Thriving as a Wounded Healer with Blanca Rodriguez

Jennifer Norman:
Hello beautiful humans. Welcome to The Human Beauty Movement Podcast, your source for hope, healing, happiness and humanity. My name is Jennifer Norman. I'm the founder of The Human Beauty Movement and your host. This podcast is here to guide you on your journey of self love, empowerment, soul alignment and joy. With each episode, I invite you beautiful humans from all corners of the globe to join me for open conversations about their life lessons and the important work that they are doing to help heal humankind. Take a moment now to subscribe to this podcast so you don't miss an episode. I'm so glad you're here, joining me for today's show.

Jennifer Norman:
So, okay listeners, let's get ready to embark on a profound exploration of resilience, hope and the boundless potential of the human spirit. I'm so delighted to welcome Blanca Rodriguez to the Human Beauty Movement Podcast as my guest. Blanca is the owner and CEO of Wounded Healer. Her mission is to spread awareness for the powerful benefits of physical activity, mindfulness and personal growth. Blanca happens to be an accomplished fitness instructor and retired professional dancer who has dedicated her career to helping individuals get physical. She focuses on prevention, mobility, recovery and wellness, and she's helped tens of thousands of individuals improve their quality of life. Through our conversation today, we'll uncover the essence of wounded healers and we'll discover how our own adversities can become the catalyst for profound transformation and service to others. Blanca's insights will illuminate the path to embracing life's rollercoaster ride with grace and courage, inspiring us to find beauty and purpose in every twist and turn.

Jennifer Norman:
So with that, please join me in welcoming Blanca to the show. Welcome Blanca.

Blanca Rodriguez:
Thank you, Jennifer, for having me. What an honor and a joy it is for me to be here.

Jennifer Norman:
It is a delight. So you have such a fascinating background. I would love if you can share your own personal journey that led you to become a holistic life coach and medical massage therapist.

Blanca Rodriguez:
Yes, definitely. I've been in the service industry for a very, very long time and in different aspects and seasons of my life. I have always been attracted tremendously to help others. It always brought me so much joy to help others. It always made me happy to do that. And then in my thirties, I became a licensed massage therapist for the state of Florida and I've been practicing for 19 years already. My specialty and my calling has been medical massage therapy, which is the practice of helping people heal from the perspective of post surgical people that had auto accidents, senior living, because there's a lot of seniors here in Florida. So that has been definitely my calling.

Blanca Rodriguez:
As a massage therapist, I have worked on every single area of the massage therapy business. I've been in a spa industry. I have work in hotels. But definitely the medical aspect of massage therapy has been the one thing that has been my calling, my blessing, my mission as well. And that goes hand in hand with good holistic life living and based on helping so many thousands of people with their healing journeys. That's why to me, it was kind of a no brainer to become a holistic life coach, to go further and deeper into what the needs are, the individuals are, to live a better quality of life, no matter what age we are. And it's very important for the listeners to understand that no matter what age we are, we're always capable of change for the better. We always capable of improvement, no matter in what situation we may be.

Blanca Rodriguez:
And I am the best example and proof of it, because that I have been doing for a very long time. And I believe that unless we practice these things on ourselves, we cannot really profess and confirm to people how helpful it is to do these practices unless we practice it in ourselves. So, yes, definitely, let's be living proof. And I'm sure as yourself, we really, really do practice what we preach. And that is why it's so important to be here with you, to spread the joy, spread the love, spread the hope that things really can get better and no matter which situation we are at.

Jennifer Norman:
What a beautiful story. I love that you recognize that it was giving you joy to give, to help, to serve, because I think that a lot of people like the idea of doing that at first, and then they start feeling a bit depletive, like they're giving too much. But you were able to maintain that joy and knowing that it was your passion and that it was right for you and continue doing that into healing work as well as into coaching work. That's really, really special. What does it mean to you to be a wounded healer? And how have your own experiences then shaped your ability to help heal others from a place of being wounded?

Blanca Rodriguez:
Yes, absolutely. Wounded healers, we are individuals who, with painful experience, enables us to help others. From the time I was eight years old, I lost my father. Tragically and unexpectedly, my father was my person. I was daddy's girl. And that childhood trauma led me to many dark seasons in my life. I grew up in Puerto Rico and back in the day, in the Latino culture, this was the mentality. You don't talk about the dead.

Blanca Rodriguez:
And that was the beginning of a very dark season in my life that lasted for a very long time, it was 47 years of silence, 47 years of not healing the wound. And right after my father's death, when I was nine years old, I was sexually assaulted for the first time. And it didn't stop there, unfortunately. And I felt guilt, shame. That led me to a lot of confusion because we were living in a hush hush. You don't talk about the dead. You don't talk about mental illnesses. And that's another one.

Blanca Rodriguez:
I live around a lot of family members, starting with my own mother, with chronic, untreated mental illnesses. And nowadays, mental illnesses are addressed in such a beautiful, more open way. But back in the day, that was non existent. The help was none, basically non existent. When somebody will accept that they had mental illnesses, it was because they will end up in a mental institution. And the approach to mental illness was just horrific. It was horrific. It was dark, it was isolating.

Blanca Rodriguez:
And with those experiences alone, I started dragging my childhood trauma into my teenage years. And the reflection of my childhood trauma plus sexual assault, led me to perform terribly in school. I was the rebellious one. I was the problem child, which led me to a lot of troubles in my younger years, until the blessing in disguise came in my life, that I got pregnant for my son. And that happened when I was 31 years old. So the level of wounds just kept on growing and growing and growing. And I felt at many times in my life, where my life had no direction, I was always with the wrong crowd. I was making decisions that they were not exactly the best ones.

Blanca Rodriguez:
But the one thing that really, really helped me is that I had the drive to at least go to school, become a professional, and have an independent life to the best of my ability, of course. But until I took the tools that were handed to me to turn my life around and make it better for myself, that is when better things started to happen for me. I say this all the time. I didn't give life to my kids. They brought a new sense of life to me. Ever since I became a mother, I said, okay, this is something that is bigger than myself. This mission of life is bigger than myself. I am not interested in them having a life of silent or quiet desperation as I have.

Blanca Rodriguez:
And that is when suddenly and randomly, I picked up a book from a random place called the Secret. And I was like, oh, my God, I have secrets that nobody knows. And that was the catalyst, that was the beginning of so much better things to come to my life. And if I had the capability of working hard and getting out of that rabbit hole and going towards the other side, I believe that anybody can do it as well and not do it for others, but doing it for myself, because self love and self discovery really comes from within. We cannot look for love and self discovery outside of ourselves because it just doesn't work that way. It never worked for me, but now it's a whole different story because once we put the work into it, definitely the results show. Definitely the results will come to you and happiness will ensued. And let me tell you something.

Blanca Rodriguez:
Self care is the best care there is. And when we take care of ourselves, ourselves, everything else will just fall into place and will follow. That is a fact.

Jennifer Norman:
Oh, my goodness. What a beautiful story. And I think that the movie, the book, the secret, has probably transformed a lot of people's lives. It really opens the door. People now are very much expert in the law of attraction and positivity, positive thinking and manifestation. I mean, a lot of these things we hadn't heard of before, and it's true, I think that a lot of times we are only as sick as our secrets. We are only as ill as the shame that we shroud ourselves with. When something happens and we don't address it overtly.

Jennifer Norman:
We brush it under the rug, and then it just sits there waiting to come and grab us and just, like, show up at the most inopportune times. And it's usually under times of stress.

Blanca Rodriguez:
Absolutely.

Jennifer Norman:
Yeah. And until you're able to kind of shine a light on it and say, you know what? It was part of my situation and I've learned from it, or I can now move on. The grief isn't as bad as it was back then.

Blanca Rodriguez:
Absolutely. Absolutely. I was doing some research not long ago, and two thirds of all children in the world will have some kind of trauma by the age of 16, whether it is the southern tragic loss of someone being bullied by family members or at school or assault, I went through all of them at a very young age, and I am telling all these people that are out there, you're not alone. Seek help. Speak up. Live a life of quiet desperation like I did, because you will always find the help that you so very much need. You just need to reach out and let go of that shame. Because it was.

Blanca Rodriguez:
The biggest reason why I didn't speak up sooner is because I was in shame. I was in guilt. I thought that I had something to do with it. I thought that I was responsible for these things to happen to me. And. No, absolutely not. Absolutely not. And that is why I'm here with you right here, right now.

Blanca Rodriguez:
Talking about this very important conversation that can help so many people out there.

Jennifer Norman:
It is so important now when you are helping people, if are coming to you for service, you are involved both in the physical aspect of wellness as well as emotional. So I'd love to hear how you integrate your holistic approaches into your coaching and therapy sessions.

Blanca Rodriguez:
Yes, absolutely. Since I've been massage therapist all of these years, I have passionately make recommendations to my patients and clients to do some kind of physical activity. Why is that? Because physical activity, to me, physical activity is like the air we breathe. If we want better quality of life, if we want to have longevity in a very healthy way, we have to do some kind of physical activity with something as simple as walking. I was reading about Socrates not long ago, and Socrates used to while he was giving class to his students, he was walking while he was teaching. Why is walking so important? Walking is a distresser. When you walk, you get better oxygenation in your bodies. When you walk, it helps with depression, it helps with stress, it helps with anxiety, and it helps with creative ideas.

Blanca Rodriguez:
That is why such a simple exercise as walking can really make a difference on everybody's life matter, what age we are. So I start when I may advise my patients and clients about physical activity. I don't want them to feel overwhelmed by trying to push into. You need to go to the gym and you need to do this class and this and this and that. No, hey, something as simple as walking. Do you go and for a walks? Yes, I have a dog. Okay. How many times a day you take your dog for a walk? Or maybe once or twice.

Blanca Rodriguez:
How long? Five minutes. Five minutes is not enough. Five minutes is not enough for you? Five minutes is, is not enough for a dog. The minimum time for good physical activity is 15 minutes minimum of time on a daily basis. Twice a day at least for a dog walk. Anybody, anybody can add 30 minutes of physical activity to their lifestyle on a daily basis. And it's only about us putting it in our schedule, making this happen, because when we really want something, we will make it happen no matter what. So that I start with that at the simplest advice is the best advice that someone can take, especially when I'm doing my life coaching.

Blanca Rodriguez:
Because many clients, they come to me confused. They want to reorganize their lifestyle. So it's a little by little and a one thing at a time basis. But the ones that come to me saying, I want to lose certain amount of pounds, what can I do? The best approach is the simplest approach, because if we do elaborate way too much. They will get overwhelmed and they will do absolutely nothing. This I have seen with many different groups of people in my career. I have worked from youngsters all the way to senior living. Senior living is what I'm doing at the present day.

Blanca Rodriguez:
I'm doing senior, senior physical activity living. And they do get overwhelmed by me giving me. If I give them way too much information, they will just do nothing. So many, many times in life, the simplest forms of communications are definitely the most effective ones. This is what I highly advise to anybody that wants to start any kind of physical activity. If you have the capability, if you okay with walking, because there's people with disabilities, that is a whole different story, and there's a whole different approach for them. But for people that have sort of speak, normal lifestyles, walking is the best way to go. Or swimming.

Blanca Rodriguez:
That is for sure.

Jennifer Norman:
Great advice. Great advice. And I have come to see how unhealthy some people's lives have become. The sedentary lifestyle, the not getting any physical exercise, what they're eating is a lot of processed foods, just like the entertainment that they're consuming is not really feeding positive energy. And so it's like, no wonder these ailments start coming about when we're not treating ourselves energetically and physically and mentally with good nutrients. Frankly, it's like air, sunshine, light, plants, all of these things that are free, readily available to us, but we don't incorporate them as well into our lives. Why do you think that is? Why do you think we gotten into this place of unhealthiness?

Blanca Rodriguez:
I think, I mean, we live in the US and the part of the american style. I'm from Puerto Rico originally, and part of the american lifestyle is like, the more sedentary life is, the better off you are. The faster that you eat something, whatever it is, during the course of the day, you will waste less time on doing things that can be so beneficial for our bodies rather than paying attention to our bodies first, and then the rest will follow. And this is what happens with a lot of different communities. And this goes to all age ranges, that is for sure. We are in a society that we are better off looking at a screen, looking at a phone, sitting down, not having any type of communication with anybody, rather than using our social skills, getting our bodies active and eating healthier. A lot of people, a lot of my clients, many of them comes with the situation that they are overweight and they really want to lose weight. And when the moment that I say, well, you know that a proper diet is 80% what you eat and 20% physical activity.

Blanca Rodriguez:
Right. Their jaws drop to the floor. Oh, but I thought I was doing the right thing by not eating all day and just having one meal a day and that. Well, when do you have this one meal a day? Oh, at nighttime when I'm watching tv after a hard day. So I just sit down, eat my meal, and I just want to fall asleep. Well, this is what happens when the body is depleted of proper, proper food. The body will keep in everything that will receive with that one meal a day. And if the one meal a day is full of sodium, full of fat, full of things that are just not conducive for a healthier lifestyle, you will never lose weight, it will never happen.

Blanca Rodriguez:
You can starve yourself the whole day, and then you eat a massive plate of food and just go to sleep. Guess what's going to happen? Your. I mean, everything. Your body's going to slow down. Your digestive system is suffering tremendously because you're overloading a system that is running on empty, basically. So definitely 80% what we eat and 20% exercise, it will make a whole difference in our lives, regardless of have being in a diet or not. Regardless of wanting to lose weight or not. Definitely is a still is 80% what we eat and 20% the physical activity, what we do.

Blanca Rodriguez:
Let's remember, when you hear around that we are what we eat is absolutely right. So let's keep that in mind, please.

Jennifer Norman:
Exactly. Sometimes I'm just, what if I was what I ate? It would be ice cream, a beer. It would be. But luckily, I've gotten on to a better thing. I've actually. I used to be a bit obsessive when I was younger. I was like one of those people that had some eating disorders when I was young and came into a place where I became much more aware of how food would make me feel. I threw away the scale because I thought to myself, I'm nothing, and just obsessing over the numbers rather than.

Jennifer Norman:
And I was beating myself up by looking at the scale. And I think just for my own mental and emotional well being, that unto itself was a very big win. I recognized that I was not doubt about gaining a number on the scale. And I also started to understand what foods weren't really working well for my physical being. Which ones made me jittery, which ones made me feel anxious, which ones made me feel hangry an hour later. And for me, I resolved to, like, a more paleo keto kind of thing. And also intermittent fasting where I'm not eating anything until maybe, like, afternoon, and it seems to work for me. I do understand and see that I could probably do something more to increase energy just overall.

Jennifer Norman:
But, yeah, it's not like a one size fits all thing, but the things that are just universal are getting up and moving and eating more colorful stuff on your plate. Absolutely bland food or too much processed food.

Blanca Rodriguez:
Exactly, exactly. Well, the more colors we have on our plate, we know that the better it is the fuel that we will get in our bodies. And I agree totally with you. I do interval fasting. That is my method of eating. I always feel good, I feel energetic. So clearly is working fantastically for me. My husband, he's in the keto diet, and it works tremendously for him.

Blanca Rodriguez:
I tried a little bit of his keto and my body just said, no, this is not for you. But interval fasting definitely has helped me tremendously. I've been practicing it. Oh, my God. It's going to be like a year that I've been doing fasting, and my body feels really, really good. And I'm in my late fifties, so I'm in the middle of my menopausal stages and that this is what happens with perimenopausal and menopausal woman specifically. Our bodies are changing tremendously in those years.

Blanca Rodriguez:
It's unavoidable. If you are a woman with a vagina, you are going to go through menopausal stages is unavoidable. Everybody will go through it. But the more informed we are about this process, that can be kind of sometimes a very big blessing in this, guys, the better it is to understand that we are going through hormonal changes, that our bodies are changing. And as our bodies are changing, so does the way we eat, the way we sleep, the way we live, every single aspect of menopause, it doesn't have to be this oh, my God. Taboo, like it was portrayed to be.

Jennifer Norman:
Yeah.

Blanca Rodriguez:
I remember when my mother had her menopausal stages, she was drinking a pill called Premarin. And this Premarin pill, I saw a documentary not long ago that it shocked me. Premarin, one of the ingredients of Premarin to deal with menopausal stages, had horse pee. I am not kidding you. My jaw dropped. My mother drank Premarin for her menopausal symptoms, not knowing of the horrific ingredients that this medication have. I haven't drank any kind of pill or medication for my menopausal stages. I have done it all based on exercising, mindfulness, yoga, meditation, massage.

Blanca Rodriguez:
And it has been really, really good for me. I hardly had any night sweats. I hardly have any cold sweats because night sweats happens. Cold sweats happens. When I started this process, I was having some ups and downs with my emotions. But once I created that mindfulness, once I was very highly aware of where things were going. The more we pick up the tools and use them for our own benefit, the better we will feel. And massage therapy is one of those beautiful elements, can help us not only through menopausal stages, but any stage there is.

Blanca Rodriguez:
That's why this very ancient practice is still here 3000 years later. So it's a beautiful thing.

Jennifer Norman:
I'm so intrigued. I've never heard of massage therapy for menopause or alleviation of menopause symptoms.

Blanca Rodriguez:
Yes, yes, absolutely. What happens when massage therapy is done? The body goes through a hit of dopamine and endorphins. Dopamine is the chemical of the feel good chemical. So the dopamine levels, as we get massage, the dopamine levels will kick off and we feel better. The endorphin level will be happy and we will feel calm. The serotonin levels is a mood regulator. So if we are moody, if we're tired and we're stressed by receiving a massage, these three happy chemicals in our bodies will get even happier by the practice of massage. Besides relieving tension, muscular tension, because massage is with the purpose of manipulation, is the manipulation of soft tissue or muscle with the purpose of healing or relaxation.

Blanca Rodriguez:
That is why massage therapy is so important, not only for sports, people, for stress, but for women in menopausal stages. I am living proof that it works. I get massages twice a month because my job is very, very physical. I massage a lot of people in a weekly basis, so not all for the benefit of my body resting and my muscles being better so I can keep the machinery going, but for menopausal stages as well, is highly, highly recommended because emotionally we will feel much better.

Jennifer Norman:
Interesting. I have heard somebody say about massage therapy, it's great because you feel good in the moment, but does it have lasting effects? Not so sure. And so I was just curious about what your thought as a practitioner is on the benefits lasting longer or whether or not you need to continue getting the hit of dopamine in order to actually feel better.

Blanca Rodriguez:
It depends what we are doing on a daily life. It depends highly on what we're doing that the benefits will last longer or less. I get massages every two weeks because physically, my body needs it I can keep on rolling with my level of work. For people that have physical jobs, I highly recommend every two weeks or every three weeks for people that have a sedentary lifestyle. I recommend everybody at least once a month should be the minimum to get a massage so we can feel better. And it's up to us how long the good effects of massage therapy lasts, depending on what we're doing, if we are practicing mindfulness, if we are meditating, if we do go into prayer, when we practice gratitude, how important is to practice gratitude to be in a calmer state? And when we are in a calmer state, the body definitely follows and our muscles will stay more relaxed for a longer period of time.

Jennifer Norman:
Definitely there is a difference between a good massage and a not so good massage, isn't there?

Blanca Rodriguez:
Very true. I cannot agree with you more on that one. Over the years, I have received many massages from a lot of people. And let me tell you something. When you find a good massage therapist, stick with that massage therapist, because finding another one can be, oh, my God, a project. It can be. Yes, ma'am. Absolutely.

Blanca Rodriguez:
I agree. I totally agree with you.

Jennifer Norman:
There are some that just feel like their hands were made from God and then others where you're like, oh, my gosh, please get your hands off me right now because you're torturing me. Or, oh, my God, I'm asking for a deep tissue massage, and it's like a cat stroking your back.

Blanca Rodriguez:
Yeah. Oh, my God. Exactly. Exactly. So I asked for something. It's like, please help me with this and that. And when I'm done with the massage, oh, my God, I feel like nothing was done that I asked. I feel like this person didn't hear a thing that I asked for.

Blanca Rodriguez:
And I always tell my massage therapist, hey, I'm a massage therapist, too, so you can imagine what my needs are. My arms need you, my back needs you, my feet, my neck, my shoulders. So please work on that all you want. And yes, just like you said, jennifer is a hit or a miss. So I'm telling you, when you find a good massage therapist, stick to that person, because it's not the easiest thing in the world to find another one. It's really, really good for you.

Jennifer Norman:
Yeah, well, my ears are perking up that you say get a massage every month. I'm like, oh, my gosh, what a treat. Because it's like, to some people, and including myself, it's like you go, like, once a year. That's like a big deal. It's like, I'm going for a massage at the spa. And it's like a very big deal. It's a very big deal. But, okay, this is our opportunity to tell funny massage stories.

Jennifer Norman:
And I will go first because I am thinking of a funny massage story. And this was the very first time that I ever got a massage, and I had no idea what to do. And so you'd think, okay, you go and you're disrobing, and you're supposed to lay on the table. But I was so nervous. I was probably in my early twenties, and it was a treat. It was like a company sales meeting where they gifted, everybody could go to the hotel, the spa and get a service. And so I was like, oh, my gosh.

Jennifer Norman:
This is my first opportunity to get a massage. Yay. Yay, me. And so I go in, and the woman leaves, and she's like, okay, I'll be right back. And I had no idea what to do. And I'm sitting there and I'm looking around, and I see that there's, like, a cardigan, like a sweater that's, like, left on a chair, like, in the room. And so I put it on, and I'm, like, laying there on the bed, and she comes in and she's like, are you gonna wear my sweater for this massage? And I was like, oh, I'm so sorry. I had no idea that that wasn't what I was supposed to wear.

Blanca Rodriguez:
Oh, my God!

Jennifer Norman:
Anyway. All right, your turn.

Blanca Rodriguez:
Well, I had. There's always a funny massage story. Definitely, definitely. I agree with you on that. One time, I was going to provide a massage to a client, right? So this person comes in, and he was a gentleman, a very nice guy, sweet man, older gentleman. And he tells me, well, this is my first massage. My wife gave me this massage for my birthday, and I don't know what to do. I have never done this.

Blanca Rodriguez:
And she forced me to do this crap. Oh, he ranted. He was like, he. She forced me to do this crap, and I don't want to do anything. Yeah, yeah. And he was honest, and I really appreciated that. I said, well, sir, we will do whatever it is more comfortable for you. Would you like a massage where you're fully dressed? Because I have done massages with people fully dressed and.

Blanca Rodriguez:
Or I put them on the table, you know, half dress or keep your shorts on. I have worked with a lot of people that they keep their shorts on, and I don't have a problem with that. I go around their knees, that's for sure. And he tells me, but I don't like to be seen. My wife doesn't even look at me. I don't like to be seen. And like, well, don't worry about it. This is what you can do.

Blanca Rodriguez:
Your back. Oh, I have surgery. And I asked him, can I look at your scar? He had a big scar on his back. And I said, well, in order for me to help you, I need you to remove your shirt, and I want you on the table. I'm going to step outside. If you would like. You can remove your shirt. Keep your shorts on, and I'll be right back.

Blanca Rodriguez:
And you go underneath the sheet. Well, when I came back, he took his shirt off, he put it on his glutes area. The pants were underneath, and his shoes were on still, like, well, this is getting interesting. And I worked with him around it, and little by little, I told him, would you like a massage on your feet? And he said, well, my feet are hurting. Okay, so let's take off your shoes. I took off his shoes. I was very gentle and kind to him. Well, long story short, he became my regular client.

Jennifer Norman:
That's great!

Blanca Rodriguez:
And I worked on him until his passing. Yes. A few years later. Yeah, very sweet man. Rest in peace. And his wife was a lovely lady as well. How sweet. So, yeah, he was funny.

Blanca Rodriguez:
I was like, oh, my God, this is a trip here. But it's so good.

Jennifer Norman:
That is so good. Oh, my God.

Blanca Rodriguez:
Yeah, yeah.

Jennifer Norman:
It's very intimidating the first time that you go and get one.

Blanca Rodriguez:
Yeah, yeah.

Jennifer Norman:
The other thing, too, I have to say. I had been, for so many years, very shy about saying if it wasn't, like, as good as I like, they were like, how is everything? Is the pressure okay? I'd be like, yeah, that's fine. Meanwhile, I'm, like, dying. Or I'm like, you know, because it's so hard or it's too soft. I was too afraid to say. I was like, oh, I don't want to hurt that person's feelings. That says more about me than that.

Blanca Rodriguez:
Yes. You know what, Jennifer? I'm very glad that you brought this up, because there has been many people in my career and many people that I know that they have been. It's like, oh, my God. I was uncomfortable in this massage, but I didn't want to make the massage therapist feel bad. And I can tell you and everybody out there, we will feel worse if you are uncomfortable, because our scope of practice is about, first of all, doing no harm. And for the client or patient to feel the good effects of massage, not for the person to be uncomfortable on the table. Like, oh, my God, this is too much pressure, and I'm losing my breath or I feel nothing here. We want our clients to feel comfortable.

Blanca Rodriguez:
So whenever you feel like, okay, this is too much pressure, please light it up a little bit. Please say so, because this may cause accidents, this may cause two people to hurt when it's totally not necessary for them to hurt. So I highly advise to all our listeners out there, when you are on the massage table and you need some extra pressure or less pressure, please say so. We really, really do appreciate.

Jennifer Norman:
Yes, I am so glad that you said that, because there. Yeah. And I think that a lot of times it is. It's like, oh, I didn't want you to feel, and then you end up not going back because you're like, that person didn't know. They didn't. They should have known exactly what the right pressure was for me or what I needed. They should have been able to feel that or what have you. But nonetheless, I think that we all have our responsibilities to make sure it's a good experience all the way around.

Blanca Rodriguez:
Absolutely, absolutely.

Jennifer Norman:
And you also do canine massages. I can't let this podcast go without you talking about canine massaging. Wow, that's amazing.

Blanca Rodriguez:
Yes, I'm glad. Thank you for that. Canine massage therapy, or animal massage therapy, has been around since 2700 BC. It's a very ancient practice. Human massage therapy started in 3000 BC. Exactly. So in 2700 BC, 300 years later, animal massage therapy began in China and India. These two countries, they believe a lot in alternative medicine, not only for humans, but their animals as well.

Blanca Rodriguez:
And I applaud them for that eternally. And then it kept coming towards the Americas. And animal massage therapy was introduced in the US in the 1970s with equine massage. And later on, of course, canine massage therapy came into the picture. But this very ancient practice is kind of relatively new here in the Americas. And as powerful as massage therapy is on us humans, that is how powerful it is on dogs specifically. I'm a canine massage therapist, is equally powerful in animals as well. The same fantastic and powerful benefits that our dopamine levels raise.

Blanca Rodriguez:
The serotonin, the endorphin levels get really, really happy. Our dogs have, guess what, dopamine, oxytocin, serotonin and endorphins. Our dogs have these chemicals as well. We are mammals. If there's something that we share with our dogs is that we are mammals, both of us. And the first sensation that we experience as infants and puppies too, is the power of touch. So the touching sensation is the most similar sensation that dogs and us have. Will like and dogs love their massages.

Blanca Rodriguez:
Dogs get spastic, they get stressed, they get sad, they get angry, they have separation anxiety. My true calling has been for my senior dogs. I've been senior canine massage therapist almost since. Ever since I started my career. I did my internship at a no kill shelter for dogs. But my biggest challenge when I started doing canine massage was going to the shelter and working with neglected abuse, abandoned animals. I saw many horrors. I was in a very chaotic environments, in cages with these dogs.

Blanca Rodriguez:
And when I am telling you that 98% of these dogs received the massage as I knew them since birth, it was amazing. It was heartwarming, it was difficult, and it was a miracle for me to be with them. Helping these defenseless animals feel better in any sense of a way, any little help is still help. And to this day, I have plenty of doggy clients that they don't call me their massage therapist. They call me auntie, because they know that when auntie comes to that door, the first thing that's going to happen is going to be hospital kisses. Because I know them and they know me already. Treats, of course, and of course, the powerful benefits of massage therapy. The same beautiful effects that massage therapy that has on us humans, it is right there with our canines as well.

Blanca Rodriguez:
Highly, highly recommended. And I want to remind many people out there, canine massage is not rubbing the dog. Canine massage is not petting the dog. Canine massage is. Massage is the manipulation of soft tissue and or muscle with the purpose of healing or relaxation. I have had animals, from puppies all the way to palliative care, which is death. And the same effects. I have worked on agility dogs.

Blanca Rodriguez:
I have worked on competition dogs. I have work on battered dogs. I mean, the whole shenanigans. And the same effects are really, really powerful. And if you want to help your dog with better quality of life, canine massage should be added for your baby. Because our dogs are not dogs. Our dogs are family.

Jennifer Norman:
Oh, my gosh. I'm overwhelmed with joy and hearing all of that, how amazing. And it is reminding me of all of those wonderful TikTokers who do spa days on their dogs and on their cats and put the cucumber slices and they'll buff the paws. I love it, you know, and they put the moisture and they get them all prim and proper. And I'm like, I want a master that will do that for me. I, you know, it's like I want to be pampered like that every day. Oh, my gosh how spoiled. And a lot of people will say that they'll be like, absolutely.

Jennifer Norman:
Okay, is that just going a little bit over the deep end to be giving your dog a canine massage when I don't even get to afford a canine massage anymore?

Blanca Rodriguez:
You know what? In my experience, Jennifer, I have this client that I work on, her two golden retrievers, Bodhi and Brady. They are my boo boos. These two. Well, mom doesn't get massage, and the dogs get massages on a weekly basis. Weekly. Even on a weekly basis, these two have their massages. And I wish you could see that, that the dog will give the pie, and he will be like this. I love it.

Blanca Rodriguez:
I love it. I love it. Yes. Very, very powerful.

Jennifer Norman:
That's the best job ever, Blanca

Blanca Rodriguez:
Absolutely. Oh, what a miracle. I love it. I love it. No offense to my humans, but there's nothing like canine massage therapy. Nothing.

Jennifer Norman:
Wow. Wow. Okay. Well, I also want to ask you about your book, Impact Leadership, where you delve into your own life experiences. I would love to know, like, what motivated you to share your story, and what can people expect by you reading it?

Blanca Rodriguez:
Impact Leadership with Blanca E. Rodriguez. I have it right here with me. This book is available and Amazon Kindle and paperback as well. And this collaboration between me and 29 other authors from all walks of life, from all over the world. And the purpose of this book, we can go down that rabbit hole. We can be on the worst of the worst, and there's still a way out. There's still a way to do better in life.

Blanca Rodriguez:
And this is what impact leadership is all about, is my story of being in the deepest, of the deepest, of the worst of the worst, and still making it to the other side. There is many other authors in this book. One of them is multimillionaire, this self made person, very powerful man. His name is Matt Morris. He's a giant in the network marketing industry. He comes from living in his car. He lost his father to suicide when he was a teenager, and he got out of that deep rabbit hole, and he made it into life to the point that he is the owner of the publishing company for this book. That's how powerful this book can be for so many.

Blanca Rodriguez:
And our stories, we have our similarities, and definitely is exactly that. No matter. No matter how bad our seasons in life can be, no matter how many dark secrets we may have, we can always, always make it to the other side with the proper help, with the proper tools. And sharing our stories is very important, because the more we share, the more we will help others raising awareness that in the worst, in the worst of the worst, there's always a. A way out. Always.

Jennifer Norman:
Blanca, how beautiful. I would love for you to be able to share where everybody can find you. What is the best way to get in touch with you if people want to learn more?

Blanca Rodriguez:
Yes, absolutely. I have a website. The website is www.woundedhealer us. I am on social media. I have a page on Instagram that is called WoundedHealerBlancaE. I'm in TikTok as well. Wounded Healer Blanca E. I'm on all platforms, and Instagram, I have two pages. On Facebook, TikTok, Threads. I am here to serve. I am here to help anybody that it is in need of a helping hand. Because we never know who can be hearing and listening to this and say, wow, there is a possibility that I can make it through the day or through the week or through life, perhaps, no matter what age we are.

Jennifer Norman:
Definitely. Blanca Rodriguez, thank you so much for spending your day with me here on The Human Beauty Movement Podcast. It was a pleasure to speak with you.

Blanca Rodriguez:
Thank you, Jennifer. It was an honor for me to be here and thank you so much for everything you do and for helping the world be a better place. Thank you.

Jennifer Norman:
Thank you for listening to The Human Beauty Movement Podcast. Be sure to follow, rate and review us wherever, wherever you stream podcasts. The Human Beauty Movement is a community based platform that cultivates the beauty of humankind. Check out our workshops, find us on social media, and share our inspiration with all the beautiful humans in your life. Learn more at thehumanbeautymovement.com. Thank you so much for being a beautiful human.