In this deeply grounding and heart-opening episode, Sarah welcomes Anne Almeida, a healer, teacher, and guide whose work bridges the gap between science and spirituality. Through the lens of sacred geometry, energy healing, and self-awareness, Anne shares her story of rising from trauma, finding balance, and helping others reconnect to themselves — body, mind, and spirit. Together, they explore how healing doesn’t have to be complicated or mystical — it’s about listening to your body’s whispers before it has to scream, learning to receive, and embracing the beauty of connection. If you’ve ever felt overwhelmed, burnt out, or disconnected, this episode will remind you that you’re not broken — you’re remembering.
“The universe whispers, then she speaks, then she roars.” — Anne Almeida
“Healing doesn’t have to be complicated. It’s about listening, receiving, and remembering who you are.” — Sarah Jordan-Ross
“We get attached to our stories like security blankets. Growth comes when we learn to let them go.” — Anne Almeida
Anne Almeida is a healer, teacher, and spiritual guide whose passion lies in helping people rediscover alignment through sacred geometry, energy healing, and embodied wisdom. A mother of five and lifelong learner, Anne integrates the scientific and the spiritual, showing how energy patterns connect us to the greater design of life.
Sarah Jordan-Ross (00:01) Hey everybody, welcome back to Taboo Talk with Sarah, the podcast that breaks the silence, fosters hope, and talks about the tough stuff so you never feel alone. If you're new here, I'm Sarah. I am a mum to three amazing boys. I'm a wellness coach and I'm your guide through real raw stories behind caregiving, chronic illness, burnout, grief, and the healing that follows. And I'm really excited about today's
today's episode because I'm joined by somebody whose presence radiates peace and wisdom. Anne Almeida is a healer, a teacher and a guide whose work with sacred geometry, energy healing and spiritual alignment helps people reconnect to themselves, mind, body and spirit. When I first met Anne it was inside the Shine Circle where she led a really great session on sacred geometry.
And I left that session feeling more grounded, centered, and open to learning more about something that I'd only looked around the edges of. It has this rare gift for blending spiritual truth with practical grounding. Met us where we were and made a really tricky, or what could be a tricky topic, really easy to understand. So...
I am really excited to see where today's conversation is going to lead us. And welcome, I am so happy you're here.
Anne Almeida (01:29)
Thank you so much. Your words were absolutely amazing. Thank you. I'm very happy to be here.
Sarah Jordan-Ross (01:35)
So you have a really grounded energy when you teach. But I know it hasn't all been smooth sailing to get to where you are now. So can you share a little about your journey? What brought you into practicing the healing arts and how did sacred geometry find you? Because it's not that well known. It's not like it's something that you're just walking down the street and it jumps out at you.
Anne Almeida (01:59)
No, not at all. With my journey, think, you know, trauma in our life follows patterns. And I like to say the universe kind of whispers and then she speaks and then she roars. so my journey kind of sacred geometry found me at about the roaring stage. And when my life was falling apart, I was divorced and I was in a toxic relationship with someone.
who I knew I needed to get away from, but it was just a lot of, I was terrified. I knew it was gonna be bad and it was. in the process though, it was also very beautiful because I remember learning that it was possible to change the thoughts in your head and that was what planted the first seed. I didn't know that. I thought I'd always kind of had that. I think people were born with either conviction or like, what the heck am I doing here?
And so I was more in the camp of like, why, why am I here? You know, and really struggled with depression and different things. so even just hearing that it's possible to change the thoughts kind of started me on a healing journey. And it was, it helped. got to the root of some issues and it helped. did. It made days more bearable. And I was kind of getting out of survival mode, but I was still missing something. And I remember when I first learned what it was out at a Colorado.
retreat center out in Colorado. And I learned what an empath was. Now it's 40 something years old. And I didn't, knew I was always so sensitive, but I didn't know there was like more people like me. It's actually a gift and it felt like a curse most of my life. And so once I started talking to Oliver Nino is who the man who was talking to me about being an empath. And then we started talking about chords and then we started talking about energy. And then it was like remembering something that
Sarah Jordan-Ross (03:24)
Yeah.
Anne Almeida (03:40)
I'd never been told in this lifetime, but yet it just made so much sense. knew that I knew it and I knew I was supposed to follow it. And so I started studying. was already studying under his wife, Mandy Morris and studying neuroscience and the subconscious mind and started taking all of his courses with sacred geometry. And I remember when I was learning it, was one of the key, he taught the lesson in the beginning and your vibration is your best protection. And I was at a stage where my life was like,
crumbling around and I was very fearful in a lot of places and I need that that was what I needed and that's what kind of carried me through to get my vibration up to a place out of that fear and It was the only thing that worked. I tried the conventional routes. I'd gone to second, you know, I'd gone to doctors I tried to you know, like nothing was making sense. And so it kind of I leaked into what other people hadn't heard of but I knew was something and so when I started studying it with him I you know, you can
The first group healing experience I had, I'd had this horrible smell in my nose. I know that sounds terrible, but my health wasn't the best and I had this like, putrid taste in my mouth. And I was out of this Colorado Retreat Center and experienced my first sacred geometry energy healing. And I literally felt that odor leave my physical form. And I remember thinking like, is this...
person gonna smell it? Like, is this just me or am I losing my mind? Like, what is going on? And that was with my dear friend and actually I was speaking to her earlier, Danielle, who's an amazing healer. And, you know, it showed me what's possible. And I think the biggest thing for me was realizing like, I understand life is hard, it has hard moments, but it's not meant to feel so hard to be in your skin. And I think for some of us, we need that other step, like energy is
Sarah Jordan-Ross (05:03)
you
Anne Almeida (05:29)
It's your entire body. It's not just one part. It's all over. And so it really wants you start to tap into that and the different ways to clear it and start to think about things differently. makes those hard moments not as challenging because you see kind of the growth that comes with it.
Sarah Jordan-Ross (05:46)
that post-traumatic growth as a friend of mine calls it when you figure out what's really going on. Connect to who you are and find that space where you're more comfortable in your own skin. when you're treating things that are going on in your body more as a communication that your body and your spirit is trying to tell you, hey, this is what's going on, this is what I need, pay attention.
Anne Almeida (05:50)
Yes.
Yes.
Yes, yes. And that's what, you know, I've taught Matt Pilates and yoga since my early twenties. And I always say that the, I've said this before, even knew how true it was, the human, the body's giving us feedback. Like when you have a headache, my kids will ask, I have five kids, they'll say, I have a headache. I'm like, how much water you had today? Oh no, I haven't had any. Okay, go drink the water before you take the medicine. You know, I mean, our body wants to feel good. It really does. But I think so many of us are not taught that.
Because not out of neglect or negative, it's just a different way of looking at life and trying to find that balance within yourself that I think more people are waking up to.
Sarah Jordan-Ross (06:48)
And it's...
yeah. And that as easy as it is to get caught up in the crazy busy, the stress that then sends our nervous system into dysregulation and we need healing, if we can actually listen to those whispers, our body's not gonna have to scream at us. It's just that most of the time, we're so used to ignoring the little
the little niggles, we get to the point that we don't even hear them until it is so loud you can't ignore it anymore.
Anne Almeida (07:19)
And that's what I think happens to, that's when I think people reach kind of their, their breaking point. And then I think from that point, they learned to listen to the, to the little whispers. Do you know what I mean? Like it really only takes one of those times. And then you're like, Oh, okay. We need to do something about this. So we don't get, know, and that's when you kind of start going searching for answers. Cause it, I do, I think, especially as women, I see this a lot with, um, my Pilates students and
We carry so much on our shoulders. It's literally that feeling like carrying the weight of the world on your shoulders. I think it came from how women feel. And if you think about the neck problems and how many people I talk to can't turn their neck side to side, and it's all just stress. It's just knots of emotional wounds that people are carrying. And when you get into the energetic space for someone like me, I can feel those places in people.
So when people come to me and I can tell where they are and then we can dig into more why they're there, but the energy healing helps clear it. And one of my clients said, it feels like in life you're walking around with like bottles that are pressurized, like all over your body and you're just tense and you're barely putting one foot in front of the other. And she said, after I receive a healing from you, the next day, I feel like I can move. I feel like I can breathe. I feel like the air has been let out of the bottle.
And I think if you think about going to the ocean or sitting outside in the sun, those are all naturally energy healing. So with sacred geometry, it's just so much more amplified and intentional, but the act of doing it, we're all naturally doing it when we get our hands in the dirt, we garden or just walk or do things of that nature.
Sarah Jordan-Ross (09:01)
we connect into that energy. Now, one of the things I loved was that while sacred geometry could be seen as being complicated and really, we were out there, but you also come from a science background, which was great for me who went, I like you walk that fine line between science and spirituality and it's like...
Anne Almeida (09:05)
Mm-hmm.
Yes.
Yes. Yes.
Sarah Jordan-Ross (09:25)
I've been a massage therapist for a very long time, also do reflexology, shiatsu, and all of those systems of healing are based on the idea that a physical problem is a sign of an imbalance or a blockage in the flow of chi or life force energy, to put it into more Western terms.
Anne Almeida (09:41)
Yes. Yes.
Mm-hmm.
Sarah Jordan-Ross (09:45)
If
your soul isn't right, if your spirit isn't right, your body isn't going to be either. And science is backing that up more and more now, which is so great.
Anne Almeida (09:50)
Yes, yes.
I know, I know, it really is. And that's what Oliver actually did. It's on YouTube, I could find it and send it to you, but did a study. He wanted to find more tangible medical proof, know, Western medical proof, and ended up speaking to an anesthesiologist and a pain management doc who had used energy healing with people who are struggling with chronic pain. And it's amazing the way things are catching up and coming in sync, and it really does give you hope for what's coming as more people.
Sarah Jordan-Ross (10:00)
Yeah.
Anne Almeida (10:24)
kind of start to embrace it. but going back to the computer science aspect of it, it really is like running a computer program through your energetic body. So the way Oliver taught it, it was very step-by-step, which for me, that's, whew, good, I'm good. I like that, you know? And he was trying to help us tap into our intuition as to what to do next, but he was also giving us something to fall back on in his programs. If you follow these steps, this will happen. You will achieve this result, you know? And that's where
using the tools and the power of sacred geometry and just being kind of the container to hold it all together. And really it was a beautiful way to kind of learn the practice and start to hear your own intuition. Cause in the beginning, you know you want to help, but you're not quite there yet to be able to hear it like at the level where I can now.
Sarah Jordan-Ross (11:13)
and to know whether what you're hearing is something that you need or if it's for the other person. That's where that being an empath can be a bit tricky because you have to learn along the way. This is my stuff, that's yours.
Anne Almeida (11:19)
Yes. Yes. Yes.
Yes. then sometimes they'll kind of merge when you have a lot of open centers and you're like, I'm not used to feeling like this. I think this is coming from something else. So yes, yes. And you, is possible to learn though, like in anybody can't like it's, it's having that self-awareness and that asking the questions and listening for the answers. Cause I think also too, we can kind of start to think that our minds against us, but our mind really is.
Sarah Jordan-Ross (11:35)
Yes.
Yeah.
Anne Almeida (11:56)
open for us if you think about it with spirituality as you start to tap in and hear the different things that the thoughts in your head will start to change as well. And you can kind of understand what's now being more intuitive guidance and things like that instead of the hamster wheel.
Sarah Jordan-Ross (12:12)
Yes. And you'll start to hear those things that support and encourage you rather than those things that push you down and make the walk more difficult. Now, for those people who are new to the idea of sacred geometry, can you unpack it for us in like really simple terms and how understanding those patterns that we see all around us?
Anne Almeida (12:16)
Mm-hmm.
Yes. Yes. Yes.
Sarah Jordan-Ross (12:39)
can influence our healing.
Anne Almeida (12:41)
Yes, hopefully, yes, of course, I would love to unpack this. I think if talking about different patterns, the patterns that we see in nature. if we're looking at like the petals of a leaf on a flower, or if you're looking down at something and you see the symmetrical like with seashells and you see those different ocean patterns and those patterns are not by accident. They're very much by design and they resemble.
Sarah Jordan-Ross (12:43)
you
you might.
Anne Almeida (13:06)
facets of the human body, the physical human body. If you look at DNA, it's a helix structure, which is a spiral. And so that's really where sacred geometry comes into play. So as we see it in nature and we see it within our body, it makes sense that using that geometry would communicate with your body and have a certain effect on your body. so starting with those building blocks, really is, it's such like a computer program because you
You start with one block and you see how that reacts. And then you add another block on and another block on. so this methodology was, it was channeled to Oliver after an activation in Sedona and really mind boggling when you think about it, because it's a whole different practice. It's very different from, I mean, it's different from Reiki in that you're not, it can be with anybody around the world. So you're going up to the ethers. Like you're not doing this in a 3d setting and,
but you will feel, I remember the first healing that I had in my home when I was still very confused. Like I was talking to Oliver's assistant, I'm like, when does it start? What's the zoom? And she's like, just sit back and receive. I'm like, when? I don't understand. Like I'm kind of being late. And she's like, girl, calm down. Like sit back and receive. Like it's going to be okay. And so I sat back, she was like, just focus on your breath. And so I just focused on my breath and all of a sudden I could feel him like.
inside my head. I was like, this is the wildest. And it feels like an internal massage. so as this, and this is, cause we don't know all of it, you know, there's still so much that's unknown. You know, I mean, there's so much that it's unknown, but this is just kind of what I've pieced together with how it communicates with the body. You know, so it's amazing to put a group of people anywhere from three people to 3000 people, you put them in the same sacred geometry containers.
they will see and experience and feel something different, because it's all coming through the filter of you. So with this practice though, it takes what that individual needs by using the power of intention and everything's rooted in unconditional love. Like this is not, there's nothing dark with this. it's very much, to me, it's like the Hippocratic oath. I don't do, like most of, one of my kids has received healings, but the others are like, no. And I'm like, okay, like it's a respect thing. Like it's very much.
on that level, it, it, yes, exactly. It's an integrity thing with that. Yes. But it, it's such a beautiful practice to see what the people experience. You know, you put, so the Yantra, the Sri Yantra, I always have a hard time saying that Sri Yantra. I'm not sure why, I just always end up calling it the Yantra. But if you look up the Yantra, it's got the four posts. And when you build this, you, you build it with, um, in exact divine proportion. like, even if you're not a visual person,
Sarah Jordan-Ross (15:25)
it needs to be.
Yeah
Anne Almeida (15:53)
you still can use your words to use this geometry. So it's not something where you have to be a completely visual person. Like my goal is to help people understand how they can use this for themselves. Like I would love for everybody to be self-healing and know that they can heal themselves instead of going to the doctor for a cold, know, those types of things. So Deontra is, it's divine unconditional love in the most highest form. So if you were going to sleep tonight,
You could picture the yantra, you can Google it. It's an image on online everywhere, if you're not familiar with it and use your words like a prayer, like intention, whatever your faith, you know, connect to something bigger than you and kind of step into the yantra and allow it to kind of envelop you and see how you sleep tonight. Like that simple. doesn't have to be like it's, it is a beautiful structure and my gosh, it's so complicated to draw. And I've tried to draw it and it's very challenging, like an amazing.
But our words and your own power is just as amazing as that. And so, because you're made of that, you're connected to that. So that's what I would say for people to do to kind of under, and you could even put yourself in a pyramid. If the answer you're like, I don't know how to spell that. Just put yourself in a pyramid overnight and see how you feel. Like there's a reason there were pyramids in Egypt. There's a very powerful energy that's created under that. And so I think.
Unpacking Seiko Geometry is really looking at the simplicity of all of it, even with its most amazing, beautiful outcomes and how complex it seems. It really, at the core, is actually quite simple and usable for everyone.
Sarah Jordan-Ross (17:24)
Yeah. And that there is all of those repeatable patterns. So many things I love about it. with the DNA double helix, it's the intelligent design implies that there is an intelligent designer was something that Watson and Crick are credited with saying about the DNA double helix and those patterns.
Anne Almeida (17:29)
Yes.
Okay.
Yes.
Sarah Jordan-Ross (17:46)
The main thing I love about it, you touched on it, whatever your faith is, so it is something that we can all use. Because we see those patterns, that creative force around us in everything. see it when we look at blood cells under a microscope. see it when we look at patterns in flowers again under a microscope, and we see them.
Anne Almeida (17:55)
Yes.
Sarah Jordan-Ross (18:09)
how the body, one of the basic things of how the body works. It's a concept called homeostasis, which you probably know, but for anyone who's listening who isn't from a sciency background, it's that all of the systems are designed to work in balance and harmony and keep everything at optimum levels where everything just works.
And it's when those systems get out of balance, when we're not, when those homeostatic mechanisms, so homeo is body, stasis, same, so that it all stays at the same levels. So you have a certain amount of...
of minerals in your blood and they're supposed to be in certain ratios and patterns and it's only when they get out of whack that we then have a problem. So we see that that's how it all works.
It's not like it's something that you can only tap into if you're of a certain faith or if you believe a certain thing. is something that, it is a healing tool that is open to everyone.
Anne Almeida (19:08)
Yes.
Yes, and I think the only thing I would add to that is it's important to go on the journey to figure out what that is for you. And I, you know, like in the beginning, I think when I first started meditating and I still, I was really angry with my version of God. Like there was a lot, but I was still very angry. there was a lot that I needed to, there was a lot that I needed to sort through with my faith. And, but what I've realized is,
Sarah Jordan-Ross (19:35)
He's got broad shoulders, he can take it.
Anne Almeida (19:43)
Especially when talking about energy healing, have two of my kids who follow the more conventional religious path in going to brick and mortar church and things like that. And it took me being able to communicate with them in the terms of prayer, in the terms of what they feel comfortable with. Like we're all saying the same thing. And that's really when you start to, you want to meet people where they are. And that's something that I've always, I don't like feeling confused. I don't like feeling stupid and I don't like feeling confused. Those are two things from my childhood.
what, not even from my child, I just don't like it. Nobody likes it. You know, so like with these types of concepts, I love being able to explain it to people in a way that I think they'll understand. And if that way doesn't work, it's like, all right, let's try this way. You know, like, all right, that one didn't hit it, but let's go this way. You know, just coming up with different ways in a non-judgmental way is just one of those things that, and all the things that I teach, I love being able to do for people. Cause you can see that light go on when like it's that their own self belief, they kind of, you know, put their shoulders back and it just makes sense to them.
which is nice to see.
Sarah Jordan-Ross (20:40)
so many things we can talk about. Yeah.
Anne Almeida (20:43)
I know, we get distracted too.
I get a little distracted. I know, I was going to say with the homeostasis comment, you know, it's interesting because with all of the healing modalities in the world, Western medicine is the only one that doesn't recognize an invisible force that ties it all together. So it's very, you know.
mechanically based, like the eyes a camera, the heart's a pump and everything's very separate. And you go to the cardiologist and you go to the ophthalmologist and you go, know, like everything's very siloed. And if you look at the other modalities, there's that field that connects it all together. And phantom leg pain is a perfect example. So for people who don't really understand, you know, energy, they can see it through. That the phantom leg pain is when an amputee still can feel as if the physical leg is there because the energetic component is still there.
And, but I think it just, we're moving in the right direction though.
Sarah Jordan-Ross (21:37)
Yeah, integrative medicine is becoming more mainstream now and the looking at what's going on for the whole person and yeah, not separating it all out. So more bringing it back together. But yes, that was the, for a long time there, it was that science and faith or spirituality, they were supposed to be separate. Whereas
Anne Almeida (21:40)
Mm-hmm and looking at the guts and all that. Yes. Yes.
Right. Yes. Yes.
Sarah Jordan-Ross (22:03)
Hang on one works well with the other when we put them When we remember that we're spiritual beings having a physical experience That there is so much more to what? Is going on so much more than what we can see and what we can understand I've been studying this area for
Anne Almeida (22:07)
Yes, yes, yes.
Yes.
Sarah Jordan-Ross (22:25)
Well, going on 30 years or if you count my life, it's a little closer to 50. But, um, cause I was a sick kid and then cared for my mum through cancer and now I am mum of, well, mum of three boys, but two of them have extra needs. And the big thing is
Anne Almeida (22:31)
Hahaha!
Mm-hmm.
Sarah Jordan-Ross (22:53)
When we look at what's going on on the whole, it works much better. And the thing I've realised, the more I learn about the body and how it works, the more I realise I know nothing.
Anne Almeida (23:05)
Hahaha!
That I can understand.
Sarah Jordan-Ross (23:08)
or that there's
so much more because every question I answer, I come up with a few more. And I think that's probably true of just about everyone in the health field, in the health and wellbeing field is we're constantly learning more.
Anne Almeida (23:15)
and just keep learning.
Sarah Jordan-Ross (23:23)
And we need lots of healers who are willing to test those boundaries and work out what's what. So thank you for doing that and helping people to understand that it doesn't have to be as complicated as we make it.
Anne Almeida (23:37)
Yes, yes. And that's something, that's a big thing for me. I'm a little neuro spicy in case you can't tell, I tend to complicate the most simple situations. So, but with this, really, it does that you can dial it back and just start with small practices and start with like, you're listening to what your body's telling you, you know? And I say that in my Pilates classes at the studio. I'm like, you know, we got to honor the feedback and people were like, my body's telling me to stop. And I'm like,
Well, maybe not all the feedback. exactly. Yeah. I mean, but it is, it's listening to, it's knowing your mind and knowing your body and having that alignment and that connection with what it's trying to tell you.
Sarah Jordan-Ross (24:05)
Then stop!
And as you learnt in the early days, just be open to receiving it, especially for those who are in those caring spaces when you're used to giving a lot to everyone else. Sometimes it's really hard to receive and we unconsciously put up blocks to stop that.
Anne Almeida (24:44)
Yes. And that, and that was a big part of my journey that kind of led to, to burnout for me. was in corporate for 25 years and it, and I was the yes person and always the yes person, know, and raising five kids while working 60 hours and just, it just having to really reframe that. so you really to, to shift that one of the things that helped me was I called them litmus tests. Like
If I was always saying yes to going out or doing whatever, would use my kids as my litmus test. Like if I'm with my kids and with my kids, it's a no, you know, cause you have to start practicing that muscle of saying no. And I got really good at saying no with people I wasn't super emotionally attached to. Then it came, my gosh, I'm saying yes to my kids all the time. Okay, how can I shift this boundary? Because when you're saying,
Yes to other people, you're saying no to yourself in a lot of situations. So it creates that mistrust, which creates that misalignment, which creates those blocks to receiving, you know? And so it's giving yourself kind of parameters that are maybe outside of you while you're still learning your own judgment. And it's perfectly fine. This was a big one for me saying, I don't know, let me get back to you. Instead of saying yes in the moment, or instead of saying no, or just saying, I don't know right now.
Sarah Jordan-Ross (25:41)
Say it's all connected.
Anne Almeida (26:00)
I will think about it. You know, and that, was a big step because I was so used to all, you got to have a decision. No, you don't. No, you, no, you really don't. You're perfectly, you can take some time to process and then get back to the person. So doing those little micro moments can really help too with taking so much on.
Sarah Jordan-Ross (26:19)
And remembering that you don't have to have all the answers all the time.
Anne Almeida (26:23)
No, one of my other healers was like, nobody has a clue what they're doing. Nobody has, nobody knows what's going on. Like it's okay. Take a nap, it's okay.
Sarah Jordan-Ross (26:33)
Or you
might know exactly what you're doing in one area of your life and the rest of it. Yeah, nah, not a clue.
Anne Almeida (26:38)
I don't know. It's an adventure. You call it an adventure
and then it like puts a fun spin on it and you're like, okay, well, let's see what we can get into.
Sarah Jordan-Ross (26:46)
Kela was absolutely right. There's a brilliant quote from her. Life is a daring adventure or nothing at all.
Anne Almeida (26:54)
I haven't heard that quote. love that. Because it does. If you look at things as an adventure. As a child, I used to joke and say that life was like a choose your own adventure. Did you have those books growing up where if you're going to go to the store with Sally, go to page 60. If you're going to go to the park with Tommy and fight the boys, go to page 73. If you look at life as that and if you think about
Sarah Jordan-Ross (26:54)
Yeah.
Yeah.
Anne Almeida (27:21)
an infinite number realities going on at any given time. And those are the different pages of the Choose Your Own Adventure book. It kind of takes some of the heat off of the decisions that you're making. Because it's like, okay, this is an adventure. Like if I go here, I go there. You still get to wherever you need to go, which just might be a different route than what was before.
Sarah Jordan-Ross (27:41)
sometimes we have to go the roundabout way to get there. My mum used to be fond of saying we just go on on drives and we'd get to across street and it's like left or right and like she said we never ever got lost we just sometimes took the scenic route to get to places
Anne Almeida (27:46)
Exactly. Yeah, I got a lot of yes.
I love that! Go mom! That was a good one.
Sarah Jordan-Ross (28:05)
And I think that's something we can
apply to life, not just going for a Sunday drive.
Anne Almeida (28:11)
Yes, yeah, I think it's some beautiful wisdom that she put on you.
Sarah Jordan-Ross (28:15)
Yeah. Yeah, she had her moments.
Anne Almeida (28:18)
Hahaha!
That's wonderful.
Sarah Jordan-Ross (28:20)
Yeah. And speaking of past generations and the wisdom they passed down, you also sometimes do work with breaking those generational patterns. Do you want to talk a little about that?
Anne Almeida (28:33)
yeah, absolutely. So it's when I first learned about generational trauma and generational patterns, the story to me was told that, there was a client who had a terrible fear of, of bridges, like terrifying, like would get white knuckled, couldn't figure out what was going on and just had no, and this kind of goes into gestational. I'm doing, I'm lumping gestational and generational and
when he dug in with his mom and asked some questions about not that she was in a car accident when he was like four months along, you know, not old in her belly. And that's where that fear came in. And that was kind of my first introduction to it, right? And so as I started thinking about, I've always had this terrifying fear of escalators, like terrifying fear of escalators, no idea. Like, I mean, I'll get on them, but like, I gotta hold onto the rail. Like, it's not rational. I know it's not rational, but I don't understand. Like, it's just a thing.
And I've been, had four kids under four, so I've been in the mall before like trying to carry them all down. And I'm like, I'm coming right back. I've had strangers carrying other ones down when they were super little, cause I hadn't, I didn't even have arms to hold onto the rail. And I was at the beach with my family and my aunt mentioned something about my great, great aunt and her fear of escalators. And this woman, they called her aunt. Nobody really knows what her name was. They called her aunt. And I was like, what was her name? They're like, aunt. I'm like, okay.
But I was like, she had a fear of escalators. And she was like, yeah, she had a terrifying fear of escalators. So that was kind of my first introduction to way generational trauma can work on a simple, simple level. You know, these weird things that we think are our quirks or, you know, kind of weird things about us. It likely comes from some somewhere up the line. It may come from a past life or it could come up, you know, somewhere from the line. I think
Sarah Jordan-Ross (29:52)
helpful.
Anne Almeida (30:21)
If you think about healing trauma in this lifetime, they say it heals seven generations forward and seven generations back. I'm not sure where they got the math on that. I'm going to be totally honest. Like, I don't know if it's one of those spiritual concepts that we just tell ourselves because it'd make us ourselves feel better. But if you think about it, if you think about DNA being in your system, maybe that one strain of DNA where that trauma is located.
it is replicated seven back and seven forth. So that's kind of how I rationalized it. But.
Sarah Jordan-Ross (30:54)
mitochondrial DNA can be traced back to common ancestor.
Anne Almeida (30:57)
See, there
you go. See, so that is what it is. So that was kind of how I rationalize it. But what it does too, it gives you the tools, it's kind of your shadow sides and the different lessons and things that you're here to learn in this lifetime coming up to the surface to be processed instead of absorbed. So you're breaking that generational trauma. And I've seen it.
with things that I would be working on and then my kid would also be working on it. And it was like, gosh, okay, we're going through the same thing and having the same thoughts like this is not, I need to work through this. it's, it's, I think there's a lot that we know, but I think there's also a lot that we don't know. And it's not something where, to me, if it's being presented to you in this lifetime, you have the opportunity to sit with it.
Like not on it, not in it, not getting consumed with it, but just with it and look for the lesson of what it's trying to show you. Like there's always a lesson, there's a gift, there's something in there trying to find that. And that's how kind of like layers of an onion, but that's how you peel back a layer and kind of get into the meat of it. And it's not,
I think patience and grace is required for people going through that. Generational trauma is no, it's no joke, but you know, when I think it often presents itself for the so-called black sheep of the family, you know, the ones that didn't quite fit in there, it kind of becomes their, their thing of, you know, whole like caring that for the family. Like you're in your family and your
Sarah Jordan-Ross (32:30)
thing.
Anne Almeida (32:38)
life for such a paramount reason that we may not know all of it, but it's you're here for a reason, you know, and these experiences that you're going through, they're part of your journey and they're part of your, your soul's evolution. And when you start to look at things like that, it's like, okay, like what's this showing me? What's that? What can I do with this? What's a little different with this? And, start to get curious.
And it can be hard when you're in it. I'm not saying that that's when you're in it, you want to do whatever you can, you know, take a salt bath, go to the ocean, do something, you know, get your hands in the dirt, that type thing. But yeah, I praise the generational trauma breakers because it's not an easy, it's not an easy thing to do.
Sarah Jordan-Ross (33:21)
It's not easy work, but it's very important. Each and every one of us was put here for a reason, to do something that only we can do for the world. If your thing is to break those generational patterns, then go and do it!
Anne Almeida (33:24)
Yes.
Mm-hmm.
Yes, yes, absolutely.
Sarah Jordan-Ross (33:40)
And just
be kind to yourself while you do it because it's not an easy road to walk.
Anne Almeida (33:47)
And it's, and you know, with mine, it's the, you're carrying a weight around. Like when you have those certain things, you'll, you'll feel so much lighter as you process these things. Like I've processed a lot of things with my mom. I mean, my mom's now 79 year old, she just had her birthday last week. She's a 79 year old woman and she's embraced this healing journey and listened to me go through the things and she's gotten curious. We've had tough conversations.
that if you told me 20 years ago, I would have with my mom, my goodness, I would never have imagined. And so I think not allowing yourself to grow and also allowing other people in your life to grow too, because none of us are staying the same as yesterday. And instead of me assuming my mom would react a certain way, was like, no, I'm going to talk to her about this. Like, this is really helping me. And then it ended up helping her and then it, you know, so it kind of evolved. I think really, like you said earlier, being open and receiving.
and sharing, I think it can change the dynamic of so much.
Sarah Jordan-Ross (34:52)
And if we're just open to sharing those stories because you never know when it's your story that's going to change somebody else's story and you can't go in the, I'm not going to say it because they might not take it. Give them the chance to take it well or to find what it is that is meant to come out of that conversation.
Anne Almeida (35:12)
Yes.
Yes.
Sarah Jordan-Ross (35:19)
Sometimes
really difficult conversations move you from stuck to thriving to working through all of that stuff and finding that... yeah.
Anne Almeida (35:29)
You're feeling stuck for a reason. Yeah. You feel
stuck for a reason to prompt you to do something different than what it, you know, than what you're doing. It's your body's like, hold up. need to do something else. We're not done with this yet. Yeah.
Sarah Jordan-Ross (35:37)
Yeah.
Yeah.
And, what is it, the definition of an insanity is doing the same thing expecting a different result. So maybe if we've been doing things a certain way and we've figured out it hasn't been working, maybe that's the try something different. Give your mum the chance to, to listen and respond differently to what you expect she's going to.
Anne Almeida (35:58)
Yes. Yes.
It's yes.
When hearing her perspective of what she was going through and what she knew, it's just, you could just, you can get so attached to a story and that, and that story can keep you stuck. And, it's, and I'm not, it's not saying it's not with challenges, not with tears, but we get attached to our stories like Sookie little blankets. That's what, when Joanna Hunter's this brilliant mentor of mine, and she talks about the Sookie little blanket, you know, and it's the
It's the baby blanket that we're holding onto because it keeps us stuck because there's somewhere in our mind that feels safer to stay stuck because even if we're not happy, it's familiar. And so it's that primal instinct to keep you safe. Whereas if you can just kind of break that attachment and know that that growth is going to be so worth it on the other side.
Sarah Jordan-Ross (36:52)
that you can find a new safe place within that because our body our nervous system is hard-wired to keep us safe.
Anne Almeida (36:55)
Yes. Yes.
⁓
Yep. Yes. Yeah.
Sarah Jordan-Ross (37:03)
So what's lighting you up at the moment? What are you moving through and putting out into the world now?
Anne Almeida (37:10)
dancing is lighting me up at the moment. I love, I love to dance and it's one of those I've not professionally trained. I'm not, it's not a matter, it's a matter of self expression. And I weaved it into my workouts because I needed, I love to work out and kind of figuring out how your body loves to move.
is kind of my thing. Like I've never been a runner, I can't stay in running and I only run if I'm being chased and I don't want to be chased, you know? People will be like, you look like a runner. I'm like, no, not me. Like, not me, but I'd love to move my body. Exactly, exactly. And so at the moment I am weaving in the spirituality aspect and the energy healing aspect into that dancing.
Sarah Jordan-Ross (37:40)
Nope.
You never system, mate, but that doesn't mean the rest of you has to.
Anne Almeida (37:56)
with setting intentions and with using imagery. And I'm very excited. I want to be inviting people to dance with me soon because even like they even put out studies where dancing does more to treat depression than SSRIs. There's a real, like I made it a part of my, I call them my non-negotiables. And it's the ways that I'm gonna show up for myself in a given day, like on a guaranteed basis. And it's making my bed and it's dancing and it's bathing.
basic things, but, it's the amount of water that I drink, but there are things that, so that no matter what chaos is going on, I know I'm taking care of myself and giving myself that break. So it's kind of that freedom. And so I want the two different types that I want to offer the world is one is that dancing with the energy healing. And it will be more about the musical choice and be very much about empowerment and like owning the bad-ass that you are. And like really just loving yourself through it. It is free flow. It's.
There'll be some choreography, but not anything tricky and just more about like the community and the gathering of people. And then the other style will be more of like workout based with kickboxing in there and still some imagery too, because I just like to use it and it makes it fun. But that's, so that's kind of one of the things that I'm, that I'm birthing at the moment that I'm very excited.
Sarah Jordan-Ross (39:06)
It works.
sounds like so much fun.
Anne Almeida (39:14)
And it's like playing
the old, did you ever watch MTV? I think MTV just closed like the other day. I was so sad. Like it's not what it was, but I was such an MTV baby watching all those music videos from the time that like it started when I was six. And it's that, it's that release. just nobody's watching. Like there's, I have a sign in my kitchen, work like you don't need the money, love like you've never been hurt and dance like nobody's watching.
Sarah Jordan-Ross (39:41)
dance like nobody's
watching. Yep.
Anne Almeida (39:43)
Yeah, because it's just that
it's that release. so I really, yeah, that's what I'm very excited about at the moment.
Sarah Jordan-Ross (39:49)
Yeah, and
they're doing it with community. So that's something I've noticed in a lot of the conversations that we've had on this show. Community just has this way of keeping popping into the conversation. And we're both part of the Shine Circle. another community that we're both part of, and it's a great space for connecting. So what part do you think communities like that and
like the one you will create with your dancing with people. What do you think that part that plays in healing?
Anne Almeida (40:20)
Mm-hmm.
Mm. I think.
You could look at it from a few different angles, but we're all connected. And so I think it gives that. It's almost like finding a whole community of people that are your partners in belief. So partners in belief is a term that I heard pretty early on and it was, it's, you know, having there's certain people in your life that you can rely on them. If you're having kind of a down day and how you see yourself.
You can kind of turn to your partner and belief and say like, Hey, I need a boost. Like, let me know I'm seeing the world like this. And you know, they kind of help, help boost you up and that community of like-minded people, you're going to create that synergy and that, that container that gets magnetized. like all of your energy coming together really gets magnetized and starts to vibrate at a higher rate. So like that feeling that you feel really comes from, cause I think people like being seen for human.
We want to be seen. Like I was always a kid that wanted to be called on in class. Like I wanted people to know I was there. you know, you, you want to be heard. You want to be seen. It's a human need. And when you're in that community and you are seen and you are heard and you feel that joy from that connection, even if it's just with one other individual or a hundred other individuals, it's just, it, that's what I think we're, we're seeking because it can make you feel that. Yeah. That camaraderie.
Sarah Jordan-Ross (41:44)
sense of belonging and connectedness.
Anne Almeida (41:46)
Mm-hmm. Yeah. Yes. And
I think too, for super-sensitives, I think an empath, however you want to phrase it, you know, a lot of us have felt like we don't belong. And, you know, at various stages in our life, like I've worked with so many clients who said, I just don't feel like I'm from here. And I'm like, you probably aren't, but you know, like you're here now. So like right on both accounts, you know, like, but I think.
coming together with that common theme, whatever it is, whether it's the Shine Circle or what, you know, I'm going to be awesome network, different things. It gives you that common ground.
Sarah Jordan-Ross (42:21)
and I find it interesting how many people are in similar communities and they all come all come together which is kind of cool because I'm in Be Awesome Network too.
Anne Almeida (42:29)
Yes, yes, yes,
I know, I love it, I love it. I'm so excited.
Sarah Jordan-Ross (42:35)
Because they're just those places
that you go, these are my people, they just get it.
Anne Almeida (42:41)
Yes, yes, yes, absolutely, yes.
Sarah Jordan-Ross (42:44)
I think we all need to find those people and those places where no matter where we're at, so if we're having a great day we can go, hey I'm having a great day and somebody's gonna be there to jump up on the table and celebrate with you. Or if you're having one of those days where you just want to go blah and everything sucks, that somebody there is going to hand you the box of tissues, say what else do you need, and just sit beside you in that not-
Not have to fix it, not have to make it all better. Just be there with you.
Anne Almeida (43:18)
Yes, yeah, absolutely.
Sarah Jordan-Ross (43:20)
Yeah.
Yes. So I have one last question for you and this is the one that I ask everybody. What's the one conversation you think we need to be having that we're not?
Anne Almeida (43:28)
Mm-hmm.
I think it's these conversations. think we need to be talking more. You know, when I first started doing coaching services, I've had so many different mentors tell me that you can't talk to people about depression and suicidal ideation. you know, because, and I mean, these are people who I really respect. They're like, you can't talk to those people because they're, they're lazy and they're not going to buy anything. And then, you know, and if you look at the statistics,
23 million, I mean, the statistics are staggering. And then you look at suicidal ideation and you look at the emotional scale of consciousness and shame being the lowest vibration point. when people, think we need to start having those conversations. I know plenty of friends who are still here because they were able to call me and be like, you know, want to jump in front of a bus. I need your help. And I'm like, all right, where are we got? Where are we on the emotional scale? You know, like we have a scale for pain. Why don't we have a scale for suicidal ideation? Like, all right.
Do we need to get the guns out of the house? Do you need me to come and sit with you? Can you make it through the night? Like those type conversations, if we can start having those, not that that's an affliction that everybody in society is dealing with, but it touches everyone at some point in their life, whether it's yourself or somebody that you love. And that's kind of, that's one of the things that I want to help change.
Sarah Jordan-Ross (44:31)
Yep.
And interestingly enough, that's one of the reasons behind why I started this show was as a therapist, I was hearing similar stories, people going through things and feeling completely alone in it. And then we'd had friends suicide and it was that. And I was driving home from dropping my son off and a song called Whiskey Lullaby came.
Anne Almeida (44:46)
There we go.
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
Sarah Jordan-Ross (45:11)
on the radio and it is a song about suicide and I've mentioned it before but it was that one line, nobody ever knew, it goes on to nobody ever knew how much she blamed herself but it was my whole thing was yeah nobody knew because nobody's talking about it so people that are in that dark space
and reach for a very permanent solution to what is generally a temporary problem, they need to be able to say, hey, I'm in this dark space, somebody help me.
Anne Almeida (45:42)
Yes.
Yes, yes, yeah.
Sarah Jordan-Ross (45:51)
And we need to
make it easier for people to do that because... yeah.
Anne Almeida (45:54)
There's so much
fear around it. don't understand why because I've talked to so many people, but if you Google things or people are so afraid they're going to get sued or they're like, I want to give you a plan to help you live your life and want to live your life. When you're in that space, yes, and they think that you literally believe that so many people say, how did I not know?
Sarah Jordan-Ross (46:12)
just want the pain to end.
Anne Almeida (46:20)
you believe the world is better off without you. there's nobody's doing it as an intent to harm somebody else. Like you're fully on board and it just takes a split second to have that permanent solution. And that's what, if we can get people to, to getting to that place of.
reaching out, like you said, or having the tools to know what to do when they are in that space and just the different tips and things from somebody who, you know, I I get it. You know, I think when you get it you come back from the other side, you've got to kind of shine the light for people to help themselves too.
Sarah Jordan-Ross (46:55)
that may have been why you went through that experience was so that you could then help others. when suicide is the leading cause of death for males aged 18 to 24, there is something very, wrong and we need to do something about it.
Anne Almeida (46:59)
absolutely. Yes.
Yes. Yeah. I totally agree.
Sarah Jordan-Ross (47:16)
So I'm pretty sure you and I will both just keep talking about... And be honest with how you're feeling about things. And it's okay not to have the answers. It's okay to question. It's okay to wonder.
Anne Almeida (47:19)
I so. I have loved this so much. Thank you.
And I think, I think too, one of the things that helped me the most was coming up with a phrase that, that helped me remind myself, like I'm going to be okay, you know, or what, you know, and it, evolves over time, but having that phrase and having one of your partners in belief, whoever it may be, even if it's your dog, I'm not saying you have to, this person has to be a human, like it can be your dog or your cat. Like, I know sometimes life can feel very isolating, like, so I'm not discounting animals from this, from this. So guess they can't talk, you know, but.
Sarah Jordan-Ross (48:04)
Hey there's a dragon
over my shoulder.
Anne Almeida (48:06)
Yes, there is.
We could talk all about dragons. I love dragons. But it's having that something that it gets you through the night. It gets you through the moment. gets you through the, and whether it's your breath, whether it's a word, whether it's a phrase, whatever it is. But I never talked to anyone that regretted waking up the next morning after they got through a bad episode. They're like, I'm so glad I didn't. You know, and you have, there are enough of those moments that
Sarah Jordan-Ross (48:09)
Yeah.
Anne Almeida (48:33)
You know, we can get you back to not having that, you know.
Sarah Jordan-Ross (48:38)
and you've got to work through them and acknowledge them. If you don't acknowledge a problem, you can't do anything about it. pushing it all down, there's only just so much that can fit in the bottle before it's going to explode. So, better not to push it to that point where you explode.
Anne Almeida (48:41)
You can't stuff it down.
Yeah, yeah, absolutely.
Yes, exactly.
Sarah Jordan-Ross (48:59)
is there one last thing you would like to share with our audience before I let you go? Because I know we could both stay here and talk all day, but...
Anne Almeida (49:08)
I know I really could.
I think just following up on that last thing, like you're, I know even if you're feeling alone or you're feeling behind or you're feeling stuck or you're feeling any of those, just feelings that don't feel good, that it's temporary and it's breathe, let it out, sit with it. Like we've said, and just know that, you know, that it, it's a process and you've got this.
and you're doing this. And help each other.
Sarah Jordan-Ross (49:39)
it because that's what we're meant to do is to help each other and when a friend's in a space that they can't see it you can be the thing that reminds them that the sun will come out tomorrow yes I have little or often Annie in my head I'm showing my age now too but that's that sometimes has been
Anne Almeida (49:52)
Yes. Yeah. Absolutely. Yeah.
Sarah Jordan-Ross (50:03)
over the years my phrase of like when I'm in a in that bad space for want of a better way to put it the sun will come out tomorrow rainbows always follow rain there is sometimes we've got to go through the dark stuff to actually know what light is and
Anne Almeida (50:21)
Yes.
Sarah Jordan-Ross (50:22)
Malcolm Jamal Warner,
Anne Almeida (50:22)
Yes.
Sarah Jordan-Ross (50:23)
one of the last things that he said was, no matter what's going on in your life, there is always a reason to smile. If you're having trouble finding yours, be it for someone else.
Anne Almeida (50:35)
I love that. And as a child of the 80s, I love that. Yes. I know.
Sarah Jordan-Ross (50:37)
He was a very smart man. Yeah. Yeah, who knew Theo was so smart?
Anne Almeida (50:45)
from childhood. absolutely. That's wonderful. I like that. Well, thank you so much for having me.
Sarah Jordan-Ross (50:46)
Yes. Yeah. And on that.
Thank you for being here and for sharing your wisdom, your warmth and shining light on all of us today. What I love most about what you do is that reminder that healing doesn't have to be complicated, it doesn't have to be difficult, it can be quite simple. And it's about remembering how everything and everyone is connected and that there's beauty in that even when we're messy.
Anne Almeida (51:20)
Yes, especially when we're Yes.
Sarah Jordan-Ross (51:22)
Maybe especially when...
So if you've ever felt disconnected or unsure where to begin your healing, this is your reminder that you've already got that blueprint in you.
And if you've ever walked through seasons of fear, of grief, of growth, we see you. If you've ever held it all together for somebody else, even when you're falling apart inside, you're not alone. And if you're learning to honor the hard stuff and still hold on to the joy, we're with you.
Keep living like it matters. Remember that every day is sacred. And let's carry that wisdom forward with us in how we love, how we serve, how we show up for one another in all that beautiful connected way that we all share. Thank you so much for being here. I'm Sarah Jordan Ross. This has been Taboo Talk and until next time.
Remember, you matter, your story matters. So share it, because you never know when it's your story that will be what makes the difference to someone else's.
And if you are in that dark space, please reach out to somebody who cares. There is always help there. You do not have to go through it alone. Even if it's that you drop me a message or you reach out to Anne. She's fairly easy to find on Facebook.
Anne Almeida (52:44)
Yes.
Yes,
absolutely, please do.
Sarah Jordan-Ross (52:52)
So just reach out for that helping hand that will be there and trust that it will be there. I'll see you next time.