Dr. Nikita Patel [00:00:00]:
It's very consistent. I see it in everyone that the physical symptoms have so much information about what's out of harmony, and that becomes our guiding force to help us become more of who we are, to be authentic and to live fully. I mean, I crave to shine bright and live fully. And I want to see more people and guide more people to do the same as well.
Dr. Erin Hayford [00:00:29]:
So the big question is, we know spontaneous remissions and so called miracle cures exist. We also know they arent so spontaneous after all.
Dr. Erin Hayford [00:00:39]:
Im living proof of this.
Dr. Erin Hayford [00:00:40]:
Having cured my quote unquote incurable illness, theres something to how this happens. So how do we as humans with chronic symptoms tap into this so called miraculous healing capacity? That is the question, and this podcast will give you the answers. My name is Doctor Erin Hayford and welcome to the sacred illness podcast. Before we begin today's episode, just my standard medical disclaimer. This podcast is intended for educational and informational purposes only. The content should not be considered a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Always consult with a qualified healthcare professional regarding any medical concerns.
Dr. Erin Hayford [00:01:22]:
Hey everyone, and welcome to episode 18 of the Sacred Illness podcast. Before we jump in with today's guest, who I'm so excited for you to meet and learn her story and all the work that she is offering, I wanted to do a few housekeeping items, so a few announcements on my end. Number one, I'm really excited to announce that I'm going to be part of a seven day retreat called Sacred Restoration. It's a somatic experiencing trauma healing intensive. So it's going to be from August 27 until September 3, and it's going to actually be in the state of Maine, which is where I'm from. So I'm really thrilled to be part of not only this offering, but also back in the beautiful state of Maine on a farm. It's going to be hosted on this gorgeous farm and all the meals are going to be farmed to table, which is not even the point of the retreat, but it's this amazing bonus of the retreat. So sacred restoration is a really unique, in person, seven day somatic experiencing trauma healing intensive program, and it's meant for people who are suffering from PTSD, complex PTSD and other traumatic stress related conditions.
Dr. Erin Hayford [00:02:24]:
So experts from the somatic experiencing community are going to be part of this experience. We're going to be partnering with providers of complementary and healing modalities in order to create a really safe and nurturing experience that is meant to guide you as a participant toward unlocking your innate ability to heal, heal from trauma, and also to facilitate the repair of your nervous system, synchronizing your mind, heart and body, and also just overall increasing a healthy sense of self and inner balance. So if you're really looking for a kickstart in this mind body world, in the somatic world, this restoration, this retreat is really going to be a great option for you. You get so many other goodies and bonuses, including what is called the Se toolkit. You get eight weeks of follow up care after the week long intensive. So there's ongoing support after the event has ended. During the intensive, you'll get things like daily individual sessions, daily group sessions, daily movement practices. So that's going to include things like yoga and Tai Chi and dance, daily guided trauma informed meditations and grounded practices.
Dr. Erin Hayford [00:03:36]:
There's also going to be hands on modalities offered, like craniosacral therapy, acupuncture. We're going to do things like art therapy, group sound healing sessions, and just so many other amazing opportunities. So it's really this intensive exploration into yourself and again, to connect you with your innate self healing capacity to heal trauma, to regulate your nervous system. And again, there's that bonus of being on a beautiful farm in Maine, eating beautiful, delicious, fresh farm food and building this community centered approach to healing. So the link is down below for this retreat. So check that out, number one. The second announcement is that in my own sacred illness group program, I'm offering a two week free trial for people who have been maybe curious about this offering, but have not yet signed up. So the link to access this two week free trial is below.
Dr. Erin Hayford [00:04:27]:
And for those who are unfamiliar, the sacred illness program is all about this combination of the mind and the body. From a perspective of how our chronic illnesses and our chronic symptoms are a mind body problem, what are the traumatic underpinnings of our condition? How is stress? How is our childhood programming causing us to manifest disease physically, and how do we heal it from that perspective? So it's a really radical, different approach to healing and in my opinion, is really foundational. When we think about how we approach health and healing, we're typically looking at external modalities, we're looking at physical causes, but we're really ignoring that foundational cause, which is how is our nervous system functioning? How is it wiring, how is it firing and what is driving it? Right. So there's so much we can do to regulate our nervous system, quote unquote. But what is really causing it to not be regulated in the first place? That's what this work is getting at, and that's what it's helping you to look at and to heal. So again, you get a 14 day free trial to just check my program out and see what you think. This is going to give you access to everything. So it's not like a limited access, you know, you get a sneak peek, you get access to literally everything inside the program if you decide to stay on as a member.
Dr. Erin Hayford [00:05:43]:
It's only dollar 37 a month. So it's a really low cost program in general. And the point of that is that I want people to heal. I want people to access this medicine, and I don't want it there to be a price tag that is standing between you and this work. So check the link below if you want to look into that further. And then the very last announcement which is regarding this podcast is that Doctor Niki, our guest today, is first of all, an incredible person. And you're going to find out why in just a second. At the end of this podcast, she actually offered to guide us all through a heart coherence meditation.
Dr. Erin Hayford [00:06:18]:
So if you're needing to feel more grounded, more in your body, more centered, more connected to yourself, stay tuned. After we sign off on the podcast today, there's going to be a guided session with Doctor Niki and come back to this episode and fast forward to the end anytime you're needing that grounding support. I felt amazing and shifted after we did this practice together. So mark this episode as one to come back to for when you're needing that extra support. Okay, let's get into the episode. Hi everyone, and welcome to another episode of the Sacred Illness podcast. Doctor Erin here. And I'm so excited today to welcome on Doctor Nikita Patel, also known as Doctor Niki.
Dr. Erin Hayford [00:06:58]:
She is a naturopathic doctor, a mind body medicine facilitator, and an energy medicine practitioner. She is coming on today to talk about her personal journey with mind body medicine, with illness, and how it evolved into this beautiful practice that she now has. She is someone who has a passion for nature and dance and spiritual exploration and is really devoted to holistic healing as well as authentic living. So Doctor Niki and I met through Instagram and really just resonated on so many levels in terms of our interests and how we like to talk to our patients and work with our clients and also try to incorporate these things into our own lives. Doctor Patel also specializes in providing heart centered and trauma informed healthcare for intuitive and energy sensitive women. And her focus extends to addressing anxiety, depression, chronic fatigue and more through her holistic approaches. So we'll talk all about Doctor Nicky's practice later on in the podcast and I'll give you all the links you need to contact her and get in touch with her if you're interested in her work. But for now, Doctor Niki, thank you so much for being here and welcome on the show today.
Dr. Nikita Patel [00:08:06]:
Thank you Doctor Erin and thank you for inviting me to be on this wonderful show.
Dr. Erin Hayford [00:08:11]:
Yes, I'm so excited. And like I said, you found me through Instagram. I think someone had introduced us and we started chatting and just so much of our work is so aligned and so I'm excited to. We were just talking before we hit record how our practices are very similar and also we have a lot of specialties that are somewhat different. So we together kind of offer this really wide range of mind body modalities, which is really exciting. Yeah, we just love to hear or start this off today with just hearing about your personal journey. Like, how did this all get started for you? How did you find your way into holistic medicine, mind body medicine, specifically, what were the kind of steps that led you into where you are today?
Dr. Nikita Patel [00:08:49]:
Let's see. I always start with where I was born. From my birth. I was born in India. And my parents, especially my mom, had always been interested in ayurvedic medicine, which is traditional indian medicine. She would always learn more about it through newspaper and have us follow that. So growing up, it was my lifestyle to know, okay, which foods to eat or home remedies, a lot of home remedies, how to be in tune with nature. And I've always felt very connected with nature.
Dr. Nikita Patel [00:09:28]:
I mean, I love hanging out with plants, not to educate myself or make use of it, but to communicate with plants. So as I grew up, I knew I always wanted to be a doctor. And that came from just knowing, oh, yeah, I can be a doctor who helps people get better. So that's why I was like, yeah, I'm going to be a doctor. And then who, when I was in high school, I was like, I just don't feel like I want to be a medical doctor based on my experiences with medicine. So I picked dentistry.
Dr. Erin Hayford [00:10:02]:
Oh, interesting. I did not know that about you.
Dr. Nikita Patel [00:10:07]:
Yeah. So I was on the path to become a dentist for at least eight years. I mean, everyone I knew in high school, in undergraduate, knew me as someone who's pursuing dentistry. Once I completed my undergrad, I was working as a research assistant. I. It was a no brainer for me to study biology. I love studying life, life forms and just how things work. And it's just, it lights me up and I get, I always feel like I get mini orgasms when I learn biology.
Dr. Erin Hayford [00:10:44]:
I love that.
Dr. Nikita Patel [00:10:46]:
After I applied to dental school and the first time I didn't get in, so I was like, okay, what can I do to build up my resume and my cv and do better in the dental admission test? And as I was thinking about all these things, I was thinking about, I think the programs are called, they're like master's program that help prepare or strengthen the application process for med school or dental school. So I was thinking about those programs, and in the meantime, I was visiting dental schools and dental school prospective student workshops or days, and the admission counselors would talk about, follow your heart, follow your passion, do what you like doing. Like, just do that. Don't worry about, you have to do this, this or that. And I was like, okay, so what do I like doing? And I kept thinking about that and I was like, I love natural medicine. And I would google, okay, I can do research in natural medicine. So let me see. So I was on the NIH website, National Institute of Health, which is here in Bethesda, in Maryland.
Dr. Nikita Patel [00:12:00]:
I'm in Maryland at this time. And I was like, okay, I can do that. So I found this research unit, I guess, study people studying natural medicine. Job post. And although I didn't apply to it, I noticed that there were naturopathic doctors part of the team. I was like, oh, what is that?
Dr. Erin Hayford [00:12:26]:
Yeah.
Dr. Nikita Patel [00:12:29]:
So I clicked on the link, and it took me to a school in Illinois, the national University of Health Sciences, which is an atropathic medical school. And I looked at their program and I'm like, oh, my God, this is perfect. This is perfect for me. It's biology and natural medicine combined. I love it. And then I submit it in contact information form where the counselors of the school would contact me and send me more information about the program. And then they did the next day, and they're like, hey, you know, here's some information. And at this point, I'm still pursuing dentistry.
Dr. Nikita Patel [00:13:10]:
So they've been eight years since I've been pursuing dentistry. So it was really not easy for me to be like, oh, yeah, you know, bye bye, dentistry. Going to school. It took me a few months to make this decision. I did. I talked with, I sat in front of a temple, and with my spirituality, I put in dentistry, naturopathic med school, and dentist. I picked dentistry because this was folded in paper. And so I picked a paper with dentistry on it.
Dr. Nikita Patel [00:13:45]:
And then when I read it, I felt so. I just felt doubt, like, no. So that was my answer. And at the same time, one of my best friends got married, and she moved to Chicago in Illinois. So we were gonna go there to visit in a couple months to hang out with her. So I spoke with the counselor at the school, naturopathic school, and I said, hey, I wanna come visit the school, check out the program. In the meantime, I contacted naturopathic doctors here in Maryland to talk to them and ask them any questions that I had about the career. And things were going really well.
Dr. Nikita Patel [00:14:28]:
When I was in Chicago, I got a tour of the school. I had my friends with me, and the person who gave me the tour was like, hey, you can apply to get in, and your fee will application fee will be waived. And I'm like, okay, so I did that. And they're like, all right, you got it.
Dr. Erin Hayford [00:14:51]:
Oh, my gosh.
Dr. Nikita Patel [00:14:53]:
Just like that interview I got, I had an on spot interview, and it was just so easy. It was so easy, this path. And that's how I know I'm on the right path when everything, all the doors open up, and it's so easy. And I'm feeling so excited and scared a little bit, but more excited. That's how I came into the world of naturopathic medicine. I loved going through naturopathic medical school in my early twenties, right before I started naturopathic med school, I started having acne on my face. And at that time, I was going through some stress, and I didn't know what was going on. I didn't know myself that well.
Dr. Nikita Patel [00:15:38]:
I was just feeling so confused, like, why am I having these thoughts? Where is the stress coming from? Who am I? What are my emotions? What are my feelings? Why am I reacting the way I'm reacting? All these things were going on at the same time, and I was having acne, and I was trying all these different products, including home remedies. And some worked, some didn't work. Then I went into naturopathic school, and I was applying everything I learned to treat my skin, and there were times when it would get better. But eventually I came to a point where I was on diet that was like, I think I ate rice for one week because I was just so afraid to eat foods that would break me out. And I was taking a lot of different supplements and trying out this and that. I was going to clinic for our naturopathic clinic for acupuncture and naturopathic medicine. I was using homeopathy, and I was doing everything I learned in school and more to treat my skin. And of course, in school, I must have been highly stressed.
Dr. Nikita Patel [00:16:57]:
I didn't realize that because I was really enjoying learning everything, but I was also really stressed because of the structure of the education. I was burning out, continuing to break out, and not finding a solution to clear skin. I started looking outside of nature pelvic medicine. By the time I was in my fourth year, I was reading this book. It was about the foods, like, more plant based foods. So I was like, okay, let me try this. I ate raw vegan for a month, and I felt really, really good. My skin cleared up, and then I had the cravings to start eating warmer foods, cooked foods.
Dr. Nikita Patel [00:17:42]:
And then I balanced the foods that I was eating. So that helped me with food in understanding what feels good and what doesn't feel good. Then I was curious. I was like, this person that gave the information about the plant based foods was a channeler medium. He called himself medical medium, probably. I don't know if you've heard of him. Anthony Williams. I googled him, and I'm like, what does he do? Who, what kind of people does he work with in his.
Dr. Nikita Patel [00:18:14]:
In his business? And, or if he's referring his clients to someone, who is he referring to? And these were hypnotherapists. So he's like, he refe. Was affiliated, or he had this contact with hypnotherapist. And I'm like, I'm looking into the hypnotherapy, and they're talking about addressing the root cause using hypnotherapy. Oh, I want to learn this. So that's how I entered mind body medicine world, was through hypnotherapy. And I feel guided. This was all my inner guidance.
Dr. Nikita Patel [00:18:52]:
It's not the medical medium protocols. I tried that for a few years, and they feel very limiting. I don't follow that anymore. I am grateful that it was part of my path, and it helped me because it resonated with what I needed at that time. But it's not what helps everyone. I think it's very limiting, and there's a lot of fear and like, oh, eat this, not eat this. I'm kind of recovering from that.
Dr. Erin Hayford [00:19:21]:
I love everything you shared so far because I think one of the things that's coming out as I'm talking with people who move through these journeys to, you know, we're getting to. Right, like, the deeper work you started doing with mind body medicine and really connecting with yourself, but there's this, like, really intuitive pull that just kind of, you know, starts to starts to pull people into these deeper layers. And you said it so perfectly with dentistry, right? It was like door closed, door closed, door closed. Like, it was just such a hard journey for you and, you know, it was a long journey for you. And it's just, I think it really goes to show how when we, like, have a set idea in our mind of like, this is what it's supposed to be, this is how it's supposed to go. Like, we can get really stuck there for a while. And it's not until something happens, you know, you can only take so many rejections until you're like, what's, what's wrong? What's going on here? Or whatever, but also that feeling of, like, when you had the paper, right, and you got that, you pulled dentistry and that feeling in your body of like, uh uh, no, this isn't, you know, like something finally, like, wakes us up, right. And I don't know if you've seen this in the people you work with, but it seems like, you know, I work with a lot of folks who have done a lot of that kind of journeying through dead ends, so to speak, until they get to this medicine.
Dr. Erin Hayford [00:20:42]:
Because it's, it's like we have to almost like, prove to ourselves that, like, no, this really isn't the path, you know, like, it's. I don't know what the threshold is, but we all have that, like, limit of, we can only have this many closed doors until we finally start to question what else is there. There has to be something else. And just everything you've. It's so interesting how these little pieces, you know, my journey is similar, and I think everyone's is. There's these little pieces that are seemingly insignificant in the moment, and then they add up to this one big moment of, like, shift. And like, even the admission counselor, the, the dentistry folks being like, you don't, you know, follow what makes you come alive. Like, what feels good to you, you know, like, that just seems almost like a.
Dr. Erin Hayford [00:21:23]:
Not something that they would say, you know, not a lot of people would have that orientation or say that kind of thing, but it was exactly what you needed to hear to get you to really question, well, what, what is that for me? Am I really doing that thing that makes me come alive? Yeah. So that inner guidance and, you know, I'm sure in your work, too, that that's a lot of what we're trying to get people to come back to is that inner guidance, because there's so many external things that can consistently take us off path, even. You know, it's interesting to hear you talk about the diet because it's, again, similar. In my journey, there were absolutely necessary milestones of things that helped and eventually were no longer, you know, I discarded as I moved deeper into the journey. And I think, again, if we are fully, like, listening to or disconnected from ourselves and only following those external things, we can miss like that again, that turning point of when something is no longer for us and we need to move on to another level. Like you said, the diet was absolutely necessary to get you into hypno. Like, you know, it's interesting. You wouldn't think of a diet as the thing that got you into hypnosis, but here we are.
Dr. Erin Hayford [00:22:32]:
Right. And I think that's the really beautiful thing about the journey, is it's not always what it appears to be on the surface level. Like, the diet seemed like the thing, but really it was getting into the hypnosis that was, like, kind of. It was helpful for you. The food was helpful, and that wasn't quite it. Right. There was a deeper level. So I think there's.
Dr. Erin Hayford [00:22:51]:
I don't know, the way, I guess I'm thinking about it as we're talking about it is, I know there's a lot of burnout and fatigue when people are on a healing journey because of so many things that don't work. And it's almost like, what kind of, the way I'm thinking of it now is reframing it as they're all stepping stones. Right. They all get you to that next step. And as cheesy as it is, you know, a closed door is just as helpful as an open one because it's showing you where to not go, you know? And we need to know where to not go just as much as we need to know where to go.
Dr. Nikita Patel [00:23:23]:
It's so beautifully reflected back, what I said. Yeah. The inner guidance is what's more important in the mind body medicine work that I find more so than what's right or what's wrong. And, yeah, the. The dietary piece is very important because I think most of our upbringing is in the standard american lifestyle. At least it's not a very healthy diet. It actually does harm to the body, and it's very important to eat nutritious and also to not feel like we're restricting ourselves with diet. I think the restriction is, um, a reflection of the inner.
Dr. Nikita Patel [00:24:09]:
Inner restriction that we have on our spirit, on our soul, I feel. So that's the mind body connection that I see.
Dr. Erin Hayford [00:24:17]:
That's fascinating. Yeah, that alone, I feel like, could be a whole podcast episode. I want. I, like, want to go into that, but I don't want to get too far off track of your story. So, um, yeah. So where did you go from there with hypnosis? Did you? Because I don't know anything about hypnosis training. And this is, like I was saying at the beginning of the episode, one of the things you offer that I don't, and it. And yet is such a.
Dr. Erin Hayford [00:24:38]:
I feel like such an important part of this mind body work, because it's really getting into that deeper self and those. That inner guidance and that subconscious mind. So when you did training to become a hypnotherapist, do you. I assume you have a lot of, like, personal sessions, or. How did that look like? How did you kind of get into that world?
Dr. Nikita Patel [00:24:56]:
Yeah, I googled hypnotherapy course.
Dr. Erin Hayford [00:25:00]:
Yes.
Dr. Nikita Patel [00:25:01]:
And I looked through a lot of different ones, and I selected. I was also. I didn't know at that time. I was sensing energetically, using my intuition, but I was also using my intuition to see, okay, what feels good here? Which course feels good? And the one I selected is called Heart Wellness Institute. Institute of Heart Wellness. So this course was a 60 hours hypnotherapy course that is heart centered, and it's designed to be continuing education for therapists.
Dr. Erin Hayford [00:25:41]:
Got it.
Dr. Nikita Patel [00:25:41]:
I felt like, okay, this I like because it's more centered on healing versus. There are a lot of hypnotherapy. Hypno. Hypnosis courses, I believe, that are more focused on changing things subconsciously. This one is more focused on being heart centered and compassionate with the inner healing journey. So I took the course, and I felt like this whole new part of me opened up. Some things that I didn't even understand about myself energetically opened up. That's when I started using these techniques that I learned in hypnotherapy.
Dr. Nikita Patel [00:26:29]:
And, yeah, we learned the techniques. We were shown a lot of case studies, and then we also practiced on each other. I am not certified hypnotherapist, though I did have the option to become certified hypnosis. Because I'm not a therapist, I cannot use the title hypnotherapist.
Dr. Erin Hayford [00:26:48]:
That makes sense.
Dr. Nikita Patel [00:26:48]:
Okay. I guess, legally, I cannot say I'm a hypnotherapist, but I do have the hypnosis techniques to do mind body medicine. Part of our training was mind body medicine, where we. And we practice that where we feel we're feeling to the physical disease, the symptom, and then use that as an entry point into the subconscious to the root of it. And that can involve age regression. It can involve a past life regression. It can also be regression into a womb. So these were the techniques that I learned.
Dr. Nikita Patel [00:27:29]:
And, I mean, it was just. It just became such a natural part of how I talk. And. And when I'm with my patients, I would ask these questions, and they would just regress and go into these layers. And most of my patients have released a lot of emotions, usually by crying or. I helped them get in touch with anger, and I learned how to acknowledge and feel the emotions and what to do with each emotions as part of this course as well. Okay, well, what do we do when there's anger? Anger and sadness do need to be expressed. We don't release them by just, like, getting rid of them.
Dr. Nikita Patel [00:28:13]:
We release them by expressing them. They do need to be expressed. And by doing that, I learned, I think, intuitively more so that it can be transformed into healthier boundaries or just bringing in, making more room for joy. And then there is guilt and shame. And this was. This was just. I loved it. It was mind blowing for me.
Dr. Nikita Patel [00:28:39]:
Like, oh, my God, all these emotions I didn't even know about myself. And I get to experience. I get to learn that there. I have different emotions, and I get to name them, and now I know how to address these emotions. So that was the big part of my hypnotherapy course that I took. Learned that the more I moved my emotions and understood myself better, the better I felt internally as well.
Dr. Erin Hayford [00:29:07]:
Yeah. So did you start to see deeper healing in your own body and mind as you. I mean, kind of just said that, but physically were, like, what was going on acne wise?
Dr. Nikita Patel [00:29:17]:
Yeah, physically was still acne. Yeah, chronic acne. And although I was feeling better, I understood the deeper causes, the layers to acne. It wasn't something that I was able to move energetically in one go. It was more like just working a little bit at a time. So I was setting better boundaries. And I learned the acne I learned has a lot to do with anger. And I learned how I have guilt and shame as well associated with that, because there's this feeling I felt, feeling of disgust and ew and yucky, and, oh, I don't want to show my face to anyone.
Dr. Nikita Patel [00:30:01]:
And that's the subconscious things going on. Like, oh, this is how I feel about myself. And the way it's showing up physically is acne. So I was doing a lot of work internally, and at the same time, I was burnt out by the time I graduated, I was really burnt out. I was feeling like I got hit by a truck by the time I opened my practice. So although I was understanding myself better and I was feeling more empowered with the work I was doing, my skin wasn't clearing up as much. And I knew that. I knew that my work is to be patient, not to force myself to, to have this deeper healing in one go.
Dr. Nikita Patel [00:30:48]:
And really, it's all about building my sense of self, my self worth, and understanding myself better was what the work was to have a healthier skin. Eventually, I was like, okay, well, I'm gonna try energy medicine. And at that time, energy, trying energy medicine, to me, felt like I'm wasting money, because that's the message I got from my family. Whenever I was interested in something like subtle energy works, the message I got was, oh, it doesn't work, and it's just waste of money. So I had those belief systems going on in my mind, but I was always interested. So, you know what? I'm just gonna go with it. I felt, I'm gonna try energy medicine. I knew this person that helped me start the business.
Dr. Nikita Patel [00:31:40]:
She is a psychic, and she's also a medical medium. I'm just going to go to her and see whatever's needed energetically. I'll pay as much money as I need to for this work. I value it. I'm going to go ahead with it. And then I asked her to help me with acne, and she said, okay, she'll ask her guides and let me know. And in this time, I was googling every day, trying to find out the cause. I was looking out.
Dr. Nikita Patel [00:32:12]:
I was looking. Now I look back and I'm like, I was looking outside of me to tell me what the cause is. And even though I was looking outside of me, I was getting internal guidance.
Dr. Erin Hayford [00:32:24]:
Interesting.
Dr. Nikita Patel [00:32:24]:
I felt so desperate. I'm like, oh, my God, what is going. Like, I'm trying everything I know, and I'm trying beyond everything I know, googling all the latest trendy stuff and following that self help books for clear skin. And I'm doing that, and I just feel so limited and restricted in my life with all these protocols, and my body's not feeling good. A month later, this person came back, the psychic medical medium. She came back and she said, my angel told me that you have autoimmune syndrome and you know what to do. Okay, medically, I don't have an autoimmune syndrome by medical diagnostic tools, but I had doctors in the past who considered that for me, oh, you may have autoimmunity. At some point in my teenage years, it was considered, I wasn't diagnosed with it, so it was in my mind.
Dr. Nikita Patel [00:33:33]:
And autoimmune disease is really inner conflict. It doesn't have to show up physically with the autoimmune markers, but it's really an inner conflict, and it can show up mentally as stress. So that's what I was like, okay. And then I was like, okay. She said, her angel guide said, I can. I know what to do. So, okay. I was like, if someone has an autoimmune syndrome, what would I do? And I was considering doing this food sensitivity testing.
Dr. Nikita Patel [00:34:05]:
I was hesitant because of the cost of it. And I was like, I don't know. I'm not sure. But I was reading all the case studies, and there was a case study on acne and how it healed acne from eliminating these certain foods. So I did this food sensitivity test for myself. I got the results and eliminated the food. Within a month, my skin just naturally started healing. And not only that, but the burnout and the fatigue I felt started clearing out.
Dr. Nikita Patel [00:34:37]:
It's just so interesting, like, what is going on energetically. I think it's because these foods, foods are kind of triggering these deep layers that need to. That are keeping me from being more aligned to my truth. So when I did eliminate these foods, I got a relief, like, okay, I can focus on my well being in the meantime. And that also told me there was a lot of inflammation in my body. So this gave my body a chance to recover and repair and at the same time do more inner healing work. So I started doing a lot of emotional freedom technique for myself, tapping and continued with inner healing. So that that's helped me and my skin has stayed relatively clear since then.
Dr. Erin Hayford [00:35:35]:
Hey, sacred illness listeners. Doctor Erin here. I'm quickly interrupting today's episode to put out the invitation to you or anyone you know who has a chronic illness or chronic symptoms that would like to come on to the podcast and share your story. Our goal is to invite folks onto the show who have worked with Mindbody's medicine modalities and noticed an improvement or even a complete resolution of symptoms using this potent medicine. If this describes you, check the link in the show notes below. That will take you to a quick application to fill out. That will give us some information about who you are, what your story is, and we'll take it from there. And again, if you know anyone who might also fit this description or like to come onto our show, please feel free to share the link with them as well.
Dr. Erin Hayford [00:36:19]:
All right, let's get back to the episode.
Dr. Erin Hayford [00:36:23]:
It's so fascinating. I mean, I've never heard it worded that way before. How. But it makes a lot of sense to me just in what I've seen in my work. Like, the food sensitivity is triggering something in the body, you know, like pulling at a. At a layer or being a catalyst for something that's suppressed or being held in the body. And. And I think it also shows how I talk about this a lot, how sometimes those physics, like, getting the physical stuff just under control with something like food or medication or supplement is so necessary to, like, just clear the space, we need to focus on those deeper layers.
Dr. Erin Hayford [00:36:56]:
Right? Like, I think it sounds like in our belief system, we both have that, you know, that belief that there's always that deeper work that is ultimately the cause, but those physical things that can be shifted with food or, again, supplements, medications can be really helpful. It's just. It's just like clearing the path so you can, like, have a clear mind, have a different focus. Another thing you said, too, made me think about how, you know, I think a lot of the times we're doing this outside in approach to our healing journey. Like, I take this outside thing in order to impact the inside, whereas, you know, really, the goal is to get to an inside out, obviously approach where our internal guidance is helping us select the external thing. Doing the inner work doesn't mean that you're just doing it all inside your body without anything else. Right. I think that's something that, like, another place we can get really dogmatic and caught up on.
Dr. Erin Hayford [00:37:49]:
Like, I'm doing mind body medicine, and that means I'm not touching anything else, right. Or I'm just doing this, or I'm just doing that. And I think your story really shows this need to have this, like, holistic blending of things, right? Like, there's. There's so many ways, so many tools we have access to, to heal. And when we're again following that inner guidance, it will lead us, you know, there's a lot of internal work. Yes. That that doesn't require, you know, us to take something to access it, necessarily, but there are also things that our inner guidance will lead us to. To help us resolve, you know, whatever those blocks might be to help us get deeper into the inner layers.
Dr. Erin Hayford [00:38:28]:
And I really appreciate what you said, too, about this slow healing process that was needing to take place and not expecting. As soon as I figure out the mental, emotional mind body, why behind my acne as soon as I work on that, it's going to go away. Not necessarily. Right. I think there's always that trusting of the process, trusting of the unfolding that needs to happen. In your case, there was a lot of that food component that kept coming back for you to, like, look at and incorporate in some way, shape or form again, to make that both. And, you know, working with food and working with my inner self, like, more possible and more, more easy for you, I guess, as you move forward, the internal world piece, you know, like the mind body piece, I've seen that a lot, too, in my acne folks. I mean, in a lot of folks, we, a lot of people have that suppressed anger and, you know, irritation and frustration and whatever.
Dr. Erin Hayford [00:39:22]:
That's. Yeah, it's interesting. I loved what you had, what you said about how the way your acne made you feel was actually part of that emotional landscape that was being held within your body. Yeah. And that, like, expression being so necessary. And I guess that's another way that I've not, like, put to words in such a clear way before where I kind of was thinking about this. I think I posted about it a while ago. Like, if your symptoms was, you know, if you were in a relationship with your symptoms, you know, if they were a person or whatever, what would that relationship be like? And so it's kind of speaking to that, you know, if you were.
Dr. Erin Hayford [00:39:58]:
If you were to speak of your acne, like, well, I'd be really mad at them and irritated with them. And, and then that kind of shows you again that, like, well, maybe that's what you need to look at, you know, where is that coming from? Do you do any of the energy medicine now? Like, do you practice energy medicine as well? I think you said that in your back, right? Yeah.
Dr. Nikita Patel [00:40:16]:
Yeah. It something I stepped into three years ago. It was guided, very much guided for me to learn energy healing techniques through shamanic journey. Shamanic healing. I was already doing these things, but I didn't have the structure and the guidance to do it in a way that was efficient and also left me feeling good and knew. I knew and knew, like, if I'm sensing something or if there's something, like what to do, I didn't know all these things or if I did them, it was intuitively, and I didn't understand how to wrap things up properly, energetically, the etiquette of energy medicine. So three years ago, I was led into very much guided, very much guided into learning shamanic healing techniques. And I enjoyed every bit of learning.
Dr. Nikita Patel [00:41:16]:
It and it's incorporated really well into mind body medicine. So when we go, it go into the subconscious, we're in the, and also unconscious. And at the energy self. The energy healing techniques that I've learned, I use to, to, I will use as I'm guided, as I'm guided to use to clear out maybe something that's so heavy so it's easier for the person to move through that layer, or sometimes it's not for me to clear it out. Maybe they need that. They need to go through it on their own to grow from it. That is, they need to, they have a benefit from going through it on their own, even if it takes long time. Mm hmm.
Dr. Erin Hayford [00:42:03]:
Yeah, yeah. It's something that needs more attention for whatever reason. And it sounds like deciding what, when to do, like a clearing or healing within a session versus allowing someone to walk. The process is, again, intuitive and guided on your end. Yeah, yeah. So they work together really well then the hypnosis and the.
Dr. Nikita Patel [00:42:22]:
Yes, they do. And even when I learned hypnotherapy, it was a lot of energy medicine blended into it. And my teachers are, I think, trained in energy medicine at the same time. They're therapists, but I think they were trained in energy medicine.
Dr. Erin Hayford [00:42:38]:
I know what you're talking about when like, you can kind of sense what needs to be done, but without the proper training and, you know, insight, it's like you don't, you don't quite know where to go. So it sounds like you've really honed in your intuitive, energetic capacity to know. This is what I'm sensing and this is the path, you know, now you have several paths or directions. You take people, when you have that kind of inner, inner guidance, speak up, so to speak. So that's beautiful.
Dr. Nikita Patel [00:43:07]:
Thank you. And I'm still learning. This is just recently, I'm like, hey, I mean, I have tendencies to push the healing. Like, oh, I gotta force the healing and use my vitality to do that. And then I feel so drained and on as an empath because I can, I'll take on the energy and I'll try to change it, and then it just takes a heavy toll on me. So I've learned it the hard way too. Follow my intuition and to not try to force healing.
Dr. Erin Hayford [00:43:39]:
Yeah, I know that feeling very well and I think that's a common one. I mean, you know, as a health, as healthcare practitioners, that's, it's, I think that's a role that, that's like, you know, we have to untrain ourselves basically or deprogram ourselves to be, you know, have that expectation and put that pressure on us to make that change within a session or and also train the people we work with, you know, because the healing, as we said, it's this idea of slow healing is that's where the medicine is. You know, we. We don't learn much if we just rush through something. Because ultimately, the goal of this work, at least on my end, and maybe you agree, is to get you to a different place. Right. And evolution takes time. Like, my goal is not to just get people functional so you can get back to your rat race life.
Dr. Erin Hayford [00:44:23]:
You know, it's like wanting mind, body, spirit. It's an evolution of self, you know, and getting back more into the natural flow of your inner self. And that is not something that we can, I mean, just as we're saying we have to sort of deprogram how we approach medicine based on our training, you know, and the medical paradigm that we're part of. Same for healing in general. You know, we all have to kind of deprogram this expectation of what it. What we're supposed to do and how we should show up in the world and really find our individual unique rhythm, I guess. Right. Because it's going to be different for everybody.
Dr. Erin Hayford [00:44:59]:
So that's that kind of mindset paradigm shift that we, you know, I think is very much a part of all mind body medicine because it's not. It's about finding yourself, which is a very unique thing.
Dr. Nikita Patel [00:45:11]:
Yeah, exactly. That's my goal is to, as you said, finding assisting women who are empathic and intuitive and energy sensitive to listen to their body, the symptoms. And it's very consistent. I see it in everyone that the physical symptoms have so much information about what's out of harmony, and that becomes our guiding force to help us become more of who we are, to be authentic and to live fully. I mean, I crave to shine bright and live fully. And I want to see more people and guide more people to do the same as well. And very similar to what you said, it requires shifting identities, shifting a mindset, because a lot of who we think we are may not be, especially as someone who's energy sensitive and empathic. It may be what other people think and feel and very little of who we are.
Dr. Erin Hayford [00:46:14]:
Yes. Hear, hear. I want to take the soundbite of that and just, like, play it for everyone to hear over and over again because it's. I mean, to me, that's what this medicine is about, is really reclaiming what it means to be alive. And to be human. And, you know, there's so many systemic, you know, bigger things like outside of us that I think need to obviously change as a part of that. If we're really going to restructure how we show up in the world so much, you know, other things have to be restructured. But I think it starts with us really feeling in our body.
Dr. Erin Hayford [00:46:44]:
This is how I want to show up in the world. This is my authentic self. This is my energy. This is my capacity. And so then on that individual level, we start to shift, and then it ripples out into, how do I make this shift more feasible and accessible for everyone? How can we all start to slow down and be more in rhythm with what is more natural and real for us as humans versus, again, that external, nine to five, rat race, algorithmic way of living, which is not, you know, it's cookie cutter, right? It's sort of a. It's sort of a metaphor or an example of, you know, conventional medicine is an algorithm for this. You take this, and that's it. Life is, you do this and you live this life, and you have this schedule, and that's it.
Dr. Erin Hayford [00:47:25]:
It's not making space for the ebbs and flows of, you know, not being more authentically aligned with ourselves. So, yeah, I think, you know, this, to me, this is like my secret way of revolutionizing the world.
Dr. Nikita Patel [00:47:39]:
You know, it's like, I love that.
Dr. Erin Hayford [00:47:42]:
But it's like my secret plan is, you know, this is how we start to make that change, is that grassroots, right? Like individual person, and then it goes from there. So, so I I'm just so appreciative of you, of you as a person and the way that you are showing up in the world authentically and spreading that love and spreading. I mean, it is palpable talking to you, just how much you have embodied your authentic self and how much it is just this very natural love and passion and desire. You have to give that to people. And so I thank you for your medicine and for how you're showing up and for what you're doing. And I'm just so happy that, again, that we cross paths and for all the ways that our work together will evolve. I'm excited for. And just to let people know how to find you.
Dr. Erin Hayford [00:48:32]:
So, again, I'm going to put links down below, but if someone wanted to work with you, what would that process look like?
Dr. Nikita Patel [00:48:37]:
Yeah. Right now, the invitation is to go to my website. It's drnikithapattel.com, and I'm offering for a limited time a free discovery call. So go ahead and book that. It's a 15 minutes discovery call. We find out whether we're a right fit or not and then we'll talk about what the next steps for you are and start from there. You can follow me on Instagram. I think you're going to tell them the link and give them information.
Dr. Nikita Patel [00:49:09]:
I have a Facebook page and I also have an amazing newsletter. I love maintaining my newsletter and keeping in touch with my community through my newsletter so can get on email list. I have a lot of free resources on my website as well. One thing that I do on bi weekly basis is heartbreaking coherence gathering. We want to come in and practice heart brain coherence which is just very powerful in stimulating the healing in the body. And it's like magically clearing a lot of stuck energy, stagnant energy or issues in the body. It's just beautiful. It's part of mind body medicine.
Dr. Erin Hayford [00:49:54]:
That's amazing. How do people join that offering?
Dr. Nikita Patel [00:49:57]:
Yeah, it's on my website. You can go book and there's a link to sign up for it.
Dr. Erin Hayford [00:50:03]:
Perfect. Excellent. And your newsletter, you can sign up on your website as well.
Dr. Nikita Patel [00:50:07]:
Yes.
Dr. Erin Hayford [00:50:07]:
Okay, excellent. So the website sounds like the place for the free discovery calls, the newsletter the weekly offering. And then there's Instagram to follow along as well. And yeah, again, all the links will be down below in the show notes for folks who want to check it out and learn more. And again, I just, I want to thank you so much for finding me, for reaching out to me, for offering your medicine to the world, for being who you are and sharing your medicine with us here today. Thank you so much.
Dr. Nikita Patel [00:50:38]:
Thank you so much for doing what you do. Erin and I get so inspired by you taking the steps that you've taken to show up fearlessly in the work that you do.
Dr. Erin Hayford [00:50:51]:
Thank you. Thank you. And I'm excited for what we create together. So look out world, here we come. Until next time.
Dr. Erin Hayford [00:51:01]:
Thanks so much for tuning in to another episode of the Sacred Illness podcast. If you find this information shared here, inspirational and educational, please share it with those you think would benefit from this work. To take this work deeper yourself, check out our website, www.aurorasomatic.com where you can explore our coaching community and course options. And don't forget to subscribe to this channel where new content is coming out all the time, intended to inspire, awaken and help you deepen your relationship with yourself, your life and your world. We'll see you next time.
Dr. Nikita Patel [00:51:37]:
So I would like to offer you, to you listening and to myself and to Erin. This is for all of us to come together in this gathering and come to our heart. In heart brain coherence activate the healing power within us. It's very quick, maybe five to ten minutes. So let's get ourselves comfortable in our seat and bring attention to the seat. Notice the weight of the body on the seat. Notice the sensations in the body, allowing them to be observing, feeling supported by the seat. Gently bring the attention to the breath.
Dr. Nikita Patel [00:53:14]:
Imagine this breath is going in and out through the heart space. And if you would like, you can put your hands over the chest. This may allow you to connect deeper to your heart, continuing to imagine the breath going in and out through the heart center. And you may think of a positive emotion now, or a time that felt so good. Maybe a feeling of joy, happiness, fullness, love, care, beauty, peace. As you think of that moment, notice the positive emotion that you feel in your body. And you may allow your breath to slow down a little deeper and a little more slower, letting your breath become rhythmic. Steady inflow, steady outflow.
Dr. Nikita Patel [00:56:22]:
With each steady breath in and out, notice the positive emotion expanding, bending all over the body, filling up the body. And see if you can allow your breath to become even deeper and slower. And see this positive emotion overfill, spill over around your body, in the space around the body, top, bottom, sides, filling up the whole of your space, all your energy bodies. And like a light bulb, see this bright positive energy radiating out to each one of us in this gathering, receiving and giving with gratitude. And we're going to radiate this light, your light, to the area in your body that needs it the most. See this positive light healing energy from the heart. Intelligence flowing into this part of your body, letting this continue in its own time. For now, gently bring your attention back to your heart space, releasing each other, coming back to your own space, feeling supported by the seat, by the earth.
Dr. Nikita Patel [01:01:07]:
Noticing the sensations on the skin, the temperature of the room on the skin, noticing the sounds in the room, the smell, the taste in the mouth, and gently opening the eyes, allowing the breath to go back to its natural rhythm. Relaxing, alert and ready for an amazing time ahead.
Dr. Erin Hayford [01:01:59]:
Thank you.
