Transcript: Christine Garvin 0:02
Hey, everyone, welcome to this week’s episode of hormonally speaking, we are going to be talking today about all kinds of fun stuff, including something that I know a lot of you are interested in, because maybe you’re going through a second puberty and that skin outbreak is happening. Or maybe you know, there’s just the stress of life is impacting your skin. So I know skin is such a huge, important topic for so many of you listening. And we’re also going to talk today about a bunch of other interesting things like working non traditional hours working non traditional jobs, working as an exotic dancer, which is what our guest today is doing now. And just kind of combining all of this stuff in order to be your best healthy self, even as you are maybe off hours if you’re not sort of following the natural circadian rhythm and all that kind of stuff. So it is possible. And my guest today is Daniel Sholly, who is an integrative nutritionist that focuses on women’s health, beauty and energetic wellness. When Western medicine failed to offer her answers for her irregular menstrual cycles in acne, she set out on a path to figure out the true root causes for herself. After a decade of studying functional medicine, nutrition, holistic healing and gut health, she was able to balance her body from the inside out and clear her skin naturally. Now she helps women of all ages create the skin of their dreams through her customized one on one coaching program. befriend your skin. You can find her at Daniel Sholly on Instagram. Welcome, Danielle. Danielle Sholly 1:40
Thank you so much. So glad to be here. Me too. Christine Garvin 1:43
So I’m super excited to talk to you about the skin aspect. Let’s start there. Because as I mentioned, that’s such a huge, you know, hard thing for a lot of women, right? Especially, maybe if they had dealt with acne younger and then it got better and then it came back or maybe they’ve been sort of dealing with that the whole time. You know, I I used to deal with acne when I was younger, but then it just morphed into rosacea later in life. Like the acne finally went away, and then the rosacea came in, you know. So I certainly know how it is to deal with whisking stuff, right struggle with that, because it’s like, this is what’s right in front of people’s faces. So it’s a big deal. So what what’s your story? How did you get on this path of working with skin? Danielle Sholly 2:37
Yeah, it is such a big deal for a lot of people, and especially coming out of puberty and then getting pimples later in life can be just such a thing that just takes women self esteem down. And I think that I got to a point where I was like, There’s no way in hell, I’m gonna have acne and wrinkles. Christine Garvin 3:02
Like I was like, no, Danielle Sholly 3:04
not the vibe. Yeah. So my skin journey actually started when I was 19. And I got my menstrual cycle late in life, I actually started at 17 and went immediately on to hormonal birth control, as we know can be kind of a way that stunts your natural body’s rhythm. So I went after my first period right onto hormonal birth control, and then was on it for a couple of years. And when I got off birth control, my skin exploded, and I went down the same route a lot of people do or it’s like, let’s try Proactiv. Let’s go to the doctor. Like, give me this pill give me this cream, right it just the whole western medicine approach. And things sort of helped. But then the acne would come back and there was always just this cycle of nothing being healed. So I was like, Well, I think I’m gonna have to figure this out for myself. And as as a lot of people story goes, right, it’s like healer, heal thyself. And so, I’ve always been super interested in the root cause of issues and just knowing deep down inside that there’s something different going on. Like it’s not something topical, like obviously, something is coming from within my body and literally erupting out of my skin. So what is causing that right and I started to study nutrition, I went to the Institute for Integrative Nutrition. And that was the beginning of a big aha moment for me and just understanding that health is so much more than just taking a pill or even a supplement for something it’s it’s a holistic healing process, meaning like, your whole body and mind and everything has to be involved in that. Christine Garvin 4:50
Hmm, so true. And we talk about that a lot on the podcast, right? Because sometimes I think we can go from okay, I don’t Want to take a pill from my doctor, but tell me what supplements to take to, you know, heal or get better. And it just, that’s not going to work either. You know, it’s like, supplements are so important and so helpful, and we need them in a lot of senses. But it’s not just going to come down to that one thing and we have to get out of that mindset of here we are just hand me what I should take in order to get better. Danielle Sholly 5:27
Exactly. And I was lucky enough to live in a community where I was surrounded by healers, and my mother was actually a huge influence in my life. She, she’s still alive and amazing. I was like speaking costumes. She’s still here. She’s awesome. Cool, okay. She, she’s always been more spiritual than religious. So my upbringing was definitely more geared towards more esoteric things in nature and spirituality and syncing with the cycles of nature and paying attention to the moon and taking in a show and you’re sick instead of the traditional over the counter medicine. So I’ve, I’ve always had that influence in my life. And so I think that I just naturally was like, oh, I need to go see a naturopathic doctor or an alternative medicine doctor and I started learning about functional medicine, which you’re really big on. And it’s so important because functional medicine actually gets to the root cause of the issue instead of just putting a bandaid over it. And so I was led to do blood testing and nutritional testing like that, and found out that different levels of vitamins were low, like vitamin D, and that my eye wasn’t producing enough hormones, and just different things like that, that I was able to get a, an actual picture of what was going on in my body. Christine Garvin 6:57
Mm hmm. So besides those things that you just mentioned, what were some of the big things that you feel like, you know, shifted your acne? Like, what would you kind of change or do differently? Danielle Sholly 7:11
Yes, so I tried everything, as I mentioned, and then went into the functional medicine world, trying everything. So I was doing all of the supplements, I was taking progesterone cream, at one point, I was taking vytex at one point. And just going down the list is it was the same as the medical system. It was like go down the list of all the things they they tell you to do. And I got so frustrated because I was doing all the right thing, right? Yeah, but still had the acne. And I think one of the big things that shifted for me is because I was so into the natural approach to life, my skincare was all natural based as well, which is great. But I wasn’t using anything that was actually assisting my skin and turning over the cells at a more rapid pace. And so one of the things with acne is that your skin doesn’t shed as quickly as it needs to. So it gets clogged. And that can be caused by a number of factors we could get into later. But I had never heard about this before. No, no dermatologist, no one told me about the fact that our skin cells need to turn over more quickly. And we need to assist our skin with that. So I think a big shift in my perspective was leaning into more skincare that I thought might have like chemicals in it or, or things like that, like I was scared of chemicals, right? I was I was greenwashed as they say. And I was putting oils all over my face thinking that it was so good for me and just like oh, it’s like this organic oil that costs $50 And has to be amazing, right? And I didn’t truly understand skincare for acne. And so that was a big shift for me. But then also the largest shift and one thing I think we’re excited to talk about today is just like taking control of my healing from a more internal point of view, meaning realizing that if I wanted clear skin, I needed to imagine myself with clear skin, I needed to stop telling myself that I had acne and I had hormonal problems because I was repeating the story and keeping myself in that loop. Christine Garvin 9:36
And we definitely are going to dive more into that later because it’s such a huge overlooked part or even if people get that, that they need to sort of shift their mindset. It’s really tough for them to do because you have to practice you like constantly have to practice right because that old, those old patterns and ideas edges are deeply embedded in our brain, right? All of those, those neurons are firing to keep things away the belief system the way that it was. And so it takes a lot of dedication and practice in order to create that new, you know, view. And then but that’s when you start seeing differences in your body and whatever aspect we’re talking about, right? It’s not just getting any part of your health really. Danielle Sholly 10:28
Absolutely, yeah. Christine Garvin 10:29
So when you started using some of the products that you mentioned, you know, that were and I actually I just kind of want to speak to this, because I think this is an interesting aspect of sort of the chemicals, because you know, most of the people that are listening this podcast, and obviously I talked about how many chemicals are in our environment that can impact us and impact our hormones. But, you know, I had Laura Adler, who’s a environmental toxins expert on the podcast, and if people didn’t hear that episode, go back and listen to it, it was last season. And you know, it, she really explained like, everything’s a chemical, really. So it’s, it’s not, not every chemical is bad for you. Right? Exactly, we need to sort of get really clear on the things that are actually, you know, acting like hormones in our body, for example, like Xeno estrogens, versus some of the things that are safe. You know, they’re chemicals, but they’re safe for us to use. And they are useful, you know, like in weird what you’re talking about, and a turning over your skin cells and everything. So what are what are some of the ones that you used in order to help that? Danielle Sholly 11:45
Yeah, I, I love everything you just said. And it’s like, even though I’m using what are considered chemicals, they’re still in a formulation that is completely safe. And I don’t use brands that, you know, are testing on animals, and I don’t use a lot of big box brands, we’ll put it that way, I do still have my valid my values pointed towards as natural as possible. Least harm done to the body, right. But there are certain very helpful ones like salicylic acid, which I’m sure everyone is familiar with. But the issue with a lot of skincare lines that are targeted for acne, specifically, is that they’re geared towards teen skin, and just this one subsection of people who have acne. And for myself, I was a woman who had acne and dry skin. So I don’t know how, yeah, combinate Oh, it’s not common. And I think that that was really challenging for me to be like, Oh, when I use these acne systems, there’s a lot of like foaming agents. And then like, you usually have like a really harsh foaming Gel Cleanser. And then there’s just like multiple steps of like, lots of salicylic acid and things. So I think it has a more drying effect on the skin than is necessary because they’re trying to absorb all right, yeah, out of a teen skin. So there really was just like a deep dive into Oh, how does the skin work? What does the skin actually need? And so it was a fun, I guess just a learning opportunity for me to figure out how do I support my skin’s hydration and keep a functioning skin barrier without stripping my skin of all the helpful oils, but still get rid of this dirt and oil and things that are clogging and causing acne. So salicylic acid is one that I started using, but in like a toner form. So I wasn’t using it every single step and I wasn’t using like an acne system. It’s it’s like a 2% salicylic toner that you just swipe on the face. So that was very helpful. Yeah, another ingredient that is very underrated that most people haven’t heard about is as a lake acid. And it’s pretty easy to find there’s a brand called called polished choice that carries a an Azelaic Acid booster, but that one is specifically researched for acne. And it’s very gentle on the skin but it isn’t exfoliator so it helps kind of clear out the pores and things similar to the salicylic acid. So those are two main ones that I incorporated and there’s a few more and I could give people a whole skincare routine which is what I love doing. But everyone’s a little different. It’s really good to when you are starting into the world of chemical exfoliants to get some guidance there so you know what you’re doing Yeah, Christine Garvin 14:49
work with people like you so that you can get the guidance. So I have to ask because I do have rosacea are I’ve always heard that those aren’t good You know, anything like that it’s gonna sort of, I guess, like, you know, turn over the cells too much that kind of thing, that it’s not good for rosacea. But is that not true? Danielle Sholly 15:13
It’s really dependent on what you’re using, and the exact formulation. So a azelaic acid in one skincare company can be totally different from another company. So it’s hard to speak about things in blanket terms, as we know, because the nuances are so important in nutrition and with anything really. So as like acid is actually one of the products that can be used for rosacea, interestingly enough, okay. Yeah. And it would really rosacea because it is such an inflammatory issue, it is good to go really slow. And to not introduce too many things at once. Whenever you’re doing skincare, people have this tendency to want to, like overhaul it, and they get extreme about it. And they want to like, Christine Garvin 15:59
start at all Yeah, Danielle Sholly 16:01
yeah. So really, like slow and steady, wins the race with skincare. And especially when you’re dealing with an inflammatory conditions like rosacea and acne, it’s really good to introduce one thing at a time, use it for a couple of weeks to make sure your skin is responding properly. And then you can add in the next ingredient. And the next Christine Garvin 16:20
makes sense. I was also thinking about when you were talking about teenage skin, and that those products are just kind of there just just like strip off all the oil. You know, I think a lot more about this than I did when I was young. But obviously, hormones are just going crazy. In the teenage years for most people, do you find that skin is not necessarily as bad in a situation where a kid could maybe be eating better, or you know, sort of eating in a way that supportive of their hormones, I don’t know if you’ve like seen any of this connection or not. But Danielle Sholly 16:58
absolutely, I’ve actually worked with several teenagers, or parents of teenagers. And the thing is, their skin can get cleared up, just like an adult acnes person’s skin can get cleared, we are not a slave to our hormones. I think that I think that acne is a signal that something else is going on inside of the body. And it’s it should be welcomed. It’s like, oh, thank you skin for showing me that something’s going on that I need to look deeper. So I learned to have a lot of gratitude for my acne after, after some time of being like, Thank you, because it, it prompted me to look within and learn all these other things. But just as easily that kids can clear their acne and a lot of it is diet. So if, if you’re familiar with Chinese medicine at all, they do a face mapping for acne. And depending on where you have the acne on your face, it correlates to certain organ systems. So supporting your liver, for instance, supporting your gut health with the right foods and the right lifestyle habits absolutely can help with people clearing their skin at any age. Christine Garvin 18:13
Yeah, and of course, it’s not always easy to necessarily get a teenager to change their diet. But a lot of it, when I think back to my teenage years, we just weren’t educated on that connection at all, you know, it’s like, we really had no clue. And there was generally, you know, less access, I think, to sort of the healthier foods and the knowledge around the healthier foods and there is now so, you know, moms that are listening with kids that have acne, you know, it’s it can be I mean, not only going to help their acne, it’s going to help them be more balanced to in general, you know, as they go through this, like fluctuating period of especially, you know, with with girls in this first few years, really of getting your period, like it’s crazy time because it’s like suddenly estrogen is flooding the body when the body is never dealt with estrogen, right. And so it takes time for the body to get used to that. So it takes time before you even began ovulating to get that progesterone to help level things out a little bit. You know, and, and I know you spoke to it earlier when you started 17 And then you got on birth control pretty quickly after that, you know, they there’s research that indicates it can take like seven to nine years for our bodies to stabilize after we started our period. Yeah, so that’s why a lot of times when women if they are on birth control, and they get into their early to mid 20s They’re like, okay, things are a lot calmer now, you know, but unfortunately, so many women do get on birth control in that period of time. So Phil attribute that calming down to the birth control, which obviously is impacting them, but Yeah, it’s pretty, it’s pretty fascinating when you learn about how like getting in there early with birth control can really throw things off so, so much because you’re not fully developed yet, essentially, hormonally. Danielle Sholly 20:12
Yeah, absolutely. And one thing I want to say just to any parents out there who are dealing with the teenagers, that they probably aren’t as stubborn to change as you might perceive them to be. And kids are actually very open to new ideas and to learning, right? They’re so curious, and they’re so just like a sponge taking in the world. So what I found working with kids is that, yeah, sometimes they don’t want to hear it from their parents. So sometimes hearing it from a different source, like a mentor can be a really great thing for them and just help them have realizations they wouldn’t have had. And I remember working with a young, a young girl, she was 16. And she was just so ready for every session, she did the homework, every time she just, she just felt. So I guess, like, thankful to be receiving the information, because she didn’t want to look like that. Like you said, you’re a kid going through this time of your life, and everything is crazy. And you just want like, you don’t want pimples on your face on top of all of it. So if you can give them a solution, they’re ready for it. Christine Garvin 21:26
And that makes it particularly I think, with acne, you know, because yes, is a deep motivating factor to make some changes when you have this thing that you can’t hide, you know, I mean, even with makeup, it’s pretty hard to hide, like, some pretty bad. Danielle Sholly 21:43
And the poor guys don’t have the makeup option. So they just have to deal with, Christine Garvin 21:47
I know for things. So going back to your journey. At what point did you really start to see your acne? You know, your face healing, I guess how long was this process? Danielle Sholly 22:03
Great question. I did want to touch on that. Because it can be like three to six months for a lot of people when they start incorporating the proper skincare and really paying attention to any dietary or lifestyle factors that might be contributing to the acne. And so for me, I would say it was about six months after I started doing the Azelaic Acid retinols you know, the salicylic acid, making sure that I was putting enough moisture back into my skin when I when I felt like I had my skincare really dialed in. And then also the other things in my life, my stress my my dietary factors, which can be really hard for a lot of people and just kind of bringing everything together with the teens and, and even adults, the dietary things can be something that’s overlooked and not often talked about when it comes to acne. Although I think there’s like a general understanding that like, Oh, if you’re stressed, you might get a pimple, right, or things like that. But one of the things I would tell your listeners is that dairy products, even goat products, like I would highly recommend removing from your diet, at least, at least for eight weeks just to see if that is contributing to your skin. Christine Garvin 23:24
Thank you for saying that. I’m always trying to convince my client to do dairy is hard to give up for a lot of people. Danielle Sholly 23:35
Well, and the hilarious thing about it is I had this one client, and she really enjoyed cheese, right? Like as we all do, and I was explaining to her the benefits of stopping and not for her skin and everything. She’s like, there’s no way I’m gonna be able to give this up, right. And then literally just two weeks later, she was like, wow, this is actually easier than I thought. Like, I don’t even miss it. And now when I eat cheese, I’m noticing the phlegm in my throat and I’m noticing how it’s affecting my digestion. So I think it’s really fun to challenge people and to just, like, give them the opportunity to do a little self experimentation, and just see how you feel. You don’t have to give it up forever. Exactly. You have to do this big thing. Just like have a little ease with your with yourself and, and use it as an experiment. Yeah, Christine Garvin 24:22
absolutely. And, you know, sometimes we need a little convincing for a little while, but it is both. I mean gluten actually, I think can take a little bit longer sometimes to see the results because I know sometimes people have cut it out for, you know, a month or six weeks and they’re like, I didn’t notice any difference. And I was like well gluten the impact of gluten can really hang around for quite some time after we cut it out. You know, some some say you know, up to six months in a year. So but usually I’d say within like three months most people are going to notice a difference with gluten, but with dairy is pretty quick. Usually that’s pretty quick. Yeah, yeah. So, you know, and I, I’m glad you made the point about the skin thing, because I definitely tell clients, when they come to me where skin is a major issue, I’m like, This was probably one of the last things it’s going to improve, right, your digestion is gonna get better first, you know, your inflammation is gonna go down, you know, you probably, I mean, all the random things that people can experience, you know, from inflammation and joint pain, and, you know, etc, etc, etc. But the skin, it just, you know, I was trying to explain, it’s like, your body needs all these nutrients, and you probably have been, you know, missing out on some of these nutrients because of not getting the right foods or not digesting and absorbing the nutrients from those foods. And so your organs and your tissues and all that are going to like take that first. And then those outer extremities, AKA your hair, skin, and nails are going to come in last because they’re kind of the, the body’s like, well, we don’t, I mean, you need you obviously need your skin, but like it can be sort of broken down and everything’s gonna be okay. Right there. Like, exactly, you need to keep the liver running. So, you know, the Yeah, exactly. Yeah. Yeah. So it’s helpful for people to understand that coming in, because I think so many times, they’re like, I just want my skin to be better, or, you know, like, right off the bat and hair too. You know, it’s another big one for especially women in their 40s When I start losing hair, so Danielle Sholly 26:32
yes, and go ahead. Well, I was gonna say, I tell people, they don’t have a skin problem, they have a gut problem. And it wasn’t until I really did some gut healing protocols that I noticed the biggest difference in my skin. And you’re right, it does take a little bit longer. And that’s why people get so frustrated with acne and why it’s so hard to clear a lot like, if over the counter acne systems worked, then we wouldn’t have as much acne as we do. Right? Or other things. Christine Garvin 27:04
Those do, right? Because it’s like, it just keeps feeding the problem. But people actually, you know, maybe it’ll get a little bit better, or they just feel like I haven’t done it long enough or what have you. Danielle Sholly 27:16
Absolutely. And for me, I think that food intolerances can play a big role, because you’re, you’re irritating the gut consistently. And like you were talking about what’s the gluten, it’s not like you can feel leaky gut syndrome, right? You know, and it’s not like you can feel gluten in flaming your villi in your stomach, like it’s not something that’s super tangible for people. And so I do think that can make it a little bit harder to stick to something when you’re not like seeing the results yet. But it’s important to really just start getting intimate with your, with your own bodies start paying attention more to how foods make you feel. So I always challenge my clients with a week of a food diary, but also like a food and mood diary. So not only are they writing down what they’re eating, but then they’re writing down like their energy levels. Like, are you feeling cranky today? Like how are your bowel movements just like paying attention to all these little intricacies because your body is constantly giving you signs, it’s constantly talking to you. And the more awareness you have of your own body, the better that you’re just going to be able to create the correct diet for you without listening to anyone else. Like you’re going to be able to listen to your body and understand what it needs and what it thrives on. Christine Garvin 28:35
Absolutely. That’s such an important point. Because I believe, you know, despite the fact that I utilized testing and all that half the time, we probably wouldn’t need testing if people really tuned in and listen to their bodies and accepted what our bodies are telling us. Right? A lot of times, I mean, I’ve seen it time and time again, where we’ll run a test. And a client will be like, Well, yeah, I thought I probably had a dairy intolerance, or I thought I’d have a gluten you know, but like they needed to see it. Like in printed form. It is helpful, it is helpful. I get it, you know, I mean, I’m the same way. But it is interesting that our bodies are always giving us feedback, right on if something’s working or not. And I mean, I’ve done it to where I’m like, Oh, I eat this food. And the thing is, once you start really tuning into your body, right, you can’t like turn it off. You will be like trying to deny that you’re having a reaction to something because you’re like, I want to eat this. Danielle Sholly 29:33
I’ve seen I’ll pay for it later. Christine Garvin 29:35
Exactly. I’ve seen people do that with dairy like it’s crazy. They’re like, I know I’m gonna be like running to the bathroom but I need this ice cream, you know? And Danielle Sholly 29:44
well that’s what enzymes are for, you know you just Christine Garvin 29:47
right? But it’s also this thing, you know, this fear of giving this thing up and it’s like well what is underneath the deep connection that You feel to that particular food, you know, like, there’s something going on there, right? There’s an emotional component. There’s some sort of belief system around. What would happen if you cut it out there, you know, all of this other stuff going on. That’s not just, I want to eat this food. You know, I ugly. Yeah. And so let’s talk a little bit we tapped on it in the beginning. But let’s talk a little bit more about that mindset component. Because, as you mentioned, it was like until that really started coming in, it’s like you had you’re bringing all these pieces together. But it sounds like that was kind of the thing that took you over, took you over the cliff into the new world. Yeah. Danielle Sholly 30:44
Do a close up. So you go. Well, what’s really interesting is I was dealing with the irregular menstrual cycles and the acne, right. And those are two problems. I was ferociously working on my entire 20s. So I’m 36 now, and I, so my entire 20s Were just marked by like, Okay, I got to do this blood tests, or this food test, or take this supplement or take this hormone. And they would work for a while, but then I would, then slowly, my periods would become irregular again. And it wasn’t until I just started typing in more to my rhythm as a woman, I’m like, okay, so if, if we’re creatures of nature, then we’re going in rhythm with nature as well, we go on our circadian rhythm, which is like day and night, right. But women also have a 28 day cycle, which is our menstrual cycle. And guess what else goes on the 28 day cycle, the moon. So looking at my menstrual cycle from a phase of the moon type of approach was really interesting. And so whenever, whenever you’re menstruating, it’s kind of like a full moon, it’s kind of like a time to stop and release and let go and go within and be internal. And you might want to like, stay at home and do certain things in your life. Whereas whenever you’re coming through ovulation, like you’re feeling more social and more outgoing, and things like that. And so I related them to the phases of the moon. And so for people who are into astrology, or into that type of thing, you’re gonna know exactly what I’m talking about, where like, the first half of the moon phase is all about going out in the world and putting out new projects, starting new things. And then you can see the full moon as a stop sign. And then the waning moon cycle is more about going within and finishing projects and doing more internal work. And so I just started to see my menstrual cycle as a phasic part of my life, so I have my day and night, but then I also have my monthly cycle, and really started paying attention to when do I need to rest. And as a woman, it’s hard because especially like, we’re in a man’s world, right? It’s like smell like we can just, we don’t get time off. If we have a hard menstrual cycle or something going on hormonal II, we just have to like, power through it. So we’re just going against our nature all the time. So one way that people can help with that if, if you still have to show up to work, right, and you have kids, and it’s like, you can’t just turn your life off. Just incorporating more self care at that time, like not saying yes to social engagements, like really taking time to like, sip some warm tea or do a bath for yourself or take five minutes to meditate. You know, even the little things can make a big difference. Christine Garvin 33:50
Yes, absolutely. And, you know, certainly talked about that on the podcast here. And it’s so easy to get out of that mind frame, right. I mean, I friggin teach about this stuff. And I can totally easily fall out of it. But every time I come back to, you know, I definitely I’m always tracking my cycle. But every time I come back to really paying attention to that, you know, putting out versus taking in, depending on where I am in the cycle. And just by tracking your cycle, you’re gonna know I mean, so many women, you know, that’s where you want to start, is just track your cycle, because Absolutely, most women, I don’t wanna say most, a lot of women do not track their cycle or, you know, are they? I think a lot of times now, too, is and I think they’re great. And I use apps too, right? Because I’m like, I don’t necessarily remember a date off the top of my head of when I last or my cycle, but, you know, don’t necessarily, it’s not necessarily going to tell you when you ovulate, right because Not every woman ovulates on day 14. And you know, and I know some some of these apps will adapt to your cycle over time. But still, the best way to know if you’ve ovulated is to take your temperature every morning when you wake up, you know, and I think it’s, it’s interesting. And I’m the same way that sometimes we need technology now in order to do these things. And that’s fine. That’s the case, right? There’s definitely ovulation trackers out there. There’s things that can track your temperature for you, you know, and just like get that information. But just knowing where you are in that cycle, you can really start to plan out your your week, at least, you know, even if you can’t like plan a month ahead, it’s like okay, this coming week, I’m like, in, you know, the second part of my luteal phase, and now is the time to really start kind of pulling back in I’m not gonna feel like wanting to be around a bunch of people, you know, and how helpful that can be. In order to really just change the whole game for you bro than your pro than I was like your pro. Yeah. It was funny, because I was like, I think she froze. And I’m still talking. Danielle Sholly 36:33
The last thing I heard was just being aware of your ovulation and then being able to plan Christine Garvin 36:39
Yeah, yep. Perfect. So I’ll cut out that that little area. And yeah, we’ll cut back in here. So let’s go into Is there any other aspects of mindset that you want to kind of tap on? Or touch upon? Um, yes. Okay. So we’ll get back into that. And then I want to talk to you about the circadian rhythm, like shifting when you got into exotic dancing, so, okay. Okay. So, so any other aspects of mindset that you felt were really helpful for you when you were working on bettering your skin? Danielle Sholly 37:19
Absolutely, I think that what people don’t realize is that you have to see the new version of yourself in your mind’s eye before it happens. So before you have evidence of clear skin, you have to believe you have clear skin, because you’ve been telling yourself a story. I have acne, you’re identifying you’re wrapping your identity in this thing, whether it’s acne, whether it’s a trauma in your life, whether it’s just like a part of you, part of like how you look, we wrap our identity into these things. And so I wrote like a dry erase marker on my mirror, I have clear skin. And I just, I looked at that every day, I started visualizing myself with clear skin, I started visualizing my skin clearing, I started just saying things to myself, like, Wow, I can’t believe my skin has been clear for this long. And it didn’t happen immediately. Right. But I do believe because I incorporated that part into my, my whole routine, like that was the missing cornerstone of it all, because really, all of our health issues are rooted in our emotions and our belief systems. And so until you go in and change those underlying programs, your body is still operating on that belief system, even though your conscious mind wants to be like, I’m doing everything right. I’m taking all the pills, like why is Why is this not healing? For me? It’s because you have to get behind your own healing. First, you have to see it, and believe it within Christine Garvin 38:57
Yeah, I love that the eye, you know, you have to get behind your own healing. That’s such a huge part of it. Because you know, I work with people all the time. And I get it because I’ve been there when you’re in that desperation mode, and you’re just, you know, you’re just like, I need to get better, you know, but there is this huge lack of belief that you can get better when, you know, so many times they are and so it’s, you know, really stepping back and I always tell clients and people that you know, you kind of have to figure out for yourself, whether Have you dealt with your trauma enough, you know, to where you can really that’s where I think the mindset jump really comes from is like you have to deal with some of that underlying trauma. And then you can get this different belief in yourself. And that’s when that mind is just like booming, you know, things really fly forward. Danielle Sholly 39:58
Well as a as messed up as it sounds, these traumas and things are our medicine. And like I mentioned earlier, I had to get to a place where I was grateful for my acne because I was like, Wow, thank you for showing me something else was going on underneath. And what do you think acne is? It’s on your face, right? Usually, it’s in your face is how you present yourself to the world, it’s your self esteem and how other people see you. And so when I got into the nitty gritty, I was like, wow, I do have self esteem problems, I am really hard on myself, I am sort of ashamed of how I’m being seen by others, and all these little intricacies of my personality that I was like, well, it’s like the acne is was trying to show me where I was self harming, in a way. Christine Garvin 40:51
Yeah, and I completely agree as somebody who has rosacea, or I say I have rosacea, because it’s something that certainly can flare, but I very rarely have flares. Now, you know, it’s, it’s not a major, major issue for me, like it was my late 20s, early 30s. And that definitely was a time in my life that was calling me to stand up. And being myself and I didn’t, my self worth was not where it needed to be, you know, and it was all of those sort of fears of putting myself into the world. And my ability to do what I wanted to do was I able to actually, you know, handle the things that I wanted to be doing. And all of that so much showed up as flares and rosacea, you know, and so, and I mean, I can even remember when I was younger, like, I just was writing about this the other day on Instagram, because I did a storytelling day, right? And giving speeches. And when I was younger, in school, and even when I was in my 20s in my master’s program, I mean, I would just get beat read, you know, like, immediately. And, you know, to get to a place where I’m actually choosing to go do storytelling. And for some people that may not be that big of a shift or change. But for me, that was huge to move from not wanting to be seen really at all, especially in a speaking engagement kind of way, because so many people were like that you were a dancer, or a dance instructor for so long. And I was like, that felt different, you know, even though that took a while for me to get to two but, but really standing up and speaking in front of people. And so I say all that to remind people of our abilities to change so drastically in our lives, right? When we work on these things, when we work on the self worth, and take on things that come our way as challenges, challenges to like, help us grow and like beautiful challenges. Danielle Sholly 42:55
Absolutely. If we if we dig a little deeper, there’s, there’s usually wisdom in our body. And the answers are there too. If the problem is in our body, the answer is there to Christine Garvin 43:05
follow through. So let’s talk a little bit about I know that you know, you as you moved into doing exotic dancing, and that’s just within the past couple of years, is that correct? Danielle Sholly 43:15
Well, actually, I I started dancing when I was 29. Okay, and so it’s it’s been like seven or eight years now. Christine Garvin 43:22
Okay. And so you and you started doing nighttime work at that point, essentially. Yeah. So what happened then, because as we talked about circadian rhythms a little while ago, you know, that’s like throwing it off, because you’re probably going to bed at like, three, four or 5am. And sleeping, you know, that first part of the day. So did you notice a shift in your health when you first started doing that? Danielle Sholly 43:48
So I’ve always had kind of a night owl, Chrono type about myself, I find it easy to stay up till 2am and that sort of thing, but I never really I never really understood how some people could live their whole lives that way and not have any problems. And then some people have so many problems, if they try to, you know, live in the wrong part of the day I say so there’s there’s a whole thing called your chronotype which is basically how you best operate according to the rhythm of the sun, sunlight and nighttime right? So some people are more geared to stay up late at night and some people are not and you have to be really clear and know which person you are because otherwise it will be become really stressful on your body. But I’d say the biggest thing was understanding that I could also with my my mentality shift my belief around working late and it impacting my body. So that was huge for me. I actually was I was going around saying this is this is harming me, this is harming me, but I was still doing it. Right, right. And then I was like, Wait, but is it I feel healthy, like I feel balanced. And just as soon as you take control of your belief system in your body, everything changes. I’m telling you, this has been the biggest aha breakthrough for me as just someone in the healing field for so long. It’s like, just taking control of that mindset piece. And so for me, I, I was feeling a little stressed in the mornings, like you feel a little groggy or when you wake up, because you’re waking up around noon, you’re you’re definitely experiencing. I don’t feel like it would be any different than if you weren’t getting the proper amount of sleep. But you’re waking up at 6am Christine Garvin 45:51
There’s a lot of people wake up groggy, anyway. Danielle Sholly 45:54
Exactly. Yeah. So I was like, Am I just telling myself a story. And so what I’ve done to combat a lot of that is definitely up to my self care big time. So I am a self care junkie, self proclaimed, and one of the things I do every month is a what I call a queen bath. And I do that on the new moon and on the full moon of every month. And the Queen bath can be whatever you want. So I really enjoy taking epically long baths. So the Epsom salts and the bubbles, and I’ll put herbs in the bath and all the things have all the candles, maybe put on a meditation from YouTube, or just some healing music, and just really sit and allow myself to like, indulge in my senses, and just really rest and relax. So that’s something I’ve incorporated into my routine that I feel has had a huge impact on balancing my menstrual cycles. And just like being able to recoup and regenerate my energy as a woman, especially doing the type of work that I do as an exotic dancer. Christine Garvin 46:59
Yeah, absolutely. Because it’s like, that’s a lot of outward energy that you’re giving in your work. And I think a lot of women can relate to that no matter what kind of work that they do that there’s that outward energy so much, right. And it’s like, we had to pull that back in for our own to like, refill our you know, our systems and our whatever you want to call it, your, your glass, your pail, whatever, your energy, you know, and so, I Yeah, it’s so funny. I’ve had these great conversations today, that made me make me feel like magical. And like you just talking about that bath, I’m like, Yes, I want to get to that bath right now. Danielle Sholly 47:39
Yes, it’s so important to just to fill in those moments. And one of the things that I do is just I’m, I’m super picky about the foods and supplements that go into my body, I’ve, I’ve educated myself as a nutritionist over the years, so it’s been a little easier for me. So it’s exciting for me to actually take all this knowledge that I’ve gained and be able to apply it to my life. And it’s very exciting, because I’m pivoting into supporting exotic dancers with their health. And I’m taking the skincare that I do the nutrition and everything and using it to support them. And balancing like creating a balanced life, even though that they have this kind of alternative world that they live in, that can be really stressful on the body, it’s a lot of energy, it’s a lot of outward exertion and you’re an athlete, we are basically you know, an athlete, and so you have to treat your body as such, and a lot of people don’t realize that and up when they don’t prepare, going to fast food and like eating late at night and like doing things they shouldn’t do. Whereas if they just prepared and brought a meal into work or brought a protein shake in that they could have like, avoided that late night burger and fries. Christine Garvin 49:00
Absolutely. Yeah, I was gonna ask if you come across a lot of women that are kind of struggling with their health if they’ve been doing exotic dancing for a while, because I know for me, I can certainly fall into that like routine, especially if you’re working that hard at that time of night and then just at the end being like yeah, just give me like whatever greasy food you know, I mean, it’s a you, I would think have to be a very conscious person to not choose to do that. Danielle Sholly 49:31
Yeah, it’s all about setting yourself up for success with anything and I tell my my nutrition clients this all the time. It’s like, you know, you have to eat three times a day, right? It shouldn’t be a surprise every day when you wake up. Good point that you have to feed yourself. Yeah, so Christine Garvin 49:47
my god, what am I going to eat today? Yeah, but that used to Danielle Sholly 49:51
be me. I used to just wake up and drink coffee and go for hours before eating anything because I dreaded making myself breakfast. Oh and And so now we’re gonna repeat the same thing for breakfast every day. Christine Garvin 50:03
Yep. Just like, Danielle Sholly 50:05
make it easy for yourself. Right? So yeah, it’s pretty funny. Christine Garvin 50:08
Yeah. Yeah, I love that do you? Do you end up working with like, are a lot of the women in their 20s? I’m assuming or in their 30, early 30s That you’re that you work with? Danielle Sholly 50:21
Yeah, absolutely, it can be a range there are a lot of younger women, which I’ve been drawn to working with my entire career, I’ve tended to attract clients that are in their early 20s. And are just like, maybe having their first spiritual awakening as a woman, or like really kind of coming into themselves is such a like, vibe, vital time, right then and your early 20s until you’re 25 to really establish your boundaries and like step into the woman that you’re becoming. And so I love being able to influence a young woman at that time in her life. And I think it just naturally kind of came about, like women were observing how I conducted myself, and the the ways that I took care of myself and how my body was in such good shape. And, and all of these things like, you know, see me make great money. So like, there’s all these things, they’re like, secretly taking notes on and watching me, so they just kind of individually started coming to me and being like, Hey, so what do you like? What do you what is your workout routine? Or? Like, what are you doing for your skin? And I just like these kind of naturally evolved, and I just started helping them with different aspects. And I was like, wow, and I’m an expert at this, because I’ve been doing it for eight years and taking care of myself. And so now I can pass some of that on to them. Right? It’s a very cool experience. Christine Garvin 51:40
Yeah, very cool. And I can imagine, particularly some of the larger cities, like in the US and everything where, you know, there’s just especially, I don’t know, I’m imagining like New York, like I would be, if I was exotic dancing there, I’d be like, Yeah, I’m gonna go out and just be out the rest of the night. And, you know, eat all the things and drink all the things, you know, especially if you’re like, 25. I don’t know. So it’s like it, you’re a good resource. And also, you know, the way that you do look and carry yourself it’s like, okay, yeah, this is what can happen if you start taking care of yourself. Now, you know, like, especially if you want to continue that career, long term, right? And keep making that money. Like, yeah, yeah, gotta, you know, the outer vessels go good, like the inner vessel does do Danielle Sholly 52:33
exactly. And I think I started dancing, because I really enjoyed it. Like, I live with learning pole dance for fun, and it felt like very liberating to me. And I really wanted to pay to be able to afford to invest in my health, like, I wanted to be able to buy supplements, and I wanted to be able to get the testing I wanted. So actually, it’s very funny how this medicine has come out of that, like I’ve, I’ve always, still continued to do health coaching. But then I started dancing, and just do it a couple of times a week. And it’s, it’s been able to, like, give me the monetary freedom to be able to then invest back into myself with the supplements and things that I want. So it’s, it’s been a very interesting, like addition to my career, but also is like, like leading the way into the next phase of things for me. And I think that the, you know, I call it sex work. It’s not that exotic dancers are having sex in the clubs, but it is considered sex work. But I think that I’ve always been really interested in women’s rights and supporting women who are not advocating for themselves. And I really feel like women should take more care with themselves in their boundaries in their their vessel. And I don’t think that a lot of women in that industry do that. Even though they’re good people. I just think like, it’s really easy to get sucked into the lifestyle of having drinks every night at work and like all those types of things. So really just showing women like there’s there’s actually another way, and the exotic dancer community is actually very conscious. And it’s it’s really interesting. A lot of people think it is a lot of just people on drugs or people that don’t have any other choice. But that’s not true at all. Like these are empowered women who are going after it. They’re oftentimes in school, they’re supporting a family. They’re like, really intelligent women who are interested in healing and astrology and all these beautiful things. So yeah, there’s quite a diverse community in that world and I want to shed more light on the fact that it is a legitimate job. It is a legitimate way to be in the world. And it is allowing women to kind of break free from a lot of the the shame and the I guess More like oppressive energies in the world that I think, have been on us a long time? Christine Garvin 55:07
Well, it’s like taking back control of your own narrative, you know? And so and really, yeah, empowering yourself to do what you want to do in this life, right? And like, like you said, like, you’re able to sort of take care of yourself on a different level, because of this, you know, so it’s like, you’ve taken control of the narrative, you’re able to really use it in ways that are, you know, self sustaining, and that maybe you wouldn’t have been able to otherwise. Because, as we all know, like, taking care of yourself, unfortunately, it’s not cheap. You know, it’s its own. I mean, I hope that this changes in the next few years, because I understand how much it can, you know, be a barrier for some people to be able to access, like Functional Medicine and things like that, you know? And so it’s like, how do we get around these old confines around women, and really run with Yeah, run with what we want to be doing, making money. Danielle Sholly 56:11
The whole, the whole medical system needs to shift and especially women’s care. And I feel that the more women that are empowered with money, the more that they can take care of themselves, and really make the changes in the world that we need to see, I truly believe that women are the Wayshowers. And we’re the ones that carry the magic, and we carry the gifts. And for me, exotic dancing allowed me to come out of my shell in a way I’ve never experienced before, like, you literally just become the superhero, and heals and command attention. And it really, I think went hand in hand with my healing, just allowing myself to, to fully embrace my sensuality, my sexuality and my body and release the shame release that pressure of being perfect and looking perfect. And getting that direct feedback of the club of being like, Oh, you don’t, you don’t have to look a certain way, or be a certain way to make money. And that just like, elevated my self esteem, and then that’s when my my skin cleared, I just was like, Okay, this is I can fully be myself, I don’t have to be ashamed of this part of myself. I can be a health coach and an exotic dancer, I can be this and that. And so many times women are just putting ourselves into boxes. And I, I feel like it’s important for us to embrace our weirdness and our magic and whatever it is, that makes us different, and really step into that. And that’s when the true healing happens. Christine Garvin 57:40
Yes, that’s so beautiful. And I feel like everything you just said, can definitely be a program that you can create for women to like, I was like, thinking as you were talking, I was like, Oh, this is good. This is a good, like, self guided program that she can teach at some point too. So I’m ready. Just throwing that out there. You know, I think there’s so many layers to the work that you’re doing. And so even just that, you know, getting women into their bodies, loving their bodies as they are and all the healing that can come from that is so hugely important. Such a good conversation. So let everybody know how they can get in touch with you. Danielle Sholly 58:23
Well, I am over on Instagram at Daniel scholly, you can send me a DM, and we can talk about what it is you’re looking to do, whether it’s a new skincare routine, whether if anything else, I said piqued your interest, we can definitely I create custom programs for people and I work one on one. So I’m I’m excited to just work with people in whatever capacity they come to me with and create something that’s totally unique to them. Christine Garvin 58:49
It’s very exciting. Nice, sweet. Well, thank you so much for sharing all of this amazing information with us today and like really going there in these, you know, different arenas that aren’t talked about enough. So I appreciate you sharing your story with us. Danielle Sholly 59:07
Thank you, Christine. It’s a pleasure. Christine Garvin 59:09
Yeah. All right, you guys. I will see you next time. |
