Elizabeth Kendig has amassed 5.4 million followers on Pinterest and a reputation for sharing trusted beauty advice on her blog, BeautyBets.com. Yet, avid readers know it’s more than skin deep. Kendig assists readers on their individual journeys to get more comfortable in their skin, be it through the perfect shade of red lipstick or an introduction to aura photography. Ultimately, Elizabeth is committed to mining self-love, acceptance, and healing within the hearts and minds of readers.

Elizabeth is the first to admit that she’s self-help obsessed and she’s spent over a decade doing the hard work: the internal make-over. As the divine order of things played out, she launched the “Healers” podcast in January 2017, a weekly spiritual journey where she has a conversation with guides and gurus who are transforming lives in unconventional ways. Think, colonics, energy healing, and past life regression. Here, she introduces listeners to healers voices and healing practices that skeptics would write off as “woo woo.”

“Healers” has been a beautiful surprise. When I conceived of a podcast where people could reconnect with their higher self, guided by lightworkers who’ve dedicated their lives to helping us heal ours, I wondered: was the world ready for a show about the things we struggle with but never really talk about? Our darkest fears and deepest longings? Throw in a psychic and a poop expert and the odds were not exactly in our favor. But the answer was a resounding – if not relieved – YES,” Elizabeth muses.

This podcast contends that we’re all in need of healing, whether it be from a minor trauma to the heart or a chronic health condition. It poses many approaches to doing the work, as healing is a personal journey and not a one-size-fits-all, one-pill-cures all. And Elizabeth is the perfect host, as she’s tried it all. Heck, she’s even hung from a silk cocoon in Sedona (spoiler alert: it’s like a womb!).

Recently, I sat down with Elizabeth and talked about her personal need for healing, finding mindfulness by becoming quiet, and how you can start healing by taking one little step.

ASHLEY: What led you down your personal path of healing?

ELIZABETH: Depression and anxiety for most of my life. I probably didn’t have those words for it until adulthood, which is very cultural. I was so high-functioning most of the time; I was a very ambitious kid and adult, but I never felt good for extended periods of times. So, I knew that something needed to change as I got older and I realized that it was down to me. There were no more mean girls. There were no more blaming my parents who were blameless anyway. I had to take accountability. 

I have to say I crawled at first. It was such a gift to be a writer, a magazine editor, a blogger and be able to just start talking to healers – which we didn’t use that word years ago. To talk to an acupuncturist. To meet with someone who did something with breathing? What is that? Of course, I got to learn about this new world from a professional standpoint, which is perfect for me.

Meanwhile, I got myself into traditional therapy. I was on antidepressants for a short time. And those traditional things did help me, but not nearly as much as realizing through working with these healers that I was already ok. I just needed to believe it.

ASHLEY: Do you have any advice for readers who might just now be venturing out on a healing journey of their own?

ELIZABETH: First, Write It Down. I could send you to go meet with lots of people or stock up on crystals and incense and that’s all good – those experiences help facilitate the healing process – but I’m going to be really annoying and say that the thing that I resisted for so long is to…oh, my god. I can’t believe I’m going to say this: start journaling. No one wants to do it, but there is something that happens when you name it. When you start naming how you’re feeling. What you’re sad about or how you’re hurting. And identifying what you want. When you write it down, you see it. You see yourself. You see your higher self coming through. And you can’t make that up. You cannot pretend when you put it on paper.

Then, Get Quiet. If you really just wanna get out there and be exposed to practitioners – which is a powerful experience in itself – seek out any sort of meditation, restorative yoga or spaces that allow you to reaaaaally get quiet. It could be a retreat or it could be just for an hour. It could be out in the desert or it could be down the street. But when you are forced to really go inside and to be in community with others who are doing the same thing, I think a lot of shifting can happen in your mind, in your soul, and there’s a release in that. Getting quiet is very underrated and it’s probably one of the most powerful things you can do for yourself.

ASHLEY: What are some effective entry points for someone who is just beginning to dip their toes in “woo woo?”

ELIZABETH: I would recommend talking to an intuitive as a good first step. Ask around for a good one, a trusted one. They can remind you that you are exactly where you need to be. That everything you’re feeling is normal and natural. That you’re here in this lifetime to be this person and there’s nothing wrong with you. To have this outside party see you and see your path, it’s so liberating! We look outside of ourselves so often. We find other people that we want to emulate. We think we need to be like someone else because we see them and we think that they’re happy. But it is so powerful to have someone with a connection to a greater spiritual vantage point see you and make sense of you.

I have wept over those readings because they freed me up to be myself and to not think that I needed to be anyone else. And that’s often where the pain lies for people: thinking that there’s something wrong with them.

ASHLEY: What about consoling and counseling a friend who isn’t familiar with alternative practices or the terminology? Suggesting that they work with an intuitive can be met with “ok, well…WTF kinda response is that?!” Any other thoughts on encouraging someone who is still skeptical about unfamiliar modalities?

I would still say see an intuitive! But I would also recommend that you should pay attention to what is resonating with you. So, if someone says “crystals” or someone says “reiki” and you get goosebumps, sit with that. If something lights you up, that’s the natural next step.

It’s easy for me to say start with an intuitive. Because it probably took me interacting with thirty or forty healers in formalized sessions to get to this point of saying, “Oh, you just need to be quiet with yourself. You need to journal.” It’s funny how you almost go back to the basics after you’ve had these experiences. They reconnected me with myself and that made the simpler practices of mindfulness possible.

ASHLEY: You mention “goosebumps.” I’ve worked with psychics and mediums and I know that when you get goosebumps in a reading or in conversation that it’s important; it’s something to heed.

ELIZABETH: Yes, goosebumps! I work with a shaman every few months and she has described goosebumps or chills as validation. Just like you get tense when you’re in a situation that doesn’t feel good to you. Or when you get sick to your stomach where there’s fear or anxiety involved. The sensation of goosebumps is your body responding before your mind can. They’re telling you “this is true. This is real.” I mean, they’re the best! It’s the first line of intuition. You’ll get that before you get a vision or you have an answer. Your body is saying, “Yes!” So, pay attention to those goosebumps for yourself and for other people!

ASHLEY: Are there any supercharged “Healers” episodes are great introductions to the “woo woo” world for someone who has never heard your podcast?

ELIZABETH:

• • Vanessa Feils, Spiritual Life Stylist, S2 Ep 6: there are some people who are just vibing higher and they bring that energy into the world. She is one of those people, yet she makes “it” – stepping into our power and purpose – so simple.

• • Dr. Julie Von, Holistic Fertility Expert, S2 Ep5: we talked about the powerful, complex and very emotional link between spirituality and fertility. This was an incredible episode because I love seeing science and spirituality live together. It can and it should.

• Bonnie Illies, Animal Healer, S2 Ep3: I’m such an animal person! Animals can be healed, too.

ASHLEY: You established a successful career in beauty prior to launching “Healers.” Any must-have current product obsessions that feel healing beyond the epidermis? Any favorite healing tools that you swear by?

ELIZABETH: 

I take a ton of baths. Epsom salts for detoxing both physically and energetically, plus essentials oils for their therapeutic benefits. A few favorites: I buy generic Epsom salts from Target, Walgreens, etc. But for a real treat, try Dr. Teals! Eucalyptus essential oil is my go-to for the bath because it clears the sinuses and smells like the spa! We do a lot of energy clearing in our house, after a bad day, on a full or new moon, when we want to release anything. Palo Santo sticks have a woodsier, cozier scent than sage. So, I tend to reach for them more often. Tea! Oh, my goodness! It’s a tonic for the soul and my favorite evening ritual. I love Pukka’s, anything with turmeric (anti-inflammatory), gingers (aids in digestion), or fennel (licorice anything!). My current beauty obsession – 8 Faces Solid Oil – is so much more than a face balm. It’s a ritual. It’s a moisturizer. It gives skin that dewy sheen. It smells like sleeping under the stars at Joshua Tree? Just kidding. I’ve never been, but I swear there’s something sacred in the jar!

ASHLEY: Is there a healing modality or treatment you’re most excited to try next?

ELIZABETH: I want to do a sweat lodge. I really do. I think I would see and hear things from another dimension. Or throw up and hallucinate. But the sheer faith and trust walk involved would really push me to face some of my fears.

On a lighter note, I haven’t been to a yoga retreat and think that would do wonders to ground me and get me out of my head! I’m not a yogi so I’ve always been both intimidated and drawn to them. 

ASHLEY: Name a wellness trend or buzzword you can’t wait to see go.

ELIZABETH: Overpriced anything, from fancy supplements to fitness classes. Wellness should be accessible to us all, and I cringe when we alienate people who need support and disempower a movement. I love nice things as much as the next girl, but water and deep breaths are free!

ASHLEY: How can we encourage more men to pursue more healing journeys?

ELIZABETH: We can encourage more men by not expecting them to be tough. Not expecting them to have all the answers. By letting them be sad. By letting them have emotion. By creating space in our homes and our relationships with men to be vulnerable, because there is a relearning that has to go on in our society: they have been taught to be strong and to be macho and to be the rock for us. But they’re equally human. So, it really starts with giving them space to talk about what’s going on with them and you’ll be amazed with what happens.

It’s simply not even talking about healing – don’t even bring up any of these words. Don’t drop “divine feminine” until they’re ready to hear that. Don’t use “woo woo” terms. Just hold space for them to be vulnerable. That’s the bottom line.

Ashley: I am an avid “Healers” listener. You close every episode by asking the featured guest the following question and this is the part of the interview where I turn the table on you: what is your healing wish for Wit & Delight readers?

ELIZABETH: My wish for readers is for them to know that you are enough just the way you are. And when you let go of this idea that you’re flawed, you get to begin living the life that you’re here to live.

To hear more about Elizabeth’s wellness experiences or to meet some of the impressive healers she’s interviewed, subscribe to “Healers” where you get your podcasts.

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