This episode's guest is a fountain of knowledge and wisdom—a strong and motivated healer and coach, Cate Stillman.

Cate has inspired a lot of the paths that Alex took throughout her journey. She founded Yogahealers, a community of people wanting to live their unique greater purpose, in 2001 where she met Alex later in 2015.

This episode gives a nosy insight into what made Cate pivot from being the privileged, young American girl who took counterculture steps to help other people and how these bits and pieces of experience and learnings propelled her forward a non-unilateral journey.

As a teenager, Cate woke up to her privilege, and as a global citizen, she woke up to what was going on in the ecosystem of our planet. To her, the brighter part of that privilege is to have the opportunity to understand what's going on right now. And most importantly, to have wanted to change the game as against the fact that not many people who had the same privilege want to do something about these problems. Instantly, there was a deep alignment to making a difference to being part of the solution and not the problem for her. And Cate was aware that doing so will require her to step up and step away from the I-me-my conundrum.

Cate's path seemed to have always been carved out, but from the inside out. She always knew what she wanted to pursue—the ground of being. But it was never a straight path either.

Like anyone else, Cate had struggled with her body and asthma, symptoms of Kapha which were resolved altogether along her critical issues through the full acceptance of her constitution, something she now shares and helps people with. Her take: surround yourself with people who are where you want to be next. It's mission-critical. Because otherwise, you will end up taking advice from and being influenced by people who haven't gotten where you want to go.

But this conversation around a successful journey also travelled the nuances of waking up into our ecosystem's reality and the self in this ecosystem. To Cate, it's like sleepwalking, and the pain of waking up is like the same painful conversation around this reality. But this pain evolves just like grieving stages—from despair, anger, denial to acceptance. The more important thing is we see through it to live our deeper dreams finally.
Cate's piece of advice: Honour your deeper dream. Do it. You have it for a reason. It's there to guide your life.

Links mention in the podcast

• Cate's website
• Watch video of the podcast
• Support me on Patreon and receive great gifts!
• Start today – Road to Self Care – Ayurvedic Self Massage Techniques

 

Podcast Highlights

• Working with human consciousness is the fastest way. If humans can become more conscious of and connected to their ecosystem, then the NIMBY principle takes charge. We don't want to pollute our own backyard. If our backyard is the ecosystem, then we're not going to pollute the ecosystem. This brought me to yoga and Ayurveda. - Cate Stillman
• Part of accepting my own privilege was accepting that I could probably do what I wanted and figure how to make it happen. There was a very strong sense of dharma. I’ve always been interested in bigger solutions and I constantly surround myself with people who are big-picture thinkers. - Cate Stillman
• For people who see the potential, it's a fight. There's a lot of ignorance to overcome. Yogis are clear about overcoming ignorance, waking up from sleepwalking. But with all the distractions around like devices, it's harder than ever. - Cate Stillman
• I was looking for the truth. I was looking at how humans can become more conscious. From that lens, Ayurveda becomes second to none. I just pressed on. I knew I had a very high quality of life but not a lot of money. I was more interested in knowledge and wisdom than material riches. - Cate Stillman
• People are not really taking the time to digest their critical issues. If we're not doing that, we're not really creating a good strategy. There has to be a lot of coming up against your own insufficiencies to do what you actually want to do next. That's real. And it doesn't feel good. There's a level burn but when you're there, you're going to get used to it. - Cate Stillman
• We might be going down a path that is not filled with the money but is a path that makes us totally happy and is synced with everything leading to greater liberation. We need to be in surround-sound with people who have done what we want to do. - Alexandra Kreis
• The truth of what I always wanted is that I want to be a spokesperson for the possibilities of living a life where you really thrive, that there is a good in us through and through and I want to become that more and more. I want to go through all the pathways and to be led more. - Alexandra Kreis
• Master of You: Achieving bigger goals and a life of purpose. Once people have met their material needs, checked their boxes of material goals, they really get on with a much bigger vision of impact.

 

Guest BIO:

Cate Stillman is the founder of Yogahealer.com. She “empowers thrive-seekers to uplevel their health, their careers, and their lives in real time.” Cate is a wellness teacher for professionals so they can grow their impact and their income. And Alex just felt so fortunate to have been able to swim along in the sea of Cate's knowledge which manifested in her publication Beyond Body Thrive, released just this March 2020.

Cate was able to help thousands of people thrive in their health, their families, and their communities through her coaching, Ayurveda courses—Body Thrive and Living Ayurveda— and her book, Master of You.