 Hi, this is George and I'm here with one of the members of my Master Heart Group Coaching Program, Dr. Kate Dow. I'm excited to ask her some questions about how, what she's learning as she's growing her business and she'll also be giving us an exercise to connect more authentically with our inner wisdom. So I'm looking forward to that as well. Kate, great to have you here. Thanks for joining me. Thanks George. Glad to be here. Yeah, so let me first read out your bio so that folks who are watching this have some context about what you do, who you are, and then we'll go right into what you're learning in your business. So Dr. Kate Dow is a transformational psychologist and empowerment coach for women. She teaches self-mastery as a path for healing, growing and empowering women to step into their true self and purpose. Dr. Kate is currently offering a membership in her Women's Empowerment Collective and so I'll be sure to include the link in the notes of the video as well for that. So Kate, I'd love to have you start by sharing what you've been learning as you've been growing your business, your coaching and mentoring business. Anywhere you'd like to start with that would be fine. I've basically just since being in the Master Heart group? Yeah, or just overall, you know, it doesn't have to be just in Master Heart, but just kind of what have you been learning as you've been growing your own business. Okay. So I've actually had a private practice for about 24 years and I created that pretty much on my own and learned as I went and was quite successful with it. And last year I had the opportunity to write a book and that sort of launched me into this whole new way of looking at creating an online presence and shifting my business model and seeing what was that way that I wanted to reach wider audiences. And so I've tried on some different things and I'm in the process of really creating a bunch of courses online as a way to sort of offer up the wisdom and experience that I have that I normally would share little drips with people that I work with one to one. And what I'm really trying to do is create a space where I can share that more in a teaching model with the online courses and then have live events. I will have a small group of one to one people that I work with that are really interested in the deeper work of self mastery that are committing to more of a mastermind and annual, you know, sort of membership. That's great. And, you know, in our, in our pre conversation, you mentioned about learning this lesson of staying true to your path of purpose as you grow your business. Maybe you can say a bit more about that. Sure. So I, I really appreciated the program I was in for creating my book, but I ended up staying in the second program that I was not as clear that there was really one model. And in it happens to be the model that's out there in a big way still in the online coaching world where you're charging high prices for programs and you're getting sort of this elite population of people who get to access you. And I followed that for a number of months and just kept feeling like it just wasn't a fit for me. And I was sort of ending up in a certain way of working that wasn't exactly what I wanted to be doing. And really having to step back and recognize that it wasn't about the fact that I couldn't do that, or that I wasn't capable or that it's a bad model, but that for me it was really a not a fit. And I really had to walk away like 110%, even though, you know, I was invested into that program. And that, that's, you know, I have those experiences often where things just sort of start to melt down and you're like, Hmm, this isn't working. And that that's what was basically happening is that internally I was just blocked and then nothing was moving. And I really got to see, Okay, this is that step again where you can get pulled into this idea that it's about making a lot of money fast, or it's about, you know, creating this movement of reaching all these people and making a difference and thinking it needs to look a certain way and recognizing we all there's a million paths to touching people's hearts and making them making a difference. And that particular model was super against a lot of my own internal values. Yeah, yeah, I totally can. Can I'm totally relate because I've been there. A lot of people I think watching this have been there as well where we are, you know, the way that I would call that model is it is kind of shiny and it has to be so powerful for in the surface. And then the more you get into it, the more to me it felt extractive is the word extract money from from participants and doesn't give back a lot of true value in terms of transformation. So this is why there's a lot of really only a very tiny percentage people who whoever make it to the top of that, because they've been able to keep up this, the surface, you know, Yeah, anyway, so I'm glad that you tasted some of this and then decided to find a different path that felt a lot more authentic to you. So how are you doing that now I mean one of the things I'd love for you to talk about is, I really I enjoy seeing your content I mean I, you know I, I tend to keep up with the content of people who are in my, my clients and people in my master heart program I better keep up with the content of these folks but, but yeah so so of course you're my master heart program I tend to keep it capable but you're kind of more, but you are you're quite a good writer I honestly feel that I mean it's, you know, I enjoy your content I know your content is mostly for women. But I still I enjoy seeing it and and you're so consistent with it and I'm really impressed by that. I mean I see you at least once a day. Sharing some some some wisdom and of course you have all this experience all these experiences as a transformation psychologists that you can speak to, but the consistency of the rhythm of your content is quite impressive. Tell us about that how me is that is that easy for you did you have to commit to it. How did you get into this consistent writing. Well, when I when I was in the process of finishing the book and launching it online. The person I was working with said, you know, oh you should, you know, go on Facebook and start doing lives like do lives every day. And so I committed and I did lives every day for three months. Wow, that was really powerful. And it was really a great way to connect with people but I also felt like I needed to be just as consistent with my posting, you know, and so I started to do that as well. And at first I would say I can remember like a few years ago, I started to post a little more regularly just sort of my own inner inquiries and thoughts, and I felt rather comfortable with it. It wasn't necessarily promoting my business. And so this time I was like, trying to constantly find like, how do I want to speak to this it would it actually did is it helped me get clear about how I want to present my my work, because I was like well I like to work with people with anxiety I like to help people who've been through abusive relationships. I like to help women who are in business it's like, how am I going to speak to this in a way that that that makes sense. And the whole self mastery piece really came to light, because that's a word I've always used for my own personal work. And now I realized, oh this is applicable this is what I do with people as I help them learn the tools and the skills and the practices that help them walk this self mastery path. So it just got better and better. Now I try and post twice a day on Facebook, I'm also posting on my business page, and I'm posting on Instagram and now I'm copying a lot of content and sharing it on LinkedIn as well. And even now realizing that even though I was including Twitter from my Instagram, it wasn't, it only links it it doesn't really share the whole thing so I'm trying to do a little bit of that as well. And so it's sort of just it's a daily practice right and some days I'm really inspired and I'll do a few two or three on Facebook but I it definitely improved my writing and it definitely improved me getting aligned with my message. Yeah, it's fantastic. I love this idea of a daily practice because it becomes something that's well there's no question, I'm going to do it, you know I'm going to do it and kind of our creativity shows up steps up when we make that kind of commitment, and it becomes a non negotiable and it doesn't take you that much time right. No, it doesn't, it doesn't. I mean, I'm, I don't, I'm, I'm fortunate I don't have to really map it out. Some people like really want to pre write it. And I just, I'm a little more spontaneous with it. So I just jump in and go. Yeah, yeah, and I think that's because you have, you have practice for so long, communicating your message that you can just kind of jump in and go and have it show up as being quite insightful. People who are kind of just starting out with sharing their message may have to do more planning. But, but no matter what, it gets easier. That's the key, isn't it? I think so. I think so. And the daily practice really it, it is just I think because if you're in the middle of really launching your business you, you just open like you said you you're kind of almost opening that door to that creativity to be there every day. Yeah, yeah, really great. So I'd love for you to either teach us or guide us on some exercise where you mentioned about how to be fully present experiencing life from our body awareness instead of being stuck in our head, be able to really access those internal resources. Do you want to talk about that or lead us through anything? I'll just leave you. I mean, you know, it's, it's called a lot of things. I mean, there's people who study meditation, there's people who study mindfulness. What I really work with is those ideas from a somatic experience because the more I study it for myself and the more I see certain paths that speak to the somatic experience of connection that that's that's really like our right brain. It's like accessing our right brain is the somatic experience of our awareness of what's happening in life versus our sort of left brain filtered version of what's happening that our ego mind or whatever we want to call it says this is the acceptable part we're going to pay attention to. And so it's sort of like recognizing that we have this body awareness going on all the time. And it's really there to guide us support us and and encourage like us to be more accessible to what's happening and what we get from that is so much more than this sort of filtered version. So the basic way that I guide people initially is just to go within right so that can be as simple as closing your eyes or if you don't feel comfortable closing them you would focus on a point and sort of close down the eyes nine tenths and start to focus on your awareness maybe of where you're sitting in your chair. And notice where you're contacting the chair or the floor and bring that awareness into those places of contact and really observe what it feels like what that pressure or gravity or temperature or sensation of that connection with your body in the chair. And then allow your breath to become more conscious where you're noticing the breath and you're starting to sort of purposely breathe with more awareness by breathing in a certain count or pace and then breathing out that same count or pace. And this just brings us again into an awareness of something that's normally automatic, but then we start to bring in our consciousness to it. So as you're matching that inhale pace with the exhale pace and feeling the connection of your body in the chair and the floor. See if you can become even more present in that awareness. Where your chatter that might be happening in your mind starts to feel a little more distant. And as you keep breathing you might notice that your breath wants to extend itself. It wants to breathe even a little deeper, a little longer. So let it stretch and notice how you feel in your body, how the body loves to get more oxygen, more chronic energy when we start to breathe consciously. The brain and the body are like, yes, we want more. So we just start to listen to that awareness. And then come into your low belly with your awareness and your breath. Just right underneath your belly button and breathe nice and slow and deep right there. And I want you to be curious and ask your body, what are you needing right now? Not the mind. We're not asking the mind what it wants, but we're asking the body and see if you can hear it. Sometimes it's hard at first because we're so used to the chatter. We're so used to the mind's version of directing us to what it wants and needs. And acknowledge whatever you become aware of, whether or not you're going to meet it, you might say, yeah, I see you would like a nap, but we can't nap right now. So maybe I'll try and rest in a little while, but just somehow meet that want of the body and see how that feels, how the body responds to being seen and heard. Notice how your breath might change, might open up even more, or if your body starts to relax. And when we're in this place, we're accessing a different way of being and thinking. So it's a great space to be in when you're sort of hitting a wall with something in your life. It's a place where you can just drop in and be curious, be open. And we get to access these other parts of us beyond our thinking mind. And sometimes it takes a bit of practice. We get so used to thinking thinking that we feel like that's all there is, but just knowing that in this place we can drop in and learn to connect with this deeper wisdom that the body consciousness is always there to give us. And then the really important part is to come back into your awareness and really slowly like let it be a process that you come back into awareness. I'm getting ready to open my eyes, wait and open your eyes just at the right pace for you rather than jumping back into eyes open thinking mind. So take your time, George, and come back really slow at whatever feels just right for you. How was that? That was wonderful. Thank you. That was great. Yeah, I especially like this idea of, or this feeling of meeting that need without having to fulfill it right away. I think that's a really, it's a subtle thing, but it is such a powerful practice and skill, right? That can translate into so many of our emotional needs. Yes, yes. You know, whether it's an emotional need from somebody else or from a situation in life or just from our own, you know, our own voices, our own kind of conditioned responses. Thank you for that. That was great. Great. Thank you. So let's complete our conversation by just having, I just love for you to share a couple of things that you could share whatever you'd like with the audience. But maybe you could talk a bit about more about the Women's Empowerment Collective. Okay. And I know you have an upcoming, I think, online course on Tantra Heart that you may want to talk about. Okay. So, yeah. Well, so I've really loved doing this focus on women and I realized that's really what I'm about. And I've been heading that direction for many years, but now I'm like sort of really claiming it that that's really my place right now. And it's not that I don't support men, but I see my way to support men is to get women more present, authentic and real so we can support men. So the Women's Empowerment Collective is a membership that's now kind of going to be, it's sort of an upgrade. I'm just starting sort of the free Women's Empowerment Facebook Community Group as a way for people to try me on and see what I'm doing and be a part of that idea of how do we empower ourselves. And then the Collective really became this way of wanting to hold space for women to really go deeper. So we have weekly prompts that are about going into a month of a certain topic like self-worth or like creativity, what gets in the way, what access is it. So it's all about deeper inquiry and sharing and learning different ways that we can grow this self-mastery. And so that's that. And then I've been getting out there with some sacred feminine connection work that I've been doing for a number of years through Kundalini Yoga as well as Tantra Yoga. And I'm going to be able to co-assist my teacher in October here in Santa Fe for women who are ready to learn some skills that help them be more embodied and connected with their energy and learn how to use that energy to really be focused on your purpose, whether that's a change or transition in your life or it's your business and being able to access incredible openings to your own well-being and your ability to tap into your own spiritual growth and how that helps serve us as a person in business and in life. So that's going to be happening October 19th through the 21st this fall here in Santa Fe, New Mexico where I am. Wonderful, wonderful. So yeah, so it's an in-person experience, so that's great. And so I will be sure to put the links, well at least the link to the Women's Empowerment Collective and any other link you think the audience will be interested in. I'll be sure to put that in the notes of the videos so those watching this go and check it out. And I'll also link to your Facebook page so that people can see your daily postings there. I think they're great, especially if you're a woman and you've been resonating with the kinds of things that Kate has been talking about. I think you'll really enjoy her writings as well as her Facebook live videos. So thank you Kate. Any final words of encouragement, wisdom you want to share with the audience as we close out? I would just say that keep following your heart and keep learning what you need to do to take care of yourself because part of that whole manifesting what we want to do to be of service means we have to keep showing up here first so that we can be our best and then we can take that out into the world. Yay, wonderful. Thank you so much Kate and hope everyone enjoyed watching this. Please feel free to comment below and any questions of course I will make sure that Kate sees that. Thanks everyone. Thanks Kate. Thank you.