Emma Mashall: A place that no one touches. When was the last time you sat there and touched the backs of your knees intentionally? The reason [00:00:05] being is because we’ve got loads of lymph nodes in the backs of the knees, and the lymph is literally all it’s needed [00:00:10] to work well is a bit of movement and a bit of touch. That’s it. And it just shows you [00:00:15] playing and.

Payman Langroudi: Yeah. And your sort of guiding. We’re gonna have.

Rhona Eskander: To try it. We are going to try it.

Intro Voice: This [00:00:20] is mind movers moving [00:00:25] the conversation forward on mental health and optimisation for Dental [00:00:30] professionals. Your hosts Rhona Eskander and [00:00:35] Payman Langroudi.

Rhona Eskander: Emma, welcome [00:00:40] to an episode of Mind Movers, the mental health podcast for dentists. This [00:00:45] is season two and we have the incredible Emma marshall. Emma is the founder [00:00:50] and CEO of Movement is Medicine, and when I first met Emma, it was through a friend and I [00:00:55] was drawn to her incredibly vibrant personality, her healing soul. [00:01:00] And we continue to stay in touch. And she inspired me because she recognised this huge gap in the market [00:01:05] for movement as a method of healing. I’m not talking just about exercise, but moving [00:01:10] your body to music, moving your body in any place that you’re at, not necessarily [00:01:15] being in a rave or at a party with people, and certainly not needing substances to fuel your [00:01:20] desire to move your body. She’s also been a TEDx speaker. She’s been at the Happy [00:01:25] Place Festival, which I was also at and has gone to, gone on to do incredible things. And [00:01:30] I think what’s really exciting is that she’s not gone on to do incredible things with what I call the woo woo [00:01:35] culture, but also the corporate society, because she’s recognised as well that people should have [00:01:40] access to healing and not be boxed up into just being part of a certain type of industry. [00:01:45] So welcome, Emma. Oh, thanks for having me.

Emma Mashall: What a lovely intro. Yeah.

Rhona Eskander: Thanks. [00:01:50] So, Emma, the reason why I found you so inspiring and I think a lot [00:01:55] of people have is because, you know, you had a series of unfortunate events that had happened to you, which [00:02:00] led you to where you are. So let’s start from the beginning. What are you were doing before? Movement is medicine [00:02:05] and how it led you to where you are today.

Emma Mashall: Yeah, so I had a really [00:02:10] successful career in the music industry. Um, and everything was going [00:02:15] great. You know, I was going from one kind of space in the industry to the other, just figuring out my path [00:02:20] in my 20s. But in 2015, I [00:02:25] had like a very serious health year where there was just all these different situations [00:02:30] that happened back to back. Um, and it wasn’t just like, oh, I had the flu. It was like I was hospitalised [00:02:35] with some serious conditions. And so one of them, I had to have a catheter [00:02:40] because my kidneys weren’t functioning properly. And then I got tripped over in the street. [00:02:45] I fractured my arm. And I was then diagnosed with like, a very serious, um, [00:02:50] nervous system disease, which, like, was all to do with the brain firing off the wrong [00:02:55] signals in regards to pain. So I couldn’t move the left side of my body. And it was [00:03:00] really, really serious for quite a long time. Um, I was also told with that one [00:03:05] that there was no kind of cure that would be my life. And I was like, nah, I don’t believe that. [00:03:10] Um, but then after that, I had to have my appendix out, and this was all in the space of six months. [00:03:15] So at that point I went to a GP and I was just like, there’s something wrong with me, [00:03:20] you know, I’m only 25, so why is my body not working properly? [00:03:25] And the GP kind of just was giving me the fobbed off of just like, oh, you’re probably a bit depressed.

Emma Mashall: And I was a bit [00:03:30] like, well, I think there’s more to it than that. And that’s when I started to look into a more holistic [00:03:35] way of understanding health. So started to look at nutrition. I started to look at my lifestyle. [00:03:40] I had burnt myself out like I just got into the music industry at 23, like full [00:03:45] time. Before that, I was doing bits and pieces and I just was doing so many jobs. I wasn’t [00:03:50] sleeping properly, I my diet was poor, and there was so many aspects of my [00:03:55] lifestyle that I can understand why that impacted on my health. Now that obviously I reflected on it and when [00:04:00] we were in those situations. It affects our nervous system, it affects our immune system, it affects our endocrine system. So [00:04:05] I really started to observe the ways in which my body was working and how it wasn’t, and changed [00:04:10] a lot, but I also felt like I never fully recovered. Uh, there was always this kind [00:04:15] of like missing piece of the jigsaw. And then in 2018, I had [00:04:20] to have an operation. It was like suddenly I couldn’t have avoided and it went wrong, and [00:04:25] I was put on medication because I thought I was going to go into sepsis and there was a whole thing. [00:04:30] And after that, my body just started shut down. It just gave up, and [00:04:35] I got sicker and sicker, and I got a diagnosis of clinical PTSD.

Emma Mashall: And then it [00:04:40] went from there where the physical symptoms got so extreme, um, that I went to functional [00:04:45] medicine. So I looked at functional medicine rather than the NHS. The NHS weren’t being particularly helpful. [00:04:50] And I was told, oh, we think you’ve got Lyme disease, or we think you’ve been poisoned by a black mould. [00:04:55] And then I went to this hospital in Mexico, raised money and had some really [00:05:00] serious treatment over there, and it was really interesting. What kind of treatment? Well, so I had ozone [00:05:05] therapy where they take your blood out and then put it back in when it’s been oxygenated. And then I also had [00:05:10] something called hyperthermia where they put you to sleep and they basically comatose you for like, [00:05:15] um, I think it’s around ten hours and they basically heat your body up really slowly to a [00:05:20] temperature of 109 degrees, and they hold you there for as long as possible to kill off any [00:05:25] kind of infections that you’ve got. Because that’s the problem, is that when I got to this hospital, I didn’t have Lyme. [00:05:30] I did have some sort of, you know, toxin issue. But the problem was, is that my immune system wasn’t working and [00:05:35] my nervous system wasn’t working. And my endocrine system. Wasn’t working, so I had some infections [00:05:40] that my body couldn’t fight off bacterial and viral. And then, yeah, they [00:05:45] just put me through this really serious treatment. But unfortunately the treatment then resulted in me not being able to [00:05:50] walk.

Emma Mashall: So the knock on effects were huge. And then from there I started to have seizures. [00:05:55] And so it was just this kind of like getting worse and worse and worse. But one of the interesting things that I will [00:06:00] mention, because I’m talking to dentists, is that one of the things that they have at this hospital is a bio [00:06:05] dentist, okay. And the reason being is because they were checking people’s teeth, they checked all of my teeth and [00:06:10] they were looking for things like fillings, silver fillings and that kind of thing to look for toxin overload. [00:06:15] And I just found that really interesting because I was just like, oh, okay, cool. There’s there’s a whole spectrum of health here that [00:06:20] like, we just I wouldn’t know about this. I had no idea. So we started to just again open me up. But I [00:06:25] was seriously ill at this point with no kind of resolution and no cure, because that’s what I think we look for [00:06:30] when we’re ill is like, I need the cure. And there wasn’t a clear path. It was just like, we’re going to try this and we’re [00:06:35] going to try that and blah, blah, blah. And I basically ended up carrying on different treatments under like functional medicine [00:06:40] for the next year with no improvements. It just got worse and worse [00:06:45] and worse. And by this point, my mental health was absolutely appalling, like serious [00:06:50] PTSD and just yeah, no real will to live, to be honest. And [00:06:55] it got to a point where I met somebody and she just kind of transformed my understanding of health, [00:07:00] where she was like, you have been through so much trauma, but it’s [00:07:05] been very physical.

Emma Mashall: Um, you know, we have different types of trauma and yours has been extremely physical. [00:07:10] Your body is going to be holding on to those physical experiences because trauma is held [00:07:15] in the body. So you need to start understanding how to work with your body and your nervous system to release [00:07:20] this stuff. And it just was like thing. And I was like, okay, [00:07:25] this makes sense. So I dove into the research around the nervous system and [00:07:30] neuroscience, the mind body connection and how everything is connected and, you know, the gut brain connection [00:07:35] and all these different connections that we we have and how the nervous system impacts your immune system and your endocrine [00:07:40] system. And I was like, okay, this is all starting to make a lot more sense. But this is now pandemic [00:07:45] time. So there’s no resource and no support. I should have 100% have [00:07:50] had at least a therapist and also some physio, because when I couldn’t walk, it affected my legs [00:07:55] and I had nothing. So I was like, I woke up one day and I just said to myself, like, [00:08:00] you’ve got to start moving. And the only thing that I felt like I could do was [00:08:05] dance. And I just promised myself like one song a day come from the music industry, where I was [00:08:10] out all the time.

Emma Mashall: I had a life style that incorporated dance. Most days. I [00:08:15] hadn’t done this. I hadn’t had fun like this in a really long time. So I just started putting on tunes and moving [00:08:20] my body, and I started to feel a difference, and I started to see improvements in both [00:08:25] my physical health, my legs, and also in the way that my anxiety was and PTSD symptoms. [00:08:30] And I was just like, okay. So again, furthered the research. And I looked specifically not just around [00:08:35] stress and trauma in the body. I looked at dance and movement and even rhythm [00:08:40] and certain types of tempos and sound and all that kind of stuff. And I just basically [00:08:45] started to piece together all these different aspects. And then at the end of 2020, [00:08:50] I decided that London was a bit too much for me, pandemic wise. I’d just been through two [00:08:55] full years of illness. I was like, I can’t do a whole nother year of this. So I left and I went back to Mexico [00:09:00] because Mexico was quite open, so went back to Mexico and used the time [00:09:05] to not only recover fully, but also study. So I studied how [00:09:10] indigenous tribes and communities utilise dance and music [00:09:15] all the time. And if you look at anywhere that’s got indigenous culture and that spans [00:09:20] across so many different continents, every single aspect of that culture has [00:09:25] music and dance incorporated. And we in the West don’t particularly utilise [00:09:30] it like that. It’s very much based around hedonism. So when we go out it’s like, oh, have a drink [00:09:35] and we’ll just yeah, we’ll go out, have a drink and I’ll listen to this.

Emma Mashall: Um, I’ll go to this festival or listen to this concert [00:09:40] or whatever. It’s always based around hedonism. And in other cultures that’s not necessarily [00:09:45] the case. And I just was like, okay, cool. Well, we need to do something here with this because [00:09:50] the science is saying this. The science is saying that dance is extremely helpful and [00:09:55] the nervous system and etc., etc., the neuroscience. But also we’ve just kind of [00:10:00] forgotten this very ancient healing practice. So I [00:10:05] put something together as a body of work, um, utilising the science in [00:10:10] particular. And this is where I really didn’t want to waste time, but also like make [00:10:15] it as a trust me bro situation, which is a lot of wellness. [00:10:20] It is that there’s no there’s no data, there’s no science, there’s no studies. And [00:10:25] I think that there is a place for science, and there’s also a place for feeling they both [00:10:30] coexist. And that’s what I wanted to create is something that I can say. This is why it works. And [00:10:35] now we’re going to do it and you’re going to feel it. And that’s what I’ve managed to create. And people have really, [00:10:40] really taken to it and it’s taken off and it’s done really, really well. And and it helps people [00:10:45] with everything. But the main thing that it kind of helps people with, most importantly is just releasing stress. [00:10:50] So yeah.

Rhona Eskander: Such a fascinating story, like so many things to say on that. And [00:10:55] like one of the things that I want to touch upon because I think it’s really interesting and I want your views on this, [00:11:00] is that about alternative medicine? Because we work in a profession where we’re very much [00:11:05] taught traditional medicine, you know, um, there is a diagnosis to your symptoms [00:11:10] and we don’t look outside the body. Um, there’s also been recently in the press [00:11:15] a lot around amalgam fillings and amalgam fillings. We’re one of the last countries [00:11:20] now to basically put a stop to it. And obviously a lot of dentists studies have basically [00:11:25] shown that actually they don’t cause any harm in your body, and they can cause more harm [00:11:30] if you remove it in an unsafe way. So like the actual like vapour can get inhaled, etc.. So [00:11:35] you have to use something called the rubber dam. Or some dentists use like a kind of extractor machine, etc.. And [00:11:40] I think now there’s been this massive emergence of like biological dentists and they’re actually challenging [00:11:45] the status quo and challenging the system. And as you know, she actually saw one [00:11:50] of my dentists. He sort of brands himself as a biological dentist, and he very much believes [00:11:55] in stuff. So he does like ozone. He removes the amalgam with like an amalgam extractor. You know, Doctor Richard, [00:12:00] he does like vitamin infusions as part of like when he does like his implant treatments and stuff like [00:12:05] that. And I have to say that, like, I still believe traditional medicine [00:12:10] is needed. Totally. And I think, you know, I had a friend of mine that also was in Mexico and [00:12:15] she was like, oh, I’ve got a wisdom tooth pain. And I tried putting cloves on it and it didn’t get better. [00:12:20] And obviously she did need antibiotics. But I do think it’s the integration of, you know, [00:12:25] that functional medicine with modern day medicine, which is really important. What’s your thoughts on it? [00:12:30]

Payman Langroudi: It’s a difficult one. Tell me, because look, the you [00:12:35] can make a good or bad story up about anything. Right. Because what’s the alternative to amalgam [00:12:40] encompass it. Right. It’s a plastic, you know, plastics in your [00:12:45] mouth all the time. The free plastics that you get from the bonds, you can make a bad story up about that. [00:12:50] Do you know you can you can do research and find out how much problems that causes. I [00:12:55] mean, I’m interested in in why you thought that dance [00:13:00] was the answer. When, you know, doctors are telling you, you know. [00:13:05]

Rhona Eskander: Otherwise. But I think but I think it’s the functional piece as well that helped her because that led her [00:13:10] to people that said to her, like, you know, it starts from within. Like if you read books like, [00:13:15] I’m sure we’ve discussed this, the body keeps the score or the body says, no, it’s all [00:13:20] about that stuff. Because all of these physical diseases. Six months ago, I slipped my disc. [00:13:25] He knows I was in here. I tried to ignore it. It was 100% because of what was going on physically, mentally [00:13:30] in my mind. Like, yeah, okay, fine. I actually physically fell in the gym, but my mind was [00:13:35] somewhere else and all this stress had been building up and it was like crash. Totally. And I was like, that’s not [00:13:40] a coincidence that I slipped my disc, you know? So I think that, like, you know, you understanding that [00:13:45] is so important. And for me, I’m hearing that like the movement was freedom. [00:13:50] Yeah. But do you think then as well there’s like something that you’re doing [00:13:55] can be integrated into mainstream medicine.

Emma Mashall: Well yes. I [00:14:00] would love to be able to have this available on the [00:14:05] NHS. The red tape however, who knows. You know, [00:14:10] we will need to get it to a point of clinical trials, um, which is doable [00:14:15] with the right backing and with the right funding. But clinical trials cost money. But that’s when we’ll be able [00:14:20] to see the different chemical releases, you know, during a session for each person, the [00:14:25] way that the brainwaves move, etc.. Because I’ve got my theories on it. I know what I believe [00:14:30] makes sense for this work. And also I have done so much research [00:14:35] now, um, I just don’t have the piece of paper. However, [00:14:40] I’m also not ignorant to the fact that the pieces of paper are important. Um, and [00:14:45] so I partnered with a neuroscientist on this work who has, you know, [00:14:50] 15 years in chronic pain. And she she works specifically on understanding the mind body [00:14:55] connection. And she’s a really interesting person. But the way in which she came to me, I [00:15:00] mean, it was only from God at this point. Like she, um, did my method [00:15:05] for six months. So she’d been following my journey. She’d been following me online. I put this out when I first started. [00:15:10] It was a case study. It was a theory. It was like, I believe this works. It’s worked for me. But I can’t charge people for [00:15:15] this because I don’t, you know, I need to see if it works for other people. So I did it for free and then I upped [00:15:20] it to donations. But people were just coming for free. I was teaching it five times a week on zoom. She [00:15:25] was one of those people. She did it for six months. I don’t know who people are when [00:15:30] they come.

Emma Mashall: Just similarly to if you go to a gym class, you don’t know who people [00:15:35] are in that gym class, what they do, etc. we don’t. Talk about that. You’re there to move and then you leave. So similar concept [00:15:40] with this. So when she told me, um, no sorry. I then [00:15:45] basically put a call out to medical professionals via Instagram because I was like, we’re [00:15:50] starting to get some good traction here. Like there’s press coming. I want to make sure that I’ve, you [00:15:55] know, I’m not a bit delusional, and I want to have some medical professionals that really do believe [00:16:00] in what I’m talking about. So I asked people, I had pharmacologists get in touch, I had therapists, I had doctors, [00:16:05] I had various types of people get in touch and say, yeah, if you want to put my name on your kind of backing, then I’m, I’m [00:16:10] for it. And she was one of those people. And so when I read the email and it said neuroscientist, [00:16:15] I was like, oh my goodness. Like, this is what I need to do. I need to partner with this [00:16:20] neuroscientist. And only ten minutes before, I’d been having a conversation with my assistant [00:16:25] at the time to say to her, I need to find a neuroscientist to back this body of work. Like, for sure, [00:16:30] ten minutes later, Dawn shows up. So she’s written out from a neuroscientific perspective [00:16:35] what happens in a session and therefore what she believes happens, especially [00:16:40] even in regards to chemical release. You know, acetylcholine and and serotonin release [00:16:45] and even dopamine and understanding those kind of chemicals. Now, to have the actual proof that that works we would need [00:16:50] to go clinical. And that’s just financial at this point.

Payman Langroudi: There’s a few things about what you’re saying. [00:16:55] I mean, in in the scientific world, often the breakthrough happens [00:17:00] 20 years before. Totally the general sort of acceptance of it. [00:17:05] Because you do a clinical trial, no one’s still going to accept that 100%. Yeah. You need multi-center [00:17:10] clinical trials from all over the world with blind clinical trials and the other. But, um, [00:17:15] but if you’re a 100% sure of it within yourself, then the [00:17:20] challenge to spreading this story to me is more a marketing challenge [00:17:25] than a than a clinical one 100%.

Emma Mashall: Because like I said before, it was about me making [00:17:30] sure that it wasn’t just working on me. Right. And then so when I started to see that it was working on people with diagnoses [00:17:35] from autoimmune to cancer to.

Payman Langroudi: Exercise, right. I mean, of course people [00:17:40] accept exercise is good for you. Yeah. And this is exercise, right?

Emma Mashall: Absolutely.

Payman Langroudi: But but but I did I [00:17:45] did your Ted as as in your Ted talk I like did you get.

Rhona Eskander: Up and do it. He [00:17:50] messaged me going like can we do the movement tomorrow? I was like, sure it was.

Payman Langroudi: It was like midnight last [00:17:55] night. What I looked.

Rhona Eskander: Like, he’s like dancing.

Payman Langroudi: But but the you know, the thing that was for me was [00:18:00] amazing about it was dancing for me doesn’t come naturally at all. I mean, you come from a music background [00:18:05] for me. Yeah. I was a raver in the 90s. Yeah. Then you are. But the Closing [00:18:10] your Eyes piece. Yeah. Was really the important thing. Where he just free? Yeah. Now some people can just [00:18:15] be free with their eyes open. I can’t, even if there’s no one in the room. I just find this [00:18:20] awkward, you know? But the sort of the the almost the meditation [00:18:25] part of it. Yes. Was really. Tell me about that. The link from the actual exercise to the mind. [00:18:30]

Emma Mashall: So there’s two components to the method. And the reason why it works is the following. Your [00:18:35] peripheral nervous system is essentially a sensory and motor [00:18:40] system. So it’s governed by sensors and movement. And that’s essentially [00:18:45] what keeps us alive as well. And it also allows us to create a perception of the world. So [00:18:50] when we do the method and the reason that we close the eyes is because as soon as [00:18:55] you close your eyes, your other senses heighten, and the senses that we’re looking for to heighten [00:19:00] are sound and also touch. And so when we heighten those other senses, [00:19:05] your internal world is going to tell you where you’re feeling uncomfortable, perhaps [00:19:10] have tension, maybe you’re holding on to something emotional. And just by creating [00:19:15] the awareness, you can then move it. And the key aspect as to why this works. So you just said [00:19:20] you’re a raver in the 90s, then you can dance because we’re not doing choreography. [00:19:25] If you put me into a dance class right now, I’d be the worst person in there. I can’t be told how to move [00:19:30] and but I can move. I have rhythm that is the key component to this. [00:19:35] It’s allowing people to go back into their natural instinct, which is finding the rhythm. And [00:19:40] you.

Rhona Eskander: Think everyone has.

Emma Mashall: That? Yeah, they’ve done studies on babies. So there’s loads of studies on babies. [00:19:45] Um, to.

Payman Langroudi: The indigenous.

Emma Mashall: Thing.

Payman Langroudi: Yeah, totally. Almost every single [00:19:50] one, almost every single, every single sort of culture has it exactly dances.

Emma Mashall: It’s [00:19:55] natural. And what we do is, you know, the ego is the stories, right? The [00:20:00] ego is, oh, I look stupid and oh, no, I can’t dance. And all these, all the stories. If you just [00:20:05] look at a baby, that baby will just move to music without any care in the world.

Rhona Eskander: Amazing when you see [00:20:10] that.

Emma Mashall: And that is what we have naturally inbuilt into us, but [00:20:15] we’ve basically forgotten it because we’re so in our heads. So the methodology is so centred [00:20:20] around getting people back into their natural rhythm, and when you’re in your natural rhythm, [00:20:25] you’re going to then move your body naturally without any kind of, [00:20:30] um, block or resistance. And that in turn, is going to allow you to process [00:20:35] what is really going on in your mind, because remember. The body is essentially the reflection of your subconscious. [00:20:40] That’s really what they’ve discovered. That’s the mind body connection. That’s also where we use the word psychosomatic. [00:20:45] You know, when somebody comes and presents with all these symptoms and doctors are like, well, there’s nothing wrong with you. It’s like [00:20:50] it’s in the mind, but it doesn’t mean it’s not physically happening.

Rhona Eskander: Yeah, and I hate that. That’s why I talk about medical [00:20:55] gaslighting so often. Like where and talk Payman about this, where, as I said, they can’t [00:21:00] see the physical symptoms. They’re like, you’re fine. It’s in your head, you know, and you [00:21:05] know, we had a podcast recently where someone said, you know about that expression as well. Like, I was [00:21:10] in my head, you know, like it’s it’s it’s, you know, it’s such a profound, uh, [00:21:15] statement. And I think the indigenous piece, like you said. And when will you go? Because I spend a lot of time [00:21:20] in South America and these countries, and I find it really healing, being around indigenous people that really connect [00:21:25] with their own culture. I recently went to a retreat in Costa Rica, um, [00:21:30] in a place called Brave Earth. I don’t know if you’ve heard of it. It’s like a really healing ground. They do a lot of ceremonies there, but we were there [00:21:35] for a retreat. I was with my partner, and there, um, it was called Activating [00:21:40] the Voice, which is the different but so similar to what you’re doing. So it wasn’t necessarily so. [00:21:45] It was about activating your voice because they were like singing lessons. And by the way, I’m totally tone deaf. I like cannot sing. [00:21:50] But it was also about activating your voice and sort of like finding your voice and like difficult situations. But [00:21:55] what I found really fascinating is one of the exercises of the day was think of [00:22:00] a song that you know from your childhood, which is related to your like, culture. [00:22:05]

Rhona Eskander: So I suppose like an Iranian, whatever for you? Like Egyptian? I couldn’t think of one [00:22:10] song. And a lot of the South American people did like, think of some [00:22:15] songs. And then there was one guy who was actually from like a little place near Cuba, and [00:22:20] he remembered a song and he actually googled what the song was. And he they had been singing as a childhood. [00:22:25] And in the song, um, it was actually he had no idea, but it was linked to [00:22:30] the ancestors that were shipped over from the slave trade. And as part [00:22:35] of torment, they had to pick up like a really hot stone and pass it around. And [00:22:40] if they dropped it, they’d get shot. And this is the slaves. And he got really emotional because as a child, [00:22:45] when he sang it, he didn’t know it was a bit like ring a ring o roses, [00:22:50] a pocketful of yeah, like it’s about the plague. Do you see what I mean? And like these things, like [00:22:55] born out of something. But what I’m trying to say is there’s such depth in, as I said, like these songs [00:23:00] and these movements that relate to ancestors, which is actually so important, like to who we are [00:23:05] now, 100%.

Emma Mashall: I mean, the drum is the most instrument in the world. [00:23:10] It falls across every culture because it was used in war. And so when we were all [00:23:15] well, when the British were out colonies and everything, you know, drum [00:23:20] was as part of every single war that existed. So when we’re talking about ancestral, [00:23:25] we do recognise the drum. And also they’ve linked the drum as well to, to our heartbeat. [00:23:30] So the music that we play in movement is medicine. I’ve basically just [00:23:35] modernised this concept where we used house music, we used drum and bass, we [00:23:40] used reggae, we used music that has got percussion. Um, because that is the easiest [00:23:45] way to connect people back into their body. It’s that simple. Because of the percussion is such [00:23:50] a felt instrument. Um, whereas if you’re listening to, um, [00:23:55] I don’t know, even like a saxophone, it’s much more emotive, but it’s you feel it in a different [00:24:00] kind of way. It’s not necessarily going to affect the way your body is moving. Um, so [00:24:05] with that in mind, like it’s all just been about like kind of, yeah, modernising this work [00:24:10] as best as possible because there’s no doubt in my mind it works. There’s just no doubt [00:24:15] in my mind. This is so inherently in every single person. It’s just about [00:24:20] activating it for them in a slightly different capacity. And like you say, the marketing and [00:24:25] the language. Like when I first started doing this, I was using words like trauma and healing, [00:24:30] and I don’t use any of that anymore because I don’t think it attracts [00:24:35] as many people. When you use that language. It’s not to say that and you.

Rhona Eskander: Think it [00:24:40] does, don’t you.

Emma Mashall: Think it does? Yeah, but it doesn’t.

Rhona Eskander: Because when you’ve done your own work and I think [00:24:45] it’s a thing when you’ve done your own work, you’re like, I’m going to attract the same people that want to be healed just.

Payman Langroudi: On this pod. [00:24:50] Yeah. These words have become normalised to me. Yeah. See, a year ago, a [00:24:55] year ago, you used to talk about trauma and all that. Like, what the hell are you talking?

Rhona Eskander: Yeah, exactly. And he was like, babes, you’re so damaged. I [00:25:00] was like, I’m not. He literally like damaged goods. I’m like, I’m not. Because, like, [00:25:05] I’m like. Because you think EMS. And like, that’s why we connected. It’s like. Because when you’ve done the work, these words [00:25:10] like even I’ve now been introduced to like, ancestral trauma. Do you know what that means? Like, that’s literally like your [00:25:15] ancestors passing down stuff in their literal DNA, you know, like that’s a [00:25:20] huge thing. Epigenetic epigenetics. Exactly. And it’s a massive thing. You can even get it on like 23 a meal or [00:25:25] something like that. You know, you can and it’s kind of shoved under the carpet, but it’s massively a thing. So [00:25:30] it’s funny, but I think you isolate people like as you said, and there’s like it’s like Payman [00:25:35] knows as well. There’s been a few. It’s been like, oh, not sure if Rona can talk about mental [00:25:40] health because she’s like been through her mental health. And I’m like, yeah. And I literally like actually screenshotted [00:25:45] on my stories. And hundreds of people were like, that makes you the biggest advocate. Exactly. [00:25:50] That makes you the biggest advocate because it’s like saying it. It’s like saying to someone, you can’t talk about a recession [00:25:55] because you’ve not been through a recession, because you have been through a recession. You know what I mean? It’s just kind of crazy. [00:26:00] But yeah, because.

Payman Langroudi: Take us through the the initial journey. Yeah. First class. [00:26:05] What happens.

Emma Mashall: So, um, the everyone is seated [00:26:10] for the first half an hour. Um, the music is at a tempo [00:26:15] of anything under like one, two, five bpm. So [00:26:20] from the off you basically get, I get everyone to put their hands over their heart and just start [00:26:25] to tap, tap and move. They get the instructions that the two rules that we have with movement is medicine, is that [00:26:30] you have to keep your eyes closed like you saw, and then the other one is don’t stop moving. And [00:26:35] the reason that we don’t stop moving is because if somebody freezes because they feel something uncomfortable, well then [00:26:40] guess what? It’s staying blockage. Yeah, you’re staying in it. You’re staying in the uncomfortability if [00:26:45] you’re constantly moving, which is why the music is so specific, then [00:26:50] whatever feeling comes to the surface, um, you will move it. [00:26:55] And so when we’re working with the body, we work from the feet all the way [00:27:00] up to the top of the head. And there’s a lot of science that goes into this as well, a lot of anatomy. So, for example, [00:27:05] the bottoms of the feet covered in thousands of nerve endings. If you’re stuck in your head, touch your feet. [00:27:10]

Emma Mashall: Simple as that, because it will awaken your nervous system to realise that you’re present. And when [00:27:15] you’re present and you’re present in the in in your body, that’s your anchor. That’s the [00:27:20] moment to know. Oh, look, I’m safe actually, because when we go into these responses, when we go into fight or [00:27:25] flight or even freeze, when we’re in overwhelm, there’s just a it’s just a signal to be like, [00:27:30] we’re not safe. So all you have to do is remind yourself that you’re safe. So the easiest [00:27:35] way to do that is by working with your physical body, because your body is always present. So, [00:27:40] um, start at the feet and then we work our way up. And so we go, um, [00:27:45] even to like, the backs of the knees, a place that no one touches. When was the last time you sat there and, like, touched [00:27:50] the backs of your knees intentionally? The reason being is because we’ve got loads of lymph nodes in the backs of the knees, and the [00:27:55] lymph is literally all it’s needed to work well is a bit of movement and a bit of touch. [00:28:00] That’s it. And it just shows you.

Payman Langroudi: Playing and yeah, and your sort of guiding. [00:28:05]

Rhona Eskander: We’re gonna have to try it. We are going to try it. Yeah.

Emma Mashall: I’m guiding this.

Rhona Eskander: Whole can we have a guided bit in like a little bit. [00:28:10] Let’s do it. Pay. Yeah. What kind of music do you like? I know Emma has to decide. Um, question [00:28:15] for you then. How does this differ to ecstatic dance? Do you know about ecstatic dance? [00:28:20] Emma can explain, but she can do so.

Emma Mashall: These are. This is one of the terminologies that I don’t use. Okay. [00:28:25] Um, and yeah, I’ll tell you why. So ecstatic dance. Um, and and [00:28:30] that kind of community, it’s just based on the fact of the more ancestral tribal kind [00:28:35] of, um, cultural aspect of the fact that dance can be used for healing. It’s like sober [00:28:40] raven. Right? And, um, it works with people. It’s got a beautiful community, etc. [00:28:45] we don’t have necessarily the same ethos [00:28:50] as Ecstatic Dance because of the first bit. The first bit is the real solid [00:28:55] like moment of the method. Every single part of that method is taken [00:29:00] from science. Um, there’s data to back it as to why we’re doing it. I also [00:29:05] tell people why we’re doing it as we move through it, um, so that they can take it away and [00:29:10] use it in daily life. Now ecstatic dance goes to an ecstatic dance class. You’ll just be told to get up and start dancing. So [00:29:15] like you just said, oh, I feel a bit awkward and you know, that kind of thing. And you’re, you’re, I guess your role [00:29:20] or your job in ecstatic dance is to break through feeling uncomfortable and just get on with it. We take [00:29:25] away the aspects of feeling uncomfortable by putting people into their physical body so [00:29:30] deeply that by the time their eyes are open and that they stand up and we go into the dance [00:29:35] segment, they don’t care. They don’t care who’s in the room. They’re just they’re feeling connected, feeling [00:29:40] free. If they also want to continue to shut their eyes, they shut their eyes. And there’s there’s always just like, [00:29:45] um, there’s a really funny episode of Peep Show that people love.

Rhona Eskander: Peep show.

Emma Mashall: Peep show. [00:29:50] So good. Um, when, uh, he takes Mark to Rainbow rhythms, you know, that’s ecstatic dance. [00:29:55] And they get people to go up to each other. Have you seen that one? You kind of.

Rhona Eskander: Do these, like, movements, but you’re really. You’re [00:30:00] really like this. Yeah. And then, like, can you imagine like my fiance, like in Costa Rica, it was [00:30:05] the first time. But he’s so open. Like he was so amazing on the retreat. But I felt like a bit awkward because they do this [00:30:10] kind of like, you’re like this. Imagine me doing this like. And like I’m a I’m a sober dancer. Like I’m a sober raver, [00:30:15] you know that. But I’m never going to be like this, you know what I mean? Like, it’s just it.

Emma Mashall: We don’t do any of [00:30:20] that. Yeah, it’s what we encourage is, for example, when you’re stressed, [00:30:25] you naturally make your body small. So it affects your posture, uh, because your muscles are [00:30:30] going to contract and especially as well your hips and your lower back. And then that affects the rest of your spine. [00:30:35] So what we do. Is to get people to do opening exercises again, [00:30:40] all actually backed by science, to really stretch out and open their bodies up. So [00:30:45] even when they’re standing up and they’re moving and they’re dancing, they’re going to naturally [00:30:50] just I’m not telling them how to move. They’re moving now, however they want to move. Some people, it [00:30:55] might just be a little like, you know, and for other people it might just be a little two step. There’s no [00:31:00] rules. But what I’m kind of guiding people to do is like, make your body big and like, [00:31:05] you know, the more you move, the more you release the like. It’s that kind of just [00:31:10] freedom and letting yourself go like you would at a rave or a festival, which is where I got [00:31:15] so much inspiration for this, because even though hedonism is rife within [00:31:20] that culture, like if you go to certain raves and you go to certain festivals and you’re [00:31:25] not focusing on the hedonism and you’re just focusing on like, look at the joy. Yeah, you know, [00:31:30] you don’t you don’t drink or anything like that’s just your, your life. It’s not it’s not any different [00:31:35] to you. And you’re not somebody that can go to these things and just be like, well, I’m not having a good time. You’re there to connect to the music [00:31:40] and you will move and dance as, as you will, and.

Payman Langroudi: Also to each other, right? To each other.

Emma Mashall: Yeah, yeah.

Payman Langroudi: I’ve [00:31:45] ever felt to being part of a tribe. There we go.

Rhona Eskander: Right when you’re out with your mates, you mean.

Payman Langroudi: And that [00:31:50] back then in the 90s? Yeah.

Rhona Eskander: Lol. And 6 a.m.. Yeah of course.

Emma Mashall: Totally. [00:31:55] But this comes back to Polyvagal theory. So Polyvagal theory is this again is [00:32:00] this component of like how do we build safety and resilience within the nervous system. So it’s written by this guy called Stephen Porges. [00:32:05] And it’s just such an amazing body of work because he looks at the vagus nerve. And the vagus nerve is such a huge thing now [00:32:10] in mental health. But the vagus nerve, one of the components of building this like connection and [00:32:15] safety is by doing things in a group. So one of the things that we want to do when we’re anxious and depressed and [00:32:20] low is hide, like I know as well. For me, even now, yeah, I get to points where [00:32:25] I get very stressed and overwhelmed and I my default is anxiety. And [00:32:30] I know what’s happening on a logical level, but there’s still elements to me that’s just like, oh, and I [00:32:35] hide. And then as soon as I go out and as soon as I have a dance and as soon as I see my people, [00:32:40] I’m fine. Like, it’s like night and day. Yeah.

Rhona Eskander: Like sometimes you actually like, oh, I really don’t want to go out. [00:32:45] And, you know, when you force yourself to do it and you’re like, I’m really glad I did. It’s a bit like therapy. Yes. Like you’re like, tonight. I’m [00:32:50] like, oh my God, I got therapy tonight. I’m so tired. I just want to sleep. But like, don’t cancel, don’t cancel. Because when you’ve had therapy you’ll feel so [00:32:55] much better, you know?

Emma Mashall: Totally. And it’s the same thing with.

Payman Langroudi: This therapy.

Emma Mashall: As well. Um, I [00:33:00] don’t do therapy anymore. I’ve had a lot of therapy. Um, yeah, I see my.

Rhona Eskander: Tribe, [00:33:05] my people.

Emma Mashall: Necessarily. Um, I’ve had a lot of therapy with different kinds of therapists. [00:33:10] Um, I’ve had everything from eMDR through to counselling [00:33:15] through to hypnotherapy through to talk therapy, like standard CBT, [00:33:20] talk therapy. Um, I think it’s absolutely got its place. I think it’s so [00:33:25] important for people to understand like a level of awareness in how they feel. Um, what [00:33:30] I will say, though, is that I think that it necessarily needs to exist alongside [00:33:35] something to actually physically release. I think that those two things are super important to coexist [00:33:40] between each other. Um, you can’t always talk your way out of a feeling, [00:33:45] um, you can intellectualise a feeling and understand why it happened and where it came from. But you can’t [00:33:50] always move that feeling so true. That’s why the two things need to coexist. [00:33:55] And so that’s also for me, like, I was so sick of talking about what happened to me. You know, I [00:34:00] went I went to this therapist and that therapist, and then I’m repeating the story and just get to a point where I’m like, [00:34:05] I can’t talk about this anymore. I need to just release it. And [00:34:10] that was also a huge, you know, part of my work for me and why I needed to [00:34:15] do it. It was about me releasing these, these very difficult [00:34:20] and very traumatic experiences that had changed me. Um, but [00:34:25] I didn’t want it to change me for the worse.

Emma Mashall: I didn’t want to end up this anxious, afraid [00:34:30] of the world, you know, human being, which I easily could have gone into that that realm because [00:34:35] it was very extreme what happened to me. And it was also, um, medical trauma is [00:34:40] a very interesting type of trauma, because medical trauma is essentially done [00:34:45] by people that you’re meant to trust and these doctors that you’re being completely vulnerable [00:34:50] to. And, you know, I’m not here. I’m not trying to demonise doctors at all. It’s just [00:34:55] that with that type of trauma, it’s such a complex thing of having to unpack [00:35:00] because you are literally giving your whole body to somebody and trusting that they’re going to do the right thing [00:35:05] or do the right, or do their job properly. And for whatever reason, I just had a whole myriad [00:35:10] of like, failures that ended up and resulted in me, you know, nearly losing my life and like, [00:35:15] that kind of thing, to have to process just by talking about it. Like, even now [00:35:20] I can feel myself. I’m like, I’m getting emotional internally. I can feel it. And it’s like, I can’t [00:35:25] keep talking about it. You know, talking about it is not going to help me process it and move [00:35:30] forward, because I don’t want to be stuck there for the rest of my life, but in the past.

Rhona Eskander: And that’s the thing, because I, you know, I was speaking to [00:35:35] someone recently and they were like, you know what? I don’t know about how unpacking the past will actually help because we can [00:35:40] all like delve, delve, delve, delve, delve. And as you said, you can go as far as epigenetics. Like, I’m so traumatised [00:35:45] because like my ancestors were this or I come from like war inflicted countries, [00:35:50] but it gives you an understanding. So I think it’s important. But like you said, it doesn’t necessarily [00:35:55] help process the present. And that’s the thing. The present is one of the most important things to be in. And we [00:36:00] all know from so many philosophers that our state of happiness as being in that present [00:36:05] moment. And I think you’re right, this changing your physiological state is really important. [00:36:10] And I think the most dangerous thing now is that when people get more anxious, they get on the phone, which then gets more anxiety, [00:36:15] and then they continue to scroll, and that creates even more anxiety. And they actually don’t want to move. And like you said, [00:36:20] just putting it down and either moving or like going to meet friends can just make such a huge [00:36:25] difference.

Payman Langroudi: Could you see your Mexico experience as a positive one or a negative one in [00:36:30] the hospital?

Emma Mashall: Yeah.

Payman Langroudi: Because it didn’t.

Emma Mashall: Work. It didn’t work. No, I would [00:36:35] say it was a necessary experience rather than positive or negative. [00:36:40] Um, because it it was like, okay, I’ve been in Western medicine. [00:36:45] Right. And that didn’t work. I’ve now gone into functional medicine searching for all the answers that didn’t [00:36:50] work. It allowed me to understand how much we pedestal people and [00:36:55] look outside for the answers. So true all the time. And then [00:37:00] the levels of like, disappointment and, you know, even just pain or it’s like, oh my God, you’ve made it worse. [00:37:05] Like what? How has this happened? And on top of that paid a lot of money. You [00:37:10] know, so much money. This is the side of illness that people don’t really discuss very often because we don’t tend [00:37:15] to talk about money. But I lost everything. Like I nearly went bankrupt, you know, and I had a really [00:37:20] successful career. And so I’ve been having to rebuild from then and [00:37:25] these kind of things. They also have an impact on your mental health, like going from somebody who [00:37:30] is stable, who is okay to somebody that now is having to speak to like debt collectors. [00:37:35] And, you know, it was there was just so many aspects to how much this [00:37:40] changed my life. And so I wouldn’t say it was positive or negative, I would just say it was necessary for [00:37:45] me to reframe how much I was putting my health into other people and [00:37:50] their hands. Um, where in turn it was a case of actually, what can I do? [00:37:55] What can I actually do for myself? Take the matter.

Rhona Eskander: Into your own hands.

Emma Mashall: How can I feel a bit more empowered? And [00:38:00] then did.

Payman Langroudi: You take care of all the other stuff as well? Nutrition.

Emma Mashall: Rest. Totally. Sleep. Yeah. Yeah, yeah. [00:38:05] I mean, I would also say that at some point it probably went to a bit of an extreme.

Rhona Eskander: Really?

Emma Mashall: What way? [00:38:10] So, um, there’s a rise of orthorexia. I don’t know if you’ve [00:38:15] heard.

Rhona Eskander: Of course I think I have, I think I had orthorexia, so.

Emma Mashall: Did I, yeah.

Rhona Eskander: When you over. [00:38:20] You’re obsessed with being so healthy. So you think that all of the choices that you make are really healthy? You [00:38:25] get really defensive when people questioned you because everything’s like, in the name of health. So, for example, you’re obsessed with like, [00:38:30] calorie counting, eating zero sugar, eating zero fat. Um, also overexercising [00:38:35] and you also justify all of your health reasons because you’re so healthy and [00:38:40] everyone else is a bit jealous because you are in such a space of control, and no one else [00:38:45] can be that my body is my temple kind of energy, but it’s actually very it’s an unhealthy way to [00:38:50] mask addiction. Yeah.

Emma Mashall: And it’s like you just said there, it’s a complete coping mechanism for control. How can [00:38:55] I make as much control in my life as possible? It’s like.

Payman Langroudi: Anorexia, but with exercise and yeah, [00:39:00] no.

Rhona Eskander: It’s fine. Like you’re not completely depriving your body, but you are doing the opposite. You’re doing the opposite. But you’re [00:39:05] like, I’m only gonna eat like.

Payman Langroudi: So much as anorexia, as a control mechanism. Yeah, yeah.

Rhona Eskander: Yeah, absolutely. Yeah.

Emma Mashall: So [00:39:10] and it’s not about. Yeah. It’s not about what you look like either. It’s very much about what you’re putting [00:39:15] in your yourself. Yeah. So for me it was a case of yeah. Like, you know, tiniest [00:39:20] bit of gluten. I’d freak out and like going into supermarkets and checking every label and organic. [00:39:25]

Rhona Eskander: And this and that.

Emma Mashall: It’s just a lot of fear mongering. Yeah. So much fear.

Payman Langroudi: Mongering these [00:39:30] days. Must be very.

Rhona Eskander: Yeah, yeah, I think and I think that that like, that toxic narrative, [00:39:35] like it really upsets me now. My mum, um, called me the other day to tell [00:39:40] me that she saw my ex and I was like, great, you know what I mean? To tell me how, like, wonderful he looked with his new wife. [00:39:45] I was like, thanks mum. Classic. My mum, she’s entertaining. Like my mum needs her own show anyway. [00:39:50] And it turns out my mum was like, oh, you know, they’re so controlled, like they’re apparently they don’t [00:39:55] eat dinner every night and they go to bed and they, they the last meals at 6 p.m. and they go [00:40:00] to bed every night at ten and all this stuff, it’s the same as that guy, actually, Steven Bartlett had on. Did you see [00:40:05] the guy that was like, no. Attempting to be the youngest man in the world. Did you see that? And he got his [00:40:10] son’s blood injected into his body. Have you not seen it? And he’s this multi-billionaire.

Emma Mashall: I’m [00:40:15] so anti.

Rhona Eskander: Him. Yeah. So he’s this multi-billionaire. And what happened was, is that he got his bloods like [00:40:20] PRP, got it injected. He wakes up every day at 5 a.m.. His last [00:40:25] meal of the day is at 11 a.m. he then has like 1,000,001 like IV boosts [00:40:30] and everything.

Payman Langroudi: He’s trying to reverse ageing.

Rhona Eskander: Yeah, but he also looks really old. Ironically, I.

Payman Langroudi: Saw the clip. [00:40:35]

Rhona Eskander: Yeah, yeah, yeah. Exactly. But the issue.

Emma Mashall: Right. He’s a great example of somebody with [00:40:40] a severe mental health condition who is promoting it under the guise of health because he’s under [00:40:45] the guise of health.

Rhona Eskander: Yeah.

Emma Mashall: It’s like none of this behaviour is healthy. And actually, when Stephen [00:40:50] was talking to him about his story, he literally says, like, my dad got sick. And, you [00:40:55] know, I want to keep my dad alive and I’m trying to figure it out for my dad. And it’s like, that’s the issue. Then that’s [00:41:00] clearly the problem. It’s not the fact that you want to live forever, because also life [00:41:05] is not about living, right? Yeah. That’s the purpose of being a human. You come you [00:41:10] you do your you do your time and then you go. And so having [00:41:15] this person that is under the guise of I’m doing something for the, for the benefit of health, no [00:41:20] you’re not. Plus you’re his protocol is like three grand a month. Yeah. So who are you benefiting because you’re not benefiting [00:41:25] the poor. You’re not. This is a big thing for me. It’s the ideologies [00:41:30] that exist within the wellness industry where it’s like, yeah, be healthy for [00:41:35] X amount of money. And it’s like, okay, so we’re really making health now [00:41:40] a class system. That’s really what we’re doing. Yeah. And that is such a problem in the wellness [00:41:45] space.

Rhona Eskander: So the thing is I’ve got a couple of comments on that. Right. We are undergoing at [00:41:50] the moment an NHS crisis. Like there is literally like a pandemic within the health care [00:41:55] system. And that’s because the system is flawed. But my issue is, is that although [00:42:00] there are so many tools that are free and available, number one, they’re not promoted. [00:42:05] But number two, there is a massive issue and massive obstacles for people, right? So for example, Payman [00:42:10] knows very well with dentistry. Okay. There’s a huge issue. A lot of dental diseases [00:42:15] are preventable, but people don’t know how to brush their teeth, they don’t know how to floss and they don’t know what to [00:42:20] buy or what to eat. Now it’s all very well. We can provide those tools and I’m [00:42:25] sure it would make a difference. But we’re also completely ignoring the socioeconomic status [00:42:30] of people in this country. If you’ve got a woman who has five children [00:42:35] from five different partners who’s, you know, on the welfare system, and she cannot keep [00:42:40] her kids quiet, who probably have ADHD and another plethora of health issues, [00:42:45] you know, telling her that she shouldn’t smoke, it’s probably the only thing she wants to do. And going downstairs [00:42:50] and getting a McDonald’s and a pack of fags, it’s much easier for her than, you know, to post something [00:42:55] or to make easy health choices. Don’t be like that. Don’t be classist.

Payman Langroudi: It’s [00:43:00] a bit. It’s a bit, um, what’s the word? Not judgemental, but like, um, [00:43:05] you know, the what you’re saying is all well and good. [00:43:10]

Rhona Eskander: Yeah, but we have to make it easier for them. We cannot assume that they’ve got these choices. So.

Payman Langroudi: But [00:43:15] look, the choice the choice that you’re talking about, put one song on a day. Yeah. [00:43:20] Also, everyone’s got a phone. This is.

Emma Mashall: Education. Yeah. This is the key because. [00:43:25] So my whole business model is built on [00:43:30] education. So when people understand why [00:43:35] it works, they do the how exactly. Otherwise they don’t do it. It’s all well and good. [00:43:40] We know that smoking is not good for you. Of course we know. But yeah, everyone’s still smoking and eating McDonald’s. [00:43:45] Yeah, we’re still doing it if you’re actually somebody that’s looked into it. [00:43:50] But if you’re somebody that’s actually looked into certain things [00:43:55] or studies or whatever it is, and you start to understand why something is good or bad [00:44:00] or what they found, etc., you’re more likely to either do it or not do it now. For example, [00:44:05] for me, I use gluten as an example. Right when I went through this whole like, I’m going to be so [00:44:10] healthy and I can’t eat any gluten and whatever. When I got so fed up and realised that the orthorexia [00:44:15] tendencies were probably there and I went kind of the reverse, I was like, I’m eating all the gluten I’ve ever. [00:44:20] All I’m eating is pizza, give.

Rhona Eskander: Me bread, bread.

Emma Mashall: Every day. And I ended up feeling terrible [00:44:25] because I, I definitely don’t do very well with gluten. Yeah. Like is that simple. They said to me for coeliac recently [00:44:30] just to see. So I think that when you kind of go [00:44:35] through this like it’s like a roundabout, you’re just like, oh, is it this is it, that is it, this is it that. And you try and [00:44:40] find like your balance within all of this stuff, of taking it back into a space [00:44:45] of empowerment where you’re making the choice for yourself, rather than if a practitioner [00:44:50] told me, which they did at one point, you can’t eat any of these foods. What do I want to do? [00:44:55] I want to go and eat the foods that they’ve told me I can’t eat 100%. But the thing is.

Rhona Eskander: Like Payman when they were talking [00:45:00] about because, um, I spoke to many TV channels in the summer about [00:45:05] when it was like suddenly the doors were closed on children on the NHS, as in, like people, [00:45:10] kids couldn’t get an NHS appointment. And there was a huge debate, I think it was with BBC [00:45:15] and the debate was is it the parents fault? Basically, you know, with the child that’s like developing [00:45:20] all these cavities. And it was really sad because I think it was quite remarkable to see that so many [00:45:25] parents didn’t actually have a basic knowledge. And some of them, as I said, because of their socioeconomic [00:45:30] status. And they have this screaming child will put a bottle with Coke in their children’s [00:45:35] bottle. And I’m not saying. But like, who are we to judge? We don’t know their circumstances. I get it, I get it, [00:45:40] you know what I mean?

Payman Langroudi: Of course I get it.

Rhona Eskander: Of course I get it. Great. I’m glad.

Payman Langroudi: But a little bit condescending, [00:45:45] man. You know, the the the the important bit of education [00:45:50] with with sugar. Interestingly, we haven’t managed to get out there.

Rhona Eskander: Totally. [00:45:55] Jamie Oliver tried. What is it?

Payman Langroudi: What is it? It’s not to do with the amount.

Rhona Eskander: I mean, it’s [00:46:00] with frequency.

Payman Langroudi: People don’t know this. It’s to do with the frequency. Totally. Yeah. So in in dental terms, [00:46:05] you can have a gigantic amount of sugar in one go is fine compared to tiny [00:46:10] amounts every day. Every day, every ten minutes. Every ten minutes. Yeah, yeah yeah, yeah. So that bit [00:46:15] of information we haven’t as a profession managed to get out.

Rhona Eskander: Yeah. But I still think I am not being condescending. I’m [00:46:20] actually being empathetic to people’s situation. And what I’m trying to say is I get it.

Payman Langroudi: I get it, I get it.

Rhona Eskander: Yeah, [00:46:25] fine. We argue a lot on this, by the way.

Payman Langroudi: And people get it. People get it. Yeah.

Rhona Eskander: Um, um, [00:46:30] but Emma, obviously it’s wonderful that you created this method, but I want [00:46:35] to know a little bit about any mental health struggles on the way of creating this business. You talk to us about [00:46:40] going from basically bankruptcy, where you’re working in the music industry, investing everything into [00:46:45] your house, then building the movement is medicine method. Uh, how did [00:46:50] you what mental health hurdles then did you have when you had the actual business?

Payman Langroudi: I also I also get a [00:46:55] feeling you’re not 100% comfortable in the business space.

Emma Mashall: No I’m not.

Payman Langroudi: Is [00:47:00] that right?

Emma Mashall: Yeah.

Rhona Eskander: How did you know that?

Payman Langroudi: Just feeling.

Payman Langroudi: Yeah.

Emma Mashall: No, I struggle [00:47:05] with business. Um, I put out a video a few days ago saying [00:47:10] that.

Rhona Eskander: Yeah, maybe that’s.

Emma Mashall: Why saying how much I struggle with it. Because I [00:47:15] really am good at creative and ideas and making this happen [00:47:20] and figuring out how to, like you said, about marketing, like, what’s the language we need to use to get this person? [00:47:25] Like, what’s the psychology around getting this person through the door? And I’m really good at all of that. I’m really [00:47:30] good at creating decks and making things look nice and and whatever else. I’m [00:47:35] also really good at researching, and I’m really good at making science sound easy. Um, [00:47:40] it’s something that I taught myself when I was ill. It’s like, how do you translate this into layman’s terms? So I’m [00:47:45] really good at all of that. And then I’m good at, you know, creating the content around that so that people can understand it [00:47:50] business and having to make all the decisions, having to [00:47:55] do budgets, having to figure out, I hate it. I just really, [00:48:00] really struggle.

Payman Langroudi: You’re very creative. You’re so. But she doesn’t seem to have any guilt [00:48:05] around the business, which I kind of feel like.

Rhona Eskander: What do you mean, guilt?

Payman Langroudi: I feel I.

Payman Langroudi: Feel guilt.

Rhona Eskander: What [00:48:10] do you mean guilt.

Emma Mashall: Though? I think it’s because, as well, I’m just. I’m in this zone at the [00:48:15] moment of. One of the things that’s been really challenging has been [00:48:20] separating me from the brand, because I am the face of the brand. It’s like, it’s me. Yeah, [00:48:25] it’s really similar. Um, but at the same time as well. Chelsea Dental [00:48:30] it’s, it’s, you know, it’s yours. But at the same time you also have all these [00:48:35] other projects. I just have movement is medicine right now. And it’s not to say I don’t want to go on to do other things, [00:48:40] because I do. I’ve got all these ideas about how I want to build things out. However, at the moment everything [00:48:45] goes into this business because I believe in it so much and it’s my it’s my passion, it’s my baby, it’s everything. [00:48:50] But what I’ve struggled the most with is finding [00:48:55] the balance between the business and the actual vision. And [00:49:00] I have done this on my own. So when I started as well, there’s, I call it, [00:49:05] um, shiny Magpie syndrome. So when people get really excited by shiny [00:49:10] things and they’re like, oh my God, it’s really exciting. People lie, you know, they lie, they tell [00:49:15] you, oh, I can do this, and I can do that, and I can, you know.

Rhona Eskander: She’s been burnt.

Emma Mashall: So many times, like [00:49:20] count like beyond.

Payman Langroudi: By partners or employees.

Emma Mashall: No, no no employees. Employees. [00:49:25] Yeah.

Payman Langroudi: But that’s just the nature of.

Emma Mashall: No. It’s been really extreme, but it’s been really extreme. [00:49:30] It’s not just been somebody, like, not really doing their job. It’s been fraud. Yeah. Somebody [00:49:35] really came in and there was a there was a fraud situation. Um, I [00:49:40] had on the week of my TEDx talk, um, the assistant that I’ve been working with for a year, ghosted [00:49:45] for no reason other than the fact that she’d done no work, um, with no explanation. [00:49:50] Um, I had to get somebody on really quickly to come and, like, kind of wipe it all [00:49:55] up, and it was just the wrong person. It just got worse and worse. So when you [00:50:00] have a business that the ideas are all solid and the ideas are all there, but structurally [00:50:05] there’s no foundation. It doesn’t work. It just doesn’t work.

Rhona Eskander: You know that.

Payman Langroudi: Any business [00:50:10] owner. Okay, so.

Rhona Eskander: I’m gonna I’m gonna listen. I’m gonna I’m gonna try I’m going to chime in, like, first of all, [00:50:15] and trust me, like, it’s an ongoing process. And I think that, like, one of the reasons why I feel really [00:50:20] passionate, I used to say I had a lot of people [00:50:25] that I looked up to. Now, unfortunately, in dentistry, despite the fact there are a [00:50:30] lot of females, there is not a lot of female led stuff within dentistry. And I hate to admit it, [00:50:35] but I’m going to say it the. Most of my role models were in dentistry were men. So there were certain men like [00:50:40] Christian Coachman was up there. Miguel Stanley, this was like 12, 15 years ago. These are huge names in the industry. [00:50:45] This was literally about 12 years ago. And I was like, how did they did it? And what I loved about them is there were connection [00:50:50] with their audiences and their connections with human beings. And I very much [00:50:55] was like, oh, you know what? Like, I don’t get why people make such a big deal about like, women [00:51:00] in business or they make I think it’s fine. I think if you show your value and you [00:51:05] go into like a boardroom or a situation, you can do the same for yourself. Payman knew me [00:51:10] when I was like a baby.

Rhona Eskander: Like I literally was like 1 or 2 years graduated. And he also knows, because I met him on [00:51:15] a course like I wasn’t actually the most, like, clinically gifted person in the world. And he loves a clinically [00:51:20] gifted person. He does. But I drove home with him that day because we lived near each other [00:51:25] and I was like, how do I make it? How do I do this stuff? And, you know, we like exchanged ideas [00:51:30] and I definitely like manifested the position I was in because what happened was, is that I was working [00:51:35] in a bad NHS practice and then I CV dropped in all these other practices. And then [00:51:40] I took on Chelsea, which had changed hands five times, and then I bought Chelsea [00:51:45] and completed a week before national lockdown. And what I’m trying to say is, is that I always feel like there’s one obstacle out the other. [00:51:50] Yeah, the difficulty was obviously you build a team, but people come and go and I think that’s one of the most difficult [00:51:55] things for me is that I’ve been extremely loyal, and what I recognise is that people are transient. [00:52:00] There are some that stay for a while and some that don’t, and I think that’s the most difficult thing because you sometimes [00:52:05] feel early days.

Payman Langroudi: Yeah, early days is like that.

Rhona Eskander: Yeah. And that’s the thing like the thing is, is [00:52:10] that you also have to accept, like, as you know, through your own healing journey, the only thing that we can [00:52:15] guarantee for definite is that nothing is permanent. Nothing is permanent. [00:52:20] And I think that’s a blessing and a curse, because sometimes you want to be like cruising with the same team for [00:52:25] ages, but sometimes they have to move with you. And unfortunately, in the last couple of years, I’ve [00:52:30] also recognised my role with as a female within the industry. That’s kind of like taken [00:52:35] me aback. And I was like, wow, it is real. Like the things that people talk about that happen to women. Like [00:52:40] it’s true.

Payman Langroudi: Do you think being a woman is being part of this?

Emma Mashall: Hmm. Um, [00:52:45] as a business owner right now, I don’t know. I can’t say [00:52:50] yes or no because I don’t feel that there’s been any situation that [00:52:55] I can say yes. This is where a good example of where I felt blocked as a woman. However, [00:53:00] in the music industry, 100%. Yeah. Cool. Yeah. Tell us more.

Rhona Eskander: About the music industry.

Emma Mashall: Glass ceilings [00:53:05] beyond glass ceilings like there is. So there [00:53:10] are so many different structures in that industry. You know, it’s known as a boys club for a reason. [00:53:15] And there are so many different structures within that industry that are built so that women are always going to [00:53:20] be kept here. Um, give us an example. I mean, like [00:53:25] you look at any kind of person in a leadership position in a global record label or [00:53:30] booking agency, they’re going to be a man. Like there’s very few women in global leadership positions [00:53:35] in the music industry. And the ones that are are they’ve really [00:53:40] had to pave the way. And I was actually very fortunate. In one of my jobs, I [00:53:45] worked in a very female heavy booking agency. Um, and the experience [00:53:50] was definitely, I would say, easier because the [00:53:55] person in charge of that whole office, uh, is one of the greatest agents [00:54:00] in the world, and she’s a woman. And so it’s a very, very diverse, [00:54:05] um, makeup of men and women in that agency. You walk into other agencies? [00:54:10] No way. It’s like 90% men. Um, and [00:54:15] obviously.

Payman Langroudi: And what does it mean? Does that mean that the, the the business itself is kind of testosterone [00:54:20] driven? Yeah.

Emma Mashall: I think it’s just, um, do.

Payman Langroudi: You are you saying actually people will hold you back [00:54:25] because you’re a woman?

Emma Mashall: I think that there’s, um, maybe an internal [00:54:30] bias that people have, um, whether or not they believe in it or not, um, [00:54:35] or are aware of it or not, I think that there’s an internal bias of a woman [00:54:40] can only get to this point. I think that that really does exist. And I think that, you know, this [00:54:45] comes also from recognising traditional roles like the the nature and the notion [00:54:50] of women in business, in leadership positions is a very new concept. Um, this is I do.

Rhona Eskander: Think it’s been overdone [00:54:55] though, like, because then like I do think as well like we’ve again like I new words for you [00:55:00] dictionary out like the female and the masculine energy as well. Like I think is something [00:55:05] that we’ve over we’re like women are also like hyper focussed on like really [00:55:10] kind of embracing the masculine energy, which I think is important in some circumstances. But also being in [00:55:15] your feminine sometimes is not a bad thing either. It has to be balanced. Do you know what I mean by this, or is this Gaga [00:55:20] stuff to you? But like, you know, like for example, like.

Payman Langroudi: As in to succeed being a woman, you have [00:55:25] to act like a man.

Rhona Eskander: No, not not really. Like there’s a female masculine energy. So like some behaviours [00:55:30] that women now project are very like masculine, archetypal [00:55:35] masculine. Niches and some would say that’s bad. I think it’s bad in some circumstances. [00:55:40] I actually think it can make you ill. I think it made me ill. I think it burnt me out because I was so obsessed [00:55:45] with being this, like CEO figure like this in control a little bit. Bolshie. [00:55:50] Yeah, exactly. And to be honest, it drove me to a certain extent lol. Um, [00:55:55] so, um, it drove me to a certain extent, but then it bounced [00:56:00] me out. And sometimes, like when I’m at home now with my partner, my God, I just love it when he takes [00:56:05] control. I’m like, you can’t surrender. I just want to surrender into what we call like a more like feminine [00:56:10] sort of energy, you know, which is totally fine with me. Look after me. I’m cool, I’m cool. [00:56:15] Look after me. You know.

Emma Mashall: That’s. I’m gonna say now that is what I’ve struggled with, what she’s just described [00:56:20] there in business. That is exactly what I’ve struggled with. Where I don’t have a business partner, [00:56:25] it’s just me. So I am the face, the voice, the marketing, the socials, the researcher, [00:56:30] the curriculum builder, the teacher. I’m everything, and I don’t [00:56:35] have that other person there to just be like, huh? Can you just yeah, can you just [00:56:40] take this because and that traditionally.

Payman Langroudi: Even I’m not sure.

Payman Langroudi: That’s to do with [00:56:45] being a woman.

Emma Mashall: No, I think that that’s just to do with.

Payman Langroudi: Because I don’t think I could do a business by myself. Yeah.

Emma Mashall: I think [00:56:50] that that’s just to do with the nature of what we need as people. Which brings us back to the community aspect, which we [00:56:55] don’t really have as much.

Payman Langroudi: There are some people that are the opposite.

Payman Langroudi: Yeah. Like, I don’t know in Chelsea. Would [00:57:00] you want a partner?

Rhona Eskander: No, but I often get told, um, that I [00:57:05] don’t. I got told recently, even though I was like, maybe you should step down from being [00:57:10] a director at Chelsea just because you are really good at, like, podcasts and [00:57:15] like doing all the creative stuff. And I was like, I built this brand on my own. And like, I struggled [00:57:20] to assert authority because I really do struggle to assert authority within the business space. [00:57:25] And the thing is, as well, because I’m an empath, I take everyone’s energy constantly. So I’m drained [00:57:30] by the end of the week. Um.

Payman Langroudi: I am it’s really early days.

Emma Mashall: It is.

Payman Langroudi: It [00:57:35] is really early days. You have no idea how.

Payman Langroudi: Early it is.

Emma Mashall: No, I do, I do.

Payman Langroudi: And what it is that the the [00:57:40] rhythm and the processes kind of work themselves out. [00:57:45] Yeah. Around the person you are. Yeah. The fact that they haven’t fully worked themselves out is.

Payman Langroudi: Because [00:57:50] they have.

Emma Mashall: Now this is what.

Payman Langroudi: I was saying. Business. Totally.

Emma Mashall: It’s a very young business. And the thing is, [00:57:55] I think that we all need mentors, right? We all need people that are in a much more advanced [00:58:00] position than us. That can just be. And if you take the guidance or not, it doesn’t matter. There’s somebody [00:58:05] that I haven’t had one. I’ve not really had any mentorship for the business. [00:58:10] I’ve had mentorship for my health and my research and all of that kind of stuff. Definitely [00:58:15] for the business aspect, I’m still on the hunt for like a mentor figure. And [00:58:20] recently this is where I put this video out, where I was like, I can’t do this anymore. Like, I just can’t do it on my own. [00:58:25] And then since I put that video out, it was a bit like exposure therapy because I’m [00:58:30] a big believer in exposure therapy. Yeah. Big exposure. It could be anything. It’s like [00:58:35] if you have a fear around this thing, go and do the thing because then you’ll break through your fear. And I had [00:58:40] a massive block with social media because when [00:58:45] you’re in a position where you’re helping people, people, um, [00:58:50] can become problematic for various reasons. Co-dependent it [00:58:55] I mean, we can use that word. Yeah, but also more so delusional. Um, yeah, [00:59:00] I would say delusional is probably the better word to use because they make a personality for [00:59:05] you, you know, and I’ve had to I’ve had really serious incidences with people that [00:59:10] are, you know, they’re mentally not not very well. And given the nature of my work, there’s a level [00:59:15] of understanding as to what’s happening.

Emma Mashall: But it’s also, with all due respect, it’s not my problem. You need to go and get professional [00:59:20] help. I’m teaching a class and you can either take part or not take part. I’m not [00:59:25] going to solve your trauma boundaries, huge boundaries necessary for this. [00:59:30] And but the thing is, is that this stuff has impacted me in, in ways that I don’t want to speak [00:59:35] about publicly, but it’s just like, yeah, it’s impacting me in a lot of different ways because of the nature of what was being done and [00:59:40] said. And so I think that that side of it and not having [00:59:45] a partner, both professional and personal, I don’t have a partner, so [00:59:50] I’m doing it on my own. So when I’m in my flat on my own and I finished teaching and I’m having to deal [00:59:55] with another delusional person with nowhere to go with this, it’s [01:00:00] had a really severe. I’ve basically developed social anxiety for [01:00:05] the first time in my whole life, and this is where it leads. Back to your original question of like, how was how [01:00:10] was having a business that affected your mental health? I’ve never had social anxiety. I don’t have a problem with. I [01:00:15] love people, I’ve spent my whole life around loads of people and community structures. When I was younger, [01:00:20] I used to be an athlete. I was in and out with different people all the time. Now I’m literally a bit like, [01:00:25] oh, who is that? What did I want? Same. And I don’t like that.

Rhona Eskander: Thing is is life humbles [01:00:30] you? But these experiences, like I’ve read a quote the other day that said my trauma didn’t make me [01:00:35] stronger because, you know. They say what? What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. It goes. It made me more guarded. It made me [01:00:40] get on. And I was like, that’s how I feel. Like a couple of things have happened to me in the last couple of years. And I’m like, do you know what? Like, [01:00:45] I never used to think people had bad intentions. And now I’m like, [01:00:50] your intentions are pure. And unfortunately, that’s what like life has done to me. Question for you as well is [01:00:55] this movement is medicine been explored in schools? I’m sure that there’s. Yeah, great. That’s fantastic. [01:01:00]

Emma Mashall: So, um, I am also training. I’m really big [01:01:05] on training other people. Right. So that’s so key to me. I’m one person, right. [01:01:10] So I’m sure that you’ve got, you’ve got your own methods as well that you’re like, oh, if I taught this to more people, then [01:01:15] more people would understand my way of working. Right. So with this in mind, [01:01:20] I’m like, where are the primary school teachers? Where where are the teachers? Because if I teach this to a teacher, [01:01:25] then that’s usable in their whole school. Yeah, right. And I don’t then have to go and do it. [01:01:30] But of course, until we get as many people as possible through the door to do this training and also [01:01:35] looking at things like government grants and, you know, other ways in which we can fund this. Um, [01:01:40] I do go into schools, um, and I, and I do a lot of for the younger ones, [01:01:45] it’s just kind of we just random. Yeah. But for the older ones, I teach [01:01:50] the science and I teach the theory that I teach in businesses. So I go into corporates, I go into companies, and I teach [01:01:55] the this is this is what stress is. This is how it affects you in terms of your mind and body. And here [01:02:00] how to utilise dance and music in your own body to release it. And I teach that in schools and it usually [01:02:05] is very well received. And people, you know, they really do remember it. And I also [01:02:10] do these workshops for teachers so that they can then apply that to kids they’re working with.

Payman Langroudi: I love that you said you haven’t [01:02:15] got a partner in the business, you haven’t got a partner in life. So on.

Payman Langroudi: Purpose.

Emma Mashall: No, [01:02:20] no, no, I, I mean the business partner side of things. [01:02:25] I’ve only just kind of opened myself up to that possibility. Um, because of all of these [01:02:30] ups and downs with the business, I was a bit like, yeah, don’t trust anyone. I’ve now got a really beautiful [01:02:35] team. I’m really happy with my team. Um, so I’m therefore in a position where I can open myself [01:02:40] back up again and being like, right, this is all cool. So let me see. And I’ve got somebody who I work [01:02:45] with. She is just like, she’s like my right hand. She just gets me. She understands my vision. So [01:02:50] I can also now have somebody that I can talk to and bounce off a bit in regards to that stuff and [01:02:55] in return, in terms of like life again, illness takes [01:03:00] everything. Um, I wasn’t with somebody while as [01:03:05] I was getting ill, you know, I had like kind of non serious relationships on and off things, but, um, [01:03:10] yeah, when I got ill, I wasn’t with anyone. So that was another element of like, [01:03:15] you’re doing it alone. And I had my family, but my family as well, you know, they struggled [01:03:20] with me being ill.

Rhona Eskander: Um, Emma, thank you so much for being, [01:03:25] like, so open. I think you’re such an incredible human being. And it’s been [01:03:30] such an amazing chat. I could literally chat here for like, hours and hours and hours talking to [01:03:35] you. If anyone wants to find you online, um, it’s. Do you want to tell them your handles? [01:03:40]

Emma Mashall: Yeah. So Emma the Alchemist on Instagram and then we’re also under movement is medicine [01:03:45] UK. And that’s also the website okay.

Rhona Eskander: That’s amazing.

Payman Langroudi: How did you get to the Ted?

Emma Mashall: Ted, [01:03:50] um, if you type in, um, Emma marshall Ted talk, it will come up [01:03:55] on YouTube.

Payman Langroudi: I really recommend.

Payman Langroudi: That. Thank you. We recommend that you like it.

Rhona Eskander: Do we have do we have can we ask, do we have [01:04:00] time for a little like dance? Do you want to ask. Yeah, because Rich is like giving me [01:04:05] the looks. So yeah he’s giving me okay, fine. So. Okay. And that’s so sad. Okay. Well [01:04:10] anyways, we probably have to do an Instagram live. I love you messaging me at midnight being like, you’re like, can I, [01:04:15] can I? But honestly, thank you so much. It’s been such an incredible conversation. [01:04:20] And you know, I’m one of your biggest supporters. And I really recommend, you know, checking her [01:04:25] out, moving your body because it really change your physiological state to change a psychological one. [01:04:30] Exactly. That.

Emma Mashall: Is that like that?

Rhona Eskander: Thank you so much. Thank you. Take care. Bye.