Hi everyone! I'm hopping on for a solo episode. I got a lot of great feedback from the last one, so I wanted to share some personal updates for you all to connect more deeply with the community here AND to share what's been coming up in my life (in case it resonates and can be meaningful for you).
On today's episode, I cover:
Let me know if you like these episodes - and enjoy!
To connect with Kasia
Hi everyone! I'm hopping on for a solo episode. I got a lot of great feedback from the last one, so I wanted to share some personal updates for you all to connect more deeply with the community here AND to share what's been coming up in my life (in case it resonates and can be meaningful for you).
On today's episode, I cover:
Let me know if you like these episodes - and enjoy!
To connect with Kasia
Hello and welcome to The Other Way, a lifestyle podcast exploring uncommon, unconventional or otherwise alternative approaches to life, business and health. I'm your host, Kasia. I'm the founder of InFlow, a women's wellness brand that designs intentional products to help women reconnect to their unique cyclical rhythm and find a balance between being and doing. This podcast is an extension of my mission with In Flow. Here we provide intentional interviews with inspiring humans, trailblazers, researchers, spiritual teachers and more on the journey of doing things the other way. On the journey of doing things the other way. Hello everyone, welcome back to the podcast. Kasia, here I'm coming on to share a bit of a solo pod. I've gotten several pings to record something more personal. The last update I shared on here was probably around January. I had just come back from Sarah Avant Stover's retreat in Colorado at the Buddhist center there, the Shambhala Rocky Mountain Center I forget what it's called now, and now I felt super realigned with my purpose after returning from that. It's been an amazing week because I actually got to speak and interview Sarah on her latest book, which is all about grief, which will be coming out very soon. So stay tuned for that. It is currently March 2024, a few months later and I'm really looking forward to coming on here and sharing a bit of some life updates with you all. Today is going to be a bit of an update. I'll be sharing some things about my business, about To Be Magnetic and some of the inner work that I've been doing, some of the tests and triggers that I've been doing, some of the tests and triggers that I've been facing this month. In case any of my listeners out there are to be magnetic fans as well, I'll be sharing a bit about fertility and my fertility journey, and then I'll also touch on my meditation path and Buddhism, which is definitely something that I've shared on here quite a bit in the past. I have a desire to plug into more of my Buddhist practices in addition to meditation, and also to find a way to merge Buddhism with feminine spirituality a bit more, and I'll talk about some of the teachers that I've been finding in that space. So we'll see how this goes.
Kasia:I'm trying to record this pretty unfiltered, raw and real. Even though I have notes, I am really doing my best to treat this like a conversation with a friend. Core theme of mine, for sure, has been authenticity. These days I've been craving more intentionality in my life, less media of all kinds social news, the nonstop screens, which just feel like a distraction from what's happening in my real world I noticed that when I was really plugged into that which I kind of go through waves where sometimes I'm watching the news or on social media regularly and I noticed that when I do do that, my energy just shifts. I find myself definitely more stressed out, more reactive and just less connected to what's happening in the real world. And I noticed that I find myself with a few teachers, other podcasters and other forms of media that have a bit more intentionality and that feel a bit less curated.
Kasia:Don't get me wrong. I think that there's something really beautiful about a curated Instagram feed or a beautiful article, but I don't know. Life is a bit messier than that and I, as I was preparing for Sarah's interview, which is going to go live in a couple of weeks, and we talked about her book on grief we spent a lot of time talking about how our society really idolizes successes, idolizes being at the top, idolizes just this kind of celebrates really things that are going well and we don't do as great of a job. Honoring and celebrating and feeling and experiencing falls from grace and those are actually viewed with a lot of shame and grief is not handled very well in our society, and so I think that just curating an environment around us that feels a bit more real for me has been a real intention over the past couple of months. And also there's just something that doesn't feel quite normal about just being plugged into everybody else's lives. I used to watch some of the videos on social media around, let's say, girls being emotional and vulnerable and crying and sharing their real experiences, and I used to look at that and be like, wow, that is so raw, so real. I felt like I was getting a snippet into their lives.
Kasia:But, as somebody who has been putting content out there putting the product that I'm working on out there a lot goes into preparing content. You have to think about how you position the camera, you have to pause it, you're later editing it and it just there's something about almost being like pulled out of the experience. That happens when you're creating the experience, and so what we see online is not really very real and I just do want a bit more real. So that is definitely a theme in my life. So let's talk about some updates Since January, which is when I launched the Inflow Planners on presale. Inflow, by the way, is my business. It is a company that is dedicated to designing and creating tools for productivity and personal development that are rooted in feminine cycles, so a different concept of time aligning your schedule with your hormones, for example. That's our first product our planner. We've been working on finalizing the production planners. They are finally done and I literally just approved the proofs before I came on to record this. I'm so excited about that.
Kasia:This has been a much longer journey than I anticipated Twice as long, twice as expensive. And this morning, actually, I received an email from a customer who purchased the planner on Facebook and I don't think that she quite realized that they were on presale, but she seemed super frustrated with, obviously, the longer lead time when you purchase something on presale. Was she aware or not? And I've been feeling that anxiety, that angst of getting this product out there for so many months. I feel like the first six months of just designing, user testing and creating this product was a constant feeling of we are not moving fast enough. I need to get this into people's hands, I want to create it. Why is it taking so long? And even though, of course, I want to move at a faster pace.
Kasia:I have found just a level of acceptance that has come about. It was like me fighting against this timeline, but now I've just kind of accepted that things will sometimes take longer and, in order to adhere to the quality bar, that I have the production standards that I have, choosing to produce this locally, choosing to choose materials that are more sustainable, more premium for the price All those things add up in terms of time and cost and those decisions just take time, and so I definitely feel like I've surrendered to the journey, which has not been easy, and I just want to give a shout out to every single person who purchased a planner on presale. Your support means so much to me and I cannot wait to get it into your hands. And for those of you who are still curious about the planner, I will hyperlink the website in the show notes, and we are still having the pre-sale special, so that's kind of a business update, kind of.
Kasia:In that same vein, the past few months have been kind of massive up levels for me. So one I definitely touched on, which is coming to a bit of surrender around my need to control timelines, to control kind of every aspect of you know kind of aligning my expectations with the outcome and releasing actually a lot of expectations. That has been a massive test for me. I struggled with a lot of anxiety in the first couple of months, just feeling like I wasn't moving fast enough and everything is taking longer than I thought and it's more expensive, and what if this fails? And everything is taking longer than I thought and it's more expensive, and what if this fails? And just kind of surrendering to that. That has been absolutely a lesson that I not ironically actually leaning into and living and breathing some of the values that I am sharing in this planner.
Kasia:So the planner is designed around cyclical living and honoring the ebbs and flows of our energy and how our energy changes over time and how to honor that instead of expecting things to look a certain way every single day, having the same amount of energy every single day, because women don't operate that way and I feel like I've leaned into that or I'm experimenting with leaning into that even further, because I've noticed that every one of us, based on not just our hormones but our age or the stage of our lives, the difficulties that are happening in our lives might have a different amount of capacity at any given time, and so I've spent the last month or so really becoming familiar with what is it that my body needs, what does a truly restful day look like? And, rather than going at 110%, how can I go at 90% even, or maybe 100%, but not 150, right, like not overdoing it? How can I reserve some energy in the tank and how do I design my days around that? And part of that really came out of the vision that I structured for my life in January. I wanted to cultivate a life that had more space, had more time, had a feeling of abundance financial abundance, for example and although I can't control all those things and I am building a business and that does take time at the same time, I can control how I schedule my mornings. That's one of the benefits of being an entrepreneur is having some control around your days and knowing what is it that I need to feel good in my days.
Kasia:I've really been leaning into that in my days. I've really been leaning into that and rather than having that be something that I bring into my life once I've reached a certain goal, like a certain financial goal, I'm looking at how do I bring that in now. And so, yeah, like really practicing with this energy of yin and yang, like productivity, and then rest and honoring rest a lot more, which is not intuitive for me, but the planner has allowed me to obviously get in sync with my body and the ebbs and flows of my hormones in a really intuitive way. And then I think just that awareness has opened up a whole new capacity of really restructuring what my life looks like and how do I bring more of that authentic nourishment that I know that I need? And that can be a really big struggle for me as well, because at first I and still do, quite frankly would feel a little bit guilty for maybe starting my day a little bit later or not working into 9pm if I felt like I had a deadline. But to actually look at my energy and be like I'm going to conserve this and rest tonight and do it tomorrow. Now this might seem like a completely normal concept for other people, but for me it was definitely a struggle and I think really owning what success looks like for me, which is not just financial abundance but a thriving community, space, time, feeling well-rested and really honoring those things now. So that also kind of brings me to another core up level. That happened over the last few months. So for those of you who are following my journey, you might know that in addition to building this business, which I am bootstrapping, I also still consult a couple of days a week in tech, and I had taken on a pretty exciting new client to work with in a product capacity At the beginning of the year. The founder is incredible Somebody I worked with in the past. What they're doing with the tech is just truly revolutionary and they're really, really impressive people.
Kasia:But as Inflow my business also grew, I noticed that I was kind of in this rock and a hard place where I was starting to burn out a bit. I was working super hard for them and I didn't have enough time to work on Inflow, which would lead me to working really late or working on the weekends, and so I noticed that I was kind of hitting this wall where I needed to say no to something and I was struggling with, you know, kind of leaning into trusting myself in that moment. So this consulting gig is obviously bringing in income for me. Consulting gig is obviously bringing in income for me. This income helps support me and my family, but also helps support me creatively to be able to do some of the things I'm doing in my business, and I knew that I either needed to scale that back and lean into trusting that financially I would be okay doing that, and on the other hand, though that was like a really scary thing to do I knew that I needed to do it because I was suffering and Flo was suffering.
Kasia:I wasn't able to do some of the things that I wanted to do that week, and so I really came up against a choice where either I could prioritize the things that I truly am aligned with and believe in, take a leap of faith in my business this is also around the time that I truly am aligned with and believe in, take a leap of faith in my business. This is also around the time that I had to sign and pay for the actual planner production or I could continue doing what I always did, which is to choose the safer route, choose the more immediately financially abundant route in order to not feel those feelings of risk, of scarcity and the fears that came with that, and I'm happy to say that, as terrifying as it was, I chose the former, chose to invest in myself, I signed that PO, I took a step back from the consulting work. I kind of scaled that back. I was terrified to do it. If you're a follower of, to Be Magnetic, lacey Phillips' work, which is work that I've been engaged in for many years, I would call this most definitely a test situation, where I was running up against something that made me uncomfortable and I could either step through it and choose to see things a different way and step into the worth of trusting my gut instinct on this business and taking that leap of faith even if it could fail. And so I definitely feel like I up-leveled there, and for me, this has been a repatterning of some scarcity stories that I've had in my life.
Kasia:I grew up as the daughter of two immigrants who were entrepreneurs and finances were truly up and down. Oftentimes I felt like, financially, the rug was being pulled out from underneath us at any given time, and stability has been my number one priority. But in many ways, that stability has also been an illusion, because it never felt like I had enough and so choosing to be like okay, I'm going to be okay Even if all of this falls and fails apart, even if I turn down this client or scale back. If I need to find another client, I can do it, but I want to take this leap of faith, I want to believe in myself and I want to invest in myself. And so this has been a real challenge over the past few months for me, because I've been juggling, kind of trying to do it all and have it all, and you know, my body was, you know, kind of taking a hit and I definitely felt that there were weeks where I was incongruent with what it was that I was trying to lean into as a founder, as a designer of this product. And so I'm out here sharing that I'm definitely living my truth and I feel like I've opened Pandora's box by learning about the power of embodiment and leaning into my body as my guide instead of just my mind, and that it's a journey. So if you're out there being like I want wanna change and honor my body and not go through burnout and not go through some of the symptoms of hormonal imbalances that might be tied to the way that I'm living, just know that changing the way you do things is not a straight line and there are some waves along the way and it's gonna be up and down, and that is okay. And there are some waves along the way and it's gonna be up and down and that is okay. So, yeah, that has been a huge change over the past few months, kind of related to that.
Kasia:On a personal note, I've been creating space. My husband and I have definitely gone a lot clearer on the fact that we do want kids in our future. If my mother is listening to this, she'll probably be forwarding this to my father and being all excited. So please don't message this. In the signal thing, I'm trying to be semi, just I don't know, I'm not shouting it from the rooftops yet, but I do feel more clear about the fact that I am ready for that in my life and the path to get there has been definitely one a bit of a roller coaster. I'm not ready to share all of it, but in relation to that, creating space and tapping into the feminine side of myself, while also holding on to some of the masculine doer qualities that are innate that I love, has been a journey for me as well that I've been exploring. So I know that on this podcast, I interview a lot of incredible women who teach embodiment, and I, of course, have designed a product to help support cyclical living, and these practices have helped me go deeper into this side of myself, but I intuitively feel like I need more space, and so I think that relates to that theme that I was sharing about. How do we cultivate aspects of the life that we think we can have only when we reach X milestone? How can we do that today? And, yeah, for me, I think the next challenge is really going to be leaning back a little bit and surrendering a little bit and not trying to control everything and being even less rigid with timelines and focusing on the things that really matter most, that really move the needle. So, yeah, that has been another aspect of what's been really motivating this shift in my life path and, related to that, I've really felt myself called towards and going deeper into my Zen, my mindfulness practice, I think, this theme of surrendering and not being attached and, as some of you may remember, from 2023,.
Kasia:I spent a week at the Tassajara Zen Center last year, last summer, and it was absolutely life-changing. The Tassajara Zen Center is a functional monastery and we spent hours every day meditating and I really felt a profound shift in my state of being, in my connection with my innermost voice and, in a way, my connection to my soul. I felt so connected with the world and the universe after just a couple of days there and this is coming from someone who has spent weeks on yoga retreats in the past and loves all the personal development things but just this premise of silence and quietude and presence has really had a positive impact on my life and meditation is such a panacea, I feel, for cultivating that sense of wholeness. It is what helps me also tune into what's happening in my body, to allow my body to guide me in the decisions that I'm making. And it's definitely not a pill, it's a practice, but I'm craving more of it. So I hope to go back to Tassajara this year and, frankly, if you're listening to this, I'm recording it before the fact, but I am on a meditation retreat this week. I'll disclose the location when I get back. But yeah, I am really craving diving deeper into meditation, into Zen teachings, because I've just found that that theme of surrender has made a positive impact on my life and I want more of that. I will also share that.
Kasia:I love Zen and I love the teachings of Suzuki Roshi especially, and Jack Kornfield is another. Tara Brock is another teacher that I love, deborah Eden Tull, but I also feel super called to finding teachers that merge Buddhist philosophy with more feminine wisdom as well. So Sarah Von Stover is absolutely one of those teachers. She'll be on the podcast, as I mentioned, in a few weeks. I've recently connected with Laura Elliott via another podcast that I love. It's called the Feminine Profiles Podcast with Brooke Baldwin. She had Laura on, and I found myself really drawn to that. And then Deborah Eden Toll is another incredible teacher who really merges Buddhist philosophy with other more earth-based feminine teachings, and I think that combination is just really feeling like home to me right now.
Kasia:And so if you're listening to this and you have other recommendations, I would love them All right. So there, you have other recommendations? I would love them All right. So there you have it. That's an update on all things in flow feminine embodiment, fertility, planning, manifestation stuff sprinkled in there. I'm so curious if anyone out there is also practicing TBM or manifestation work, or if you're into Buddhist philosophy, or if you have teachers that you can recommend into meditation of any kind. Thank you so much for being a listener, and if you have teachers that you can recommend into meditation of any kind.
Kasia:Thank you so much for being a listener and if you've listened all the way here, for listening in, and if you enjoyed this style of episode, definitely let me know. I do log on to Instagram every so often, so I would love to hear from you and I would also really love a review. If you haven't left me a review on Spotify or Apple, please do. It helps others find the podcast and it really means the world to me, as always. I'm so grateful for this community and I'm so excited to connect more with you all. I'm going to try to do these every so often to share life updates, because I personally really love to get to know other people on the path. So if this is something you're enjoying, let me know and let's connect and see you next time.
Kasia:Dear listeners, have a great rest of your week. Thank you so much for tuning into the Other Way. If you enjoyed this episode, please leave a five-star review. It really helps the podcast grow and I'm ever so grateful. If you want to stay connected, you can find information on how in our show notes. And finally, if you're curious about inflow and want free resources around cyclical living or moon cycles, check out inflowplannercom. And, of course, for all my listeners, you can use the code podcast10, and that's all lowercase podcast10, for 10% off any purchase. All right, that's all for today. See you next time.