Secrets For Ageless Beauty and Optimal Vitality with Rachel Varga, BScN, RN, CANS

Curious what it takes to look your best as you age? To unlock your vitality and ageless beauty in a holistic way?  Wonder what sexuality and beauty have in common? 

Tune into this episode as I talk with Rachel Varga, Board Certified Aesthetic Nurse Specialist, and discover some skincare secrets, non-surgical solutions, and healing lifestyle practices to navigate and strategize aging impossibly well – using the SCIENCE of BEAUTY. 

In this episode, I'm talking with the amazing Rachel Varga, BScN, RN, CANS, about the intersection of sexuality and beauty.  

Rachel is a Board Certified Aesthetic Nurse Specialist since 2011, an international clinical trainer, speaker and academically published award-winning author in the field of plastic and aesthetic nursing. Through education on skin care, skin and laser rejuvenation, non-surgical solutions, and healing lifestyle practices, Rachel helps inspire others with her unique toolkit to navigate and strategize aging impossibly well – using the SCIENCE of BEAUTY.

“Beauty is a feeling and quiet confidence that comes from being perfectly aligned body, mind and spirit (or as close to perfect as possible!). It will be my pleasure to help you understand the SCIENCE of BEAUTY!” - Rachel Varga

She has an amazing online class called Unlocking Your Vitality, where she guides you through the best skin care products, procedures, and lifestyle modifications to help you achieve the skin you desire and age impossibly well on the inside and out. and you can save 15% with code AmandaTesta15.

Connect with Rachel HERE.

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Please join in the discussion on this episode and more in my free Facebook Group, Find Your Feminine Fire HERE.

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Transcript

So let's just get right into it. Amanda, how can we have a healthy sexuality?

Amanda Testa (01:19):

So I love this and I think it's so key to our overall vitality because honestly we as women oftentimes don't really think about that part of our health unless maybe we're going to the gynecologist or if there's a problem. But honestly, it's something that we need to consider on a daily basis as part of just our overall health and wellbeing and not just forget about it until once in a blue moon. Because honestly, I think that for most women, we can't really, it's not to be blamed really, it's how we've been raised. You know, most of us kind of have been taught that sexist something you don't talk about. Maybe if you were wanting to have sex then you are slut shamed, or maybe if you were afraid to have sex, then you were called a prude. I was like, there's no winning in this world.

Amanda Testa (02:00):

The way we were raised, especially in our culture. And so what I see so often is that women, they are so curious and want to learn more, but they don't necessarily know how. So that's what I'm here to offer women is that how you can take care of your sexual vitality, why you should and why we don't think about it is not our own fault. You know, it's no fault of our own. But the good news is, is that it's something that it's easy and fun to incorporate. I love to share my basic messages. You know, we need to learn to feel like goddesses in the bedroom and beyond. And really it starts with taking care of our sexual vitality. So yes, I'm thrilled to talk more about this today.

Rachel Varga (02:33):

That's great. So you help people with their sex and their relationships as an expert in your own right. And I help people look great in the process and AGE-WELL and prevent things like fine lines, wrinkles, acne, acne, scars, rosacea, skin cancers, reduce accelerated aging and just help people age impossibly, well and I love it when people have that inner glow to them, right? So they're things that light them up, whether it's stimulating their body, mind, spirit in some way. And of course we're all sexual beings. We came here from, you know, two people coming together, no pun intended. And so how do you find that women will take care of themselves in a really grounded healthy way? How does that look?

Amanda Testa (03:22):

So for me, I like to make it simple because like many of the women that I work with, they are very high achieving, busy women and we have a lot on our plates, a lot to do, a lot of people to take care of. So often it's easy for us to fall to the bottom of the list. And so what I like to incorporate is just simple ways to incorporate sensual self care into your life. And really one of the simplest ways that I like to share is number one is connecting to what brings you pleasure every day. And it could be a lovely orgasm. It could be just taking five minutes in the morning to like gently rub your face lotion in or you know, like really honestly take that moment to give your own body some reverence. And like I say, these things are simple.

Amanda Testa (04:01):

Like you can do that anywhere, anytime. One of my favorite ways is, the first thing is to just find things you do every day to bring you pleasure. And if you struggle with what that is, then take some time to really connect to what it is that you desire. I think for many women, that is a hard step because we know how to take care of everyone else. We know what our family needs, we maybe know what our partner needs, but for our own needs, they don't always make it to the top of the list.

Rachel Varga (04:24):

I totally relate to that because when I'm asked, you know, what do you want? What do you want in this? What do you, I'm like, Oh, I actually don't know. We don't always take the time to really isolate what desires we have, whether that's with our sexuality or in other aspects of our life as well. So how do we get really good at asking and you know, going for what we want.

Amanda Testa (04:48):

Yes. So I love this simple practice that I share is just to take that every week if you can. I do it weekly where I write down a desire list, like literally everything I that I want everything, my heart desires, whether it might be a cup of coffee or a trip to Bora Bora, whatever it may be, you know, you kind of just let your imagination have fun with it. And when you take that ten minutes to write these things down, you really start to allow your brain to, to go there. The more you do that and you can say, all right, well now look at my list. What can I actually do this week? Well, I can actually give myself s sensual massage or I can actually create an environment where I can enjoy some sensual, you know, self-pleasure something like that. So it makes you be able to realize that it really isn't as hard as we think to do things for ourselves.

Amanda Testa (05:32):

You know, oftentimes we'll have that voice in our head will tell us that we have too much to do and we can't make the time. But the more we take that self-assessment and really connect to our inner compass and what we need, the more that it's going to guide us. And that's just the key is taking the time to tap into that. So doing this 10 minute practice of writing down what you want and then looking at that, okay, what can I make happen this week? Then you're going to start, okay, well I can actually give myself what I need. I can ask for what I need and those are huge steps.

Rachel Varga (05:59):

I feel like I'm just getting some one on one coaching with you right now cause one of the things I need to work on is grounding, right? As busy healthcare, professional female entrepreneur, you know, we're creating lots. We're figuring out how to get our knowledge out there. So one of the things I really have to do is ground. I know I'm going to be taking your advice, but I love that idea of making your home a place that you feel sensual in. Like having your aromatherapy in your diffuser, your candles going some nice soft music, you know, cracking open a little bottle of wine and having a little glass of Vino while you cook your supper.

Amanda Testa (06:33):

Exactly. Those little things are so fun. And I honestly like one of the big ways that I also like to share. So the first would be, you know, tapping into that pleasure and your desires. And the second is to really make use of your five senses. Like you just mentioned, like taking the time to smell your diffuser and really enjoy the food you're cooking. And, and one of my favorite places to do it is in the shower or when I get ready because usually we're maybe rushing and we're slapping on the lotion and this, that and the other. And I like to invite women to just take that time to really feel into your body and as you are doing your facial routine and like things to take care of your skin, like really take that time to drop in and notice your features and what can you appreciate instead of focusing on the wrinkles maybe you can say, wow, look at my beautiful eyes, you know, or you know, I love the way this part of my cheek looks or you know, cause it's easy to focus on what we don't want to see, but when you can focus on what you do like and I'm so lovely that I'm just nourishing my skin like this.

Amanda Testa (07:27):

How lovely that I'm taking the time to care for myself. Right.

Rachel Varga (07:30):

I adore that. That's like the best female grounding practice ever. And I just thought of something because when you're doing that you're going to be, you know, not in that like rush, rush, rush, got to go, got to get ready as fast as I can and then out the door it's like you're really getting yourself out of that beta brainwave state, which let's face it when we are in the office or with the family you're kind of in that go, go, go. You get a ton of cortisol in your body and that's a really fast way to age yourself is to have that coursing through your body. So taking that time in the morning and evening as part of your self care routine to really drop out of that high beta brainwave state and reduce your cortisol levels. I love it. I love that

Amanda Testa (08:11):

And I love all that kind of stuff. Like I'm very into all my lotions and potions and things. Right. I think that it's so important to care for ourselves because, and I don't view it as something that is selfish. I think it's something that's just vital because we are the ones that have to be presenting our best self into the world. Like no matter what we're doing, whether that's running a huge business or taking care of kids or whatever it may be, you know, we have to be healthy and vibrant to do that. And it's also just this beautiful act of, you know, of adornment. I love the adornment process. It just makes me feel, you know, I just think about like even back in the day when they would use like the charcoal and their eyes, but I can they Egyptian times like, Oh yeah, we're in yourself. It's such a fun. Beauty has been around for

Rachel Varga (08:56):

Thousands of years. It's nothing new.

Amanda Testa (08:58):

Yeah. So I'd love, you know, just straight from your perspective, you know, with your clients, you work with so many women. Do you know, how do you feel that they are with regards to taking care of themselves?

Rachel Varga (09:09):

I feel like they just don't really know where to start. Especially when you're talking about lotions and potions. It's like, okay, well you want to be putting something on your skin to nourish your skin and you want to be putting that something on your skin that isn't going to be a toxin to your body. You want it to work, you want it to be clean. And so I work with medical grade skincare, which is, you know, products. They're products backed by research to actually improve the skin quality on a cellular level to have those active ingredients like your vitamin C, vitamin E or vitamin a, your hyaluronic acid, your retinol to actually tell your skin cells to make things like collagen and really making sure that you're putting things on your skin that are safe and effective. So I like to help clients to understand, you know, what items could be helpful to meet their needs so they can do their skincare at home.

Rachel Varga (10:01):

And then they come in to see me for rejuvenation treatments, whether those are, you know, the HydraFacial, which is a great way to kind of splurge your skin, right? Sort of like a wetvac for the face that uses vacuum to pull out dirt and debris from the pores and then it gives you a really nice glycolic acid chemical peel and you get an infusion of peptides. Your skin is just like the smoothest it's ever felt. That's a really good starter treatment. And then of course there's other layers that you can add to that, like lasers or injectables, there are definitely some injectables that are cleaner on the market then some of their counterparts. So you know, I help people navigate all of that, but I love it when I see people coming to see me in the clinic and you know, they're starting to have a really good self care routine at home with their products, cleanser, moisturizer, sunscreen, exfoliation a couple of times a day.

Rachel Varga (10:47):

And then they come in to see me and I see the shift in them in their level of vibrancy and their vitality because you're taking the time to look after themselves. I can't help but think of one of my most beautiful new clients. About two weeks ago I did a an injectable treatment on her. And then she came back for her follow up a few weeks later. And just the way that she was carrying herself, she was actually standing up straighter. I was doing her before and after photo and she was standing up at least an inch and a half taller. She was, you know, wearing the same shoes. I really love to see that shift and transformation in women. It's, it's really kind of what encourages me cause I know I'm making a difference to not only help people look better but feel better. So this rejuvenation, anti-aging stuff, it's a lot less superficial than What you may think. I just help people navigate it so that people don't waste money on, you know, bogus products and procedures.

Amanda Testa (11:38):

So important because there are so many toxic things out there. You know, thankfully one of my friends when I was back in my twenties she was an aesthetician. So she got me started in, I was like 21 on using good products. They don't have a bunch of bad ingredients and kind of educating me about that, cause I didn't even, I wasn't even aware, you know, I would just go to the store and buy whatever was at the grocery store. That was actually a really bad thing most of the time because of all the toxins that are in the products and how quickly that enters your body. And so that was great. And I think too, just learning from that young age that it's important to take care of your skin and it's important to get regular facials and things like that, which I adore. I hadn't, I think to those types of things are ways that you nourish yourself. You know, it's part of that holistic nourishing your soul, like you know, and I feel like I love to bring it even into your own sexuality by taking that time to nourish even your vulva. Right. And how often do you think about the skin down there? It's gonna. It's the same as the skin on our face. It needs nourishment as well. So

Rachel Varga (12:35):

I love that you brought that up. Yeah. What I actually recommend some of my clients do is you know, their their products. I recommend what you do to the face to do to the neck and the chest and the top of the hands as well. But to put that extra product or you know, vitamin a, which is a really potent antioxidant, but you only use it at nighttime cause it does cause photosensitivity. It can cause a bit of redness and flaking at first and then your skin gets a bit more tolerant to the active ingredient. But I love recommending people do it on the inside of their arms, their knees, and also their bikini zone because it's really important to actually nourish the skin there and increase cell turnover to reduce that kind of crepey look that you can get to the bikini zone. And then lasers are awesome.

Rachel Varga (13:19):

So sometimes people will come and see me for hair removal. And you can either use two technologies IPL hair removal, which is like a bright flash of light. So if you have red ingrown hair kind of follicles and you can have a lot of irritation or scarring, it's amazing for that is so it helps the skin look better. It reduces ingrowns, it reduces the amount of hair that you have growing in. It thins it out a little bit, but if you have a darker skin type or you always have a tan, a yag lazer for hair removal is also really helpful as well. And energy in the area to get hair removal performed with is going to rejuvenate the skin too. So all of those can be helpful.

Amanda Testa (13:59):

Yeah, and I mean I think that's important because there's so much to feeling good in your body and feeling good in your skin and sometimes things like that can show up and really hurt your ability to relax and open and be in the moment. Because so many women I talk to are just like, Oh, I don't want them to look at this or I don't want them to be looking at my ingrown hair or whatever. Right. Which I can assure you, your partner's not looking at your ingrown hair, but it's on their mind and then they can't relax and enjoy. So it's like those things you can do to help yourself feel comfortable and confident are so important and so and so that you know the beautiful thing about that, taking that time to nourish it, the bikini line as well, you know, it's just understanding to your own body.

Amanda Testa (14:40):

There's so many women that I talk to that aren't even aware of how our anatomy works. I mean, to some extent they do, but like there's a lot more that we aren't always taught about our anatomy and how when we take the time to really explore our own bodies and understand what we enjoy, then we can better tell our partners those things. So I really encourage women to take the time to, you know, enjoy your own pleasure practice if that includes doing your routine on your skin. But even better if it really includes in the bikini line and even self-pleasuring so healthy for you.

Rachel Varga (15:13):

Just an FYI, you shouldn't use your vitamin a or your active ingredients on the actual vulva area. Yes, exactly.

Amanda Testa (15:22):

And have you and I, and I, I actually think, you know, coconut oil can be a good thing too for sensitive skin. Especially, you know, your vulva tissue depending. It's a good idea cause I know as women age it's, it's just normal that the tissue gets thinner and just really important like you have to use it. This is what I always like to say, you know, use it or lose it as you know. And then that goes for anything we're doing sexually or otherwise.

Rachel Varga (15:44):

Well it's so true. Do you know much about laser rejuvenation for down there, do you practice that? Sure do.

Amanda Testa (15:53):

It's for you to talk to her about it because I actually, you know, our, our friend Susan Bratton, you probably have met her at Mindshare perhaps, but she talks a lot about vaginal rejuvenation and I know there are so many different techniques out there. So I'd love if you would share a little bit more about what you do in that area.

Rachel Varga (16:08):

Wow. Yeah. There are a number of different types of technologies on the market. It's relatively new on the market. I like things to be around for awhile that you know, have been used on the mass population before I ever even think about offering them to my clients just from a safety perspective. So there's really two ways to rejuvenate the vaginal area using laser technologies. The first one is going to be radio frequency, so it essentially is using a little probe that's inserted and some of the technologies are kind of like inserted and then removed and then moved around a little bit. So that can create a little bit of an awkward situation with your provider if you know what I'm getting at. So basically it's using heat to stimulate the tissue to make elastin and collagen because that's what we lose is we lose that elastin and collagen in the vaginal canal, it thins.

Rachel Varga (17:02):

You get a little bit of atrophy of the tissues and all that stuff. We want it to be happy and healthy. The aim of the game with everything with your skincare and lasers is to make collagen. And then there's another type of technology that's using an erbium laser. And the erbium is actually, it's kind of like inserted sort of like with a metal speculum and then you sort of withdraw it at half centimeter segments throughout the whole vaginal canal. And it's great for again, heating up the tissue, it vaporizes the water so it heats up the water that's in the cells of the tissue. Then it heats it up. And you know, basically there are no downtime procedures. You just need to abstain from inserting anything for about one to two weeks after. It depends on the tech, but there are fantastic. So technologies not only improve collagen in the vaginal canal, which can lead to increased sensation and lubrication and of, you know, of course with that enjoyment, but they're also great for other things like, you know, having an overactive bladder, it can actually help with women with incontinence. It's quite, quite wonderful that these therapeutic treatments, do have that type of aesthetic outcome. Right? You can actually reform the tissue on the external part of the vaginal area as well, which is, which is really cool. So you can get an improvement on the inside and also on the outside.

Amanda Testa (18:24):

Yes, I love that. And it's, and it's wonderful that there are so many things that you can explore to keep that vitality. And, and you know, one of the things I also teach women is if they are curious to learn more about, you know, how we really work with our energy. I, this is what I love about the Taoist philosophy is that our sexual energy is our life force energy. So really when we nourish that, it's created in our sexual center and our kidneys. And you can really learn practices to kind of start to activate that energy and pump it through your system. And you can use it to nourish your system and nourish your body and really however you want to use that. So it's a great practice that, you know, I love to teach women is how you can work with this, how you connect to it, because so many women are like, ah, I don't even know what that means.

Amanda Testa (19:12):

But it's actually just like anything, it's a practice. You can connect to the sensations that you're experiencing in your body, then it's possible that you can also connect to the energy that you can create in your own body. And so it's a really fun practice. And you know I love, I love teaching women those because they are just beautiful meditative practices. There's practices where you can work with your pelvic floor and possibly using tools like a Jade egg to kind of help get that energy really activated and learn how to spread it through your system. And it can be that, it's like that internal rejuvenation as well just from your energy. And I think what I love about this is I've personally been doing this practice for, I don't know, maybe seven years now

Rachel Varga (19:53):

And you're totally radiant. Like even the first time I saw you. And right now speaking, you have this level of radiance and vitality to you.

Amanda Testa (20:01):

Thank you. Well I was mentioned to you earlier like some of my teachers you know are in their seventies and you would not know it to look at them. They look like there may be 50 and I actually, it is just because there is something to, and we can keep our, our vital force energy alive and flowing in our sexual energy is a huge part of that. It really is. It reflects in everything that we do because you can just see those women, you know, you've probably seen one before. They walk into the room and they just have this vibrancy and like it's, they just have this energy and you're just drawn to them. Right?

Rachel Varga (20:29):

That's what I love teaching is basically I'm sharing online what my most vibrant clients are doing. Right? So my online course, Unlocking your vitality in the ebook right now that's available for free with it. Use your promo code, amandatesta15 so I know that you know, you listen to this and it was from the lovely Amanda, so I can thank you kindly for your referrals and it's just so amazing to be able to share the common threads that I see in this incredible subset of my clients, that they walk into a room and they're powerful, they're resilient, they're magnetic, they're beautiful. And they could be in their eighties or nineties and how fine lines, wrinkles, Brown spots. It doesn't matter. That inner stuff is so much more impactful on beauty than the outer. And it's just really ironic coming from someone like me that's, you know, made a career rejuvenating people.

Rachel Varga (21:24):

But really, you know, before you even start doing any of that, you got to do the inner stuff. So I love connecting with lovely souls like you, Amanda, that you know, you can teach people how to develop that youthful, vibrant glow and talking about how our sexual energy is critical to our life force and how to have this healthy sexuality. These are all really important things that I think busy female professionals and mothers, it kind of gets put on the back burner, but like, Hey, our stuff's really important to, and this is what I want.

Amanda Testa (21:57):

Yes, it's so true. And it's, and it's easy. Once you, once you realize how good it makes you feel, then it's easier to make the time to do it right. And it's not like it takes a lot of time. That's what I like to share. You know, even if you do, you know, a couple of 15 minute practices a week, that's amazing. But it's just taking that intention and connecting to ourselves because we need to just remember our bodies in the equation. You know, it's so easy to just always be in our heads and thinking about the to do's and going, going, going, but taking that time to drop in and connect and listen and just enjoy our bodies and all the things, the many beautiful things, it's capable of it. It just helps to increase your confidence as well once you realize like what you're truly capable of.

Amanda Testa (22:38):

I see it all the time with my clients. It's just they will radically transform from, you know, one of my clients who I was working with the other day, you know, she really struggled with putting herself out there and she is a coach and was struggling to charge what she wanted to charge for her packages when we first started working together. And then by the end of working together now she's got these $16,000 packages that she's selling like crazy because she's just got this huge amount of confidence and just really owning that power again. And I know that's kind of a generic term now. It's like owning your power, but when you are a woman and you can connect to that, you know exactly what I'm talking about. Right?

Rachel Varga (23:11):

Yeah. And then adding an element of soft feminine energy to it as well. I mean that's really powerful when we can tap into that because I know for me as a, you know, relatively young professional, you know, sometimes I'm in a room and I'm like one of five females in a room of 20 at conferences. So we're constantly in that like very masculine zone. But it's so critical to remember that, Hey, we're actually, you know, super babes and powers in her own right. And getting back to that feminine energy over the last couple of years has been really beautiful. Do you know Rebecca Campbell?

Amanda Testa (23:50):

I'm not familiar with her.

Rachel Varga (23:51):

So she's a hay house author. I had the pleasure of meeting her at a hay house heal event in Portland earlier this year. I saw dr Joe Dispenza, Greg Braden, all those people that are, they're all amazing healers and teachers in their own right and after reading some of her books, Light is the new black and Rise, Sister, Rise, , it got me to shift back into my feminine as opposed to, you know, in the books learning working and I think that's really a really important layer that sometimes we can forget about.

Amanda Testa (24:20):

I think so and that's why it's so important to like remember to go into our bodies. There's such wisdom there and it's like, I think that's part of like dropping in to that divine feminine wisdom is taking the time to connect with our wombs and with our energy there. Even if you don't have the physical organs, there's such energy that's still there and learning to listen to your body has to say and how the more we do that, like even just tapping it into your desires, like I mentioned earlier, that is just part of that compass. It's like your, your soul knows where you need to go. And if you give yourself the time to tap in, it will help you keep clear with your mission or whatever it is you're doing. You know, it just keeps that clarity so that you can move forward knowing that your actions coming from an aligned place within you.

Rachel Varga (25:01):

Can you, can you share some woo stuff with us on how our sexuality makes us more beautiful? Yeah, sure. Yeah. Would you like me to walk you through a quick little practice? Yes, please.

Amanda Testa (25:15):

Okay. So if you're driving while you're listing, just, you know, don't close your eyes or get too into it, but you can actually do this anywhere. And I feel like that's what's so great about this little practice. And so what I'll invite you to do is just, if you want to close your eyes, keep them open if you're driving, but I want you to just take a couple breaths and just start to feel into your lower belly. So just kind of breathe down into your lower belly, even just like three deep breaths.

Amanda Testa (25:53):

And then you can start to like start to rapidly squeeze your pelvic floor muscles. If you can just kind of start squeezing them and start to notice if you feel any tingling, any sensation there, maybe around your perineum And just notice if you start to feel any energy and just kind of connect to that. And maybe you can visualize like a Pearl of light there where this energy is starting to build. And as you inhale, just see that light getting bigger, feel it getting bigger there. And on the exhale just kind of let that energy start to radiate through your body. And if you want, you can even like kind of breathe that

Amanda Testa (26:44):

Ball up. The front of your body can touch the tongue to the roof of your mouth so you can keep that energy flowing. And then just let it drop down the back of your spine and you can just kind of loop it back through your premium and feel that energy. If you want to keep you squeezing your pelvic floor and you can just kind of get that flow. And it's kind of, it's just the flowing through the microcosmic orbit they call it through these energies centers that we have in our body. And just notice how if you feel any different after a few rounds of that energy circulating, then that's literally as simple and quickly as you can do it. And the more you do it, the easier it gets to feel it and tap into it. Cause like I've obviously been doing this practice for a while and it's like anything, it's a practice. I, I kind of compare it to going to the gym. You know, when you first start to work out, you might not really feel anything or see any results yet, but after a while you're like, wow, the trend, you know, you can see that transformation in new, that's why it's a practice, you know, you got to keep that connection going. So do you feel any different at all?

Rachel Varga (27:47):

I enjoyed that. It was a great way to end the day. Right? It's just like that little, it's like that little cleanse that connecting to me and my body, right? Because we have this amazing body that we're given and we gotta look after it. You can either age really well

Rachel Varga (28:08):

And feel great in the process or you can be a victim. And you know, for me, I was telling you earlier, I was rear-ended like two weeks ago and you know, I've been recovering quickly because I'm looking after myself and I'm seeing all the right people. Even though I have, you know, some issues with my ribs and spine and a compressed vertebrae, but you know, the mind over the body and tapping into the body and really tapping a How we are feeling is really important. So just doing those types of practices is so healing for your hormones, your, your brain States, all that stuff. Reduce the, reduce the cortisol level as much as he can and really

Amanda Testa (28:48):

Exactly. Exactly. So key. And that cortisol will kill all your, your, like you mentioned your hormones, especially your sex hormones. So, so key to like keep that stress level managed.

Rachel Varga (28:58):

That's so true. You're, you're definitely gonna feel more inclined to be sexually active, you know, you're in a good place, body, mind, spirit. If your brain is constantly going, you're not going to feel in the mood, right? If your body is in pain or you're not really in tune with it, you're not really gonna know what to ask for.

Amanda Testa (29:17):

And you need to have that feeling of, you know, being able to soften and open and receive, right? And you can't do that in a state of, of clenching and tightness. So it's that really being able to learn to soften and surrender, which is challenging for a lot of women because there's so many women I work with that are just so want to control everything, right? And it's hard to let go when you're in that place of wanting to control. So it's an invitation to practice. Like how can you soften? How could you open a little more? And you know, that starts with creating that sense of feeling good in your own body and knowing how to communicate with your needs so that you can make sure that you're feeling safe and that you are able to do that. Right. We need those things in place to really be able to enjoy and relax and get those good oxytocins flow and in all the good things that happen with sexual connection. Right.

Rachel Varga (30:08):

I got to say what you talked about with softness. One of my clients today, she's 80 but she looks like she's in her mid sixties and she does Tai Chi every morning. And one of the things I notice with people that are yogis or do other grounding practices like Tai Chi is absolutely, they have the softness to them and it's so nice to be around that as opposed to people that come in and you know, we encounter and they're like, Oh, got to pick the kids up, got to go do this, do that. You know, it's constantly go, go, go. I don't know about you, but I prefer to be with the soft people. It sounds funny to say.

Amanda Testa (30:47):

So I would, I would love to learn a little bit more too from you, from your side. Like I know you've got your program coming out, so tell me a little more. I would love to for you to share too, because I want to share this with my audience as well because I think like you say, it's so important to know that vitality is, there's numerous prongs. It's a multipronged approach, right? So would you share a little bit more?

Rachel Varga (31:08):

Yeah, I would love to. It's really become a passion of mine to help people understand how to achieve optimal beauty and beauty is a lot deeper than what we might actually initially think. There is a lot of woo in beauty and there's a lot of spirituality in beauty and there's a lot of body and there's a lot of mind. And basically through my course I filmed the whole thing on salt spring Island. And if you are from the West coast of Canada, you know that salt spring Island is the hippie Island. Here I am at this beautiful Weatherly Inn, it's a 30 acre boutique luxury Inn, in my beautiful room and I'm just in the zone and basically I had the ability to record about 30 videos, so they're kind of little snippets. It's really easy to go through the program. I actually designed it with my mother in law who has her masters in education, so it's really methodically laid out.

Rachel Varga (32:04):

It's easy to follow and I just love taking people through what my most vibrant clients are doing to be more vibrant and beautiful on the inside and out. So we start with body, mind, spirit, all that good inner stuff. And then I provide an education on beauty marketing. You know what you need to avoid, what you want to look for, what you should be doing to get healthy skin. If your skin is telling you this, what do you need to do for that? I also provide a really great treatment planning guide to help people understand the different pieces of the puzzle for really looking after the skin, which includes great self care skin care practices, and also technologies and certain treatments. There's a lot of ways to waste your money and there's a lot of ways to really maximize your effort. So I really bring that all together in nearly a decade of my experience and just observing what my most beautiful, vibrant clients are doing.

Rachel Varga (32:57):

And it's like, why wouldn't I want to share this with the world? And I, I do it in a really, I like to think a very soft way to promote self care in the process. Of course I talk about, you know, pre-post recovery tips for, you know, different skin laser treatments, even facial and body surgeries. Cause sometimes as we age, you know, we want a little adjustment here and there. And if you, you know, when you look good, you feel good. When you feel good, you look good. So everything's different for everyone. I just basically have all of the expert information you could possibly want to know to heal well and age well in one really easy to digest course. I'm really proud of it. I'm getting amazing feedback on it. And yeah, you, it's called unlocking your vitality and my website, rachelvarga.ca. And if you're listening to this, I'd love to you, I'd love for you to use the promo code AmandaTesta15 and yeah, I'd love to give you 15% off it. You'll love it. It's gonna change your life.

Amanda Testa (33:53):

Thank you so much. And I also share, you know, I talked in the beginning a little bit about how you can tap into that pleasure and really ways, simple ways to do that and really nurture your sensuality. And so if you want, you can, I've got a great practice on really a simple way to tap into your sensuality. You can download from my website if you're interested as well. It's Amandatesta.com/sensuality/ and you can find that and it's got one of my favorite practices to really do that.

Rachel Varga (34:19):

I loved that practice that you just took us through. I'm going to listen to that again once I relisten to this podcast episode. I'll, I'll take you with me. I really just want to say this. I'm really proud of women like you who are also seeing what you know, the subset of most, the most beautiful people we work with are doing and sharing that with the world. Because when we're beautiful and soft we are going to be interacting with people, places and things in a more beautiful way. And that I really find has a trickle down effect into so many other layers and aspects of our lives and with people we interact with when we can spread a little self care message along the way. I think that's, I think that's some fantastic work that you're doing. So keep it up.

Amanda Testa (35:05):

Same. I feel the same about you. So thank you so much and it's been so lovely to connect.

Rachel Varga (35:10):

Great. And Amanda, where can people find you?

Amanda Testa (35:14):

So you can find me on my website. It's Amandatesta.com and as I mentioned, I have that great sensuality practice you can download at amandatesta.com/sensuality You could also find me on Facebook. I have a group there called find your feminine fire Group. That's the name of my business. And that group is, I share so much great stuff in there. I do lots of free trainings and you can find me there as well. Instagram, AB test and YouTube. Amanda, that's awesome.

Rachel Varga (35:38):

So regional, where else can everybody find you? I am hanging out all over the place. Multiple passionate woman. I have a free treatment planning guide available and it just helps you organize the different products and procedures that are typically found to be helpful for aging. Well at rachelvarga.ca I am on Instagram a lot @rachelvargaoffical. I am also on Facebook also Rachel Varga official YouTube and podcast. So podcast is all about the woo of beauty, bringing in the body, mind, spirit and then the YouTube channel is all about showing different treatments. If you have questions about skin care, lasers, injectables, it's all there. Beautiful. Thank you so much for taking the time to talk with me today and to have me on your podcast and thank you so much for taking the time to have me on your podcasts. I'm sure that we have lots to offer our listeners to help them be more vibrant. On the inside and out.

Thank you so much for listening to the find your feminine fire podcast. This is your host, Amanda Testa. And if you have felt a calling while listening to this podcast to take this work to a deeper level, this is your golden invitation to invite you to reach out. You can contact me at amandatesta.com/activate. You can have a heart to heart to discuss more about how this work can transform your life. You can also join us on Facebook in my group, Find your Feminine Fire Group. And if you've enjoyed this podcast, please share with your friends, go to iTunes and give me a five star rating and a raving review so I can connect with other amazing listeners like yourself. Thank you so much for being a part of the community.