Episode Transcript
Speaker 1 00:00:04 Think meditation is hard. Do me a favor, take a slow, deep breath in and now breathe out. Congratulations, you just meditated. Hi, I'm Crystal Kakowski and this is Breathe In. Breathe out a weekly guided meditation podcast for anyone ready to own their own shit and find some peace while doing it.
Speaker 1 00:00:31 Hello and welcome back to Breathe In, breathe Out. I'm Crystal Kowski and I'm just, you guys have been with me for two years. It's been two years. Can you believe that? I just can't believe that it's, it's been an amazing journey to discover how much I thoroughly enjoy being with you, sharing my life inspirations, interviewing some amazing people. I've learned just, I mean, I'm more aware of it, especially recently, how much this really fuels me and fills my soul, and I just, I thank you. I sincerely thank you for tuning in and choosing to be a part of it because yeah, just thank you <laugh>. Add, as the two years I wanted to sit back and look back on, um, everything that's happened, everything that's gone on and the first year. I mean, I've done it every single week. I don't think I've missed a single week, and the first year was all me, and it was me with my inspirations and me with different meditations that worked with those inspirational thoughts.
Speaker 1 00:01:48 And people would let us know how much they appreciated this one or that one and they would reach out. It's, it's been inspiring to hear and know how much my thoughts and what I'm going through has benefited you out there in your lives as well and helped give you a boost or a boon or an insight into how things are, help you look at it at a different way. The second year I decided that I wanted to broaden things a little bit. So last year while there were still a bunch of episodes were me and meditations, I also wanted to bring in some guests, and that really honestly was started because people at that time were asking me to do episodes on grief. We were getting requests on topics and there had been a huge fire here in Colorado that had taken a so many people's homes, they'd lost so much.
Speaker 1 00:02:47 And I was also working with a bunch of people who had lost loved ones or pets. Um, they were dealing with grief in so many different stages, and so there were a lot of requests asking that we work on grief. And so I invited a friend of mine, her name is Erica Shrek, who is a grief coach, to come on and speak with me and give you guys some tips and help you understand how grief is not linear. It is all over the board, and one day you may be okay, and the next day you may be a mess and it might not even be days. It may be that one minute you're fine and the next minute you are not because it is so fluid and the stages, it's not that you go from grief to this, to that, to that. You bounce all over the place and it was just an amazing episode and it came at a beautiful time for so many people, myself included.
Speaker 1 00:03:36 And I tell you that even today, there are moments that I hail back to that episode because grief, it's not just about the loss of a loved one, it's not just about a job. Grief can be loss of the ability to do something. It may not be. It may be that you can't run anymore or your back is tweaked and for a short time you can't function the way that you used to or whatever that is. Physical changes as we age in life and live life and get hurt, whatever that is, we, we have to grieve that temporary loss or permanent loss as well. So grief is really just any unexpected or expected loss that we have, and we are now dealing with not having it there. So she, having her on here was beautiful, and it opened up an opportunity to bring more people to you that could broaden your horizons on different things that you might want to tap into or explore and see if they fit and worked for you.
Speaker 1 00:04:44 And I got to like, one of those guests was Tom Cronan, and we talked a lot about meditation and how an unhealthy work ethic had pushed him to the brink and he found meditation and the healing nature of the type of meditation that he does. And one of my favorite episodes was actually with Judith Marin Costa and she dug into my akasha records and that one left me, so it had a huge effect on me. I ended up diving into several of the things that her and I spoke about in that episode. I was sobbing on the episode. I remember being so emotional and so grateful. She was so spot on and had no clue because we had really not met or talked before. And yet tapping in to my guides and the records that are there meant that she was truly able to see my past and part of the reasons that I act and react the way that I do today.
Speaker 1 00:05:50 And I've been able to work with those and I've been able to shift. So that episode brought about additional growth, additional change, the possibility of embracing and understanding myself deeper and then giving myself more love and compassion because that then introduced me to aquatic massage and the healing that can come from that. Each one of these guest episodes has had such a beautiful message and moment in and of themselves, and they've all enlightened me personally, which I get to be selfish. I may be podcasting and you may get to listen to it, and yet I get to learn on the front lines. And so I am expanding and growing right along with you because I hear it and I interview them and I get to learn more about them and their passions and what has helped them expand and grow in life. And then I get to apply it to myself right along with you guys.
Speaker 1 00:07:01 You may hear it, it may be something new, and then you may have decided that that's exactly what you want it. You've been drawn to it and you really want to find somebody that can help you dive a little deeper into it. And so it may be a little selfish. It's like I'm sharing to be selfish, <laugh>, I'm sharing with you so that I can selfishly learn as well. And it's a beautiful gift. I'm so, huh, frequently. I'm so lucky. I'm so lucky that I get to interview them and then I get to talk with you and share that with you as well. The guests have been varied. I have had so many different unique ones. We talked about our intimate relationships and not just our intimate relationships with other people, but our re intimate relationship with ourself and how it's really difficult to be sexy and intimate with someone else if you aren't already feeling solid and and confident within yourself.
Speaker 1 00:07:57 We did TA readings on air, which was so fun because it wasn't just a reading for me, it was a reading for all of my listeners, and you could apply it in your life however it applied for you. Oh, one of my favorites was Rachel Pearlman, and we talked about the Art of the Pause and how taking that moment, each letter, P A U S E means something different. And it meant the opportunity for you to take a break and listen and check in. Where are your emotions and what do you really need to do for yourself? And it was a beautiful way to help people understand that it's okay to stop. You may be pushing, you may think you've got to get there, and yet the pushing could be causing some of your problems. So if you take a pause, go listen to that episode.
Speaker 1 00:08:48 If you take a pause, things can shift because you'll be able to see more. Instead of being down in the trenches or a turtle in your shell, you're able to peek out and say, oh, okay, so maybe if I eat a snack right now, I'll feel a lot better and be better able to attack my day because I just need some physical fuel. My body needs that fuel, so ugh, I love it. I love the gift that is here. I love that you're coming and listening and I love that I get to be your guide or your partner on this whole journey. There are so many people that I've interviewed and I encourage you to go back and listen to any of them. All of them dive in. They are longer than my regular episodes, and yet they're longer because there's so much information and it is so beautiful within them.
Speaker 1 00:09:42 That was my shift, and I felt in my gut that it was time to open up. It was time to expand a little bit for you, my listeners as well as for myself. I knew that there were other voices that needed to be brought into this discussion because I believe that we hear things and we might hear it from one person and think, huh, yeah, maybe, and then we'll hear it from somebody else using different words, but saying the same thing. And that is when we say, oh my gosh, I totally vibe with that. I totally understand and I very much agree with what they said. It's that shift in vocabulary. It's hearing it at a time when you're more receptive and ready to hear it and dive in. There are so many people right here right now that are starting to open up. We live in a day and age where people are yearning for love and acceptance and individuality while still being connected to a beautiful, accepting, loving whole. We are shifting and I think it's the most beautiful thing. There are challenges and we have to overcome them. We have to fight with them, and yet we are so lucky to be united.
Speaker 1 00:11:06 Right now I'm, I'm personally challenged and just being a caretaker for my mom. And I tell you that in the beginning, I held it back and I didn't really wanna talk about it because I was insecure and I was worried that people would think I was just complaining because I was sharing what was going on. And yet the more that I allowed myself to share, the more I founded that other people were also struggling and grieving other people were also dealing with life changes or aging parents, whatever their challenges were in that moment, and we were able to find a commonality. We were able to find a common ground that we could stand on and grieve with each other, and then we didn't feel as alone. And I think that we can apply that to this shift. The more of us that are talking about it, the more of us that are opening up, there're going to be people who are very stuck and they really don't want the change because they're afraid of change.
Speaker 1 00:12:01 And I fully understand that desire to hold back. And yet I also understand the beauty in coming together and supporting each other. And that's part of what having guests on my show was about. I will continue to have guests, I don't know how many, I really don't know what the next year is going to bring. I know that there are going to be ups and downs. I know that there are going to be challenges, and I know that I will end up giving you some glimpses into my personal life because why not share my son? I was, I was struggling one day and I wasn't sure if I wanted to share. And my son said to me, mom, everyone is having a hard time and a lot of people are dealing with what you're dealing, but nobody's talking about it. So share so that they can hear you.
Speaker 1 00:12:47 And it was the most wise advice given to me from my son. It made me cry. And yet the more I share, the more other people share, and the more it's okay to talk about and the more that we all feel better, we're not sharing in a way feel sorry for me. We are sharing in a way of solidarity and strength knowing we're not alone and we can do this together. It means that we're building support systems. It means we're building groups who can come together and say, yep, okay, that sucked. Now how do we get through it? It means we're finding one another, which is so beautiful because after Covid, we were all forced to pull back during Covid, we were all forced to do this social distancing. And that bothered me. That phrase bothered me in the beginning, really drove me nuts. I wanted it to be healthy distancing instead of social distancing because we so desperately mean each other.
Speaker 1 00:13:45 So we pushed away because we needed to for health reasons. And now we have this new resurgence of let's come back together. Let's find each other. Let's be strong together. Let's bring about a shift and growth and joy and love. Let's bring about accepting of who you are exactly as you are, and you accept me, who I am, and exactly as I am, compassion for self and for others, allowance of emotion and how huge they are, how they let us know that something needs to shift or change, and how they help us express the joys and the highs and the excitement that's there.
Speaker 1 00:14:41 <laugh>, I'm a very passionate person. I'm a very normally joyful person, and I try to look for the positive and I try to look for the joy in each circumstance. We have this moment together. I pray that in this next year of breathe in, breathe out, that you enjoy the ups and downs with me. I pray that I am able to bring you laughter and joy along with some introspection and some growth. I pray that by listening in and being reminded of the importance of self-care, that you have grown, that you have expanded, that you have been encouraged to put yourself a little higher on the priority list, and that your life is richer because you chose in.
Speaker 1 00:15:42 I really sincerely from the bottom of my heart, thank you for joining me, and I look forward to the next whatever is going to happen, whatever direction we end up going in. And if there are things, topics that you really want some inspiration on or would love to hear me go off on for a minute, or if there are guests that you would love for me to have on because you just wanna see how it goes, go ahead and send me a message, do it on my website or message me. However that works. Please take care of yourself. Please remember to breathe in and breathe out. Thank you so much for investing time into your own wellbeing. I sincerely hope this moment of self-care and healing brought you some hope and peace. I'm Matt Krystal Kowski on Instagram and YouTube, and I sincerely hope you check us out and follow along for more content coming soon. I look forward to meditating with you again here on Breathe In, breathe Out. Until next time, take care.
