The Power of Somatic Release

Calvin and Brooke Masters: You've counted every calorie, tried every diet, spent hours in the gym, and still something's missing. You want more than just weight loss. You want your energy back. You want your confidence restored. You want a way of living that doesn't feel like punishment. Welcome to Master Your Metabolism, where we cut through the noise, ditch the fads, and give you a real plan to become the healthiest, strongest version of you. hosted by our team of expert coaches with proven strategies, science-based tips, and real life encouragement, not just to help you lose fat, but actually create that lifestyle that you love. You've tried everything. Now, let's try what actually works. This is your turning point. Let's go. Brooke Masters: Hey there, everybody. Welcome, welcome to Master Your Metabolism. I am here today with some special guests. Number one, Amanda, of course, our mindset coach, and a very special guest, Crystal Little, who helped us recently at my very first wellness retreat and created an incredible experience. Actually, two of them. Number one was working with the wheel and a yoga experience that everybody had such a great time with. And the second one was a somatic release experience that both Amanda and I were a part of. And it was something that is hard to describe and put into words. So I wanted to have Crystal on here to kind of talk a little bit about it because I think it is something that is really helpful for people that find that they are stuck and don't really know why they're not able to move. so Crystal, if you can start off by kind of sharing what it is, what the rationale is behind it, and who maybe could benefit from this. Crystal Little: Well, everybody can benefit from this. to put it in like the simplest terms, we all know we have the only part of our autonomic nervous system that we have control over is our breath. So we can speed it up, we can slow it down, it happens when we're not paying attention. It but that's the only thing we can really control. But the breath does control the nervous system. So with somatic release, the thing The thought behind it or really the science behind it is that if we can create like a sympathetic response, something that would happen if you are agitated or in an experience that is going to put you into fight or flight, and then give you that safe space to express it, it can leave your body. Energy we know is it's never created, it's never destroyed, it always just is. We are energy, we're energetic beings. When we don't express what we're feeling, it gets stuck. And that manifests in many different ways. It can manifest in disease, it can manifest in just mental blockages, it can manifest in block blocking your relationships. It and it will just keep you stuck. And it's just starts to harden you. And really, and you know, especially when if we're gonna speak in terms of women, we wanna be soft and open and inviting in the safe space, obviously, but we want like when we get hardened over time. You can have all the love in the world to give and it has no place to go because you you've built a wall that not just keeps people out, but it keeps all your stuff in. So with the somatic release, we use the breath to elevate the the nervous system. We create and and that expression looks different. That energy doesn't have to be fierce rage that you felt at one point that you buried. That rage can manifest as movement when you're breathing. It can manifest as tears, it can manifest as laughter. It doesn't have to be the exact form in which you buried because it's energy that is being released. I tell everyone when I start the session, like the first thing that happens to me is my ears get hot, and then my feet Brooke Masters: Mm-hmm. Crystal Little: start to want to move, and then I'm my shoulders, and then I'm like wiggling around, and it's it's the body, I'm listening to my body. It wants to move, it doesn't want to feel stuck anymore. So we use the breath to release in simplest terms. It's a whole process. It's like 30 minutes of release and then 30 minutes of you know nasal breathing, where we now downregulate. Because I don't want to send you back out into the world wide open and like kind of like frazzled. So we would then want to repattern. Once we've released stress, we've released patterns that we're know we're holding on to, like, and we've really set the intention to surrender and let it go, then we can repattern and like bring the nervous system back. Down and you do feel lighter. It's like having if you cry, if you rage, if you laugh, you have that same sense of like your shoulders sit a little softer, your body feels softer. And you know, it's not a one and done because as humans, Brooke Masters: Right. Crystal Little: we are always incurring new things, new little traumas, new people that irritate us, and then Brooke Masters: Hello. Crystal Little: we can't like do whatever it is we want to do. We want to smack somebody, we're not allowed to, you know, so. those things that we have to take, you know, take a big breath and we just keep on moving. So it's a process. It's something to just it's a tool. We have so many different tools, physical exercise, breath work, yoga, mindset. Like we have all these tools. This is just one of those tools that you can then incorporate at some point into your wellness journey to help you then let go of the stuff we're holding on to. Because I don't know about you, but I held on to a lot of stuff for a long time and I got tired of carrying it with me. Brooke Masters: Yeah. And it definitely happened. I mean, I know I was also, and it was something I experienced that I kind of knew what it was, but it was interesting actually feeling it and thinking about it. And for me, it just made me realize how it was carrying over into everything that I was doing. And I think that was part of it also is when you sit with it for a long time, it really had me visualizing and understanding what it was that was impacted in my life because of that. And I know Crystal Little: Mm-hmm. Brooke Masters: that there were other women there that experienced it, that things came up that they didn't even realize was buried so deep. and I think that's something also of keeping in mind because I know Amanda was there and you know, being able to have the support after, like to have this experience and understanding that it isn't a one and done. And some people that have had a lot of things and that were buried pretty deep, it is. probably a practice, with not Crystal Little: Mm-hmm. Brooke Masters: just this, but also having the support on the other end to be able to move through the things. Because knowing that it was there, knowing how it's impacted, that's one thing, but learning how to now continue life and what comes after, I think, is really important. Crystal Little: There's that component. Sometimes there's things that we've buried because listen, I could pass a polygraph on some things that have happened in my life because I have straight up forgotten them. They're they Brooke Masters: Yeah. Crystal Little: do not exist. But in these processes, they come to the surface. And you're like, What is that? I thought it was gone. I thought I was over it. I thought, you know, I don't even think about that anymore. When these things, big or small, come to the surface, it's because they're ready. They're ready. And then you might connect. There's an integration period, right? Which is so great why Amanda was there in the retreat because of the mindset Brooke Masters: Mm-hmm. Crystal Little: like component. Because you will have to integrate and then you're really gonna see how these things have been blocking you. You know, you might Brooke Masters: Mm-hmm. Crystal Little: not even be aware of where you've been blocking yourself. You've we build these walls and we just start to navigate and it takes us in a completely different path in life because we don't wanna face that thing. Brooke Masters: Right. Crystal Little: And I have to go through that thing to get over there. I'll just go this way. You know, I'll just go that Brooke Masters: Yes. Yeah. Crystal Little: way. It's way easier. But those things never go away. They're beneath the surface and they're running the show. And the only way, so there was a study done on brains, right? And from military personnel. They're amygdala, which is like the primal brain. that's like if you are walking down the street and a stick is in front of you and you jump because you thought it was a snake, like it's you you can't even control that reflex. The more trauma you've incurred, the amygdala gets larger. So with these different practices, breath work being one of them, EMDR, a couple of other therapies too, but breath work, the expression of whatever the feelings that need to come out when they come out, the amygdala can shrink. And so, like in my experience, I was incredibly reactive. I was a crazy person. I'm crazy now in different ways, but Brooke Masters: Mm-hmm. Crystal Little: I was like, I I had no emotional regulation. had no control Brooke Masters: Mm-hmm. Crystal Little: over it and I was incredibly reactive. When something would trigger me, I mean, I went from zero to a hundred and it was not pretty. Now I have control. I really do have control. I can sit, think, I can ponder and reflect and then choose how I want to respond. And that is thanks to this practice, among others, but I I wish I had a study of my brain. I wish I could see my amygdala before and now because I know I know it's smaller. I know I've got more control. So like knowing these things and seeing it show up in your life and then seeing the changes over time, like you're just undeniable, anecdotal or or not, but they're undeniable. Brooke Masters: Yep. Yeah. I mean, I know Amanda talks about this all the time with our clients and why they make certain decisions based on things that have happened. But it is, I think a lot of women from what I hear are, well, that's just who I am. And that's just how I've always been. Crystal Little: Mm-hmm. Brooke Masters: and not understanding that it is something that what's happened in your past shapes who you are. And Amanda, I mean, you can chat on this. We've done our group calls and talked to clients and talked about how things that have happened in your past do shape who you become. Crystal Little: Uh-huh. Amanda Blumenstein: Yeah, so when from a psychological perspective, we have things like denial and repression that are considered coping mechanisms. So Freud coined them to coping mechanisms because they allow the person to cope. Cope, not heal. There's a difference. Brooke Masters: Yes. Amanda Blumenstein: you cope with something that's difficult. But you heal from something that's difficult. And I think the this practice does bring up a lot of things that you may be repressing, a lot of things that you might have denial on, a lot of things that you've purposefully avoided because you know they elicit such an emotional response. And this practice I think is so beneficial. And I like Crystal called it a tool. It it is, it's an excellent tool. And Really, all we're trying to do as providers is give our clients as many tools as possible for them to be successful in whatever it is that we're looking to help them improve. and this particular tool I found when I first did it to be incredibly meaningful, but also very scary because it brought up some stuff that now I've been in therapy since I was a little kid. I've talked about these things. But they were still the things that I don't like talk about on a daily basis with my best friends, you know, like it's not water cooler conversation. It's some of the serious traumas that you've gone through in your life and how that has changed your life. The benefit of this practice is it allows you access to see which traumas are still there, and then afterwards use that information to help you. Adjust your behaviors, adjust your emotional regulation, all of those fun things that I help people do. and I think that it's scary because it's gonna bring up something that you may not have direct access to in your conscious thinking. But in your subconscious or your unconscious mind, it's sitting there waiting for you to do something with it. And this practice allows you, it's kind of like, If I gave you like a giant textbook and it was completely clean, versus if I gave you a textbook and I highlighted the most important passages. This practice is your highlighter. And Brooke Masters: Mm. Yeah. Amanda Blumenstein: once you know, okay, this paragraph is the one we have Crystal Little: What's up? Amanda Blumenstein: to focus on. You're I don't worry, I got mine behind me too. this paragraph is the one we're focusing on and illuminating that. for the client, then gives them something to work on. So it doesn't solve anything necessarily. It's just pointing out what you need to know so you can begin your journey to solve it yourself. Crystal Little: Exactly. Brooke Masters: I love it. Love it. It's a great, again, that was a perfect analogy. She is the queen of analogies. but yeah, I I think, and like I said, it's really what people choose to do with it. If they're just willing to say, well, this is just who I am, and I'm I can't change, or they say, I'm really wanting to change and this is gonna be really hard, but I'm gonna move through it anyway, which is tough. I'll tell you, some things come up and They weren't fun the first time. They're certainly not fun the second time around when you know how it goes. but again, sometimes it is moving through the hard stuff that's gonna help you to lead a better life. And that's kind of what ultimately what you want. Crystal Little: We get very comfortable in our patterns. We get comfortable in our protections. We get comfortable in isolation. We get comfortable cutting people off. And that's just not who I wanted to be. I mean, if someone does me wrong, don't get me wrong, I can cut them off. But that I was cutting, Brooke Masters: Yeah. Crystal Little: you know, I would cut people out because I just didn't want to deal with a with a tough. thing and I realized there were things holding me back that had nothing to do with that person, you know, and I see it so clearly in other people in my life where I'm just like, man, if you could just give yourself a chance, like choose, choose yourself, choose to evolve. You know, it's it's not easy. And it's not for the faint of heart. I mean, there you're you find some pretty dark moments because you still have to face that you are responsible for everything, good and bad. The moment you take accountability and responsibility for everything in your life, circumstances be damned, like it g it you're taking back your power. You know, it's just like I am I am choosing how I want to deal with this. But just like Amanda said, it comes to the surface because we are ta we're bypassing the thinking brain, we're bypassing the free prefrontal coronet cortex, we're going into the amygdala, which is just like it's just uncovering. We're just uncovering the stuff. And we use the breath to do it. So when those things then come to your awareness, like it's pretty hard to deny it. And you and if you want to rebury it, you can. It's gonna come up. It's gonna come up at another point in time. So, like, like she said, this is information and then it's what you choose to do with it. You know, you can find someone to help you. There's so many tools now. It's not just like talk therapy. There are so many tools that they really help your brain heal. Like your brain incurs injury during, you know, as simple as something just not being considered or not feeling important or unloved, unworthy. Like it doesn't have to be something major, but that it that's an injury. You know, it's a moral Brooke Masters: Yep. Crystal Little: injury. But there are ways to heal your brain from that. So that moral injury doesn't drive your behavior. moving forward in your life and it doesn't prevent you from all the wonderful things waiting for you. Brooke Masters: Yeah, because it's even those little beliefs, those perspectives of things that happen. Like I think of my boys and like how I saw them change. My youngest one, like middle school. It was he had no idea that he was the littlest guy. It was like as soon as he got to middle school, it took one person to say something that hit him so hard, and it literally his whole personality changed from something happening, Crystal Little: Yeah. Aww. Brooke Masters: and then he became this kid that had no confidence. And it wasn't Trauma, it was just his perspective on what it was, and it impacted his life so much, and it will, and people don't realize that those things, even though it's not something traumatic, it was for him. It was Crystal Little: Right. Yeah. Brooke Masters: his. Amanda Blumenstein: It it so I'm gonna throw out a our perspective from a therapeutic model, anything can be trauma. You stubbed your Crystal Little: Yes. Amanda Blumenstein: toe, it can be trauma if something happened to elicit that response internally. So people think like, if I wasn't beaten or sexually abused, or then it doesn't count, it's not trauma. but bullying, trauma, you know? Issues with the family dynamic, trauma, it does not have to be something that like someone would have gone to jail for. And I think that's a big misconception. is that trauma is Crystal Little: Right. Yep. Amanda Blumenstein: in the eye of the beholder. So if it was traumatic to you, then it's going to affect you as a trauma would. So now the same thing could happen to Brooke that happened to me and Brooke doesn't see it as trauma and I do see it as trauma and the responses are gonna be different. So it's Crystal Little: Mm-hmm. Amanda Blumenstein: actually less about what happened to you and more about how you perceive that. Crystal Little: What happened inside you? That's Gaber Mate. I love him. Yeah. Amanda Blumenstein: Yeah, he's fantastic. Crystal Little: I always tell people, because when they're like I I have this conversation all the time. I had a I had a great childhood. I didn't have any trauma. I I scoff. I and I am like, I'm sorry, but let me tell you a story. My mom was a single mother. There were three of us. So there's a period of time when kids are of a certain age where all you do is run around and drive them and drop them off at sports and this and that and after school care, gymnastics, football, volleyball, soccer, and that's all moms do. And you have no time to watch your children. So me as a seven or eight-year-old kid wanted my mom to watch me do gymnastics. But she didn't have time because she had to go run around and do all the all the picking up and dropping off. And That is like a core memory for me and I felt unloved and unimportant and not worthy. And like I and I still understood even as that young child that I knew she had to go pick up my brothers and drop off and do the mom thing and pick up food and all that stuff. But it didn't matter because those things were happening inside me. And like I'm like and people are like, I'm like, that's that's how I explain exactly what you just said, because it doesn't have to be neglect or abuse or something that somebody would go to jail for for it to affect you. And those beliefs literally ran my life for thirty five years. Like for thirty five years. I had a lot of unsafe stuff too. So I love to recreate those moments in my life. But yeah, it's it doesn't have to it's all on the eye of the beholder. Brooke Masters: Yeah. And I don't think people understand how much that can impact so many areas. Cause I see Crystal Little: Mm-hmm. Brooke Masters: it now in him. It's impacting he doesn't want to go for things anymore because he doesn't think he can do it. He doesn't want to go to school. He doesn't want to go through he's quitting very often because he's scared when he gets close that he's gonna fail. I see it in the relationships, like he doesn't think he's good enough, and it's literally in every aspect and I can see it in myself. I see it in other people and it is. And I don't think people realize how these things can truly change the trajectory and really that ripple effect all aspects, so many things. Crystal Little: Your whole life your whole life could be different. And God. Amanda Blumenstein: think when it comes sorry, Crystal, go ahead. I I was just thinking, you know, when it comes to the work that Brooke and I do and helping people learn how to change their lives, a lot of these things are the barriers that they're unaware are there, you know, like I just I can't control myself around food. There's a reason you can't control yourself around food. You may not know what that reason is, but if we can figure out what the reason is, we can go back and rewire it. So it's information, it's data that is relevant to your if you're going to try to achieve anything, you wanna get a degree, you wanna lose weight, you wanna Get a promotion. Any of those things can be affected by subconscious thoughts, feelings, and beliefs. And the way that we feel about ourselves is directly reflected in the way that we behave. Crystal Little: I always wonder when I see people that are just say an obese person, I always wonder what's happening inside them. Like what are they protecting themselves from? Like they're layering themselves from the outside world. Like what happened? Because, like you said, there's a reason. And I think sometimes the way we show ourselves to the world is like a representation of our internal world. So I always wonder, I'm like, man, what happened to them? Like, why? It's I mean, sometimes I guess it could just be taught behavior. You know, they say it's genetic. I'm like, habits are genetic because we learn them from our parents, who learn them from their parents. And okay, if you want to create that story, that's fine. But I often wonder what's happening, what's happening inside? Amanda Blumenstein: There's always more to a story, you know, when someone is doing something maladaptive. So we look at that word and we see that it's against adaptation. You're doing something that goes against what you biologically would be doing. Why? There has to be a reason. and I think people just don't want to go there. And I can completely relate to that. but you have to understand if you don't want to go there, you don't get to get anywhere either. And Brooke Masters: Yep. Amanda Blumenstein: the work that you put in is required for you to get to that next level. So if you want to stay exactly where you are, keep doing what you're doing by all means. But if you want something better for yourself, you're gonna have to take a deep dive into who you are, what you do, why you do it, how you do it. and you know, that's why there are people like us out there who help facilitate that. but I think I a psychodynamic perspective is everything comes from deeper. Every there's deeper to everything. And I think a lot of that goes back to childhood. A lot of people don't want to talk about their childhoods. But childhood is so important because it's the first time we were exposed to something. Whatever that is, if it's fast food or parental love, any of the it's still the first time you experienced it. And if it wasn't quite right, if something was off in that moment, it's it kind of like a seed that's planted there, and then you grow up and you don't think about it, but it the it's still there. And this type of, you know, the somatic release, this type of practice is there to help us re-engage. with those seeds that we forgot or intentionally left behind and use that to allow ourselves more peace, to level up, whatever it is. Crystal Little: Another great analogy. Brooke Masters: I'm telling you, she's the queen of them. It's like every single time. Amanda Blumenstein: I love my allen. Yeah. Brooke Masters: It's my favorite part. So I have a question of are there contraindications? Because we obviously know, like, this is very powerful work. This is something that can be a tool. I know you and I had talked about that EMDR, and that's something that I wanted to do. But with these types of very powerful tools, are there, especially in that, Session that like we did. Is there any contraindications or people who should not be doing something like that? Crystal Little: So I would say anyone that's like obviously in like a psychosis or like, you know, in a crisis stage, like if they're going through something like that's crisis, I would not I wouldn't want to engage with that. And then there's some physical like cardiac, give me cardiac arrhythmias or uncontrolled hypertension, you know, because when we're when we're elevating the nervous system, all of that follows. So Brooke Masters: Mm-hmm. I would imagine. Yeah. Yeah. Crystal Little: that Some people have asked about pregnancy. I don't see where that could be. It might just be uncomfortable. Brooke Masters: Mm-hmm. Crystal Little: but pregnant people have done it. And more so, some women that have come to me pregnant is because they want to release the stuff they're carrying while in utero while the baby's in utero, so they're not they don't pass it along, which I thought was I Brooke Masters: Yeah. Crystal Little: I love that perspective. that's my crazy. Brooke Masters: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And I'm Crystal Little: But yeah, so anybody in crisis psychosis, anything like that, like when you're in a crisis state, where uncontrolled hypertension or any cardiac arrhythmias. Brooke Masters: That makes sense. And Amanda Blumenstein: Would agree with that. I I think that definitely not in a crisis state. Anyone who's really struggling with their psychological stability, I would probably say maybe wait until you're in a better place. Crystal Little: Mm-hmm. Amanda Blumenstein: just because it does uncover stuff and then you have to deal with it. There it's there now. So If you're not ready for it, which I think if you are in a fragile state, you know, if suffering from maybe mood issues, even even depression, it could potentially go the other way. It could also Brooke Masters: Mm-hmm. Crystal Little: Okay. Amanda Blumenstein: help you come out of it. I could see that. but I think it's it's definitely like a very individual thing, but I would definitely say if you're going to do it, make sure that you have someone somewhere to talk to about what goes on. Crystal Little: Yeah. someone that you whether it's a counselor, a therapist, like a mindset coach, so any of like your your women obviously have Amanda there to kinda help like integrate what experience they had or what things came up. yeah, I always rec or and I always say like journal something to at least get your thoughts out because when you're ready to like take it to someone and be like, I've got this stuff. I need to unpack this. Like I Brooke Masters: Yeah. Crystal Little: don't I'm tired of carrying it around. So A hundred percent, Amanda's right. Yeah. Yeah. Here. There'll be a test. Brooke Masters: Here's my notebook. Here's my notebook of six thousand pages. Can we fix that? I know probably have my journal. So, okay. Amanda, what do you think? What do you think would be I would say people, I mean, I know pretty much everybody. Like for me, I just think it's mostly, I mean, I guess guys too, but for me, there's just so many women that come to mind that I see them stuck. I see them that they're not to their fullest potential. I see that they're stuck at work, I see they're stuck in their. relationships. They don't want to move. They don't want to do things. You know, so I just really hope somebody listening to this maybe thinks about things that have happened in their past, things that they've been through that may still be haunting, so to speak, of impacting what their full capacity could be. because I do think that this can be a powerful tool. And from as far as breath work, like there are different types, different aspects. So I think that this is certainly something very different than like we had done another breathwork session and it was much gentler, much more moving towards the this is where we are and we're moving forward and visualizing what's ahead rather than looking at what's happened and and really starting there. so I think they're just two different avenues that I think would have different outcomes. Amanda Blumenstein: I think they're both necessary for change. because yeah, you want to look forward. You wanna be able to determine what am I doing this for? Where am I going? But you can't look forward without looking backwards. I don't care what you say, you cannot do it, it cannot be done because you are going to miss something. And it's important that we acknowledge the things that make us most uncomfortable. And so in my world, that's avoidance. We're avoiding feeling something because we know it's unpleasant. Well, in order to get through that, you're gonna have to feel it. so I feel like I think breath work of all sorts that I know is beneficial. This particular exercise, I think this would be really good for clients who are really stuck and don't know why. Brooke Masters: Mm-hmm. Amanda Blumenstein: I think, and you said women, I think men could also absolutely benefit. I think it's there's There are differences in the way our society accepts men and women when they emote. they have emotional responses. So, you know, men I think it would could actually be more powerful because there's probably a chance that they buried it even deeper. Right. So they don't look fragile. Crystal Little: Mm-hmm. Brooke Masters: So they don't look like less mm-hmm. Amanda Blumenstein: so I think it could be a game changer for Anybody, but you have to be willing to go there. I can tell you that when I did it the first time, initially my brain was trying to block Crystal. It wasn't, yeah, my brain was not like was. I Brooke Masters: She's too powerful. Crystal Little: I believe that. Amanda Blumenstein: was like, okay, she's asking me to go somewhere that I know is not going to feel good. And I did put a wall up. And then in the process of us working together, I actually was like, okay, you know what? I'm just gonna like. Take the wall down and see where this goes. And it took me some places that I would have expected. So some some specific traumas that I knew were playing a part in my life. But it also took me to some other places that I was thinking I was okay with. And turns out I wasn't as okay as I thought I was. and I think that's that protective mechanism that we all have is like we don't want to feel discomfort, right? That could be emotional discomfort, that could be physical discomfort. Like, if I'm like, you you can have a promotion, but I'm gonna break your hand first. Well, most people are probably going to be a little deterred by the hand breaking thing. Crystal Little: Ha ha ha. Amanda Blumenstein: but You know, if there is a purpose and this work with Crystal has a very strong purpose, then we can kind of put aside fear for a little bit and take on the purpose. but I think that a lot of people are very resistant to being emotional. I will also say my first session with Crystal was just myself and Crystal. I was much more able to access things during that session than I was when we did it as a group because I was still conscious of the fact that there were a bunch of women around me. that, you know, and I mean, some of the like crying that comes up, the breathing, it's it's ugly. It's not what you want people to see, right? So I think that that could be a factor whether you do it in like a group setting or you do it in a private setting. but I I think it had an amazing effect for me. and I definitely will keep it in my toolbox. So that's my that's my two cents. Crystal Little: I have a c so I love how you said you've gotta for me the looking backwards is understanding like how you got here. Like when you're Brooke Masters: Mm-hmm. Crystal Little: feeling stuck, you're blocked, you're you know, we you have all this potential that everyone else sees, but you have this inability to to step into the ring for whatever fear of failure or whatever it is that you're carrying, like you have to understand why you are the way you are, not the blanket statement, well, this is how I've always been. It's like, well Brooke Masters: Mm-hmm. Crystal Little: I mean, I that's Amanda Blumenstein: Doesn't have to be. Crystal Little: yeah, it doesn't have to be. Yeah, it's been who you are, but is that who you want to be? Like is that are you somebody you'd admire? Like, you know, and when it comes to the men, so I've had group sessions with men in there and it is the most beautiful thing to see a man get in touch with that part of him because they're carrying like we carry a lot, but man, I g like We have our own struggles as women in the society, but so do men. And they're not getting out unscathed. They're carrying so much because they're not allowed to like they're less allowed than we are to Amanda Blumenstein: Mm-hmm. Brooke Masters: Right. Crystal Little: feel those emotions. So it's always super powerful and to like and then when the if they share after, it's like it just gives you such a different perspective because they're not alone. And it just makes you view the the other men in our lives that maybe are not willing. Like it just kind of gives you a little bit more compassion towards what they might be dealing with and the walls that they've built and refuse to like let them come down. It's always, well, this is the story and this is the excuse and this is why and and that's all it's gonna be. And you're like, Okay, but it gives me a little bit more compassion because they've done the they've dealt with a lot as well. So Brooke Masters: Yeah, yeah. Crystal Little: it's a choice too with the with the private versus the group. Some people we're co-regulation, right? If we're in each other's energy space within like, what is it, ten feet or something? Like you're feeling another person's or their energy. So I've seen, you know, rooms like where everyone's kind of doing their own thing and then all of a sudden somebody starts to emote whether it's moving and then they're all wiggling around or somebody starts crying and then it's like a wave that like Brooke Masters: Mm-hmm. Crystal Little: it starts to move or anger or laughter. And like I've seen everyone get the giggles And it's like, wow, this is like it's so interesting to watch because not only is it your own private experience, eyes are closed, it's an internal journey, but you're feeding off the energy around you and you don't even know it. It's influencing your thoughts. It's like I tell my stepdaughter, right? There you have different people in your life that will bring out different aspects of you. I am a silly goose with some person, I'm I'm more deep with another. I am like I have different aspects of me. And I think The energy of another brings that out. And in that group setting, when somebody's feeling a thing, it might trigger something in you. And that's why the thing you didn't know was bothering you comes up. It might not even be something that was on the surface for you, but somebody else there. So there's it's powerful in both settings. If you can let go of the outside world and just have your own and like kind of just feel what feels, the group setting can be very powerful. Other times it's the private that like people really feel like. That's where they're safe. That's where they can fall apart. That's where they can just let it all out. So it's it's individual, but it's both have their pros. Brooke Masters: I would imagine it's also a time of, you know, if it's their first time, you know, if they've ever done it. Like kind of like Amanda had an idea of what it was like before. So going into it, she kind of knew already. So I would imagine, Amanda, you already kind of knew, like, this is gonna be a lot. I'm gonna go ahead and like, slow down. Like I just know Amanda and I know she wasn't gonna. So I think that's probably part of it too. But and I think it's to the effect of does someone really want to see that and feel that? Like you said, do I really want my hand broken right now? Like I get what's over there, but that's gonna hurt a lot. And is it worth it? Is it worth getting my hand broken? I think it it comes to a point that I would imagine some people have to feel like that rock bottom to know I need to do something because I know I'm stuck and I'll do whatever it takes to move through it. Whereas some people are like, Well, I've dealt with it this long and I could keep doing it. And it really has to be that like. Crystal Little: You gotta really want it. Brooke Masters: Yeah. Crystal Little: And I've had people show up where they have like their friend brought them because it sounded cool, nobody knows. Brooke Masters: Ha ha ha. Crystal Little: I had so one of the girls I work with brought her teenage daughter and neither one of them had a clue. Like I had briefly talked Brooke Masters: Mm. Crystal Little: about it. I was doing rounds at the at work and she was like, that sounds cool, Liv she might like that. They had no idea. And her daughter, she was fifteen. And she was like, I felt like I was levitating towards the end. And she and so Amy's been asking me, she's like, I need to do like we need to go to another workshop. When's your next one? I was like, all right, I have to put someone on the calendar because she's like, live like they loved it. No clue what they were walking into. But Brooke Masters: Yeah. Crystal Little: I was like, man, if she could do this, like starting at such an early age to to have a Brooke Masters: yeah. Crystal Little: tool to like r let stuff go, it's super powerful. And other people, you know, they show up and they're like, but They keep showing up but they won't let go. And Brooke Masters: Mm-hmm. Crystal Little: which is another interesting facet. People will come 'cause they know they they need it, but then they're just like, Yeah, I don't know. And I'm just like, Okay, I mean it's Brooke Masters: It's like me going into that cold punch. How you're telling me that I have to go for so long and so cold and I'm like, nah, I'll do it for a minute. I'll do it for five. I'm good. Crystal Little: Yeah. Amanda Blumenstein: that's important. So that tells us a lot about how much you're valuing this. So, Brooke Masters: Mm-hmm. Amanda Blumenstein: Brooke, you need to get in the cold plunge for eight minutes. How much do you want it? much. That's Brooke Masters: Hell no, not that much. Crystal Little: Mm-hmm. Amanda Blumenstein: important to know. Otherwise, we're spinning our wheels, right? Brooke Masters: Yeah. Amanda Blumenstein: That's why you get the people who keep coming back, but they're not doing the work necessarily. Is they feel that right. Crystal Little: But they know there's something there. Like just keep showing up. One day they'll crack. Amanda Blumenstein: They they usually feel like the reason they keep coming back is just going counts enough. Crystal Little: Mm. Amanda Blumenstein: which it does. if Crystal Little: Mm-hmm. Amanda Blumenstein: not going is the alternative, then going and being a little closed off is progress in the right direction. but I think a lot of people are just not willing to. experience something so unfamiliar. obviously like myself doing this. A, I'm a therapist. B, I've been in therapy since I was seven years old. I've done so many different types of therapy. I knew that this was going to create an emotional response. I don't think I knew why or how, but I knew that I I was probably going to be crying at some point. and for me, that's okay. I'm good with that. Like I can go into a provider's office and spill my guts because I'm used to that. But a lot of Crystal Little: Mm-hmm. Amanda Blumenstein: people are really not used to that. And work doing therapy, Crystal Little: Yeah, they're not okay. Amanda Blumenstein: that has always been a barrier for me. And I will say it is usually more of a barrier with men than it is with women. is just getting them to feel safe enough to access the parts of themselves they need to to do the work. It's the safety part. Crystal Little: Mm-hmm. Amanda Blumenstein: that and the the safety part in in part is provided by crystal because what she does is I and I kind of was able to see you do it more the second time because I knew what I was doing already but you very much connect to other people's energies and what they're what they might be struggling with. So she's going to be talking about things that are kind of universal that everybody can kind of relate to. But you may have an experience that looked like this, and you may have an experience that looked like this, but the feelings may be on being unloved or unwanted or not valuable, whatever it is. it's important that you have that guide there who can kind of help trigger because that's how I got back to the traumas that I wound up like falling into was listening to what Crystal was saying. And my brain kind of taking that and running with it. Crystal Little: Mm-hmm. Amanda Blumenstein: so I think the openness is the most important factor. If you're gonna do it, allow whatever comes to come. but I think that obviously that takes time and practice to get used to being comfortable. Trust. Absolutely vulnerability, absolutely. Crystal Little: Trust. Brooke Masters: Trust. Jinx. But I think it's just trust that, you know, it it's scary and doing it that it's almost like that standing on the edge of the plane, like you you want to go skydiving, someone convinced you you're less you said yes, and you're like, all right, no, not yet. Okay, no, not yet. And it's like looking down and knowing what's about to happen. Like it's scary to take that jump when you've never done it before. And I think it's Crystal Little: But I think we have to remind ourselves we can do hard things. Amanda Blumenstein: Yes. Brooke Masters: Mm-hmm. Crystal Little: We can do hard things. And maybe the hard thing is doing a minute and 15 seconds in the cold plunge. And then once you Brooke Masters: Never. Crystal Little: conquer that, then it's you know, a minute and 20 or a minute 30. You know what I mean? Like we we increase our hard. Like for any of your clients that are in the gym, progressive overload, you increase Amanda Blumenstein: Overload. Crystal Little: your hard. The workouts don't get easier. You get stronger, you're doing a hard thing. And you're going to get better at it. And this is no different. Taking care of your mental and spiritual bodies, it's no different than taking care of your physical body. You do the hard things because it's what's good for you. And like you can, you can baby step it, you can do it, but we can do the hard things. You have to just honor that for yourself. Brooke Masters: Yeah, I love that. That's a great way to wrap this up because that is basically that is the the center of everything. Because if your insides are healed, that's where Crystal Little: Hello. Brooke Masters: everything spills over into all aspects of your life, physical, mental, like everything. So understanding that this is powerful, you can go at your own pace and making sure that you have a guide and somebody that is there to help you and to move you through this can be. Absolutely life changing. Crystal Little: Yeah, you've got your your foot is on the gas pedal. How how deep you want to Brooke Masters: Mm-hmm. Crystal Little: go, how fast like you're in control of all of it. But yes, having a guide that creates that safe space, that container, that support, right? Like some people when they're at their most vulnerable, like you'll see them, like they're like, Don't touch me. I'm like, let me hug you, like let me hold Brooke Masters: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Crystal Little: you. And that when they let me do that for them, because maybe they weren't given that as a child. Maybe they were told Brooke Masters: Mm-hmm. Crystal Little: to go sit in the room until they were done, you know, and that like that's really sad. And to have that to it's also a witness. To have a witness is huge for healing, right? It's we we heal in community. We come Brooke Masters: Yeah. Crystal Little: together like at a retreat in in your business, like you're creating a community. So I think the witness is also huge. Having somebody witness you and just tell you how strong you are. Like you really are capable. You can do this. Is Brooke Masters: Yeah. Crystal Little: it's also a big component. Brooke Masters: Yeah. Yeah. Well, I'm glad that you were there for all of us for our experience. And Amanda was there also to support all our people and still is. so if you guys ever want to get in touch with Crystal and look into this practice and see what she's about, I will have all of her information in the show notes. So thank you guys so much for being here. And I hope everybody got some value. If you wouldn't mind sharing a review, we would greatly appreciate it. And if you do have any questions, comments, You can always message me, Crystal, Amanda. All of our information will be there. And until next time, we'll see you guys later. Adios. Crystal Little: Yeah, thanks. Bye. Calvin and Brooke Masters: Thanks for tuning in to Master Your Metabolism. 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