We recently connected with Vanessa Naumann and have shared our conversation below.

Vanessa, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Do you think your parents have had a meaningful impact on you and your journey?

As a teenager, all I wanted was to break out of my small town life and run as far away as possible. I was born with highly sensitive abilities into quite turbulent circumstances which required me to grow up fairly quickly and left me with a bruised sense of self and quite some traumatic experiences. On the up-side, it prepared me for independence and gave me drive. So I traveled the world starting at 19 and all through my 20’s. I worked all kinds of jobs, went on all kinds of adventures around the world and met incredible people that I’m still connected with. I used to blame my parents for all that went wrong but a wise person once told me that if I give them credit for what went wrong, I also gotta thank them for it.

Today I know, having integrated my past experiences, that without going through my own challenges, I couldn’t teach what I teach and couldn’t work the way I do. I could probably tell you a lot about the human psyche and how to use somatic techniques for stress release, but I wouldn’t have a real grasp on the reality of human suffering and how to heal it. Therefore, I see my own pain and challenges as a gift to truly experience the whole spectrum of the human experience and embody the wisdom and knowledge in order to teach others how to set themselves free.

The bottomline is, your parents always do the best they can with the tools they have at the time. You get to decide if you will use your story to either hold you back from stepping into your potential or you learn to accept your parents and yourself for who you are and let the learnings make you a stronger character and unique leader in your field.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I’m Vanessa Naumann and I’m a somatic therapist and creative mentor and speaker.

I teach leaders, entrepreneurs, and creatives how to decode their unconscious patterns and break free from the limited frame of thinking to come fully alive in their body and unfold their unique impact.

I have multi-faceted experience from a decade of work in the tech & startup world – ranging from creative strategy, curation and product roles to founding and consulting positions. I’ve always been curious about people and our inner workings and after personal experiences of mental health issues and diving deep into their healing, I trained in a variety of modalities that changed my own life to now support and educate others. Besides my tech and strategy skills, my toolset ranges from various techniques of somatic healing, sound therapy and breathwork to psychological tools and concepts. I love creativity and innovation and my mission is to teach people how to access and express their unique essence.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

One of the most important lessons I’ve learned is that the best you can do to thrive in all areas of life is to go deep into self-discovery. For many years I lived for everyone else and chased the dreams I thought “I should” chase to be someone. I supported other people’s dreams but held back on my own. I only realized a few years ago that all the hustle didn’t truly satisfy me. Many of my talents and skills stayed in the box because I was insecure and doubtful if I could be accepted and add value by being myself. Doing the inner work to break through my fears and emotional blocks empowered me to just go for whatever feels right without worrying about other people’s opinions. That’s what changed my life completely for the better. Therefore, I would always recommend to invest in yourself, follow your highest excitement and if doubts arise work through them instead of caving. It doesn’t matter what age you are, it’s never too late.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

First of all, I think the positive association to the word ‘resilience’ is misleading. Resilience stands for the capacity to withstand or to recover quickly from difficulties and to ‘spring back into original form’. As human beings we are shaped by our experiences and truthfully, some of those break us or change us completely. From my perspective and what I have witnessed in my clients, society often conveys the idea that we should keep it together and push through. But that actually has us suppress our emotions and diverge from our sense of self, which inevitably leads to anxiety, depression, panic or feelings of being lost or inadequate. Therefore, I believe it’s a good exercise to contemplate what in your life deserves your resilience. Maybe it’s not the job or relationships that may be financially appealing or give you a perceived sense of safety but leave you feeling drained or unappreciated. Instead, maybe your passions and dreams deserve that resilience you’ve been spending in all the wrong places? That’s at least the question I’ve been asking myself and the answers to this often require courage to take action. When I left my tech career, I was afraid to lose this well established identity I had created for myself. But looking back I’m glad that I chose myself and followed my highest excitement. There have definitely been ups and downs in my journey to become who I am today but I always knew that it would be worth it to stay committed. For the simple reason that I feel in my bones that this is my calling or purpose and that the obstacles along the way give me the wisdom I need to serve others. When I went through a difficult phase of panic attacks, I sometimes couldn’t get myself out of bed and at times I even thought I may die but I was so determined to heal this – not just for myself but to figure out how to help others with this – that I just couldn’t give up on myself. Eventually, I came out the other side and I didn’t ‘push through’ or force myself through any process. I realized, the real secret is to accept where you’re at no matter how dark it may be and sit in your feelings, be present with it. That’s the fastest way through. …and also know you’re never alone, you get to ask for help, always!

Contact Info:

• Website: www.vanessanaumann.com
• Instagram: instagram.com/vanessa.decodewithsound
• Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/vanessanaumann
• Youtube: @vanessanaumann27 or just Vanessa Naumann

Image Credits
Hayley Kelsing https://www.instagram.com/hayleykelsingphotography/