choose for it not to be challenging.

Andrés Preschel: Oh, my God. You know, I think if most people saw my meal, like my actual meals every day, they would they would be blown away by how Simple and also the weirdest combination of things that I come up with just because hey, it's nutritious and it has a pretty decent macronutrient profile.

Alexandra Sheth: What's one of your favorite totally out there simple meals?

Andrés Preschel: Yesterday I made something I've never made before. It kind of sounds disgusting, but it was delicious. It was like You know those like little mozzarella balls that they have in Trader Joe's? Like they come in big bags with like three individual ones in each pack. So I had three of those, so it was like 20 grams of protein. I chopped up a green apple, mixed them together with olive oil, extra virgin olive oil, salt, za'atar, that Mediterranean spice, and this like hot sauce.

Alexandra Sheth: Hot sauce?

Andrés Preschel: A little bit of hot sauce.

Alexandra Sheth: Got all the flavors in there.

Andrés Preschel: It was just like, I don't know, it was honestly delicious.

Alexandra Sheth: Awesome. I can get down with the mozzarella and the apple. Yeah, yeah. That's fun. I think like you sounded like when I hear you say it and I see you like you're inspired by it, you love it. It was delicious, yeah. It resonates with you. The simpler the meal for me and when I figure out at least You know, what season I'm in, in my life, each season comes with a different lesson, a gift and a challenge. That's what we learn in Chinese medicine. And allowing yourself to shift with the seasons, especially with what you eat, is really important. Also with that said, at certain points in the seasons, I'm very monotonous too. I figure out what works for me and my digestion. I listen interoceptively to everything that's going on. Everything that's going on. Is my belly gurgling? Is it really upset? How is this making me feel? Do I have lethargy? Do I have energy? You know, I'm not moving on to the next thing without awareness to that right back to the sensitivity and the sincerity in my awareness I can move through life while being a human still operating and performing and producing and all of those things But still connected to my body and aware of how foods making me feel. Yep if it's too complex generally

Andrés Preschel: That's about as complex as it gets for me.

Alexandra Sheth: If it's too complex, generally, and then this, I also come from, you know, a family that makes amazing Indian food and that's my family's from India. The way that they cook and with the ingredients that they cook and generally the quality that they cook, it does not upset my stomach. But if I get Indian food in Miami at a restaurant and I have the seed oils, most food and I just, you don't know where things are coming from. Probably not from the ground or they don't have that live energy like we were saying, the prana. You asked if people can feel that. All of us can feel it, we're just not aware of it. All of us feel the bowel movements or the gas that comes after eating in a restaurant and we're like, what the heck is happening? We know what's happening. It's what we were just eating.

Andrés Preschel: We're almost like treating ourselves like, you know that video game Sims? Of course. It's like, oh, I happen to go to the restroom, or like, oh, I have to, it's like. For sure. Yeah, but it's more than that.

Alexandra Sheth: It is, and it affects our mind, our body, and our spirit. Yeah. Absolutely.

Andrés Preschel: Yeah. So. I'll tell you what, I mean, going back to the meals, because I'm sure people are curious about, you know, what people like you and me eat on a regular basis. I'd love to hear. Yeah. What you eat on a day to day. But I want to emphasize, there's certainly periods of time where like, Yeah, my meals can be very monotonous. It's just like the same couple ingredients over and over again sometimes. For example, as of the past month, I'm back on eating a lot of dates. I love dates. Me too. I'm like 20% Lebanese-African. I don't know if you know that. No.

Alexandra Sheth: It's explained through Zatar.

Andrés Preschel: Yeah, I love Mediterranean food. Oh my gosh, I could have dates every day. I love them. The other day, my breakfast was, oh my gosh, third of a loaf of sourdough, like a lot of sourdough. And I dipped that in some A2 Greek yogurt and then added some za'atar, extra virgin olive oil and salt. And that was my breakfast. And I could have that every day for breakfast, you know.

Alexandra Sheth: And if somebody looked at you and your physique and also the clarity in your mind, they might be confused.

Andrés Preschel: Yeah, but you're eating bread and yogurt. Well, it's not just any bread, it's not just any yogurt, you know.

Alexandra Sheth: When you choose to have conscious awareness to what you're putting into your beautiful garden and your temple, which is your body, things change. It's less lack and scarcity and limitation and at least for me, freedom. I don't calorie count. I don't restrict myself. I don't The only thing that I choose not to put into my body is that which I know doesn't feel good for me, which is I love ice cream. Oh my gosh, I love ice cream. But if anything, like everything in moderation, right? Everything in moderation, though. And again, if I'm getting it, you know, from, you know, gelato from, you know, South Beach, Miami, I can have that once in a while. but not too much. It won't sit well with me. So where you get it sourced from is so important. I go to the farmers market, Legion's farmers market, every Saturday. It's expensive. It's certainly expensive.

Andrés Preschel: You know, I would say, so most people would say that that's expensive. I just think everything else is so cheap, you know? Yeah. That sounds, I'm sure for some people that'll sound like arrogant.

Alexandra Sheth: I mean, it's a different, Expensive or it's an investment is what I want to say. Like it's more expensive actually for me to buy cheap food that doesn't sit well inside of my mind, body and spirit. So it's for me the most worthwhile investment to pay what I pay at the farmer's market for bread where it's homemade or I'll make my own bread. PETA, all of those things as well. Dairy. Back when I was in undergrad, I couldn't eat bread or dairy or things like this without getting quote-unquote what the doctors, you know, labeled as gastritis or IBS. I was very much one of those individuals that had somatic manifestations of, you know, particular symptoms that was classified in one of the Western medical boxes. But over time, when I learned where that was actually coming from, which was stress, stress was causing my gas buildup.

Andrés Preschel: Oh, you can get every test under the sun and everything looks clear, but it's… I did.

Alexandra Sheth: I got an endoscopy. I got a colonoscopy. I got everything at one point in my master's and I knew when everything came back completely clear. Although it was wreaking havoc, I'd lost a severe amount of weight. It was a very challenging time. It was also when I was digesting my mother's suicide and I was depressed.

Andrés Preschel: Yeah.

Alexandra Sheth: And I remember being in there before getting these tests and asking the nurse and the doctor, by the way, did you know that 90% of your serotonin is sourced from your gut? They had no idea. And that was mind blowing to me of no judgment, but so much illumination to the lack of knowledge we have about trauma in our medical systems. So what do I do when I do? To bring more awareness to how trauma affects our nervous systems and creates these complex somatic representations that do not sit in a black or white box. They're bio-individualized. And if we understand how trauma affects the nervous system, we can help individuals in a one-on-one space, which will also help the collective in general. So yeah, what healed me was real food, was learning about my body, what was actually happening, taking myself out of the box. And I haven't had any of those symptoms any longer. I certainly don't have gastritis or IBS or circulation issues. I had really cold hands and feet. I lived in Michigan for 30 years and that's an easy way to say, that's an easy excuse that that's why my hands and feet were cold, but it wasn't. When I learned Tai Chi and I learned Qigong, when I learned breathwork, I never had that problem anymore. Ever. My hands and feet never get cold anymore. It all comes down to circulation. Like my hands and feet would turn black and purple from the coloration which is called Raynaud's. That's what they call it in, you know, the medical system. They say it's genetic. Oh, your mom had it? You'll have it for the rest of your life. I was working for the functional medicine clinic and I saw a middle school girl come in in the heat of summer with mittens and socks on and she had quote-unquote Raynaud's. When she went through the supplementation, when she fixed her nutrition and when she was able to bring her nervous system back in balance, She was able to go to school without being made fun of. She was able to feel connected to herself and connected to her peers. She no longer had depression or anxiety because she didn't fit in and she quote-unquote healed this disorder that many people have quote-unquote for the rest of their lives. Seeing her demonstrated to me the power of nervous system regulation, nutrition, and believing in the power of our body.

Andrés Preschel: What an absolutely incredible story. And I really appreciate you for bringing so much presence to this conversation and being able to speak. about such delicate delicate subjects but in such an empowering way because you know I know as a matter of fact everybody listening to this we all have some kind of trauma we all have some kind of way that we're storing and processing our pain And unfortunately, we plain and simply do not have all the tools, skills and know-how to navigate that pain. But either way, it's stored in our system and we have to figure out, oh, I think we need to be open-minded to new avenues that inspire us to get closer rather than further away from our body and these symptoms. You know what I mean? To really tune into them. And I think that What people should take advantage of is the fact that this stuff is out there. The answers are out there. The help is out there. The conversations that you can have with like-minded people are out there. And it takes, beyond curiosity, it takes just nudging yourself and getting the ball rolling. And I think that your story and your mission is a testament to just how realistic that this is for just about anyone. So on behalf of everyone tuning in and myself, because I mean, it's been great, you know, getting to know you and being friends with you and doing somatic breathwork with you, you know, thank you really for being such a bright light in this planet and for being so empathetic with folks that are in the position that they're in because you've been there, you know, and I think that's the highest form of credibility is empathy. When you can really put yourself in someone's shoes, so on behalf of everyone tuning in, you know, thank you so much Thank you Andres.

Alexandra Sheth: Yeah, it's a pleasure to be here. Absolutely Yeah, thank you.

Andrés Preschel: Yeah, and We only have a few more minutes here. I I think we should actually do some more podcasts.

Alexandra Sheth: I would love to hear more about your somatic breathwork experience to all listening. I wanted Andres to experience it in his own body. And at some point we'll come back to that so you can all hear more about one of the tools that, you know, I've been so humbled to create and share with others and see profound changes in their mind, body and spirit. And I would, yeah, I would love to pick up on that next time.

Andrés Preschel: I'll leave people with a cliffhanger. I would love to speak about all the tapping I was doing and how unique of an experience that was. I mean, I'll tell you what, I'll put it this way. I went into the session with you expecting nothing. Like I was just like, I'm just gonna be present and just, you know. And I'm not going to lie, there were some points in time where I felt very vulnerable, you know, doing weird things I don't think I would have ever done in someone else's home, you know. But it was a lot of fun. And I think, especially with where I was emotionally, I think it just opened up channel of sorts and a unique ability to reflect, you know, it's not until you're in a really vulnerable place that you can reflect in a very unique way, like how do I really feel right now, you know? So I'd love to explore that conversation with you and with our lovely listeners on a part two, among other things.

Alexandra Sheth: How empowering as a masculine and as a man to tap into stuck emotions and to also as a coach, to tap into the different ways that we can reflect and introspect. So I'm glad that you received that.

Andrés Preschel: Yeah, it's a yin yang. It is, yeah. Well, I have one more question for you before we sign off here. Technically two, because I want you to tell us where we can find you. That's technically a question, but if you could put a word, message, or phrase on a billboard somewhere in the world, what would it say and where would you put it?

Alexandra Sheth: Health comes with living in harmony with the gifts and the challenges of the seasons. Health comes with living in harmony with the gifts and challenges of the seasons. and like mostly don't give up. Don't give up. I would put that everywhere as a reminder. Don't give up. On the moon. Absolutely. I put it wherever people are willing to see it. Don't give up. Absolutely. At times All it takes is one breath in and out. And for somebody to be next to you and to remind you the power of that choice to come back to your breath, to connect to your life and suicide, loneliness. It's an epidemic right now in the world that we live. We're seeing it way too much and giving up on this life, which is such a gift. It should not be an answer. So I'd say don't give up. And I'd put it everywhere.

Andrés Preschel: You know, it's hard for me to express this with words, but I'll do my best. You know, I'm very sorry to hear about your mom, but I don't think that she could be happier to see how you've turned this into a strength that you share with the world. And yeah, it's a delicate subject, so I wanted to be careful not to introduce this too early on in the show, but I really just, you know, I feel the energy and the love and, you know, thank you, because there's a lot of people that I'm sure And I've certainly been there, you know, going through the motions of life, you know, and sometimes it's as simple as one breath.

Alexandra Sheth: Yeah.

Andrés Preschel: You know, and you can certainly help people do a lot more than just that.

Alexandra Sheth: Yeah. So thank you. Yeah. It's, it's my pleasure. It's, I firmly believe it's why I'm here. Yeah. Absolutely. And I've been through that too. And connecting to others, reminding ourselves we're not alone, even when we feel most alone. having somebody to pick us up off the ground and give us a hug and remind us that we are not alone here on this planet. Community. Community is one of the best medicines we can have. As much as we're striving, as much as we're performing, as much as we want to make the money and get the fame, at the end of the day, the people who are there to pick you up when you're down They don't have to be your blood to be your family.

Andrés Preschel: Last question. Last question, because people will find you.

Alexandra Sheth: People can find me. People can find me, one, in Miami Beach, Florida. I teach at a number of different studios here. I teach at The Standard Spa. I teach at Hanu, H-A-N-U. And I also teach at Modern Om. But you can find me on social media at S-H-E-T-H Studios. Chef Studios, and you'll find a gambit of things there. I'd also like to share that in November, I'm hosting a retreat in Costa Rica. And if anybody's interested in deep diving into some of the topics that we're speaking about today, and also have yoga, breath work every day, and Hell of a lot of adventure, chasing waterfalls, riding horses on the beach, surfing, all those things. It's designed to support people to connect to themselves, but not alone in community, in freaking paradise. And what exactly are the dates for that? November 17th to the 23rd.

Andrés Preschel: Nice.

Alexandra Sheth: Okay, cool. Direct flight out of Miami, and anybody listening, you're totally welcome. Lastly, you can find me on my website, which is chefstudios.org. Lovely. I want to say thank you. Thank you. Yeah, for being you and having this magnetism that, you know, from the beginning, I just wanted to learn more about what inspires you, what takes you down into the water as a spearfisherman yourself and also a coach. And yeah, thank you for such a wonderful conversation, Andres.

Andrés Preschel: My pleasure. Thank you. We'll do it again soon. So that's all for today's show. Thank you so much for tuning in today. For all of the show notes, including clickable links to anything and everything that we discussed today, everything from discount codes to videos, to research articles, books, tips, tricks, techniques, and of course, to learn more, about the guest on today's episode, all you have to do is head to my website, AndresPreschel.com, that's A-N-D-R-E-S-P-R-E-S-C-H-E-L.com, and go to podcasts. You can also leave your feedback, questions, and suggestions for future episodes, future guests, so on and so forth. Thanks again for tuning in, and I'll see you on the next one. Have a lovely rest of your day.