Revving the Engine of Healing: A Journey with Rachel Augusta on Rediscovering Your Vital Energy

S4E2 Revving the Engine of Healing: A Journey with Rachel Augusta on Rediscovering Your Vital Energy 
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[00:00:00] Hello, and welcome to the confident healer podcast. I'm Sharmilla Mali. I'm a self love expert, an intuitive healer, and also your hostess for this podcast. You are about to hear inspirational, uplifting and soulful conversations about the ins and outs of having confidence, maintaining self love and sanity.

[00:00:32] As we answer the calling of being a healer and running a business. I would really appreciate it if you could help me grow this podcast by telling others about it and by becoming a patron by donating monthly or giving a generous one time donation. When you donate, it lets me know that you love what I'm doing and by donating, you are supporting me, a healer running a small business.

[00:00:58] You can find the PayPal link on the confidenthealer. net. And in every show note. So thank you so much for being here and let's get on with the show.

[00:01:15] Hello and welcome to the Confident Healer podcast. I'm your hostess, Sharmila Mali, and I am here with my very special guest, an old friend of mine, actually a young friend of mine. Being cheeky. Today's special guest is a celebrity animal medical intuitive who helps pets worldwide heal physically and emotionally with a specialty in cancer treatment.

[00:01:44] She has been called upon by Hollywood's biggest stars and MMA fighters for the health and wellbeing of their animals. Her work has been featured in the New York Times, CNN, BBC, and, and was the subject of a feature cover story for People Magazine. Her thriving business was included in Hay House Publishing's bestselling book, Women Rocking Business, and she's been interviewed on over 100 podcasts, radio shows, and digital media outlets.

[00:02:11] Her lessons on mindfulness, stress reduction, and holistic self care through both the animal and human lens has set her apart as a unique force and thought leader that has made her one of the most sought after speakers on the international circuit. She has an app where you can download it for free called "EmPAWer".

[00:02:30] E M P A W E R to take. So, um, and on this app, you can take classes and have download meditations for your health, um, and for the health of your animals. So please, without further ado, welcome to the confident healer podcast, Rachel Augusta. Thank you, Sharmila. Thank you for having me here. Oh my God. Thank you.

[00:02:56] Thank you for being here.

[00:03:00] Rachel Augusta: I've been wanting to be on this show for ever. 

[00:03:03] Sharmila: Oh my God. You should have reached out... .

[00:03:08] I was waiting for an invitation. 

[00:03:10] You're not a projector. You don't need an invitation. Oh, my God. I'm so happy to have you here. 

[00:03:16] Rachel Augusta: Me too. 

[00:03:17] Sharmila: So happy. So happy. So happy. So, um, yeah, I, I just wanted to dive in. Let's just dive in because I had, um, so I, I, I, Rachel and I have known each other for years and I recently signed up to get, um, some energy healing from her for her and my cat and.

[00:03:43] First, I, I reached out to reach out to you for, um, for my cat Sabrina, because she's been puking. And then when I went to sign up, uh, it was like energetic x ray sessions. I was like, oh yeah, I need one of those. Let me have one of those too, because I'm having, um, some, I'm dealing with some hereditary stuff.

[00:04:02] I guess I'll just mention it because my dad, so I just. I'm like trying to censor myself and I'm like, okay, this is not going to work because my father listens to it. So I'm going to, I'm going to hear about this in a couple of weeks. And my mom's going to call me what you're still dealing with that. Why don't you go to the doctor?

[00:04:20] So let me give you some background. Um, I, I have, it's hereditary, uh, health, uh, heart health issues. So high cholesterol, blood pressure issues. And, um, you know, I've been dealing with trying to, well, I haven't been doing. Too much, but, um, to get my blood pressure down, I mean, isn't it real? It's not, you know, it's elevated.

[00:04:53] So if I take it, it's like 150 over 95. Um, and then I can. You know, do some breathing exercises and get it down to like 140, but it's supposed to be 120 over 80. And so I contacted Rachel just to see like, Hey, what's going on? I've been trying to work on this for, for a few years now. And I can't figure it out.

[00:05:14] It's like, why am I doing energy healing? If I can't, you know, do this on myself. Like, what, what, what's the point? Um, and so today we're going to talk about, let me get to the point of why Rachel's here so she can start talking is, um, she saw, she told me that I didn't have, what she calls an engine, which is a major energy center called the "hara" and that was really shocking to me and turns out that Rachel is a hara is an engine or hara whisperer.

[00:05:54] Which is so fascinating because I get a lot of people who are, you know, wanting to get over their ex or learn Reiki. And those are two are mutually exclusive as well. They're getting over a heartbreak and wanting to learn Reiki or just wanting to get over their heartbreak. And you get a lot of people that don't have what you call an engine. So explain to us what a hara is, why it's so important. And this is why it was so shocking. 

[00:06:23] Rachel Augusta: Yeah, for sure. First of all, I just want to say, um, I love that your parents support you. And now I guess I'm hearing the other side to that, of that in their support. You have no secrets.

[00:06:36] Where's my mom unsubscribed from my newsletter. She says it was accidental, but hey, now I can just spread all the dirt, whatever I want. And I know that it won't ever be brought up at the family table. 

[00:06:50] So. Yes. The Hara, the Hara. Um, I changed the name of it for my purposes in my practice with the people I work with, which is both, um, two legged and four legged, furry and non furry.

[00:07:05] I work with everyone. And the reason why I changed the name of it is because, um, when we're confused about what something is, we can go down rabbit holes trying to figure out, like, What is this? What does this mean? Where did, where did this come from? What country did this word, you know, originate from? And like, I could see when I would use the word hara, um, people's eyes would start like, you know, switching from side to side because they were, it was a new word for them.

[00:07:37] And, um, I would also like to preface this by saying I I'm a medical intuitive. I am an energy healer. Um, the basis of my clientele are animals. People are not coming to me because they want a celestial angelic healing, or they want to know what's going on in their Akashic records as they would come to you.

[00:07:59] People come to me because they're very, very sick. And Um, in a lot of ways, I'm a last resort. I'm, you know, the very last thing that they've tried because they've tried everything in Western medicine with themselves, whether they're sick or their companion animals sick. And so a lot of times when people make their way to me, they find me, um, out of desperation by word of mouth.

[00:08:23] And it's not that they necessarily even believe in energy work. They just. They're losing their best friend, their best friend is dying and they don't know how to help them. So it's like, I'm a last resort. So when I first started doing this work, I was trying to use these words and I was spending way more time explaining the origin of the word or where it came from, instead of like, this is what's going on in the body.

[00:08:52] And so I just started creating my own words for it to help people who are not into energy work, have maybe never had an Reiki session, could give two figs about their Akashic records. They're just trying to save their dog's life. Um, but to help them actually understand what's going in the body without getting lost in the details.

[00:09:16] So thus the word "engine" was born. And so, um, so for anybody listening, who's like, wait, what, what is a Hara or Hara as you say? So see, like, it's Sharmila is going to say it in a way that's different than I do. And, um, and it's the most, I believe the most important energy center in the body. And the reason why I call it the engine is because it's like the engine of a car. Like if there's something wrong with it, it doesn't matter how much gas you put in your tank or air you put in your tires or how new your stereo system is. There's something wrong with the engine in the car and, and it's going to prevent you from going on the road trip that you're going to go on or, you know, like feeling safe in your body or feeling grounded, you know?

[00:10:09] And so, so that's how it came to be. And. Once I switched the language on it, people really started to understand and could very clearly pinpoint whether it was for themselves or for their animals. Oh, this makes sense. Okay. You brought this like mystical thing and turned it into, you know, like I'm an energetic mechanic and I'm like, you heard it into language that I understand because I've had these same things happen with my vehicle.

[00:10:41] And, you know, if we think of our body is, is a vehicle and, um, And so that the heart is the engine, it's what everything else works off of. And, you know, so whether you're seeing an acupuncturist or a Reiki master, or, you know, whatever it is, like there's a lot of different people that are working with a lot of different types of energy and the body, I believe it all centers around this main piece.

[00:11:14] if there's something wrong with it. You can be doing Reiki on yourself daily, which is so good. Right. Air in the tires is so good. The gas in the tank is so good. You know, another metaphor that I want people to even think of when you think of your body is like, you know, if we were to think of like the engine or the Hara in your car, like.

[00:11:40] If you were like, I don't give two figs about cars. I've never had one. I live in New York city. I don't know this language you speak of. We all have cell phones and every day we charged our cell phone. We charge it multiple times today. I'm on my third charge today. And, um, and 

[00:11:57] Sharmila: Then, you need a new cell phone...

[00:11:59] Rachel Augusta: because the charger, because what happens is you can charge it, but eventually...

[00:12:07] the battery needs to be replaced. And so it's the same thing. Whether you want to think of your. This main energy center is like the battery in your phone or the engine in your car. It needs attention and not all the time. It's just if something happens, like a major illness, a major trauma. You know, like we drop our cell phone, oops, now I'm going to have to like fix things.

[00:12:41] And, you know, and it's like, what I think you were doing for yourself. Well, I know what you were doing for yourself is you were charging yourself, charge, charge, charge, and it was giving you what you need. And it was so great for you. But we do get to a point where we're like, crap, I have to go get my phone battery fixed or replaced.

[00:13:01] Sharmila: Right. 

[00:13:01] Rachel Augusta: And that's essentially what it is. 

[00:13:03] Sharmila: Right, right. Thank you for that. Um, yeah, I just, I love how you can take, cause that's one thing I have a hard time with is it's, it's so esoteric. I don't know how to put it into language that where people understand. So I, you know, but, but engine battery is perfect.

[00:13:22] And so I didn't, like I said, I didn't know I didn't have an engine. And so when she told me that I was like, I mean, it just blew my mind. I was like, Oh my God, like, what am I doing? Like, what, like my whole, I was like, Oh my God, my whole life has been about, I've been doing Reiki for like 20 years doing other energy healing.

[00:13:41] And, um, you know, I always, You know, I just do it at night. That's how I put myself to sleep. I just put my hands on my body over the position where the hara is like, you know, one hand, like underneath my belly button. And, um, yeah, so that was, I was really shocked. And so, like I said, I was trying to figure out what I needed to do, what, what missing links I needed to look at in order to overcome this hereditary, you know, something in my genetics, um, high blood pressure. My parents, my grandparents were all are on medication. And I was like, I don't want to take a pill. That's why, that's why I got into Reiki, you know, I was like, Oh my God, I could be self sufficient and, and heal myself and, and have this, this ability to do this all at any point.

[00:14:32] , Anyway, so I would go into the drugstore and check my blood pressure periodically. So I would always, you know, monitor it. And, um, yeah, so a few years ago I was on a road trip and I, we went into the, to a Rite Aid and I had to pee and, it was in the back and we're both running because we both had to pee. And I was like, Oh, maybe cause I ran. And then I took, you know, I waited a few minutes and took it again. And I was like, Oh my God, it's like one, how is this 150 over 90? Like what? 150 over 90. And so that was very concerning. It really stressed me out.

[00:15:02] I, I've just been trying to do certain things to, you know, to my diet, you know, just tweaking certain things: do I need to meditate on like, clearing any blockages in my heart, you know, doing all that stuff. And so I was just, when I saw that, um, you did energetic x rays, I was like, Oh yeah, I want one of those, you know, and I've got, I've been to the doctor.

[00:15:27] I took Sabrina to the doctor. They are all aware. I, that's how I know what my numbers are, my level, you know, cholesterol and whatnot. And Sabrina is, um, the only thing we didn't check. I still need to check on her. Is her pancreas, um, a blood test for that, but everything else is normal. Um, so, so it was just really shocking to find that out.

[00:15:49] And you asked me, like, if I had. Any physical trauma is like, Oh, well, you know, yeah, when I was 21, I was, I was run over by a car. I was a pedestrian. I was hit, hit from behind by, by, by a, uh, Ford Bronco. 

[00:16:06] Rachel Augusta: So that's kind of important. It brings us the reason why I was asking it. And a lot of times, you know, just pretending I'm a mechanic and, you know, for people who were not in the session, I hope you don't mind me sharing this.

[00:16:19] When Sharmila came to me, it would be like the equivalent of a car pulling into a, um, garage and there's smoke blowing out from under the hood. Like pull over, pull over, pull over, bring it in, get out. Um, and, um, you know, people will ask, well, where did the surgeon go? Why is it, what's going on? And, and I want to say, um, too, like, it's not always that it's missing from the body.

[00:16:48] It can be knocked out of the body. It can be cut in half. It can be split in half. There's different things that can happen to it. Kind of depending on what happened to you. And, um, And that also depends on how long you've been like navigating without this main energy system in your body. And the way that it had appeared in your body and some other things that was going on.

[00:17:12] I was like, I'm going to assume you've had a really bad injury. And you were like, funny. You should mention that because I was hit by a car and you were also in a boating incident, right?

[00:17:24] Sharmila: I forgot about that

[00:17:25] Rachel Augusta: . Yes. Two major things. And the reason why I had known that is because your spine, there was something going on with your spine directly around the neck as well.

[00:17:35] And that was the, Oh yeah, there was also a boating injury. I'm laughing. It's not funny. You had major injuries. You were doing this really awesome stuff for yourself, but because these major injuries had happened to the body, um, to your body, it. It threw off your engine, you know, and that's that is common for practically everyone who comes to me for one reason or another, whether it's an emotional trauma, um, severe abuse, emotional abuse, uh, if it's chronic disease.

[00:18:14] Yeah. Just different things like that. Back injuries, it can really upset the system and it tends to go after the engine. And then what happens is no matter what you do, it's very difficult to heal. It's very difficult. And so. When, like, I don't even need to do a full scan on people, I, I will, but when they tell me something like, I'm on my third round of antibiotics and they're not working, or my dog or cat's on their third round of antibiotics and they're not working, I'm like, it's an engine issue.

[00:18:47] You're putting gas in a car and there's something wrong with the engine and like gas in the car is good, air in the tires are great, but it's not impacting the main area of the body and once that engine's been put back in the body, then everything starts clicking and working in the way that it should.

[00:19:05] Then it's like you can accelerate the healing process and, um, you know, and so if we want to use the metaphor of car, or if we want to use the metaphor of a cell phone, it's kind of like when your battery starts to, go down to like 20 percent your screen dims on your phone and it starts to preserve its energy.

[00:19:28] And it's like, I've got to hold on to what I can to keep this going. You're not running on Tik TOK. You're not doing Marco Polo. And you're like, I've got to conserve everything. And then by putting a new battery in there, all of a sudden you have access to everything again in a way that you didn't before.

[00:19:45] Yeah, that it's, it's fascinating cause I'm still, you know, trying to figure out how that's impacting me. Um, cause the other thing too, I've been taking, I was, I've been taking a lot of supplements that are supposed to help with these thing and none of them are work. Like there's one called natto kinase and it's, um, comes from fermented soy natto natto.

[00:20:11] I don't know if I'm saying that right. And it's, it's a blood thinner basically. When I was taking that. And I was just like, I was like, great. After two weeks, let me check after three weeks. So I finished, I was like, all right, I'll just finish the whole bottle and not, it wasn't working. And I was like, oh my God, like, I don't want to take that.

[00:20:26] And that's so stressed. It's just so stressful. Um, cause it makes me feel anxious and I'm not an anxious person. Um, and. It was, um, yeah, I, it was just, it's frustrating. Cause I was like, you know, I know all, I do all this shit. I know, I know something, I don't know everything, but I know some things that I need to do for myself and try to get on the nutrition ball and get, you know, take certain supplements to help it.

[00:20:52] Um, so I was thinking, I was like, okay, maybe I'll, I'll try those again and see if, if that works. 

[00:20:59] And it often does. That's when medications start kicking in. In fact, um, I have a client, a dog who, um, has a collapsed trachea and he, his human contacted and was like, antibiotics aren't working.

[00:21:19] Can you check? And she knows the answer because she's talked to me enough and she was like, can you check and see? And I was like, Oh, yep. Because here's the other thing is that if you've been dealing with something for a really long time, or it's chronic, like a collapsed trachea, you just need to be put on a maintenance schedule of like, we're doing a tune up, but you know, here's the deal.

[00:21:44] People forget that we do have to do that for ourselves. We do for our cars,

[00:21:48] Sharmila: right?

[00:21:50] Rachel Augusta: Like, you know, when you go get an oil change, they're like, you need to come back and 3000 miles

[00:21:54] Sharmila: right. 

[00:21:54] Rachel Augusta: And we just have this, you know, well, I know why we have it. Western medicine belief that, um, you know, a pill will fix everything or, you know, Like, I just need to take these things like we're not taught to, just a lot of this, a lot of this medicine has been lost and it was lost for, I don't know that I want to go down that rabbit hole with you, but it was, it was stolen and it was stolen from us.

[00:22:28] And so now we're trying to relearn it and we forget that like our cars get tune ups. We get oil changes all the time. We change, we charge our battery on our phone. We replace things and we just have to do that for our body too. And it doesn't mean that you're broken or that you're bad or that you're doing wrong things.

[00:22:49] It's just our bodies need it too. 

[00:22:53] Sharmila: Yeah. Yeah. I mean, you know, self care goes a long way. It's not just drinking and eating and making sure you're defecating properly and everything's all the excretions are happening, but all these, uh, yeah, you know, when, 

[00:23:08] Rachel Augusta: yeah, I mean, one of the things that like, there's a huge misconception is that, you know.

[00:23:15] Rest. Rest is good, but rest is not recharge, you know, so people will be like, I just need to rest and recharge Netflix and chill. And I'm like, that's not recharge. That's rest, but recharge is something else, you know? And so like, let's use the metaphor of the phone. Um, rest would be, I'm putting it on do not disturb or airplane mode.

[00:23:42] Charge is plugging it in. And so, you know, we just have to see those things that different like our body needs it. And if your body has experienced a major physical trauma, you know, really like a boating accident. It just knocked things out of your system that like. You know, even you saying like, I'm a Reiki master, this is what I do for other people.

[00:24:07] But this is the power of being in community and saying, um, well, let me help you. And like, I see healers.

[00:24:17] I've heard other healers say this. I've said it like. You need to get on other people's beds and tables, like if you need to rub your shoulders, get sure you can do it, but it's not going, you're not going to get into the wings and the, the, all the muscles in the back that somebody else can reach.

[00:24:35] Sharmila: Right. Right. Yeah. Well, that was, that was interesting because like, you know, I, I don't. Get energy work as often as I really want to it's just kind of a schedule thing I can't get my friend, you know, someone in town to to do it Yeah, so I definitely I'm like, oh god. I just wish I could just get it like every three times a week would be great. . I absolutely advocate for that. You know, like my friends and I, you know, we do trades and whatnot. And so that's why I was like, you know, I was just really shocked because I was like, well, no one's ever said that before.

[00:25:11] And I think because, because we're doing a specific type of energy work and you do a specific type where there's different training involved. 

[00:25:20] Rachel Augusta: So that's exactly it. 

[00:25:23] Sharmila: Yeah. 

[00:25:23] Rachel Augusta: I mean, that is honestly exactly it. Like I've seen and worked with healers that like, they're doing stuff that I don't know how to do. I don't do it.

[00:25:32] And, um, You know, like I tell people, if you're looking for a celestial chakra healing, I am not your person. I'm a dirty mechanic. Like I'm just getting it out of the hood of the car. Like I, that's not who I am. I, I just not, that's not me. I like, I wear black. I swear. I like, I am not your celestial chakra healer.

[00:25:56] I am your blue collar mechanic who can get under the hood and fix stuff. So, Oh. You know, we all do different things and that's, yeah. That's the beauty of it. 

[00:26:08] Sharmila: Yeah. Exactly. Exactly. Well, I want to talk about, I want to just go into my session because it was so funny. Um, so she works remotely where we're not in the same zip, um, zip code, uh, time time zone.

[00:26:22] And, um, so my appointment was at 8:30 in the morning. I'm not a morning person. And I set my, and this is so funny. I don't even know why, but this is how much of a morning person, how, what type of a morning person I am. I'm like, I. Um, I didn't set it for eight o'clock. I set it for nine after to give me just a little, so I could have a little bit of time if I need to get up and pee and, you know, and, but not a whole half hour because I was like, I know I want that much more sleep.

[00:26:53] So, so my alarm goes off on my phone, which I always keep on airplane mode if I have to have the phone next to me, um, cause I need the alarm and it goes off. I turn it on cause she, you know, you said you were going to text me and I, I didn't even hear the text. I don't know why I, cause I dozed off. Right.

[00:27:13] So I'm like, I'm like half of, I was like, Oh, it must be, it must be 8:30. I wonder when she's going to start, it was like, I was, I was telling Rachel, I was like, I don't know if people remember in Ghostbusters and the original one from the eighties, uh, where they cross their, their proton pack streams to get rid of like the big, cocoa puff guy, right? And they, that's what it felt like. It was from head to toe. And I was like, I was like, okay, I guess, I guess it's starting. I have no idea what time that was because obviously. She was putting the engine back in my engine back in, um, or my brand new engine. Um, yeah, I was just like, okay, like, like laying there, like, like, literally like, and it was so strong and never, um.

[00:28:11] experience anything like that before. And I was like, okay, all right. So, and then it subsided. So I don't, I really don't know how long that was. I don't know if it was like a minute. It could have been 10 minutes. I have no idea. And then it subsided and it was like super chill. I mean, it was very subtle. I could feel, you know, different things going on in my body, but I was just like, Oh, my God, I can't wait to tell her.

[00:28:37] Rachel Augusta: That made me laugh too. And I was like, I just, the way you explain it makes me laugh all over again, because I always tell people whether I'm working with their animal, um, or them, the human, like. It's the human I'm like, make sure you're laying down because it's pretty intense and it might just might make you feel sick.

[00:28:56] And I don't want to scare anybody from having, you know, engine work done if you need it. But it is intense because especially if you've been navigating life for 20 years, like without a main battery in your body, you're going to feel it being put back in. And I've just had people not take me seriously.

[00:29:13] And like, stood been standing up and vacuuming because they were like, Oh, well, I'm gonna pay, Rachel to work on my body, but I'm also going to multi, you know what? This is women. We got a multitask. I got to clean. I've got stuff I need to do. I can't take time for myself. And then they will comment like, Oh, I tried to vacuum all of a sudden I was like crawling to the bed to lay down.

[00:29:34] I was like, I said, lay down for a reason. I cannot give that like enough of a, you know, um, but I loved your description of that. And it's. Super funny too. Cause people will ask me, they're like, how will I know when you're starting with my animal? I'm like, well, first of all, I always text people ahead of time.

[00:29:51] I'm like, Hey, I'm getting started now. Um, and then, but I'm like, but you'll know because your animal will, they, they have a different response than you being like, ah, they, but they are like. I gotta go. I like, or you'll just see it on your animal's face. This one of my favorite, um, moments in the, you know, with this person being like, oh, I knew exactly when you were tuning in, um, to my cat was, she said, this woman said she was sitting on the toilet and her cat ran into the bathroom, like big eyed and like spiky tail, like they'd been electrocuted, like, like, just as I was starting. And she was like, I told you, Rachel is going to be working with you. You know what this is? And her cat was like, her name was blinkers was like, oh, oh, yeah. Yeah. That's right. I just couldn't figure out what's going on with me.

[00:30:43] But it's, it is really obvious. Um, well, especially so because you do so much energy where you're very tuned into energy. So not everybody might be able to feel it as intensely as you did, but I loved your description. I thought it was great.

[00:30:57] Sharmila: Yeah. I mean, it was so strong and so intense and it was just, I mean, I was literally physically like, you know.

[00:31:09] Rachel Augusta: Yeah, and horses are super sensitive to energy as well. And so whenever I have to do engine work on a horse, I'm like, everybody watch your toes and stand back because they have galloped. You know, I'm like, no, we need to keep them in place. Um, because it is that, you know, horses are very, very sensitive to energy and, and you are.

[00:31:27] And so it might be different for somebody who's never had an energy session. They don't know. They're not really, they're numb from their own body that can happen through trauma. So then they might not have that, those same intense feelings. 

[00:31:39] Sharmila: Right. Yeah. Not be like that for anyone, but if you're ever getting energy work, that's why we always say:

[00:31:46] Rachel Augusta: lay down and rest.. 

[00:31:48] Sharmila: Yeah. don't do anything. Especially you're doing it remote, like Yeah, don't do. Yeah. So what are, um, what are some of the, I mean, you kind of mentioned it before, like medicines don't work, people get sick because, um, when you don't have an engine or if it's, or if the engine's offline or it's just gone, what are some of those

[00:32:12] Rachel Augusta: something's going on with it.

[00:32:13] Yeah, so it's typically, um, the body can't heal. So like. Uh, let's say you have a cat or a dog or a horse or honestly any animal where let's say they injured their leg or hurt their back and they're just not getting better. That would be a really good indication that there's something going on with the spinal energy and the engine.

[00:32:37] And if medicines aren't working as efficiently as they should be, again, people are like We're on our 3rd round or like, I'm taking these herbs and they're not doing anything. And like, we know that they're not just like sham herbs sort of thing, but like, but, but it would be like, we are on antibiotics and that should be killing like it off and it's just not working.

[00:33:01] That's a really good indication that somebody doesn't have that main energy system in the body. . Just not feeling like yourself, during COVID after people got COVID that was, you know, where you're just like sluggish, you're like, I can't make it through the mud. I can't make it through the water.

[00:33:22] Like everything feels like mud. That's a really good indication. Like, well, let's do a major, you know, if you want to think of the metaphor of your cell phone, you know, like. Things aren't running the way they're supposed to. 

[00:33:35] Sharmila: Right, right. 

[00:33:35] Rachel Augusta: You need a new battery in your cell phone. You need a new battery in your body.

[00:33:39] And um, you know, and it can happen to like, um, extreme trauma. What can happen with the engine is it can start to unravel it. And, um, so if you think, you know, how we say about ourselves, like, I feel like I'm becoming undone, you know, like I'm unraveling that you don't have the foundation to your house. You don't have a battery in your phone to like take you into those apps into those places or like you're just not grounded in your body.

[00:34:21] It's a really good indication that it's something to look at, you know, um, the same is true for your animals. Like if you've rescued animals out of really horrific situations and they're having a really difficult time, like even now they're in, they're in a good place, right? They're safe. They're in a good home.

[00:34:38] But they're not adjusting, or they're not coming out from under the bed, and it's been six months, or they're not like, they're not able to really get over that hump. It's because they do not have a foundation in their house, essentially. They do not have the engine in their car. And, you know, we, I'm going to say we've all been, I know I've been in a car where like, Lights are coming on, you know, there's something on with the engine and it's scary.

[00:35:07] You're like pull over. Oh, my God. Where's the next rest stop? We're on a highway? We're on a freeway. And like, I feel like animals know that, and that's why they look so, and, and us too, like we are stressed or unable to self regulate because we're like, the lights are coming up, the engine's about to blow pull over...

[00:35:30] and then once you put that in, it's like, Oh, like once something's been fixed or even if it's like the gas, you know. Is down on empty, you start freaking out, you know, you're like, I got, I got to get to the gas station. I got to get to the gas station, you know, and like, it, it creates that same sort of energy in us.

[00:35:50] Like even you talking about like, I'm going into test my blood pressure. I'm like, what's it going to be? Why is it, why is it like this? Like that it's the same as like being in a car that you don't feel safe in. 

[00:36:05] Sharmila: Yeah.

[00:36:05] Rachel Augusta: Or, you know, losing your phone battery at a festival and afraid you're going to be separated from your friends.

[00:36:10] Like. You know, it creates a stress in us then that we're holding and our body doesn't have the ability to hold on to it because like you said, I'm normally like cool as a cucumber. I'm chill. I'm like can ride a wave. No big deal. And now I'm like, what's going on with me? I can't get this sorted out.

[00:36:29] Sharmila: Yeah.

[00:36:30] Yeah. It's, you know, it's, it's concerning. 

[00:36:34] Rachel Augusta: Yeah. 

[00:36:35] Sharmila: Just a little, just, just a tad bit. So yeah, I'm on my road to living life with an engine now. I definitely need a tune up because you were, when we were talking, you were like, I'm going to give you a shiny new engine because I was like, Oh, you're going to put my engine back in.

[00:36:53] I was like, yeah. I was like, you know, go grease lightning we're burning up a quarter mile. It was like, give me a V12 engine.

[00:37:02] I feel like I'm just still integrating for sure. And it's been like almost like a month.

[00:37:07] Rachel Augusta: Yeah. You know, it's kind of like if you have 50 pounds to lose, it's really hard to do that in an hour at the gym. It has to, you know, like it does take like a series. That's why I always tell people, like, if you're dealing with cancer or like me, your, your injuries were massive and they were really old.

[00:37:27] So you had, they had a really long time in your body to, um, 

[00:37:36] Sharmila: To create havoc. 

[00:37:37] Rachel Augusta: So it is kind of like restoring, Oh my God, I do not like that I'm about to use this metaphor because it has nothing to do with you, but it's like restoring an old car or like fixing the foundation on the house or, or, you know, like building a house, you lay the foundation.

[00:37:51] And then you've got to go in and put up the walls and then you've got to make sure the roof is on and that everything and it's like, that's how it is with the body. And that's why most things are not one and done. 

[00:38:01] Sharmila: No, absolutely. 

[00:38:02] Rachel Augusta: Like whether you're painting a picture or you're going and getting acupuncture or you're even going to a chiro, if you go to a chiropractor, they're not going to say, yeah, this is this one neck crack is going to fix everything there.

[00:38:14] You know, like it's. Just not like that. You know, if you go to a gym trainer, they're not like, I'm going to teach you this. Bye. They're like, so we're going to have to keep practicing this until we're in a good position. And the same is true. Like sometimes, I mean, it's very rare. It's like. I put an engine in your car.

[00:38:34] Good to go. The only time I really see that is honestly, if someone's very young or like, uh, kittens and puppies, uh, really young adults. And that is if, you know, it was like, oops, I skid my knee. And now, you know, like I knocked my engine out of my body and we're like, okay, cool. You got to tune up. Bye. And I hope I never see you again, you know, until you're a senior citizen and that's, that can happen.

[00:38:59] But for. us older. Um, you know, not like anyone older than 15, um, humans and any animals older than a couple of years old, we usually have to do a few sessions and that's like going in and just like, yep, we're building this up. And, and that's why even like the dog that I worked with a collapsed trachea, that dog has been in my circle for a year.

[00:39:22] And when he first came to me, um, His human thought that maybe that it was time for him to go. It was really stressful. She didn't want him to go. She canceled plans on to, it was like her first vacation pre, you know, since COVID she canceled the plans because her dog lost his ability to walk. He was coughing so hard.

[00:39:42] He couldn't catch his breath. So we did a series of sessions and he's been really good for a year, but he's 17. Oh wait, he's 16. He's a 16 year old dog. And so, you know, then we just got it. She contacted me recently and was like, Hey, I think he needs a tune-up. And it's like, yep. And we gave him a tune up and we put him back on the road and he's good to go.

[00:40:05] And it's like, that's just kind of how it is, you know? And it's like, we have to do a few sessions and especially if things are old or they've been, like hanging out in the body for a while, it just, it just takes a second, you know?

[00:40:19] Sharmila: Just that first step is huge though.

[00:40:21] I've been telling everybody, I was like, how does that happen? I mean, I mean, I. Tell them why that, how, how that happened, but it's like, how have I been, you know, cause when you say you don't have an engine, it still boggles my mind. Like, wow. I was like, how could you can't, you just, the car doesn't run like how, uh, you know, how have I been cause I, 

[00:40:43] Rachel Augusta: you've been running it, you've been, you had been driving it, but you'd been driving it smoking and you, I mean, I just have to say though, it speaks to all of the other stuff you were doing. The fact that you've been able to do this for so long, it's because you were, you know, here's another metaphor.

[00:41:02] It's kind of like putting patches or taping a pipe that's leaking. And you're like here, but tape on it, tape on it. And you've been fixing it. Like it has totally kept it. But when you came to me, you're like, and this just does it. I'm like, well, you need a new pipe. And so like, but you've been doing so much maintenance on yourself and so much self care, like acupuncture, your self work, like daily energy, that you're able to like band aid the hell out of yourself and you have been. And, and so it was like, cool. Well, let's just give you a new pipe. We'll give you a new engine. We'll give you a new battery. And so, and now everything that you do is just going to be that more powerful for your body.

[00:41:52] Sharmila: It's such a revelation.

[00:41:57] Rachel Augusta: Yeah.

[00:41:57] It's still, I'm still like, it's just still so, it's still so shocking, you know, so shocking because I, so I was, I was hit by, I was run over by a car when I was 21. I'm 50 now. I started doing energy work. I start, I learned Reiki when I was 30. So that's like 20 years ago. So in between that, I was just thinking when you were saying that, like, okay, so between the time I was in my twenties, I mean, I was doing, I mean, Like, I remember seeing a therapist a couple times and I was always into self help and, you know, just reading books about, you know, spirituality and finding your purpose and things like that.

[00:42:41] So I was like, yeah, okay, I guess I could see how that kept me going for those nine years in my twenties, you know? And then the boating accident was, um. Um, I was like, I think it was like 38, so about 11, 12 years ago, I think. Oh, yeah, it was about that. So what happened there was I was being towed on the back of a jet ski on a big floaty.

[00:43:09] And he took, you know, it was just around his like man made lake. And he took a, he just went around the bend and I thought I was going to flip over. And so I let go and I flew and I just hit the water face down. I was wearing, um, uh, a life jacket and I could, oh my God, I thought I had collapsed my lungs.

[00:43:34] Cause I couldn't breathe. And I'm like, I was trying to breathe, I'm like, oh my God, I couldn't even talk. My boyfriend at the time was like, are you okay? He's like on the other side, I'm like, you know, I was like, I was thinking to myself, like, God, I'm wearing this. Cause it's not that deep, but if you can't breathe, you know, then you're drinking water, you're getting water in your lungs.

[00:43:56] And so I was just like, Oh my God. And I think I definitely, I think I broke a rib. Yeah.

[00:44:03] That's pretty intense. 

[00:44:04] Sharmila: Yeah. 

[00:44:05] Rachel Augusta: . This is something I say to my clients all the time, like I can usually really tell spot on when there's been an injury. I'm like, oh, there was an injury and they're like, well, but that was 18 years ago.

[00:44:15] And I'm like, yeah, but so for 18 years, the body has been doing its best to hold its own. And now you're in your fifties and it doesn't want to. No, I mean, but it is true though, like when you're young, you're like, yeah, I can jump that fence. Yeah. I can, you know, bust my knees open on that. Yeah. And it's like, you're invincible.

[00:44:39] But as you start to get older with regardless of species, your body's just like, so. 

[00:44:46] Sharmila: Maybe not. Do that...

[00:44:47] Rachel Augusta: We got a problem. So we don't have a pelvic floor anymore. Just, you know, and it's like, you know, I mean, laughing about the pelvic floor, but it's true. Like you can sneeze when you're 20 and when you're 50, you're like, hold that thought. I need to cross my legs and unless, unless you're doing the work you need to, to keep that strong because it's just. Aging is real. And so if you have something that happened to you or your animals, when they, you or your animals were young, it might not matter when you're young, but as you get older, it does that.

[00:45:29] We hear that all the time. Like people who had back injuries when they were young, it doesn't really start to impact them until later. That's why like, even with car accidents, they're like, I was in a major car accident and like. I'm okay now, but is this going to present issues in my neck and spine later?

[00:45:50] Sharmila: Oh my God. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, that's why I still have, so, I mean, it's not terrible, but it's definitely things I have to, you know, look out for is, you know, neck and lower back issues 

[00:46:03] Rachel Augusta: it's always kind of been there. And that's why it's like, now your body is like. We're doing a lot, we're doing a lot, and you've been doing a lot for your body.

[00:46:16] You know, there's a lot of people who don't because they don't know, right, and they don't know how or they don't know that they should. And, you know, and I think that's why kind of it's so shocking to you because they're like, but I'm this is my realm. This is my world. 

[00:46:31] Sharmila: How did I? Yeah, it's still also fascinating. So yes, the, and their engine build, rebuilding process has begun. 

[00:46:42] Rachel Augusta: It totally has. And I think you look like a hot little Mustang, so I don't care what you say. Yeah. 

[00:46:52] Sharmila: Well, thank you. Thank you. So you have, um, you have, how's your deck coming along? You have a deck coming out.

[00:46:59] Rachel Augusta: Yeah. I have a, it's a the grief Oracle deck for people who've lost their companion animals. I'm so close. It's like pretty much done. I'm just in the final, um, aspects of like getting ISBN codes, you know, like all the things to get it online and sell it. But, um, the Oracle deck, it's called the broken hearted and, um, In fact, if people are listening to this and they're interested and they want to know about it when it is released, they can go to my website and just be like, I'm interested in it.

[00:47:33] Like they'll, they're just, their name is on a list so that I know to tell them when it's available. 

[00:47:38] But that is to help people move through grief because, well, first of all, let me say there is nothing like it. I searched and searched and searched and, um, there is absolutely nothing like it for humans who've lost their companion animals.

[00:47:52] And I wanted to create it because while I'm in the business of saving lives and while I, I totally believe in miracles, the truth is that the only promise that we get in this life is that none of us get to stay and, um, you can't cure age. And so it's really difficult when our animals die. And

[00:48:24] I think Some people understand, a lot of people understand, and some people don't understand why it's so hard for, um, for us people who love our animal companions, why it's so hard when they die, and it's because, honestly, they're our best friends. You know, they're with us all the time. They were with us during COVID.

[00:48:47] They're with us during these stressful moments, you know, they show up for us and they're with us. And when they die, we are not given a whole lot of grace or space to grieve them. And people think that, well, if you just go get another cat, you'll be fine. And it's like, it's not about that. It's not about getting another, it's about grieving the loss of this very important friend that we had.

[00:49:13] And so the deck is designed to help people move into the spaces of connecting with themselves through their grief. There's a journal included in it to help them get clear on just their thoughts and feelings. And then there's also prompts on the deck to help encourage people to help their friends talk with them through grief, because that's also something where it's like, I can go into my spaces of grief, but how do I get my friends to feel okay having a conversation with me about how I'm feeling during this loss. So very soon, very soon. It's coming so soon. So soon. Because. It needs it. We need it. Like, and I have people contact me all the time. They're just like, when are you finishing the deck? And I'm like, I'm so sorry. I just have so many engines to fix.

[00:50:06] I have so many engines to fix, but I have my own moon cycle. It takes me out of the game five days out of every week. Yeah. 

[00:50:18] Sharmila: Nice. And then tell us a little bit about the Empawer app. Empower. Empawer.

[00:50:25] Rachel Augusta: I know. I thought I was so clever when I created it and I did not predict that people would be like, what?

[00:50:30] How? How do you say it? Or even if you search for it on Like in the app store, your phone will auto correct it to empower, but it's our, I didn't predict that. Um, I was just like, I'm clever. Empawer. Um, so, so empawer it's like empower, but with a paw and it's designed to empower people, um, teach you everything that your vet's not going to.

[00:50:54] So, because it's not their job, you know, so it's not their job to talk to you about separation anxiety or trauma. So there's classes on that. There's classes on CBD, all the classes are free. There's a free cancer class, like what to do if your animal gets cancer, like. Uh, what you should be doing in your home, how to set them up for success, how to build up the immune system.

[00:51:17] Again, this is stuff your vets are not going to teach you because it is not their job and they're not even educated in it. Also, when we get a really scary diagnosis, just game planning and brainstorming about what do we want to do going forward? Um, you know, and that's really common with a scary diagnosis.

[00:51:41] Like, do we want to do chemo? Is chemo even an option? There's 10 different types of chemo. Does this make sense? You know? And so that class really helps talk people through that. So they can think about things that they maybe didn't think about, or maybe that their vet didn't share with them. Like, You can do chemo for six months, but it'll only extend their life by a month.

[00:52:03] Like how to ask your vet those sorts of questions. Um, there's a whole class on grief and then there's medicinal meditations and, um, the medicinal meditations are. Well, there are medicinal meditations, like, like there's some for injuries. There's some for kidneys and liver. There's some for cancer. There's some for grief.

[00:52:24] There's some for just creating routine. There is meditations for anxiety and trauma with your animals. There's meditation specifically for humans that, you know, a lot of them are designed for you to listen to with your animals, um, because it triggers the physiological relaxation response in your animal.

[00:52:43] But then there's meditations for you, like when you take your blood pressure and you're freaking out and you don't understand why, and it has nothing to do with your cat and your cat's like, I don't want to sit in on this meditation with you, you can meditate with yourself and, um, you know, and it's like animals love routines.

[00:53:00] They thrive in them. It makes them feel very safe in the same way we thrive with routine. And so a lot of, you know, there's a daily routine of meditations. If you want to just do like a quick eight minute meditation at night with, you know, your animals. Um, and then there's other programs. Like if you want to learn energy, there's an energy one on one class.

[00:53:20] There's, um, a shadow work class that is, um, called the crowned creatrix. And that is. Um, because a lot of times, you know, when people, I'm sure anyone who listens to your show will know, I've heard about shadow work and even like how our animals mirror us, you know, and start to mirror our health issues or our behavior issues.

[00:53:44] The crown creatrix is like, how do I go in and heal the things that me so that my, you know, animals aren't picking up on this or like, I've been carrying around childhood trauma my whole life. And now I need to, I'm ready to. Work on that. And so there's meditations in there for that. So the whole app is honestly designed to help empower guardians to animals.

[00:54:08] Sharmila: EmPAWER

[00:54:10] Rachel Augusta: EMPAAAWER

[00:54:11] I want to empower you. Let's empower each other. Yeah. Because, because, you know, going to like what you said at the beginning of this show is like, I want, I don't want to just be dependent on Western medicine and take a pill. Like the truth is. Whether, you know, and I have people say to me all the time, like, do you believe in Western medicine?

[00:54:36] Uh, yeah. Like if you've been stabbed and your guts are hanging out, this is not the time for Reiki. This is not the time for crystals or essential oils. Go to the hospital right now. Um, you have broken legs. Yeah. We need that. We put it, put in a cast, like, or getting a diagnosis, you know, like, is there cancer?

[00:54:58] Is there something going on? Do we need to regulate the blood levels? Like Western medicine is great for that, but we have decided, or, or it has been decided for us to believe that it is the only thing out there. And. That's absolutely not true. And to then say, well, I'm going to be fully dependent upon Western medicine to fix everything in my life is going to set you and your whole house and everyone who lives in it up for disaster, honestly.

[00:55:30] Sharmila: Right. 

[00:55:31] Rachel Augusta: And, and, and truthfully, like I said, most people come to me because they couldn't get answers through Western Medicine.. So the app is like your, yeah, the app is like your, your, I, this is my, how I'm going to bring this care into my house in addition to Western Medicine. 

[00:55:46] Sharmila: Right. Right. It's a great supplement compliment.

[00:55:49] Holistic way of, 

[00:55:52] Rachel Augusta: to emPAWer you.

[00:55:54] Sharmila: Yes. 

[00:55:56] Rachel Augusta: Yes. 

[00:55:58] Sharmila: Wonderful. Wonderful. Oh my God. Thank you so much, um, for having this conversation and explaining a little bit more about the engine. 

[00:56:09] Rachel Augusta: Thank you. I know. And then, you know, what's funny is like. After I, for everyone listening, after I explained this to Sharmila, she was like, are you talking about the hara?

[00:56:21] Hadn't even occurred to me at that point. I could be like, so, you know, this is your hara and what's going on. But, um, you just the way I'd explain everything. You're like, you're talking about the hara. I was like, oh yeah, that's right. You're a person who would know that word. My clients typically don't.

[00:56:35] It was super fun talking about this. 

[00:56:37] Sharmila: Yeah. Yeah. And thank you so much for all that you do and, um, for, yeah, all the information, how to download the Empower Act App. Act , that's the Empower Act, power Act. Empower app will be in the show notes, but you can get it through Google or, uh, the app store, the Apple.

[00:57:00] Whatever it's called, I don't, I mean, I have, I'm an Android user. 

[00:57:03] Rachel Augusta: , app store, the app store or Google play. Yep.

[00:57:06] Sharmila: Yes. So all that will be in the show notes along with her link to her website and how to contact her. If you are, aren't sure about your engine, go see Rachel.

[00:57:18] Rachel Augusta: I'll do a tune up. I'd be happy to.

[00:57:24] Sharmila: So with a big hug. Thank you so much, Rachel. Good to see you. 

[00:57:28] Rachel Augusta: Oh, big hugs to you too.

[00:57:30] Sharmila: And thank you all for listening. We will see you next time. This is the Confident Healer podcast with Sharmila.

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