A Journey of Empowerment and Epigenetic Expression
A Journey of Empowerment and Epigenetic ExpressionGenevieve Searle – The Optimisation Queen
‘My deepest desire is a world full of empowered, self-responsible, engaged, connected, inspired and empathic humans… Imagine what a beautiful world THAT would be.”—Genevieve Searle
I had an odd childhood and it prepared me perfectly for what I do now.
I grew up with two older brothers on a farm in S.E. Queensland in a classic rural community. However, my parents were ‘tree-changers’ from Sydney. For this, and other reasons, I often felt like an outsider.
My mother’s family was not well off but had well-polished ‘Victorian’ manners. My father’s family was wealthier and more worldly. My grandfather was an Australian foreign diplomat and my aunt a successful entrepreneur.
However, we were often poor. The paradox of my parents, my small community and my relatives meant I learnt to ‘dance between worlds’. Now I am equally as happy around a campfire as I am dining in three-hat restaurants.
From very early on I had a range of chronic gut issues. At 16, I was diagnosed with ‘S’ and ‘C’ curve scoliosis and spondylolisthesis. Later I came to understand that my spinal deformity was due to a subconscious fear of being in my fullest expression, and so my body altered its growth to keep me safe.
At four, I was sexually abused by a neighbour, and at 18, I was raped at a party by my boyfriend’s friend. My gut issues were a combination of nerve impingement from my spine plus a physical response to not being able to ‘let go’ and having very poor boundaries.
After the rape I went into a deep depression, developed eating disorders and was on medication for years. I hated myself for a long time.
One night, when I was 21 and working on a resort, I went for a walk and ended up lying in the bottom of an empty pool starting at the stars, contemplating suicide again.
As I lay there, I realised I had three choices. Continue as I was, kill myself or get better. Intrinsically I KNEW things could get better and so in that moment I decided to do just that—and I was relentless in my pursuit of wellness from then on.
I had felt a spark of hope which was enough to ignite a fire of determination within me.
Life didn’t get easier though. A few years later I went through a difficult marriage, got divorced, lost a business, left most of my friends, moved cities, went bankrupt, moved in with a new partner, faced the possibility of prison, bought our first house and became unexpectedly pregnant with our first son, all within an 18-month period!
Yet there was always the inner certainty that life would get better, that I could get better, and I was utterly committed to doing whatever it took to unravel all the pieces, shed the stories, support my body, deepen my relationships and blossom into the very best version of myself.
I started working on my mental and emotional health at the same time as my physical health. I saw psychologists, did workshops, retreats, courses and programs. I read, studied, and researched. I sat in countless women’s circles and over time also facilitated them. I have had some fantastic mentors and teachers.
For my body I started with food. I thought I understood what good food is, but then I started researching more. This drew me to study ancestral nutrition and I began experimenting with how different ways of eating worked with my body. This had a massive impact.
My next step was to strengthen my body, so I started CrossFit in 2013. It made me physically fit and strong, but it also dramatically helped my mental AND emotional strength. I still do CrossFit. I also run, walk, dance and last year I started Aerial Hoop!! I love the feeling of confidence and grace from having a strong, fit body.
By now I was ‘gaining traction’ which was both inspiring and motivating. I was getting better but I still had some gut issues, fatigue and was prone to spirals of depression. I wanted to know ‘Why?’
I got curious about my environment, wondering if there was something there. I explored circadian rhythms, EMFs, artificial and natural lighting and Wi-Fi, finding a lot of research showing that our environment significantly impacts us. Our modern lifestyle is literally killing us but not before it makes us tired, old, fat, anxious and sick.
Experimenting with what I learnt and putting in place what worked, I pretty much overhauled our home and lifestyle to be more in harmony with nature and found ways to deal with the disconnection that results from living in our high-tech world. This was incredibly beneficial for both myself and my family, although my kids looked at me sideways a lot during this!
I became a colon hydrotherapist in 2016 and very quickly discovered that many clients would only release their waste when they were ready to ‘let go’ mentally or emotionally! It was deep work and an incredible privilege to hold space for clients in such a vulnerable space. As much as I didn’t like the actual work, I LOVED seeing the relationship between the body, mind and heart play out in REAL time.
My research into environment led me to epigenetics, the science of gene expression. The DNA itself doesn’t change but it’s expression can. EVERYTHING we eat, do, see and experience influences our epigenetic expression.
I wondered if things could be passed down the family line. Did my past, my ancestry, have anything to do with who I am and how my body, mind and heart operates today? My intuition said yes.
So again I researched, reading every study paper I could find on epigenetics and ancestral inheritance. To say that the findings were staggering would be an understatement. Yes, changes can be passed down the family line!
We literally carry the stories, choices and experiences of our ancestors on our DNA!
I’d changed my exercise habits, my eating habits and my environment but what could I do to work with the inherited stories of my ancestors that are attached to my DNA? Over time I discovered and created various ways to ‘hack’ my subconscious mind and reprogram my emotional patterns and beliefs! By working with epigenetics, we can literally change our destiny.
Through my own journey and my work with clients I have found that virtually everyone is disconnected from their body, mind, heart and environment to one degree or another. This disconnection means we don’t often listen to our body’s needs and don’t follow its innate intelligence. We ignore it, override it and reject it and this creates stress in our bodies. When these ‘stressors’ aren’t dealt with, it majorly impacts our lives.
It shows up in our bodies as things like fatigue, weight and gut issues, auto-immunity, hormone and heart conditions, everything, including cancer. But our mental and emotional health also suffers and so it shows up in our relationships, at work, in the bedroom, everywhere. No part of our lives is exempt, it just depends on the person as to where and how this shows up.
My passion is to help clients live healthier, more vitalised and fulfilling lives—to be as good as they can be and to be fully OPTIMISED in all areas. To do this we need to address all the things—nutrition, movement, environment, relationships and work. We need to understand ourselves, our past, our family history and our culture. We need to work with it all. When we isolate and compartmentalise things, we often miss the big picture. So that’s what I do. I help people understand and connect with themselves, uncover the patterns in their lives and optimise themselves and their life.
In my business I create personalised, one-on-one mentoring programs for clients. This is where we work together over a longer period and delve deeply into optimising their life. We start with identifying the major stressors a person has and then cover food, movement, work, mindset, environment relationships, breathing and emotional work. I am also creating multiple online courses based on all of this.
The one-on-one programs have had a profound impact on the clients I have worked with. I have seen clients significantly reduce their dependence on medication like anti-inflammatories, steroids etc. as well as antidepressants and Valium, repair broken relationships, carry pregnancies after multiple miscarriages, claim their self-confidence and personal power and of course, heal gut issues.
Like everyone, I’ve had to adapt how I work in the past 18 months, but my personalised programs lend themselves well to online. I’m now more of a mentor than therapist and I love that because it gives clients more opportunity to claim their own inner authority which I LOVE. Ultimately, I want my clients to NOT need me.
I absolutely lean into my ‘Feminessence’ in my work. It’s this that helps me guide clients to listen, feel and connect with their own body and heart.
We’ve been led to believe that our bodies are against us and not to be trusted, but this is far from true! I have found that our bodies are wise and are always seeking harmony. They are also highly intelligent and operate brilliantly when nurtured and allowed to do so.
Our bodies are ALWAYS on our side. They will always tell and show us what we need, we just need to learn their language and listen. We are far more powerful than we have been led to believe, and it’s time to remember that.
It is also my ‘feminine’ that sees the patterns. All the threads and relationships that weave our different aspects together. No matter where I start with a client I am always asking, Why? How? What is this related to? Where is the pattern? Then I help clients to do this for themselves.
I don’t empower clients. Rather I mentor them so they can empower themselves.
My deepest desire is for a world full of empowered, self-responsible, engaged, connected, inspired and empathic humans. Imagine what a beautiful world THAT would be!
I’m so grateful for my life and the crazy twists and turns it has taken me on. Every step, every struggle, every experience has led me here! I love my work and I am deeply blessed with a loving, supportive life partner and our three amazing sons (17, 14, 11).
It’s pretty amazing.