40 - Believing in Your Body Again with Sophia Rocha

Ashley Ihemelu  0:01  
Ashley. Hi, it's Ashley and Jess with the wellness reality check. We are two health practitioners, moms and best friends, bringing a dose of reality to the nuanced topics of Holistic Health. Hey, y'all, welcome back to the wellness reality check. Today, we're diving in to the complexities of health, healing and the human experience. We are joined today by our good friend and my cohort buddy at rooted in wellness, Sophia Rocha. Sophia is a holistic health practitioner with a passion for empowering individuals to trust their bodies again. Sofia's work combines bio resonance htma and blood work to uncover the root cause of imbalances, and our custom blended Flower Essences at Crystal bloom offer a gentle, nurturing approach to supporting the nervous system. We'll be exploring the challenges of caring for a loved one, navigating chronic illness, infertility, addiction and breast implant, explant journeys join us as Sophia shares her insight on how to cultivate trust, resilience and inner wisdom and how we can believe in our bodies again. Welcome, Sophia,

Sophia Rocha  1:11  
thanks for that. Welcome. It was beautiful. So happy to be here.

Ashley Ihemelu  1:15  
We are so happy to have you on we've worked together for about three years now, I think, and it's been incredible just collaborating with you and our team. But can you share with us what sparked your passion for holistic health and what made you want to even be a practitioner?

Sophia Rocha  1:32  
Absolutely so I didn't set out to become a practitioner, but in 2019 my husband came back from visiting his family in Mexico, he came back sick. He was like 30 pounds lighter, super pale, just not himself. And we did test after test, and of course, everything came back normal, but visibly, he was not himself. He was very unwell. And at one point upon, like, trying to seek help for him, we started getting, hey, maybe it's just in his head. And then a lot of times it was, they were talking to me the doctors, like, Hey, do you think he's kind of exaggerating some of this? And I'm like, Whoa. Like that moment, I knew I could not be another person to dismiss what he was going through. Like, if he says he's not okay, he's not okay. And I just couldn't, I couldn't add to that, but that season with my husband was really the spark, the catalyst, and I wanted to learn how to listen differently, to understand the body's patterns and signals. And with time, he was thankfully able to regain strength and really just start thriving again. But walking through that with him and later with others, just show me how possible it is to rebuild the body, rebuild trust with the body, even when it feels really impossible. But now I strive to guide people back to the basics with nourishment, minerals, simple daily rhythms, to restore that trust within themselves, and especially, actually the type of clients that we tend to see in clinic. And Jess, I know you're definitely chatting with them too, but major burnout, right? They've got chronic health struggles, debilitating symptoms, lots of fear, lots of disconnection. And for a lot of them, the body feels like the enemy. But he was really what got me into into this

Ashley Ihemelu  3:16  
work. How long was he in Mexico for before he came back?

Sophia Rocha  3:21  
About a month now, so he had a good amount of time there, but he said he got he was unwell, symptom wise, like, pretty quickly upon getting there, I think it started with food and like, he definitely had some infection, Parasite activity, but it snowballed into other things. Like he had antibiotics. While he was there, he was in, like, a moldy environment. He was a drinking Of course, he was, he did dental work when he was there. I'm like, wow, kind of did too much. I was like, Oh, I don't know what you were thinking, but he was trying to feel better, but he was just, you know, throwing spaghetti at the wall and seeing what would stick. But he came back. Yeah, he was, he was really, really, really, really unwell. It was scary. And so did he heal through Holistic Health? I'm assuming, yeah. So kind of was on goes in tandem with Emily Morrow talking about blood work. So that's the little spark here on Instagram. And kind of what put me in that direction of getting, like, becoming a practitioner. But a lot of that information was coming out at that time. Yeah, it was, it was, it was kind of along a lot of our journeys, I think, of when we got exposed to some of the alternatives, or to question some of the just normal, like normal what's being told by

Ashley Ihemelu  4:30  
docs. I think a lot of the practitioners out there have their own healing story, and I know that I don't really own, like, a chronic illness story. I'm assuming you don't either. But how has it been in more of that caretaker role? Because I can, I can really sympathize with that, with my husband kind of being the catalyst for me as well, with having a career ending concussion, and still to this day, do. Dealing with symptoms, and, you know, trying to be that solid pillar. And at the same time, you know, it's hard to kind of keep your own, your own wellbeing, at the forefront when that is occurring.

Sophia Rocha  5:13  
Absolutely, definitely, that caretaker role takes a toll on the relationship, on the person. But at the same time, I feel like it brought us together in a way that I don't think we would have ever had the opportunity. And I'm thankful now because he takes a lot of that ownership for himself, like he will seek out or he'll question things, he'll read labels, he'll say be more in tune with his body, so that at the on the other side of it. I'm like, I'm thankful he actually got that experience too and recovered, but he can now see the benefit of what I do with people. I mean, that's also kind of why I pursued the like. I want to do this for others as well, because of what we got to witness through this experience. I want to also help other people. I want other people to know that the possibilities of going through something that that just stops your world, right? It's like it seems so unbearable, it seems like there's no way out. But yet, we have witnessed it with ourselves, with our partners, with our people, that we work with, that there is, there is a lot of possibility.

Jess Aldredge  6:20  
I was gonna say, you know, I feel like, in our world, and especially, like, who y'all work with? It's mostly women, right? Like, of course, you work with some men. So how do you feel like and Ashley, obviously you're, you can speak from this as well. Like, how do you feel like that dynamic was a little different for you, considering it was your husband that was sick. You know, it's hard to see, in my opinion, a male feel weak and, you know, kind of be struggling. How do you feel like that was a little different than like a female, maybe struggling?

Sophia Rocha  6:49  
Yeah, yeah. I think it is a, definitely a different experience for my I think a lot of times, maybe with the male female difference like my when he was at his lowest point. I mean, there's a lot of frustration, I'm sure of actually, females will definitely experience this too. But I mean, like he could not function to go to, like work. So from a financial aspect, too, is like we were, you know, he was not providing. So that definitely was something that he took personally. But I feel like they will still I also think it depends on probably the husband. I could see maybe other males in my life not take it as like my husband did, where he was like, Hey, I'm game. I will show up. I will do the things, I will try. But then I can kind of picture other males who maybe not be on board to even try things. I'll just go to the doctor. I'm not you know, if he tells me what to do, then I'm going to do that. If I don't feel better, then I'm going to go to another doctor. And unfortunately, you know, for most, they're going to either have other symptoms pop up, or just kind of get stuck, get stuck. But I it is a different experience. But I think it's still going to be kind of like individual, to like that person.

Ashley Ihemelu  8:01  
I think that we hear so much of like from our female clientele or our audience that it's like, how do I get my husband on board, how do I get him to understand things about his health? How do I get him to even prioritize his own health and healing? And it's funny, because both of our husbands have gone through their own kind of health journey to where I do, I do love what you say, where they are more open minded and take ownership in that healing process. And that is a gift I couldn't imagine, kind of fighting against that, as they kind of did their own own journey, whether it's through Western medicine or kind of brushing it off and not making a big deal about it, that, to me, would be really frustrating. Yeah, I think

Jess Aldredge  8:51  
that's one of our number one questions, if we ever do a question box, is, how do I get my husband on board? And if they, like most, you know it's more women have chronic illness than men, and if they haven't experienced what it's like to lose their health and it's hard for them to kind of get on board. So that's awesome that that he was so

Sophia Rocha  9:07  
willing, yeah? And to this day, he's like, game for anything. So I'm like,

Ashley Ihemelu  9:11  
thankful exactly

Sophia Rocha  9:12  
I love that, yeah? But for me, yeah, for me personally, though, I mean, the chronic illness label doesn't like land for me, but I definitely had lots of whispers from my body that I just ignored. I mean, didn't go, you know, no bowel movements once a week, and wasn't able to sweat. Thought that was a flex, definitely not nourishing. Well, constant. I did have constant reoccurring infections, like with UTIs in my early 20s, and prescribed antibiotics after antibiotics. I mean, I was popping Cipro like candy. Oh yes, thank goodness was not Floxed, but yeah. I mean, I was on that for years, was not given informed consent on the potential short term and long term side effects, and at that time, I really did not know to ask. But that's another experience, kind of looking back, that just shaped. How I want to serve people now, I mean the importance of transparency and education, just equipping people to make decisions from that place of understanding and informed consent, instead of fear urgency to do the something or just do it, because, you know, this is what the doctor's advising me to do. But yeah, so it did not have, like, a full blown chronic illness, but definitely there was a lot of disconnection that happened over the years. Let's get into your breast implant journey, because you never had breast implant illness, but we're going to talk about breast implants today, because you have, you know, you've done an explant, so back when you got them, kind of, what was your mental state like? What was your self esteem like? What do you think kind of drove you to decide to get them knowing you I'm like, you don't feel, you know, like, that's such a judgment. But I was like, Oh, I would never expect Sophia to have gotten breast implants, you know, yeah. And I mean, I mean, looking where I'm at now and thinking, like, if I could talk my I think I was 26 when I got them in. So I wasn't, like, super, super young, no, paid for myself, like, saved up. So it wasn't even, like an impulse thing. But if I were to talk to that 26 year old version of myself, I'm certain I would have still done it, because at that point, I just had blinders on it something I want, I want to feel like, you know, sexy. I have small boobs. So I was like, I want, you know, bigger boobs. And that's it. That's it. I just what I wanted. I wanted to look like, I guess what we see a lot in, like, the feminine body of just like, whoa. Those look nice. I was like, Yeah, I want to do it. So I saved up, got them done, did not think twice about it. Like, no hesitation at all. And I had them in for almost 10 years. Wow. Yeah, no, obvious health issues. But I kind of just got to a point of being in this work. I wanted to get pregnant. I was like, they've already been in for 10 years. I don't want to, like, redo them. I'm just going to get them out. And I mean being in the 2020, 2021, when it finally got the black box warning too, that was kind of like the final little, like, extra push. Like, okay, definitely just want to go down this route. I wanted to in the sense that I know I wanted to do it for the reasons for my for my health overall. But did I really want to lose that visual of them? No, no, definitely

Jess Aldredge  12:15  
not. And what was that like, like, mental and emotionally? How did you kind of overcome like not having that part of you.

Sophia Rocha  12:23  
Yeah, I mean, that was really the hardest part. Like the physical healing was easy, easy in comparing it to the emotional roller coaster, post explant, it's what I wish I would have spent more time prepping for before I did it. But at the time, I was like, just like, Okay, I just booked the date, and I want to get it over with. I didn't. I didn't think about until, like, maybe a few weeks out, when I do, like, the prep work too, for surgery. And I was like, Oh, that's right. Like, this is happening. But there was a lot of, did I make a mistake? Will I feel comfortable in my body again? It was the physical part. Was the easy, but the stripping away of that like layer of identity that I had built around them was definitely the hard part. Is an emotional grieving that had to happen, and I had to sit with very, very raw feelings of just vulnerability, insecurity, the loss clothes were very hard to try on, looking in the mirror did not happen for a long time post x plan, and it was, I mean, it still is a process that still comes up, you know, at times, but just learning to just love myself and think what my body has been able to go through. But it's not like it was. It's ever going to be the same as it was before, but learning to love this just new version of myself, but it's not something that's, I think there's a finish line too. I still definitely experience some of that ebb and flow, but it's, it's not a regret either. At the same time, it's not something that I would take back.

Ashley Ihemelu  13:53  
I think that's such an under discussed topic of, you know, we do these things for our health, and you know, you had goals in mind. However, that does come with, like, oh, that hard, that hard reality that you don't have. You know, the body that you had paid to get. You know, it's funny, my mom has had breast implants for like, 25 years, and she was trying to hire a practitioner that was gonna charge her 16,000 for the year to kind of go into her health, in detail, and I was telling Jess about it, and Jess is like she needs to get rid of those breast implants like 25 years. 25 years is a really, they're overdue already. But I know Christy, who runs our bio resonance scans, she scanned your implants. Could you share what she found in your implants?

Sophia Rocha  14:51  
I mean, I think it was everything. I can't remember exactly what came up. I have it in the screenshots still, but I don't I mean it was like molds and like chemicals and you. Yeah, it flagged heavy metals. I remember Heavy Metal, yes, yeah, it flagged for, yeah, pretty much a lot.

Ashley Ihemelu  15:08  
And I think what people don't understand is the biofilm that those can collect and the inflammation that they can cause in the body. Luckily, you are probably really proactive about your health, where your inflammation levels were, you know, already in a good place, where those implants weren't tipping your bucket, but they can Apple absolutely be the catalyst for tipping someone's toxic burden.

Jess Aldredge  15:32  
Well, let's talk about that, because I think it's like, okay, why do you think that you did not have health issues? And why do you think other people then develop breast implant illness. Like, what becomes part of that bucket, and what can tip somebody's health over? You know, they can be perfectly fine. And then, you know, have their implants for five years, and then suddenly they develop breast implant illness. Why does that happen?

Sophia Rocha  15:53  
Yeah, I mean, I feel like, I mean, it's not getting implants. I mean, it's a foreign object in the body. Like, even if we don't have the full blown breast implant illness, there are risks that are going to potentially affect every single person and to be aware of, like their foreign objects. The body is going to respond by creating that like capsule around them, the scar tissue around them, to protect itself from this foreign invader. But for some people, that could even be an issue like that capsule canard and that it can cause pain, it can cause other issues, but over time, I mean, they could rupture. They could leak. The silicone doesn't always stay neatly contained in that capsule. It can migrate to nearby tissue. So it's not necessarily, maybe just the one and done of the surgery implant in there's the potentials along the way that can also add to some of that bucket and overfilling of it, and now maybe we have symptoms a few years later, or if we've had, like, been in a car accident, there's the leak happening that could then cause other expressions. The bottom line for me is, like, the biggest piece when we look at this procedure is, are you getting an informed perspective, like, is it an informed decision that you're making? Because too often we're just focused, like my 26 year old self on, you know, I'm going to feel more confident, I'm going to get the look I want. But at the same time, nobody ever told me of the potential complications, that this could be a possibility, short term or long term risk. So having all that information. It doesn't mean you, you know, can't pursue implants like, if that's what you decide to do, then and feels right for you, then I can, I can support that, but I want people to just do it from an empowered, informed place. And I think that's where a lot of times there's just a disservice to women, especially with that, like, black box warning. I mean, that's like this, not that we give a lot of credit to the FDA, but, like, that's like, the most serious warning that they

Jess Aldredge  17:48  
exactly so and how many people that get their implants? I mean, I think it's becoming more wide known now that there that's a possibility of getting breast implant illness. But like, nobody's actually sit down with a search surgeon and says, Okay, you know, these are all the risks that are who's asking for an insert and or even knows that they have a black box warning, or even what that is, yeah, yeah. And I always tell people, like, Okay, if that's what you want to do, sure, but like, the rest of your health house should be in great order. Like that is like your if we're keep talking about this bucket, and if you're looking at your body like a bucket to keep it from spilling over, then you can't have a whole lot of other major contributing factors, like your stress needs to be in check. I think that that's probably something that can shift for people that suddenly start developing. It is like they've had a major stressful event or something, and suddenly the body just can't handle this foreign object anymore. And I mean, who's, who's living a life where it's like, you're never going to encounter things that are going to happen, big stressors, you know, life changes, illnesses, so yeah, having that, maybe even putting in the perspective of like, yeah, having this kind of puts you at a disadvantage, for when shit hits the phone. I had a friend when I was still practicing. Well, she was, she was, like, kind of an acquaintance, and she like, wanted to work with me, and she like, listed out all of her symptoms. And I was like, didn't you get implants, like, less than a year ago? And she's like, Yeah. And I was like, well, that list is exactly, you know, some of the what's on the list of breast implant illness, and she just did not want to address that. And I was like, Well, I'm not gonna, like, take your money and act like I can support you and that, you know, that just looks like that's kind of the big elephant in the room, you know. And I mean, I wouldn't want to reverse something I just did six months ago, either. But people need to understand, you know, you could be signing up for that.

Ashley Ihemelu  19:39  
I've been shocked at just how many people have been doing the explants and and how many doctors are now switching their entire practices from putting the implants in to really advocating to get them out of the human body.

Jess Aldredge  19:55  
It's good to see. Can I ask, like, what that process like, what the. This is so personal. But like, let's say you had your small boobs, you got your implants in what size were they the implant? Like, I was, like, a D dang girl. Oh, my God, I can't fathom so then they

Sophia Rocha  20:10  
never, they never looked or felt like a part of me, like looking back, like I didn't even, even after I got them, like I never wore, like the revealing clothes still put on the sweater. I mean, it's just

Jess Aldredge  20:22  
maybe the Leukemia looked really good, and, oh my gosh, that's amazing. I would like, I would just, like, a week with that, you know, no, I think I'd feel so uncomfortable. But what so like, after they'd remove the implant, like, what is left? Like, how do they reconstruct it so that you, you know, look decent,

Sophia Rocha  20:37  
they don't. I mean, you pay extra for that if you want, like, lifting. And I didn't do any of that because, again, I was kind of, like, hoping to be pregnant, and I'm like, they're going to get inflated anyway. So why do that? Why pay extra money for that? But I was, thankfully, I had a still decent amount of tissue left. But so it does not look like the final result of for a long time, for like, a good year, but, like, the first few months, very shocking. I did not want to look at it, but they just looked deflated. Wow. I would imagine, like, how, like posts, like breastfeeding, how people, I was just gonna say that, yeah, eventually my tissue did kind of come back. There's some little like spots, like, if I do like a Muscle Flex, where it'll be like a little like divot, so it's not like a, I guess like a there's, like, could be some pockets where just didn't come back, but I was able to have, like, it's not just like skin, but it's, it's, yeah, so it doesn't look like it was before, but it also is still a very small breast post, the skins bra, though. Jess, I'm like, when I do

Jess Aldredge  21:40  
change your life. Yeah,

Sophia Rocha  21:41  
game changer. I was like, Okay, I need a little something here. Perfect. Get my skill.

Jess Aldredge  21:45  
Like, maybe not when I take it off. But anyway,

Ashley Ihemelu  21:49  
and I know one of your passions in your practice is making people understand the importance of nourishing your body. What does it mean to be fully nourished, and what are some of the things that can kind of take a toll on us when we don't have that nourishment?

Sophia Rocha  22:07  
Yeah, I feel like my my thoughts on this are still always evolving just one, just different perspectives I have, or are just actually like witnessing what people put their bodies through. But to me, to be fully nourished is not about like the macros or the calorie goals or following the perfect plan. It just means that you and your body are working together. That's what I would love it to be like, you're listening, you're responding, you're feeding it in a way that allows it to feel steady and supported. And it's not I think when we talk about, like, the undernourishment, which is chatted about a lot, but it's not always about, like, having to eat the more food. Like, I'm not eating enough, but can we eat enough of the things that our body's asking for, like that and that it's prepared to actually take in the state that you're in, whether that be physically or even nervous system aspect, like the fullness or filling the plate doesn't always equal the nourishment either, but when we're nourished, like, Hey, are we feeling good? Steady energy is how's our mood looking? How's digestion feeling? Can we live our life without having to constantly be fighting food or thinking about food or fighting against the body? I think that kind of goes back to that like trust piece that's also comes into play with nourishment. Like, if we don't trust our body or trust our ability to nourish it, we try to outsmart it, and that's where we get stuck on like chasing the diets, or the fad things, the quick fixes, or even going into very extreme restriction thinking it's going to or with the intention of, kind of like we're trying to force a result, and that everything will be better, but the forcing just leaves us more disconnected and confused. And the nourishment does also require some of that self trust that the eating of the thing is not going to undo all your progress, and trusting that that the balanced meals are in a way that's or I'm consuming them in a way that that's supporting me, rather than, you know, trying to sabotage me. But like the just the steady rhythms of what we choose daily, or what matter more than, like the extremes or the the quick fixes that we seek out. But without that trust, we're just kind of chasing, stuck there, chasing. And then with trust, we can kind of make some more of that. I think that's where people who do have that good connection, they can eat intuitively because they are in tune, literally, with their body. But a lot of us are. We're not there. We're disconnected.

Jess Aldredge  24:33  
How do you help some of your clients kind of reconnect and learn to trust when they've never been kind of like in tune with their body, or they've always been on a diet, or they had an eating disorder, or they just are totally unaware of their cues, and that kind of thing.

Sophia Rocha  24:47  
Yeah, and I think it's, it's a process, and it's really the unsexy aspect of healing, because it's not, and I think there's where a lot of people get, like, tripped up is like, we think it has to be something big. Has to be a big program, a big. Investment, the 30 day reset the endless like checklist, like, if I do all these things, if I drink enough water, hit my 10,000 steps a day, build the perfect plate. This trust will magically just like, come back and it rebuilding trust just doesn't work like that. It's not about the checking of the boxes. It's about the consistent, everyday little choices that remind your body like, Hey, I hear you. I'm not ignoring you anymore, and that that'll look different for every person. Like, what do you need? Person in front of me? Not? What do you think you need? Because you see it mirrored or shared by other people who have had success by doing implementing these steps. That's not it that kind of goes back into that lack of bio individuality, but it's the trust and disconnection is probably one of the biggest themes that we see. I don't know, Ashley, could you agree with that? Like with clients, it's like,

Ashley Ihemelu  25:50  
I absolutely agree. And a common theme of kind of outsourcing their own health and healing and trust to, you know, a fad, or what their doctor says, or what has worked for everyone, and that can be such a huge aspect of healing is bringing people back to their own innate wisdom. But it's almost like they don't. They almost need permission to, like, I have a client that was doing hormone replacement and trying to lift weights and all the things that her doctor recommended. And I said, correct me if I'm wrong, but does this like, bring you joy, or do you feel better? Or how do you prefer to move your body or celebrate your body? And she was like, Oh my gosh. Like, no one's asked me that no one has even taken the time to get to know me, to give me almost that permission to to get to know me again, and, of course, build that trust that you're talking

Sophia Rocha  26:52  
about. And for a lot of people, too, when we tell them or guide them to, you know, ask questions like it, they've been disconnected for a long time. So the idea of checking in feels very foreign, feels weird, awkward or silly or stupid. But I mean, you can ask, I would encourage people just like, hey, ask yourself, like, Am I hungry right now in this moment? Am I tired? Do I need a drink of water? And if you don't get an answer, which a lot of times, you might not like, that's still okay, that's part of the process. You might not notice anything. Reconnection doesn't happen instantaneously, but we've got to think of it like rebuilding a friendship. Like maybe you haven't seen this friend in 20 years. There's just silence between the two of you. You don't go right back into and have this, like, super deep, deep conversation. Maybe some of us do, but most of the time, right? You're starting with just little small, you know, gestures to kind of reignite that friendship. So even if all you notice right now is like, Hey, I don't feel anything that's that's okay, that's part of the process. You just show up, you keep asking, and that's the thing that matters. And when you do finally notice something, it will likely be something really, really small or even silly. Celebrate it, and if you realize, hey, I did go on that walk, I feel calmer after or I didn't crash after I had lunch, that's something that is worth acknowledging and celebrating, and that's also part of the process that just like is what's going to plant those little seeds of rebuilding trust. And that's proof to self that hey, I am, my body is responding, I am listening, and I'm giving the body what it's what it's requiring right now, what it's asking for, and just fostering some of that, like reconnection with self, because a lot of us are just disconnected. We're so up in our heads. We're living everything outside. We're not we're not in the body at

Jess Aldredge  28:39  
all. Yeah, I mean, that's like, the most common, I think part of you know, having illness too, is because then things feel scary inside your body and and it draws you even further into your head. So, no, I love all those points, and I think that that to have somebody that helped, like a practitioner, that helps you come back into that, instead of just saying, Oh, here's a meal plan. You know, is so important, because I think that that's what people would expect, right? When they see a functional nutritionist or whatever, oh, I'm going to be told what to eat every day. I don't, I don't think that that is the best way to come back into yourself. Yeah.

Sophia Rocha  29:13  
And they'll probably get that too, yeah. Is it what they truly need to help them make the progress like it, yeah, you might see some, some results, but it's, again, kind of in that, like you'll get results, but it's not helping you really get be armed to do it outside of that

Avery (Voiceover)  29:39  
you're listening to the wellness reality check. The Wellness reality check.com.

Ashley Ihemelu  29:46  
I think you did a post where it was like, hey, this sourdough toast and egg is not like a nourishing breakfast. And I think for so many of us that like, flipped. Yeah, they flipped. They flipped. This idea. On its head, because I know that's what I ate for breakfast for years, when someone does try to go into nourishing themselves in a bigger way, what are some of the hurdles that they face? I know I say that with thinking of my own self when I try to eat this giant breakfast of Whole Foods and, you know, a carb and a protein and a fat, sometimes I feel insanely full. What are some of those things that can, you know, trick the body into thinking that it is maybe over nourished?

Sophia Rocha  30:35  
I mean, I think if that kind of goes back to like, Hey, if you do feel full like you don't, you don't have to eat at all. You don't have to force it, like, hey, maybe that's all you need. But I think for a lot of people, what their biggest hurdles are, at least the ones I've talked to, it's like, the consistency they're they're very irregular with when they do nourish themselves. So they a lot of times, they're having, like, major blood sugar issues. They're crashing midday. They're very, very, very hangry and short tempered. They'll be like, Yeah, I snapped at my kids. My Yeah, well, when was the last time you had a meal? And it's like, that lunchtime seems to be a big pain point, even over breakfast lunch, for majority of people, they're just like, I just don't have the time to make something. And I'm like, hey, get really good at making, like, a dense snack plate. I mean, I eat snack plates like 90% of the time during lunch. I'm not sitting down and making like a full meal, jerky, of fruits, you know, whatever I have that's available, but like, just cutting it up, putting it on a plate, and that's my lunch. It doesn't have to look like what we typically think of when we think of like, I gotta make myself a meal. It just there's no real rules. You have to make it stupid easy for yourself to be consistent and again, tuning into how do I feel after I've consumed this? So there's no need to force just because I made this play, or just because it is the balanced how does it actually land for me? Is it, is it in a supportive way? Do I need this right now? Or can I maybe just finish this later and leaning into those cues and not ignoring them and pushing through

Jess Aldredge  32:06  
them? Your plates are so helpful. I always love seeing them like, oh, I would have never thought to eat that for lunch, because you do think like, oh, I need to, like, make something. But so much of your plates are like, I just probably took you 10 minutes, but I just wouldn't have thought to put that together. So if anyone listening, Sophia has wonderful examples of very easy meals. So do you count Mac like, do you measure out food and do you like? What are your thoughts on, like, macros and measuring and that kind

Sophia Rocha  32:31  
of thing. So I think I have done counting before and with most tools, I feel like it can be very, very helpful, right? You can gain lots of just information from it, knowledge, but the same time, it can also disconnect us and create maybe more confusion and frustration. I don't ever want anyone to have to count macros for an extended period of time. Do I think a lot of people don't know what the balance plate looks like, or what even nutrient wise, the foods that they're eating are contributing to their body. So in that stance, I think it's good to gather information. But if we're in a place where we're trying to force outcomes and control what's already happening in the body, macros is probably not a good place to start. But I have done it. I don't I don't do it like currently,

Jess Aldredge  33:19  
yeah, sometimes I watch people who do that on Instagram, and I'm like, you've been doing this for like, 10 years. Like, can, can you not, like, eyeball it? Like, it just seems very obsessive to me. And it's like, yeah, it doesn't seem in tune. It's like, oh, I'm, you know, I'm adding in 30 carbs. And it's like, yay. You know? It's like, I, I'm gonna just say who it is. It's paleo, OMG. And, like, I have just watched her for so long, and I'm like, How are you still this obsessive about the macros that you eat? I know she has certain goals and stuff like that, but to me, it just seems like she's not living outside of those, you know, those macros, like, in any way, like her whole day is built upon, like, fitting, like, exactly to the T, getting those exact macros. Like, I know, for some people, that works, and they have specific body goals, but I don't know, I just feel like that's the opposite of what we're talking about, as in being in tune with your body and, like, being able to be in community and with other people without, you know, being so worried about, oh, I'm gonna blow my my carb goal for the day, or whatever. I'm not familiar with her work, but, yeah, just give a little, give it a little follow. I mean, I followed her first so long. This is, I mean, I'm here to, like, talk about somebody, but it's just been interesting to watch, witness the transition.

Sophia Rocha  34:36  
Yeah, I mean, and there's a lot out there, yeah, like, who are sharing that? I mean, it's a tool, but, yeah, you're they're using it. It's like, fully integrated into their, like, daily life. And then on the flip side, too. I mean, with what we see that had happened with, like, pro metabolic movement too. I mean,

Jess Aldredge  34:51  
oh my God, all the people that just gained so much weight. I remember looking at that, and I was like, Oh no, I'm not

Sophia Rocha  34:58  
doing any of that. But again, it's. Like, with the good intention, right? We're gonna nourish the body, but if it's done in a way where people are still having, like, riding that blood sugar roller coaster, not prepared for that amount of energy intake, and also not changing anything in their day to day life, I'm sure a lot of these people, to some extent, were mostly sedentary, or, you know, dealing with some type of illness, and it's like, that's a lot of energy to intake without changing anything in their day

Jess Aldredge  35:26  
to day life. It is very, very high histamine, extremely high histamine. I mean, just, it's just, I think it was such good messaging, like, there's so many women that are so undernourished and not able to get through their days and raise children or get pregnant, or, you know, all these things because of being so undernourished. And this is how to, you know, eat more nutrient densely, but at the same time, I don't think anybody needs to be drinking that amount of orange juice. Or, you know, it just, it's, it's just, like, with everything, the pendulum always just swings so far. It's like, we can have a good message, but it just, it went a little far.

Sophia Rocha  36:01  
Yeah, I mean, and then dismiss that weight gain too, and frame it like it was needed weight in my opinion, like across the board, like,

Jess Aldredge  36:08  
like, 660 pounds on a regular frame is not healthy weight gain. Like, there are plenty of people that they would probably feel so much more settled in their body and their nervous system if they gained five to 10 pounds, right? That's like, if you're underweight, but like for the most part, nobody needs to be gaining more weight than that, unless you have, like, an eating disorder.

Ashley Ihemelu  36:27  
I completely agree that was one of my questions. Is there ever a time where you think people overdo it, you know? And that was kind of my experience. I wasn't like over nourishing myself, but I also wasn't prioritizing Whole Foods. I wasn't, you know, I had a lot of nourishment and not a lot of movement. There were other things out of balance that I've been so pleased to kind of fix through just that whole food nourishment and that trust in my body, I think when we focus on those Whole Foods, we can quiet a lot of the food noise around us. You know, those potato chips in my pantry aren't talking to me anymore. I know I forgot about my job. Is there ever a time where you feel like people can kind of over nourish and what does that look like?

Sophia Rocha  37:19  
Yeah, I think it's definitely looks like what we saw with people's experience with, like, Yeah, going through pro metabolic The intention was there, and it was in a, you know, they were trying to do good with that. But like, like, Jess said that pendulum just swung way, way too far the other way. And it just became all about the food, the nourishing food, without considering the balance for people, the movement and where their body is, their flexible flexibility, we talk about, like, metabolic flexibility, and what their what their current needs are, and what their demands are, too. I think it's interesting, like, especially when there's like, these quote, unquote diets, you know, or telling someone, oh, everybody should have, you know, one gram of protein per pound of weight, and it's like that way of like that is just not how everybody's bodies work. Like, you know, not everybody can break down that much protein, you know, especially if they're having gut dysfunction or have ammonia issues, or they, you know, are coming from eating very little protein, you know, that just isn't for everybody, Yep, yeah. Or have a history of PPIs, right? Like, do you have enough gas and digestive enzymes? Or even if their nervous system state is like, they're in that chronic fight or flight, it's like, yeah, you're not gonna be able to digest. And we're just dumping all these new foods in,

Jess Aldredge  38:37  
yes, and then it's like, it gets a bad rap, and like, oh, I can't have, I can't have meat, whatever. It's like, Yeah, but maybe just not, you know, 100, 130 grams of animal protein. Maybe you need to ease in, or need a little support with that. So that's

Sophia Rocha  38:53  
where I think maybe getting some data is helpful, like, to track like, hey, what do you actually get per day? And then can back into maybe slowly increasing that over time, and then again, tuning into how you feel.

Jess Aldredge  39:04  
Yeah, I think I've actually, I stay away from, like, chronometers and stuff like that, just because of history of eating disorder. I just I cannot, like, obsessively look at numbers or anything like that, because I'm very OCD with all that kind of stuff. But, like, I think everybody would be so shocked to actually track for a week and see whether they really over eat and, like, the caloric intake is really high, or, like, whatever, or super under Right? Like, I think that people don't even realize what they eat on a day to day basis, whether that's under eating or over I

Ashley Ihemelu  39:38  
also think when we kind of focus on whole foods. It's really hard to over do it. And that's what people don't understand, is, I mean, I had even kind of lost track, is because I was so Orthorexic before, I was like, oh, you know, the wheels can come off. I live in Central America. I'm trying to make friends like, I don't have to be so strict with my diet. Right? But when you kind of calculate a lot of this, like complex carbs and processed foods, it's really easy to overdo it from a diet standpoint, when that is the core of your diet, when you focus on those nourishing Whole Foods, it's really interesting how you can dial things in in a really effective way.

Sophia Rocha  40:23  
I 100% agree. I had that experience when I was, like, really focused on protein. I would look at my plates and like, wow, I have like, zero fiber, like at all, because it was, like, easy choices. Yes, they were, you know, healthy, but it still was in a way where I was, like, missing a big piece of the, like, nutrient side. And I was like, okay, yeah, I need to, kind of like, back in some veggies or other options. And I was really focused on, oh, then when i My point was, then when I did start doing that, I it was, like, it was hard to overdo, like, just to kind of reaffirm your points, like, yeah, I could eat, like, some of these and, and and I'm full, right? But I'm really it's not like, putting a huge dent in, in my in, like, the intake, like it's not blowing something out of the water, or, like, it's not too much energy coming in. And that was, like, the whole food switch.

Ashley Ihemelu  41:13  
That was a huge thing of learning. Learning moment from you is the fiber aspect. It was like, okay, we can eat gluten free, and we can have high protein and all of these things, but do we have the fiber intake for our bodies and our digestive systems to work optimally well?

Jess Aldredge  41:31  
I think that there has been a lot of confusion with that too, and or controversy, like with animal based eating and carnivore you know, you'll have people say, well, that's BS to say that, you know you need fiber to have a healthy gut, or whatever. But I know for myself, if I have no fiber, I really struggle,

Sophia Rocha  41:49  
yeah, or even if we think about just, like detoxification, like, that's like the natural binder for the body, and that's how bile gets some of its toxic sludge out of the body. Like, that's how it gets paired into, like a or binded to, like a bowel movement. So it's like, yeah, they might have not have issues now, but that's again, that can't be a blanket assumption for every single person.

Jess Aldredge  42:11  
No carnival carnivore was like the worst thing ever for my husband. Like his labs went crazy, like his ferritin was insane, and he was very inflamed, very puffy, and it's taken time to undo that, but he like it. I know it's a big regard of his, a long while, like, definitely, probably, like, six months,

Ashley Ihemelu  42:35  
I would come in town and we would cook this, like, well balanced meal, and he is, like, no veggies for me that, you know, Oh,

Jess Aldredge  42:42  
he didn't have him for months. I mean, he was literally eating, like a massive steak. And, you know, it's just for a lot of meals. And I mean, it just, it really, I mean, he gained so much weight. Like most people you see, like they lose a lot of weight, and all their inflammation goes away. No, it was up. Like, his inflammation was so high. I mean, his blood work looked like, you know, a male that is in his 50s, you know, cholesterol wise and triglycerides and ferritin versus like, I mean, he works out a lot, and he's, you know, relatively healthy. And, yeah, it was wild. Yes, against my, you know, I was like, Don't do it, don't do it. Don't do it, don't do it. And he was like, you know, he follows all these, like, weight lifters and whatever, and, you know, like, how he's on Instagram, and he's like, Oh, I'm gonna do carnivore. And, yeah, he's been working that off for a while now.

Sophia Rocha  43:34  
Yeah, there you go. So there's a case in point, does it just not you cannot have that.

Ashley Ihemelu  43:38  
Speaking of the male point of you, you have been vocal about your own fertility journey to a certain extent, but more importantly, the importance of male health screening. Could you share a little bit about what you're currently going through on your fertility journey and why it is important to not just put all of the weight on the female Yeah.

Sophia Rocha  44:02  
So, yeah, another huge chapter for us has definitely been our fertility journey. I'll give you guys, like, the, what do the kids say? The TLDR, like, the short of it, or whatever. But when we decided to, like, start trying it to conceive, you know, I started like, hey, let's do prep work. So got my husband a semen analysis, and I was already doing stuff, so we're waiting for the results those come back. We've got a zero on the results, zero sperm. So that kind of put up, of course, a little like flag in my mind. I was like, maybe you use her air, like we did something wrong. But the at home analysis came with, like, a follow up with, like, the nurse, so we chatted with her. I was like, hey, could we have done something wrong? Like, did we it was summer, like, maybe the heat, she's like, No, even if, like, they arrived dead, like, the sample was, like, unviable, like, not usable, we would still see the sperm within the results. I was like, oh, Duh, of course. So next step, we went to his primary. He did it again, like a second semen analysis, and then came back zero. Sperm. So he kind of got, like that azospermia diagnosis. So from there, he went to a urologist to do a biopsy to rule out any, like physical reasons why? Because that could, there could be an obstruction, there could be maybe the sperm being diverted, like inappropriately, to somewhere else. So he went and ruled that out. And like, this is the moment, like one of the moments that's like burned into, like my eyeballs, but walking into the urologist office and to get the results, and literally, like, you see the tissue box sitting on the exam table, I was like, at that moment. I was like, I already know, like, what the results are. I was just like, checking out. I was like, okay, just get me out of here. Give me the results, and I just want to leave. But the urologist comes in, confirms, like, hey, yeah, there's no obstruction. This is a genetic issue, and then tries to make like, a little like, light hearted joke, like, Hey, you can go shopping and, you know, get some designer sperm type of thing. It's just like, oh, so yeah. Definitely, that was a tough even like to think about that moment. It's like, one of those ones that just stings, feeling dismissed, and then also just feeling confused too. Like that was kind of our only like, of our only like, okay, it's genetic. Like, this is that kind of closes that door. There's no other options. And here, at this point, if I can go back, is where I wish we would have done things a little different, but we, I'll tell you, kind of like our next step. We went from there to see just a male fertility specialist, and he did, like the standard, like, blood work hormones, and his other like specialty is, like he has, like a technique, I don't know that he invented, or something that kind of looks at more exact locations of where the sperm could be potentially. But if we went this route, you'd have to then do IVF for like that sperm retrieval, and then we do IVF. But in hindsight, where we went wrong, or where I wish we would have done things a little different if you're ever to get and this is like to listeners, like, if we're, if we're, if you ever get that ASOS per diagnosis. And it points to more about genetic reason why the very next step should be getting a Y chromosome micro deletion, blood test, not surgery, not jumping into something invasive and costly. I mean, because we went down the other route and it's 12 grand, and we had to wait for three months before we found out anything. Of course, the results were like, there was no sperm to retrieve. But if we had done this micro deletion test first, we would have known if a biopsy or sperm retrieval would have even been like a good option to pursue, and we could have made, again, that decision from that informed place, and that, that's the part that really just annoys me, because there's no way this doctor didn't know about these other tests to present to us, or just rule out right before we do this surgery. Like, why not? At least, like, recommend, like, hey, get this test, this blood test that cost 250, to maybe 500 bucks before we go down this route, yeah, because, I mean, with those results, with the Y chromosome test, it's looking at those critical regions for sperm production, so it's looking at azf regions. And you know, sometimes these micro deletions are just they happen, they're going to be missing in that region, and that's going to point to azospermia. But depending on where you fall, that could also mean, should you get a biopsy or not? So if you have a AZ, F, a deletion, there's not going to be any sperm production. And you know, a biopsy retrieval is not going to be useful. If it's on the B, it's also severe. There's there's sperm, but they're not mature. They don't reach maturity. So again, it kind of points to more that biopsy or retrieval is not helpful, and then the C deletion is what's most common for people. And here you'll get variable outcomes. Some men will still produce small amounts of sperm that can then for be retrieved through that biopsy. And then they can go down the IVF route. But also important to note, if you do go down this route, you have this deletion. If you have a son, they're going to inherit that deletion as well, so that male infertility is passed on. But, I mean, that's like, pretty helpful information that again, we could have made a better decision. We could have got clarity. It just kind of like really takes me off. Did anyone in his family, any males have the same problem? No. I mean, no, not that we know of. And so where do things kind of stand today? It's a little kind of up in the air. I mean, our only option is, of course, like doing adoption or using, like a donor. I mean, that's pretty much, yeah. We're seeing still how things kind of unfold, or what's gonna to come for us, but it's been Yeah, one of those types of situations that's just so heartbreaking, and there's just a lot of that, even emotions like, I think, especially for on his side of just, you know, shame or embarrassment or grief, and at the same time, like, it's not your fault. You have no control over this. And if I was in this situation, Would would you allow me to feel that way too about myself? I mean, I potentially could have that happen too. I've just not had that opportunity.

Jess Aldredge  49:47  
Sure, and I feel like so many people go through that, and it rips them, rips their marriage apart, and they do feel that way deep down, like how, I mean, I feel like you're just somebody who's done so much work on yourself, but how like Have y'all? Have done counseling, or, like, what has that process been like for y'all to just reconcile? Kind of, it just feels so final. And you know now

Sophia Rocha  50:08  
we haven't done any counseling. I mean, I'd totally be open to it. I think it would be helpful to even just have someone walk us through some of that conversation and just kind of keep it going. Because it's like, you can have these, these very difficult talks, and it's like you can hit blocks and you can just, you know, clam up to some extent, or just not know what to say in that moment. And it's not out of not wanting to see this person or hold that space for them, but it's also something very personal that you're also, you know, part of and experiencing, but in a different way. So I cannot relate to the feelings he's feeling, but I have my own. But yeah, I think counseling, or, you know, kind of walking through it with someone would be helpful. But, yeah, we haven't done that to date. But I think for me, it's like, I it's not something like, I would love that experience of being a parent, but it's also something that I don't need to feel fulfilled in life and in, like, where I am right now. So it's not to me like a deal breaker. I guess it's like, yeah, I could not imagine, like, having that feeling of wanting to leave this because of of that

Jess Aldredge  51:18  
that's incredible. I mean, it is truly heartbreaking. So I really feel for y'all and what you've been walking through,

Sophia Rocha  51:25  
yeah, yeah, it's been a lot. It's definitely been a lot, but I'm like, it's, it's what it is, and it's not again, we cannot control it. There's we cannot change this situation. We can be angry about it, we can be sad about it, but it still doesn't change how we feel about each other, and I'm hoping it'll be why has been one of those, again, situations that just helped us grow, like, closer and grow together, yeah? But I definitely wanted to share that with like, people, because it's like, the fertility space is a whole nother, like, money suck, right? I mean, they're just, I hope they would have good intentions when they got into this space, but it's like, it's hard to find people who are actually willing to kind of do that deep work or even just point you in a different direction, instead of just like taking your money right away, which is just, it's so criminal. I mean, especially just on top of how just emotional it is and just how, I mean, honestly, traumatic to walk through some of the things that people walk through with fertility, and I mean even this situation, and to have people that are just so heartless and could have just saved you so much time, even, you know, yeah, three months of waiting, just like for again, results we probably could have already assumed, if we had gotten like, the test for the blood work is like, what seven days, if that

Jess Aldredge  52:39  
turnaround time. How have you kept yourself from just getting better? I feel like and not against your husband, just at the situation in general. Do you feel like a lot of grief when you see other friends having babies? And you know, have you kind of walked through that?

Sophia Rocha  52:55  
I mean, I'm an auntie, like I have lots of kiddos around me, and I definitely enjoy that I just am not to me. It's too much energy to waste, to be to be bitter, or to kind of like be stuck in, like, the Oh, this sucks situation. So I'm just gonna, like, make the best out of it. And that's kind of just where I keep my my mind and my heart. It's like I can still get immense joy from other people, from other children, from other, you know, roles that can kind of mirror some of that parenthood, even if it doesn't look like what I expect it to look like, or what you know, we kind of view as just like the normal, yeah, can still serve me, and I can still grow through through other versions of that.

Ashley Ihemelu  53:41  
I think those societal norms are kind of what, what keep us in a stuck place. I have a close friend that you know, kept she's not in a relationship, but she kept focusing on that parenthood aspect, and it was such a hard pill to swallow that these were the milestones that she was supposed to be hitting at a certain age, and she had this revelation where it was like, I don't even want to be a mother, if she was being honest with herself, away from, you know, these societal norms. And this is a really, like, conscious, evolved, very aware human being, and it shocked me that she got caught up in the societal norms of these milestones that we're supposed to be hitting, or these things that we're supposed to be achieving. I think when we can break free of that, then we can truly find that peace and happiness that we

Jess Aldredge  54:40  
all desire when I think that there's just this message out there that if you're not a mother, then you're not, you know, as much of a woman or you have, you know. And I just we've had dawn on before, and she talked about that a lot, and it's just it doesn't have to be the case. I know plenty of amazing women that are not mothers and are not. Less of a woman than than we are. You know,

Ashley Ihemelu  55:03  
I wanted to ask you, what are some of the things you see kind of get in the way of your client's healing? I feel like you've put in so much work on yourself and your husband and your relationship, but from a practitioner standpoint, what are some of those things that you wish people could get right off the bat that could help them on their own journey.

Sophia Rocha  55:25  
I think it kind of comes back to like we talk, you guys talk a lot about foundations, right? And in my opinion, like foundational health is everything. And I think still, people think of it like that checklist thing. But if we don't have the foundations in place. We end up just living in that state of override constantly, like pushing through our limits, or not having awareness of what our limits are, ignoring the fatigue, hunger, and then we feel betrayed when the body finally collapses or speaks out. But I think modern way of living does not make this easy. I mean, the screens, the information, comparison, perfectionism, people pleasing, like all of it, like, pulls us out of the body and keeps us in that headspace, and that's where we just lose that awareness of the cues, like, are we, you know, hydrated? Are we stressed right now? Are we hungry? Did I get rest until eventually just snowballs into that burnout and just complete disconnection. But that disconnection is that little quiet way that we just lose trust with ourselves, and it definitely is something that just sneaks in when we're distracted by all the things. So when I think of foundations I really want to like hone in on, can we just Foster and I think the trust and safety kind of is used interchangeably, but can we or how can we just rebuild some of that connection with self? And that does fall into that foundational category, and when trust can be there, it's it's really the big exchange that just makes all the difference on I know we don't like the health journey word, but like, on the path back to your self order, like, that's what's going to help give you momentum. Like, without that, the best protocols and supplements and testing, they're just not going to land how we expected to. And then with it, with the basics too, paired alongside that, you balanced meals and, you know, steady sleep, hydration, movement, those small things with the trust in place can really, really create profound change. The foundational health is like, what rebuilds a lot of that trust with ourselves. I feel like just a lot of people are so the disconnection keeps them where they're just second guessing everything. They're waiting for the other shoe to drop. There's a lot of doubt, there's a lot of fear, and I think it's because that that trust with themselves is not present. If they have that, that relationship with self will just like soften, and there can be that safety, that collaboration or curiosity to be able to come into play, and that's where shift happens, or growth can can actually take place the survival mode. Yeah, no trust, and then with trust, we can have, like, actual partnership with with ourselves. But I feel like that for a lot of people, majority have come to see us in clinic. That's where they're at. They've been doing lots of things. We're typically one of their last stops. So there's just a lot of other information that's being piled on them or that they have lived through to experience

Jess Aldredge  58:25  
wise, I love that. Speaking of safety, you have really gotten into flower essence. And I feel like it's not, I feel like this is a really cool niche that you've kind of dove into. Can you talk about, like, what Drew, what drew you to that, how you were, how you use that with clients and kind of, what are

Sophia Rocha  58:40  
they? I really, really, really love flower essences. But if you're not familiar, they fall under, like, the homeopathy, like, like umbrella, so their energy, uh, support, so they're made from flowers, and each flower has, like, a specific indicator that's been studied, like, over time. Like, if we and the way they make them is, like, really cool, very similar to homeopathy, too, but you can do it yourself. It's very accessible, which is another reason why I like it. If you have a beautiful garden, you can totally make your own essences, you know, take some of the actual flower, put it in some spring water, in like a bowl, and just allow the sun to imprint that flower's energy into that water. And that water is your mother essence. And from that, you could make lots of different essences to dose, like dosing, so just the ratio would change, but it's very easy to incorporate. But in why we use them, they're to support the emotional body. So the subtle, you know, patterns that we hold in our nervous systems are in our day to day life. It could be a great support to, like, weave in, to help just soften some of that, or help us just see it in a different way. It's not a forceful type of support, or it's not something that will, like, be too jarring. It's kind of a very soft whisper. I notice a lot of things, and people, like in my dreams in particular, things will come up. Yeah, and I get a lot of that feedback too from clients that they see a lot of just dreams come to the surface and just different experiences. But it's not something that's like, I'm going to cure my anxiety with this flower. It's just a support to help work alongside other work that you're you might be doing. So I find that it pairs well. If you're already doing some of that emotional exploration, it'll help, like, bridge a gap.

Ashley Ihemelu  1:00:23  
Yeah, I find that it's super helpful. Like on our bio resonance scans, we have those emotional well being signatures where we're going over blockages, triggers, personal mindsets, tendencies, emotional states. And sometimes clients aren't wanting to fully delve into another modality, or therapies or whatnot, or maybe we're dealing with a child right where their parents are like, Okay, this is insightful information, but it doesn't even elicit the idea of getting them into talk therapy or whatnot. And I find that flower essence can be such a gentle way of supporting that emotional body. As you

Sophia Rocha  1:01:04  
said, Yeah, they're really cool. I love them a lot.

Ashley Ihemelu  1:01:07  
Well, Sophia, we really appreciate your time, your vulnerability and sharing all of your knowledge. I know that I have learned a lot from you, and have just absolutely enjoyed being partners in this, in this, in this journey towards helping people heal. And so thank you so much for your time and and sharing with us today.

Jess Aldredge  1:01:29  
Yeah, thanks for having me. Your Spirit has always made me want to be a better person. So I really, I've always looked up. I've just admired just your softness and just just your whole I don't want to use the word aura, but I can't think of another word, but you're such a good person, so thank you.

Sophia Rocha  1:01:45  
I appreciate that, making me cry now, yeah,

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