Blending the Mind, Body, and Soul with LeNaya Smith Crawford

We’re talking about it all today, Party People. The Mind. The Body. The Soul. At the My Divine Life Podcast, we empower ourselves with enough courage to divinely design every aspect of our lives the way God purposed it to be. With designing every aspect comes healing and there might not be just one thing you can do to heal. I am on a long journey of healing and understanding myself and the conversation I have with today’s guest is so meaningful.   My guest today is LeNaya Smith Crawford. LeNaya is a licensed marriage and family therapist and holistic wellness expert. She earned her Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Spelman College and her Master’s in Marriage and Family Therapy with a specialization in trauma therapy. In addition to her degrees, she is a registered play therapist, couples therapist, certified yoga, sound, and meditation guide, media contributor, and teacher. As the Holistic MFT, LeNaya specializes in bridging holistic wellness practices with traditional psychotherapy on people’s paths to healing and purpose. Through the blending of the mind, body, and soul, she helps people protect their peace, cultivate joy, improve relationships, affirm and love themselves.   Show Notes: [2:57] - Jameelah and LeNaya met as students at Spelman College in 2009. [3:38] - Fast forward to today, LeNaya owns her own practice called Kaleidoscope Family Therapy. [4:17] - LeNaya’s journey to being The Holistic MFT began at Spelman College as a Psychology major. She originally thought she would be a child psychologist. [4:45] - During this time in Covid, she has found her purpose in helping women and couples with self love, joy, and purpose for healing. [5:14] - Through LeNaya’s healing journey she has discovered that there is not the “one thing” that will heal us. People are multifaceted beings and therefore our healing must be multifaceted as well. [6:36] - You don’t have to choose one thing to help you on your journey. LeNaya blends the mind, body, and soul to help people protect their peace, cultivate joy, improve relationships, affirm and love themselves. [7:10] - For the mind, LeNaya suggests therapy and affirmations. She is a big believer in speaking into the world. [7:38] - For the body, any type of movement is important. LeNaya loves yoga for movement. But LeNaya also describes how play is important even as adults. [7:59] - And for the soul, or spirit, LeNaya recommends meditation, sound healing, and essential oils. [8:51] - LeNaya is the daughter of two pastors and identifies as a Christian. [10:39] - Jameelah and LeNaya discuss the taboo topic of healing methods among Christians.  [11:46] - LeNaya says that we have limited God by putting him in a box where we only access him through the Bible and through church, but he is in everything.  [12:29] - If it is good for you, heals you, and brings you closer to God, how can that be against Christianity? [14:30] - It is really about loving and that includes loving ourselves. [15:52] - Because of some of the healing practices LeNaya encourages is considered witchcraft, she and Jameelah discuss following your heart and your gut and do what is right for you. [16:41] - This could mean that you educate others or you set boundaries and continue on your spiritual journey.  [17:13] - If you identify as a Christian, LeNaya also encourages you to find the scripture that aligns with meditation and other healing practices. [18:23] - Typically, our closer circle of family and friends need boundaries when you are on this journey. Is it more important to hold up a false version of yourself or to follow your purpose? [21:13] - Dealing with any problem with your beliefs and feelings, give yourself permission to ask questions and seek the answers yourself. [22:57] - If God is limitless, how can he be identified? [23:50] - During this process, we all have a lot of unlearning to do. This is something that happens daily. LeNaya illustrates this with an example from her own life. [25:31] - You may find that you have more support from others than you assume you do. [27:02] - When couples come to marriage counseling, the biggest issues LeNaya works with are communication and boundaries. Some couples don’t see eye to eye when it comes to spiritual journeys. [28:12] - LeNaya admits that her husband is not into the same things she is in but he is very supportive. She illustrates this supportive mindset. [30:02] - Altars can be different for different people. It is not a one-size-fits-all. LeNaya has affirmation cards, crystals, and sage.  [31:13] - Jameelah has photos of her family and ancestors, incense, and chakra candles on her altar. [32:37] - In Jameelah’s design business, she even sees clients have her design spiritual spaces for them. [34:13] - Kaleidoscope Therapy is LeNaya’s practice in Atlanta, but is all virtual. [35:17] - Through The Holistic MFT, you can find LeNaya’s set of affirmation cards called Affirmation is Power: Black Woman You Are Enough. LeNaya describes what they are and even reads her favorite card. [36:37] - Be patient in your journey. Links and Resources: Listen on Apple Podcasts Listen on Spotify Listen on Libsyn Listen on Podnews Jameelah Davis on Instagram Kaleidoscope Therapy The Holistic MFT Web Page LeNaya Smith Crawford on Instagram The Holistic MFT on Twitter   Affirmation is Power: Black Woman You Are Enough Affirmation Card Set    

Om Podcasten

The goal of the My Divine Life Podcast is to create a community of women empowered with enough courage to purpose-fully design the lives they love. Women who are choosing courage over comfort by facing their fears and limitations and overcoming them by Divinely Designing their life by using Jameelah Davis’ own life design method: THE CASE METHOD. The CASE method is a thoughtfully and skillfully designed framework that provides a road map for individuals to Design the Life They Love. The CASE method consists of 4 Life design steps. These life design steps provide a holistic approach to honestly assessing your personal challenges and forging the tools you need to redirect your focus and change the course of your life. The CASE method is transformational. TRANSFORM YOUR PERSPECTIVE TRANSFORM YOUR SPACE TRANSFORM YOUR LIFE!