In this episode of Taboo Talk with Sarah, Sarah Jordan-Ross sits down with wellness and leadership coach Alana Cahoon (host of Creating Abundance) to talk about nervous system regulation, modern overload, and what happens when women carry “all the things” for everyone else. Together they explore how to stay grounded without getting pulled into division, how to reconnect with your inner wisdom, and simple practices—like Alana’s 1-minute 10-count breath exercise—that can bring you back into balance fast.
Guest: Alana Cahoon
Upcoming book: Creating Abundance: Access your inner wisdom to manifest radiant health, wealth and happiness
Sarah Jordan-Ross (00:00) Hey everyone, 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'm a mum of three, massage therapist, wellness advocate, and I care deeply about the conversations we're often told not to have. Those ones about health, identity, grief, voice, healing, and the systems that shape how we live. Today, I'm joined by Alana Kahoon.
Alana is the founder of Balance by Alana, a speaker and the host of the Creating Abundance podcast. She works in the wellness and leadership space, especially around nervous system regulation and helping people come back into alignment with themselves instead of constantly performing for the world around them. I was actually a guest on Alana's podcast last week, which meant I got a taste of being on the receiving end of the questions.
Now I get to sit back in the seat I'm much more comfortable in and get to ask them all. Alana, I'm really glad you're here. Thank you for joining us.
Alana Cahoon (01:03)
⁓ so am I. is it. It's already fun, Sarah.
Sarah Jordan-Ross (01:07)
Great. So, I'm start with the question that I'll be asking all of my guests this season. What have you noticed that you now can't unsee and what does it make you want to do?
Alana Cahoon (01:22)
I cannot unsay or unsee. Unsee.
Sarah Jordan-Ross (01:26)
and see. So
you've noticed it, you've seen it, now you can't not see it.
Alana Cahoon (01:32)
about myself or the world? Okay. Yeah. Yeah. Cause I, you know, I'm up into a self discovery, but yeah, you know, Sarah, I see everything. I'm, I made a conscious decision to be a truth seeker. And let me tell you, it's challenging because you really, really do see the truth.
Sarah Jordan-Ross (01:35)
the world? ⁓ maybe both!
Alana Cahoon (01:59)
And today, for instance, the contemplation in my mind has been around politics. I avoid politics, but I am fully aware of the world. I'm a world traveler. I love learning about cultures and different people. And ⁓ I'm extraordinarily compassionate and empathetic, ⁓ but I'm also a peacemaker.
my role today because I do feel, especially in my lifetime, it's one of the most volatile times I can ever recall in my lifetime in my country and often in the world. And so how do I, I actually don't want to unsee it. You know, I want to see it and ask for divine guidance on how to move.
Sarah Jordan-Ross (02:50)
So.
Alana Cahoon (02:58)
forward without engaging any side because I think as soon as you start becoming ⁓ separated you that's where the crumbling is and to realize that we're all connected and to voice your your express your voice in a way that can make a difference
Sarah Jordan-Ross (03:13)
Yeah.
Alana Cahoon (03:28)
without hurting or being ⁓ caustic.
Sarah Jordan-Ross (03:28)
Yeah.
Yes. And not taking sides and engaging in that us versus them thing that seems to be going on so much in our world. And I know you've talked a lot in your work about
balance and the nervous system and creating all of that and for me yes creating that balance within your own nervous system but it's also to creating that balance in the world around us so using what we know to make a difference and you touched on that that you want to use your voice to make a difference so with that are you noticing
particularly you are in America. So we see things a little differently from this side of the ocean. We don't always get to see exactly what's going on because what we get in news reports and that sort of thing is limited in some ways. But what are you noticing right now about how stressed out and overstimulated people are, particularly
women and what do think we can start to do about that to bring ourselves back into regulation but also then have that knock-on effect of regulating others around us.
Alana Cahoon (05:04)
Yeah. So I think as women, ⁓ one of the biggest stressors I'm aware of is our children. We're so worried about them.
It's a generation that's been exposed to the 24-7 culture. ⁓ Not going outside to play in the sunshine and in the woods and getting your feet dirty and your hands dirty, but ⁓ sitting behind a computer all day and ⁓ receiving information about themselves from strangers.
Sarah Jordan-Ross (05:34)
Yeah.
Alana Cahoon (05:43)
that can be devastating for a young person as they're maturing. So that's something I see a lot of concern with parents and then regulating that. Sarah, I'll never forget when the internet was announced. You maybe weren't warned, I don't know, but I was.
Sarah Jordan-Ross (05:45)
Yeah.
same age or slightly older than you actually but yes I remember yes I was around before the internet as much as that freaks my children out I was 26 when I got my first mobile phone
Alana Cahoon (06:08)
Oh, I don't know. Well, all right. Well, we'll we'll table that.
hahahaha
⁓ okay. Well, there you go. All right. ⁓ Well, I remember the day it was announced, my friend Kathy said AOL and I'm like, what? And of course, the whole world shifted but so now suddenly the world can really, really connect and you know, I think I lived a number of places in the world and before the internet there were ⁓ like online telephone
Companies apps like one was called net to net to phone or something like that But the internet all of a sudden connected the whole world, which is so amazing and wonderful on the one hand on the other hand It's almost like it is as you had said the word it's overload So our children are suffering and then if we separate our children and just talk about a woman
We're on overload. We're on overload anyway. You know, we come into this world and there are, I like to say epigenetics. ⁓ So there's genetics, and maybe you're familiar with this, but for your audience, genetics, right, I've got the green eyes. Someone in my ancestry had green eyes and, you know, I kind of look like my father, et cetera.
Sarah Jordan-Ross (07:26)
In a big way.
Alana Cahoon (07:47)
But epigenetics is the idea that we act in the same way. It's surprising. children, if you're a doctor, your children end up being doctors. And not necessarily because you're pushing them to be. It's what they know. It's what they're exposed to. It's what they're used to. So women...
Sarah Jordan-Ross (08:09)
It feels familiar.
Alana Cahoon (08:11)
Yeah, epigenetically women are used to being the caretakers. We've had that role for, I'm going to guess, centuries. And so as much as we shift and we take on the role of working, which I think is awesome, I completely support it, we don't know how to also let go of being in charge of the home.
And I'm gonna guess you might have something to say about that since your husband's podcast is something like Super Dad's, I don't know.
Sarah Jordan-Ross (08:37)
it to have
Laptop
lifestyle dads. Yeah Yeah, and it's very much that it's it's hard if you're used to carrying all of the load and I worked for a long time before I became a mother so I was an older mom I had my first baby at 36 my last at 40 and I
Alana Cahoon (08:48)
There you go. Yeah.
Sarah Jordan-Ross (09:16)
I think we got married when I was 35. We met when I was 34. So that gives you the... And I'd traveled the world by myself. I was senior therapist of a team of 30 in a spa in the UK. I'd worked on a Whitsunday Island. I worked in a golf and tennis resort in Canada.
Alana Cahoon (09:22)
It was meant to be.
Sarah Jordan-Ross (09:40)
So I traveled, I'd done all of that by myself. I was used to the, just carry it all. And then I got married and I was still working. And then it's like, oh, there's these extra things that I now carry. And it was really hard for me to do the, let him carry some of the load. We've got it down now in that,
So when the kids are home, we won't both be working. One of us will be. And if the other one needs to be working, then the other has the kids. That sort of thing. And we've worked out how we can help each other. We don't always get it right. There are those days where it's like... ⁓
Yep, I'm carrying a bit more of the mental load than I really would like to be but it's not all is for it's that because I've always done that I just do it and sometimes there's that thing of handing over control or handing over but some jobs
It's easier for me just to do it myself than to tell you what Nate's doing.
the same with the kids. It's like, nah, if I have to think about it and make a list and that's just more that I can't deal with. So I'll just do it myself. But I'm getting better with that of the... These are the jobs that you can do. And if you see that it needs doing, just do it. Don't ask me, just do it. But yeah, it's a tricky balancing act.
Alana Cahoon (11:25)
Yeah.
Sarah Jordan-Ross (11:31)
and it's been hard for a lot of women of our generation and the ones coming up because prior to that women were in the home so our parents our mothers well I know mine was among that first generation of full-time working moms and to this day I don't know how she did it and still showed up for
every race I was running in or every performance I was in or any of that. I don't know how she managed that but they were the first generation that did that and then there's that whole bunch of us that were for want of a better term latchkey kids.
Alana Cahoon (12:21)
Yeah.
Sarah Jordan-Ross (12:22)
Gen X's that we pretty much looked after ourselves so we're in that hole you just see what needs doing and and do it
but there comes a point where you say, do I really want to do it all anymore? Because we were raised to believe that we could have it all, but at the same time.
Alana Cahoon (12:36)
Mmm.
Sarah Jordan-Ross (12:43)
Working mums get told they should be home looking after their kids. Stay at home mums get told you should be out working and making a contribution like raising healthy happy adjusted children is not one.
Alana Cahoon (12:56)
Yeah, yeah, it's it's it's yeah, you make so many great points. ⁓ You know, I would never want to go back in time where we didn't have a choice. ⁓ Because there was an awful lot of very, very sad, very, very sad women, you know, talk about out of balance. ⁓ So I wouldn't change. Huh?
Sarah Jordan-Ross (12:57)
So, yeah, so it's...
You
you could get
way back in time when you could get thrown in a mental institution for hysteria or for all sorts of things that we now realize are... yeah.
Alana Cahoon (13:33)
Yeah.
Yeah, it's terrifying. Yeah,
it's really terrifying. So I wouldn't give up my independent nature ever. So what I find, especially I work as a coach, as a mindfulness coach, really, wellness and life coaching all put together. I work with a lot of ambitious women. And maybe not even necessarily ambitious, just women who want to do more.
themselves who want to express their voice, who want to be creative, who want to be successful, who also don't want to get completely drained from it. And that's what I see again and again. And it certainly happened with me ⁓ when I was raising children and working full time. It's really hard to make that shift and to then say,
I'm not going to do it myself. I'm going to teach them how to do it. Or I'm going to ask my spouse or delegate. You know, it's all delegating in the house. And then I see the same issue is true in the workplace. ⁓ Delegating is asking for support. And I, know, even in the work that you're doing, the work I'm doing, it's so important to have a support team.
Sarah Jordan-Ross (14:35)
Yeah.
Alana Cahoon (14:55)
Can't do it all. I mean, you can do it all if you don't want to sleep.
Sarah Jordan-Ross (14:59)
Yeah, if you don't mind collapsing in a screaming heap in the corner.
Alana Cahoon (15:05)
Yeah, that too. Same thing. Yeah, it's about, ⁓ I believe balance also
really has to do with taking care of yourself too, right? So all we've been doing is saying, well, we got to take care of our family and we got to take care of our workplace, but we need to take care of our soul and our soul could be our passions, it could be our purpose or calling, or it could just be that, you know,
What's going to make me feel good is to sit and look out at the window and wait for birds to land in a tree branch and listen to them sing. It doesn't have to be complex. It can be something like that. In fact, this year I spent more time in January. I usually help others come up with their annual plan. And this year I'm really focusing on my own.
Sarah Jordan-Ross (15:48)
Yeah.
Alana Cahoon (16:07)
And so even though it's February or whenever this ⁓ actually launches or releases, okay, it's never too late to think about your year. And what came up with me to me is two of the things that I love. So I'll say that are in my soul is gardening and painting, drawing, painting, just being expressive.
Sarah Jordan-Ross (16:14)
It'll be February. ⁓
Alana Cahoon (16:32)
I love nature and I love flowers and I love painting and I love colors and I simply didn't make the time for it the last few years and so I'm going to make an effort to fill that part of my soul.
Because when we do that, especially as women, then we're not as short with our children or ⁓ resentful of our spouses or, you know, one of the phrases I've heard over and over again is, why do I have to do everything all the time for everyone? From women. I've never heard a man say that. Nothing against men. I love men, but that is not their problem.
Sarah Jordan-Ross (17:14)
You
They are wonderful
creatures, but that's definitely not something I've heard come out of their mouths either. And I live with four of them. I have three young boys that say, yeah, I've not heard that come out of their mouths either.
Alana Cahoon (17:33)
Yeah, yeah, yeah. ⁓
Sarah Jordan-Ross (17:35)
Yeah. Yes.
So you touched on a little bit and I think that's where we're heading. There's so often that we're living from that space of what everyone needs from me, what everyone expects from me, that we get out of alignment with ourselves. We don't do those things that top up our cup.
So for you, I know you recognized it in yourself. said, I haven't been doing those things. And it's interesting when we do do those things, we're better able to do this stuff for everyone else, because we're not running. ⁓
on empty, we're living in alignment with who we are and what's important to us, what fills us up and then we pour from that out into the world. So how do you, in your work, help somebody recognise that difference between who they really are at their essence, at that soul level and who they've learned to be for everyone else around them?
Alana Cahoon (18:51)
⁓ I like to guide people to access their inner wisdom.
And the inner wisdom is right here in the center of your chest. This is considered your heart chakra, your heart center, your seat of loving compassion. And it's all within. we are, especially on this side of the world, we are constantly taught to go out, to look outward and to reach for everything that all the answers are out there and everyone else knows what to do.
The reality is all of the answers are right here. The wisdom of your own self, your own nature. And certainly you can, you know, you can get all kinds of information and knowledge outside to guide you. But if you want to understand yourself, ⁓
It's here. And so how do you tune in? I meditate. I teach people how to meditate. There are so many variations of meditation. ⁓
And a very old image of meditation is some, you know, some guy sitting on top of a mountain, not wearing a whole lot, very skinny. Okay. That's not me. See, I am not that at all. ⁓ Meditating is the form of contemplation where you quiet the mind and you're aware of the thoughts that are taking over your mind.
Sarah Jordan-Ross (20:13)
Ha
Alana Cahoon (20:27)
And it's often, a lot of it is the to-dos or the things I did in the past that I wish hadn't happened, the things I wish for the future, where the wisdom, the access point of wisdom is coming into the present moment. And so really that in its truest form, meditation and mindfulness is about being here in the present moment.
listening to the sounds all around you, seeing the birds if they land, ⁓ knowing how you feel, being fully in your body, being aware that your lower left hip is aching, not being angry about it. So it's not resisting something or trying to fix something, but being aware of it and then shifting. So to quiet the mind,
It can be as short as one minute ⁓ and I will be releasing a book very soon and it's called Creating Abundance. Access your inner wisdom to manifest radiant health, wealth and happiness. And it teaches you step by step. Really, it's everything that I've been teaching and working and coaching with my clients and my students and my groups. ⁓
Sarah Jordan-Ross (21:30)
Yay!
Alana Cahoon (21:50)
how to do that and it's fun because I have a degree in theater so I'm very creative ⁓ and I love to make things fun. Life doesn't have to be hard.
There will always be suffering. I believe that. I believe that is the nature of life, but there can always be love and fun. And so to bring that into balance, knowing even if today's a bad day, it's okay, because there's always tomorrow.
Sarah Jordan-Ross (22:24)
there is and the episode that will go live the week before this one. So talk a little bit about that about how even through the hardest experiences there will be joy. Sometimes we just have to look a little bit harder to find that but it will be there and it's through those hard experiences and finding the good moments in them that's how we grow.
Alana Cahoon (22:52)
It is. Transform through the adversities in life.
Sarah Jordan-Ross (22:58)
Yeah. Yeah.
And I think so many more of us now are noticing more about burnout or when we're in misalignment or how seriously under strain our nervous systems are and the knock-on effects that that's having. Because so many of us now are living in what I term chronic fight and flight in that
The nervous system responds to a psychological or emotional threat exactly the same way as it does to a physical one. It can't tell the difference between there's a saber-toothed tiger that wants to eat me and my boss wants that report on his desk 10 minutes ago and I've still got 20 minutes of writing to do. The nervous system just gets the danger, danger and
Alana Cahoon (23:56)
Yeah.
Sarah Jordan-Ross (23:57)
When we're in that, our...
Digestive system has blood diverted from it to the muscles so we can fight the threat or run away our body holds on to all of its resources so that it can Use them if it needs to later ⁓ When we're not getting into that rest and repair state our system ends up
overloaded with stress hormones that then causes a whole lot of other problems as well and I'm really glad that we're now starting to notice that hey it's it's not just hormones it's not just diet it's our nervous systems are overloaded and dysregulated and now that we've got that awareness around it
Now we can start actually doing something about it. So for you with all of your knowledge in this area, what do you think would be one practical shift our listeners could make this week to help them move from that chronic overload into alignment with themselves and ⁓
what really matters.
Alana Cahoon (25:28)
So what comes to me is go with the flow.
no matter how hard we control, think we're controlling something, a situation, whether it's a project or a child, we really don't have any control. What we do have is...
the energy within us that we can give to a situation and to flow with. So instead of pushing, pushing, pushing, get it done, get it done, get it done, ASAP, ASAP. It's how, where are we? Instead of pushing to that goal, it's really all about the journey. It's about getting from A to B.
We've forgotten that, you know, ⁓ a century ago, one century ago, only a century ago, people were on horses. People weren't flying across the world in a day.
Sarah Jordan-Ross (26:23)
Yeah.
Alana Cahoon (26:30)
You know that took two months on a ship if you're lucky to get across. There were so many things that we think need to be done immediately and they don't and they don't. So checking in with your day and actually a beautiful way to start a day is with your morning intention.
Sarah Jordan-Ross (26:37)
Yeah.
Alana Cahoon (26:56)
always start with gratitude. Thank you. I'm alive. This is beautiful. Thank you for the home I have, whatever that home is. Even if you're living in a tent, an apartment or a grand mansion, offer gratitude. You're being protected wherever you are in life. See something of value that either you've created or the environment the universe has brought to you.
So gratitude is huge set your intention for how you plan to go about the day today. I plan to go with the flow What does that mean? Well as you start getting stressed? my god, I gotta get this done You see pause right take a breath take a breath Relax. I have a one-minute ⁓
Sarah Jordan-Ross (27:39)
you
take a deep breath.
Alana Cahoon (27:52)
exercise. Well, see, I just gave it away. It's called a 10 count exercise. And it only takes a minute or less to do. And it can bring you right into the present moment and help to ground you. Really, it's about grounding. Grounding is being present. It's not about the boss getting ticked off, or it's not about the child falling off the bike. And it's not about
doing the best as a superwoman. It's about doing your best and taking care of yourself. So self-care is huge. Just as we said before, do something, fit something in at least once a week, if not a whole lot more that's only for you.
Sarah Jordan-Ross (28:28)
you
Alana Cahoon (28:44)
Friday I'm going to get a massage with Sarah. Next week I'm going to get a coaching session with Alana. You know, take care of you. Because if all you're doing is giving, whether that's to others or to your work projects or to your house projects or your community, you will get spent. And then you get sick and then you can't do anything. And what good is that? Nothing.
Sarah Jordan-Ross (28:48)
You
Yes,
if you don't make time for your wellness, you will have to make time for your illness. And what I would really love to do, just because it popped into my head, do you want to take us through your one minute exercise? Particularly for all those other super women out there that are just doing too much and wondering if they should be.
Alana Cahoon (29:18)
Mmm.
Sure.
Yeah, yeah, I love it. ⁓ It's the 10 count exercise and I'm just, well, you'll be familiar with it. So yes, you already closed your eyes. If you're not driving, if you're in a place where you can close your eyes for one minute or less, go ahead, close your eyes and take a nice long deep breath in and out.
you
The 10 count exercise is focusing on your breath. Breathing in.
and breathing out.
Adding to that awareness is counting up to 10. So with each inhale or exhale, let's make it the exhale. That's the number. So take a nice deep breath in and one exhale.
another deep breath in too. Exhale.
Full breath in with three. Exhale.
Continuing, I'm counting for you. This is on four. As you exhale, you're releasing and letting go. And on five, you're really breathing in, filling your rib cage, exhaling all the way. Breathing in on six.
Feel yourself relaxing. Breathing in on seven. Breathing in fresh, clean air. Exhaling, releasing any toxins.
Breathing in on eight, exhaling, dropping your shoulders, releasing your jaw. And one final breath in. Exhaling.
And if you're not doing anything, this could be a sleepy thing. But if you are in the moment of stress, and I do offer these suggestions in the book of how this simple exercise can help parents when their children are, you wanna, know, ⁓ or, nobody might think about it.
Sarah Jordan-Ross (31:39)
You
While we wouldn't ever really strangle them, sometimes there is that inclination.
Alana Cahoon (32:03)
And then also in a public place when you're not served and then in the workplace. So it gives you examples of how you can use it and how especially in times of stress those first five breaths you're probably still really upset or stressed or worried. And even if it's about a deadline one minute of calming yourself down and settling the adrenaline and moving
of the fight or flight is going to give you so much energy back that you will be able to work so much more efficiently with more clearheadedness without the emotional drain. So there you go.
Sarah Jordan-Ross (32:52)
Thank you. I hope everyone else felt their shoulders drop a little bit through that. it's one of those things with like wellness has become a bit of a buzzword, but so much of it feels like the, yep, you've got to go to the spa or you've got to...
drink heaps of water or you've got to get outside in the sunshine for so many of those more check boxes and tick off lists but you've just shown us it doesn't have to be something it can be just taking that
minute to check in with yourself and calm yourself down or taking that time through the week to do something that's just for you. Now I tell people and I think I might have even said it on your podcast what's going to work for you and what's going to work for me may not be the same thing so
You said you love to paint and draw. I struggle to draw a straight line with a ruler, I'll be honest. But I do have a child who is an artist and he can create amazing things and that's his happy place.
I sing and I have done my whole life or I write and that's how I get everything out but also in recent years partly I got the kids into it for the self-defense and discipline aspects of it but then after a year or two of them going mom it's so much fun come do it with us I took up taekwondo. Bit of a if you can't beat them join them kind of thing
and there's rules against beating them anyway but ⁓ I found it the best stress management technique for me because I do tend to and a lot of us do we hold it all in our bodies we keep it all in we push it all down sometimes to the point that we know we're stressed and worried but we haven't even got a clue what it's about anymore and then that
cork explodes at the worst possible moment. So for me with taekwondo, where else can I scream my head off and punch and kick things and get my body moving and that be perfectly acceptable.
People look at you funny if you start making loud noises in the middle of a shopping centre but nobody blinks an eye when you scream at the top of your lungs in a taekwondo class. I have another friend who is a farmer and when things are getting on top of them they take a wander down to the back paddock and
Alana Cahoon (35:39)
No.
That sounds great.
Sarah Jordan-Ross (35:59)
make lots of noise at the cows and the cows don't care or at least if they look at him funny well it doesn't bother him so much
Alana Cahoon (36:11)
Right.
Sarah Jordan-Ross (36:13)
So yeah, so for you, apart from painting, or if you've got any other great suggestions that people could try for their wellness, I know you've probably got a few in the book.
Alana Cahoon (36:28)
Oh yeah, got loads of them. And what I'm hearing from you is releasing stress by yelling and letting that out. I was raised not to do that, but I'll tell you, why does it feel good?
Sarah Jordan-Ross (36:41)
A lot were.
Yes, because us good girls, we keep quiet. We don't say those things. But I don't know about for you, but definitely at the time I'm at in my life, it's the... I don't want to be quiet and I don't want to do all the things I've been told to do. And I don't want to turn a blind eye when things aren't right. And I don't want to exhaust myself so that then I'm no good for anybody.
Alana Cahoon (36:51)
Yeah. Yeah.
Yeah.
Right.
Sarah Jordan-Ross (37:17)
Yeah, so.
Alana Cahoon (37:17)
Right. Yeah, well, ⁓ I'm also a singer. So singing is a wonderful way to ⁓ to express yourself. And it's very healing because, by the way, I, you know, I've taken some breath work.
breath work courses. I'm like, well, this is just learning how to sing from your diaphragm. mean, come on. And just singing, you know, breathing techniques, which not to minimalize it, because truthfully, many of us, if not all of us breathe shallow. And that causes anxiety. And when you start to breathe more slowly, that's one of the reasons the 10 count exercise works.
because you're breathing deeply and not shallow which is I mean you just right that's adrenaline that's fear that's rushing that's and the opposite is breathing deeply and you cannot sing effectively without deeply breathing
Sarah Jordan-Ross (38:01)
Yep.
Alana Cahoon (38:19)
expanding that body and then just shout it out with you know a little bit add a little bit of a ooh or ah and then you're okay you know and it's acceptable I'm just singing
Sarah Jordan-Ross (38:32)
Yeah, I'm just making noise. But you're absolutely right. little biological fact, our lungs are huge. They actually go from our collarbone or just below our collarbone to our bottom ribs. So you can't see all of me, but that is a huge area. Most of us breathe with the top third of our lungs.
Alana Cahoon (38:33)
Hahaha
Sarah Jordan-Ross (38:57)
So when you're breathing and your shoulders are coming up, that's kind of not how it's supposed to be. You want to get right down into that bottom part of your lungs and then it has that calming effect on the nervous system that you were talking about. And also, if you are in that wanting to make a little bit of noise, you're going to be able to make more for longer if you're actually using all of your lungs.
Alana Cahoon (39:25)
Yeah, I must confess, red lights when driving, I might just do a really big, yeah, let it go. And then I'm like, wait, who's around me? Do I care?
Sarah Jordan-Ross (39:26)
Yeah.
you
think we all need those spaces where we can do that and not care who's around or if we do do that and there's someone around it's that that somebody is gonna go yep okay but they're going to understand it.
Alana Cahoon (39:58)
Well, you know, and I think
it really is about de-stressing and bringing balance to you because what you don't want to do is to let it build up and then...
have that voice be expressed by yelling at someone, whether it's your children or your colleague or your partner. So release it, find another way. Sports is a great way to release it. It's an excuse to yell. And play. Yeah. So.
Sarah Jordan-Ross (40:29)
You
Alana Cahoon (40:35)
finding but like you said also what works for me won't work for you. ⁓ You know my son I remember for a few years I was just every weekend I was driving him and his buddies to the to a ski mountain and I didn't ski and finally I'm like well
what I'm sick I don't want to just sit here for eight hours reading and I don't drink you know not during the day that's for sure and so I took lessons and I was much older and I took lessons ⁓ and then I then I had fun and it was it was like just maybe like you with the taekwondo it was like wow I I
would say I pushed myself but I did something I would not have done normally. It wasn't in my comfort zone and yet I took that step forward and it was wonderful. It made these extraordinarily long cold winters in Rochester New York far more bearable. So try new things.
Sarah Jordan-Ross (41:40)
And think, yeah.
And find the fun in the challenge. It's like, you could have continued to sit there and be miserable. You could have taken up day drinking. Not that I would advise that. But instead, you went, I'm actually going to see if I can figure out what they're all on about.
Alana Cahoon (41:46)
the fun.
Yeah.
That's true.
Sarah Jordan-Ross (42:09)
and find the fun in it for yourself.
And I think that is a great note to start wrapping things up. I did have one more little question I wanted to ask you and that's about your podcast. So you have podcast, you speak publicly, you're in a leadership space. What's using your voice?
required of you. Has there ever been times where there's been friction around that, whether within yourself or from outside?
Alana Cahoon (42:44)
with using my voice. ⁓ So I started singing when I was very young, I don't know, six years old, and I started competing. And so I'm so used to singing in the public. And then I became a recording artist in New York, and that was years ago. ⁓ And so I've heard my voice so many times that
Sarah Jordan-Ross (42:46)
Yeah.
Alana Cahoon (43:13)
it doesn't freak me out anymore. course, the first year, so I'm like, my God, it's my voice. That's horrible. you know, but even now today, you know, still even though the zoom calls are these, you know, all the videos just like, my God, that's my face. Everybody's got to look at me. So
Sarah Jordan-Ross (43:20)
Damn!
What's
so hard on ourselves?
Alana Cahoon (43:34)
We
are very hard on ourselves. know, as I'm saying that, do I ever look around and do that to anybody? I'm not criticizing anybody else, only ourselves. only criticizing ourselves. But vocally, I have a lot of experience. ⁓ you know, when I was asked by my coach, Michael Silver's to, or I wasn't asked, I was highly coached to start a podcast. I was just like, what? ⁓
Sarah Jordan-Ross (43:58)
You
He's good at that.
Alana Cahoon (44:03)
Yeah, he is very
good at that. ⁓ And now, you know, like you, I'm part of the Los Angeles Tribune's podcast network and it's easy and I love it. ⁓ I just, you know, it's like what I've done my whole life coaching, whether I've been working with entrepreneurs or women like you interviewing, understanding, you know, that people's journeys might be different, but they're so much similar.
And so I'm quite comfortable doing this, especially one-on-one or on a big stage where it gets really hard is like being really close to a big group. I've had to do that before and that's a little bit hard. So practice, you just keep doing it and then you just don't even think about it.
Sarah Jordan-Ross (44:53)
Yes.
and for this podcaster I'm still relatively new in that space but I remember the first time I actually watched an episode back and it was the my god do I really sound like that because you sound different in your own head to what you do on audio but eventually you do get used to hearing it and you stop holding back and just let it flow so
Alana Cahoon (45:23)
Yeah,
and then I think more words of wisdom. Don't judge yourself. There's plenty of people who will do that for you. let it go. Just be yourself. which reminds me, the company I love that you said balance by Alana that that that has a real ring to it. So I might use it. the company that I started that's 15 years ago or so is called grow to be you.
Sarah Jordan-Ross (45:32)
you
Alana Cahoon (45:53)
It's really about stepping into your power, about being you, living your soul purpose and, and yeah, and you know, fear the red light and you need to let it out. Just yell with all the windows up. Don't freak everyone out, you know, ⁓ but to be yourself.
Sarah Jordan-Ross (45:54)
for you.
Hahaha
Alana Cahoon (46:15)
because that's why you're here, not to look and act like somebody else but to be you. So I love that you're doing Taboo Talk.
Sarah Jordan-Ross (46:25)
Thank you so much for being here. I've had fun and one of the reasons why I called it Taboo Talk, it gives me permission to talk about anything I want to. And as you said, just be yourself. And I think that's the perfect note to end this episode on, is the reminder to just be yourself.
So to everyone listening, if something in this conversation has resonated with you, just sit with it for a little while and then maybe, just maybe, share it with somebody who you think needs reminding to be themselves, to shine their light, to make the world a little bit better. Or maybe somebody who needs reminding that it's okay to scream your head off at a red traffic light.
Alana Cahoon (47:22)
you
Sarah Jordan-Ross (47:24)
Because you don't have to fix everything overnight. But you get to decide what you do next.
I'm Sarah Jordan Ross and this has been Tabri Talk. So until next time, take care of yourselves, take care of each other and remember, your voice matters. What you notice in the world matters and what you choose to do with it matters too. So share your story because your story might be the one that changes someone else's life. Bye for now.