Sacred Illness

About Sacred Illness

Exploring illness as a sacred invitation to deep healing and self-discovery. sacredillness.substack.com (https://sacredillness.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast)

Publisher

Dr. Erin Hayford

Category

education · health & fitness

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

10 Oct 2023

Latest episode

24 Jun 2026

Latest episodes

65 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   24 Jun 2026

   Ep. 64: What Is Your Body Trying to Tell You? A Conversation on Somatic Healing with Renee Spillane

   When Renee Spillane had a massage that left her feeling “alive” and “untouchable,” she didn’t know it would change the course of her life. She quit her stable job, trained as a massage therapist, and discovered that the real work wasn’t about fixing muscles—it was about listening to what the body was storing. This is a story about how grief, fear, and unprocessed emotions live in our tissues, and how a skilled practitioner can help bring them to the surface. It’s about learning to trust the wisdom in your body, honoring your own unique healing path, and discovering that sometimes the greatest gift you can receive is simply being seen. Episode Overview In this conversation, I sit down with Renee Spillane, an energy healing massage therapist from Adelaide, South Australia, who specializes in working with women through all stages of womanhood—from pregnancy and motherhood to grief and beyond. Renee walks us through her unexpected journey into massage therapy, the profound personal experience of her son’s medical journey that taught her about grief, and how she learned to trust the intuitive information she receives while working with clients. We explore how physical symptoms often point to emotional roots, how different areas of the body hold different emotions, and why the most powerful healing happens when we bring awareness to what our bodies are storing. Renee shares stories from her practice—of women carrying fear in their hips, grief in their shoulders, and the resistance that comes when we’re not ready to hear the truth. What You’ll Discover * How a single memorable massage led Renee to completely change careers. * The difference between a “fix it” massage and an energetic, healing massage. * How grief can show up in the body—even when it’s not your own direct loss. * Why certain emotions live in specific areas of the body (fear in the hips, responsibility in the shoulders). * The importance of learning how to shift your own energy—and why it’s different for everyone. * How pregnancy, motherhood, and major life transitions show up physically. * Why some people resist emotional insights—and how to meet them with compassion. * The power of asking: “How’s life been lately?” instead of “What hurts?” * How trusting your body’s wisdom leads you onto your true path. * The freedom that comes from realizing you don’t have to have it all figured out. Timestamps 00:00 - Introduction & The Big Question of the Podcast 02:00 - Welcoming Renee from Adelaide, South Australia 04:00 - The Massage That Changed Everything 06:00 - Quitting Her Stable Job to Train as a Massage Therapist 08:00 - The Personal Experience That Taught Her About Grief 10:00 - Trusting Intuitive Information on the Table 12:00 - The Panic Attack That Told Her to Leave a Job 15:00 - How Physical Symptoms Point to Emotional Roots 18:00 - Fear in the Hips, Responsibility in the Shoulders 21:00 - The Postnatal Client Who Needed Social Connection 24:00 - The Client Who Didn't Want Her Feet Touched 27:00 - The Frozen Shoulder and Unexpressed Trauma 30:00 - Why Some People Resist Emotional Insights 33:00 - The Go-Kart Analogy: Hitting the Curb When You're Off Track 36:00 - Grief as a Universal Experience 39:00 - The Importance of Wording and Empowerment 42:00 - Oracle Cards as a Gentle Confirmation 45:00 - Respecting Everyone's Journey 48:00 - Her Work, Website, and Social Media 50:00 - Final Reflections and Closing Guest Information & Links Connect with Renee Spillane: * Website: balancingwomanhood.com.au (https://balancingwomanhood.com.au/) * Instagram: @balancingwomanhood.renee (https://www.instagram.com/balancingwomanhood.renee) 💫 Want to Go Deeper? → Begin your Sacred Illness® Journey: https://www.aurorasomatic.com/community (https://www.aurorasomatic.com/community) Use coupon code PODCAST for 20% off your first month. → Become a Sacred Illness® Practitioner: click the link to learn more: https://www.aurorasomatic.com/practitioner-training (https://www.aurorasomatic.com/practitioner-training) → Apply to get on the waitlist for the podcast: https://www.aurorasomatic.com/podcast-guest (https://www.aurorasomatic.com/podcast-guest) → Apply to be an Affiliate and help share this work:https://www.aurorasomatic.com/affiliate (https://www.aurorasomatic.com/affiliate) → Follow Dr. Erin on Substack: 🎶 Music by: “Instructions for Living a Life” by Savfkhttps://www.youtube.com/@SavfkMusic (https://www.youtube.com/@SavfkMusic) This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit sacredillness.substack.com/subscribe (https://sacredillness.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_2)

2. 

   17 Jun 2026

   Ep. 63: Finding Your Path when the System Fails You with Stacey Piedrahita

   Stacey spent her career inside healthcare. She knew the language, the protocols, the system… But when her body began to collapse, she was still dismissed, gaslit, and told to see a psychiatrist when imaging clearly showed she had a stroke. This is an episode on what it takes to keep going when no one believes you, about the exhaustion of advocating for yourself over and over, and about the courage it takes to keep going—even when you don’t have all the answers. Episode Overview In this conversation, I sit down with Stacey Piedrahita, a former nurse and medical professional from North Carolina who has navigated a decade of health crises—from multiple autoimmune diagnoses to a severe electrical shock that left her with POTS, dysautonomia, mast cell disease, and a confirmed stroke. Stacey walks us through the painful reality of being a patient in a system she once worked within, the invalidation she faced from specialist after specialist, and the exhausting fight to be believed. We explore how the childhood programming that taught her to mask her pain and be “the strong one” showed up in her initial relationship with illness, and how getting sick has slowly forced her to unlearn that story. This is a raw account of someone still in the midst of the journey—learning to unmask, to ask for help, and to become the most authentic version of herself. What You’ll Discover * The reality of being dismissed by doctors—even when you have medical training yourself. * How the medical system follows a script and doesn’t have time to listen—and why that must change. * The back pain at 50 that put her on a different path forever. * The experience of being told “nothing is wrong” while her body was collapsing. * How an electrical shock from a fence led to POTS, dysautonomia, mast cell disease, and a stroke. * The moment a neurologist finally listened—and why it took three to get there. * The deep childhood programming of being “the strong one” and masking pain to survive. * Why illness is forcing her to stop hiding and start asking for help—even when it’s terrifying. * How radical acceptance, Dialectical Behavior Therapy, and faith have become her foundation. * Who she is becoming: the most authentic version of herself—still in progress, still healing. Timestamps 00:00 - Introduction & The Big Question of the Podcast 02:00 - Welcoming Stacey from North Carolina 04:00 - The First Crisis: Debilitating Back Pain at Age 50 06:00 - Dismissed by Doctors: “Go See a Shrink” 08:00 - The Cognitive Decline: Not Recognizing Her Own Daughter 10:00 - A Career Inside Healthcare—And Still Not Being Believed 12:00 - The Electrical Shock from a Fence—and What Followed 14:00 - POTS, Dysautonomia, Mast Cell, and the Stroke 16:00 - The Third Neurologist Who Finally Believed Her 18:00 - Childhood Programming: “I’m the Strong One” 20:00 - Learning to Ask for Help and Unmask 22:00 - Radical Acceptance and Dialectical Behavior Therapy 24:00 - Becoming the Most Authentic Version of Herself—Still in Progress 26:00 - Her Books, Breathwork Classes, and Substack Guest Information & Links Connect with Stacey Piedrahita: * Website: tmsforacure.org (https://tmsforacure.org/) → find her breathwork class, “Breath and Beyond with Stacey”, held every second and fourth Friday. * Substack: https://substack.com/@revstaceyrocks (https://substack.com/@revstaceyrocks). Daily recovery essays, stories, and poetry. * Books: Available on Amazon * “Intuitive: Speaking Her Truth” * “Becoming the Manifesting Diva” * “Soulful Poems” (Two Volumes) * Soul Spells (Coming August 2026) * Book links: * https://a.co/d/0dIK32tF (https://a.co/d/0dIK32tF) * https://a.co/d/0bLl24q1 (https://a.co/d/0bLl24q1) Ready to Go Deeper? → Begin your Sacred Illness® Journey: https://www.aurorasomatic.com/community (https://www.aurorasomatic.com/community) Use coupon code PODCAST for 20% off your first month. → Become a Sacred Illness® Practitioner: https://www.sacredillness.com (https://www.sacredillness.com) → Apply to get on the waitlist to be a podcast guest: https://www.aurorasomatic.com/podcast-guest (https://www.aurorasomatic.com/podcast-guest) → Apply to be an Affiliate and help share this work:https://www.aurorasomatic.com/affiliate (https://www.aurorasomatic.com/affiliate) → Follow Dr. Erin on Substack: 🎶 Music by: “Instructions for Living a Life” by Savfkhttps://www.youtube.com/@SavfkMusic (https://www.youtube.com/@SavfkMusic) This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit sacredillness.substack.com/subscribe (https://sacredillness.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_2)

3. 

   26 May 2026

   Episode 62: "You Don't Have to Work So Hard to Heal”: A Story of ME/CFS, Panic, and Neuroplastic Rewiring with Teresa Hobbs

   When Teresa Hobbs was left bed-bound after a minor fender bender, she couldn’t be near a computer, read a book, or even receive a phone call without blacking out. Her world had shrunk to staring at the texture on her ceiling, searching for shapes to comfort her. This is a story about what happens when you stop fighting your symptoms and start listening to the mechanism behind them—when you realize that the brain can get stuck on a loop, perpetuating danger signals long after the threat is gone. It’s about learning to dance with panic, to accept the unacceptable, and to discover that healing isn’t about eliminating intensity—it’s about expanding your capacity to be with it. Episode Overview In this conversation, I sit down with Teresa Hobbs, a Certified Trauma Recovery Coach, Pain Reprocessing Therapy Practitioner, and Safe and Sound Protocol Provider from Utah. Teresa walks us through her decades-long journey with chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS), from early warning signs in her twenties to a catastrophic nervous system crash in 2014 that left her bed-bound for years. We explore the shame of being told her illness was “in her head,” the relentless pursuit of fixing herself, and the pivotal moment when she learned to stop trying so hard. Teresa shares the neuroplastic understanding that chronic symptoms are often the brain’s stuck danger signals, and introduces practical tools like somatic tracking for rewiring. We discuss codependency, attachment, the window of tolerance, and why the most radical act of healing is often simply accepting yourself where you are—without judgment. What You’ll Discover * The fender bender that fractured her nervous system and left her bedbound for years. * Why her brain would black out from reading, phone calls, or even positive daydreams. * The painful experience of family members labeling her illness as “getting a payoff” or “all in her head.” * How trying too hard to heal—five hours of meditation a day, rigid protocols—actually impeded her recovery. * The liberating invitation: “You don’t have to work so hard to heal.” * Understanding neuroplastic symptoms: how the brain perpetuates danger signals long after the initial trigger. * Somatic tracking: meeting sensations with curiosity and non-judgment. * Why pain reprocessing therapy works best when symptoms are between a 1 and 5—and when to just take the medication. * The connection between codependency, attachment disruption, and chronic illness. * How learning to tolerate panic transformed her life—and gave her the courage to live fully. Timestamps 00:00 - Introduction & The Big Question of the Podcast 02:00 - Welcoming Teresa Hobbs from Utah 04:00 - The Early Warning Signs: Fatigue in 2003 06:00 - The Fender Bender That Fractured Her Nervous System 08:00 - Bedbound and Blacking Out: The Most Terrifying Period 10:00 - Family Members Who Said It Was “All in Her Head” 12:00 - The Fixing Mindset: Five Hours of Meditation a Day 14:00 - “You Don’t Have to Work So Hard to Heal” — A Pivot Point 16:00 - Moving Out of Her Parents’ House and Into Healing 18:00 - Physical Stressors: Cavitation Surgery and Upper Cervical Chiropractic 20:00 - The Last Piece: Panic and Learning to Stop Avoiding 22:00 - Dancing with Panic: “I Dared It to Get as Big as It Needed to Get” 25:00 - Codependency and Chronic Illness: “I’m Not Okay Unless You’re Okay” 28:00 - Neuroplastic Symptoms: How the Brain Gets Stuck on Danger Signals 30:00 - Pain Reprocessing Therapy and Somatic Tracking 33:00 - The Safe and Sound Protocol: Training the Ear to Hear Safety 35:00 - Expanding the Window of Tolerance: Healing as Capacity Building 38:00 - Who Has Her Illness Invited Teresa to Become? 40:00 - Teresa’s Coaching, Groups, and Resources Guest Information & Links Connect with Teresa Hobbs: * Website: www.monarchintegrativecoaching.com (http://www.monarchintegrativecoaching.com) * YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@monarchintegrativestudio (https://www.youtube.com/@monarchintegrativestudio) * Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/monarchintegrativecoaching (https://www.facebook.com/monarchintegrativecoaching) * Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/monarchintegrativestudio (https://www.instagram.com/monarchintegrativestudio) * Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/@almostawakenedpodcast (https://www.youtube.com/@almostawakenedpodcast) 💫 Want to Go Deeper? → Begin your Sacred Illness® Journey:https://www.aurorasomatic.com/community (https://www.aurorasomatic.com/community)Use coupon code PODCAST for 20% off your first month. → Become a Sacred Illness® Practitioner: click the link to get on the waitlist. Our first cohort begins September 2026, spots are limited.https://www.aurorasomatic.com/practitioner-training (https://www.aurorasomatic.com/practitioner-training) → Apply to be a podcast guest:https://www.aurorasomatic.com/podcast-guest (https://www.aurorasomatic.com/podcast-guest) → Apply to be an Affiliate and help share this work:https://www.aurorasomatic.com/affiliate (https://www.aurorasomatic.com/affiliate) → Follow Dr. Erin on Substack: 🎶 Music by: “Instructions for Living a Life” by Savfkhttps://www.youtube.com/@SavfkMusic (https://www.youtube.com/@SavfkMusic) This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit sacredillness.substack.com/subscribe (https://sacredillness.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_2)

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

YouTube views

3,344,109

Score snapshot 15 Sept 2025

Apple Podcasts (US)

5.0 / 5

11 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 58 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

52

Social presence

0

YouTube

93

Engagement

68