When Your Body Speaks What Your Mind Ignores

EPISODE 1 When Your Body Speaks What Your Mind Ignores

Your body always knows before your mind is ready to listen. In this episode, Nakeisha Geddes shares her powerful firsthand experience traveling to Dubai, taking a spontaneous trip to Egypt, and finding herself unable to return due to the escalating war in the Middle East. What happened next stopped her in her tracks — the moment she landed back in Canada, her body began to speak loudly in ways she could no longer ignore.

If you've ever pushed through stress, chaos, or uncertainty and wondered why you felt like you were falling apart afterward — this episode is for you.

What you'll take away:

• Why your body carries what your mind tries to suppress
• How global stress and personal stress collide in your nervous system
• The first step to activating your awareness before burnout takes over

This episode pairs with Activate You — the book for the woman who has been strong for so long, she forgot how to listen to herself. Grab your copy here: https://bit.ly/3OwwtAa

If this episode spoke to you and you’re ready to go deeper…
my book The Freedom Blueprint: For Women Ready to Leave Survival Mode is your next step.

It’s for the woman who is done surviving and ready to live with alignment, clarity, and purpose.

📖 Get your copy here:
https://bit.ly/4lLPKtA

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:05

Welcome to Activate Your Freedom with Nakisha Geddes, a space for women who are ready to move beyond survival mode into clarity, structure, and intentional living. I'm Nikisha Geddes, entrepreneur, author, speaker, and someone who understands what it means to carry many roles while still hearing the deeper call to become. Here we have honest conversation about healing, identity, leadership, faith, business, and the practical shift required to build a life that truly aligns with who you are becoming. If you know there are more for you than just simple managing life, then this is the space for you. Let's begin. Like you're showing up, handling things, doing what needs to get done. But something feels off. Yeah, that's where this conversation is coming from. But before we go any further, let me introduce myself properly. Because if this is your first time here, I want you to actually feel who I am, not just hear a title. I'm Nikisha, an entrepreneur, a business strategist, a speaker, and an author. But more than anything, I'm someone who understands what it feels like to carry a lot and still show up like everything is okay. I've built businesses, I've made big moves, I've held things together in seasons where I don't even have space to process what I was going through. And for a long time I thought this was strength. But what I've come to realize is just because you're functioning doesn't mean you're free. And that's why I created this space. Because I want us to have real conversation about growth, identity, faith, business, but also about the part people don't always talk about the internal shift, the quiet moment, the truth behind I'm fine. So if you've been feeling like there's more for you, but you can't really explain what that more is yet, you're in the right space. Welcome. Now, I want to start with sharing this recent story, something that just happened. Now, so in late February, I traveled to Dubai with my niece. And background story. Over two and a half years ago now, I've launched my hospitality business in Dubai where I host Airbnb, Booking.com. I'm on all platforms. And so because of that, I traveled to Dubai about two to three times a year. And let me tell you, I love Dubai. Love, love, love Dubai. And what I love most about Dubai is just it just gives me an elevated experience. So when I come back to Canada, I'm pumped, I'm fired. Because, as you know, as an entrepreneur, a business owner, you need to always feed yourself. You need to always put yourself in an environment that inspires you and keep you going so that we can motivate for the next level. Because we have to motivate ourselves. And Dubai does that for me. But on this trip, because I had my niece, she was staying with me. I think my trip was going to be about a month, and my trip was staying, my niece was staying with me for the first week and a half. So we're very intentional what we do. I wanted to make sure she had an amazing Dubai experience. But we decided to go to Egypt as well for the weekend. And so this was, and the reason why we chose Egypt is because, you know, we all know the story of Egypt. We watched a movie. It's a place that I've always wished to go to. And we decided, why not? We're already halfway there, anyways. So on Friday, February 27th, we woke up around 4 a.m. to drive to Charja Airport, park our car, and then we headed to Egypt. Now it was a long day. We got to Egypt around 3 p.m. And by the time we check out, get a rental car, we were trying to rent a car, but we couldn't. So then we ended up getting a taxi. And thank Jesus, thank you, Lord, because there's no way we were there's it was impossible for us to drive in Egypt. Let me tell you, if the if the road was three-lane, they turned it into five-lane. Like I've never seen driving like that ever. There's no way. We there's no way. There's no way we could have driven Egypt. However, we got to our hotel and the hotel was beautiful. But because it was such a long day, we didn't have anything on an itinerary. We decided that the Friday we're just gonna relax at the hotel and just enjoy it. And while we were there, we met um a group of Canadian, I think it was like 15 of them that was doing an Egypt tour for 15 days. And so we had conversation with them, just enjoy the day. It was a beautiful hotel, the meals were good, it was a good day. Now the Saturday, which was I think February 28th, we decided to go to the pyramid and we had an amazing day. And what I enjoyed most was just being there because you know we watched the movies, we know the story, but to actually be there, I could have seen like Fair, I could have seen the slave, I could have seen everything, like I could have feel everything that was going on. It was like I was experiencing the movie while I was there. It was a really nice experience for me. And so after that, we got our taxi and we head back to the hotel. So once I got to the hotel lobby, my Wi-Fi started to work. So my phone rang and it was my sister. And then she said to me, Hey, have you heard what happened? And there's a war happening in the Middle East. I'm like, what are you talking about? And then she started explaining to me about the war and be careful. But if you know anything about me, I brushed negativity off. So right away, I'm like, I'm not even gonna let this woman get in my headspace right now. So I say, Hey, okay. And I said bye and I hang up, and it was like nothing didn't happen. And I walk into the lobby. So when I walk into the lobby, the Canadians, some of the Canadians were right there. And they're like, hey, how was your day? And we start telling them about our day and our experience, and we start sharing, you know, because they too had that experience a couple days and we just start sharing notes. And then one of them said, Hey, when are you guys going back to Dubai? And we're like, tomorrow. And they're like, No, you're not, haven't you heard? And then they start telling us everything that was happening in the Middle East and stuff like that. So right away I was like, What do you mean I'm not going back to Dubai? I have plants, I have things, or things are in Dubai, you know, and they're like, No, you're not. And it was a lot to process. Like, just imagine. I've never experienced a war before. And like here, we see what we see on TV. We watch those movies. I'm like, what do you mean? I'm in the middle of a war. Are you crazy? And it was a lot to process. I don't even know how we process. I didn't I can't even explain to you what was happening to me in that moment. But I remember saying to my niece, let's go back to our room. And we went back to our room and I was like, wait, wait, wait, you know. I went back downstairs, I went, you know, to have a drink, and I'm like, oh shoot, we're checking out tomorrow. So I went upstairs to the lobby, went to the reception, and said, hey, how much it is to stay an extra night? Because obviously we ain't going nowhere. And so they told me the price was double what I was already paid. And I was like, no, there's no way we could stay here because I have no clue if I'm going to be in jail for a month. Like, we don't know. So I had to make a financial decision right now. So I went look for another hotel, book for two more days, and I went up, went back upstairs and I said to my niece, we're gonna stay here for another two days. We're gonna keep extending until we know what we're doing, what our next move. But in the meantime, we're just gonna enjoy Egypt. We're gonna try not to let the negative energy seep in. So the next day, let me tell you, ladies, just imagine the kind of day that I'm having. So I'm trying to process what's happening. We're trying to move to another hotel. We have no clue if we're safe. We're in the middle of a war, and we're like, what the heck? Then my period starts, my heaviest day. And I mean when I say heavy, river flowing heavy. And so all this is happening on the Sunday. And so when we got to the other hotel, it was clean, it was nice, they were kind. And I was like, thank you, Jesus, for this. And but our room was a little small, and I was like, you know what, it's just for two days, and we can manage. But then something happened. I tried to take a shower, it didn't work, and then they moved us to another room. Now that room was even smaller, and I'm like, there's no way. And so I asked for another room. They said they had a bigger room, it was gonna cost more. I didn't even ask how much more, and I just said, Yeah, okay, we'll take it. Now, this room was way bigger, it had like two king beds, so TV. I felt at home. I said, Okay, yes, this is it. Because if we're gonna be here for a while, we need to at least be comfortable. So in the evening, they helped us with planning excursion for the next day. They were very nice. And so the next day we just continue, we continued to tour Egypt. And, you know, and what I loved most about Egypt was that no one was talking about the war. It was business as usual. Yeah, the war was happening, but they had no concern about it. It wasn't happening here, they didn't have any US base in Egypt, so nobody was targeting them. So I loved that I was in that environment while I had to process what was happening. And so while we were there, it felt safe. And I think it was like day number four. I decided that okay, let's make a decision to go back home. Now, keep in mind, we were only supposed to be in Egypt for the weekend. So all we had was a weekend back, and all my luggage was at the unit in Dubai, and the car was still at Sharjah Airport, but it wasn't safe to go back to Dubai, and I don't think the airspace was even open. So we transitioned, we planned, and we were journeyed back to Canada. Now, when we were checking, it was like a 26-hour day. I don't know, 27-hour day was a long day. We had to leave our the hotel about like six in the morning to or five in the morning. It was very early, and then we had stopover at Ethrow Airport. We stayed there for about six, seven hours and then continue with our trip to Canada. Now, let me tell you, when the plane landed at Pairfin Airport, my body started to ache immediately. My back was like, it just felt like somebody just cut me right down the middle, the center of my back, and opened it. And when we were boarding the airplane, they had me check my and luggage because they said it was too big. Now tell me, why my luggage was one of the last ones to come off the belt? We stand there for about an hour and a half. I was tired, I was exhausted. All I wanted was a cup of tea, a hot shower, and my bed. It felt like I was traveling for two days. My back was hurting. I got home, I did exactly that, I went to bed. Now, this was Wednesday night. So on Thursday I woke up and it felt like you know when you haven't worked out in a long time and you decided to have a gym day, because today is the day, and you're gonna work every muscle in your body. And so, you know, the next day when you wake up, your entire body aches, you can't move. That's what I felt like. My body was aching. So Thursday I just slept all day, and it's hard to explain what I was going through, but I was just going through something, and I didn't even know. My body was just I was having an out-of-body experience. And I remember Thursday night I sat on the couch in the dark, and I was just thanking God for bringing me back safely. Thank you, God for the experience, thank you, God, for everything. And I remember just saying no, only Nikisha's, if you know me, only Nikisha would find herself in the middle of a war. Who else? You know, and I said, God, there must be something. Something has to come out of this. There must be a reason why you had me experience this. And that's when I got the download for the for the Freedom Blueprint. And I got the download for this book. And I woke up early. For me, whenever I got double, whenever I get downloaded, I get excited. And so I wake up the next morning, which was a Friday morning, and it was four o'clock, and I sat in front of my computer and I start writing. Because one of the things, when you get a download, you want to start getting it out of you before it disappears. You don't want to lose a moment. You know, you don't want to forget anything. So I start writing and I start writing and I start writing and I start writing. And I think I pause, get my kids ready, dropped them off at school, and I came back and I was in front of the computer. And I write and I write and I write until I was done. When I checked the clock, it was 2 p.m. And I felt like I was empty again. And I went back to bed. And I stayed in bed till the next day. And I remember my husband was asking me if I was going to join him to go to our business meeting. And I just felt withdrawn. I felt like I didn't want to be around anybody. I remember even the day before I didn't want to talk to anybody. I put my phone on silent. I didn't even want my kids around me. I didn't want anybody around me. I just wanted to be alone. I just stayed in darkness the entire Thursday and the entire Friday, away from when I was writing the book. And what I recognized in that moment was wow, the trip was beautiful. But there was a lot going on in that region. There was tension, there was uncertainty, and in the middle of all that, I just stayed in motion. I stayed calm, I stayed focused, I kept telling myself, you're good. And because I was still functioning, I believed it. But the moment I got home, my body completely told a different story. My back was aching. I think I even had diarrhea. And I even felt withdrawn. You know, it was a weird thing that was happening to me. It was like my body was saying, Okay, you're safe now. You can release. Sometimes you only recognize it when things finally get quiet. And for about the two, three days, I wasn't myself. And what surprised me the most was this. I had to force myself to go outside. Not because I wanted to isolate myself, but because my body needed stillness, it needed time to process what my mind hadn't yet caught up to yet. And I know I'm not the only one. So many women are living like this right now. We're functioning so well, we don't even realize we're in survival mode. We're showing up, we're handling responsibilities, we're getting things done. And because we're still moving, we assume we're okay. But sometimes your body is carrying what your voice hasn't yet named. And freedom, real freedom, starts when we're honest. With honesty. Not the kind that we show the world, but the kind you give to yourself. This experience reminds me of something important. Ealing isn't always loud. Sometimes it looks like taking a few days off, slowing down, not rushing back into everything. Even sometimes, something as simple as going outside become part of the healing because I understand or understood something important. If you stay in withdrawal place for too long, it can turn into disconnection. So I didn't I had to force myself to go outside, but I had to be gentle and I had to move with intention. I had to take baby steps, and maybe that's what you need to hear today. You don't need to push harder, you don't need to figure everything out, you just need to listen because your body will speak before your mind understands. And what I know for sure now is this there are versions of survival that don't look like struggle. Sometimes they look like strength, sometimes they look like composure, and sometimes they sound like I'm fine. But eventually your body will ask for truth. And if you're willing, you will listen. Now, thank you so much for joining me. This is actually my first episode. This podcast was inspired by that trip to Dubai. Now, a background story about this podcast is that when I this I went to I was able to go to one event in Dubai, and from that one event, I made connection. And from that one connection, one of the lady that owed that event, she was doing a challenge. So from that one challenge is the bird of this podcast. So that trip, what came out of that trip was the book, the freedom blueprint for women ready to leave survival mode, and this podcast. So I share that story for you to realize that sometime we have an agenda. We have our own agenda, but God has its own agenda. That entire trip, that experience was for me to be here with you right now, for me to help you navigate what you're currently experiencing and to help you to get out of that survival mode. So I would love for you to share this episode with all your friends. And I'm planning to drop an episode every Tuesday. That is the plan. But thank you for being here. Share and please leave a comment if there's something that you want me to touch on, if something that you want me to talk about, if there's a guest speaker that you will love for me to connect with about a particular topic, please let me know. Until next time. Bye. Before we close, I want to leave you with this. Just because you've learned how to function doesn't mean you have to stay there. Freedom starts with awareness, with honesty, with choosing to listen to yourself in a deep. Away. If this episode spoke to you, don't keep it to yourself. Share it with someone who needs it. And if you're ready to go deeper, make sure you follow the podcast so you don't miss what's next. This is activate your freedom, and your next level starts with you.