Emily Merrell  0:04  

Welcome to the Sixth Degree Podcast, the podcast where we grill our guests about the things that make them tick and find out how human connection plays a role in their life. I’m your host, Emily Merrell.

 

Welcome back to the sixth degree with Emily Merrell. Today, I am thrilled to have my friend Daniela Mae, holistic health coach, as our guest, Daniela, welcome to the show. Thanks so much for having me. I’m so excited to have you. And I think it’s I don’t know why I take so much joy and being people’s first podcasts.

 

Daniella May  0:44  

Yeah, I’m really excited. nervous but excited.

 

Emily Merrell  0:48  

Don’t be nervous. I, I think I know our listeners, I make terrible jokes throughout and just embarrass myself as we go. But Daniella. So you know, just to give some people some context, can you start off by just telling us like what a holistic health coaches

 

Daniella May  1:06  

so I am a holistic health coach. Basically, I help women. People just live a more natural life taking a holistic approach to how they live their life. So turning to food as medicine or plant based products, like essential oils, and other modalities rather than conventional products, or just running to the doctor to grab a pill. So it’s just turning more to nature to heal your body because it was designed to heal on its own. So just turning to those natural, I guess, modalities Yeah. To help the body do what it’s meant to do.

 

Emily Merrell  1:46  

I love that. And I don’t know, I think you know this about me. But I was raised pretty, pretty much in this in this realm of sorts, when whenever we had headaches, my mom would have us identify the color of the headache, and you know, take the color and then diminish it down until it was a small little dot, and then we would pass it out the window versus popping Advil. And it wasn’t probably not until middle school or high school that I was introduced to Advil, or Tylenol. And so I’m so with you and these alternative things, but also your brain and your mind being such a powerful tool on its own.

 

Daniella May  2:27  

Oh, yeah, it’s huge. And I mean, that’s how I was raised too. I was raised more. Food was our medicine. Like us, my parents grew their own vegetables. And I mean, like the most, the only thing really that was processed that we were allowed to eat was like pasta and bread and butter terms. No, that was like, not in our house. I don’t even know what that was. But yeah, and we had to have vegetables at every meal and fruit. And so that was just the norm for me. Yeah, that was the norm for me. So this kind of just all went hand in hand. Like when my brother and I grew up if we were too rowdy or my mom just needed us to calm down. She would just boil chamomile tea rather, you know, like that was our you know, calming thing. So yeah, I love it.

 

Emily Merrell  3:19  

I think my mom did put Bailey’s on my mount and on my guns as a baby though, so I’m not sure how natural that was. Mom, if you’re listening. That’s probably illegal. It’s funny, when we were little, we were raised vegetarian. And we you know, we still had the same desires of kids where you wanted Happy Meal toys or whatnot, and you’d want to turn into McDonald’s and she’d be like, I’m so sorry, but the car won’t let me turn. And you know, like Mommy, no, it’s you. But there are so many things that she is, you know, we would we before avocado was what avocado is now today, like we were eating avocado. We were having avocado on our sandwiches and I would want to trade my friends who had like peanut butter and jelly for my avocado sandwich or treat my apple for their fruit roll up because it was so foreign. Did you have any moments of rebellion being raised so helpfully

 

Daniella May  4:15  

high school? High school was like the first time I had Taco Bell. My friends were going to Taco Bell for lunch and I was like, what’s that? Like? You know, I’d heard of it, obviously, but just never. And I was really really hesitant to eat it because I’m like, This can’t be good for you. But I did. But that was short lived. But yeah. And then you ran to the bathroom and you realize already much and realize this is why we don’t eat this stuff.

 

Emily Merrell  4:42  

Yeah. I wonder why I feel like crap. This is crazy. Yes. So you know clearly you were raised in a you had the foundation of being raised in a place and in a family that gave you a lot of the boundaries and the parameters of a healthy lifestyle. You know what, what inspired you to actually become a holistic health coach.

 

Daniella May  5:03  

And so when, honestly, as I got older, I just started kind of following my own way, and I did definitely veer off to like the norm, which is not a bad thing. But you know, just conventional products. And really, I did start eating out more like the older that I got, and I didn’t really cook for myself. And once I got married, the same thing, like life was crazy and busy. And then I had three kids, so I just kind of resorted to taking out all the bad stuff and just took the easy way out, honestly. And it wasn’t until I noticed that my son was just constantly sick. Uh, he had really bad allergies, which doesn’t really seem like a big deal. But he would be on allergy medication from like March until about July. And then I would take them off this for the summer, just to give his body a break. And then I put him back on from like September until November. And then I would take him off during the winter just again, thinking I was doing something good to give his body a break from the medication. But then from September from November till about March, he was constantly sick with strep croup and ear infections. So we were at the pediatrician, twice a month and the EMT once a month, and he was on antibiotics and steroids. And this went on from the time he was three until he was about 10. And I just realized that he can’t live like this. It’s not good for him, it got to the point where he couldn’t hear out of his left ear. So it was becoming an issue with school. And then I realized that I was not doing everything right for my kids. And I knew that there was something that I could do. That was better, but I just didn’t know where to start. And a friend of mine introduced me to essential oils. And that’s honestly what led me to where I am today. And that was about seven years ago.

 

Emily Merrell  7:06  

That’s insane. I mean, as a mom, and I’m 28 days away from becoming one I think, everything that we’re 29 or 42, who knows how many days I’m not 42, please, it’s so like that’s such that must have been such a scary feeling and moment for you to to be like I am so helpless. And the only words of wisdom you have are from these, these authorities, these people who know better, quote unquote, know better than you and know that these pedals are the right thing to do. So when your friend introduced you to essential oils for you like wow, sign me up or like, Okay, we will friend like, scrolls. I’ll get back to you on this.

 

Daniella May  7:47  

So she is a pediatrician and she was looking to practice more holistically and get back into something she hadn’t been practicing for a few years. She had kids so she wanted to go back to practicing more holistically. So she was researching a ton about essential oils. And so there was a presentation at her house and the woman that was presenting I’m not gonna lie. I mean, she’s a good friend today. But when I first met her I thought she was certifiable. Like you are a crazy woman you are huffing God only knows what because she was like, Oh, this is going to help you with this and this is going to help you with that. And I was like it wasn’t until she told me that lavender helps with allergies that she caught my attention. And that’s when I was like oh, this could help my son but I did not realize to the extent that it could help him I just thought oh when I take him off his meds I’ll give him some lavender and he’ll be okay so we got our oils in July of 2014 I did what she said and she was like oh put it on the bottoms of his feet because you have you know vital flex points and its targets the proper body part and diffuse it you know breathing it in helps as well so I did all the things and next thing I know it’s November and he had not gone back on his medication. So I just kept kind of doing what she said and it was the first winter that he did not get sick now mind you we had slowly started like from July until about December we had started this process of switching our products in our home like I just like a month at a time just because it was a lot. It started to make sense to me. I’m like okay, these are plants like this is how I was raised instead of it being in a bottle. We were just eating the fruit and the vegetables like we didn’t eat the cookies and the junk. We went to the good stuff just because we had no choice like my parents didn’t give us many options. It was like no, this is how we’re eating. So I just kind of went back to that but just in this little bottle like plant juice and it works you know we use our oils for allergies for sleep to support our different systems of the body and then I started cleaning with it in the house. So this is, you know, where the change happens for my son, it was getting rid of those products that you don’t realize how harmful they can be until you start Googling, like dangerous or like any of the ingredients on those labels. And that’s when his help totally turned around. So that’s like, you know, when I tell someone Oh, yeah, essential oils were life changing. That’s what I mean. Like, he’s not on allergy medication. He hasn’t been for seven years. And, you know, the last time we just went for I was just telling you earlier, we went for, took my kids for well visits in September, and we have a new pediatrician. And she looked at their charts. And she was like, Oh, you haven’t been here since last year? I’m like, No, I don’t plan on seeing you again till next year. Like it’s, you know, become the norm for us, which is great. That’s amazing.

 

Emily Merrell  10:51  

And I, I wonder, do you feel like your kids have become little advocates for their own wellness? Like, are they? Are they people who are like, Oh, hey, Bobby, you have a cut here. You know, my mom puts peppermint oil on it or, or whatnot.

 

Daniella May  11:06  

Definitely my youngest, she’s 12. So she started like, when I started with her, she was just turning five. My older two, that’s all they go to is their oils, but they don’t I mean, their friends just know, like, oh, you know, my mom is the crazy oil lady. But we just wear that title proudly. Especially when my son fractured his ankle playing soccer. It was in September of 2019. And he was in a lot of pain, he had like a double fracture. And so when we came home, I said to him, Listen, I know we don’t really, you know, take Motrin or anything like that, but you are in a lot of pain. So by all means I’ll you know, whatever you need, so that you’re comfortable. And he’s like, Mom, I just want my oils. And he likes his go to oils that he used. And yet he had his go to oils. And then I just did some research on what to put on his foot. And that’s all he used. So that’s insane.

 

Emily Merrell  12:08  

I love it, I want my kids to be like that, too. Like, no, I don’t even mutran I have my mixture of oils that I will get together. So I’m sure having this holistic background can kind of be frustrating because you have like a different lens on when you see people do things. I mean, I feel frustrated. When I go to the ice cream store downstairs and they are doing their business. They’re not promoting it the way they should. And like we all have our triggers and our frustrations. But you know, especially seeing it through the lens that you’ve shifted so many kinds of unnatural things from your house and lead a more of a toxic lifestyle. What are some things that you know, you see us mortals doing that frustrate you and how can we implement changes into our day to day life.

 

Daniella May  12:57  

So it’s not so much that it frustrates me, it’s just that I want to help everybody. So I want everyone to see that there is a better way. And you can do things differently and more naturally, and it really is effective. You don’t have to get overwhelmed. It’s just looking at everything in your life and just seeing, like, what is it that’s really important to me, and just start there. And then it’ll just kind of start to unfold. Like, you’ll just go from one area to another. Like for me it was getting rid of like over the counter medicine because it was like a very easy go to. And maybe that’s the frustrating part is that it’s very easy to say, oh, I’ll just run to CVS and just grab this off the shelf, rather than doing a little bit of research and just trying to figure out like, well, you know, I could try this, like, you know, I could try peppermint instead of Tylenol, like let’s say for headache or something like that. Or just taking a minute to listen to your body when you aren’t feeling well, rather than running to the doctor just kind of let it stew with. Let it do its thing and just take a minute before. But yeah, I think it’s just don’t look at the big picture, just start in one area and then just take it from there and just find someone that can help you on that journey.

 

Emily Merrell  14:16  

I think that’s the biggest piece of advice that we should take away from this is that you don’t have to do this alone. You don’t have to be Googling how to, you know, do healthy toxic swaps, or toxic and toxic swaps and, and whatnot like you’re such an incredible resource and so giving them your time and knowledge on those types of things. But are there any key things that you would recommend people kind of have create more awareness of immediately, like, be it a certain cleaning product or

 

Daniella May  14:48  

I don’t know a thing that we all have in our inner house that we’re probably not cognizant of. I actually give you like three just really quick. So for women, your beauty care products are the absolute worst, because they’re unregulated. So that just basically means that you could have any ingredients in the product and not know it. That’s terrible. So, it’s horrible. And you know, most people think like I did, I was like, oh, it’s organic, so it’s totally fine. But what I learned is that it only has to be 70% organic. So that means the other 30% could be whatever, and that’s okay. You know, people want a quick fix when it comes to skincare. So manufacturers will just put whatever in the product so women be mindful of your skincare products. Anything that has the word fragrance. Mm hmm. Not a good thing. Cleaning products, same thing. They are the worst of the worst hormone disruptors, asthma, respiratory issues. low libido, I mean, it goes on and on. So I would just say use plant based products, they really do work. They’re effective. So yeah, cleaning products, skin care, those are the worst and candles

 

Emily Merrell  16:06  

and bad.

 

Daniella May  16:10  

And I was a candle junkie. So I’m not sitting here preaching like I was perfect because I was far from it. And I really believe it’s just finding what’s best for you. And you know, like, if you saw me now you’d see like, oh, wow, she gets her hair colored. There are certain things that I do. But um, candles are really bad. If you buy like, you know, like a Yankee candle that has a ton of fragrance. Lighting a candle like that for a few hours is like smoking two or three cigarettes. So you really just want to be really mindful of that

 

Emily Merrell  16:43  

make pick the cigarettes instead.

 

Daniella May  16:46  

You really want to do it, then God light up a cigarette. No, I’m totally kidding. But no, don’t do that. But yeah.

 

Emily Merrell  16:56  

This is such a random kind of scroll thought. But you remember when I think it was more in the early 90s When there were all the bubblegum cigarettes. And like, chocolate cigarettes, like, I would eat that. And then also the little, there’s these little liquor bottles that were candy, but they were filled with little, of course. And I remember, I’m sorry, Mom, I’m totally throwing you under the bus today. But she would give me chocolate cigarettes. And then she would give me a little lip course which actually had the Korean um, and I remember in kindergarten, eating it and being like, I don’t think I’m allowed to have this. Or I don’t think I’m supposed to have this in kindergarten class. Like,

 

Daniella May  17:35  

I have one that’s worse because my dad was a smoker forever until about three and a half years ago when he was diagnosed with lung cancer. Yeah, he smoked forever. And he came home when I mean, I was a little like an elementary school little, and came home with one of those packs of candy cigarettes and was like, Here you go. There was almost like one peg for him. Well, yeah, for me, thinking it was funny, but like looking back on, like, how funny that is. But I mean, back then I guess it was I don’t know. It should go to the side with him for a second. I would pretend like I was smoking. And so he was like, Don’t ever think you can smoke.

 

Emily Merrell  18:16  

Like, Oh, okay. You’re conditioning me to smoke.

 

Daniella May  18:21  

And like, stand out here with you. So that’s so

 

Emily Merrell  18:24  

funny. Yeah, go back about. Yeah. My parents are very healthy, except my dad was a smoker. Like that was his bite. Like it also, that’s like a very addictive thing. Like there’s something you started and it’s a very hard one to stop. Yeah, I think. So. I’ve heard so far I have not started. I like the motion of eating too much. I feel like I would very much enjoy smoking. Well, one of the things that you’ve mentioned, your dad has lung lung cancer, which is so sad. So sorry to hear. But I know that he has been having some ita work done. Yes. Right. If I’m remembering correctly. And you know, I’d never heard about ita until you but it sounds like a miracle, a miracle worker type of treatment or energy work. How is it? What is it exactly? And how is it different from a Reiki and how did you get introduced to something like this modality of treatment?

 

Daniella May  19:23  

So I was introduced to ITA energy medicine in 2016 by the same friend who introduced me to like. My friend, I love her, you will one day. Um, so she introduced me to it. She became a certified practitioner through Melanie Ryan. The MRI seems to be in Australia. And so I was working with her because I was going through some emotional things and she was working with me, kind of getting me through it. So that’s how I was formally introduced to it. And then She fast forward. When my dad was starting treatment at the end of 2018. He was doing radiation for six weeks, five days a week. And I guess after the second week, it was really bad for him, because of where he was getting the radiation. He started to have difficulty eating because he couldn’t swallow. And his doctor told him, it would probably be six months to a year before he could eat normally. And up until that point, he was so positive, like, his mindset was great. And he was like, you know, joking with the doctors, and it was only a couple of weeks in, but he was like, I’m not sick. But not being able to eat really was starting to take a toll on him. So I called my friend hysterically crying and was like, you know, I know, you can’t cure him. But is there something you can do with it? And I’ll explain what that is in a minute. And she said, Yes, I will work on him. And she was able to work on him remotely, because its energy work and energy does not know time and space. It’s just applied through intent. So she was able to work on him remotely, which meant he didn’t have to be in her office or in her presence. And she worked on him. It was the middle of January, she started and it was like once a week. By the end of January, we were at my dad’s house for his birthday, and he was able to eat pasta. He finished his radiation treatment in February February eighth, we went back for a follow up four weeks later, and he was eating normally. And his doctor was baffled. He couldn’t understand how within five weeks he was back to eating normally when most patients are not back to eating normally for six months to a year. And I 1,000,000% believe that it was the ITA that helped him 100%

 

Emily Merrell  21:54  

That’s amazing. And so now you’re certified, or you’re getting certification, I

 

Daniella May  21:58  

I just became a practitioner, I passed my exam. Yes, I’m really excited. And that’s when I realized like once I was done helping him because I was taking him back and forth for two years for his treatment. I decided once the course opened up that I wanted to become a practitioner. So it is different from Reiki. So Reiki is energy that’s channeled from what they call source, which is like different religious beings that you might speak of Filip be affiliated with or believe in. And when you are transmuting. Reiki, it’s done more intuitively. So ITA, the system of energy medicine, brings the energetic, physical, psychological and emotional aspects of an individual into balance and harmony. So we look at more of the emotions rather than the physical aspects. So in other words, when there’s something that comes up, like the rash, or like, just in general, that’s your body’s way of saying, like, hey, there’s something not right. Or like, let’s say you came to me and said, Oh, I have this pain on my left side. So to me, that’s like, you know, your left side is your feminine energy side, and then you just get into a series of deep questions trying to get to the root cause of where this pain is coming from. And it’s just a more systematic approach to how we move the energy around and bring in fresh energy into the body. So that you’re allowing the body to essentially heal itself.

 

Emily Merrell  23:37  

Oh, I love it. Okay, so I have to, like, where’s my favorite now? mid back area?

 

Daniella May  23:46  

Well, I’m gonna say that that’s due to the baby.

 

Emily Merrell  23:48  

Okay, that’s fair. That’s fair. Yeah, that might be it. What about the pounding feeling of a bowling ball on my pelvis? Is that to the baby, too?

 

Daniella May  23:58  

Yes. Okay. Talk to me after the baby’s done.

 

Emily Merrell  24:01  

Okay, I will be definitely giving you a call on that one. Yeah, definitely. I love that. I think it’s so cool. And I love the background on the oils, and how you’re able to integrate both like oils, obviously, your nutrition background, and I know you’re also an ion, coach and accreditation, and then and then ita like, you truly are this miracle worker, full package deal. And I have to say, I’m so grateful for the introduction to the oils, it’s been so fun to learn more about them. And you know, Danielle and I have had these conversations where she’s like, Oh, you this happens here. A little splash of this and it’s my friend who you know, Lexi and I, we always talk for like, you’re kind of like our mom in a way where you’re always able to solve the problem whatever. The problem is, we’re like we’re struggling to fill in the blank and without a doubt, Daniela you Always have the answer to the problem that we need solved. So it’s so cool to see. See you in your element in your group? Uh, well, I’m gonna pause here and I’m actually going to ask you Where can people find out more about you and work with you one on one Daniella.

 

Daniella May  25:18  

They can go to my website, Daniela me.com, or follow me on Instagram. And just there’s a link in my bio that you can just click on to set up a time to just have a discovery call to see if we can work together. Yeah, amazing. Well, thank

 

Emily Merrell  25:36  

you for sharing all these resources with us. We’re going to switch gears a little bit and I’m going to ask you some six fast questions. You know, I love asking questions. So this episode could probably be a seven hour episode, but I have to consolidate them down to 30 minutes. So my first question for you is to tell us an unknown fun fact about Daniella May.

 

Daniella May  25:56  

I speak Italian fluently. It was actually the first language that I spoke for like the first five years of my life.

 

Emily Merrell  26:06  

What was your maiden name? Por Puglia.

 

Daniella May  26:09  

Perfect Yeah. Yeah, have fun with that. Okay, everyone.

 

Emily Merrell  26:17  

Okay, so I see this Hylian A, it’s not very Italian.

 

Daniella May  26:21  

No, I happily took my husband.

 

Emily Merrell  26:25  

No problem. You’re like, um, yeah, never gonna change.

 

Daniella May  26:30  

No, never nuclear.

 

Emily Merrell  26:32  

That’s amazing that you speak Italian and go to Italy with you? Oh, yeah. I spent my summers there growing up until high school. Are both your parents Italian or just your dad? Yeah. Both of

 

Daniella May  26:42  

my parents. Yeah. Well, I’ll tell you their story. One day, it’s it’s like right out

 

Emily Merrell  26:46  

of the godfather. It’s pretty funny. Really.

 

Daniella May  26:49  

But were they born in America? No, they were both born in Italy. I was born in Italy. Why my mom? Yeah, she moved to New York after she married my dad when she was like 22 or 23.

 

Emily Merrell  27:00  

Wow. Oh my gosh. Yes. You’ll have to send me something. Yeah. Okay. The Godfather of God. There’s so much to uncover on episode two of Danielle LeMay. Yeah. Okay, Danielle, who would be a dream person you’d want to be connected with?

 

Daniella May  27:17  

Oh, boy. Gabrielle Bernstein.

 

Emily Merrell  27:23  

Huh. Here she is having a baby.

 

Daniella May  27:26  

Yes. Yep. I did see that. Like, this is gonna

 

Emily Merrell  27:29  

be a good class year. Last year. Who knows who’s gonna be in this little voice class? What TV show? Are you currently watching or recently have watched that you want to recommend?

 

Daniella May  27:41  

Oh, I don’t know if I would recommend it. Wow. You know, Alright, I’m gonna I’ll say the other one, um, sex life. And yes, I highly recommend everyone should watch it.

 

Emily Merrell  27:50  

Oh, yeah. My husband walks in. He’s like, are you watching porn? And I’m like, kind of, sort of, but it’s on Netflix. So it’s acceptable. Yeah, there’s a good soundtrack to it. Here we go again. It’s so good.

 

Daniella May  28:06  

Well, you should try Outlander, then. That was good,

 

Emily Merrell  28:09  

too. I’ve heard Yeah, I need some might be my next show after this. So many good ones out there. When I’m like, Oh, God, there’s nothing out there. Then I’ll get hooked on to something else very clearly. What book are you currently reading? Or do you recommend?

 

Daniella May  28:24  

The 5am Club is amazing. Totally. Totally incredible. I recommend that. Read it. You’ll love it.

 

Emily Merrell  28:33  

Are you part of the 5am Club?

 

Daniella May  28:35  

I am now. Yes,

 

Emily Merrell  28:38  

I am to

 

Daniella May  28:39  

Oh, I did not know that. Okay. Yeah. total game changer.

 

Emily Merrell  28:43  

I’m in it. But I haven’t read the book. So hopefully, will help me with my initiation. What is your favorite emoji or most used emoji?

 

Daniella May  28:56  

I don’t know which one it’s called. But it’s Oh, it’s the laughing one. I’d seal myself when I use it and I know I’m not supposed to use that one. I think it’s supposed to be different. But

 

Emily Merrell  29:04  

Are you good at shaming you? All the

 

Daniella May  29:06  

time? They’ll just stop, just stop.

 

Emily Merrell  29:09  

Yeah. It’s terrible. How not good we are with the younger generation. And then my last question for you is Who gave you permission or inspired you to do the thing you wanted to do with your life?

 

Daniella May  29:28  

Um, my mom, your mom. Yeah, my mom.

 

Emily Merrell  29:37  

I love that. Well shout out to mom here for hiring you to be who you are. Daniella Mae. Which is incredible. Well, Daniela, thank you so much for joining us today on the sixth degree podcast. It was so fun hearing your story.

 

Daniella May  29:54  

Thank you so much for having me.