Nourishing the Soul: Culinary Arts and Quantum Healing with Kaya Pogacar | EP 29

Can Culinary Arts Serve As a Gateway to Deeper Spiritual Practices and Self-Discovery?

Hélène talks to Kaya Pogacar, a culinary expert whose path took an unexpected turn from the heat of the kitchen to the enlightenment of the soul. Kaya's surprising journey began with a reality TV cooking competition that stoked her fiery ambition. Kaya was driven to prove herself alongside her Michelin-starred mentor.

But the unrelenting pressure took its toll, causing physical burnout and a frightening health crisis that forced her to reevaluate her singular focus.

Chapters:
04:51 - Discovering Passion Through Reality TV Cooking Competition
10:34 - Connection to Symbols Since Childhood and Recurring Dreams
25:10 - Humanity Faces Crossroads: Technology or Nature?
29:40 - Observing Self-Talk and Understanding Inner Child
35:50 - How Struggle and Perseverance Lead to Eventual Success

This episode explores the crucial moment of realization: our bodies communicate with us constantly, and by tuning in, we can initiate profound healing and change.

Kaya shares the exact moment  that redirected her path toward changing careers and rediscovering herself and connecting deeply with her emotions and mental state.

Press play and discover the quantum field of your own life, to understand how your deepest fears can become your greatest strengths.

Kaya's transformation reflects on the power of listening deeply to oneself and the courage to step into the unknown.  Join us as we journey with Kaya from the depths of burnout to the heights of spiritual awakening, discovering along the way how every one of us has the potential to turn our darkest hour into hope.

EPISODE RESOURCES:

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Schedule your call with her today: https://tr.ee/cq-rYVY1NZ

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Transcript

Hélène Ioannides [00:00:00]:
Welcome to Health Pod, your self development hub

Dr. Stephanos Ioannou [00:00:02]:
on mental health, psychology, and spirituality.

Kaya Pogacar [00:00:06]:
Some years ago, I went through dark, how to say dark months of the soul. Mhmm. There was a period of my life when I was really into depth, into deep waters. I was surfing there. The biggest learning was that we should listen to our bodies. You know, I was working in a kitchen for 10 years and, always I had this drive, the energy, but I remember that my body was communicating with me so many times and I just didn't hear it. I had a problem with my thyroid. I've seen how embodiment work is really powerful and how much profound changes can make in your life.

Hélène Ioannides [00:01:04]:
Welcome to another episode of HealthPod. Pod. I'm Helene and I'm an empowerment and embodiment coach. Today, we have Kaya, a culinary chef, a life lover, a de armoring expert and if you don't know what that is, you need to watch the episode to find out. In today's episode, we're gonna talk about cooking. We're gonna go into deep conversations about the quantum field. We're going to talk about ways that we can use our body to further connect to our emotions and improve our mental state. Welcome, Kaya, to another episode of Health Pod.

Hélène Ioannides [00:01:38]:
I am so thrilled to have you here. I am fascinated by you and by everything that you do. I have worked with you and looked into you. So I have so many questions that I wanna pick your brains here today. So let's begin by starting to get to know you a little bit. Where are you from, and what are you doing in Cyprus? I'm from Slovenia. Uh-huh.

Kaya Pogacar [00:02:05]:
And, first of all, thank you so much for inviting me. I really feel honored and blessed to be here today, and I feel in you're one of the women that I've met in my life that, are really, like, inspiring with everything you do and how you are, like, showing yourself, out there and what you offered to the world. So thank you so much for having me here.

Hélène Ioannides [00:02:30]:
Pleasure. Pleasure.

Kaya Pogacar [00:02:31]:
As you said, my name is Kaya. I come from Slovenia.

Hélène Ioannides [00:02:35]:
Mhmm.

Kaya Pogacar [00:02:35]:
And my parents took me to Cyprus to work as a private chef. This is actually the first this is actually the reason why I arrived to Cyprus. And then I got burnout. And, I decided, actually, where I would like to spend the winter because it was wintertime. So I was deciding, should I go to Slovenia or should I stay in Cyprus? And I said, well, I will make my dream come true because I always wanted to stay during the wintertime in in the in the island somewhere where it's, like, warm, close to the sea.

Hélène Ioannides [00:03:18]:
Mhmm. Mhmm.

Kaya Pogacar [00:03:19]:
And, that's the reason why I stayed for for inner journey. And in the meanwhile, I fell in love.

Hélène Ioannides [00:03:30]:
Uh-huh. Do you mean you fell in love with the island, or you fell in love with somebody?

Kaya Pogacar [00:03:33]:
With somebody,

Hélène Ioannides [00:03:34]:
and you lived in Ireland as well. Okay. Yeah. Alright. Wonderful. You mentioned that you came here to be a chef. Yeah. And just before we came onto the podcast, I found out that you own a reality TV show in Slovenia working alongside a Michelin star chef.

Hélène Ioannides [00:03:53]:
Do you wanna tell us a little bit about your experience and how you got into cooking?

Kaya Pogacar [00:03:58]:
Yeah. Actually, I've been cooking, like, since I was a little child. And, my grandmother, she was actually taking care of me and my brother. And while she was cooking, I was really observing her of how she was making food with with love, and she was my inspiration back then. And, all the time, I was, like, creating something in the kitchen. And I studied, like, photography and media and communication studies. I was working also in the agency. Mhmm.

Kaya Pogacar [00:04:29]:
And all of a sudden, like, I was You're not

Hélène Ioannides [00:04:30]:
too talented, aren't you? Mhmm.

Kaya Pogacar [00:04:32]:
Yeah. I I've experienced many, many parts of myself, and I explore and try to to do many things that actually was giving me passion. And

Hélène Ioannides [00:04:42]:
Mhmm.

Kaya Pogacar [00:04:43]:
You know, we are changing all the all the time. And, as a student, I lost a job at the agency.

Hélène Ioannides [00:04:51]:
Okay.

Kaya Pogacar [00:04:51]:
And then I was, like, asking myself, what is my passion? What actually I love to do? And I was, like, oh, my God, I'm cooking for so many years. So this is actually something that I would like to dive in more and see if this is something that it's really for me for a long term. And then, this reality show came popped out in Slovenia, and I was thinking, okay, should I go or not? You know, being there, exposing yourself because you're actually under cameras 247. You know, they, they are filming you while you are, like, sleeping, doing everything. But I said, okay. I'm gonna go there, for the knowledge and for the experiences, and that was my focus. So I was there with 11 strangers living at the same house. We were divided into 2 teams, and, we were competing towards each other.

Kaya Pogacar [00:05:57]:
And we were tested in many, many, many areas. Mhmm. There was a week where we were sleeping only 4 hours per day. So, you know, the privation of sleep and other extreme situations, you are testing yourself and your limits.

Hélène Ioannides [00:06:14]:
Yes.

Kaya Pogacar [00:06:15]:
And, also, emotional wise, you know, you are there by yourself. You really don't know the people. And being, like, stable and in your own alignment is really important. And this was actually 10 years ago.

Hélène Ioannides [00:06:36]:
Okay.

Kaya Pogacar [00:06:36]:
And a friend of mine, he was into the spiritual world. He said, okay, Kyle. I will give you a few tips how you can stay aligned and connected while you're there. And this is actually also how my spiritual path, let's say, or, path of a human developing as a human being Mhmm. Started. Mhmm.

Hélène Ioannides [00:06:57]:
So did you face certain challenges within within you were in a house. Yes?

Kaya Pogacar [00:07:02]:
Yes.

Hélène Ioannides [00:07:03]:
That, gave you some sort of insight as to how to keep yourself aligned. Like, there were challenges that brought you to that awareness, whether that was interacting with people or, like, wanting to win the competition or being filmed 24 hours.

Kaya Pogacar [00:07:23]:
Yeah. There were moments of, like, stress. I wasn't really aware of if I look back then, I wasn't really aware of the stressful situation. But I know that every time I wanted to gain some peace, I went to the bathroom. I seated there. There was no So I just stayed there with myself because being surrounded with so many people

Hélène Ioannides [00:07:48]:
and pressure

Kaya Pogacar [00:07:49]:
all the time, yeah, it takes it can be a lot. Yeah. And, also, they know your weak spots. So, sometimes, you're being pressed to your limits, and then you can see, actually, how you can stretch your your limits. You think you can go only to a certain point, but, you know, we are so much more than we think that we are, and we can go so much further than we think that we can go.

Dr. Stephanos Ioannou [00:08:21]:
Today's episode is sponsored by Nomad, your local experts on sourdough bread, mouthwatering pastry, and specialty coffee. So for those of you that would like to start your day right and get your caffeine fixed, Nomad is the place to go. Let's tune back into our wonderful episode.

Hélène Ioannides [00:08:39]:
With regards to you being in the show, you mentioned that you you were not connected so much to spirituality at the time. Your friend gave you certain tips.

Kaya Pogacar [00:08:49]:
Yeah.

Hélène Ioannides [00:08:50]:
What was it that drew you into the more spiritual practices? Because I know that you do a lot around that now.

Kaya Pogacar [00:08:58]:
I would say it's a it's a way of my life.

Hélène Ioannides [00:09:01]:
Mhmm.

Kaya Pogacar [00:09:01]:
I've been going through lots of transformations and cycles and deaths and rebirth, especially in the past 10 years. And it's not actually something that, I was intentionally doing, but by the course of the life, I was just listening to myself and, let's say, life and decisions brought me to the place where I am now. And, especially, some years ago, I went through dark Mhmm. How to say, dark months of the soul. Mhmm. There was a period of my life when I was really into depth, into deep waters. I was surfing there.

Hélène Ioannides [00:09:47]:
And I need For people who don't know what that means, how would you describe that?

Kaya Pogacar [00:09:54]:
I would say I was faced with my deepest fears. Let's say, the darkness that it's it's in each of every one of us, actually.

Hélène Ioannides [00:10:10]:
Yes. Yeah.

Kaya Pogacar [00:10:12]:
So these things came up and all, like, many wounds. And, yeah, back then, I decided that I need, actually, also help from Yeah. From someone and that I, actually, need help from a therapist. And, also, that was the period when I was dreaming a lot, a lot about snakes.

Hélène Ioannides [00:10:34]:
Really?

Kaya Pogacar [00:10:34]:
Yes. Because, actually, snake is my I've been connected to the snake symbol since I was a little kid. And I also I remember the dreams when, actually and from the dreams on, the the dream stopped of the snake for many years in my life. Yeah. And then in this period, I was I was started to dreaming again about snakes. And, also, you know, I've seen snakes in the real life back then. So I had a Jungian, psychotherapist. Mhmm.

Kaya Pogacar [00:11:08]:
And, actually, we were a lot, just, analyzing the dreams and, you know, to find the meanings of it. So it was a very interesting period to look at my own patterns, so I went through some deep deep transformations

Hélène Ioannides [00:11:27]:
Mhmm.

Kaya Pogacar [00:11:27]:
Back then.

Hélène Ioannides [00:11:28]:
A bit of a personal question around this. Did you obviously have to change a lot of what was around you after going through this and the people around you?

Kaya Pogacar [00:11:38]:
I've made some decisions that Mhmm. Was beneficial for me. Mhmm. So I yeah. I I, actually, at the end of this year, I burn out. And I also quit my job. Uh-huh. So this was happening the same.

Hélène Ioannides [00:11:53]:
Yeah. Simultaneously. So you're having this Yeah. Dark night of the the soul, and you're also going through burnout physically. So the emotional and the physical Yeah. Are, well, essentially, transcending you to some sort of bigger Yeah. Bigger experience. And what was your biggest learning from this simultaneous expansion?

Kaya Pogacar [00:12:21]:
The biggest learning was that we should listen to our bodies. You know, I was working in a kitchen for 10 years, and, I was always I had this drive, the energy, but I remember that my body was communicating with me so many times, and I just didn't hear it.

Hélène Ioannides [00:12:43]:
When you say communicating with you, how?

Kaya Pogacar [00:12:46]:
In a way, like, I was waking up, and I was, like, extremely extremely tired, like, physically. And, you know, we don't take rest.

Hélène Ioannides [00:12:53]:
No. Mhmm. We don't

Kaya Pogacar [00:12:55]:
Mhmm. You know, slow down.

Hélène Ioannides [00:12:56]:
Mhmm.

Kaya Pogacar [00:12:57]:
Because in the in my best times, I was working in the kitchen more than 300 hours per month. So I was this, I could do, like, not for a longer period of time, but, you know, it was short, intense a lot. And, yes, you're waking up tired, and all the time, my body stopped me. Like, I was getting sick from one day to another. Also, I had the problem with my thyroid. Mhmm. But I knew that the doctor, she wanted to give me appeals to fix the Mhmm. Fix the problem.

Kaya Pogacar [00:13:31]:
But deep down inside of me, I knew that when I will finish a certain period in my life, that this problem will stop. And, actually And it did. It did. Yeah. All the tests show that,

Hélène Ioannides [00:13:47]:
Is that because you took time off that you that awareness came to you? Or did you do something in that process that allowed you to go from so essentially, you healed yourself. Yeah. Because of rest or because of something else?

Kaya Pogacar [00:14:03]:
I would say because of rest and because of I was focusing on my on my wounds and on traumas, everything that brought me to a place that I burned out.

Hélène Ioannides [00:14:16]:
You know?

Kaya Pogacar [00:14:17]:
I'm hearing many times that people, they're doing jobs that they're passionate about.

Hélène Ioannides [00:14:23]:
Mhmm.

Kaya Pogacar [00:14:23]:
They never, you know, they never, burn out, which I disagree. Passion is not the reason that can take you there. But if you're, like, perfectionist, if you're never happy with what you do and you're looking for confirmations, like, outside of you, yes, all these can take you over. And this is something that, actually, I was dealing with with perfectionism, with, I was not really satisfied with what I've done. I was, like, always, oh, I could do better. You know? Mhmm. And, then I will start looking into my inner world Mhmm. And this is how I started being more connected with my body, with myself.

Kaya Pogacar [00:15:11]:
This is the reason that I can also something that I can offer to the world and to people out there.

Hélène Ioannides [00:15:18]:
So I know that you you work with embodiment practices.

Kaya Pogacar [00:15:21]:
Yeah.

Hélène Ioannides [00:15:22]:
And do you want to explain a little bit around that?

Kaya Pogacar [00:15:25]:
When I was doing this therapy work and, you know, it's a mental work and other practices, which they don't involve the body, I realized that at some point, you can actually do all these mental

Hélène Ioannides [00:15:40]:
work. Mhmm.

Kaya Pogacar [00:15:41]:
But I was, all the time, still being in the same patterns all over again. Because once you are I think when you are aware of when you can step out of the bubble and you can see yourself, you can see the patterns and behaviors that are just, yeah, in cycling all the time. And then I said, I have to do something with my body because everything, all our experiences, traumas, everything is stored in our body cells and in our bodies. So this is how that's the reason why I started first, to do yoga teacher training. Mhmm. And then afterwards, it was last year, actually, that I attended the armoring ring training in Berlin, San Diego. Mhmm. And, I've seen how embodiment work is really powerful and how much profound changes can make in your life.

Hélène Ioannides [00:16:41]:
Mhmm. Mhmm. Tell us a little bit about dearmouring. I've tried it with you. It's phenomenal, but I will let you do the explaining.

Kaya Pogacar [00:16:49]:
Yeah, the armoring, the concept behind is that during our lives we are building, like, armors.

Hélène Ioannides [00:16:57]:
Mhmm.

Kaya Pogacar [00:16:58]:
Armors can be like it's a stagnant energy, traumas, all the experiences that are not so pleasant for us. Mhmm. They are stored in the body, and, you can imagine yeah. It's like a sort of armors, like Mhmm. Put

Hélène Ioannides [00:17:12]:
And these are stored in ourselves as memories?

Kaya Pogacar [00:17:16]:
Yes. I I would say as memories Mhmm. And in in the body tissues. Mhmm. Yes. And by pressing, specific points of the body because body is so intelligent intelligent, body do its own magic. So it releases whatever is ready to go in the certain time and moment by itself, by by shaking, by laughing. People can be brought into certain memories.

Kaya Pogacar [00:17:45]:
Mhmm. So everything that is ready to go, it slowly peels and goes away. And the point is to be gentle, to invite the body that we are not we are not invasying and going really rough with the heart energy, but let we let the body relax completely, and then the gentleness and the presence and everything else do its own work.

Hélène Ioannides [00:18:17]:
Yeah. Yeah. And when you you feel that you are supported and held by the facilitator, you, me having experienced the armoring, it's almost an invitation to be able to surrender into those body parts, to be able to experience whatever needs to come up. It's a very intimate connection. And as you were speaking, I need to mention this, I remember that one of the memories that came up had to do with the gecko, and that's the little animal that came in today.

Kaya Pogacar [00:18:51]:
Oh my god.

Hélène Ioannides [00:18:52]:
Oh my god. As you were speaking, I I took myself back to that moment where I felt, you know, that shame around or guilt for for you touching this animal or, you know, playing with it as a child and hurting it. And now it's in the studio with us here today. I mean

Kaya Pogacar [00:19:09]:
And it's yours.

Hélène Ioannides [00:19:10]:
What are the chances? It's what a sign and that just arrived Exactly. As you were speaking.

Kaya Pogacar [00:19:15]:
And it's here and supporting you with what you do and us.

Hélène Ioannides [00:19:19]:
Yes.

Kaya Pogacar [00:19:20]:
And, also, while we are, like, peeling these layers of armors, we are allowing our life force energy, which is, like, creative energy to flow more freely. And, we can experience expansions in many areas in our lives.

Hélène Ioannides [00:19:39]:
Yeah. And you also do, quantum is it golden quantum meditations?

Kaya Pogacar [00:19:47]:
Golden quantum attunements. Okay.

Hélène Ioannides [00:19:49]:
Here we go. Golden quantum attunements.

Kaya Pogacar [00:19:52]:
Because as I'm evolving and I'm also trying to find the words that, I feel connected to Mhmm. And that actually represents what I do. And I'm changing, and then also my website and all the practices that I'm doing are actually changing and upgrading. And

Hélène Ioannides [00:20:11]:
So what are these attunements? Are they meditations

Kaya Pogacar [00:20:14]:
or Actually, in this session, we are guided through visual meditation

Hélène Ioannides [00:20:21]:
Mhmm.

Kaya Pogacar [00:20:21]:
With different colors that are flowing through your body. And it's, actually, it's a kind of vibrational meditation. Colors are have vibrations. Mhmm. And, through this meditation, we actually attune, harmonize, and attune our body cells and bodies to with the quantum field as much as someone is actually ready at the given moment in time because in quantum field, there is everything. It's the healing can can start.

Hélène Ioannides [00:20:54]:
So what is the quantum field, Gaia?

Kaya Pogacar [00:20:57]:
Quantum field is a is a space with no time and space with no space and no time. And there is actually everything about about us, about our wisdom, as an individual individual, wisdom of the planet Earth Mhmm. Of the whole cosmos. This is at least how I'm perceiving and feeling the quantum field. So and once we connect to it, we are connected with the nature, with the universe, with the flow of life.

Hélène Ioannides [00:21:37]:
Mhmm.

Kaya Pogacar [00:21:37]:
And, we can flow easier with life. We can live our lives more fulfilled Mhmm. More empowered, more connected with our true nature and true soul purpose. This is how I'm I'm feeling the field. And

Hélène Ioannides [00:22:00]:
What's incredible about the quantum field is that if you're not aware of it, it doesn't exist.

Kaya Pogacar [00:22:06]:
It's true. Yeah.

Hélène Ioannides [00:22:08]:
But as soon as you do become aware of it, then you almost open up so many more opportunities, dimensions, into into your life, more connections.

Kaya Pogacar [00:22:23]:
Yes. I would say once you made the switch from you are the center of the universe Mhmm. That everything else is the center of the universe. Mhmm. You are just here to play, to experience. I think many times, at least me, I forget about this playfulness.

Hélène Ioannides [00:22:42]:
Yes.

Kaya Pogacar [00:22:43]:
And that we are here to actually experience our true nature, and whatever is happening around us is actually bringing us more towards ourselves. Mhmm. And I would say the point is to live our truth from inside out, from our heart space, regardless in what kind of world we live, that we are not affected by it as much as we can be. Mhmm. Mhmm. And that we we are living our own truth. Mhmm. And that we're not giving away our powers, actually.

Kaya Pogacar [00:23:24]:
You know? The more we are distracted with outer things, the less we are connected with ourselves.

Hélène Ioannides [00:23:31]:
Yes.

Kaya Pogacar [00:23:33]:
Probably, you are spending some time alone with your thoughts, with your emotions, whatever is happening. But just imagine someone who is not spending time by her or himself. Also, media can affect

Hélène Ioannides [00:23:51]:
Yes.

Kaya Pogacar [00:23:52]:
The Yes. Person easily, like So I think that now it's the point in in in the human history to go inward and look to look into our depths, our deepest things, our fears, and to let them shine and just go Mhmm. Our path.

Hélène Ioannides [00:24:17]:
Yes. Which is happening a lot more now. I think we see a lot more of it. Of course, because of social media, we're exposed to a lot more people, But there is definitely, a much larger collective group being able to to take time to look within. Today's episode is sponsored by Empowered New You, where we hold women's circles, ice bath, and breathwork events, and retreat across the world. You can find more information on www. Doctorstephanos.com and in the description below. You'll be able to book your events with us as well as subscribe to our email newsletter where you'll be able to find more upcoming events.

Hélène Ioannides [00:25:08]:
We hope to see you there.

Kaya Pogacar [00:25:10]:
We are at the 2 crossroads where the humanity will actually go. Mhmm. One part is going with the technology and artificial intelligence and this direction, and the other part will go, let's say, back to the roots, but back to the nature. Like, communities, are more and more important to share and exchange the knowledge and wisdom and to to help each other and to embrace each other. So I think this is how the human evolution will go, actually, 2 worlds the same time happening in planet Earth. What I also believe is that we, as human beings, we are technology. We have so much knowledge and wisdom. Yep.

Kaya Pogacar [00:26:02]:
Once we connect with this true nature and power, I think everything is possible.

Hélène Ioannides [00:26:12]:
We are magnificent.

Kaya Pogacar [00:26:14]:
Yes. Yes.

Hélène Ioannides [00:26:17]:
Sometimes I just take a moment to look at the wonder of what we are and how we have been created and how we perceive the world, people around us. And to me, what you mentioned, community is so important. Do you feel like you have a a community that supports you, and who are the most important, people for you?

Kaya Pogacar [00:26:42]:
The most important people for me are my it's my family. Mhmm. Few of my closest friends. But to say that I have my, like, community, no. I haven't found it yet. So I'm still in I'm not in in in search of it, but I feel that it will come when the time will be.

Hélène Ioannides [00:27:10]:
Yeah. You took the words out of my mouth. I was about to to say the same thing.

Kaya Pogacar [00:27:15]:
Because, actually, I've been for the past few years, I've been really doing a lot of inner work, transformations, and I've been, more or less by myself. I mean, you have I have few friends that you're connected, but going out there and, sharing your truth and connecting with people, this is the moment now that I'm I'm doing, like, speaking to you and with other people, and things come naturally.

Hélène Ioannides [00:27:48]:
Mhmm. Is that because you feel more confident? You know you know who you are at this point in your life?

Kaya Pogacar [00:27:57]:
I feel the time is perfect to do that. Mhmm. Yeah. When you are so long in your own, let's say, bubble, I have fears of going, exposing myself and talking about things. Yes. Maybe talking about things that people don't even understand. Mhmm. So this is me going out of my comfort zone.

Hélène Ioannides [00:28:25]:
Mhmm. For anyone that is in that bubble right now and listening to us, how do you what tips would you give them to be able to, get out of out of their own shell?

Kaya Pogacar [00:28:40]:
My tips would be to have a lot of love and compassion towards yourself and just try it. Because if you don't try things, you never know how it would be, what possibilities, actually, you can have, which doors can open for you. And on this journey, yeah, don't be too judgmental and hard on me Yes. Yourself. Yeah. So a lot of compassion and love towards yourself is the number one tip.

Hélène Ioannides [00:29:18]:
I feel that that's, the the the main thing that most people are struggling with, and it's one of the hardest concepts when we speak about self love.

Kaya Pogacar [00:29:30]:
Yeah.

Hélène Ioannides [00:29:32]:
Do you think that comes from the ability to look within?

Kaya Pogacar [00:29:40]:
Not necessarily. Mhmm. Because you can look within and your thoughts about yourself can be destructive. Mhmm. So I think the ability to step out and observe your thoughts because with our self talk is the most Mhmm. It's the number one, I would say, that we are when we are communicating with ourselves. And to and then to look into our inner child, you know, and who is this thought that is talking, negatively about ourselves? Is the adult me part, or is the or is the the child that actually didn't get what needed back then? So I think once you are aware of your your thoughts towards yourself, you can become more gentle and self loving. Because, you know, going, taking a bath, every week or doing, let's say, self massages, that is not really self love.

Kaya Pogacar [00:30:52]:
It's a part of it. Yeah. But words have vibrations, thoughts have vibrations. You know, we were we were talking that, body have it has a memory.

Hélène Ioannides [00:31:05]:
Mhmm.

Kaya Pogacar [00:31:06]:
So the thoughts affect our bodies, so it it's so connected. Yes. Tell us a little bit about From the Body Up. From the Body Up, yes, I would love to. It's actually a a concept. From the body up up, it's a retreat

Hélène Ioannides [00:31:28]:
Okay.

Kaya Pogacar [00:31:28]:
That it's happening end of end of August in Slovenia with 4 other amazing women facilitators. But the concept from the body up, it starts from my own journey. Mhmm. I discovered that to develop myself and, you know, that everything that I do in my life, the base is the body. So it starts from the body, from my roots up. Mhmm. You can be very spiritual and be very in the clouds up there, but we are here in our bodies in this time of universe. And this is why we're here.

Kaya Pogacar [00:32:14]:
So we should connect both of the worlds. Yes. And during my work with people, especially with women, I've discovered that many people are so disconnected with the bodies. And, also, this is the reason why the retreat came up with that we're gonna do a lot of creative practices, like, free flow dance, conscious touch, creating our own essence, somatic movement, Kundalini healing as well. And with all these playful, practices, we're gonna actually connect more with ourselves and with the bodies, so we can actually start living here and now with the base and to be empowered, inspired so we can also live our lives. Because it's actually we can do a lot of, like, spiritual practices, but the point is to put them into the daily life. And, also, like, cooking can be very spiritual practice.

Hélène Ioannides [00:33:26]:
Yes. And

Kaya Pogacar [00:33:27]:
painting as well. Mhmm. So everything can be, yeah, this kind of practice.

Hélène Ioannides [00:33:35]:
So the intention that you put into it and how you move about with the simplest things. When you were describing being a chef, I could, I I had this vision of you just like throwing the way that you're placing the herbs in there and doing your magic. You know, that in itself is, is an art form and there is so much expression and love and and passion that goes into it that whoever tastes the food also has part of that experience.

Kaya Pogacar [00:34:02]:
It's true. Yeah. It is. Actually, sometimes I'm seeing myself how I'm, like, flowing in the kitchen and just putting spices inside, chopping. It's like, it's like a flow, actually. Mhmm. And, whatever is flowing through us Mhmm. It's also it goes in the food as well.

Kaya Pogacar [00:34:23]:
Mhmm. That's why it's really important in what kind of state you are when you prepare the food.

Hélène Ioannides [00:34:30]:
Yes. Yes. For people that want to connect more to this flow state, what would you recommend to them?

Kaya Pogacar [00:34:39]:
To connect with themselves first. Not to have intention to, oh, I want to be in a in a flow, because everything starts from within Mhmm. From us, and things come naturally. I never pushed myself to do anything. Oh, I had a phase when I was really intentionally doing a lot of spiritual work

Hélène Ioannides [00:35:06]:
Mhmm.

Kaya Pogacar [00:35:07]:
And digging more into my Mhmm. Wounds. What's the next thing I can do? What's the next thing? And it was not it even brought me to a good place. Yes. Yes. Mhmm. So my approach now is more gentle, and I feel that, really, while you're doing specific things, life is opening the doors for you. So you don't have to push anything.

Kaya Pogacar [00:35:34]:
Yeah. Yeah. Mhmm. Because things come. You know, before getting a job as a private chef, this dream I was cultivating in myself for 2 years.

Hélène Ioannides [00:35:49]:
Mhmm. Mhmm.

Kaya Pogacar [00:35:50]:
In between, I went also in Berlin. Mhmm. And, first time I was actually, declined, They said, no. Okay. It's not the time for you to be a private chef. And then a year later, I was actually being called from the same family. Yes. But during this year, everything I was doing, I always was carrying these dreams inside of me somewhere, and they came.

Hélène Ioannides [00:36:22]:
So you are a chef for private family or or private families here in Cyprus?

Kaya Pogacar [00:36:27]:
I'm chef for private families. For

Hélène Ioannides [00:36:29]:
Yes. Families. Okay. So you cook for the whole family? Yes. And is there a specific do you design the meal plan for them? Like, there's a holistic approach to it or based on what they want?

Kaya Pogacar [00:36:42]:
It really depends. Sometime, I have a family that exactly knows what they want to eat, which I really love.

Hélène Ioannides [00:36:50]:
Okay.

Kaya Pogacar [00:36:51]:
But I can still be creative in that framework. You know? Mhmm. Maybe, they can say gazpacho. These these I was making yesterday. Mhmm. But, you know, what kind of gazpacho and what I'm gonna put inside is actually my creativity. Mhmm. Then I have another family which they don't know what I'm gonna cook.

Kaya Pogacar [00:37:11]:
So, usually, while I'm driving to their house, I'm getting ideas. I'm not forcing myself, oh, what I'm going to cook today? But the ideas always come by itself. Or sometimes when I'm grocery shopping, I'm getting the ideas and that's it. So it's it's it really depends on their wishes.

Hélène Ioannides [00:37:35]:
I see. What impact does food have on us?

Kaya Pogacar [00:37:39]:
Oh, food has a lot of impact on us. Mhmm. I'm not for specific diet.

Hélène Ioannides [00:37:46]:
Mhmm.

Kaya Pogacar [00:37:47]:
I think that body is so intelligent that it tells us exactly what we need at specific day to support ourselves. Okay. I'm not talking about, like, sugar cravings or any other, addictions because I was a sugar addict. So, yes, I really know what kind of damage it can does to to your body, not only physical, but also mental and emotional body as well. So it's really important to listen to ourselves and, to consume as clean food as possible. I've noticing that here in Cyprus, I'm when you see me in the shop, I'm reading labels all the time. Mhmm. And there are a lot of hidden additives, which does they do the harm to your body.

Kaya Pogacar [00:38:44]:
Mhmm. So I prefer less more clean, less additives, seasonal as much as possible, organic. Mhmm. Yeah. From the I mean, if you know the farmer, how he's growing how he or she grows the food, it doesn't have to be organic. But as long as you know that it's it's not, that it doesn't have unnecessary things inside. Mhmm. And apart from that, as I'm you're gonna meals because you're gonna put love into yourself and you're gonna nurture yourself, or you're gonna make meals out just because you have to eat something and it doesn't matter what you put inside.

Kaya Pogacar [00:39:36]:
So, the intention and awareness why you're doing something and why or why you are, like, eating, I think it's very it's very important.

Hélène Ioannides [00:39:49]:
Bringing more consciousness to how we eat, what we eat

Kaya Pogacar [00:39:52]:
Exactly.

Hélène Ioannides [00:39:53]:
And tuning into our bodies intuitively as to what it needs.

Kaya Pogacar [00:39:58]:
Exactly. Mhmm.

Hélène Ioannides [00:40:00]:
So, Kaya, I have one last question for you. Who is Kaya without all the titles? Because we've heard, you know, you've done photography and you're a chef and you're de armoring expert and there's so many wonderful things that we've spoken about here today. But who is Kaja without all of that?

Kaya Pogacar [00:40:24]:
I would say I'm a life lover and a life explorer.

Hélène Ioannides [00:40:29]:
Life lover and a life explorer.

Kaya Pogacar [00:40:31]:
Yes. Lovely. Beautiful. Thank you

Hélène Ioannides [00:40:34]:
so much for being on here today. It's been a pleasure chatting with you.

Kaya Pogacar [00:40:39]:
Thank you for having me here.

Hélène Ioannides [00:40:41]:
And I'll definitely be seeing you soon. Yes. Thank you so much for watching this episode. It's been an absolute pleasure filming it for you guys. If you like the work that we are putting out into the world, please make sure you like this video and you subscribe to our channel. It really helps the work that we do.

Dr. Stephanos Ioannou [00:40:58]:
And if you would like to follow our journey on our IG accounts as well as learn more about our services, we provide everything for you in the description below. Thanks for watching.