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Trust is something we often think about in relation to others. Can I trust my partner? My friends? Can I trust my co-workers, my boss?
Do you think about the people in your life who are trustworthy, or do you think about the ones who have mishandled it ?
Being betrayed is an awful feeling.
AND I bet you had an inkling that something was going on before the big betrayal happened.
Our intuition, our nervous system, knows when something is off. It is up to us to choose whether or not we listen.
And this is where the biggest trust question comes up. Do you trust yourself?
Do you trust the niggle that says something is off?
Do you speak up when something isn’t right?
Do you handle issues when they come up, or do you shut down, pawn it off, or run away?
Trust begins with us. With our relationship to ourselves.
Here's a personal example of what happened when I chose not to trust myself.
In 2021, I met a guy online, and we ended up dating on and off for about a year.
While we were planning our first date, a huge red flag appeared. He told me where we were going, what time to be there, and what to wear.
Hello, Dom vibes... but the unhealthy kind.
Now, I know my Fifty Shades and smut girlies are probably swooning right now, but let me explain why this was a red flag.
This type of control can be incredibly hot—but only when there's trust, consent, and communication. It's exciting when someone knows you, knows what you enjoy, and you've both agreed that this dynamic feels good. They tell you what to wear because they know it's your favourite outfit, and you're both looking forward to them taking it off later.
That's a completely different situation.
This man didn't know me at all.
He picked a place that was three hours away from where I lived (my location wasn't listed on the app we met on), and I didn't enjoy being told what to wear. I got upset. Instead of taking responsibility, he turned it around on me and blamed me for never telling him where I lived—even though he had never asked.
That was the first red flag.
Throughout the relationship, many more followed.
My body was anxious all the time. I didn't feel safe bringing up concerns because every conversation turned into a full-blown fight. I was exhausted, emotionally drained, and becoming lonelier by the day.
It wasn't until a year later that I realized this deeply wounded man displayed many narcissistic qualities. He cheated on me, gaslit me, manipulated me emotionally, and slowly started isolating me from the people around me. But I don't regret that year.
It became one of the most transformational years of my life.
I dove deeply into my own personal growth and realized that I was actually using the communication and healing tools I was learning. The problem wasn't that I was doing it wrong—it was that he wasn't interested in listening, taking accountability, or treating me with respect.
Looking back, I could have saved myself a year of heartache if I had trusted myself when that very first red flag appeared.
But I don't regret it.
That experience created the change I needed. It deepened my understanding of trust, boundaries, and self-worth, and ultimately led me to the work I do today—helping other women learn to trust themselves before they lose themselves in someone else.
When we start to listen to our intuition, our nervous system, and our body. We begin to trust ourselves. When we say we are going to do something and follow through, we prove that we are reliable not only to ourselves but also to others.
When we say no to certain things that don’t align with us, or we just don’t want to do, it makes it clearer to ourselves that we honour our time and energy. It becomes clearer to others what we want to be invited to and what we are here to show up for. It also shows people what our boundaries are.
When we say no, the universe sees that and says ok, I’ll send less of that and more of what she is saying yes to. Although you will still get tests to see if you are strong in your no.
So, here are 5 ways you can start to listen and trust yourself more:
Notice which people in your life make you feel anxious, irritated, pessimistic, down, and which ones make you feel grounded, peaceful, optimistic, safe. Really feel those different states in your body so that you can notice them in real time when they come up in the future. Then you can act accordingly to the situation.
When you get a niggle or a hit of intuition, follow it. If journaling is your thing, you can write down what intuition said, and whether you followed its directions. Then write what happened. This may take a bit of practice at first because our ego/dysregulated self can be louder than intuition. Intuition to me is this deep knowing. It comes in peacefully, and it won’t try to push in front of ego. It is heard best when you are in a regulated state. It can be weird sometimes, but it always has what is best in mind for you. Ego, on the other hand, speaks in a louder way. It is more protective and fear-based. It can feel more childlike in the reaction. Ego and dysregulation go hand in hand.
I’m a dancer and an instructor, so I like to tell my women to really listen to their body in class. My classes are meant to be fun, so I want them to speak up and let me know if something is hurting their body. If they need something adapted. If they want to move slower or faster, that is fine. Want to put your own flair on the choreo? Great! Don’t feel like doing that one move today because you are in your luteal phase, grumpy, sensitive, and sore. That is fine. Listen to your body and do what it’s asking you to do. Be kind to it. As women, I don’t think that we are nearly nice enough or compassionate enough to our amazing bodies.
Say no. Stop people pleasing. All it does is create distance from who you really are. You are not a pushover. Say no to things and people who drain your time and energy and never give back to you. BUT there is a caveat here. If you also never ask for help, do that first before outcasting your crew. This is also a trust exercise in others. When you say no, it allows people to show you if they will respect your no. If they don’t, then that gives you valuable information. If you ask for someone’s help, you may be pleasantly surprised to receive a yes! Again, valuable information.
Stop sourcing out your desires. This means that if you are a more anxious attachment style (check out my other blog post or my 28-day course for more info on this), you may have a tendency of saying things like “whatever you want to do.” “I’m easy, I’ll eat whatever.” It’s time to start actually voicing your desires and stop being secretly resentful.
BONUS step! When you say you're going to do something, follow through. Especially when it's a promise you've made to yourself. Every time you do, you strengthen your integrity. You teach yourself that you can be counted on. And that's one of the fastest ways to build lasting self-trust.
How are we doing?
Did you see parts of yourself in this article?
If you did, and you're ready to rebuild trust with yourself, I'd love to help.
I truly believe that self-trust is one of the biggest stepping stones to creating your dream life.
Here's how we can work together:
1:1 Premium Online Coaching – For those who are ready to commit to deep, lasting transformation.
Group Coaching Program – This August, I'll be opening a six-week online program focused on rebuilding trust, integrity, and confidence in yourself.
Dance With Me – Every month, I begin a new four-week group dance session in Toronto. You can even join the first week at a reduced price to see if it's the right fit for you.
I'd love to support you on your journey.
Check me out here:
Website
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https://www.instagram.com/intimaxyangel/
https://www.instagram.com/intimaxymixtrex/
People notice your face before they hear your words. And in business, that first glance can subtly communicate competence, energy, and leadership.
Studies show that light, intentional makeup can make women appear more competent, trustworthy, and professional. A Harvard study found that women who applied light makeup were perceived as more capable and confident than those with none. Another study published in Frontiers in Psychology revealed that “makeup and styling significantly increase perceived leadership ability, as long as the look remains natural and balanced.”
But here’s the catch:
Not everyone enjoys doing makeup every morning! (including myself, a professional makeup artist…). Some women feel it’s “too much work.” Others simply don’t know how to apply it well. And on top of that, entrepreneurship doesn’t leave much time for contouring.
So what’s the solution for women who want to look polished and confident without the daily hassle?
Enter Permanent Makeup - your silent business partner.
When done by a skilled professional, Permanent Makeup enhances your natural features so you wake up looking awake, defined, and ready. Perfectly shaped brows, subtly tinted lips, and lash enhancements give you that put-together look that says, “I’m in charge” without the extra hassle.
Think about it: if you can save 20 minutes each morning and still walk out feeling confident, focused, and intentional — that’s more mental bandwidth for what actually matters: running your business and leading your team.
1. Does it hurt?
Most clients describe it as mild discomfort rather than pain. A high-quality numbing cream is applied to keep you comfortable the entire time.
2. Will it look fake or too strong?
Not at all. Modern techniques are designed to look soft and natural. The goal is to enhance your features, not alter them. You’ll still look like you, just a more polished, confident version.
3. How long does it last?
Depending on your skin type and lifestyle, results can last 1–3 years before a touch-up is needed.
Confidence is powerful. And sometimes, it starts with simply not needing to rush for your makeup bag.
Ask me more questions! Send a note to simone.facialbeauty@gmail.com or 647-570-2406 to learn more.
Ximena Bravo is a beauty business owner based in Etobicoke, offering permanent makeup and makeup services. She helps women feel confident and ready with natural-looking, long-lasting beauty solutions that save time and feel like “you.” Before starting her business, Ximena worked in marketing for big global brands, managing products and building strategies. Now, she brings that experience into her own business, combining creativity, care, and business know-how. She’s passionate about helping women feel good in their own skin and loves connecting with others who are building meaningful, healthy, and happy lives through their work and passions.
November is that in-between month — not quite the holiday rush, but no longer the calm of early fall. For many women entrepreneurs, it’s when exhaustion catches up and motivation starts to dip.
We’ve been showing up, serving clients, planning holiday campaigns, and managing everything (and everyone). But what about us?
If you’ve been running on caffeine and adrenaline, consider this your reminder: you can’t pour from an empty cup or lead from one.
This month, let’s talk about self-care! Not spa days (though we love those), but everyday rituals that rebuild your energy, focus, and confidence before year-end.
November is darker, slower — it’s a time to wind down intentionally. Create a 10-minute evening ritual that tells your body, “You’re safe to rest.”
Ideas:
Remove your makeup with presence. Massage your skin, not just clean it.
Write down one win of the day and one thing you’ll release overnight.
End with a hydrating mask or balm as a symbol of softness and care.
How you close your day sets the tone for how you’ll start the next one.
Instead of diving into emails, start your day with a grounding ritual, something that connects you to your body before your business.
Try:
2 minutes of deep breathing.
A warm beverage (before using your phone!).
Applying lip balm or perfume mindfully (a tiny act of self-recognition).
That pause between waking and working is where self-worth grows.
Confidence doesn’t require perfection. It requires presence.
If you’ve been skipping your makeup or skincare because “there’s no time,” simplify.
Get long-lasting treatments that can make mornings effortless.
Or keep a 5-minute beauty ritual enough to feel like you.
Before the holidays rush in, pause and ask:
- What does my body need right now?
- What can I let go of this month to feel more like myself?
November isn’t about doing more. It’s about doing less, beautifully, intentionally, and with care.
Do you have more ideas? Share them in our Happy Healthy Women WhatsApp Group 🥰
Ximena Bravo is a beauty business owner based in Etobicoke, offering permanent makeup and makeup services. She helps women feel confident and ready with natural-looking, long-lasting beauty solutions that save time and feel like “you.” Before starting her business, Ximena worked in marketing for big global brands, managing products and building strategies. Now, she brings that experience into her own business, combining creativity, care, and business know-how. She’s passionate about helping women feel good in their own skin and loves connecting with others who are building meaningful, healthy, and happy lives through their work and passions.
Let’s be honest. No one will openly admit that someone’s appearance affected their decision to hire them, follow them, or buy from them. But the truth? It might have…
For years, I believed balance meant cutting back or just trying to do less. I thought if I said no to enough things, simplified my schedule, and trimmed my commitments, I’d finally feel whole.
But true balance - the kind that fuels both lasting energy and joy - comes from something deeper:
Alignment.
When your thoughts, emotions, body, and beliefs are in sync, you’re unstoppable. Your nervous system shifts from stress to flow. Your brain’s energy centers light up. You become magnetic in your presence, creativity, and power.
I’ve seen this transformation in my own life - and in countless people I’ve worked with over the last 25 years. One woman (actually, far too many!), for example, was exhausted despite “doing all the right things.” Meditation, yoga, supplements… yet she felt drained every day. Why? Her body was tense, her mind was locked in self-doubt, and her beliefs told her she always had to “do more” to be worthy. One by one, we realigned those layers. Within weeks, her energy returned, her mood lifted, and she felt like herself again.
Because here’s the truth:
Alignment isn’t a luxury. It’s the hidden key to sustainable health, focus, and the life you want.
But if even one piece is off - your thoughts spinning in worry, your body locked in tension, old beliefs whispering “not enough” - your power dims. You feel scattered, exhausted, or stuck, no matter how hard you try.
So, where might you be out of alignment today?
Start by checking in:
Thoughts → Are your inner conversations empowering or draining?
Emotions → What feeling are you carrying right now?
Body → Is your posture open and relaxed… or tight and tense?
Beliefs → Are you holding onto stories that keep you small?
Even one small shift can start realigning your whole system. Maybe that’s a single breath. A boundary. A new belief. Or simply the decision to pause and listen.
Because all your power comes from within. Alignment is how you access it.
Your next step?
Pause for 30 seconds today. Breathe deeply. And ask yourself:
Where do I need to realign?
One tiny shift could be the door to a whole new level of energy, focus, and joy.
With over 25 years of experience, Suzanne is dedicated to empowering individuals in overcoming back pain and achieving sustainable well-being. As a seasoned mentor to students, chiropractors, and aspiring individuals, she has developed a revolutionary system that harnesses optimal nervous system health. Suzanne's innovative approach redefines stress management, paving the way for success and sustainable balance in life.
Ever feel like no matter how well you eat, how much you sleep, or how often you say “yes” to self-care, your energy still dips, your creativity stalls, or your mind feels too wired to relax?
You're not broken. You're not lazy. You're likely just burnt out on a nervous system level - and it's more common than you think.
It’s the system that helps you switch between doing and being, creating and resting. But for many of us, stress gets stuck in our bodies - and we stay in overdrive far too long.
Healthy Stress (Alarm): A short burst of energy that helps you rise to a challenge. Think: stage jitters or deadline motivation.
Resistance: Your body tries to adapt. You're pushing through, maybe a bit tired, but still functioning.
Exhaustion: You’ve been in survival mode for too long. Now you’re running on empty - mentally, emotionally, and physically.
Most women live in stage 3 far longer than they realize. This shows up as anxiety, burnout, hormone imbalances, poor sleep, irritability, or just a general feeling of being “off.”
When you learn how to support your nervous system - not just through rest, but through intentional tools - you unlock:
True, restorative energy (not the kind that crashes mid-afternoon)
Deeper clarity and confidence in decision-making
More space for joy, creativity, and connection
This is what I call Infinite Balance - a way of living that aligns your energy with your purpose, without burning out along the way.
Take the free quiz:
What’s Draining Your Energy?
Discover your personal Energy Drain Archetype and get tools to restore clarity, calm, and energy that lasts.
With over 25 years of experience, Suzanne is dedicated to empowering individuals in overcoming back pain and achieving sustainable well-being. As a seasoned mentor to students, chiropractors, and aspiring individuals, she has developed a revolutionary system that harnesses optimal nervous system health. Suzanne's innovative approach redefines stress management, paving the way for success and sustainable balance in life.
What does burnout look and feel like? It may be hard or really easy to identify early signs of burnout. Our ability to recognize, identify, and address burnout begins with awareness of it.
Burnout is usually associated with our occupational experiences, however, burnout is becoming a universal term to describe the layering of prolonged and unmanaged stress, therefore we are all at some risk of burnout.
So how can you look for ways to resolve stress? I’m going to give you the bullet list and then my recommendations. From my experience, a gentle, loving holistic approach to burnout, is extremely transformative.
If you’re reading this list and you feel resistance, irritation, or overwhelmed, there’s a good chance you are in burnout. Or maybe you’re already doing some of these things but still feeling stuck. Everything you feel is valid and taking care of yourself may feel like an effort now but will transform how you live, think, feel, breathe, and be.
I suggest picking one or two of the stress reduction tools and practicing for a few weeks until it feels more like a daily habit. The regular integration of self care action is key to managing everyday stressors, that can compile, and lead us to burnout.
Burnout changed for me when I became more curious about how things could look or feel different for me. I started seeking my own answers, which led me to alternative forms of healing and new learning. Unfortunately, there is no one-and-done solution to burnout. It requires ongoing monitoring, management, and adjustment to maintain equilibrium.
I have experienced burnout during my nursing career, personally and also among colleagues. The COVID-19 pandemic created so much pressure and strain on the healthcare system, leaving many burnt out.
First responders and healthcare workers are already at risk for burnout, and we tend to forget that the average person will never have to experience the same challenges in their workday as someone within this profession. Respectively, we tend to gloss over the nature of their duties and responsibilities. But at the end of the day, these individuals experience real trauma and death. This is why it’s important that we nurture the responder within each of us.
Christie is a dynamic wellness practitioner. As the founder of Wellness Haven and Health Christie offers a circular approach to wellness with offerings that honour the seven principles of wellness: emotional, environmental, mental, occupational, physical, relational, and spiritual. Christie is a life skills coach, happiness coach, a breath work facilitator, as well as a medical aesthetician. Christie is joined by her daughter, Abigail, who offers home organization and a decluttering service. At Wellness Haven and Health we encourage and support others in their wellness journey.
Learn more about Christie and her business:
Website
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This is the work that changed everything for me.
As I look back, I see how my self image was a direct reflection of how I experienced life in my physical reality. I spent so many years trying to find myself. Now I know we get to create ourselves by using our minds. There is a vast difference between the two.
See I was searching outside myself for the answers. Who am I? What am I capable of? What am I worth? I thought confidence was something you had or didn’t have. I allowed my outside circumstances and results in my life to dictate my worth. My worth was dependent on achieving and being the best. I was only worthy if I was winning or coming in first place. I’m sure some of you can relate to this.
What I have come to know is that the image we hold of ourselves dictates our reality. This is referred to as our self image. We have an image we project to the outside world, what we wear, how we do our hair, how we carry ourselves AND we also have our inner image, the one we believe about ourselves. It’s that inner voice that plays over and over in our minds. The one that guides us, the one that determines our outside world. The one that the universe responds to. Our minds will always try to prove us right. If I have the thought that I'm not good enough or unworthy of money, then I will have experiences to show me I'm right. Alternatively, if I have a strong and healthy image of myself and my abilities, then I will have experiences that show me I’m right. Our belief in ourselves will dictate our results.
Our belief in ourselves is crucial because we will never outperform our self image!
Learn more about Kelly and her business:
We come into the world with a big breath often followed by a cry and we come to the end of life when our breath ceases. This is an automatic function that does not require us to think about it for it to happen but it is something that we can control.
When we are in pain we hold our breath, when we are anxious or excited our breathing becomes rapid. When we are at peace we have slow even paced breath. There is no disputing that breathing is essential to life and how we take care of our breath is important. The connection with our mental, emotional, and physical body is vital. There are many ways to utilize our breath to bring stability to this connection and Neurodynamic breathwork as a practice certainly can help.
Neurodynamic breathwork as a practice can:
Breathwork, in combination with other practices, helps you explore life in new dynamic ways. As integration takes place you will discover deeper aspects of life you never knew existed. Next month we will explore key principles of Breathwork and integration.
Christie enjoyed a long career in nursing and is now pursuing her passion in self development. Wellness Haven and Health offers Life Skills Coaching, Happiness Coaching, and Neurodynamic Breathwork. Encouraging self empowerment for all clients with a focus on the seven principles of wellness.
February, the month of love. Valentine’s Day has passed and with it the roses are drying, the chocolates are consumed, and the jewelry is worn or it’s found a home in the jewelry box. Lovely, but all temporary things. In life we see events unfold in our personal sphere and we cannot always control it all. What we can control is how we handle it. Lead with love. How do we do this?
Remember, you are your most valuable asset and it is essential to invest in you. Take personal inventory of what you like and don’t like then show yourself compassionate acceptance. Next to grace, make an honest plan on how you can nurture yourself in all parts. Understanding the importance of developing self love and acceptance is key to moving forward in life and business. It enables you to be firm in your boundaries and to identify what is acceptable in other relationships. Love that genuinely comes from deep within automatically flows out and spreads to others. As leaders and entrepreneurs leading with love will build a stronger community.
Christie enjoyed a long career in nursing and is now pursuing her passion in self development. Wellness Haven and Health offers Life Skills Coaching, Happiness Coaching, and Neurodynamic Breathwork. Encouraging self empowerment for all clients with a focus on the seven principles of wellness.
