Empowering Women’s Health and Wellness with Amie Longmire
In this episode, Amie Longmire shares her remarkable journey of surviving a traumatic accident and the challenges she encountered while advocating for her own health as a woman. Together we delve into the importance of asking tough questions, seeking answers, and taking an active role in one’s healthcare journey.
Discover the transformative healing benefits of Reiki and how it can aid in processing trauma. Listen as we stress the significance of tuning in to the messages our bodies send us and practicing self-compassion during times of emotional distress.
Throughout this episode, we emphasize the importance of being in touch with our bodies, understanding their unique needs, and the limitations of relying solely on conventional medical practitioners. Learn how to be your own advocate, conduct research, and build a team of healthcare practitioners to holistically address your health concerns.
Taking small steps towards better health can lead to profound changes. We shed light on the significance of focusing on foundational aspects such as nutrition, exercise, and self-care. Discover the value of seeking guidance from practitioners to make informed decisions tailored to your well-being.
Lifestyle and diet play a pivotal role in disease prevention and reversal, including better sleep, proper hydration, and building a supportive community for overall well-being.
Join us on this empowering journey of healing and wellness, where you will gain insights into taking charge of your health, finding strength in adversity, and prioritizing self-care as an essential part of being a resilient and empowered woman.
TRANSCRIPT:
TRANSCRIPT
Andrea Nicholson
Welcome back to The Holistic Health Bites Podcast. Today I am joined with a special guest, Amie Longmire. And she’s going to tell us all about her amazing health journey, and how she got to where she is today along with some of the work that she does in her life now to help other people have their best lives as well. So welcome Amy, thank you so much for joining.
Amie Longmire
Thanks. I’m glad to be here.
Andrea Nicholson
Yeah. Can you just, you know, introduce yourself a little bit and tell everybody a little bit about you how you got here. Anything you’d like to share.
Amie Longmire
Gosh, the short version. My name is Amie. I’m a psychotherapist and Reiki practitioner, and also a writer and an artist. I do all kinds of things, but I’m located out in Boise, Idaho, and I’ve been practicing for a couple of years. But really, it was kind of my own health journey that got me into this position in the first place. So really, I focus on women and trauma is usually either medical trauma or religious trauma. That’s usually what we’re doing. But it always comes down to like, who am I now?
What do I, you know, like I just saw the Barbie movie and everyone talking about this. it’s like women really need community.
And so I love that we’re doing podcasts like this to be able to share our stories and because I think really storytelling is what?
And kind of brings that healing back around and opens it up for other people. So gosh, I don’t know if I answered a question.
Andrea Nicholson
Yeah, you definitely did. I love that. And I am with you on, you know, all the things community and meeting new friends and you know, that’s the beauty of technology is we get to meet people from all over the world.
You have a powerful medical or health history story. would love to hear a little bit about that and whatever you’re comfortable sharing and how it helped bring you to where you are today.
Amie Longmire
Yeah. Let’s see. The big one I think that we’ve got over is that it was October 19, 2009. And I was working, and I was crossing the street walking.
I don’t know why I was working because it turned into a workers’ comp case. But I was crossing the street and I had to ride away on foot in the crosswalk and was hit by a car and making a left turn on a yellow that was actually red because it was Los Angeles and that’s the way to do it.
So I was hit and I hit my head on the hood of a car and flipped several times and landed a good 15-18 feet away on the ground on my head.
The left side and sort of landed and then immediately he was like, I’m going to get run over that feeling of the driver ended up stopping a couple inches from my head.
So I was not run over, but I was hit and I never broke a bone. I never lost consciousness and I’m pretty massive.
Most doctors I saw afterwards told me this would retire a football player like that kind of hit injury. And I was told over and over how lucky I was.
gosh, you’re so lucky. remember I didn’t feel lucky. I felt like I’d been in my car. really it was sort of, that was 2009.
moved to Idaho in August of 2014. It’s about five years later. One. And really it wasn’t until I got here that I was really able to really get myself back.
Like I was walking of course and holding a job. went to grad school in the middle of all this.
I was fine, but I wasn’t fine. Like this was not normal. And just over and over was told by every doctor how lucky I was and that this is normal.
I was like, this is not meeting if my car is not normal. It happens. There’s nothing normal about that.
So I think it kind of sent me on this long journey of like being able to advocate for myself medically, especially as a woman.
It’s very difficult. And yeah, learning kind of what is my normal. And I remember kind of getting my psych evaluation back.
And this was several years after the accident, like they were just trying to do, you know, cross. All the boxes off.
And the psychologist, she’s reading this thing to me at the end. she’s like, actually, you’re at a 70% like we see your baseline and we see your IQ and we see both kind of like can see before and after really.
And I was like, this is me to see. Wow. I don’t know. Let’s say I think. And people keep asking me because obviously I lived.
I’ve made a complete recovery. But I know that the summer before I’d been hit, I climbed Mount Whitney and I was running and hiking and doing all these things.
I’m not running these days, but lots of yoga, lots of hiking. And then just lots of kind of trying to build community around how can we get women to feel better in their bodies and be able to advocate for themselves when they go to the doctor, whether that’s one
More bones or infertility or menopause or more just kind of like you see a lot of women that like want to fatigue and right now there’s a lot of because of COVID long COVID that turns into chronic fatigue and really it’s all inflammation and it’s hard to pinpoint what to do about it and how to ask for help right so yeah that’s a lot but I know kind of earlier in my 20s I was put on a series of different anti-anxiety meds as we usually are in our 20s but you go to the doctor as a female and say I don’t feel good or not sleeping well and that’s what they can do.
And it wasn’t like it took me till I got here and started seeing an actual path to realize I was actually deathly low on iron. And iron mimics anxiety. mimics sleepless insomnia, heart palpitations, shortness of breath, didn’t need meds. needed iron. It was just ridiculous. So I spend a lot of time with women going, have you checked your iron? What do you need to get from the doctor? Like, what questions are you going to ask? Like that kind of thing.
Andrea Nicholson
So that was so important. It’s funny that sometimes it’s those little things that nobody looked at.
Amie Longmire
Nobody asked that question. Nobody pushed.
Andrea Nicholson
And I think so often we all just kind of believe what we’re being told and we don’t question it. We don’t ask for more information. We don’t ask for references and resources. And yeah, it’s so important to really dig in and ask the hard questions. It’s your body, it’s your health. You know it better than anyone else. So that is one of my favorite messages to share as well. It’s being okay with asking those hard questions and digging until you find the answers that you know are in there.
Amie Longmire
Yep. I was thinking I was 61 right now. I mean, lot of years and years of chronic fatigue and this has been pretty debilitating and she said every time she has to find a new practitioner for whatever reason.
She calls the office, that office and says I want to set up a consultation and really it is I want to interview you to make sure we are going to work together well.
And I love that idea and I wish more of us would be doing that. I wish I had to wear it with all 20 years ago to be doing this because I wouldn’t look why not.
Like we’re allowed.
Andrea Nicholson
Yeah, absolutely. And if somebody’s not on Okay with you. And you’re interviewing them as the practitioner. They’re probably not the practitioner you want.
Andrea Nicholson
I love that. So I’d love to pivot a little bit. Thank you for sharing your story – it’s so powerful to see a classic example of exactly what that looks like and how you can advocate for yourself and how you can, you know, keep digging for answers and not necessarily just take the pill because that’s what they’re telling you to do.
And, you know, really find what’s really wrong. And I know you also work, obviously as a therapist and you’re also a Reiki practitioner.
Can you tell us a little bit about what Reiki is and how it’s useful, who it’s good for all of those things?
Amie Longmire
Yeah. You know, I found Reiki in when I was in grad school a second time for counseling and a girlfriend in my cohort.
We were in a trauma class and it was pretty traumatizing to go. And she turned to me and said, she knew a little of my story, this accident and that kind of stuff.
A lot of that stuff was coming up. It’s pretty traumatic. And she’s like, I really want to do Reiki on you.
I was like, what’s that?
And I grew up in a pretty conservative Christian church. I wasn’t there anymore necessarily, but it was sort of like, I don’t know what that is.
That sounds scary. She’s like, relax. We’re just going to breathe. And we’re just going to turn on our energy.
I’m going to turn on mine. I’m going to help you just clear this energy out. Everything is energy, right?
All of ourselves are motivated by energy. And so how can we just, how can I help you clear this out?
And we did it was really powerful. And I loved it. was like, I want that. Like, I want to be able to do that.
And so she did it the first time. And on me, distance, like over the phone, like she called me and said, okay, gonna start and here’s what it’s gonna be like and here’s what I want you to do.
And really it was like lay down and breathe and just focus on your body. knew and I’ll call you back when it’s over.
And if you’re asleep, totally fucking like we’ll talk later. And so it was like you’ll either get a really good nap or you’ll really feel something shifting in your body and we can talk about it.
And so she did it. I knew exactly where she was focusing on me the entire time. Like it was like I had her hands on me and it was really just this focusing and putting energy toward that me in that way.
And she was able to really clear some things like I landed in my accident landed on my shoulder and my left hip and the left hip.
So is in blame. And so she was like, gosh, your left hip. Gosh, that part of the. And I was like, oh my gosh.
So since then I’ve been, she kind of trained me to do it. And then I’ve been kind of doing group sessions on my Patreon page, things like that, to kind of gather people in.
Because again, I think we need community around healing and to do it once is great, but to kind of build some momentum with other people is really what’s most helpful, like long term.
So yeah, that’s my spiel about Reiki. That’s a great thing.
Andrea Nicholson
No, it’s definitely not scary. And it sounds like such a powerful thing that doesn’t have to involve outside things.
It doesn’t have to involve medications and procedures and all these expensive things.
Amie Longmire
It’s just kind of getting in tune with your body and letting your body heal itself, which is always the best way to go when you can do that.
Totally. Okay. In my counseling. Not necessarily doing Reiki and focusing and doing that, but I’m helping. Like Ricky gave me a good vocabulary and a language to talk about the energy centers and what I’m noticing in people.
And so it’s like, gosh, the left side of your body or the back or what’s that on your neck or, you know, so I do use it.
It’s just kind of more conversationally and subtly, I guess. And it still opens up these conversations about, gosh, this is what happened or this is what memory comes up when we point at this spot.
And it’s beautiful. It really is.
Andrea Nicholson
It’s helpful. Yeah. So much of our trauma we do hold on to physically, even if it wasn’t a physical trauma, like yours was, but you know, getting hit by an arm.
Yeah, even if it’s an emotional trauma, we hold that in our bodies until we can fully process it and deal with it and, you know, while it away where it belongs.
Yes. And so that might be a neck pain, might be a knee pain. It might be digestive issues.
Andrea Nicholson
And so I think being able to, like you say, point to that and say, you know, what comes up when you point to that pain or when you think about that pain and being able to bring that back to some prior trauma, I think is a powerful modality that I haven’t heard other people describe quite that way.
Amie Longmire
It’s kind of, it’s kind of basically it’s somatic experiencing, like if we’re talking about counseling, but really it’s also just knowing your body and like befriending your nervous system.
Like, it’s really that simple, but it sounds hard. And I talk to women all the time who are like, get really, they just get really anxious or, or mad at themselves for having some negative feelings.
Like, I should never be jealous or I should never be comparing or I should never be angry or, and it’s like, no, no, no, no, no, Where do you feel in your body?
And then, And they’re like, no way. I was like, figure out. You’re allowed to have that reaction and also be okay with it.
Allow it for a little while. Like your response is what you’re on the hook for, but having the feeling is not wrong.
And so.
Andrea Nicholson
Yeah. And when you become friends with it or pay attention to it, then you can figure out why it’s there.
What is it telling you? is what’s, you know, making you feel that way or think that way or whatever.
And then you can, when you’re consciously aware of it, you can consciously work on it. it’s not something you want to be thinking or doing, then now it’s in your awareness and you can consciously work on it.
Amie Longmire
And I just think that’s amazing. Well, and even like, this sounds kind of silly, but I find myself staying in all the time and I really have to practice this myself.
But it’s like, if your best friend paid you, sent you a text or showed up on your door and said, I’m having these angry feelings.
Or having, you know, I’m not. You would pour that woman a cup of coffee and you’d show her to your favorite most comfortable seat and say, tell me about it.
Right. But when we have them ourselves, it’s, I shouldn’t. I should not feel that way. And so then we’re just mad.
And so we kind of judge the feeling and then we judge ourselves for it. It’s crazy. It is.
Andrea Nicholson
It is for sure. What are some of the other things that you see pretty frequently that a lot of us are doing that are not helping us or things that maybe we should be doing that we’re just not doing.
Amie Longmire
What are some of those common mistakes? I think really it is that sort of judging the feeling instead of being nice to like having some self-compassion and it really does take practice because I think we are socialized to take care of everyone else first.
And we shouldn’t have a problem ever or need a counselor or need a doctor. You know what I mean?
And that’s so being able to be nice to ourselves and ask for the help that we actually need is tough and then a big first step, right?
And then I think this sounds well, I’ve gotten into a lot of just, I think it’s just the population I work with, but it’s a lot of these hormone issues, whether that’s just really high cortisol or just like out of control PMS or just not really understanding hormones at all.
so then it’s like this big mystery and it doesn’t have to be. So knowing those four four phases, those four different weeks, and being able to go, oh, I need more protein this week.
I need more exercise this week. And stopping the cycle of like judging the PMS. Like they say, what is it?
Drunk thoughts or drunk words are sober thoughts. And I would say PMS words are sober words. Like, it’s still true.
And we don’t turn into a different person. It’s not this Jekyll and Hyde thing. are always ourselves. But sometimes we just don’t take the time to understand our own cycle.
And with that, if we really learn to ride that out, it doesn’t have to be that. Yeah, I think that’s true in a lot of areas of our lives.
Andrea Nicholson
We’re kind of not in touch with what our bodies are telling us. Not in touch with true hunger and true needs.
And what our body is telling us that it needs in the moment or that it needs us to stop doing.
We’ve all just kind of lost sight of what our bodies are communicating to us. And if you’re experiencing something that you don’t want to be experiencing and you are aware of that, we have to lean into that even more.
And find out. Why is that happening? Is it a behavior that you have? Is it something that you should be doing that you’re not?
Amie Longmire
Is it a mental block, a prior trauma that you haven’t dealt with?
What is going on? We have to actually lean into that and pick up even more awareness from that so that you know how to fix it.
Andrea Nicholson
And I think so often we also need to be okay with asking for help. Like our bodies are innately intelligent.
And do have everything it needs to heal. But that doesn’t mean someone else can’t get you there faster.
Amie Longmire
Yes.
Andrea Nicholson
I think being able to ask the hard questions, advocate for yourself, look at lots of resources, get lots of opinions, find the right perfect path for you by being persistent with it and really following up on all those things.
Amie Longmire
Yeah. like in my therapy practice, I cannot say though I probably let it slip a lock. Like, don’t take your medicine.
Like, can’t say that legally or statically. But also do you know what you’re taking? Do you understand the side effects?
Are you seeing the side effects? Do you think you’re over-medicated? Usually the answer is yes. Usually. Because it’s like, we just live in this, well, I think the health insurance and all that is really a broken system.
And if we didn’t have to, that, in a perfect world where everyone just got what they needed or could ask for the help they needed, it would be great.
But right now, we kind of socialized ourselves into this way of like, if I go to the doctor, I will feel better.
And there’s limits to what a doctor can actually do. They spend 12ish minutes with you, for example, at most.
So you have like 12 minutes to make your job. Okay. Okay. Learn 蓆。 And they have limits. They can write you a prescription, send you to a specialist, or offer some kind of therapy or surgery.
That is it. Like when I went in for some hormonal stuff a couple years ago, their answer was either a pill or a hysterectomy.
I had fully working organs. The issue was my iron, not. I hormone like it. So there’s some limits to what they can do.
And we get in there and they’re wearing the white coat and we’re not wearing much. We’re wearing whatever. And so we just do what they say.
And I respect them. We need them. But also there’s limits to what they do. And they don’t always appreciate that they have limits.
Andrea Nicholson
Absolutely. Yeah.
I think as a society, we’ve kind of put them on this pedestal and we sort of mistakenly believe that they know everything and that they have all the answers and that they’re going to solve.
All of our problems. But like you said, they’re really limited based on just the design of our model in time and resources in what they can recommend…so it ends up being medications and procedures is really all they can do. But there’s a whole world of other practitioners, other modalities, other methods that might actually not just mask the problem or remove it like your history.
And example. But actually fix it. You know, maybe you need a nutrient like you did. You needed iron. Maybe you have a B vitamin deficiency.
Maybe you have a D vitamin deficiency. Maybe you have a toxin overload or an underlying infection or you know there’s all these other things that.
That conventional medical model just isn’t set up to explore to find out they don’t have access to the same testing as holistic or functional practitioners.
They’re not looking at nutrition and lifestyle stuff at all. mean, they might tell you You’re like, yeah, go on a heart healthy diet and exercise.
Amie Longmire
But that’s kind of the extent of it.
Andrea Nicholson
So I think they do amazing things in their realm.
Amie Longmire
Yes.
Andrea Nicholson
But we can’t expect them to know everything about everything and solve every problem there is.
Amie Longmire
So sometimes that means you have to be your own advocate and do your own research and find the best path or try different things.
Andrea Nicholson
Sometimes it means you need other practitioners.
Amie Longmire
And sometimes it’s a team of practitioners. Yes.
Andrea Nicholson
Yeah. you know, do Reiki and can work on nutrition and maybe work with you on fitness and help you with sleep, you know, there’s all these different things. There’s going to be one side to side that knows everything. Yeah.
Amie Longmire
Yeah. I have one of my clients. She was talking about a council of clients. She was just having a lot of physical pain just all over and a ton of stress, like a ton of stress.
It was like, we need to relieve the stress in order to bring to the pain down. Thank you. You need to see a functional, either you need to see a chiropractor to start working on this joint pain, or you need to see a functional medicine person who can do the whole thing.
And so she’s finally got into this functional medicine through her health insurance, which is fantastic. really, they had like nine pages of like, okay, here’s this and here’s this.
And she was so overwhelmed. She brought it to therapy and was like, what do I, you know, and so it was great information.
And I think it’s just so many changes at once because it isn’t here. Take this pill and feel better.
It’s, I want you to drink a hundred, a hundred ounces of water every day. I want you to start with lemon water.
I want you to lay off the caffeine. I want you to sleep 10 hours a night. I want, you know, like all the things.
It’s making those huge changes, like all at once is really difficult, but also totally worth it. Like if she got that leaky get under control.
All of that pain would start to level out and then we feel better, right? So it’s hard because it’s like we need the right doctor and we need to kind of understand that it really is up to us to do that work.
Like, yeah, yeah, I had a client come in and was like, I feel like I’m doing all the talking.
I was like, well, I don’t know anything about you unless you say it aloud. I can’t fix this for you unless you do it.
Like, yeah, that we do it. So it’s a big commitment when we have to level up and be responsible for our own health and not just rely on, oh, I might, you know, if you really love that I’m fine.
So whatever. I guess I’m fine.
Andrea Nicholson
Yeah, it is a big commitment and rightfully so. are a complex organism with emotions and physical issues and chemical issues and all the things.
And unfortunately, as much as conventional medicine gets the kind of short end of the stick with they don’t do enough and they only have pills and procedures to recommend.
Functional medicine. And get the opposite into that. And they’re like, oh, it’s so overwhelming and so complicated and too many things and so expensive and it’s all the things.
And so I think we need to, as a society, as patients, as people, as practitioners, we need to remember that and meet people where they are.
Amie Longmire
You don’t have to overhaul their entire lives overnight.
Andrea Nicholson
That’s not a recipe for sustained results. But yeah, there’s this whole list of things that you ultimately will want and need to do to live your best life.
But you don’t have to do it all today. You can implement these things in baby steps, in small doses over time.
don’t have to leap into the deep end of the pool.
Amie Longmire
Start with the foundation. Start with easy things. Start eating good food.
Andrea Nicholson
Start walking a little bit more. These can be really simple things that can really move the needle without spending $10,000 plus in testing and using supplements instead of medications.
Like that’s a lot of times functional medicine. And it’s just become the more natural approach, but really you take 15 supplements instead of 15 prescriptions.
Does it feel all that different? Really? Yeah. might be a little bit less in the side effect realm, but not always.
Amie Longmire
Side effects can come from supplements too.
Andrea Nicholson
So I think sometimes we over-complicate things and overwhelm people with all we need to do.
Amie Longmire
And you don’t have to do it all today. We don’t. And I know when I first started seeing my natural path a couple years ago, I really…
It was 90 minutes and it was like right down to everything you mean in the last 24 hours and then bring in everything you take, like medication-wise.
I was having all these… Like basically I thought I had an autoimmune disease. It was really just very low on iron and couldn’t fight off anything.
started getting high. hormones were out of control and my skin and my, you know, so I… She brought in a gallon-sized ziploc bag instead of on her deck with all my inhalers.
I thought I was allergic to everything and she’s like, I’m not anti-medication, but like this is what this is and this is a steroid and this is what this is and this is a steroid and it was like, oh, she’s like, no wonder your liver isn’t working.
Like, no wonder you can’t flush anything out. Let’s just clear out your liver first. And it was overwhelming, but it was also like, oh, there’s an answer.
oh, this is like the way my system works. Now I understand it a little better, but I was really like, help me.
Like, what do I do? me, tell me to not eat gluten. I’ll never do it again, right? I just want to feel better.
And she was like, it’s not, I don’t think it’s gluten. I think we just need to clear out your kidneys and your liver and get this healthy again.
It worked, but it was kind of, you have to be ready for it. Like, oh, I’m going to be making these big changes.
You know, like if you were preparing for a baby, it’s like, oh, we need to re-arrange the house. we need to cover up the plugs and do the right thing.
But we don’t do that for ourselves a lot of the time to make those big changes.
Andrea Nicholson
So yeah, I definitely think having the right mindset going into it is kind of the first step. You do have to be ready for the work because it is going to be a commitment.
Like you said, a 90 minute session. That’s tremendously different than the seven to 12 minutes that you get with your conventional medicine doctor.
But it can also feel like you’re drinking from the fire hose with all the information that you’re going to get in 90 minutes and all of the recommendations that you might get in that time.
So going in with the right mindset of like, I’m going to get some answers. I’m going to get some changes.
I’m going to be able to overhaul my life. I don’t have to do it all at once, but I will have the information.
And then you can just kind of make stuff to go forward from there. having that insight from someone who has that level of training is amazing because
Or how in tune you get with your body, are you likely to be able to look inward and go, I think my kidneys need help.
Amie Longmire
instead of a kidney symptom, like a bladder infection or something, yeah, I might not know that kidneys or liver are the problem.
Andrea Nicholson
And so that’s where practitioners really can get you the answers faster.
Amie Longmire
Yes.
Andrea Nicholson
Just know that you don’t have to implement everything right away.
Amie Longmire
Oh, I shouldn’t have to. Have you read any of Donna Eden’s books?
Andrea Nicholson
I haven’t read that. No.
Amie Longmire
There’s this one called Energy Medicine. It’s a lot of like how to trace your meridian lines and kind of do some energy work.
She has another one that’s just for women. It’s on hormones and it’s fantastic. Like there’s just some like tapping silly, they sound silly.
And yet when you do them, you’re like, Oh, that’s how you get rid of a panic attack or, Oh, that’s how you get rid of bloating during QMS.
Oh, that’s how, know, like, oh, I understand myself a little better. I understand where I can make these small, like, it’s free.
I mean, you buy the book, but it’s free to do. It’s not a prescription. There’s no side effects. And you start to kind of have some ownership over your body a little more and starts to feel that feels really good.
Andrea Nicholson
That’s very empowering. what I found. Yeah. Yeah, I think there’s so many things that we have control over that we just.
Those either don’t give any attention to or maybe we’re not even aware of it, but like the foundations, literally the food you put in your mouth.
Well, exercising or moving on some level, drinking water, getting sunshine, like, these are the foundations of health. Start there.
If these are things you’re not currently doing, start there. then add in breathwork, add in tapping, add in meditation or journaling or, you know,
So, things which are all still relatively free, relatively easy to do seem like they’re not making a difference, but over time they absolutely do and you’re controlling your physiology.
Amie Longmire
Yeah.
Andrea Nicholson
It’s amazing. foundations are really the key to everything. It’s not about the medications and the procedures and the prescriptions and the supplements and all of those bigger bucket things.
I mean, sure, those all have their place. Of course, if you have something that really needs to be removed from your body, then procedures are what you need.
Amie Longmire
If you truly have disease that a medication is the only answer for, then of course those all have their place.
Start with the foundations and maybe you’ll never need those more extreme things. It’s true. It’s true. I remember saying to my mom a while ago, looking at our, I think I was filling out forms to go to the doctor, or establish care with someone.
So, all your history, does cancer run in your heart? And I looked at my mom and I was like, I feel like our gene pool is kind of a cesspool.
She was like, Amie, they didn’t take care of themselves. That’s why they were so like, that’s why all them in had diabetes.
That’s why, you know, these were all preventable things. I was like, you’re right. Okay, you’re right. We’re not subject to that in this way we used to be like that hereditary stuff.
We really can sleep better, eat better, drink more water, flush our systems and not do all of that craziness.
Andrea Nicholson
Most of those diseases are not like things we’re born with. not birth defects.
Amie Longmire
They’re not, you know, written in stone.
Andrea Nicholson
Yeah. they are lifestyle and diet related. And so both lifestyle and diet are the cause of lots of these diseases that also makes that the answer to these things.
That’s the cure. That’s how you reverse it. That’s how you don’t live with it anymore. You’re doing the thing that caused it.
It doesn’t have to be complicated.
Amie Longmire
It doesn’t. You know, I’m always asking my client, how are you sleeping? They’re like, I don’t know.
Andrea Nicholson
We’re just not aware of what our bodies are doing. And yeah, that’s, that’s really when where it starts.
Amie Longmire
It does. And I think it, that’s such a stress., or can be such a stressful cycle of like, I didn’t get any sleep last night.
I better sleep tonight. And then there’s more pressure and then there’s more pressure and then we don’t sleep. then, or we take something our doctor gives us.
Andrea Nicholson
So yeah, and then you’re not getting good quality sleep. You’re asleep, but you’re not hitting the deeper levels of sleep.
It’s not natural sleep. doesn’t give you the same benefit as truly fixing the problem of why are you not sleeping?
Do you have a cortisol rhythm imbalance, do you have too much light in your room? Is it not cold enough in your room?
Andrea Nicholson
Oh, like, get to the root cause of it. Do you have… Are you drinking caffeine too late?
Amie Longmire
Are you taking other products that are interfering with your sleep?
Andrea Nicholson
Like, all of these kinds of things get to the reason why you’re struggling. Fix that and the problem will go away.
Amie Longmire
Mm-hmm. Yeah, and it’ll… It’ll… It’ll… Yeah, it’s so easy, but it… It isn’t. Like, our willpower ego is getting away.
Andrea Nicholson
It’s just like, that’s harsh. Yeah, it’s really simple, but… No. it’s easy to not do as well. Mm-hmm. To gloss over it, yeah, for sure.
How can people find you or learn more about the work you do and reach out if they want to?
Amie Longmire
Yeah, amielongmire.com, AMIE, Longmire, like the TV show, L-O-N-G-M-I-R-E.com. That’s probably the quickest way. That’s my name on Instagram also.
Those are probably the fastest ways to get high.
Andrea Nicholson
Love that. Thank you so much for making that simple. And of course, we believe that in the show notes for people to just easily click on and reach out to you.
Do you have any final words you’d like to leave everybody with?
Amie Longmire
I guess I think it’s a lot of like when we talk about counseling and I think it happens in Reiki too, where you’re really just counseling us a lot about bringing that unconscious to the consciousness.
And so a lot of us are living on autopilot until something terrible happens. And hopefully, we come out the other side and go, I never want that to happen again, or this horrible thing happened.
And so we get kind of stuck in this, like, what do I do? And so it’s that like when you talk about implementing those changes, like sleep or water or whatever.
It is simple and it is kind of a mindset shift of I have to think about this first. I have to set this goal for myself first.
But what I’m finding over and over is yes, that’s true. And we can learn to work smarter, not harder.
Like we don’t have to hustle through this. We can usually rest as the answer. I usually, we’re coming from a place of rest and my body needs good oxygen, it needs good water, it needs good food.
And everything else starts to self correct eventually. But and we need community. We need rest and we need community.
Andrea Nicholson
I love it. Yeah, I think the community piece is known that’s not talked about enough. But we are social creatures.
are a community based species. we really do need that. I think that became much more apparent over the last few years with all the lockdowns and all the things that we all went through.
It became much more apparent that we don’t do well when we’re locked down by ourselves and we can’t communicate and we can’t touch each other and we can’t be in the presence of other beings and I think that’s a really important piece that we all need to really lean into.
Amie Longmire
Yeah. Well, thanks for having me.
Andrea Nicholson
This was fun. you so much for joining and sharing your amazing story. I’m so glad it all worked out for you and that you finally did get your answers and that thankfully it was something reasonably simple to actually solve all of your disparate systems. So thank you so much for sharing your entire story and all of the great information.
We will leave your information in the show notes for people to find you and learn more about you and solve their own health challenges along the way.
So thank you so much and we’ll see you again on a future episode.
