Wise Woman Mentor Suzy Manning has been helping women connect to their feminine energy for decades. In this season of her life, she is helping people expand their definition of health to experience the joy and beauty in life, and the gift of being present with the aging process.
In this episode, we chat with Suzy about that expanded definition of health, and the lessons nature has to teach us about ourselves and the natural flow of life.
Wise Woman Mentor Suzy Manning has been helping women connect to their feminine energy for decades. In this season of her life, she is helping people expand their definition of health to experience the joy and beauty in life, and the gift of being present with the aging process.
In this episode, we chat with Suzy about that expanded definition of health, and the lessons nature has to teach us about ourselves and the natural flow of life.
You're listening to less stress in life. With host, Debra Timmerman and Barb Fletcher, we believe life with less stress and more energy is possible with the right tools, strategies and knowledge. So we bring your real conversations around the stress of relationships, money, and the daily hassles of life with guests that will inspire, challenge, entertain, and motivate you to take action. And welcome welcome. Our guest today is Susie nanny, Susie helps people expand their definition of health, to experience the joy and beauty in life, and the gifts of being present. With the aging process. She uses simple fun tools to lower stress, find fulfilment, express gratitude, your creative expression, and love of self, she co creates with Mother Earth, to help people realize that they are one with nature, and that she has much to teach us about ourselves, our health, and the natural flow of life. Susie, I am so glad you could join us today.
Suzy Manning:Thank you, Deb. I am thrilled to be here thrilled to see you again and talk with you.
Deb Timmerman:So a little aside, Suzy was my first coach, like 10 years ago, and maybe the first time I ever heard the question what's blocking you. So it's interesting that we have both gone our own ways, and now come back in a really different season of life for both of us. I'm interested in knowing more about what it means to co-create with Mother Earth.
Suzy Manning:Thank you, I would I would love to share that. It just has a wonderful ring to it a residence of vibration. It's something you feel within. And I know you work with women, I love working with women and helping them realize their innate beauty and their creativity and their power, and how else other than to co create with Mother Earth. I mean, we are feminine energy and Mother Earth is feminine energy. It's who we are. So if we can get back in touch with nature, if we can connect with Mother Earth and how I would explain it, like I start my day I'm in full with Mother Earth, she has so much to teach us. So we wake up at the birth of a new day, early in the morning, when the when the day is just beginning. We go to sleep when it's dark, as opposed to staying up with a lot of light. And then I go out into the sun and allow the sun to open up my heart to warm my spirit. I love the wind in my face. And what does it have to share with me and tell me Mother Nature and all of her children have great messages to teach us. So if we go out and go in the flow of that did not miss that. During our daily life. I think so many of us, it's like we're going from point A to point B, and we miss all of life in between. I mean, we are life we're life itself. And then all of nature all of all of Mother Nature, nurture children, have messages for us. So to kind of slow down our day and be instead of doing and see what is it that we maybe are out of alignment with and we need to change our life to be stress free.
Deb Timmerman:Yeah, it's interesting that you say feel experience you're describing really embodying all of those things that you're out in nature and taking them in with your senses, smelling and seeing and touching. And I know you do a lot of hiking where you are right Susie and I see you post hiking with your hubby.
Suzy Manning:We do we love hiking. I mean I need to be out in nature. I just come alive. It grounds me. I think everybody does. We need to get out of this hectic life that we're in and what we're chasing and just get out into nature. It could be out in the mountains like you're in Phoenix or the desert, it could be by the ocean or stream or your backyard. But Mother Earth vibrates in frequency for our healthy self. And if we can just slow down long enough, to feel that to listen and then again like you said feel, Deb. We've gotten out of touch with feeling we're so afraid to feel to go within and find out are we in alignment. Are We Living what resonates with us or are we chasing something that society says will make us happy, will make us successful? And I think as we age we realize we chased a lot of things that don't fulfill us. I mean joy is within and joy is is spending time in nature, and with life and that feeling and with women, I mean, you're aware of this Barb and doubt the I mean, our intuitive wisdom, oh my gosh. If we can slow down and get in touch with our wisdom, It Is So Right On. And it's been numbed, they want to know, because it's powerful, and we don't put up with untruths and what isn't working. But we've been numb from birth control hormone replacement therapy, the foods we eat, the societal messages that feminine energy, it's, you know, there's nothing to it, and we're weak and where it's right on.
Barb Fletcher:I love the perspective on intuition. And, and some of the work that Deb I do with HeartMath actually helps us tap into intuition. And I tell people that I'm working with that it's a superpower. And when we can readily access that intuition, we'll always get it right. It will never be wrong. But you're right, we have forgotten how to trust that.
Deb Timmerman:One of the things that I've noticed about being in what I call a different season of life, we're I am not chasing things anymore, I was that person who didn't spend enough time with my kids, who let other people raise my kids, who commuted long hours to work. You name it, I've done it. And what I see now is that when you slow down, and you can get into that flow, and not chase, those things come to you more easily and readily. So you're in a different season of life, too. You moved out West a couple years ago. What changed from the concrete jungle to where you are now?
Suzy Manning:Oh, my, been here in Arizona five years. To us, it was just a natural organic move. But when I talked to so many people, they're like, How could you do this? You know, I mean, how could you move away from family? You'll have to get a new church, you'll have to get a new doctor, you'll have to get new friends. And to me, it's like, isn't that life. I mean, I'm curious, I want to explore, and that's where I'm at now. I mean, moving out here to me, I had no idea what I would see, as we moved, I had never traveled across the country. And we sold a lot of stuff we simplified. We loaded a U Haul. We towed our car, and I call it the Gypsy caravan. I mean, I still remember it, I had so much fun traveling across the country and then getting here. And we had never seen the place we were going to move into. We had seen it online. We just trusted. It's in a great location. So where we've moved into is is a space of really organic living, just being open. I mean, I know we put intents out, we do affirmations, we're going out, we're doing what we love, but we're going in a flow of life. And we're really big right now, with Fuzzy, my husband and I, on helping people heal. We all have trauma from our life to heal. So you can really step into who you are and live your life as your authentic self. And with healthy aging, just to help people realize you can be healthy. Just because you are in your 50s or 60s or 70s doesn't mean that you're going to have high blood pressure, you're going to put on weight, that you stop living. So it's getting that message out and we're just living a lot freer a lot in the flow and letting things come organic.
Barb Fletcher:So if you had to choose one thread, one thing that was your priority, what would it be?
Suzy Manning:That is my priority? My priority first to self care, because if I don't take care of me, I am no good for anybody else. I mean, if I want to share a message, I need to take care of me first. I need to live this. I my teachings. I mean, I have a master's degree, but my teachings come from my life experience. I want to share what Suzy is experienced how Suzy has worked through depression, how Suzy has worked through anorexia, millenia. How Suzy has experienced life because I believe all of our stories overlap. So it's me taking care of me, and I would define self care. I mean, some people think it's you get a massage, get a facial, I mean, those are all good. But I think some of the pieces we miss are, do we give ourselves permission to show up as an authentic self? Do we give ourselves permission to have fun? to live life? to be crazy to do be a little kid? Laugh and play or we get that box in that structure that just numbs us? Do we give ourselves permission to make mistakes? Do we give ourselves permission to dream? You know, I think all of us have something within us that is desiring expression. And maybe maybe it's not to give to the world who knows. But, if you feel something that's desiring expression, then we I see that as self care, we need to express it, whether it's cooking, a garden writing, doing a podcast, helping working with women, but it desires if it's coming through us, and we feel it, it needs to be expressed for our health and our self care. And if it's a gift to the world, then how wonderful if the world receives that you can make an income from it, but we need to express who we are. I think that's huge for self care.
Deb Timmerman:Susie, talk about how you see how, what do you how do you define?
Suzy Manning:How do I define health? Um, I have it on my Facebook page. It's a quote, actually a Sadhguru, who's a mystic from India, and a guru, he says, but I can just so visualize that it's I like to feel it. He says that "health is not just the absence of disease, but it is every cell in your body bouncing with joy". I mean, just reading that, and it's just like, I can feel it in my body. I mean, is every cell bouncing with joy? I think we get so stuck on, well, I don't have a disease. I'm not sick. So I'm healthy. But do you have a glow to your skin? Do you have a sparkle to your eyes? Do you have a bounce in your step? Are you curious about life? Are you out meeting people? Are you dreaming? Are you expressing what needs expression from within? You? Know, are you doing this without concern for what others think? Because it doesn't matter, they're going to judge us anyway. It doesn't matter there.
Deb Timmerman:So Barb, you probably I didn't even share this with you yet. But we had a chiropractor on our podcast last week who shared wonderful information about the nervous system and nervous system health and how stress impairs that, and so I boosted the post, and I got hate mail today, because I was supporting Facebook. And I thought, Oh my gosh, you know, I'm really just a small business owner, who believes that this message needs to get out. I remember when I started to think about switching from medical model nursing because it wasn't working, and I was totally unhealthy blood pressure meds the whole nine yards, to starting to look at, okay, how do I get started in this and there wasn't anything. I didn't know where to go. So for a hot second, I'm like, Okay, I got to defend my position, and I thought, you know what, I don't get to do anything. Because somebody is going to resonate with this message. That's really all you care about, right? It's not about whether or not it's a slant on me or my thoughts about any of that. So that's really awesome. You met, the cells are bouncing with joy, in that, quote, tell us more about that.
Suzy Manning:The cells bouncing with joy? Yes, it's like every I mean, we're all energy. And ourselves are I mean, it's just if you take us down to nothing, if we're just vibrating energy. So how beautiful if every cell in our body is happy is bouncing with joy? And I think that all comes with are we pursuing? What makes us happy? Are we showing up as us? I mean, there's just so much more to health. Yes, you can look at what you eat, sleep, water, lower stress, be in relationships that support you.
Deb Timmerman:You are speaking our language. But then let's look at all the other things that we've just talked about that really will help the body that energy flow because as you know, disease is where the energy is disrupted in our body. So where are we blocking who we are and who we need to be to show up with joy and also the whole idea to that the joy is within us it is a choice we make we see life from life happens within us. We have a choice to look out at what happens and do I choose joy or do I choose pain? Do I choose happiness or frustration. How do I choose to see it just as ou said Deb, with a comment yo got you know, stuffs gonna ha pen? How do I choose to see th t? Is it worth getting fr strated or stressed out over? No I think we get to that point i our life where we realize who a e we What's our message, y u're clear. And that helps the w ole body just bounce and r sonate and be happy. And you j st go, hey, yeah. Does it take a while to get there? Yeah, it d es. Because we've been so c nditioned for approval and d finian. And one of our family d esn't get us and one of our f iends don't get us. Well, I t ink you both realize, the o der we get, and the more we're t ue to ourselves and step out i to who we are, we may lose s me family and friends. But is i? It's about our health, not a out pleasing others. And I t ink in doing that, and then d fining stuff happens out t ere, but how do I choose to s e it? And I think a big piece w th that is like living in the m ment, that's all we have is t is moment. So if we stay in t is moment, then what do we c oose to see? You're not p lling the past in? You're not w rried about tomorrow, or two h urs from today? Or what's h ppening right now in this m ment? And how do I choose to s e it? And if it's something t at, you know, it's frustrated a out? Or I didn't think would h ppen, or it kind of shocked m? Okay, but it happened. T at's life. How do I choose to s e that, andwhat is the gift in it? And I also believe, I me n, as hard as some stuff, th ngs that happen, and they hu t, some more sad, there's a gi t and everything. And is it wo th stressing over? How can we be in that moment? And what do we need to do? What action Do we ne d to take? And where do we mo e, the next moment that yo're in another moment,
Suzy Manning:Good.
Deb Timmerman:I can remember spending so much time worrying about what my family was going to think and worrying about what my friends were going to think and worrying about this and worrying about that. And when it came right down to it, it didn't matter a wit. They're gonna judge what they're going to judge. They do. And, yeah, you stay stuck in that space. You don't get to experience all the other wonderful aspects of life. Or even if you said some of those lessons that teach us things that we need to learn.
Barb Fletcher:I think we live in a wonderful time in that the lessons that we learned in our 50s and 60s, I now see beautiful young women who are learning it in their 20s and 30s. And I am excited for them, because I know that they have a life of well being ahead of them. You know, perhaps somewhat different than what we have experienced because there have been some bumps in the road for us, and we've found opportunities and positives in those, there's no question, but I think that their role may be a little bit smoother.
Suzy Manning:It's nice to see what you said, Barbara, that, you know, you'd see some younger people that are really more if you want to say awakened or aware or looking at life differently. It's really nice to see that. I believe they will probably have their own hurdles to go through. I mean, life is like we're all going to have something to come through. And I think that's probably also I mean, how else do we learn what we learn, if we don't have those experiences, to sit in to some of them take us out? I mean, I've been taken out. It's not fun. And I know the longer I stay there and come up with excuses, the more painful it is, the more harm it does to me, and my well being and so you soon learn to Hey, you know, I don't think that's who I am. I don't believe that and this is what I need to do and, and don't pay attention to what others have to say. We learned the reality wheel when we studied Shamanism wheel 100% and I think it was like 20% believe you could do anything could be wonderful or could be horrible. 20% like what you do 20% will love what you do. 20% will dislike 20% will hate the other 20% are in their own world, they don't even know what you're doing. So do you.
Deb Timmerman:I love that advice. So what is your number one stress relief go?
Suzy Manning:Number one stress relief go to. I do a Kriya meditation every morning that I was taught by Sadhguru that actually aligned your body with the geometry of the universe. So that helps me to align my body, it helps stretch out my body. But it also helps me connect with with the whole universe. And it helps me to go within, to realize my life starts within me, it's not out here, you know, where we've been taught, this person has the answer, that person has the answer. Everybody else has the answer for my life, to realize that I have the answers for my own life, and I choose how I want to enjoy the day. So doing that every day really helps me. And to be stress free.. Fuzzy and I've gotten to a spot where I mean, we still practice it, but it's like, choosing how do we choose to see something? Is it worth stressing over? Do we have any control over it anyway? So why do we want to manage something that that we don't want? So can we choose in that moment, how we choose to see it and not be stressed out by it? Maybe stumped for a minute, maybe frustrated? Maybe sad. But do I want to carry that forward? And do I want to be stressed over it? It's so we tend to try to keep rolling with what happens and realize life is organic, and what needs to show up will show up?
Deb Timmerman:Yeah, and if you just wait a minute it changes, right? Mm hmm. Yeah, remember how Michigan weather was?
Suzy Manning:Oh, I do
Deb Timmerman:Experiencing all four season in one day.
Suzy Manning:I do. I missed the fall, though. I missed the fall and the summer.
Deb Timmerman:Well, that's starting to happen again, already. It's really only mid July. But some of them I like I was a farm market today. And tomatoes are right, and peaches, apples out. And I just get all excited about that. Because my favorite time of year, and I want to start putting out sunflowers and all that stuff, which which I think just represents the time of year that I feel best, you know, I love all that.
Suzy Manning:All the harvest all the new creation, time to create what you dreamed in over the summer.
Barb Fletcher:So I think one of the things that Suzy spoke to is how helpful it is to have somebody in your life that may be either aware of the path you're on or supportive of the path, because those of us who journey a path alone sometimes need some support to lean on. And I just know that, you know, when when you have a spouse or a partner or a friend who can be there to lean on a little bit at times when maybe you're stuck and need a little nudge that that's really helpful. And I just think that, you know, we encourage people in who are not listening audience and who show up on our Facebook page to reach out if it was if they need support. It's it doesn't need to be a difficult journey.
Deb Timmerman:So Suzy, How do folks get in contact with you if they want to have you helped them on their journey?
Suzy Manning:where they can reach me now is on my Facebook page or on Instagram. And my Facebook page is Suzy Manning issues z y and my Instagram is Suzy issues z y Manny. So yeah, just text me through there reach me through either of those accounts. Like I said, we're going organic, so it just flows. I'm not really even putting it out there if it if it's an attraction to some people, I have people text me and say, Hey, I need a session. I'm like, Okay, let's set it up. So and we've had people contact us to to collaborate with them. So that's where they can reach me if any of this resonates. And I love what Barbara said, like, yes, we need support. That's huge. Even if you have one person that loves you support you inspires you hold that space for you, especially now in the world.
Deb Timmerman:Well, Susie, you held that space for me in the very beginning, and I just want to say that I so appreciate you being there to help me get started on my journey. So I thank you for talking with Barbara and I today. And we'll put those links to your contact information in our podcast. So until next time,
Suzy Manning:Thank you very much. Thank you. Loved it!
Deb Timmerman:Less stress in life is possible. If you're new to this kind of thinking and would like to explore what's possible for you. We'd love to connect. You can reach us through our website at less stress in life.com that's less stress in life.com