257 The Farewell Episode | Lessons Learned on the Yoga in the Therapy Room Journey: Episode by Chris McDonald

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If this podcast has inspired you, supported you on your journey, or reminded you that you are not alone in this work, this episode is for you. Let's take one mindful breath together. Place pumps together in prayer pose, and let's reflect together in this episode.

So whether you're here to expand your skills, enhance your self care, or both, you are in the right place. Join me on this journey to help you be one step closer to bringing yoga into your therapy room.

Welcome to a very special femoral episode of the Yoga in the Therapy Room Podcast. A nontraditional therapist guide to Integrating Yoga into your therapy practice. Yes, this is the final episode. Today's solo episode is both a goodbye. A reflection and hopefully you'll get some insights for you within this episode.

What a journey. It's been filled with a lot of learning. Every guest I've had, I've learned from, I've taken some things, and I hope you have as well. Every solo episode I bring to you, I've learned as well 'cause I research and what you don't know from the behind the scenes. Is we don't just sit down, plop down and turn the microphone on and go hit record.

No, there is some back work involved. And just a little bit about my process. So usually what I would do on Mondays, I reserve for podcast day and you know, other content creation. But I would take the morning to research, sometimes even on Sunday, learn about the guest, learn about. A little bit more about their background, maybe listen to a podcast episode.

I'll say that it's a lot to keep up with. As well as be a therapist in private practice for a full-time practice. So, but every episode I've learned some, all that research has really helped me to grow as a clinician and also just as a person personally, to learn. Some of these wellness modalities, holistic modalities, yoga practices, and sometimes it's helpful reminders.

We can always come home to it. It's just such a beautiful thing and so much connections. I have met so many people from around the world that I never in a million years would've connected with. And so many cool connections and conversations. Some of these topics I never heard of when this was the Holistic Counseling podcast.

I had so many episodes that I would sit back and be like, I know nothing about this topic. No. Granted, I would do my little bit of research, but it was much harder. With that to really jump in and give my own experience. 'cause I didn't have experience with what some of the guests were breaking. So that's a little sneak peek behind the curtain.

Right to be a podcaster. It's about clarifying. It's about listening, it's about summarizing. Yeah. So that's what's so cool is that these skills meld beautifully into podcasting, and I have to be honest and pause here a moment. This episode feels very emotional to record. It's a mixed bag of emotions. So there is the grief.

A lot of sadness. 'cause anytime we start something and throw our heart into it, it can be really difficult to let it go. But there's also a little relief to be fully transparent. There is a lot of moving parts. Like I mentioned, it's a lot to keep up with and I've just found over the past year, my intention at the start of the year was to release things that no longer serve me to whittle down to what is most important to me.

So just full transparency with that. It costs money to host a podcast, to be able to have a good platform. And there are a lot of. Expenses with editors and that kind of thing. So that's another reason. It's not the only reason, but that's one reason why this podcast is winding down. But it's also challenging as I built my identity.

Now, I didn't step into this identity initially. It took me a while to say. I'm a podcaster. Just like if you've listened before to actually say I'm a yoga teacher. It just felt, ooh, uncomfortable. That's weird. I don't know. But then I kind of grew into it, and one thing that I started to do to jump into that identity was when I go to networking events, I'd say, hi, I am a licensed therapist and a podcaster.

And of course that got conversations going. People started talking about podcasts and they wanted to know about mine. And so it really felt like I developed more of a connection. With that role role and that's why grief comes in, right? Anytime we make a shift and let something go, 'cause it can be part of our identity.

Out there, all of you, which of course this wouldn't be here this long without you. And I have so many dedicated people and who've never missed an episode, and it just blows me out of the water. I really thank you for being here and it is just strange to think about on Monday or Sunday, 'cause I start planning sometimes Sunday, not getting things ready and seeing what's there and getting behind the mic.

Not reflecting on the guest that's coming up or what's next week, and, and just hearing from listeners has also been the beautiful thing. As part of my newsletter, I've been sending episodes that come out and I'll hear, oh, that episode resonated so much. And oh, that really helped me on my journey. It really helped me to get started with bringing yoga in the therapy room.

Every therapist who listened and others who are not therapists, I have many long time listeners who are not, and that is just amazing. I love that you're here too, while you're maybe going for a walk or driving to work. That's the beautiful thing with podcasting is it can be listened while you're doing other things.

And I love that. I've heard from so many listeners over the years with your emails just reaching out and the wonderful reviews I've gotten on Apple Podcasts just does my heart good. But as this chapter of the podcast closes, I wanted to take a moment just to look back at what this experience has taught me.

How cool is that? And hopefully taking away some things. But in this final episode, I'll be sharing five lessons I've learned along the way. Lessons that have shaped me as a therapist, yoga teacher, and overall human being. And my hope is that these insights remind you of your own inner wisdom and the incredible impact that you have both inside and outside the therapy room.

And what I found as I met more therapists in the world and people in private practice, how challenging it was for other therapists to take care of themselves, to put themselves first, and they were so used to putting others first, and they were always last on their list. It was upsetting to me 'cause I was like, oh my gosh, I wanna help them.

Did a lot of workshops over a few years in the community. And online for therapists. And I thought, wow, a podcast could be a good way to reach other therapists to connect. And this kind of started me on the journey. I took a course before I started from Melvin Voorhees of selling the couch, if you know him.

Uh, he had a great training that got me started. Now the problem was I was trying to figure out what would be a way to reach therapists, what would be a good title to help those who are feeling burned out, to be able to reconnect to themselves to find joy again. And over time I discovered, let me start a podcast called Nothing Left to Give.

And we talked about burnout as well as strategies for managing it. Had a lot of amazing guests, a lot of those in the healthcare field, but over time I just felt something was missing. I felt like, especially with medical doctors and nurses, like. I'm not one of those, so I couldn't connect as much. So I felt like I was on the outside looking in at times.

It didn't feel in alignment, so I was like, I gotta do something else. So I actually got a podcast coach Joe Ock, from the practice of the practice, shout out to him. And as we were chatting, he was really listening and was like, why not do a holistic counseling podcast? And I was like, well, damn, why didn't I think of that?

So I decided to end that podcast after a year. And moved on to creating the Holistic Counseling podcast. 'cause I wanted to be able to put a holistic focus for therapists that wanna bring holistic strategies into their sessions. But of course, looking at it ethically, safely, sounds familiar, right? Just like this podcast, but it was more general and I thought about.

Wow. So all the holistic modalities out there, what could we have for guests? And it was really fun because I had such a wide variety from past life regression to crystals in therapy to, um, Drea Bloom with the use of tarot. You name it. We talked about it probably. And like I said, several areas that I had no clue I had never heard of before, which was.

Nobody talks about that. Oh my gosh, I've let it go into the world. What if people criticize me? What if I sound stupid? What if I'm not good at this? Right? All those imposter syndrome. It was tough. And then I did my workbook self-care for the counselor. I don't know why, but it was even worse and that that workbook's been more successful than the book, but sometimes it is.

Just putting yourself out there is scary. It's hard, and I've learned to through this process, to let go of that. Because you have to, after 257 episodes, if I make a mistake, so be it because ha, it's too much to hold onto. All that fear takes too much out of my wellbeing to stay in that anxious place. I remember recording my very first episode of nothing left to give and just, I'm like, I kept double checking.

It actually went pretty well. For those that don't know me, I have a degree in journalism, a two-year degree. So I was actually gonna go into journalism, so it kind of aligned a little bit with what I was already interested in. I loved interviewing. I just thought it was so fun and get to know people and ask some of these questions to really go deeper.

So I found my rhythm. It took some time. It really did, and that's what I learned over the years. I think Melvin told us that, that it takes like 50 episodes to feel, really, feel your stride, to really feel confident. I started to feel that it was much easier. I remember being anxious now that I think back, I was anxious before every interview.

As weird as that sounds. I wasn't sure. I was like, oh, I don't know. You know? And then that comparison comes in. There's other people, other podcasters out there. They seem like they got it all together. They know so much. But I know so much, and I'm continuing learning like, like I said, I've learned from the podcast, all the trainings I've had, all the people I've met, and all of this builds my internal wisdom, right?

And then we did a yoga practice and I remember standing around just feeling that connection with everybody in the room. And I, I had that thought as we're moving through these practices and. I remember Christine Weber said, we are doing just wrist circle. She's like, slower. That was mind-boggling to me. I was used to gym yoga where you're trying to go as hard as you can and burn your calories.

And I was like, what do you mean go slow? And I noticed the impact immediately on my body as I slowed down and I noticed people around me as they started to go slower, the tension in their face just kind of slid away. It's like you could see it in their overall bodies, just more presence, more awareness.

I just loved it so much. It was just my passion was there. My drive and yoga for me is not just professionally. This is a personal lifelong journey. Personally, yoga influences what I do in my daily life. Outside of work, but also into the professional life. And I think clients can sense that as well. That this is not just, let me just study this and only bring it to clients.

If you can even envision your arms going out to the side for those on video, could could see me for this social media clip. It was so broad. I felt like we're carrying the holistic world in my arms and shoulders. It was too much. It wasn't getting the traction that I wanted to be able to have good reach and to be able to really make some money off of it too, to be honest with you, because it was a lot of time, energy, commitment, and I wanted to get some sponsors and it just, it kind of hit the roadblock.

What I found the number one. Amount of feedback I received was how do I integrate yoga into therapy? And it kept over and over. It was like God was tapping me on the shoulder. Hello Yoga in the therapy room. People wanna know how you do this. And honestly, I never thought I was qualified enough. Was I enough?

I mean, it stayed steady since Holistic Counseling podcast, which was amazing because I didn't lose a lot of listeners with the rebrand. I appreciate all of you who have stayed there with me, but it was a little bit. Disheartening, shall we say? Just full disclosure, it, it really was hard because I thought, okay, maybe I'm gonna be able to grow more and have a greater reach and it just didn't happen.

But maybe there's a reason for things, right? That's why I always look at it too, and that I had to really look and see where did I wanna go? What did I want most? And that's why I thought. Maybe a membership would be a better way. And that was something I always wanted to do. And I was always told, you don't have a big enough audience, your reach isn't enough.

And to be able to have case consultations from a yoga perspective, as well as community calls and yoga practices aligned with tutorials specifically for therapists as well as some trainings. So, yeah. That's what I launched this week and it's still growing. So I did have enough audience. So we have to be careful, I think, on the advice of others.

People mean well, but sometimes they can hold us back if we take it as truth. Sometimes we have to put ourselves out there. And discover what is true for us therapists. Are you wanting to bring yoga into your therapy room? But feel unsure what is allowed, what really works, and you wonder where to start. I hear you.

Yoga informed care. Inside, you'll find simple ways to get started, considerations for integrating with trauma, what a session actually looks like when integrated with yoga practices and so much more. This guide gives you practical strategies to start your journey to integrate yoga practices with integrity.

Get your free copy today@hcpodcast.org slash top 10 questions. That's TOP, the number 10 questions. That's HC podcast.org/top 10 questions. It's also in the show notes. Get your guide today. So in this journey, what are some lessons I've learned? There are so many, but I know you don't want a 10 hour podcast.

Here's what I've learned. The first lesson is therapists crave. Authentic connection and community with other therapists. And I realized that when I started my Facebook group, that people would connect and they'd post things and it was just powerful because all of us often work in isolation, especially in private practice.

It can be challenging even if you work in a group practice where there's other clinicians. I know sometimes I walk outta my in-person office and everybody's door's closed 'cause they're in session. We all have different schedules, different days we work. So it can be hard even in the moment to connect in-person.

'cause it's one thing to meet with clients, we need connection with others who do what we do, period. And sometimes that can be online, but sometimes in person can be even better. And over the years I did some holistic happy hours locally where we'd meet. At a brewery or other place and, and just chat about holistic modalities, which was super fun.

And I love those kinds of events 'cause we don't often have those moments. It's hard to get people to come out to and hard to find the right kinds of folks that we wanna connect with. So that's the first one that therapists crave authentic connection and community. The second one, and I've learned this through all my trainings and personal learning and from guests on the podcast, yoga is more than movement.

They seem more connected. It helps them to co-regulate, to be able to open up more. And also most people think yoga. They think Asana movement. If you've studied yoga, all you know, there's eight limbs, right? There's breath work, there's meditation, connection, the lifestyle, yamas, niyamas, as well as compassion for ourselves like loving kindness, meditations, curiosity, getting curious with what we're doing with movement, breath meditations, spiritual presence that's not talked about enough.

It can be a struggle, but it's possible, but it also helps you to show up more present. More aligned with your clients and helping them to reconnect with their bodies and their own internal wisdom. The third lesson, this is a big one, is vulnerability creates impact. I know for a fact that the episodes where I have gotten more vulnerable and really opened up about things, or in my newsletter that I've heard the most from listeners, it had the most impact.

That's the other piece with this podcast. I do feel like I've gotten to the point of burnout because it has been five years. That's a long time. In addition to juggling my other things that I'm my new projects, so, so we have to really look at from an objective mindset, what is most important to us? What do we need to let go of?

What do we wanna hold on to? And is this in alignment with where we wanna go with what you're doing right now? And that could be the job you have, it could be where you're working. I know I worked in the school system and those questions were uh, no, not in alignment anymore. Caused too much stress was very difficult and that's why I left the school system.

Maybe they do, they may not. People that you feel like, oh, I could never be like them. They're so confident. Guess what? They have self-doubt. They may not share it always, but it's there. I've had my own self-doubt even starting this podcast, even putting everything out. My courses, my membership. What if no one signs up?

What if no one wants anything? I have to sell? Those questions come up, but it's not true, right? It's finding the right. Audience and people that align with you in your truth, your authenticity, and this is something I always remember and tell clients as well because I have a lot of clients who hold things so close, they don't wanna share with others when they're upset about something.

No, nobody was judgmental. And what it did do. Was, it helped us to build a closer bond every time, each and every time. And that goes for colleagues too, to open up to someone to say, I'm really struggling. I'm having a hard time, and here's why it's important. And the beautiful part of being a mental health therapist, once you build a colleague network that you can reach out to each other.

We're trained therapists. We are the most amazing people to talk to. So you're gonna, I have some wonderful colleagues and friends who are therapists and not to say friends aren't. But it's a whole different level, right? When you have therapists who get it, who understand and whatever your situation is, like I, I'm in private practice, so I love talking to other owners on some of the struggles, and guess what?

I know I'm the same way. And you know, it's a summer slump or whatever it is that we're experiencing, that we have someone to vibe with. And to be vulnerable with and to open up. 'cause if you hold it in, that's what I used to do. Um, I went to a psychic once. She's like, you hold everything close. It was the most truthful thing someone has ever said.

'cause I did. I would hold everything and think, okay, I must learn this and I must take care of myself on my own. And I would only share with very few people. I've let that guard down and that's been. An intention of mine the past, like 15 years or so, to be vulnerable more 'cause it creates impact and to connect more with people, to give people a chance to support.

So just, it is a risk, but it creates impact. It creates connection. So number four, if you are a therapist or someone else listening to the podcast and you wanna create a podcast, create courses, step outside of your current role in some way, maybe as an additional income, or maybe write a book. Guess what?

You don't have to have it all figured out to begin, and just like yoga in the therapy room, you don't have to have it all figured out to begin, at least start the process right. For me, I was very thoughtful with podcasting. I took a course first and I paid, I took it over six months and paced myself and really thought about it.

Not wanting to cause harm, which is totally understandable, which it does mean, on the other hand, you're very ethical, which is amazing, but growth only happens through taking small. Imperfect steps. And that takes courage, right? So being scared and doing it anyway, one step at a time. So take a chance, just start.

Just like you tell your clients when they're trying to do something hard. You don't say do it all at once. No, we need to break it. We. Down and even start by talking to people who are doing what you wanna do. If you wanna write a book, go to some writer workshops or meetups in the community, meet some other therapists that are doing it.

You don't have to do it alone. I think that's the other piece. Second part of this is you don't have to have it all figured out, but you don't have to do it alone. I could not do this podcast alone. Trust me, I have a team that helps support me. Even my husband helped me towards the end. God bless him. But yeah, we can't.

So we would help each other out and have questions. C And I think that goes back to community, doesn't it? Now that I think of it. Um, taking a step but connecting with others right In the process. Just do it. And the last lesson, the work we do matters more than we realized. Really? Think about that a moment.

It just reminds me like a drop in the water. If you think of like the ocean, if, if one drop, there's a ripple, right? And it can get bigger and bigger. We don't always see the impact, right? And if you're putting more out in the world, like a course. Maybe a book. Your reach is getting bigger, and if you do a podcast, then of course you're all over the world, which is pretty cool, but you never know who may need exactly what you're offering in the moment.

It can be very slow progress and we may get in our heads like, does this really matter what I'm doing? It feels like we are the ones, like the ducks on the water are swimming, right? Doing all the work and the client's just sitting back. Not always true. I've had clients that I thought, oh my gosh, I don't know if I'm making a difference.

And, and then they keep backsliding and it's just been a difficult journey for them. But then I hear from them when they end up leaving therapy and how the difference that all the time we spent together made for them. It all ripples outward. Just know we as therapists are changing lives in ways we may not fully see or witness, which it does suck in some ways 'cause we don't always know.

Even now, as I talked about ending this podcast, I have so many wonderful emails and messages that just, ugh, my heart was swelling. Just so happy to hear how much this podcast has helped. And I'm always surprised when people say how wonderful my voice is and how much they love hearing from me. 'cause when I went into podcasting, side note, I hated my voice.

And I thought it sounded weird and I had to listen to playbacks and it was like painful for me to hear myself. But over the years I've worked through that and realized one thing. I think a lot of us don't like our voices because we don't hear it that much outside of ourselves, like in a recording. I think over time we can learn to adapt and I had so much positive feedback.

It's a way of being in the therapy room. Vulnerability creates impact. You don't need to have it all figured out to begin. And the work we do matters more than we realize. I hope you got something out of this episode today. I did wanna share a spiritual moment I had this morning. I was feeling a lot of grief and sadness, and I did some yoga, some meditation, and then did a little brain spotting as well.

But then I, as I sat down and even put a little timer on, so I had limited time, but I still sat with it and found my brain spot and just allowed it to flow through me keeping that resource. In the room with myself with a calming music, I was able to really connect and process through some of it. The only way out with grief is through.

That's what I often tell clients, and we have to make time and space for it. That's the most challenging part. 'cause we can go, go, go, have activities of the day, go here, go there. The grief needs to be witnessed by ourselves. By others. Then I asked as I did a brain spotting session to connect to my spirit guides and I said, do you have a message for my listeners?

Keep hope alive and never give up. You are worth the time and space to learn yoga and therapy for a more divine intervention. Love is light energy. Allow it to show you the way. I'm gonna repeat that last part. Love is light. Allow it to show you the way. Let's pause there and breathe hand on heart. Maybe notice your breath as you allow it to sink in that message from spirit,

allowing yourself space with that.

And just know that creating these solo episodes and guest episodes has been an honor and a privilege, and I'm deeply grateful that you chose to spend your time exploring yoga in the therapy room with me. And just a reminder, you do have a library of 256 other episodes to help you along your path as a way to listen again or discover new ones.

They're always there. I'm not taking it down by the way, so these will still be available. I'm gonna keep my RSS feed, which just means that you'll still have access to these. If you wanna stay connected with me, my Facebook group is gonna be still available. I'm still gonna keep that bringing yoga in the therapy room.

You're welcome to use that for your own practice or to share with clients. And before I sign off, I wanted to say a big shout out and thank you to my team who brought me here today. There is no way in hell I could have made it this far without them. My editor, Amanda Schu, is one of the best editors ever.

And all these moving parts, there's no way I could have continued. So thank you. Much love and gratitude to you. And with deep appreciation. Once again, I'm Chris McDonald. You've been listening to the Yoga In the Therapy Room podcast, the non-traditional therapist guide to integrating yoga into your therapy practice.

Until next time, keep listening to your body, trusting your wisdom. And may our paths meet again in the future, and once again, sending much light and love to each and one every one of you. Take care. Thanks for listening to today's episode. The information in this podcast is for general informational and educational purposes only.

Always check with your doctor to see if it's safe for you. If you need a professional, please find the right one for you.