Learning to Trust Your Intuition with Emily Grimm

Unlocking Intuition and Healing: A Conversation with Nurse Coach Emily Grim

Enjoy this conversation with Emily Grimm, a Nashville-based trauma-informed breathwork specialist and nurse coach. Emily shares her transformative journey from an uncertain nurse to a courageous advocate for intuitive living and somatic healing. She emphasizes the power of following one's intuition and the benefits of breathwork in overcoming personal and professional challenges. The discussion also touches on practical tools for everyday mindfulness, handling fears, and the importance of embracing one's true self. Emily introduces her upcoming virtual group focusing on feminine archetypes and intuition, inviting listeners to connect with her for deeper personal growth.

00:00 Introduction and Guest Introduction

00:52 Emily's Journey to Nurse Coaching

04:21 The Power of Intuition and Making Changes

13:00 Understanding and Practicing Breathwork

18:18 Tools for Healing and Personal Growth

25:34 Connecting with Emily and Her Work

29:17 Conclusion and Call to Action

Reach out, follow Emily on Facebook or IG at Ambitious Armadillo Coaching

Transcript

0:59

Welcome to another extraordinary week today. I. I get to introduce to you a friend of mine and a colleague who I recently got to talk to her about. About her journey and I'm excited too, for her to share it with you. How, what it looks like for her to default to. Yes. And we're going to talk about to Emily grim. She's a nurse coach here in Nashville, Tennessee. And she. She specializes in breath work. She's certified in trauma. Informed breath work. And healing and I'm excited too. Too. I'm always excited to hear what nurses are up to and what they are bringing into the world. World. And so today is no different. We get to hear from Emily and. I hear what she's uniquely bringing to the world. To make it a better place. So let's get started. Welcome Emily. All right. Welcome, Emily. Thank you so much for being here. And agreeing to come have this conversation today about what it looks like for you to default to yes, to your extraordinary self. I know you as somebody who does that. And I'm, I've heard a little bit about what you do and how you show up in the world. And so I'm excited to just have some more conversation about what that means. And And I think that we've talked a lot about somatic healing and all of the possibilities that are there for really taking control of our health and overall wellbeing really. So I'm excited to have this conversation today and see where it will go. Thank you for having me. I'm excited too. Yeah. To get, just to get started, if you, I'm really curious About your journey. Tell us about how as a nurse, how that led you to where you are today you can go back as far back as you want to wherever that story starts to I went to nursing school because I didn't, Know what to do with my life, and my mom is a nurse, and then I was like, Oh, I don't know if I can do this, because I didn't love it, and then I had a pediatric rotation, and I loved it, and I was like, Oh, this is okay, this is where I belong and so then I got a job in the PICU, and I worked in the NICU, and like pediatric critical care, and Then my personal life fell apart and I started travel nursing. And that was the, probably the first time that I defaulted to yes. In my life, I just knew that that was the right move. And so I picked up and left and most people like didn't understand it because it was just something I knew I needed to do and I couldn't explain it. And so then I traveled. For a while and following my intuition has always led me to the right. What's right for me. And I saw an advertisement about nurse coaching and then I saw a nurse coach, I think just like posting on social media, I think she lived in the same city as me, like talking about what nurse coaching is. And I was like, Oh, that sounds super interesting. And something that I think I would really like. And we talked on the phone and then I didn't do anything with it. I don't know. It just fell off my radar. And then a year or two later, I saw another advertisement. I was like, Oh my gosh, I can't believe I forgot about this. And so then I signed up for the course. And interestingly enough, when I started the nurse coach collective, I hated mindfulness and all things being still and that kind of stuff. And then afterwards, I was like, Oh my gosh, everybody has to try this. It is the best, you can learn to feel calm. And then as my own personal journey has unfolded, I experienced breathwork and I think breathwork is the most magical thing in the world. And I was talking. To the woman that was facilitating the breathwork for me. And she was like you could become a facilitator. And I was like, Oh, you're right. I guess I could. And so then I did that training and I feel like the combination of coaching and all of the things I learned doing the breathwork training have set me up to help my clients in the same way that I needed help and wanted to grow So I'm curious about, let's go back to, first of all I think there's a lot of power in your story. I heard you talk about making the change and following your intuition. Tell me a little bit about what is in that. Cause I know that as a nurse, I hear a lot of and not just nurses talk about not being happy in their situation, whether it's their job or the city they live in relationships, but I definitely hear a lot of nurses say I went into this because I thought I would love it and Or it was just a good job or whatever reasons. And they don't like it anymore. And sometimes it's not, they're not there very long. You made a change. What gave you the courage or what is different about your mindset that allowed you to make that change and follow your intuition? I think there's a lot of little things that happen every day that if you pay attention, you realize like, Oh, That really worked out. And so there was just like this, tension and unease and I was unhappy and I didn't know what needed to change. And then I talked to a recruiter about travel nursing and she was kind. She answered all my questions and it felt exciting. And there was like just something inside of me that was like, You need to do it and I just really focused on that despite all of the other noise around me and I feel like that. It's sometimes that voice or that sound like that little intuition isn't as loud or it's hidden, but I feel like when you hear it, immediately you feel this sense of calm and peace and For me, I'm like, Oh, I could stay here and stay in this situation that I don't like, or I could, the thought of going somewhere new and all the scary things with moving to a city where you don't know anybody and working somewhere where you don't know anybody and all of the things that should be scary, didn't feel scary. They just felt right, like that was the next thing to do. And so I just trusted that because logically that doesn't make any sense at all. Nobody would say, Oh, I'm going to move. Where I don't know anybody and just, it's going to be great, but something said it would. So I just trusted it. And when you did, once you took that leap, did you always feel that sense of peace? Did you, did that fear set in or what did that look like to make that shift? I think the fear that sets in is the every day, Like, where am I going to park on my first day of work? It's like the little things like that, that when you don't know anybody and you're alone, that those feel bigger than they really are. and it took me some time to be able to shift the perspective and realize it's okay if you park in the wrong spot, you might get a ticket, but it'll be okay. But it took a little while for me to adjust my mindset on The stuff, the unknowns don't have to be scary. And then I just always trusted that if I listened to that intuition, then the universe has my back. And so it'll work out like it's supposed to. Yeah. So I hear it's an experience. So once you. Trusted your intuition. You found out it would work out. Okay. And that was another thing that I heard you say. And when you were telling your story is that you knew it would work out. Okay. Because of your past experience. So you were really able to draw from that past experience to inform your brain. And I think that what you said about the little things that scare us, I know that you have those conversations and coaching too, is that sometimes when you really think about what you're thinking, you realize Oh, the whole feeling of fear is about where I'm going to park for me. What's starting a new job is always a lunch. Like I'm going to go into the cafeteria and not know what to do, or I'm not going to know where to eat my lunch, or I'm going to eat it in the wrong place or silly things like that when you actually bring it forward. So what about it? What about big things? Did you encounter what were bigger fears that maybe you had that, how'd you address those? think bigger fears are like the same fears that you always have, that are independent of the job you have or the location you have. They're more of am I being a kind human? Is my family safe? Do I have a way to get there? get to them if I needed to. I feel like the bigger fears are stuff that I worry about regardless of like where I am. But also my experience has taught me that the bigger fears are they always work out okay if you're doing the little things. That's a good word. so this was all before even that you had the tools that you have now. Yes. How different do you think it would be to make some of those changes or to address a bigger change now with the tools that you have? I think it would be totally different because I think that I think sometimes it was harder to be vulnerable when you're in a new place and you don't really know anybody. But I think now, because of all the growth I've done, it would be easier to let strangers in. And I think that deeper connection is easier because I have the tools to express myself better. I think I've always been pretty good about following my intuition, but being able to honor a no, that I've done a lot of growth in that area. And I think that We, as a society, seem to hate the word no, but there's a lot of power in the word no, and I think that my experience would be different it would probably be much less stressful in the way that it would be easier for me to say no and be focused on What was right for me and not listening to all the external noise. Yeah. when you talk about that intuition, I think that's in place for everyone is whether they honor it or not. And I think that's what I'm hearing you say is that you really honored that voice inside you that said you had to make a change and I always am amazed at how that voice can lead you to what you're ultimately creative for, and how many people miss that because they're stuck in a place where they Maybe you think they're expected to be or don't make that course correction and that courageous step like you did and it's, you also shared that you forgot for a while after you heard about nurse coaching. And I wonder if that speaks to the timing of everything. What in hindsight do you see about that? Or do you just wish I would have done this earlier? I don't think it would have worked out. I don't know that I would have been in like a place to be open to all of the personal growth that comes along with it. The nurse coaching course. And so I don't know that it would have been as powerful for me. how would you say your experiences as a nurse helped to influence or shape the, that approach to what drew you to like the breathwork? Was it in your nurse coaching training or was that something how has your life as a nurse shaped that? I started as a new grad in the pediatric ICU, and I feel like there was never any discussion on how to cope with all of the Terrible things that we see as nurses. And I think that I was taught to just stuff all of, like any feelings that I had related to all of that, just stuff that like deep down inside, and I think that it made me very disconnected nurse coaching and then breath work taught me how to get back in touch with my body and the wisdom that the body holds and how to embrace that. And then also how to let the body Lead in relation to the healing of all the stuff that was like stuffed down and ignored for so long. Yeah, so is that what would you say? That's a good description of why somatic healing We were starting to hear the term somatic healing Is that a word that you use? Yes, but I also think it can be confusing because it is used everywhere. Basically, it just means body based. So everything starts with how it feels. And I. There's a lot that can go with that, but I feel like there's so much wisdom in your body, but also it holds on to different things. And you have to let that, the energy move, and you have to feel the things enable, to be able to heal. So breathwork being a tool that you're very passionate about. And I know that you are out in the community teaching people and leading those and facilitating that work in the world. How would you say breathwork? How would somebody get started? What are the resistance that you meet? What are the misunderstandings that we have about breathwork? What does it mean to use that and is as part of all of that healing and getting in touch with the, that wisdom? I think a lot of people don't really know what breathwork is, because if you Google it, you get a thousand different answers. And so I think that's part of the confusion, but I also think trying any type of somatic healing can be really intimidating, especially if you don't really know what you're doing. technology is wonderful, but also you can get an app that will walk you through, but if you've never done it before, it can be intimidating to be like, am I doing this right? Are these feelings supposed to come up? I don't know, what's happening. And then you don't have a great experience because you're alone and confused and you don't really know what's going on. And that makes it hard to grow and let other feelings go when you're like, I don't know. I think I like how this feels. So I know that I had had a similar experience with the sound bath I went to one session, got invited to go and experience it, but I really didn't know anything about it. I didn't do any homework. I went. I heard the introduction and I was like, wow, this sounds bigger than what I thought it was. And this is more than just listening to nice sounds and relaxing. And then I let my brain wander all over the place with all the questions, but I didn't really have a chance to ask them. I went home and just Left it maybe a missed opportunity to really tap into what I did feel or unpack that. And I, but I didn't know. And so I'm hearing that when we go Google it and we do, let's say, pull up a breath work video and, or take a couple of deep breaths Maybe we're not connecting what's actually going on in the body, what's going on and tapping into that wisdom and how to take the next step. Right. So maybe, can give us a little intro on what you tell people when they come to your class. Yeah. The first thing is basically you'll lay down in a comfortable position. And in the community, it's usually on a yoga mat. And then we start with a drop in. So you just close your eyes and connect to how. Just just feel whatever sensations are present in your body and just be and breathe just normally for a couple minutes. And then we'll do different active breath patterns. And so if you do an active breath pattern for more than eight minutes, you can enter into an altered state of consciousness. So a so then that's where a lot of the stored energy that you don't realize. Is there can move and so then we do the breathing and then we just go back to our normal breath for another few minutes. And it can take anywhere from a half hour to 2 hours if you wanted and then afterwards, there's time for discussion or reflection or journaling. And then the breath work itself, when you. Do it. You could experience feeling really cold or really hot, or you might feel your fists curl up or tightness around your mouth or your toes curl, some people cry. Some people laugh. The first, few times I did breathwork, I would be sobbing at the end and I didn't even know why. I just knew that's. How it had to come out. Some people yawn. The most important thing is there's no wrong way. And three people could be in a breathwork session and they could all have completely different experiences and they could come back the next week and do the exact same breathwork session and have a completely different experience than they had the first week. And still different from everybody around them. So there's no right or wrong. It just is And that's where your body knows what it needs. So you just have to trust that some people fall asleep. And that's okay. I think it's fascinating and I'm wondering, I'm still thinking about the person who knows they need to make a change and is still struggling with. The fear and or the resistance that comes up and then they don't know how to unlock that and going back to that place where you were able to summon the courage to make those changes and then go after the skills that you needed to heal and to take that next step. In who you're created to be and how you wanted to show up in the world. And first of all, just want to acknowledge how amazing that is. And which is why we're having this conversation so that we can share this with others. What I'm hearing is that this is a tool that you can seek out without having any prior knowledge because a lot of people just, all they know is that they want to make a change. And they don't know what it is or how it's going to happen. And then there are all these responsibilities that come up in their minds. That's these things that stop them, how powerful that is to have the tools and access to that. are there any other tools that you have learned in hindsight too, that you found help make this, these transitions, or even just the healing that you were talking about? there's a thousand different options. And I think you just have to find what works for you. I do think there's lots of power in mindfulness and guided meditations. And I also think there's lots of Power in grounding practices and connecting to the earth. I think that especially if we are anxious and overwhelmed and doing all the things sometimes just slowing down enough to connect to the earth, connect to our breath, take a minute. Sometimes just five deep breaths can help really change the course of your day because as healing is not linear and having little tools, cause I understand that having an hour to do breath work, some people don't have an hour every week or whatever to do a longer practice. So we could do shorter practices, or you can learn like little tools to help in the day to day so that you can still get in touch with your body and tapping into. Your intuition and what you know is true. what is the thing that you would most like to say to everybody, every single person that you meet, that thing that you want to shout from the mountaintops after with all of your experience with these tools and as a nurse coach what is the thing that You would want to shout from the mountaintops. There's power in what you know inside you. And it's okay to listen to that voice, even if it doesn't make sense. you should take a little bit of time to explore it and see, because I think that a lot of times we get stuck in what we've always been doing, this life that we've built doing what we were told or society has told us we are supposed to do. And. A lot of times people have that little voice over here that's saying, I don't know how I feel about this, but It's a huge undertaking to listen to that. And I think giving some time and space to explore that just so you know what's there, even if you don't want to act on it. Where would you first tell someone to start? I think the first thing is like figuring out we're embracing kind of Who you are and that can be really challenging if you've always just been what you were supposed to be or what somebody has told you to be and So that can be a complicated undertaking But even if it's as simple as what's your favorite color? What's your favorite food something simple that I think everybody has an answer for those questions but is it really your answer or is it just an answer that has become your answer? And so I think sometimes simple stuff like that can really give you permission to explore. Yeah, that can be scary too. What's your favorite color? It changes. It's either green or red, but it changes sometimes every day. What's your favorite color today? Green. Why? Because I read that, first of all, I love all like the nature y things, like trees that are green. But then I read that green is the color that the human eye can see the most shades of. And I think that's really cool. That is fascinating. Yeah. So I'm like, Oh, I really like green. But which shade of green? I don't know. But there's a bunch of choices. Do you have a favorite shade of green now? I think today it's like the color of a Kiwi. Yeah. Oh, pretty. Yeah. I have this week been drawn to sage. Okay. Sage green. Yeah, I love it. I didn't know that. I didn't know that are, that we see more shades of green than any other color. Now I'm going to be paying attention. Totally sidetracked us. All right. how would you say you stay inspired as you continue to grow? Because once you get these tools, I think a lot of times we tend to settle in with one tool and we Work on that. And the process of mastery sometimes can be daunting. You get excited about a tool, you get excited about going on a journey, and then maybe it gets tough and we give up. How do you stay inspired to continue growing in your practice, both as a nurse and as a healer? being surrounded by both like other coaches and healers, and then also by clients is super inspiring because we can never learn it all, but there's so much that. We can learn. it's inspiring to see and hear what other people are doing or what they have done while also continuing to get better at what I do. they run parallel. It's there's all these new things I can learn about. And then the stuff I love, I can keep working on. And then maybe something will cross over and I'll add something else to what I use on a regular basis. I really like. Movement and I feel like I've been doing a lot of that lately, both with before breath work or in coaching sessions because I think that, fall is a time of, you think of leaves Falling off of trees and like letting go. And I think sometimes when we let go, there's just a lot of movement that has to take place in our body. And so I feel like lately that's been like a really powerful tool that I didn't use a lot before, but lately it's been very helpful. And so it's fun to bring that in. And I feel like all of these tools have the same goal ultimately. It can be whatever we want it to be. Yeah. What would you say that you said it, they have the same goal. What would you say that, how would you explain that goal? Very client specific, but overall, I feel like we all want to feel more confident, feel less anxious, sleep better. Not have tension in our shoulders because we're stressed out about something. sometimes if like We're real anxious. We can get real nauseous or not want to eat, and I feel like we don't wanna feel that way. And so it's just feeling good and confident and healthy, and I think that's the ultimate goal for everybody. Yeah. And if we use our intuition, would you agree that maybe when we learn thing, new things. Even if it's not the main thing, or we don't make a career out of it necessarily just to have fun with the learning. And it sounds like you have followed that intuition and enjoyed what you learn and picked up tools. And I always think about when you pick up tools, you can master them or you can learn how to use them, but you don't have to hold onto them forever. Tools are meant to be picked up and put down. you mentioned breath work and movement and the things that those tools that we have to really tap into our intuition. I love that so much goodness here. Thank you for bringing all of this goodness into the world in the way that you do and showing up in the world in the way that you do. if somebody wants to know more or wants to connect with you, what is the best way to see what you're doing, where you're showing up and how and connect with you? Probably social media. what are you working on now that you are really excited about? I am putting a group together where women explore, use the feminine archetypes to explore their get to know themselves and trust their intuition. So it'll be. Breathwork and journaling and some coaching and discussion, and then learning all the different. parts of ourselves and how they work together and obviously from a judgment free space. So if you just discovering and uncovering things that you have hidden or pushed down and then how all of that makes you one complete being and then how to trust the intuition that you have that you maybe have ignored for a while and it will be virtual, small group, And it will be like four months in length. So it sounds like that is somewhere, some, a place that people could start on that. If they're having troubles connecting with their intuition and making those transitions and breaking free of what's holding them back. So how do we find you? How do we find that? social media is probably the best way. My coaching company is called ambitious armadillo. And so that's what it is on Facebook and Instagram. And I'll send you the links. Now you have to share what the ambitious armadillo. Cause I love that. I used to think that, or I used to always have this really long to do list and it would be like, Oh, you're being super ambitious. You have this to do list that's like unrealistic to accomplish even a little bit. But I feel like that was part of the do do. Here's all the things I need to get done. And then armadillo because armadillos have that hard shell and I feel like. When I first started my personal development, healing, I don't know, journey, I had this very like hard protective outer wall casing. But it's like the onion, you just have to peel back layers and there's all sorts of goodness in there. And so I feel like an armadillo has this hard exterior shell that they can like use to protect themselves, but also they're just like squishy, cute little animals inside. That's where Ambitious Armadillo came from. I love that. I love that. Thank you. All right. One more question then. I ask everyone this, to close us out, share with us what it looks like for you to default to yes to your extraordinary self. Defaulting to yes is doing the things that my intuition knows is right, even if it doesn't make logical sense. And I feel like that can be as simple as signing up for the nurse coach course or as complicated as leaving everything I know and being a travel nurse. it could be big or small, but just trusting that and just going with it. Love that. Thanks so much for sharing and thanks for showing up in the world in the way that you do. Thank you for having me. This has been fun. This has been very fun. Thank you for tuning in today. If you enjoy this episode, we'll get on the list and I'll send you the notes and links. Uh, along with bonus tips and fund resources. I'll send every episode. Right to your inbox, share it with your friends. Leave a comment below. I've put all sorts of links in the notes to make it as easy as possible for us to connect, because I'd really like to hear from you. I'd like to know what your takeaway. Takeaways are. And I'd also like to know what you want to talk about. I remember that learning to trust that inner voice begins with listening. And if. You need some guidance again, The link is in the notes below. Schedule a free coaching session. Maybe you. I want to connect with Emily or know more about her coaching program. I guess what the link is in the notes. Every podcast expert out there is cringing right now because. Really only supposed to tell you one thing to do because they tell. Tell me that you get confused. If I tell you too many things. So. If I had to pick one thing for that, I would really like you to do. that would be to go to the notes. And Let's connect. you can follow Emily on Instagram at ambitious. Armadillo. Ambitious Armadillo coaching on Facebook. And until next time. Take some deep breaths and do some exploring. What is it that your intuition is telling you as you go out every day? To default to yes. Your extraordinary self.