Karen and I are so blessed to meet special souls from all over the world that are awakening to their own intuitive abilities and marrying them with education, experience and their own past, professional backgrounds.
In this episode, we're talking to Cristina Rodenbeck in Hong Kong. She is a Leadership and Wellness Coach, Holistic Practitioner who is certified in Bach Flower Remedies -- and she can communicate and facilitate healing with animals as well! She's also certified in Iridology, Crystal Healing, and Mindfulness -- plus she hosts monthly "Kirtan" sessions. To say she's versed in many healing modalities is an understatement.
Cristina has walked the walk that many of you may be walking at this very moment. She dedicated a good portion of her adult life to two of the world’s greatest advertising agencies. She worked long hours, traveled all of the time, and went all out to meet tight deadlines and high expectations. While she loved the job, she wasn't loving life. She saw that many of the people around her felt the same. She knew something needed to change in her own life and she wanted to help others find balance as well.
In 2007, she committed to take back her life, regain her power and help others along the way. In 2014 she established the Manipura Wellness Practice and hasn't looked back.
Her reach is global and she wants to help you thrive at work, home and in life -- and your pets too! We have so much to discuss. Listen now.
MORE FROM CRISTINA
Visit theseekingcenter.com for more from Robyn + Karen, plus mega inspo -- and the best wellness + spiritual practitioners, products and experiences on the planet!
You can also follow Seeking Center on Instagram @theseekingcenter
Karen and I are so blessed to meet special souls from all over the world that are awakening to their own intuitive abilities and marrying them with education, experience and their own past, professional backgrounds.
In this episode, we're talking to Cristina Rodenbeck in Hong Kong. She is a Leadership and Wellness Coach, Holistic Practitioner who is certified in Bach Flower Remedies -- and she can communicate and facilitate healing with animals as well! She's also certified in Iridology, Crystal Healing, and Mindfulness -- plus she hosts monthly "Kirtan" sessions. To say she's versed in many healing modalities is an understatement.
Cristina has walked the walk that many of you may be walking at this very moment. She dedicated a good portion of her adult life to two of the world’s greatest advertising agencies. She worked long hours, traveled all of the time, and went all out to meet tight deadlines and high expectations. While she loved the job, she wasn't loving life. She saw that many of the people around her felt the same. She knew something needed to change in her own life and she wanted to help others find balance as well.
In 2007, she committed to take back her life, regain her power and help others along the way. In 2014 she established the Manipura Wellness Practice and hasn't looked back.
Her reach is global and she wants to help you thrive at work, home and in life -- and your pets too! We have so much to discuss. Listen now.
MORE FROM CRISTINA
Visit theseekingcenter.com for more from Robyn + Karen, plus mega inspo -- and the best wellness + spiritual practitioners, products and experiences on the planet!
You can also follow Seeking Center on Instagram @theseekingcenter
Robyn: I'm Robyn Miller Brecker and I'm Karen Loenser. Welcome to Seeking Center, the podcast. Join us each week as we have the conversations and we, through the spiritual and holistic clutter for you, we'll boil it down to what you need to know now, we're all about total wellness, which to us needs building a healthy life.
Karen: On a physical, mental, and spiritual level, we'll talk to the trailblazers who'll introduce you to the practices, products, and experiences that may be just what you need to hear about to transform your life. If you're listening to this, it's no accident. Think of this as your seeking center and your place to seek your center.
Robyn: And for the best wellness and spiritual practitioners, experts, products, experiences, and inspo, visit theseekingcenter. com. Karen and I are so blessed to meet special souls from all over the world that are awakening to their own intuitive abilities and marrying them with education, experience, and their own past professional Bachgrounds. Today we're talking to [00:01:00] Cristina Rodinbeck in Hong Kong.
She's a leadership and wellness coach, , holistic practitioner. She's a leadership and wellness coach, holistic practitioner who is certified in Bach flower remedies, and she can communicate and facilitate healing with animals as well. She's also certified in iridology crystal healing and mindfulness.
Plus she hosts monthly curtan sessions. To say she's versed in many healing modalities is an understatement. Cristina has walked the walk that many of you may be walking at this very moment.
She dedicated a good portion of her adult life to two of the world's greatest advertising agencies. She worked long hours. traveled all the time and went all out to meet tight deadlines and high expectations. While she loved the job, she wasn't loving life. She saw that many of the people around her felt the same.
She knew something needed to change in her own life and she wanted to help others find balance as well. In 2007, she committed to take Bach her life, regain her power, and help others along the way. In 2014, she [00:02:00] established the Manipura Wellness Practice, and she hasn't looked Bach.
Her reach is global, and she wants to help you thrive at work, home, and in life, and your pets, too. We have so much to discuss. Let's get going. Hi, Cristina. Hi, Cristina.
Cristina: Oh, Hi, Robyn and Karen.
Robyn: Oh, we love that. We're talking to Hong Kong right now. I know. I know.
Karen: It's amazing. How can this happen? we're actually a date apart.
That's right. And yet here we are as if we're all together in the same room. So thank you for being here.
Cristina: Thank you for having me. This feels like a little miracle.
Robyn: Oh, and thanks to Ellen Rogin too, for being the connector. She is such a master connector. I have to say, so a shout out to her.
Absolutely.
Karen: And for those of us who have been in corporate or had jobs that have, thought about leaving or contemplated what should I really be doing with my life to have stories like you that we can share is really special. So we thank you, Cristina, in advance for doing what you've done and all the lessons that we know that we're going to learn from you.
Cristina: Thank you.
Robyn: So let's talk about that journey from corporate [00:03:00] world to personal wellness and healing. How did it all start for you? And were there early signs as a child that this would be, a passion for you?
Cristina: It started with advertising right Bach in Brazil, and then we moved to Hong Kong, we spent also some time in Europe.
, but before that if we rewind a little bit, I always loved animals. And actually, I wanted to be a vet.
Robyn: But
Cristina: I parked that and then I went on with my career in advertising. That's where I met my husband and he wanted to come to Asia.
He loved Asia. And here we are, never went Bach. And so then working in advertising, of course, there were the long hours, as your husband must know Robyn tight deadlines, weekends, nights, and things like that. And so that I already felt was like something feels off.
I feel like it was a big compromise. I was giving too much and I was giving a lot of my personal time and I started feeling the imbalance and the impact on my family life. And then there was a chance to move on to corporate training. And facilitation, which I [00:04:00] always loved. And I was like, okay, I'm going to do the switch.
So I moved on that. And then I started doing also executive coaching.. And when working with coaching and working with corporates, I realized they were unwell. The same way I was, but I had no tools. I saw these executives reaching burnouts and having emotional breakdowns, and I had nothing for them.
I froze in the sessions. Like I need more. So then I decided to study therapies and the things that I did for me, for myself, because I had to go through that. I had to find ways to balance myself to take care of myself to not only survive, but, be successful in what I was doing.
So I was like, I'm going to study that stuff because it worked for me. So then I decided to study the Bach flower remedies, crystal healing because of the energy component to it. also part of my healing was Kirtan. was the chanting. So I was like, I'm going to put this stuff together. I'm going to develop all of this because then I know I have more tools to work with and I can help people.
I can be in a better place for them. So that's how I put it all [00:05:00] together. And most recently, which we can talk about later is the animal parts, right? It came Bach to me, this love and passion I always had for animals.
Robyn: Let's talk about Bach flower remedies, because I know it's going to come up throughout our conversation. And Karen is familiar with them.
I wasn't, and I'm just fascinated with them and the origin story and all of it. So can you explain what they are?
Cristina: Sure. It's a natural flower essence remedy so it's a natural system to help emotional states. And it was developed by Dr. Edward Bach. So he was a surgeon. And a doctor from the UK back in the late twenties and early thirties.
And so he was a surgeon, he was a a homeopath and also a bacteriologist . So then when treating patients, war patients, he realized there's something more to healing rather than the physical being because he was trading, let's say the troops and they had, for example, the same.
Problem. A broken leg. And then he realized the [00:06:00] healing was completely different for them. One would heal faster, one will not heal at all. So then he started investigating and he realized emotions and character played a huge role in healing. And at that time he said, the way we treat patients is wrong.
We're treating the consequence, but not the cause. And he says, treat the person, don't treat the disease. I like to think of him as a light worker because he was very gifted. And he was on a mission because as soon as he realized that he found out he had cancer and he dedicated the rest of his life, the last five years of his life to the system.
So from London, he moved on to Mount Vernon in the countryside and he dedicated those years to finding out a safe and a natural healing system connected to the plants, flowers To help us with, with emotional states is a safe self help system.
then right after he finalized a system, which are 38 flower remedies. He burned the learnings, which I told Robyn, he burned the learnings. I can't get over that.
Cristina: what do [00:07:00] you
Karen: mean? Tell me more about that. What do you mean he burned them?
Cristina: Yeah, he, all the studies he had developed he burned them.
He said, done. The system is complete. We don't need to overthink because we tend to overthink. He said, it's done. So he burned the studies and then he died a few days later
Robyn: and he had taught that to,
Cristina: yeah, . He had an assistant, Nora Weeks. And she was let's say the the caretaker of the brand.
So she took the brand forward and she made sure, we were taking his legacy forwards.
Karen: I know of them, my mom used them, I'm one of six children, so she tried everything too. Can you just clarify, are they all based on flower essences?
Cristina: That's a really good important point, which I was going to mention. One is a water stream, rock water. So it's not flower it's a water stream. But since the majority, let's say, are from flowers, we call it flower remedy system.
Karen: Interesting. And they all have a different purpose?
Cristina: Yeah.
They tap into different emotions, but these emotions can come [00:08:00] from the same family. Let's say the same group because we have seven groups. What he did was he mapped out all the emotions and he grouped them. For example, fear. Fear alone has five remedies because there are different types of fear. So that's why the whole system is customized.
So it's really about talking to the client to see what's going on for them. Because a fear, for example, I might be fearful of one thing and you might be fearful of another thing. And so there are different types of fear. So we need to have those conversations to understand, which fear are you experiencing and where is it coming from?
Robyn: Can you give a specific example of what you mean by different types of fear? Cause I think those listening may be curious.
Cristina: Sure. I have a great example, which was actually a friend of mine. Her husband was suffering from insomnia. So when I sat down with him, because you would think, oh, like rescue remedy for, because Nelson's developed, which is a a lab developed rescue remedy for sleep.
So it would be easier to tell him go, just have rescue remedy adapted for sleep. But actually, we sat down and I was checking with him [00:09:00] okay, what happens during sleep? And he was saying, I wake up in the middle of the night. And I said, okay, so then what are you thinking when you wake up?
Oh, I'm thinking about work. So what about work? And he was like, I have a new manager, a new boss. So what's going on there with him? And he was like, I think he doesn't like me. I said, Oh, okay. So what's that all about? Where's that coming from? And he was saying, we just had a new set up in the office.
He was overseas. It was an international assignment. So big stakes. And he was like, he's new. And I think our styles are very different. We're not getting along. And I was like, okay so what's that emotion? And then he was like, I think it's fear. And then we went into fear.
Do you, can you name that fear? And he was like, I think I'm fearful of losing my job. So you see, so there's a reason that was underlying his inability to sleep. So you have to, go further. So that's also related to Dr. Bach we're he was thinking we're this onions onion with layers of emotions.
so we need to take a look at which are these [00:10:00] emotions that are playing up. So the remedies would help us peel these emotions. So what's present to us in that moment of time? So for him was fear of this change and fear of losing his job because that's a big deal. That meant he would have to go back He would have to pull the roots, , get the kid children out of the school and go back so that's a really big deal.
Robyn: And what type of remedy would you suggest for using the Bach flower remedies? And then how does that end up? So I'm sure like
Cristina: big remedies that I would prescribe would be like Mimoless is from the fear family.
And when you're able to name it, put a name to it. So I'm fearful of losing my job. So that's a great one. Another one would be, for example, Walnut. Walnut is for transition because his boss is new. So they're adapting to each other. I would think of that one. Another one that I would think of is white chestnut, for example, repetitive thoughts, because it's almost like a broken record.
And that's the one that keeps us [00:11:00] awake. Because if you wake up in Oh, my gosh, this is happening. Oh, and what if this happens? And what if that happens? So you go on with this repetitive thinking. And then I would look at perhaps Genshin, which is related to setbacks , like everything seemed to be going well.
And suddenly, It's not going well anymore. And he's losing confidence in this process. And he was a very confident guy. He was very successful in what he did. And suddenly he wasn't anymore.
Robyn: And now how does someone use the actual essences? Is it a roll on? how does it work?
Cristina: So it's a liquid form.
So these are liquid remedies and it's a 30 ml water bottle the base and then we add on the remedies and we give the client the bottle and they use four drops, four times a day So you can put it directly in water and take it four times a day. So usually I ask clients. Take it in the morning when you wake up, easy. If you're gonna go out, all day, just put it in your water bottle, a few drops, and then at night when you're at home.
So that makes it easy and stress free.
Karen: in combination or do you offer people take one remedy at a time, or do [00:12:00] you specifically ask them to mix them together?
Cristina: Yeah, thanks for asking that. I mix them all together.
So they go all in one single bottle. to make it very simple. So they have the, just the one 30 ml bottle and that's the one they use. And usually this bottle is good enough for three to four weeks. And that's when we do the follow up session to check in. How are things, have you noticed anything?
And usually what happens is very interesting. The clients mentioned other emotions. They move on and that's when we feel the layer the onion, the peeling, the layers happening because when they come Bach, they really mentioned something else. It's incredible.
Karen: It lets other emotions probably bubble up, right?
Can you about rescue remedy? That's what I grew up with. Yeah, I haven't heard about that either. Maybe explain a little bit about that. I have used it a bit like specifically for a lot of traumatic types of times. Very anxiety ridden times. That's really where my mom introduced it to us in our family.
Can you explain what it is and how it works?
Cristina: Sure. Rescue Remedy is the only prepared [00:13:00] formula by Dr. Bach. So it's the only one that has combined remedies already. So he selected five remedies and he put it in one bottle for emergency situations. So it's like situational. I'm going to deliver a presentation and I have stage fright.
Rescue remedy. I'm going to fly and I don't like turbulence like me. Rescue remedy. So I always have it in my handbag. Or I'm going to have a difficult conversation at work or at home. Rescue remedy. So the combination of remedies to ground you. To give you clarity for you to do whatever you need to do at that specific moment, because it's almost like your nerves will be tested and you might lose it.
the history, the fact behind it was Dr. Bach witnessed a boat accident. And in an attempt to rescue this person that was almost drowning, he gave the person the remedies, these five remedies, and the person came back. The other person was able to cope from the trauma and come Bach.
So it's really helping the person overcome that moment, like an accident this [00:14:00] dramatic moment. Come back, ground, and have that clarity to deal with whatever you need to deal. So it's great. And actually it's great for moms to have it in the handbag as well. My girl was really young.
She was going through ballet exams and she came to me. It was like, mom, I'm really nervous. I was like, do you want to try Bach flower? Rem is the rescue. Yeah, okay. So then I gave it to her on the spot and she was very calm and cool to go through the exams. And so that's what I had.
And also I was at a picnic one day and one child suffered an accident. He fell off a tree and he cut himself. So then I offered the mom would you allow me to give rescue remedy to him? Because he was crying, and she was traumatized, he was traumatized. It was like such an emotional moment, and it just calmed everyone down a little bit for them to, okay, who do we need to call?
Okay, let's call someone to get us in a car. We need to take him to the hospital. The mom needs to be calm enough to deal with everything things like that. So it's an emergency formula. And I would suggest everyone to [00:15:00] have their handbag, because we never know what's going to happen, right?
Robyn: Yeah. And you talked about how there were seven classifications of emotions, right?
Cristina: Yeah. Seven groups. Yeah.
Robyn: Seven groups. And fear is one of them.
Cristina: Yeah.
Robyn: what are a few of the others?
Cristina: One is loneliness, space of loneliness. The other one is overcare for the wellness of others.
For example, a great one in that family is Vervain. Vervain is for activists. people that are super passionate about things, about causes. But the thing with that is if they're overly passionate, that can also be off putting for some people. Because I'm going to force you to buy my cause and I should instead inspire you, Yeah. So the Vervain, when they're in balance, they can be a bit pushy, a bit forceful, and we want passionate people to be inspiring. Does that make sense?
Robyn: Yeah. I love that these are the classifications that we're talking about and how they're also interpreted. I think it's really so interesting.
Cristina: Yeah. Another big family is uncertainty. Not knowing what to [00:16:00] do, despair, like when people lose hope.
they're caught up in these situations that they're very pessimistic and major setbacks and they're like, I don't know what else to do. Oversensitivity to influence of others.
For example, people that are sensitive , they don't have a strong voice. One of the ones in this family is centaury. centaury is like what we call a Cinderella syndrome. It's yes to everyone. Because they're not being able to stand in their own power and say, no, this doesn't work for me, or they conceal unhappiness like you talk to them.
How are things? Yeah, everything is fine. But you look at them and I don't think everything is fine. They don't look fine. They don't sound fine. What happens is they conceal, they tend to hide their unwellness and things like that. what else? Insufficient interest in like certain circumstances or being present in the moment.
So they tend to withdraw. So that happens a lot, for example, even with children, right? Inability to focus. Yeah, present, right? Or even adults their attention span is very [00:17:00] tiny. So we can help them, manage that as well.
Robyn: And I'm sure there's even more of that these days, too.
Karen: I find so fascinating about this, Cristina, is that I've never heard of any other remedy or treatment that's organic or that's natural like this, that actually really targets. The specific emotion that you're feeling, which is incredible.
And the fact that it's all natural, it's based on earth flower remedy to me. It's like this untapped. information that we're missing.
Cristina: And for me, what you mentioned it's absolutely what I believe in as well, same as naturopathy, mother earth provides what we need, and so it's having access to this.
So I'm really grateful for being here today because it's sharing this information with people because there are systems that can support us. Nature is here to support us and it's a safe system. It's natural. And in the consultation, what I like about it as well is people become more aware.
It's almost like a mindful journey. People become aware of things and that's what we [00:18:00] want them to be aware. Which emotion, because right now I feel everyone is numbing themselves to get through the day. Like they're feeling upset. They're feeling this. Okay. Okay. Just. Put it aside and just get on with our day.
But actually it's acknowledging these emotions. I am frustrated. Yeah. I am upset. I'm overwhelmed. Okay. Let's talk about the emotional weather that you're going through. Let's talk about it. Let's unpack it. Where do you think it's coming from? What do you think needs to be addressed in really empowering people to take care of themselves, to address what needs to be addressed.
Robyn: Yeah. And it's very much like a therapy session with A resource. 'cause you're digging deep into what you said, like what is the root at that time, and then a month later what is then uncovered and what comes up. And I just am really fascinated by these classes.
Because they aren't actually what I would have expected, which is why I wanted to hear and then to Karen's point, then you keep going deeper and deeper, and it's [00:19:00] so nuanced. And yet, yeah, we talked to so many different people who have gone through transformations in their lives.
And it is in those nuanced places where they needed the help in order to then transform.
Cristina: Yeah. And what we say also it's very intimate, it's personal, and it's safe because also, Some people don't want to go talk about it, go in therapy and feel exposed and things like that.
And they don't want people to know. And it's a system you can take home and you can take that work and no one needs to know about it. they feel, respected. They feel still protected and things like that. So there's a huge emotional component around the system as well, that they feel safe, and taken care of and in their own private way.
Karen: They sell them also? I know I bought some recently. I don't have them in front of me, but do they sell them like in a little kind of a package? I think I bought three and one was called hope. was a few that were they work together. If you're trying to work through a specific.
Issue in your life, which I find so helpful and I don't have them in [00:20:00] front of me right now, but I used to just I'd have that day where I'd be like, you know what, hope sounds really good right now. Even it's a little drop of something that I know on the physical helps me, but it also helps me set the intention emotionally and mentally as well.
So it all works together.
Cristina: thanks for bringing that up because it's important to clarify the system and what his work was about. So Dr. Bach, he created the remedies, The 38 remedies and rescue remedy. Anything outside that was created by most probably Nelsons, the lab that created this combination.
So there are two labs that are authorized to work with Bachflower remedies. One is the yellow one, that's the most common one that you see around the yellow packaging. You can find it on iHerb and health food shops. And the second one is Healing Herbs. So these are the two labs that are authorized to use it.
Nelson's went a bit beyond, so they sell these customized formulas, but that's not Dr. work.
Karen: Because
Cristina: for example, [00:21:00] goes Bach to It's very unique to each person, For example, if they need hope, what's going on for them that's creating that in the first place.
For example, it might be a setback. It might be fear. So the combination would be different in a session. So maybe for Hope, would have nine different combinations because it's very unique to each person.
Karen: again, you put them together into one combination that they can take
Cristina: that's customized.
Robyn: Yeah.
Cristina: So that's the value of the session is really that conversation to reveal what's going on, what's really underlying, what are those emotions, and then address those emotions. I remember even flying Jakarta for , level two Bachflower remedies course. And I arrived very sick and I didn't even want to go because I was feeling too sick.
And I remember sitting down with my mentor and when she started talking about it, she was like, when do you remember yourself feeling like this? It reminded me of childhood, and I started crying so much, I was like, oh my gosh, like, where did this come from?
And I remember being very sick, a lot of the times, [00:22:00] with upper respiratory issues and all of that, because I was this sensitive child. And my parents were heading for divorce. So all emotions were coming out in the upper respiratory part. I rewinded I went back to childhood, I was like, Oh my gosh, I still need healing after all these years.
It never
Robyn: stops. And that, it never stops, right? We always are uncovering no matter where we are on our journeys. and how much we may have already learned. There is always something else to uncover. Yeah. And to have this be a place and a system that allows you to dig deep in those ways.
Without it doesn't seem to feel overwhelming. It feels very natural. Even the actual uncovering of these things.
Cristina: Yeah, it's a very gentle system. Gentle, yes. And that's the feedback also we get from clients when they use the system. It's very gentle.
they notice that you see change there. They might be subtle. They're happening, but in it's very gentle and they like that. So we don't change overnight. We just feel something shifting and it [00:23:00] feels good and it's going at a slow pace.
Robyn: I have two questions.
One is, do you have clients track how they're feeling throughout the month? And the second is, do you also combine that with any of your crystal healing knowings and anything else for any other rituals that you have them do while they begin to use the Bach flower remedies?
Cristina: Yes, a lot of my clients, what I ask them is to notice any shifts. And a few of them actually work with journaling, which I love. So they keep track of things and they report back because they know it's important for the follow up session.
So they did notice like if they were more tearful or if they were just more calmer because I told them it's important to notice these differences because then we know, what's happening for you. So they do make an effort to Take note and share it with me. Sometimes they even message me throughout, like during, those weeks that we are not seeing each other.
They make sure I'm updated. Now, the second thing is yeah, that's what I love about the session, because the session helps uncover a few things. And then, depending on what's uncovered, [00:24:00] we can talk about other modalities. And, for example, if we notice, The person is feeling the work environment too much.
And then we take a look at that. Okay. What are you feeling? Oh, it's so toxic. It's so negative. And then, okay. Have you thought of having crystals around? And they were like, Oh, tell me more. Okay. Let's take a look at the crystals, which are the strong crystals that are good for Clearing that energy in the environment, for example, black tourmaline, a protective stone, a negative clearing stone and, to clear that negativity. And they're open to it. A lot of my clients actually get crystals for work. And for the home. And if they want, for example, more love in their life, they're feeling a bit beaten up, a bit unwell.
And we talk about, would you like to take a look at some crystals for that to feel that love, that protection, that healing? Yeah, let's talk about that. Do you have any? And so then we talk about that because it's all energy, isn't it?
Robyn: It is. .
Karen: Yeah. And these are all again, such easy things to integrate.
They're not [00:25:00] invasive. There's some simple things that people can utilize that are all natural in their experience, which I just love. I love the combination of all of those.
Cristina: Yeah, that's that's super important because usually who comes to Bach flowers, they appreciate natural approach to things.
So they would be usually open to talk about energy and also, for example, breathing techniques, mindfulness techniques. So they are usually open to explore these things. And then I even asked them for example, if they show too much anxiety or they're prone to panic attacks and things like that, which panic attack in the system is like extreme fear that it's overwhelmed by the can't
grasp it anymore, and then it comes out out of control. So we talk about, okay, have you tried the four square breathing techniques? Which we know Navy SEAL officers use it, right? Can we practice that? Then I teach them how to use it. So then they walk out of the session with a few tools in their toolbox, and then they use it according to what they need.
So I really like to help people build their toolbox, become more resourceful and [00:26:00] less dependent on us, because I think it's about them taking care themselves and not us. Becoming these crutches and things like that. So it's an empowering way.
Robyn: And talking about energy as well, when you're talking about flower essences, each flower has its own energy.
So even thinking of that and the infusion of that into yourself. Like we think of it as just in quotes, flower essences, but it's actually the energy of that flower, which comes from mother earth
Karen: that's
Robyn: infused with its own special Ability and gift that you're then receiving part of that into you, I just that energy.
I just I love using that
Karen: just reminds me so much about the grounding aspect. Yes. Earth right and all of these emotions. Are sending us away from that grounded energy. And of course, it makes perfect sense that these beautiful natural plants that are growing out there are going to, round our bodies back to mother nature and back to that [00:27:00] resonance and that connectedness with earth again.
So we just don't, know enough or haven't learned enough to know how powerful these natural plants can be. We've
Robyn: over complicated things.
Cristina: You just mentioned one thing important, which is, that's exactly how we extract or infuse the energy of the flowers to the water.
That's interesting. Also we put the flowers on the water. So the water can absorb that energy.
That's how we get that. Or we boil the flowers and get the energy out of the flower. So it's transmuted, like they say to the water. So it's different, for example, from essential oils, which is distillation and all that.
The process is very different. and it, for me, it goes back even to Dr. Imoto water. Yes. Yes.
Robyn: Water crystals, right? we've talked about that so much. And I'm a big proponent of talking to my water and putting Reiki into my water because water it's absorbs everything.
It too has its own energy. We're made of water.
Karen: it's a conduit, isn't it? [00:28:00] Thank you. Just to what you're saying, Cristina, about that whole point of it being of earth, but also being able to be an infuser of those plants. It's like they work in partnership with each other to be able to really become sort of an essence for us to heal.
And I'm just having an aha. I always do I love to talk about so many things, but when it comes down to these really basic earth energy Things that we have growing around us that we've always had and so many modalities and traditions that I think many have forgotten about how simple they are, how safe they are it just makes me feel like I'm like reborn. Because I'm learning. I agree. Wait. Where has this been? Why haven't I known this for, so many years? So thank you.
Robyn: Yeah. And speaking of water, you mentioned that one of the essences is rock water. .
How does that work?
Cristina: So it's water collected from a water stream in near mount Vernon in the uk.
And that [00:29:00] remedy is very special because it's also about the character of the person, which I'm a rock water, so I can talk about it. It's the people that are very structured can be very rigid. Like a to do list, likes to know what's happening next and likes to cross those things from the list. So then we are less flowy, let's say less flexible to certain things.
So we don't like last minute changes or surprises. So it's giving the person that ability to go with the flow. So imagine the water stream flowing, right? Because rock water tends to be a bit too stiff at times. Even our muscles are stiff, our jaws, like here the pain around the jawbone.
So that's that rigidity or stiffness that we have.
Robyn: But I have a feeling a lot of your clients in the corporate world are rock water. Have that characteristic.
Cristina: Oh, yeah. Yeah. Is it
Karen: significance to that particular place and that particular water? Is it a certain kind of mineral that is in the water?
Cristina: from the studies. We don't have that information in terms of the quality of the water. I think it's because [00:30:00] it's surrounded by the other plants. So the energy yeah, that's my understanding. It's the location, it's like where it comes from and it's surrounded by the other flowers.
So it's almost like a little sacred space.
Karen: the remedy itself is used to help you go with the flow and release some of that control aspect that you have. Surrender.
Cristina: Yes, exactly. It's the surrendering a little bit more, right? Because structure can help us for certain things, but sometimes we need to let go and surrender to the moment.
We can't control everything. For example, had to use a lot during COVID. And a lot of my clients had to use during COVID because we could not control anything. And we really needed to learn the hard way to surrender and go with the flow. Whenever things happen, they will happen because we don't know.
Robyn: I could use it. I think I need to
Karen: out what Karen needs.
Cristina: But that's the beauty of it. I use system all the time.
Some clients that use it a lot, I also ask them. Why don't you learn about the [00:31:00] system, and Dr. Bach, in fact, what he wanted in the, which I would love to share, what he wanted in the session was for us to give one of his books about the system, educate the clients, because also the process is we share pre selection with the client and we ask them, what do you think of this selection?
Do you think it's going to work for you? So they are part of selecting the remedies and the idea is to teach them how to use it so one day they can use it by themselves. Oh, I'm in rock water state. I think I need a little bit of, flexibility. And so they would order it alone and take care of themselves.
So it's not to create dependency on the practitioners, but us to educate and make them feel informed enough, and safe enough to use the system by themselves. That's why you can find it on iHerb. On these platforms or health food shops because it's safe. You can't get it wrong.
And you can do it by yourself.
Robyn: Okay, then how does it work with animals? And I don't know if we should talk about how you communicate it with animals first. Or how you use Bach Remedies with animals because I feel like you need to know that you yourself are trained [00:32:00] to use Bach Remedies with animals and you are an animal communicator as well.
Cristina: Yeah. So it goes back to my passion, right? That I wanted to be a vet. I always wanted to work with animals, but then life took me in a completely different place, which I'm grateful for. But in the giving me also the opportunity to go back, what Karen was saying, circling back
and so then what happened was when I was studying Bach remedies, my Labrador, my late Sam was already aging. And I noticed his change because he was that brave. Giant Labrador wanting to go to the vet because he got the treats, he had this whole, love relationship with the vet jumping on the, he wanted to go in and jump on the table, go through the session and get all the treats he could.
So he was like amazing. And then with age he started like avoiding the vet, at the entrance of the vet, he would say, freeze and not want to go in. And we were like, Sam, you need to go in. So we were trying to push him inside and then we had to drag him to the table because what was happening with age [00:33:00] is they were finding things on him.
Oh, we need to cut this. We need to remove that. Oh, this is not looking so good anymore. So he started becoming this And then I noticed fearful Labrador, which we haven't seen or met, So I started learning a little bit about usage for animals. Then I started using with him.
He didn't have accidents at the vet anymore. And he was okay to go in, go through the consultation, want to go out quickly, but be calm enough to go through the session, go through the consultation, not freak out like he was because he was having accidents. at the reception, which was not Sam, totally not Sam.
So then after after I completed the certification, I went on to do other things. And in 2022, during COVID. I was like, I want to study for animals because the usage is different. The application is a little bit different. We don't use all the remedies. So then I was like, I'm gonna, use my time to study the usage for animals.
And then I got certified in [00:34:00] 2022 and I started helping friends very informally. And then last year , I felt this call and go back. Like it's time for you really to work with animals. Don't postpone anymore. And then I decided to also go back to animal communication because I started studying it before Sam passed away.
But when Sam passed away, it became very emotional for me. I didn't want to do it anymore. I was just overwhelmed by emotions. And then last year, I said no. Okay, let's go back to it. . I feel I'm ready to move forward and also combine these two things. Because what I find is in the session with the clients, of course, they have their view on the animal, right?
And because it's what they see our behaviors. Oh, they're freezing here. They're doing that they're barking too much. then when we communicate with the animals, we take a look at what is their perspective of that. Behavior or that moment. And it can be very different. And so I felt I could get the full picture if I could do both right here from the human companion and here from the animal companion and then bring both together.
Karen: What an important role to [00:35:00] play because you think about animals and especially our pets. That they're there to be our soul keepers on this planet, clearly to remind us what love is. And so they're constantly doing that thing of helping us remember who we are and absorbing a lot of our own emotions, and yet they don't have a way to communicate their own.
So how wonderful to have this methodology to help them calm and reground, because they're always, I feel like they're always thinking about us and they're. Probably not much thinking about them. So to have this resource is I'm sure a lot of people are listening right now who love their pets are thinking, wow, this is such a wonderful way as my pet is experiencing anxiety or my pet is experiencing fear of not feeling well, or all the things coming to a new place to live, like we just forget how much emotion that they also carry around and how much they're absorbing of our own.
Cristina: Exactly. And I like going to the vet because we have a new dog, Luna. So when taking her to the vet, I just look around and I see some [00:36:00] shaking, like some animals shaking, like freaking out going to the vets. And in my mission is really can we do better? Can we help them?
Because they are emotional beings. So sometimes I sit with the the other owners and I ask them, she noticed she's shaking. And I was like, I think she's fearful, right? How are the vet visits? Oh yeah. The last time we came here, the vet did this and that, and it hurt her.
And I was like, have you tried rescue remedy for these moments? And even the vet sells them. We sell rescue remedy because he believes in it. And he says, I noticed the difference. I spoke with the director of the clinic and he says, We have it because I believe in this system, and I take it also when I have to fly, so I know it works.
So then I talk about it, and I try to even educate the parents there, about the pets, like you can do something about it.
Robyn: And how do you communicate with animals?
Cristina: So the technique is telepathy, so it's communicating without words or physical signs. So it's almost like we're energy, right?
Einstein used to say everything is energy, that's all there is to it. So it's energy. [00:37:00] So it's, there are certain frequency and we try to match that frequency. And then we receive the information. So usually I ask for a photo of the animal and I like, not only the body, but what I call passport photo, so I can see the eyes, because for me, a lot comes through the eyes, and in iridology, I'll share later there's a lot about the eyes, the energy and then when I'm in a quiet place, in a quiet space, grounded, and, ready, then I try to tap into that frequency and also a very important part is ask their
Robyn: permission,
Cristina: Ask permission from the human companion and then the animal and also I share the intention behind because it needs to be the purest intention, So we're there to receive without filters, without judgment, what would they like to share? And that's when the information comes in.
Robyn: And I just think for those listening, for them to understand, it's not like you have to be in person. As you said, you send over a specific kind of close up photo and then you go take that [00:38:00] photo and you set the intention and you receive the information. And what we always like to remind people is that energy travels.
through walls, through thousands of miles, it doesn't matter. And so you're able to get a clear message even though you may be on the opposite end of the world.
Cristina: Yeah, I have clients in the U. S., like pets in the U. S., and in even here in Hong Kong, I think 90 percent of the animals I don't meet in person.
And we don't need to, because we meet them in a different way.
And my mission. It's really to help bridge that gap and stop the guessing, because we can help. There are resources. This is a resource. If we don't understand a behavior, If it were struggling with something that we noticed there are resources we can tap into that and try to understand a bit more because that's also one of the feedbacks that I get from the human companions, which I also called pawrents They feel there's a synergy, there's greater synergy with the animal. So then they don't guess anymore. They notice one [00:39:00] thing. Ah, you're, you're doing this because of that. Okay, now I get you. So they feel there's much more synergy that they get much closer to the animal and they get them.
And now they say, Oh, so every time I talk to them, they understand. I said, they do understand. They understand everything.
Karen: I'm sure the animals know intuitively as well that they are being listened to, which is so special because you don't really think about that with a pet, but they do need to be heard.
They do need to communicate. And this gives a way for them to share.
Cristina: Let me tell you one thing very it's funny that happened here in Hong Kong. There was an article in South China Morning Post a few years ago about a horse whisper they brought to Hong Kong because they imported a number of horses for the Jockey Club and the trainers were having a really hard time and the animal whisper, the horse whisper came to Hong Kong.
And guess what it was about? horses were saying, We don't understand what they're saying. No!
What are saying? Which language is this? That makes a lot of sense. Exactly. language, they brought the [00:40:00] animals in, They came from, different countries, different languages, and suddenly they're here in a different context, speak, hearing Cantonese, oh
Robyn: my
Cristina: goodness. Where am I? What is this all about? Oh my gosh. And I imagine
Robyn: too, I think about, and Cristina, you and I talked about this last time, There's so many pets that are needing to be adopted, They were given up for different reasons. They've had trauma in their lives. And is that something that when you are able to communicate, are there certain remedies that help with those types of traumas for these animals?
Cristina: Yeah, absolutely. And it's one of the things we learned in the course straight away.
One of the first questions we asked, are they rescued animals? Because if that comes already with a huge package, like a baggage, a lot of them, we don't know the details of the rescue situation, right? So we don't know what they're carrying with them. If it was something very harming, brutal.
Unkind and things like that. So that comes along with a lot of things. So one of the remedies, the first [00:41:00] remedies is Star of Bethlehem. Beautiful name, right? Yeah, Star of Bethlehem. So that one is for trauma, to help them bring that peace to the heart and let go of these traumatic experiences that they're carrying.
And then we take a look at what else is showing up because they can, a lot of them come with anxiety. extreme fear, because in the process of these adoptions or shelters, they don't, remember the uncertainty we were talking about, they don't know what's going to happen next. So they feel extremely vulnerable.
because we're all animals, right? We release smell. So fear has a smell. It's sensorial. So they smell fear also in the shelters. So they're all in fear. Can you imagine? All of them are living in uncertainty. All of them are living in fear. And when they're adopted, where am I going to?
Who are these people? Are they going to love me or am I going to go back to this place? And yeah, there's no control. Yeah. There's no control. No control. They're feeling extremely so then when they go to the families, it comes up in different ways, all these [00:42:00] emotions.
not only this, but here in Hong Kong, for example, animals being imported, like families relocating to Hong Kong, they have to go through quarantine. The quarantine is also a traumatizing experience because they're away from the families. They're in this different environment, different smells. They also, a lot of the families don't know they can talk to them.
And prepare them ahead of time. This is what's going to happen. Someone is going to come around to visit you and things like that to prepare them emotionally for that. So you see, and also the trip, get in an airplane, those monster airplanes, if I'm coming from the countryside, what is this,
And with that noise and I'm in this place and with this sound and going to somewhere that I have no ideas.
So you imagine that.
Robyn: You're totally right. And people, we don't think about that because they can't, they're not talking in quotes, right? it's so important to keep this all in mind.
Cristina: Yes. Everything impacts them. Everything impacts them. Families, situations. So we take a look at all of this. What is the situation? [00:43:00] Rescue or not? Which are the behaviors that are showing up? And then we try to address that. And usually with animals, we choose three remedies.
And with humans, we can choose up to seven remedies for that mix. Got it. So there is a difference in between both and we take a look at, first the primary emotions that are showing up and we try to address those. And also what I like to do is I treat the families as well
Robyn: because
Cristina: again, it's all energy.
So usually if the animal is stressed, someone in the house or the dynamics in the house might be a stressful one too. So I like to take care of. Who's the main caretaker of the animal, And also take care of them.
Karen: Because some of the human's emotions can be transferring off to the pet as well.
Cristina: And I learned that a long time ago because a friend of mine she invited an animal communicator, Rosina. Rosina was a big animal communicator in Hong Kong. She passed away a few years ago and she was invited by a friend to take care of her dog because her dog was very sad and didn't want to eat too much, but she took him to the vet health bill. Okay. Health check. [00:44:00] Good. And you know what the animal says? I'm sad and not eating because my mom is sad and not eating. She just had a breakup with her boyfriend and he had moved up. and I was like, Oh my goodness. Yeah. So he was. compassionate, like you were saying they dedicate themselves to us.
He was trying to take on her pain, share her pain. That's beautiful. Absolutely beautiful.
Robyn: They're such little empaths. That's right.
Karen: And now we have special remedies. Yes, I love this. I'm so excited that we get to share this with people. Can we shift back a little bit to this whole experience that you had, Cristina, in your burnout with the advertising world?
And again, kudos to being able to stand up for yourself and say nope, this isn't right for me. I need to do something else and follow your intuitive path versus your 3d earth. Job purpose path. Can you talk a little bit about those that you are working with and coaching who are going down similar paths of feeling burned out and [00:45:00] overwhelmed at work and how, you help them.
What are the, what are some of the tools that you give them the remedies and beyond to help them with their overwhelm?
Robyn: Is there like one surefire thing that you think everybody should consider who's in that position?
Cristina: First of all I like to approach my clients from that space of awareness, like mindful leadership, Perspective, helping them become aware of what's going on, what's going on from an emotional point of view, from a physical point of view, because a lot of us are caught up in our mind.
So we're not even listening to the body anymore. And the last thing is the mind. are the stories we're telling ourselves? So I go by layers and, one by one, because they come to me with so much stuff. So we try to break it down a little bit and go one by one, right?
So what's showing up for I want them to be aware of. What are the emotions that are playing, what's that weather that storm coming from, and I'll unpack that and see what's driving that. We take a look at also what's the body telling you?
Because if they're heading [00:46:00] for burnout, if they're very imbalanced, they're often not listening to the body and the body doesn't lie. So I help them, connect with the body, listen to the body. where are you feeling it? Sometimes it's the chest. Sometimes it's the stomach. They can't digest.
Or they can't even breathe, so we help them make that connection, what is the body telling you? And sometimes it's I can't stand it anymore. Or the way I'm doing is not working anymore, And then we take a look at, okay, where's that coming from?
'cause it often comes from the mind. From the stories I'm telling myself I'm not good enough or, he's better than me. Things have changed too much. I can't keep up. So then we try to address all these areas and then that's when I see which tools I have for that.
If it's a breathing technique, it's a mindfulness technique. Or it's develop optimism. Or sometimes if they're caught up too much in their stories and I feel they need other support rather than coaching, then I refer someone else. So it really depends where if we're talking about energy one of the clients I had just so you have an idea, she was [00:47:00] French.
She couldn't sleep. She was super stressed and she couldn't sleep. And then what was showing up was she was a big empath and overstimulated in Hong Kong. Cause she was coming from Singapore. Could you sleep in Singapore? Yes. Do you sleep when you travel? Yes. And then where do you live in Hong Kong?
So she was living in the city center, surrounded by buildings, towers, lights everywhere. So it was oversimulation for herself and she couldn't shield herself enough. And at the end, she decided to leave and go back to France. Yeah, so you see it's really trying to check in what's going on for them, where's it coming from, and see what we need to do to address it.
And sometimes it can be as radical as that someone choosing a different lifestyle.
Robyn: Yeah. It's the awareness is the first thing
Cristina: yeah. It reminds me of one of the mentor coaches I had. She always said, awareness creates change.
Robyn: It's true. And being brave enough to be aware, because I think so much, and we've said this at least once during this conversation, We were so used to being able to distract ourselves, but the brave thing [00:48:00] is to start being aware when you know that feeling inside doesn't feel.
Cristina: Yes, Robin. And you know what I do is I always ask the universe, send me the clients that are ready. For that
Robyn: ready for the journey. That's so good. Yeah. You set that intention and the universe always delivers when you ask, it also delivers sometimes if you're just thinking about something too much and not right.
But if you set that intention, as you said, then yeah, you're always going to get the people that are ready.
Cristina: Yeah. I asked the universe, make the best usage of my time, to be of service, for the families that are ready to help their pets, for the executives or the human souls that are ready to do the hard work, unpack their stuff, deal with their stuff and make , better choices for themselves.
Robyn: And then that has such a ripple effect, If their energies are better, then it helps. other energies and it really does help to raise that vibration in our world.
Cristina: Yeah, exactly. Because for me, they become these powerhouses or lightworkers in their own context. So one of my clients, I [00:49:00] remember her, she was from Macau.
She was coming to Hong Kong to see me and she thought she needed to change who she was. And we were talking about it. It was like, Not necessarily, you don't necessarily need to give up your corporate job. excelling in what you do, but can you shine the light, because it sounds like your company needs it.
And then she was like, Oh, I can do that. I can do that for everyone else. So she had the crystal, she had the aromatherapy, she had everything. And she was like, I'm going to be the light in this place. So it was amazing to see that choice. She didn't need to leave. It just needed to show up differently and to share that with other people, and that's huge, highly transformational.
Karen: It's so huge because I think anyone in corporate knows it's it's always trying to fit you in a box in a mold. And I think that's why so many people feel so much anxiety and feel so much fear. It's because they're being almost forced to be something that they just aren't. And so the minute that advice that you gave that person, be just be you bring that light to where you work and where you live, that amplifies all of the other [00:50:00] people and gives them permission to do the same.
So it's amazing how just one, one little twist in how you see things and how you react and behave with others can transform so many around you. we're always trying to fix ourselves, aren't we? And so many times we really aren't broken at all. It's just we're not being ourselves. We feel like we just can't be
Cristina: ourselves.
Yeah. And that's why I like so much the system as well. It's peeling all those layers because I think those distracted us and took us from our essence and we go back to really who we are and what we're meant to be doing and shining our lights. Because we're supposed to be here to do that,
Robyn: I always say, if someone is trying to dim your light, that's awareness. And that's a sign for you. To remove yourself from that situation. However, you can, or you feel like you have to dim your light. Oh, totally. Karen.
Karen: If you find that you're dimming your light. Yeah. You want to be seen.
You don't want to look. That's right. That's right. because that's always a sign that [00:51:00] you're not where you're supposed to be. Exactly. That's not the right place for you.
Cristina: Yeah. And you just reminded me of a lady I came across, beautiful, the most beautiful lady. And she was dimming her light down so much, the way she dressed, it was like a grandmother.
And I was asking her like did you notice that you have so much potential. I remember having, cause she was a friend also, and she was told when one of the places she worked. not to dress up too much to call attention. Yeah. Cause she was calling attention cause she was this beautiful lady, and whatever she dressed up, she would shine her light and she was asked to dim down.
And I was like, Oh my gosh, that is so disempowering. My thing was with her was like trying to show her you have the power to, turn it back up, do it because you're so amazing and we need that light.
Robyn: And it's like you took your power back and now you're helping everyone else take theirs.
And , as I said in the intro, you walk the walk and you're helping others now do the same. And you are a hundred percent living in that intention that you talked about of being in service and really [00:52:00] helping to raise the vibration. So thank you.
Cristina: Oh, thank you.
Robyn: We just learned so much and I know we're going to be talking to Cristina more because We cannot wait to talk more with you about iridology, week.
Karen: You have such an incredible blend of gifts that really play off of each other and really can help people in such unique ways.
Thanks for your wisdom. Thanks for all of you're doing exploring your own journey that you're taking and for sharing it with us. Yeah.
Cristina: Oh, thank you. And thank you for having me. It's just beautiful opportunity to share a little bit about these tools and techniques and resources that we have, right?
Karen: Yeah.
Cristina: We have help. We can get help. And I'm, hear a flag in Hong
Robyn: Kong and I feel like you've given so much hope , you've educated us on something that most of us didn't know about, and I just love that, Karen, you brought up that idea of hope, and I feel like you've given us so much hope, because there are all of these resources out there, and They come from the earth.
how can it get better than that? So [00:53:00] we can't wait to talk to you again. Thank you. And you can find out more about all of Cristina's offerings at manipurawellness.Com M a N I P U R a wellness. com and on Instagram. Manipura underscore pets, M A N I P U R A underscore pets.
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