We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Anesa Kratovac. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Anesa below.

Anesa, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’d love to hear the backstory behind a risk you’ve taken – whether big or small, walk us through what it was like and how it ultimately turned out.

The risk to finally leave New York City after years of living there and devoting myself to building a career in public service and humanitarian work was in many ways scary but also very needed. At that time, there were very few opportunities in this sector outside of the big cities, but my heart desired to be somewhere in the wide open spaces of Western U.S. I wanted to live a quieter and more natural lifestyle, especially after I felt the “survival stress” of living in New York had a lot to do with developing eczema.

Since there were only a few remote opportunities available at that time, I didn’t know what to expect in terms of work and how to slowly transition into living a life that was more aligned with my authenticity and purpose. At that time, I became very disillusioned about our social and corporate systems (having worked in many institutions and seeing how globalization and special elite interests were influencing the trajectory of civil society missions) and knew that my authenticity, knowledge, awareness, and truth were assets that were only going to thrive and take me far if I was to work for myself and help others on my own terms.

I do believe that many of us who don’t align with the mainstream narrative of “reality” are much better suited and more powerful when we shine our light on our own terms. Although we are more impactful when we work with others, our “awareness” has to align with those others for that collaboration to go in the direction that is most helpful to society. I definitely believe collaborating with like-minded people can help take us to new heights in terms of the impact we have, but we must never compromise our vision and values in that process.

Coming to that understanding was very liberating, but the difficulties of location change, financing my dreams, and “starting over,” were very real, and it took a lot of effort to stabilize myself to be at the place to offer my healing services to others.

That process meant going through many unstable years of freelancing and looking for better opportunities (which really did a number on my confidence) and then having enough energy and trust in myself to put my health experience and knowledge out there.

Another hurdle was to be able to get my services across to the right audience. Since the basis of my work is seen as “alternative,” teaching this way of looking at the body and health creates a cognitive dissonance in many people that hold the standard medical thinking when it comes to health. Then, there is the issue of getting individuals to change their habits and commit to healing, which is not the “quick and fast” treatment approach that usually sells.

Overall, all of the risks I’ve taken in life were always internally guided, and I am not the one to shy away from going after what brings me most joy and expansion. The hardest part was dealing with the practical aspects of life during these transitions. However, everything I went through made me stronger, more resilient, and capable, and that is why I encourage others to take the leap as well. Even if you don’t succeed with that particular project, in the process of creating it, you will internally become the type of person that has the capacity to succeed in multiple areas of life. And, that is the best outcome we can hope for!

Anesa, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

My name is Anesa, the owner of Detox With Anesa, and I use natural healing methods to help individuals detoxify their bodies so that they could be disease symptom free and thrive! My work as a certified detoxification specialist focuses mostly on using diet and herbs as a means to clean the body from physical and energetic obstructions. Most importantly, I help individuals understand their bodies from a chemical/energetic perspective by introducing them to the great lymphatic system, the role of the kidneys in detoxification, and how their eating habits and lifestyle contribute to creating body acidification. Essentially, I see myself as a guide that teaches others how to become self-healers, and in the process, heal themselves and their loved ones!

I got into the natural healing industry by going through chronic health challenges myself. I’ve lived with a dysregulated nervous system for most of my adolescent and adult life (which was the basis for other health conditions). And then over 11 years ago, I first developed eczema that became severe and spread through my whole body. The search to find a non-medical approach to healing was my true training for what I do today. The process of healing was one of research, experimentation, and understanding, and showed me many of the fallacies of modern-day medical thinking.

I healed my eczema naturally eight years ago and have studied and practiced detoxification ever since. Currently, I use naturopathic wisdom, herbalism, and knowledge of energy-work to guide others to optimal health. I also incorporate the wisdom of Chinese Traditional Medicine and Ayurveda to gain insights into clients’ health and needs. Although I gain insights from various modalities, my main modality is naturopathy. As such, I’ve done my training and am certified through Dr. Robert Morse’s International School of the Healing Arts.

What makes my approach different from other dieticians, healers, and health specialists is that I use my empathic and spiritual gifts to understand the person I’m working with personally and holistically. This energetic reading helps me realize how to best help them with the tools of nature. I never apply cookie-cutter solutions to advanced cases that require a highly specialized approach to getting well. I am patient and understanding. Overall, I understand how our physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual bodies work together for the sake of inner harmony and what to do when one or more of these bodies becomes dysregulated.

Have you ever had to pivot?

My goodness, most of my adult life has been all about pivoting – from career and life to business. Where do I start? Foremost, my experiences have shown me that when you take the path that is not meant for you (or only opens up as a life lesson), the road will be full of resistance, pushing, and closed doors.

This is exactly what happened to me. I was convinced my path was to work in the non-profit and humanitarian industries in project management and use my empathic gifts and international background to make a difference. But, no matter how much I tried to get my foot in the door on this path, my efforts never made it an easy one. I even went to grad school for international affairs and networked/took on temp opportunities to find my dream job in New York. I had to give that up when I could only get opportunities in fundraising, which no longer aligned with me, my need for creativity, and my desire to have a more direct impact in the world.

It was only when I ventured out of the system and created my own opportunities that I felt in my element and that I could use all my talents and skills without being underutilized in a traditional work setting. I knew that self-employment was my destiny (and I did explore it by freelancing in writing and marketing), but I had no idea how to go about it properly or what I had to give to humanity that was packaged as my true “purpose.”

I was always drawn to natural health practices and have been a vegetarian since I was a teen, so when I was at the peak of my health crisis, my natural instincts aligned with holistic healing so fully (in body, mind, and spirit), that I read and absorbed as much information as possible about all things wellness.

I knew that the spark I felt when I saw the results of my healing efforts was something that I could translate on a larger scale to help others. I saw how misguided and unaware most people were about diet and health, and I knew I could make a difference by teaching them more about how their bodies worked and how to reverse disease symptoms. I always had that wise teacher archetype and enjoyed explaining complex subjects in simple ways.

But the path to where I am today wasn’t easy – and still isn’t. Since I was also passionate about astrology and tarot (all very healing modalities), I wasn’t sure which direction to follow until various synchronicities and my own process of self-awareness made it all clear.

Then, there was the logistics of income. Starting a business and investing time in content creation and marketing takes time, effort, and resources. And, although I was willing to put in all the effort necessary, growing in a health niche like natural detoxification proved to take more time than I ever expected.

I started out with blogging, and then, seeing how difficult that was in terms of SEO ranking and competition (another pivot), I placed all my efforts into Instagram and YouTube. Learning all of these channels of marketing and showing up consistently is what many of us passionate creators and healers do. We direct our future by faith.

To be able to do this long-term and with patience, I needed income, so I got a part-time job and then had to pivot again when it became even more part-time than I wanted. I think the hardest part about starting a business is the income insecurity as you begin to grow and having to divide your attention in many directions.

There were definitely trying times when I was questioning if I could make this path work, but I knew this was my calling and always chose to continue by changing my approach or trying something different.

All in all, I believe success is all about taking risks and knowing how to pivot instead of giving up. When you commit to learning and growing and have faith in your efforts, that is the recipe for magical outcomes. They may not manifest when we want them to but when they are ripe to bless us.

Other than training/knowledge, what do you think is most helpful for succeeding in your field?

I think learning about marketing and investing in marketing that works for your niche is one of the most important skills you can have to succeed in any business. It is also important to know how to sell “health transformation” as a healer. We are notoriously great sources of healing knowledge and wisdom, but are not always very good at understanding what motivates people to want to commit to healing. Oftentimes, the reason is more “cosmetic” or surface than we think. So packaging our services in a way that people respond to is highly important in seeing traction.

Aside from technical skills, I believe that as a healer, you should also work on setting strong boundaries on how much you give of yourself to others. When it comes down to it, energy is the most precious resource we have. As givers, it is important to know how to manage it and how to provide help/services/advice without over-giving and over- exhausting our reserves.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.detoxwithanesa.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/detoxwithanesa
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@theartofhealingwithanesa
• Other: Etsy shop: https://redgrapewisdom.etsy.com