Women Branching Out Interviews
Women Branching Out: Ursa Swensen
Very happy to feature Ursa Swensen of One Radiant Life.
Ursa is a women’s wellness educator and equine-facilitated coach. Her passion is to empower women to live their very own One Radiant Life – to learn about themselves and their bodies, to nourish and heal, and bring their own unique gifts and talents to shine brightly in this world!
Tell us about your business, One Radiant Life. What do you do, who do you love to serve?
I help to empower women to live their own best lives – to be their true, radiant selves. Deep inside, we all have this longing, and the ability, to be whole, to be joy-filled, and to love ourselves and others deeply. But, sometimes life happens, and we are cut off from that part of ourselves, and we become numb and just go through the motions, day after day, rather than shining our true lights in the world. I have gone through this myself, and have learned tools of healing that I want to share with women.
I love to serve women who have gone through difficult life experiences, as well as mamas who have given themselves over to their children, and are ready to reclaim their own brilliance. I am excited to bring this work to tween and teen girls – to give them skills to help navigate the way, to discover who they truly are.
There are many facets of the work – teaching women to truly love themselves deeply so they have greater, deeper reservoirs from which to serve others. Learning how to profoundly listen, respect, and care for their bodies. Overcoming past challenges and limiting beliefs that are blocking their truest expressions of themselves.
I offer classes and workshops locally and virtually to help women to develop new ways of being that bring great peace and calm into their everyday lives, to deeply nourish themselves, find their true path and live their own, unique radiant life!
What’s the biggest myth women (moms in particular) believe about self-care?
That it costs money and that they don’t have time. And these are two limiting beliefs that are common for women and moms. But, there are many, many ways to truly care for ourselves without spending money, and that don’t take a lot of time, but the little bit of time that is needed is an investment that will grow exponentially. A few of these tools can be breathing exercises, drinking enough water, journaling, and spending time in nature.
What’s your favorite technique for calming yourself down when you’re in a stressful situation?
Simply breathing deeply and evenly, and being present in the moment. Breathing deeply into the lower lobes of our lungs actually sends signals to our brain that tell our limbic brain that everything is OK, and turns on the ‘calm switch’ (which therefore, turns off the ‘stress switch’ – only one can be on at a time). So breathing in for a slow count of six, and out for a slow count of six is a great way to calm yourself. Breathing also helps bring us into the present moment – because so much of our thought life is about what happened in the past, or what might happen in the future, but the present is where the calm is.
How has having your own business empowered you?
It has been a path of incredible personal growth – to really look inside myself to ask “Who am I?”, besides a wife, a mom, a daughter, a friend. What really lights me up and excites me? What do I love to do? How do I enjoy spending my free time? Could I really create a business that I love to work on and in? That not only supports me personally, but contributes to our family’s wellbeing and stability as well? That is a win-win-win paradigm? For my audience and clients, for myself, and for my family, as well as the ripples that this work creates in the lives of all those that it touches? As women experience this work, it will naturally create ripples inside their own families and communities.
You’re training to offer equine-facilitated coaching. What’s special about coaching alongside horses?
I’m so glad you asked! I’m learning that horses are incredible teachers, they can tell us so much about ourselves – whether we’re being honest, where we’re hurting, what our true beliefs are, how to be present in the moment and much more – if we know how to listen. They are truly the coach, and we just serve as interpreters, to give the horse a voice. This work has been truly healing for me, and allowed me to overcome many blocks and beliefs that I had about myself. I’m excited to share this experience with others – there are so many powerful ways we can use horses as teachers and healers.
What change do you want to bring in the world as a result of your work?
I want all women to know how powerful and brilliant they are, that they can make a huge difference in the world, whether they are staying at home with their children, or running their own business, or both! It starts with deeply, profoundly loving ourselves, so that we can shine our unique lights brightly in the world.
What did 7 year old Ursa say she wanted to be when she grew up?
Good question … I remember pretending to teach! And then in college I took the ‘safe road’ – business & computers, so that I would be able to earn enough money to support myself well (financially at least – not emotionally). I told myself that since I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do, I could always make a change later, but that this choice would be safe, and I would be able to be financially independent – to not have to rely on a man to provide for me. Since we had children, I’ve been on a natural health journey – learning so much about how our bodies were designed, and how many options we have, rather than following the ‘norm’.
Now, twenty three years after my college graduation and three children later, I am finally teaching – and, amazingly, a subject that I am passionate about – health, wellness and purpose. Interestingly, twenty-three years ago, I had no concept of this work, nor do I know if I would have even been interested at the time. I truly believe it is the fusion of our experiences, passions, skills, and abilities that leads us on the truest path.
Finish this sentence. I believe …
That each woman has her own diamond of brilliance within her – that she has her own unique path to discover and live her own radiant life. That women are truly at the heart of families – and when she is living in her strengths and has great passion in her life, that will spread and deeply impact all those around her – her spouse, her children, friends, co-workers. And this will inspire those around her to – to discover and pursue their own radiant lives!
Ursa Swensen has been transitioning to more natural/holistic living over the last ten years, as a wife, mama to three girls (ranging from teenager to preschooler), and now a growing hobby farm in Wisconsin that includes chickens and horses. Think: homeschooling, herbs, natural remedies, homesteading, and all varieties of do-it-yourself projects!
She offers Centered Circle, an ongoing monthly class, to help women deeply integrate the many, many ways of calming ourselves into our lives.
Women Branching Out: Lisa Claudia Briggs
Very happy to have Lisa Claudia Briggs of Intuitive Body here with us today.
Lisa helps empathic intuitive women lose weight of all kinds and learn to live beautifully in their bodies. Her approach is medical-meets-mystical and brings in both her background and training in Psychology/Clinical Social Work and her training with shamans and Chinese medicine masters.
You can learn more about Lisa and how she works by signing up for a complimentary copy of her e-book “The IntuitiveBody Beautiful 21-Day Turnaround” here. The e-book includes 21 days of simple sacred rituals for living beautifully in your body.
Here’s Lisa …
Tell us about you and your business. Who do you love to serve and why?
What I really love is working with women who are ready to leave a very specific “season” of their life, or a specific identity … sometimes they know what it is and sometimes they don’t. But they feel the rumblings and even if they are uncomfortable or in pain, they also have a sense of excitement once they catch the scent of where they might be able to go. I love to launch them into the next phase.
I was trained very clinically as a licensed psychotherapist 25 years ago. But in the last 10 years I’ve worked to develop my intuitive, clairvoyant and energy healing skills. So Intuitive Body is a hybrid of all of those pieces. The mystical-meets-the practical. Women typically find me when they feel disconnected from their bodies … around weight or eating, or wanting a more loving relationship with their body.
But the body issues are just the gateway … it’s what gets their attention and moves them towards a bigger identity shift. It’s the best work I could imagine, still after 25 years.
You provide a lot of advice on your blog to help empathetic and highly sensitive folks stay grounded. How does being sensitive or intuitive play into emotional eating?
I believe that when you are a sensitive/empath or an intuitive, it means that you feel everything deeply. You feel your own emotional ebbs and flows plus you feel what everyone around you is feeling. That’s a gift and a curse.
Being that “open” can mean you feel bombarded by emotional energy, a lot of the time. And you may not even be aware of it. You may not realize that when you’re in a bad mood that you may have “caught it” from somebody else.
For women like us (I fit in this group), eating more or weighing more can both help to make one feel more “solid” and not so vulnerable to outside energies, but can also be a way of soothing when somebody is in empathy overwhelm. When you’re feeling all of this stuff, it’s too intense. It’s too much, and eating can be a way of managing it.
Learning how to stay grounded, “in your body” helps to prevent taking on the emotional energy of other people without using food or weight. Learning to be aware of how one is sensitive and how to create better energetic and emotional boundaries is really helpful … for everyone- being on the internet, social media … we all pick up and absorb so much energy and it’s very draining.
You say that finding a way clear of an eating disorder is like a personal “soul-call” or fire-walk. What do you mean?
When somebody is ready to let go of long-held ways of being in relationships, of coping with difficult emotions, of how and what they say “yes” or “no” to, all of these things are enormously challenging. Eating-related issues are very much about learning how to navigate relationships differently, to create new boundaries. To take care of yourself differently … maybe to stop giving so much, to people please less.
Somebody who is giving up old ways of eating and being in their body needs new ways of dealing with all of the feelings that are going to come up. And … create new rituals of loving self-care, including what to eat.
I think of it as a firewalk or soul call because any and all of these things will ask you to face old fears … and really show up … to learn to be seen and heard, in ways that have been avoided until now.
Doing this work requires great courage and a trusting, loving relationship to guide you through. Guiding somebody through this kind of walk is a beautiful experience and deeply moving for me personally and professionally.
You have degrees in Psychology and Clinical Social Work and have trained with shamans and the Chinese medicine masters. How have those experiences influenced how you approach the work you do with women today?
I am very lucky. Hugely blessed to have had the training I’ve had and the mentors who have loved and taught me so much. What I know is that this work is not science, it’s art. It’s a little of this and a little of that. It’s a bit of a concoction and the art of it is finding what each person most needs at each moment in time. I’ve trained with people from the most humble (and gifted) to the most flamboyant … and it’s all added to the pot. I love to learn, love to watch those who really know something. Few things light me up as much as being around that kind of bright light.
When someone comes to work with you for the first time what can they expect?
I believe they can expect that even when they are feeling not particularly bright and shiny, that I will quickly see their beauty and their gifts. What I really love in an initial session, is being able to give somebody something … a perspective, a view of themselves that nobody has shown them before. It’s not about slapping a happy-face on it, but I can always see a piece of where they are going, what their strength and particular beauty is. They can expect to feel hope and some creative possibilities starting to bubble.
What changes have you seen in the lives of your clients when they start to change their relationship with their bodies?
This question brings up a lot of emotion for me. I’ve seen so much, things I didn’t really expect to see. Women who conceived after several miscarriages. Big changes in careers. More love … partnerships, marriages, babies, healing with families of origin.
The ability to ask for what they want, what they need, what they expect … in balanced ways. In ways that all of their relationships evolved and became more respectful … people saw them differently. I’ve seen illnesses heal … what looked like autoimmune diseases clear up when food changes were made. I’ve seen women go from feeling like horrible guilty mothers, to strong loving parents whose kids reconnected with them in beautiful ways. And I’ve seen women leave painful relationships when it was time, when they knew they wanted something better. I’ve seen women say goodbye to friendships that could not support them in healthy ways.
I’ve seen women stop hating their bodies, stop hurting and punishing their bodies, lose the weight they wanted to, gain the weight they wanted, and to lose what felt like the most shameful secrets in the world. I’ve seen freedom.
What are most empowering aspects of having your own business?
I was raised by generations of entrepreneurs, including my mom. My youngest son is graduating high school, my oldest son is entering his last year of college and I am grateful that I could be home for them every day. And that I have had so much freedom, not just with time, but to change my work as I learned new things and wanted to bring in new pieces. To be able to now work globally … most of my clients are via Skype and to be able to have that kind of reach … is so powerful. And to know that I have shown my sons that if they choose they can do it their own way someday too.
Finish this sentence. I believe …
that women have so much beauty, so much love and wisdom, so much heart and that finding ways to have full access to our Divine Identity … is worth everything.
Lisa Claudia Briggs, MSW is the founder of IntuitiveBody.com and a devoted Mentor, Intuitive, and Psycho-spiritual therapist for talented beautiful women who feel things deeply. Using her unique medical-meets-mystical approach, Lisa loves helping women lose ALL kinds of weight. Known for a high success rate, Lisa’s Intuitive Body approach allows her clients to find simple, sacred solutions to live more beautifully in their bodies and relationships while learning to trust their intuitive wisdom. Lisa wrote “Recovering Beauty”, a home-study retreat, to share everything she knew about weight loss and body acceptance for empathic intuitive women. Her Intuitive Body blog was named “Top 50 Emotional Eating Blogs” in 2012. She has been in practice for 25 years and lives in Massachusetts with her husband, teenage sons, and varying numbers of small terriers. You can find her on Facebook and Twitter.
Sign up for a complimentary copy of her ebook “The IntuitiveBody Beautiful 21-Day Turnaround” here.
How do you stay grounded when everyone else’s energy is swirling around you? Comment below!
Women Branching Out: Jenn Burton
Very happy to have dating and romance coach Jenn Burton of Have Him Your Way on the blog today.
Jenn helps single women rethink dating and romance through one-on-one coaching, her virtual training program: The Courage Kit, and E-rresistibility: a guide to dating online.
Here’s Jenn …
Tell us about your business. What do you do, who do you love to serve?
I help women create extraordinary dating adventures that lead to lifelong romance. These days I am working with strong career oriented kick ass SINGLE ONLY women who are ready to give up what’s not working for them and find the paradigm shift that will rock her world, and his.
Why did you decide to focus on dating?
Essentially dating is your soul’s prep time for attracting a mate and learning to create lifelong romance. It’s not a necessary evil as so many women like to think of it. It is however an amazing opportunity. An opportunity to work out her kinks, define what she wants, and learn the secrets of igniting romance anytime she likes. Too many women believe that just meeting their man is the answer. Truthfully, it’s just the beginning.
What’s the biggest myth women believe about dating and romance?
There are a few:
- Dating: that it is a necessary evil instead of an amazing opportunity.
- Romance: That romance is static and that it should be great all the time with little creative input from her.
- Men: That most of them don’t want a loving committed relationship.
- Or my favorite myth: that you have to rock his world in the bedroom to be memorable to him.
When women work with you to help them create epic dating adventures what can they expect? What makes your approach to dating and romance different?
I teach women to become comfortable with managing male attention, which in turns gives her the ability to let loose and not hyper focus on making it down the aisle with one man in particular.
I also show her how to explore what she really wants in a relationship before jumping into it. Specifically, my gals know how truly precious her exclusivity is and that settling is not an option. Women who work with me learn my method of Mantourage Dating which is dating more than one man at once.
This method of dating is a beautiful immersion into understanding her romantic potential and possibility. It also helps work out those kinks of that hard to break pattern of dating one man for several months… then doesn’t work out… feeling like a failure for several months or worse obsessing over him. And then starting the cycle all over again.
Mantourage Dating helps women permanently break this cycle and fully understand their role in creating everything they want romantically. The surprising side effect is that most women get what they want way before they expect it.
What changes have you seen in the lives of your clients after working with you?
I am a total romance junkie… not the romance novel kind. The I can’t wait to get up and read the true life romance going on with my ladies. So I am privy to the hot, the loving, and the truly magical.
For instance:
- Going from no dates in 10 years to married in a year & half.
- Jetting Setting Romantic Adventures (to India, France, England, Costa Rica, etc)
- Having multiple high quality men to choose from
- Being asked out on 6 dates in one day
- Having a millionaire playboy fall in love with her
- From never married at 45 to finding the love of life in 8 weeks
- And countless women ending a crappy relationship, feeling like they will never have what they want to incredible romantic adventures and relationships many including marriage.
But the biggest and my favorite is when a women I work with finally understands that she can create and inspire a man to adore her anytime she wants and over a lifetime.
How has the experience of coaching others to discover lifelong romance impacted your life?
Coaching actually enhances my romantic life because I get help so many women in their romantic creative process. So that over flows into mine;)
How has having your own business empowered you?
The coaching part has helped me improve my creativity.
The business part is a mixed bag. It definitely has helped me with my business courage. But having an online business is no easy feat. So my resilience and my endurance have improved tremendously. And I have much thicker skin than I did before. But truthfully, I don’t always feel empowered by it especially when I am feeling exhausted. We business owners are some tough chicas!
What change do you want to bring out in the world as a result of your work?
I want to mend the romantic separation going on between men and women. Strong women don’t have to give up who they are to have an incredible romantic life.
What did 9 year old Jenn want to be when she grew up?
LOL…. I am almost afraid to say… Mind you, I watched way too much TV on my own. Okay… I wanted to be a pregnant stripper… Oh my goodness I can’t believe I am saying that aloud.
My other dream was to create an acting school for the hearing impaired. (Not sure where that came from)
Finish this sentence. I believe …
I believe that every woman has within her the ability to be loved, adored, cherished, and supported by a man or men she is insanely attracted to.
Jenn Burton is the Dating & Romance Mastermind/Romantic Fairy Godmother of HaveHimYourWay.com. After years of dysfunctional relationships, crappy dating experiences, & a failed marriage she decided to take matters in her own hands. Jenn developed a method to help women create the most incredible dating adventures while learning how to go from feeling ignored to absolutely adored by men they find insanely attractive. Now she exclusively works with single women who want it all career, success, to be loved, adored & romanced…and who are willing change up the status quo in dating. Click here to learn how to go from ‘Ignored to Absolutely Adored’ in 26 minutes.