ļ»æPodcast with Kahla Transcript
On todayā€™s extra long episode of The Weird and Well Podcast, Iā€™m lucky enough to be speaking with Kahla Harrington who is and AuDHD licensed massage therapist and owner of Align Massage Therapy.
We cover a ton of topics including what to look for (both the good and bad) in a massage therapy experience if you are hypermobile or chronically ill and different massage techniques and approaches that are supportive.
Kahla also shares her journey to becoming a massage therapist, her boundaries as a neurodivergent woman in a healer career, and the power of trusting intuition.
As a heads up- The audio is slightly out of sync so there are a few moments that we talk over each other which is not unusual for two neurodivergent women talking about their special interests anyways, and also a few moments where Kahla seems to know what Iā€™m going to say before I say it.
Elizabeth: [00:00:00] Welcome.
Kahla Harrington: thank you.
Elizabeth: Thank you so much for being on My Weird and Well podcast. Last time we talked we started to talk about hypermobility and massage. Which I thought was really fascinating and I loved hearing some of your experience, uh, in that client you had, that was hypermobile when you were both kind of in the infant stages of discovering your awareness around being neuro divergent and being, you know, chronically ill and all of that. Um, I would love to hear that story, and your process through that and, and how that's affected the way that you now approach massage in particularly hypermobile, but also in people who have very different needs and fall into this kind of [00:01:00] neurodivergent, chronic illness pot of things.
Kahla Harrington: Yes. So one thing new that I am and have done is I'm adjusting my intake form, first of all, to accommodate for those who already know or suspect that they have some sort of, , chronic illness or connective tissue disorder or neurodivergence. That way that communication has already been, , put out there.
I have like a million thoughts going through my brain right now, so I wanna say that first. So that is done. Um, and then as far as like during a session, like when a client is coming in and someone specifically who like, doesn't know that they may be hypermobile as they're explaining like their symptoms they're having and the occurrences they're having within, like their joints and [00:02:00] their tissue, I'm not diagnosing them, but this is just for like my brain to understand like, does this person qualify for like a hypermobility situation?
And then depending on if I've already seen them before. I can, um, ask them like in the past, like what, what things have worked best for them, what things have felt good, what things have not felt good, like in, you know, the days following a session. So like some people really, really respond to like cupping.
Some people really respond to graft and work. Some people do really like mild fascial work. , Some people respond be better to lymphatic drainage. So just it's so individualized as we know that sometimes it's also a combination of those things. So it does take time often to [00:03:00] figure out what works best for each client individually, whether they know that they have a chronic illness.
Most people who have chronic illnesses know, but like, um, connective tissue disorders if whether they know that or not. Oh, you didn't.
Elizabeth: I didn't know I was, I was chronic, so no. So for me, I had like a mild. It would be considered mild like pot CFS from the time I was like 13 up until the time, um, when I hit like severe burnout and chronic illness when I was 30. And I was so heavily like gaslit by the people around me. And so not confident in my, my own assessment of myself.
And I really didn't have a framework because it started so young.
Kahla Harrington: Right. So it's just normal for you.
Elizabeth: like that I didn't have any framework to compare. And so I had no idea that it was actually illness [00:04:00] until I was 30. And it got so bad, like it, I, that burnout got triggered and it got so bad that I was bedridden. And even then it took me months before I was like, was like, oh wait, this is serious.
I need to go to the doctor. Um, so like, I, I. I love that you take that approach because in my process of discovering that it was so key to have practitioners, including the first massage therapist that I really went to after meeting with her several times and sharing with her my experiences, she was the first one who was like, oh, that sounds a lot like my friend
Kahla Harrington: Yeah.
Elizabeth: who has EDS. granted the way that she was doing massages on me was probably not the most supportive for my recovery, even that information was so helpful for me, and so I really appreciate that you recognize the need to share your perspective on some of those [00:05:00] things with the incoming clients and see if they, they meet certain criteria, even if you're not diagnosing them, so that you can kind of share your, your awareness in hopes of increasing their awareness.
Kahla Harrington: Yeah, I think it's really important, and this is something that I am going to continuously advocate for, is that massage therapists, especially now when more people are discovering that they have, you know, MCAS or POTS or EDS or any sort of neurodivergence that obviously, like, we're not diagnosing them as massage therapists, but it's important to know like symptoms, triggers, um, things like that so that we know that the work we're doing is not making someone feel worse.
And so to like be able to identify, like even if the client doesn't know. Like you see, um, what is it, der demographia or whatever, when you, you scrape or like touch someone's skin and it turns red [00:06:00] immediately. That can often be a sign of EDS, or MCAS and then, like seeing someone, you know, get dizzy after, you know, turning over on the table.
Or maybe they can't lay face down because then they're getting dizzy. It's like these little things that, um, you are noticing during a session are important because we wanna make sure that, again, that the work that we're doing is not making someone feel worse. So just being educated in that as like a side like quest or a side hyper focus for
Elizabeth: Yeah.
Kahla Harrington: just the benefit of your client is going to make all the difference.
There's so many different forms of EDS too. I think there's like, what? There's like combinations and there's like five or six types that are more common than others. Um, and so it could be something that maybe suggest to, like, I would suggest to a [00:07:00] client like, Hey, have you considered that you may have a connective tissue disorder?
Like, go to your doctor, go get this, you know, blood work done or genetic test done or something like that where, um, this could help you long-term, especially if you're someone who's like breaking bones often, or if you have heart issues or you know, your joints are continuously sub laxing or whatever.
It's like, I would wanna know that, especially if I had no prior education.
Elizabeth: Yeah. I think that for a lot of people in our community, there is comfort in. Having a name to put on it. And I think that a lot of, a lot of the benefits that I've seen in diagnosis is one, being able to give it a name. Two, being able to recognize that you're not crazy and that other people are experiencing these same things, uh, or slightly different things, but all kind of in the same [00:08:00] pot. And three, having a place to start in terms of figuring out what that means for you and your body. I subscribe to the idea that most of these things, pots, CF, s, fibromyalgia, many forms of the EDS, that a lot of them are kind of the same thing that
Kahla Harrington: Right.
Elizabeth: expressed differently in different bodies. Right. That it's, it all comes back to the nervous system. I think that there's a lot of benefit in recognizing that that's happening in your body. I've also seen the flip side of that, where somebody can get really obsessed with needing to know exactly what it is and thinking that that's going to
Kahla Harrington: More answers. Yeah.
Elizabeth: the treatment or the support.
Exactly. Like, and, and I think it goes back to that, that need for control, right? Like, and that's a very common experience of wanting that control [00:09:00] to try and create that feeling of safety that you're lacking in your body. And so you can get very hooked to the idea of trying to find exactly what it is and attaching your hopes that if you know exactly what it is, then they'll be able to treat you and then you'll feel okay. And in my experience with all of these different things, that's not really the case. It's important if you have specific things, like you said, with the bone breaking and stuff that you know to get the support that you need. But having specific diagnoses oftentimes doesn't necessarily lead to better support or healing. Um, and I think that while it can be helpful not vital for you to be able to learn what your body's experiencing and to find the people who can support you in that. And I think someone like you. Where your approach is to look at these different symptoms and to have an awareness of how your [00:10:00] massaging or these different types of massage are going to interact with those symptoms far more supportive longterm.
Kahla Harrington: Agree with that. Um, I think that ties back to again, what I was saying earlier about just having the knowledge of like what you are doing to someone's body during a session is directly impacting them via multiple systems. But ultimately, like, and this is something that I have always talked about, is that you are continuously interacting with the nervous system, whether that's your intention or not.
Um. So
Elizabeth: Yep.
Kahla Harrington: I just forgot what I was gonna say. Um, but
Elizabeth: That's.
Kahla Harrington: Great. I love that for us,
Elizabeth: what
Kahla Harrington: um, I had a thought, I had multiple thoughts when you were, when you were saying what you were saying, but um, yeah, some [00:11:00] people are really adverse to labeling, things like that feels really scary for them.
Elizabeth: Mm-hmm.
Kahla Harrington: so I've, I have had people that are like, I just, I don't wanna know, I don't wanna know if I'm, I don't autistic because how will that impact the previous life that I have already lived?
And how will that impact me now and in the future? Um, I don't wanna be labeled. It's a lot of processing.
Elizabeth: Yeah. And, and there's like that aspect of,
Kahla Harrington: Right, exactly.
Elizabeth: ableism, right? Of like. not, and I, I get that. I don't know about you. When I found out, when I like realized that I was autistic and I spent 600 hours, literally 600 hours of doing research and going down the rabbit hole, um, and like waffling back and forth and being like, oh, I don't know if I am, maybe I am, oh
Kahla Harrington: I know.
Elizabeth: thing that's doesn't line up.
So I can't, you [00:12:00] know, and, and like 600 hours later, like there was definitely some processing in there in terms of the internalized ableism around it and shifting what my brain thought of as autism and what had been described to me and explained through society as what it is to be autistic. And recognizing that, I needed a completely different paradigm for myself moving forward. To fully accept all of these different parts of me. And that meant processing some of those things. And that's a lot of work and a lot, like, not everybody is ready for that when they start to suspect or recognize that that might be a thing for them. Um, and there's a lot of like fear of rejection and there's a lot of grief involved with the past life. You know? don't know.
Kahla Harrington: I
Elizabeth: what
Kahla Harrington: still struggle with, um, internalized [00:13:00] ableism because up until like, what, two years ago, I didn't know that I was autistic. And the, the few years prior to that, I mean, I was looking at, you know, every single TikTok about autism and women and researching things about autism and women on PubMed and like doing all sorts of stuff.
And I'm like, do I have this thing? Do I not have this thing? Am I making this up? Like why am I seeking this out? And when, so for me, it was important to get a diagnosis because I had already put in so many hours of like looking into this topic and I was like, I have to have confirmation so I can stop like second guessing this for myself.
But then like, once I did get diagnosed, I was like, what even is this life? Like what, [00:14:00] what have I even been doing? And then like, it kind of gives you a different like, um, outlook on all of your lived experiences or like, it gave me that outlook of all of my lived experiences, like through this different lens.
And then like, even still right now, I am like, I can't be that autistic. Like I can do all these things, but then like all of these things that are like a demand on me and it's, it can create this like interesting like ebb and flow of like, I can do everything until I cannot, I can do everything until I cannot.
And so
Elizabeth: Yeah.
Kahla Harrington: I still like, I still struggle with that pretty frequently. And I, it's. Having the support of like a partner who is, who is understanding of that and like can support me through the like, wow, I'm [00:15:00] having this like, meltdown. Or you know, I'm getting to the point where I'm like, ha, going to have a meltdown or like a burnout or something.
Kind of a like frees up some space to like, just let me exist. And so it kind of like stops me from getting to that point almost. 'cause I don't have to do all the things, but anyway.
Elizabeth: Yeah, it's like a built-in buffer. And I think that's, that's part of the reason because I, I totally resonate with that, like questioning and doubt. Um, when I look at all the things that I'm, able to do and stuff. But then when I think about it, I'm able to do those things because I've built my life in such a way that it
Kahla Harrington: right.
Elizabeth: supports me in being able to do those things. And the reason that I sometimes question it is because I am
Kahla Harrington: Also same.
Elizabeth: almost constantly surrounded by neurodivergent people, like my friends, my work, my son, like the [00:16:00] people that I choose to spend my time with and interact with are almost always neurodivergent. And so it's not until I find myself in circles of primarily neurotypical people where I'm like,
Kahla Harrington: Yeah. And it's exhausting.
Elizabeth: oh fuck I'm really autistic.
Kahla Harrington: That's way more draining.
Elizabeth: Yes! To try and be in those spaces when you like, yeah, no, I totally get that. But it's, it's really funny 'cause like when I'm in those situations, I'm like, how, how did nobody know? Like
Kahla Harrington: Because,
Elizabeth: how did it take so long?
Kahla Harrington: Because especially like in my family, it's like they didn't even know because they're also that way. Like, we're pretty sure My mom's ADHD, we're pretty sure my dad's autistic and I just got the best of both worlds. And so they're like, well, why would we suspect anything when you do the same things we do?
And it's like, okay, that makes sense. But yeah, I mean,
Elizabeth: yep. And then you have the compound of
Kahla Harrington: right,
Elizabeth: A DHD and autistic [00:17:00] and how they kind of like offset so that you
Kahla Harrington: right,
Elizabeth: present as neurotypical much more easily than somebody who's one or the other, but
Kahla Harrington: It's a chaotic thing
Elizabeth: inside you're just a hot mess all of the time
Kahla Harrington: or it can be. But yeah, I, I was just talking to somebody yesterday and they were like, you know, how, how late are you working? I was like, oh, I work till like eight 30. And they were like, that's really late. And I was like, my dude, I only work two days a week. And they were like, seriously?
And I was like, yeah, but I work like a lot on those days. But I have to, and I have built my whole like, practice around my needs. Like I don't work two days in a row unless I absolutely have to. So I can take time off for my kids and I create a space where I have five days off a week because I have to have that time to recover.
And so [00:18:00] when I do work a lot, then I'm like, oh wow, this is what like neurotypical people do and they are fine with it. And then I am like, I could never, I could never work this much. And I just find that to be like a con, like a, an interesting reminder of like, oh yeah, you are autistic, you do need time to recover.
Elizabeth: I think that's fascinating 'cause I've also had several clients and then with myself included in that, that having, um, having like work days and having non-work days instead of having like a little bit of
Kahla Harrington: I could never do that.
Elizabeth: out throughout the week, I find is like the more common approach for. Neurodivergent women is, they feel better if they have like these days where they're working then the rest of the days they're not working. And on those days is when they do all of the things, you know what I mean? Like a, a shortened [00:19:00] week, but like maybe a slightly more intense
Kahla Harrington: Yeah.
Elizabeth: like more intense days. But overall, yeah, like there's definitely a much higher need for, personal time and being present with your body and not having to think about work like being able to figure out those boundaries as well. That's something that, a lot of, a lot of people I've worked with, struggle with and I used to struggle with a lot is when you're
Kahla Harrington: Right,
Elizabeth: Not working. Like your brain is not doing those things. Your body's not thinking about it like you are. You're able to move into being present with yourself, and that's a skill it take that, that we are not taught, we're taught that we need to be anxious all of the time so that we don't forget the things and so that we meet all of the expectations and, and it's very ingrained and, and that's part of that paradigm shift if you're going to
Kahla Harrington: right.
Elizabeth: have
Kahla Harrington: I find that in order to create a space where I'm not anxious all the time and thinking about like I. [00:20:00] This minute task or this minute task, just like offloading it to either a sticky note or a notes part in my phone or setting an alarm, like when I think about it. And then it just, it frees up so much space so that on my days off, I'm like,
Elizabeth: Yep.
Kahla Harrington: I don't have to remember all those little things that I was supposed to remember from the days I work because it's somewhere else, and that when I go back to work, it will be exactly where I left it.
And so that too has been really helpful for me personally.
Elizabeth: Yeah, externalizing it.
Kahla Harrington: My hard drive.
Elizabeth: um, storage drive. Yes, exactly. That's an external hard drive. Exactly, because I think the working memory, I think our working memory oftentimes gets very heavily connected to the anxiety, and I think that's part of the reason that a lot of studies and will say that, you know, neurodivergent people [00:21:00] struggle with working memory or they have less working memory. I don't think that's necessarily, that we have less. I think that one, our working memory is very heavily tied to our anxiety, and two, in my experience. Your working memory is also holding
Kahla Harrington: Right.
Elizabeth: all of your unprocessed shit, all of the experiences and the memories that you've had, that you weren't in a place where you felt safe enough to actually feel them and process them. And so part of you is like holding onto it for you is like, I got you. I'm just gonna hold onto this until we're in a time and a place where we can handle it. And all of that adds up over time and it's going to significantly reduce your ability to be present, to think about other things, to, um, hold onto ideas
Kahla Harrington: I think that can tie pretty heavily into overall fatigue as well. Um, and sometimes brain fog and, um,
Elizabeth: Yeah. All of the executive [00:22:00] functioning
Kahla Harrington: They're clouded.
Elizabeth: impacted when you have this backlog of
Kahla Harrington: Right.
Elizabeth: unprocessed emotions and experiences
Kahla Harrington: sometimes, especially like when I'm working on neurodivergent people, it's like the, the stress isn't, or the anxiety isn't the same as like a neurotypical person. Like the way that the, the stress shows up in, in them is not specifically the same. Like a lot of neurotypical people, the stress is like right here in the shoulders.
Right. That's a co I mean, that's a common thing I see. But. For neurodivergent people, it seems to be more like systemic, like overall, like just an overall sense of exhaustion, so that's fascinating.
Elizabeth: So for me. Massage therapy, different forms of massage have actually been an important part of me being able to access and process [00:23:00] some of those things. And I don't recommend doing that, like right off the bat, if you're like deep in burnout and stuff, that's a
Kahla Harrington: Right. It's a lot of input.
Elizabeth: your system to handle. Um, but, but at some point in the journey of recovering from burnout and healing your autonomic nervous system, you're gonna have to deal with that backlog of experiences and emotions. And when I was starting on that, I found massage therapy to be really supportive of that in a way that it was more hands off and automatic almost, where instead of having to think about it, because so often. Like talk therapy doesn't work great for neurodivergent individuals. 'cause our brains are just like so used to overworking and we're very
Kahla Harrington: You can logic your way out of that.
Elizabeth: Intellectualizing all of the things. Or even having, like I've, I've had clients who come to me who are aware of what they're [00:24:00] experiencing, but that's very different
Kahla Harrington: Right.
Elizabeth: from actually experiencing it.
Like, they
Kahla Harrington: Right.
Elizabeth: know what they are feeling, but they're not actually feeling it and being present for it. And so I started with craniosacral therapy, craniosacral massage, which is a very gentle form of massage that deals with the fascia, I believe, along the spine area.
Kahla Harrington: I am not well versed in craniosacral, but I think that's probably the gist of it.
Elizabeth: And I found that really helpful and, and gentle enough because as you've mentioned about how people store stress differently, there's a lot of, um, I can't remember the proper term for it, essentially where like
Kahla Harrington: Mm. Mm-hmm.
Elizabeth: all of your muscles just hurt all of the times and they're very sensitive and very tender. And, and when you're in that state, even gentle massage
Kahla Harrington: Right.
Elizabeth: feels really intense and can have repercussions. And so what would [00:25:00] you recommend to somebody who is in that place, in their journey in terms of, um, massage supports that might help them to move forward without overloading their system?
Kahla Harrington: I feel like I, because I don't know much about craniosacral, so I can't speak to that, but I, if someone came into my workspace and was like, this is, these are the things I'm experiencing, um, I would start with, manual lymphatic drainage, and I would start with probably a half hour session. And if, if they were like deep in burnout, I would recommend a half hour because, lymphatic drainage.
Is very gentle, it's very light, it's rhythmatic and it directly taps into the nervous system, via the rhythm. And, I also think that shortened sessions for something like that is probably the best. And then you just build from [00:26:00] there. So maybe the next time you go for another half hour, and then the other time, another time, you go for an hour and then kind of see where that leads.
And then as your nervous system can regulate and you're coming out of burnout, I mean, however long it takes, your body will be able to tolerate length in sessions and maybe different modalities. So maybe you're moving into like a lighter myofascial or like I had mentioned earlier, um, one of my clients really enjoy cupping.
Um, but I mean, that can be really intense too. So. You really have to check in with your client and, maybe they're not able to verbally tell you like how their nervous system is doing. But there, there are signs that you, as a therapist should be able to see, visually. But lymphatic drainage is so gentle and it is always a go-to for clients who are in a burnout or they're in a [00:27:00] stress state.
And I recommend that honestly, for both neurodivergent and neurotypical clients.
Elizabeth: Awesome. I wonder what you would, so as a client who's going in, who's seeking massage, when you are in that state, form of massage is going to have an effect on your body. You're going to feel it the next day, and you're going to have a recovery period from anything like that. I think it can be really tricky for some people who are going into that to navigate between, is this just the expected integration and recovery period or is this my body saying, Nope, that was too much. And is there anything specific that you would recommend for clients to look out for, to be able to navigate how their body is responding to a specific treatment?
Kahla Harrington: Yeah. So if someone's coming in, let's say they're getting lymphatic drainage, um, overtreatment or [00:28:00] something where their body is like not doing well with, it could feel like, heart racing or, sometimes people can feel like maybe they have the flu or, um. I don't experience, I guess I don't have clients that experience this as far as like, muscle aches or anything with lymphatic drainage.
But, any flu-like symptoms is always a red flag all around for almost every modality that's overtreatment. And, deep fatigue, probably red flag. Um, I'm trying to think of what else. I don't know. I guess I don't have a lot of experience with clients who have been overtreated. I feel like I'm very cautious and aware, but maybe there's been a client who hasn't said something.
I don't know. But I think like flu-like symptoms overall, heart racing, uh, [00:29:00] staying like not being able to fall asleep, but like, and then like deep fatigue. Will probably be like the biggest red flags of like poor recovery,
Elizabeth: And I think also if, if the recovery time
Kahla Harrington: right?
Elizabeth: takes longer than like 24 to 48 hours, 'cause I know when I was deep in it, even the gentlest treatments would leave me. It would take like 48 hours for me to recover from that because it was just, I was just so deep in that space where the energy involved with going to the place to get it done with interacting with another human, with having myself be touched, all of those different things. such a low tolerance that it would still take me like 48 hours to recover from
Kahla Harrington: I think that
Elizabeth: But I would agree with what you're saying if there are flu-like symptoms, and then also if you're experiencing an increase in pain
Kahla Harrington: red flag.
Elizabeth: in any way, [00:30:00] that I would say is a red flag. Um. And if it takes longer than that, like 48 hours and you're still feeling off or not right, then I would say that's also a red flag.
'cause the other thing I've experienced, I told you about where I got a massage and, um, I don't, I don't remember what they were working on, something to do with my hips or something I was on my belly and they like lifted up my foot and shook it
Kahla Harrington: Oh God.
Elizabeth: and I felt like my leg
Kahla Harrington: I remember you telling me that.
Elizabeth: was gonna fall off
Kahla Harrington: Oh,
Elizabeth: It felt so unstable
Kahla Harrington: never,
Elizabeth: And, and I was like, oh my gosh. And, and the massage therapist not you, um, was like,
Kahla Harrington: no,
Elizabeth: this is what it's supposed to feel like
Kahla Harrington: no.
Elizabeth: And I was like, "Really?"
Kahla Harrington: That should not feel in like unstable
Elizabeth: yeah, and I
Kahla Harrington: I would never do that to somebody, especially if I suspected that they may have like a connective tissue situation, like their joints [00:31:00] are already probably feeling unstable. So adding more instability to a joint.
Elizabeth: Yeah.
Kahla Harrington: it was just never a good plan.
Elizabeth: Yeah, and I don't think she was looking at it like that
Kahla Harrington: Right.
Elizabeth: I think she was looking at it in terms of releasing the muscles that were overworking and tight, which is one thing that a lot of massage therapists do. Um, without really considering the implications for the rest of my body
Kahla Harrington: Oh my gosh. Yeah.
Elizabeth: that took a lot longer for me to recover
Kahla Harrington: Yeah, and I think that overall, like that's another thing that massage therapists really should be more aware of as well. And not just for clients who have EDS, but just in general of like, okay, you're taking the stability out of one portion of this joint, but like now what? Now. Now how is this joint gonna stabilize?
Yeah, you have to add it back in somewhere. Um, and especially be aware of that with clients who do [00:32:00] have EDS. And I also wanna say that like we've said EDS so many times, but EDS stands for Ehlers Danlos. It's a connective tissue disorder, right? Correct.
Elizabeth: any kind of hypermobility
Kahla Harrington: Correct, correct.
Elizabeth: Yeah, exactly. That it, it applies to.
Kahla Harrington: Right,
Elizabeth: you know, those body differences that are common in our community, um,
Kahla Harrington: correct.
Elizabeth: that lead to knock on effects, right? If you're hypermobile and you have certain muscles that are overcompensating, then other muscles are getting weak.
That's going to affect your posture, which is going to affect your breathing, which is going to affect your nervous system
Kahla Harrington: It's a whole trickle down.
Elizabeth: It's a whole trickle down effect and having some kind of awareness, making sure that when you are looking for a practitioner, that there's somebody who has an awareness of these issues that are really common in our community, and maybe have a little conversation with them about how they would adapt or, um. considerate of that while they're working [00:33:00] on you. I think it's one thing to look for if you're
Kahla Harrington: Agreed.
Elizabeth: looking for a supportive provider, because I don't wanna, I'm not trying to shit on massage therapists by any means in my own recovery journey, massage therapists have been probably the biggest support and certain types of massage therapy have been the biggest support that I have relied on, through this process.
And so I think finding great massage therapist, it can make an enormous difference for you. Speaking back to what you were talking about adding in stability, one thing that you did when I started seeing you that was fantastic was the neuromuscular testing
Kahla Harrington: Oh yeah. Huge fan.
Elizabeth: and early on in my journey, so one of my first symptoms. When I tipped over into the burnout in the cascade was vertigo. I woke up and I had just the most intense vertigo, and I went to a chiropractor because that was what I had known. I had never really gone to massage therapist [00:34:00] before. And when I thought of vertigo, I thought chiropractor. So I went to a chiropractor and he was able to help with the vertigo, and he did some neuromuscular testing with me while I was in there.
But he didn't really tell me what he was doing, and he would just tell me to do something, make an adjustment, and then test it again and be like, okay, you're good. And then I would go home and a week later I would have to come back because everything would be messed up again. And so even though I, I had had neuromuscular testing in the past. It was not really supportive long term for my healing. And I loved that when I went to you, it was different because you tested these different things. You told me what was going on. You identified the muscles that were overworking and then you actually told me what to do to reactivate and strengthened the muscle that needed to be reactivated, which is really tricky.
'cause even if you know what muscle it is, you look up how [00:35:00] to strengthen X, Y, and Z muscle,
Kahla Harrington: Correct.
Elizabeth: those only work if you can activate it
Kahla Harrington: Yeah. It's a, it's a whole process and one of, one of the things that I do. Specifically is I like to talk through with clients what I'm doing and why I am doing it. Mostly because I like all the why. Yeah. I like the why and I don't know if other people do, but it also helps me do better work because I am also having to explain like what I'm doing.
So yeah, finding, finding the muscle that is underworking or overworking and then finding the muscle that is doing the opposite or whatever. And um, kind of eliminating that compensation pattern, reprogramming a different compensation pattern, and then giving the client homework to do at home to continue the connection between the brain and the body.
Is super important. And with the neuro kinetic therapy, [00:36:00] which is what I do, it's not so much like you're strengthening this muscle, but you're continuing that brain to body activation so that long term, this compensation pattern will stay. And then you don't have to keep revisiting.
Elizabeth: Yep.
Kahla Harrington: And I think that's, it's not an issue.
It's different than what I do, but like PTs and chiros and, you know, other massage therapists will do like muscle testing for strength. What I'm doing is muscle testing for brain,
Elizabeth: Mm-hmm.
Kahla Harrington: like connection. Yeah. And so I, I find that to be really helpful, especially, um, and, and honestly this modality could be really helpful too with clients who, are needing like lighter work or, they're wanting better brain to body
connection, um, because it's not, it's not intense, but it's incredibly helpful and it [00:37:00] brings things to light that maybe like you didn't specifically feel before. So I like that aspect of it.
Elizabeth: Mm-hmm. And I like the way you do it and the way that you do the exercises, I've had clients who have done neuromuscular testing with a PT, and they were given this whole long list of exercises, and they were told to do like. Three sets of 10 reps of doing this thing. And their body
Kahla Harrington: Right,
Elizabeth: did not respond well to it because it was exhausting.
It was too much for their body. And when you gave me the exercises you tested for how many
Kahla Harrington: right,
Elizabeth: my body could do and handle,
Kahla Harrington: Exactly.
Elizabeth: and it was like one to three
Kahla Harrington: That's all you needed.
Elizabeth: because, because the muscle hadn't like it, there was nothing there before. And so it had to start very small and very slow. And, and that's what it needed for the neural connection
Kahla Harrington: And it's so much more doable
Elizabeth: Right.
Kahla Harrington: at home
it's like less than two minutes.
Elizabeth: it's much more doable.
Kahla Harrington: Yeah.
Elizabeth: Which makes it easier to be consistent. [00:38:00] So a huge fan of that. I do recommend anybody listening if you can find, someone who can do the neuromuscular testing with you to look out for those things and ask specifically for those things. I can imagine that other people who do neuromuscular testing have like would be able to offer that and be like, oh, this is the muscle that you need to activate. Here's an exercise you can do for that
Kahla Harrington: Correct.
Elizabeth: They're just not thinking in those terms. They're thinking in terms of strengthening
Kahla Harrington: brain connection
Elizabeth: instead of the neural connection
Kahla Harrington: Right? So the, again, for listeners, if you are trying to find somebody who does something like this, it's called Neuro Kinetic Therapy or NKT for short. And I know that there's practitioners all over the, all over the US for sure. Definitely in like Europe too. Most practitioners who do neuro kinetic therapy have it in their bio or on their [00:39:00] website somewhere.
So it's pretty easy to spot and you don't have to just guess. So huge fan of that.
Elizabeth: Fantastic.
Kahla Harrington: I also like the, to add onto that too, though, um, I like the idea of just,
Elizabeth: Yeah.
Kahla Harrington: know, the homework taking only two minutes or less. Um, because as somebody who has like, demand avoidance, having like a whole laundry list of exercises and how many to do, it feels
Elizabeth: Yes.
Kahla Harrington: way bigger than it may actually be. And it, I like will put it off, I will put it off all day and then I'll get to like the end of the day or something and be like, oh my God, I have all these things to do still.
And then I just like, don't wanna do it anyway. So having something that's like, this is very doable. It's like. It's you like massaging this, you know, one muscle for a one to two minutes, and then you do like [00:40:00] three reps of an exercise and like you're done. And that's it. It's, it's, you set a timer, less than two minutes, you're done.
Elizabeth: Yep.
Kahla Harrington: And that feels more doable overall than like a whole laundry list of things.
Elizabeth: Agreed. So something else I've encountered is like when I've had clients who've been given a long list of things to do, it triggers not just
Kahla Harrington: Right.
Elizabeth: demand avoidance, but also the all or nothing, the black and white thinking of, oh, I can only do this if I can do all of them.
And in order to do all of them, there are a lot of other factors that come into it. There's timing, there's body sensations. Have I eaten recently? Do I have to worry about being interrupted? Am I going to be perceived? And so you have to kind of make sure that all of the conditions are perfect for you to actually engage with and follow through on doing all those things. Whereas if it's a smaller thing where it only takes a few minutes, there are a lot less obstacles, a lot less, [00:41:00] um. Barriers to entry in terms of actually engaging with it. I will say if you are in a place where you have been given a long list of things, I'm giving you full permission
Kahla Harrington: Me too.
Elizabeth: to not do all of the things and, and to only do like the one or two things that
Kahla Harrington: Feel doable. Yeah.
Elizabeth: feel the best to you or that to that make the most difference for you and that feel the most accessible for you, is also totally fine. you do not fail
Kahla Harrington: You will not be in trouble.
Elizabeth: there is nothing wrong with it
Kahla Harrington: No one's mad at you.
Elizabeth: You will not be in trouble. Exactly. So if you are in a place where that's the resource that's available to you, then just utilize whichever one feels the most accessible to you. And even doing that one little thing. Each time you show up for yourself in that way is going to build trust with yourself.
And it's going to build a, a comfort and a tolerance in your nervous system for continuing to show up for [00:42:00] yourself.
Kahla Harrington: Right.
Elizabeth: even if it's just like looking at the list. Like even if you sit down and you look at it and you're like, okay, my list. I have it in my awareness, shown up for myself today.
And then maybe the next day you show
Kahla Harrington: Right.
Elizabeth: and you look at it and you're like, oh, I can do this one. This, this is one I can do in the next minute. And just get it done. And then, you know, build on that
Kahla Harrington: I also wanna add that if you are in a place to advocate for yourself during your session with somebody who is giving you this laundry list
Elizabeth: Hmm.
Kahla Harrington: to ask for a shortened and like most important list instead, or reach out via like online communication. Because sometimes that feels easier and
Elizabeth: Yes.
Kahla Harrington: just be like, I need something like smaller.
Like I need one to two things and that's what I'm doing.
Elizabeth: Yep.
Kahla Harrington: because sometimes in person can feel overwhelming as well. Yeah. Fawn response. Like, oh my God, of course I'm gonna do everything. [00:43:00] No, I'm not
Elizabeth: Fawn response. Yes. Thank you so much. As you're like inside freaking out and you're like, oh, this looks great. It's going to make all the difference
Kahla Harrington: Right.
Elizabeth: And then you don't do anything ever and you never talk to that person again instead,
Kahla Harrington: Right,
Elizabeth: Reach out afterwards and, and take your time and, and send just a quick message and be like, Hey, do you have a shortened version for when I don't have
Kahla Harrington: right,
Elizabeth: time to do the long one?
And I find that it's really helpful to frame it that way because not having enough time is something
Kahla Harrington: right.
Elizabeth: that neurotypical people understand. They might not understand, demand avoidance, they might not understand needing to have all of those other things in place before you're able to engage with it. They will understand that sometimes people get busy, and so if you ask for one where you're like, can you give me a shortened version where it's just the most important ones for the days where I don't have enough time to do the whole thing, more than likely they're gonna be like,
Kahla Harrington: Yeah. Correct.
Elizabeth: oh ya! these are the ones that you're gonna want to focus on
Kahla Harrington: [00:44:00] I like that addition as well.
Elizabeth: So,
Kahla Harrington: And sometimes delayed processing also doesn't allow for, um.
Elizabeth: yes.
Kahla Harrington: show up right away as far as like you're in the session, the, the practitioner's giving you this laundry list and it feels doable at the time, and then as you process, you're like, oh my God, no, this isn't doable.
That would also be a good point if you can advocate for a shorter list to do so.
Elizabeth: Yeah.
Kahla Harrington: Correct,
Elizabeth: There's no time period where like if it's three days
Kahla Harrington: correct.
Elizabeth: window of opportunity has not expired. If it's a week later or two weeks later, or even a month later, if you're like, Hey, I found I'm too busy to do all of these things every day, reach out, ask them. There's no expiration
Kahla Harrington: Right.
Elizabeth: day on that follow up
Kahla Harrington: It's always a good time.
Elizabeth: Absolutely. so one other thing that I would love to talk with you about that we kind of touched on a little bit earlier [00:45:00] is. As neurodivergent humans who have entered careers of healing and helping people, which I find is very common for high masking, highly sensitive
Kahla Harrington: Correct.
Elizabeth: AuDHD women to do
Kahla Harrington: We flock to it.
Elizabeth: we, we make up the bulk of the healer and helper communities. I would love to hear the ways that you protect your energy, the ways that you support yourself, the ways that you work towards, you know, healthy boundaries with clients, with work. I know we talked about like the timing of, of only working certain days and doing the bulk of your work on those days. there anything else that you have found through your journey of discovering your own needs and advocating for your own needs, that has helped you to navigate that balance between showing up for yourself and showing up for your[00:46:00]
Kahla Harrington: So a multitude of things are flowing through my brain right now. But the one thing that actually I unintentionally do is I do not answer phone calls. I always let things go to voicemail. And actually, and you know what? That's not true. This was intentional. I put in my voicemail that if you would like a faster response to just text me because.
I am very uncomfortable talking to people on the phone, mostly because I can't see, like, their facial expressions. I can't tell when they're pausing or done speaking. And so I'm constantly interrupting or there's like a long awkward pause because I'm like, oh my God, I'm interrupting so much now I have to wait longer.
And then we're just like sitting there anyway. So I hate talking on the phone. It is my, it's the, it's the wor, it's the worst [00:47:00] thing for me. So, that's one thing that I do. And so people call me and it goes to voicemail because I don't answer, and then they just text me. And if they don't text me, I see the number that they're calling from and then I'm like, Hey, um, I'm not in a place where I can make a phone call.
Here's, here's all the information and I just text them. So that really works for me.
Elizabeth: Yeah.
Kahla Harrington: Um, as far as communicating with clients, I, unless it's an absolute emergency, like if, if for some reason I am working a Monday, I do not respond to clients for work things over the weekend, after I think 6:00 PM on Friday until Monday, you know, 8:00 AM I'm not responding to client messages.
And my clients know this. I have sent out an email. And [00:48:00] so, if they do message me, they know that I'm not gonna respond until Monday morning. And that's fine for them. It's great for me because then I don't have that pressure and it's, it's in my inbox or it's in a note to like, respond to this person, or I just leave their message unread.
And so I don't do any work things over the weekend because I need that space to focus on things that I want to focus on. So that's a pretty good boundary that I have for my clients, and I've never had an issue with it, so I'm grateful for that. What else? I suddenly don't know what other accommodations I have for myself because I just do them because I can, because my work allows that.
Elizabeth: Yeah.
Kahla Harrington: Oh, I require my clients to fill out their intake form at least 48 hours before their [00:49:00] session because I, I have, like delayed processing, so. If someone fills out their intake form like right before their session, it doesn't give me enough time to look over it and like formulate a plan. Whether that plan changes during the intake process in the session, that's, that doesn't matter.
But I want to know the things that are going on with this person before I see them so I can make mental notes already and
Elizabeth: have like a framework going into the session
Kahla Harrington: exactly. And so that's part of, that's part of what I require. And I like that because I like to be prepared. I like to look up things if I need to, and if someone's filling it out right before, I just don't have any time to do that.
So I think there's probably more things that I do, but, oh, scent wise, I ask all my clients not to have strong smelling things. When they enter my [00:50:00] space. No perfumes, no strong lotions. I prefer clients not to smell like cigarettes, just those sorts of things because it can feel really overwhelming in a very small space.
So I think that's probably it. I don't know. There's probably more, there's probably more things.
Elizabeth: Oh, that's great. Along those same lines, I would love to hear
Kahla Harrington: Oh my gosh,
Elizabeth: how you ended up getting into massage therapy. Like how did, obviously it's a special interest for you and stuff, but like at what point did you start to think about it and realize, oh, I think I might wanna be a massage therapist.
And how did that journey kind of progress for you
Kahla Harrington: it's actually, it feels weird to say out loud still. Um, I originally went into college for accounting in Spanish because I am great at hyper focusing. Um, and I am overachieving.
Elizabeth: Yeah.
Kahla Harrington: And they were like, you should be good at math. And I was like, yeah, I am good at math. Let me do that for my entire life. [00:51:00] And so I did like three years of accounting in college and did, you know, calculus and all the, all the business classes.
And I was like, wow, this is soul sucking and I absolutely hate this and doesn't mean you should do it
Elizabeth: just because you are good at something doesn't mean you should be doing it
Kahla Harrington: not for work anyway.
Elizabeth: it.
Kahla Harrington: It was my junior year of college and I actually ended up getting some sort of like illness and I still don't know what it was, but I was really sick and so I missed a lot of classes and.
My, a few of my teachers failed me because I missed too many classes and attendance was part of a grade. And so even with messaging them and being like, Hey, I was, I'm like chronically sick for some reason. I don't know why they're, I, can I get like a pass because all of [00:52:00] my work is still showing up in like A's and B's and they're like, sorry, that's not happening.
So
Elizabeth: Mm-hmm.
Kahla Harrington: with the decline in when, with my health and stuff, I actually ended up failing out of college, which I don't think I was that devastated about, to be honest. I think I was just more worried about like what my parents would think. And so I was just living in, I went to WSU, so I was just living in Pullman, um, during the summer and on Facebook as a college student does in 2011
I saw an ad for a massage school over in Seattle, and I was like, you know, I feel like I should be doing this, and I don't really know why I felt that way, but I moved back home. I told my parents I was going to sign up for massage school. Both of them were utterly shocked because they were like, you don't [00:53:00] like being touched.
You don't like weird textures, you don't like being hugged. You don't,
Elizabeth: You gotta love when your intuition pushes you in a direction that makes absolutely no logical sense
Kahla Harrington: Everyone is like, what is happening? We don't understand this. And I was like, I just feel like I have to do this. And so I signed up. I paid all the fees. I went to class, and on the first day I was like, oh my God, I was meant to do this. All along. And I don't know why my journey took me in these weird directions and met all these people just to end up back at the spot where I was supposed to be.
Um, but I absolutely thrived. I did so incredibly well in school for massage, the kinesiology and the anatomy and the physiology, it just like made sense and it's obviously a tactile learning [00:54:00] style. And so for me that was great because that's what I needed. And I passed my boards the very first time, no problem.
And my school was like, actually, it would be really cool if you could come back and teach. And I was like, what? I like just passed my boards. I have no prior experience except for what I learned in school. And they were like, no, I think you would be a really good teacher. And so
Elizabeth: You would be a really good teacher
Kahla Harrington: Thank you. I actually, this is, this feels like, like boasting, but every single continuing ed class that I have participated in, the instructor has come up to me and was like, you should teach this class.
As a student who just finished, they were like, you should teach this class. You would be so good at this. And I'm like, that's my high achieving. But also like it makes so much sense to me. Like I pick up on stuff [00:55:00] that has to do with massage almost innately. And so that is where I am today. And maybe one day I will go back to teaching because I really do enjoy it and I enjoy watching people learn.
I enjoy watching like things click for people. Um. I like to see like the understanding of a topic that maybe was once hard and is now not as hard. Um, so anyway, now I do massage after spending years of thinking that I was gonna do math behind a desk for the rest of my life. So grateful I'm not, let me just say that, but, the business skills that I did learn in school was actually really helpful for learning now and um, the Spanish was helpful as well.
So that's how I got here,
Elizabeth: Yeah, I think that is a beautiful representation [00:56:00] of, like so many neurodivergent women. Are like killing themselves because they're in a line of work that is not right for them. Maybe they're good at it
Kahla Harrington: right?
Elizabeth: but it's not the right fit for them. And I think that's a really great representation of just how easy and natural it is when you move into something that blends your special interests, your neurodiverse abilities, and your intuitive skills into one.
And when you're able to find that, it's such a beautiful experience to have that be your work, to get paid to be in that space. Like I think it makes all of the other things.
Kahla Harrington: Agreed.
Elizabeth: So much easier when you're not going into a, a, a work situation you are having to just be uncomfortable and in pain and pushing yourself again and again and again. Um, and I, I think that's a beautiful representation of that. I have a similar [00:57:00] experience with my, my career and, and as a coach and stuff, so I,
Kahla Harrington: I just.
Elizabeth: totally resonate with that story
Kahla Harrington: I think about this all the time because I do have clients, especially like newer clients who always ask me like, so how did you even get here? And I'm like, well, and then I tell 'em all the things, right?
Elizabeth: I listened to my intuition
Kahla Harrington: And that's it. And that's how I'm here.
Elizabeth: I myself
Kahla Harrington: So wild. So wild.
Elizabeth: Shocking,
Kahla Harrington: That's a whole separate rabbit hole.
We could go down, probably not today, but um, yeah, probably not today.
Elizabeth: probably
Kahla Harrington: do think about like
Elizabeth: another time
Kahla Harrington: I would be if I had continued with the accounting situation or business in general, like sitting in an office that's probably loud and probably has no fresh air. And there's bright, bright overhead lights and I'm forced to sit in the chair at a desk for eight to 10 hours a day in the same position and just do [00:58:00] monotonous, seemingly unimportant work.
I could never, I could never, one thing I do like about my job is that I'm always moving and that's great because that is kind of like a stem for me as far as like I need to just constantly be moving my body
Elizabeth: Yeah.
Kahla Harrington: I get to, so anyway.
Elizabeth: Yeah. I think that's also a really great, um, representation of something that I've seen a lot in clients and was my own experience, which is. If you are going into burnout and you are being triggered into chronic illness symptoms like via that autonomic nervous system cascade, one way that your body is telling you that the current path that you're on is not sustainable
Kahla Harrington: Correct.
Elizabeth: and this is not the right life for you. your current reality is not the reality, um, that is gonna be sustainable and authentic and aligned for you. And it sounds like that was your [00:59:00] experience when you were in college where your body developed a mysterious illness
Kahla Harrington: Yeah,
Elizabeth: that was keeping you literally from fulfilling your reality at that time and pushed you towards this completely different existence
Kahla Harrington: which mysteriously also went away once I left school and went to
Elizabeth: surprise,
Kahla Harrington: massage school.
Elizabeth: Once you were living a life that was more authentic and aligned for you,
Kahla Harrington: But I also do wanna say that like I also did have the privilege and support and opportunity to pivot.
Elizabeth: Yep.
Kahla Harrington: I know that is not a reality for some people. So I do wanna add that part in that like, okay, this thing wasn't working out for me, but also I could still like move back home and my parents.
They were supportive, you know, eventually of my moving back home and I was able to go to a different school and do a different thing. And um, so I do wanna add [01:00:00] that in there 'cause I know, like I said, that some people don't have that opportunity or privilege and I also want to like acknowledge that
Elizabeth: Yeah. Yeah, I appreciate that. And I think that that's also, um. You know, for some people, when you are that sick, when you are in burnout, it makes it that much harder
Kahla Harrington: right.
Elizabeth: to make the big changes in your life and they become inaccessible. And that's part of the reason that I created my foundations program because in my one-on-one program, that's what I focus on, is making those big life changes and completely reorienting your reality.
So that is, it is authentic and aligned and sustainable moving forward. But in order to do that, you have to have a foundation of health. You have to be able to meet your needs for food, for physical safety, for all of those kinds of things that are at the bottom of the Maslow's hierarchy of needs. And and in order to move into that place, you've gotta start really small.
You've [01:01:00] gotta start with being able to take care of yourself and meeting your body needs to build up. The capacity for those big changes and to build up the capacity for following your intuition and seeing the small changes that can lead to the big changes in terms of both finding support and um, opportunities and taking care of yourself as well.
But it is way easier when you have some kind of community, some kind of backup, some
Kahla Harrington: Right.
Elizabeth: safe space to fall back on. And as somebody who myself has not always had that, um, you know, I was, I graduated high school homeless and, and so I fully understand what it is to not be able to make some of those changes or to feel like you don't have a choice or that you have, um, options available to you
Kahla Harrington: Yeah,
Elizabeth: at different points in your journey
Kahla Harrington: I'm glad that you added that in there. I did not know that about you,
Elizabeth: Yeah. But I will say [01:02:00] also that even at that point in my life following my intuition
Kahla Harrington: right?
Elizabeth: was still always the right choice. It always led me towards the path that I needed to be on, and it always led me towards a future that was more sustainable and more supportive. Um, so even in that space where I didn't have very many options or outside support, intuition was still one of my biggest, um, resources
Kahla Harrington: about in your program the, the fact that, or how to access your intuition more authentically or even recognize that it's there? Because sometimes I Okay. 'cause sometimes I feel like
Elizabeth: do
Kahla Harrington: when you are in a state of like burnout or like meltdown mode or whatever. Intuition. Yeah, exactly.
Elizabeth: It's very hard to hear and trust it
Kahla Harrington: Yeah.
Elizabeth: It's very hard. Yeah. Especially if what got you [01:03:00] into that position was
Kahla Harrington: Correct,
Elizabeth: a bunch of people telling you that you're wrong
Kahla Harrington: correct.
Elizabeth: and not to trust your intuition and not to trust your pattern recognition and all of those kinds of things. No, it is a thing. So, yeah, it's actually part of my, um, mini course, the How to Listen to Your Body mini course.
Um, it, it starts with building the skills of being able to listen to and connect with your body, which a lot of people who are in this situation don't have that. They, you have the brain body disconnect and they're not in a place to be able to access that. And then it builds on those skills to include being able to connect with and hear and start to honor your intuition.
And the, what did you ask me? Oh, you asked if it was in the foundations course. And so actually the how to listen to your body mini course is included in
Kahla Harrington: Excellent.
Elizabeth: the Foundations program
Kahla Harrington: Excellent.
Elizabeth: it's a, it's a bonus in there
Kahla Harrington: Yeah, I love that
Elizabeth: So, yep.
Kahla Harrington: pattern. Recognition is never wrong. Intuition is [01:04:00] never wrong.
Elizabeth: Yep. It's about learning the difference between intuition and anxiety. I think that's, that's one of the other
Kahla Harrington: Right.
Elizabeth: things that a lot of people struggle with is they experience a lot of anxiety. That's like driving them to do things or to think things or to worry about things. And, and that's not the same as intuition.
And, and so being able to navigate that and decipher that, um, so that you can trust and rely on, on that intuition and build that, relationship of trust with yourself
Kahla Harrington: I feel like I read something
Elizabeth: So.
Kahla Harrington: somewhere that was talking about the same thing where it's like anxiety is always questioning and doubting, and intuition comes in like concrete statements,
Elizabeth: Yep.
Kahla Harrington: and I was like, huh, that's a fascinating outlook,
Elizabeth: yeah. For me, the way I experience it is anxiety is coming from a place of fear and intuition is, it feels like you're sitting in the [01:05:00] eye of the storm, like the fear is still there, swirling around you. You still have like all of the, all of the stuff happening, but you're like in this calm and stable and peaceful place where it's just really clear and it's just like. This is what you need to do. I can honestly say that I have never regretted listening to that intuition. I have had moments of regretting
Kahla Harrington: Yeah.
Elizabeth: not listening to that intuition. It has literally saved my life. 'cause I was in some very sketchy situations growing up and into that homeless young adult period.
And, and following that intuition, being able to hear and honor that literally save my life multiple times
Kahla Harrington: I'm so glad you did that. Truly true. Truly.
Elizabeth: yay for not being dead!
Kahla Harrington: Yeah, I, I feel like this ties into the, what we're speaking about, but kind of just like the general theme is like, and this is something that just happened to me like this week, um, but also something I've been ruminating on [01:06:00] for probably like over a year, is that I finally shut down my second location that I had started, um, years ago.
I was renting, I think I told you this, I was renting a space in Waitsburg, which is about like 10 minutes away, and they don't have a massage therapist there. So I was like, oh, cool, I'll start, you know, a second location. I'll hire somebody to work here. And the first year I had a couple people interested.
It didn't work out. The second year, same thing. And I just like couldn't find a therapist to work in my space and I just. More intently and intentionally was like thinking about like, why can't I find somebody to work here? And as I'm like having, you know, meltdown and burnout and meltdown and burnout just in this like pattern.[01:07:00]
Yeah. And I'm like, I don't know why I can't find anybody to work here. And then ultimately I'm just like, oh my God, I probably can't handle this right now. I probably can't hire somebody because I personally cannot manage another human in another work environment. And so I fought against my intuition for probably a year and a half, and it of course did not work out and that's fine.
But so lesson in listening to yourself and what you need, um, things aren't gonna work out if they're. Ultimately, like for you, it's not gonna work out, you know? So I shut it down and I feel free of it. And it's a, it's a big transition out of that, but also, like, I feel like probably down the line when I'm more mentally available for something like that, it will be fine.[01:08:00]
So listen to your intuition. Do not fight it. It knows what's best for you,
Elizabeth: Yep. It knows things that your brain cannot comprehend right now
Kahla Harrington: right? Because I'm like, this is a smart idea. And then my, my, my intuition's like, no, no, it's not. Shut it down, shut it down.
Elizabeth: I really appreciate you meeting with me and talking and I hope we get to do it again sometime 'cause it's always fun talking with you.
Thanks to Kahla for chatting with me today. If you want to learn more about Kahla or any of the programs mentioned today, there are links in the show notes.
