Episode 285: Turned Table: Nadia Interviews Naomi!
The tables have turned, and this time, I'm in the hot seat! In this episode, my friend and frequent guest, Nadia Gabrielle, takes over hosting duties to interview me.
You'll hear me share all about:
What I've been up to these past several months
My new offerings: how they came to be, who they’re for and how they fit into my suite of offerings
My conscious strategy and unconscious capacity work with Nadia, which laid the foundation for all of this to happen
We even did a rapid-fire segment where I reveal what I've been listening to, watching, and reading!
Listen to the Episode:
“I’m very prone to overwhelm so I decided that I needed to go inward and needed to pause everything that required creative energy - the podcast, social media, and put all of that energy into these new programs. That’s where I’ve been. I got hyper vigilant about where that energy was spent, but also what I allowed to influence me during that period.”
Read the Transcript:
Nadia Gabrielle: Hello, and welcome back to The Live FAB Life Podcast. I'm your host, Naomi Nakamura. No, I'm just kidding.
I am your host today. It's me, Nadia, Nadia Gabrielle from past episodes. And today we have a really special episode for you because I have the pleasure of turning the tables and today it's going to be your host being interviewed.
So I get to interview Naomi for the special episode, which came to be because as you may know, if you've listened to previous episodes of ours together, I have gotten to accompany Naomi over these last few months as she's been working on something really special that we're going to talk about today.
And it just struck me sort of seeing her work and witnessing her process, how just the brilliance, just the sheer brilliance.
And I remember saying to her, like, you know, when, when the time comes for you to go outward with these offers, you should have someone on your podcast to interview you because the thing that Naomi does and her listeners will know that very well is that when she has a guest on, she does such a brilliant job with her questions.
She's incredibly thoughtful. She listens well. She prepares incredibly well.
And she does a wonderful job sort of coaxing the relevant information out of, out of her guests and just really allowing them to shine, which, you know, I have had the pleasure of being on the receiving end of that several times, but also with other episodes that I've, I've listened to on this podcast.
And so I said to her, you know, we should have someone on who does that same thing for you that you always do for your guests. And, and then she said, yeah, will you do it? And I said, for sure I will, and I will do my very best.
And here we are today, Naomi, thank you for having me. Thank you for having me on the show. It's my pleasure.
Naomi Nakamura: You are welcome back on the show. This is a little bit odd being on the other side. I've, I've been, I've been a guest on a few episodes and it's always kind of a wild feeling and it makes me have even more appreciation for the guests who say yes to me and put themselves in the hot seat.
Nadia Gabrielle: Yes. But also makes me have appreciation for you, you know, the, the preparation you do and just kind of your listeners may not know this, but there's so much that goes into producing a podcast in the backend and the thoughtfulness. So I hope that I can live up to the standard that you've set.
And yeah, let's get started. First thing I want to know, let's do a little, little check in. People may know this about you, but let's hear your sun sign, your moon sign and your rising sign.
And then also your sort of pertinent Human Design information so that people get a little bit of an idea.
Naomi Nakamura: So I am not an astrology expert, but I do have an annual reading on my birthday, on my solar return. And I am have, I have a Sagittarius sun, a Scorpio moon, and an Aries rising.
Nadia Gabrielle: So much fire.
Naomi Nakamura: That's what I've been told every time.
Nadia Gabrielle: Do you have your reading with the astrologer who was on your podcast with Julien?
Naomi Nakamura: I do every year on my birthday on the day of my birthday.
Nadia Gabrielle: I love that. I'm overdue for a reading myself. Maybe this is why we get on so well because that Scorpio moon.
Naomi Nakamura: Well, I'm also projector like you, I'm a 1 / 3 Splenic Projector.
Nadia Gabrielle: Yes, that's right. And then tell me a little bit about your background.
I just like I have to tell the listeners, so Naomi and I have known each other for a while. And you know, I consider us friends. And whenever we chat, you know how you kind of have an idea about someone just a general idea.
And with Naomi, the really fun and cool thing is that whenever we chat, she will just drop some new information. That just makes me see her in a completely different light. She'll just be like, Oh, oh, yeah, like I'm, I used to be like a baseball pro. I'm like, excuse me, what?
Naomi Nakamura: No, no, no, I wasn't. But I'm a base huge baseball fan.
Nadia Gabrielle: So I just love like, it's really fun when you get to know someone who has such depth and such range.
And you kind of are invited to sort of reorder your view of this person. And you're like, Oh, well, well, I guess. Yeah, she also has this side to her that I didn't know it like it's so fun.
And it's quite rare. It's I didn't Yeah, I would consider it rare. So even though we might have a little bit of your background already being long, long time listeners, I just want to hear more because I know you're just going to drop some you have so many surprises up your sleeve.
Naomi Nakamura: Well, I was born and raised on a very small island in Hawaii, which I've shared before on the podcast. Yeah. I still work in the tech world in IT security I have for like, I don't know, over 20 years.
And I've been with the same company for almost 17. I've worked from home for the past 12 years. So pandemic life really wasn't that much different for me.
So that wasn't a huge change. Let's see, I am a huge baseball fan. I am a huge fan of my local team.
Like, we're talking I can get to kind of like, so fan really came from the word fanatic. I can get fanatical. Is that right? I can get fanatical.
But I generally love all sports. We're recording this during the Olympics. I am all in on the Olympics as I am every two years.
Nadia Gabrielle: Yeah. And who's your local team? The San Francisco Giants. And what what are their colors? Orange and black.
Do you have any any merchandise any of their jerseys and stuff?
Naomi Nakamura: Oh, yes. Probably about I want to say like 20 years ago, I had a boss who was a season ticket holder and he traveled a lot. So I used to get a lot of his tickets.
And then a few years later, I had a friend who had club level seats, which are like the best seats that he would just give me his tickets every so often. So there was a time where so every there's 162 games in a season. And so there's 81 home games and 81 away games.
And there was a time where I was going to like 40 home games a year like it was We considered it a job.
Nadia Gabrielle: And listen, is it like because all of this I only know from the movies, okay, like this is so foreign to me. Is it like it is on TV where you like, then the hotdog man comes?
Naomi Nakamura: Yes.
Nadia Gabrielle: And you have the big is this the sport where you have the big hands like the, you know, the you know what I mean? The finger like pointing up?
Naomi Nakamura: No. Well, it depends.
Nadia Gabrielle: So every you're like, No, Nadia, that's not that's not what we do.
Naomi Nakamura: Well every fan base and every ballpark has its own culture. I will say baseball is one of the few sports where the actual player scores and not the ball. Right?
Nadia Gabrielle: Oh, yeah.
Naomi Nakamura: I just it's, you know, it's, there's a lot of history to the game. I love history. So I have watched many documentaries and read many books on baseball.
And I just love it. And actually, many years ago, I was in a fantasy baseball league. So I'm sure many people know about fantasy football, there is fantasy baseball, it's a lot more intense, because it requires, if you are familiar with fantasy sports, it requires you to set your lineup every day.
So I was in a league with a bunch of colleagues who are all guys. And we did it for several years. And the year that I won, after that, they kicked me out of the league because the girl won.
Nadia Gabrielle: Because they didn't want to have to compete with you.
Naomi Nakamura: Yes.
Nadia Gabrielle: Oh, man, do you miss it?
Naomi Nakamura: Kind of. But that's how I really got the game because you have to know all the players from all the teams in order to put together your team that you're setting a lineup for every day.So yeah, it was fun.
Nadia Gabrielle: I like it. It sounds really cool.
But now you have something else to occupy some or a lot of your time with I know from from getting to work with you a little bit behind the scenes.
So in addition to to working at your job, you're also in the fields of Functional Nutrition and Human Design now as a provider, but I would think that you started out as, you know, as most of us do as a student as a consumer as someone who's interested. And I'd love to hear a little bit about the backstory that that led you there.
Naomi Nakamura: Yeah, I think so for most of my formative years, I really wasn't into health or taking care of myself at all. And then actually, it was a gym opened a brand new gym opened up half a mile from my house. And so I joined and I wasn't planning on, you know, being anything more than non committal to it.
Nadia Gabrielle: Right? When was that?
Naomi Nakamura: It this was like 20 years ago.
Nadia Gabrielle: Oh, wow. Okay.
Naomi Nakamura: And then as it is, when and whenever you join a gym, you get all of these perks. And one of the perks was a free session with the trainer. So I had the session and we actually hit it off quite well.
And it really transformed my life into being more fit and active, which, you know, I never was. And so I kind of became a gym head. And he was my trainer for like 10 years.
And in working with him, I realized that I didn't understand what nutrition was or healthy eating, you know, I was for a training session. And during the session, he'd asked me, would you eat today? And I said, Oh, I had I had a thing of yogurt. And he goes, What else? I said, Oh, that's all that I had.
Because I wasn't eating breakfast. So busy at work, I didn't have time for lunch. And then I would go to the gym before I had dinner.
And he would literally stop the session, he'd be like, No, we can't train because you're not really fueled. And so that went on for a number of years. And then I got into long distance running.
So I was running half marathons, marathons, and I started to get a lot of health issues creep up that I didn't understand.
Nadia Gabrielle: And then is that sorry to interrupt? I'm just so curious. Is that caused by the running? Would you think or just sort of happened to coincide?
Naomi Nakamura: I think it was kind of a perfect storm of the stress that running puts on the body because I wasn't just running because I was getting injured all the time.
I was also obsessed with cross training to strengthening my body. So I was running - like I had a running coach who has been on the podcast before - I was running like 40 miles a week.
I was also working with the trainer twice a week who kept telling me he was afraid I was doing too much. And I was like, there's no such thing as doing too much -I was doing the Generator thing - swimming, I was doing yoga, I was doing all these things.
And so that the physical stress of that, but also the stress of having to manage all those things. I was literally when I would leave for the office, because I still worked in the office at this time, I had my work bag, I had my purse, I had my gym bag, my shower bag, I had all of these things, because I was taking a shower in the office. And then I had a stressful job at the time.
So there was all of these different sources of stress that I didn't understand all stress on me, not not just my emotions or my mind, but my physical body. And I didn't understand that I didn't know how to process that. And I started to have all of these other health issues creep up that, you know, for someone who thinks that you're really healthy, then to have all of these other things creep up, it's you really don't understand what's going on.
And that's kind of how I got turned on to Functional Medicine. And then from there, I decided I learned all these things that I didn't know that I felt everyone else should know, because they felt in some ways, we were very much lied to about certain things are not taught properly. And so I went to nutrition school, and I became a health coach.
But being the, you know, the first line personality that I am, I felt that I needed a little bit more substance, I felt like it was all great information, but I wanted a little bit more depth. And then I heard about Functional Nutrition through a podcast, and then did some research that way and then found a program that honestly is phenomenal. And so I did that program for about four years.
And then eventually came, you know, after working with clients for a number of years, Human Design came into my life, and I just saw how they were such a natural fit together.
Nadia Gabrielle: Mm hmm.
And if you could go back right now with knowing what you know, now to that person who has, you know, the gym back, it sounds like a very regimented sort of, and you had to be in order to fit all of that in, like you had to be very, very organized. If you could turn to that person and just give them one piece of advice, because I think probably the way that I would imagine, many of your listeners might identify with that person. What would you say one piece of simple advice?
Naomi Nakamura: Listen to yourself.
Nadia Gabrielle: Mm hmm.
Naomi Nakamura: And as we know, that's sometimes not as easy to do you know. Whenever I would get injured, you know, whether pulled a hamstring or something, especially pulling a hamstring because I would always want to know, okay, what is the timetable for me to get back to running? You know, I would, I would in physical therapy many times, and I would want them to give me a set date because I always had a race coming up.
I'd be like, okay, how many weeks I'm going to be out. And they would always say, listen to your body. I was like, I didn't like,
Nadia Gabrielle: I don't have time for that.
Naomi Nakamura: Not just not I didn't have time for that. I didn't know how to do that.
Nadia Gabrielle: Wow.
Naomi Nakamura: I didn't know how to listen to my body. Was I hearing things that I wanted to hear? Or was I really listening to my body?
I was so disconnected, which in hindsight is just it blows my mind being how physically active I was and how quote unquote, really into health that it was that I was so disconnected from my body that way. And this was really the whole genesis for everything that I do now: I didn't know how to listen to my body, because I didn't know how to do that.
Nadia Gabrielle: And I didn't have to identify your actual voice, right?
Naomi Nakamura: Right. And what, so what did I do? And what would most of us do is, you know, I went and bought all the magazines, all the books, went to social media, asked everybody else for their opinion and their experiences.
And you know, everyone has their own experiences, but at the end of the day, they're not me.
**Nadia Gabrielle: **Exactly.
And they don't have your body at this point in time and your mind and your, you know, subconscious programming, like all of that is, is what comes together and creates the conditions under which you live.
Naomi Nakamura: Exactly.
Nadia Gabrielle: I think that's so important.
And, and I love that your listeners are getting to hear that because one of my favorite things that you teach about is influence and the, the ways that we are being influenced and, and you have such beautiful teachings.
We're going to get into all of that of how we can clear all of that and, and really re-find that path to ourselves so that we can feel ourselves and we can get a, get an understanding of who it is that we are and what we need and what we want and what we are available for, which, I mean, if that's not one of the most important things there is to do, then I don't know what would be.
And it makes sense now hearing, hearing how you came to all of this, that, you know, it's very clear to me how you have such depth of understanding when it comes to this topic.
So we've talked about how you, as again, as a consumer, as a student came into these fields and now you've been working at this intersection of these two fields of health and Human Design yourself for quite a while, which I just find such a fascinating and such a rich niche area to be in.
So I'd love to hear more about the work that you do now.
Naomi Nakamura: So after I'd been working with clients as a health coach for about five years, I, you know, as, as you know, as well, you start to notice trends and patterns among the people you work with and not just people you work with, but people who follow you, who come to you to ask questions and, and just people you get to know. And, and the thing about Functional Nutrition and Functional Medicine is, is not just addressing symptoms, but addressing root causes. What is at the root of this?
And that's really transformed my mindset. Am I thinking really about everything in my life? Not just about health, but like, you know, when I approach a work problem, I always say, okay, what's at the root of this problem?
Are we really addressing, you know, are we addressing a symptom of it or a causation? Are we addressing the actual problem? Where if we address that, that is what's going to bring meaningful change.
And the commonality that I saw in working with a lot of the clients that I worked with was that they had problems sleeping or they had, you know, a blood sugar problem or they had digestive issues. But when you start to pull back the layers, it really came down to things like they, they lack self-confidence or they didn't trust themselves in their decision-making or like me, they were disconnected with themselves. And, and that's what Human Design really is, right?
It teaches us how to come back to ourselves. What is the correct way for us to move through the world? And so I just saw the two as being such a natural fit together in a way that is a very actionable and very easy to understand.
And it really embraces the belief that I have in bio-individuality that we are all unique, you know, none of our bodies are the same. Like you said, we all have different environments that we live in different subconscious capacities. And with Human Design, it really teaches us how we are so unique.
And it was just a natural fit for me that I honestly, I get surprised every time someone is surprised by, by matching them together.
Nadia Gabrielle: Yeah. I can see that. And I still think it's really genius to combine the two and something that to this degree, I haven't seen, and I haven't seen in this, in the way that you do it.
So you mentioned, you know, the, the people that you work with, I'm wondering, let's, let's talk a little more about them. Who, who are they? Who are those people who get to work with you?
And what are some of the common sort of challenges that they face? You've mentioned a few, but I'm sure there's.
Naomi Nakamura: You know, when typically when, when we become entrepreneurs, we're told, oh, you have to have a niche and, and who is the age group that you work with? And who are the people that you work with?
I find that for me, you know, I've worked with young people. I've worked with older people. I've worked with professionals. I've worked with people who aren't professionals, but the commonality is people who are they've tried all the trendy solutions.
And, and it only got them so far. I'm not going to say they haven't worked because there's their reason why they're trendy. They do work, but they haven't gotten them as far as they wanted to go, or they need to go.
Hasn't gotten them to where they really want to be. And they're looking for other ways to address their issue. In addition to what they've been doing, they're willing to go deeper, especially with themselves.
You know, a lot of, a lot of what I do can be really scary because it's, we're asking, I'm asking you to, to confront some things that maybe you never have before. So it's also people who are willing to get a, who are brave enough to get a little bit uncomfortable and really who are willing to commit to change.
Nadia Gabrielle: That sounds like a wonderful group to work with. Like, that sounds like the kind of thing where, you know, cause I know you still, this is your second job, basically. Something that you'd be like, okay, I've already worked a ton, but I'm excited to get on this call.
Like I'm excited to work with that kind of person because I can make some actual change here.
Naomi Nakamura: And, you know, I'm pretty sure that the people you work with are in the same boat and, you know, in a different way, but, you know, they're looking for to do things different. They're willing to go deeper. They're willing to make changes.
Nadia Gabrielle: Absolutely.
And they, you know, one thing I always think about my clients that I appreciate so much because of the work that I do is like, they never know what's going to happen. They don't know what to expect. Even when you've been a long-term client, you sometimes don't know what to expect from a call.
Cause we might go full on strategy or we might go deep capacity. And it's kind of like, you know, people often say I'm a little bit nervous, but so far every single person has just been absolutely open and willing and curious, which I think is the most important thing. And that's where, you know, we, we get to make a real contribution and make a real change.
Naomi Nakamura: That's wonderful.
Nadia Gabrielle: Absolutely. So what are, do you have any practical tips?
Anyone listening is like, uh, it me, that's me. That's exactly, you know, sort of where I'm at and that's something I'm struggling with. Do you have any practical tips for someone like that?
Naomi Nakamura: I do. You know, when we, when we look for the root cause of anything, I, I just always ask why.
Nadia Gabrielle: Yeah. Why do I do so?
Naomi Nakamura: Good, right? Um, you know, I eat in a certain way. Well, why are you eating this way?
Basically it’s how did you come to form this belief? And so when we talk about influence, you know, we just mentioned influence. That's really where influence comes from.
It's like, why do I, why do I do this? Why do I, why did I develop this habit? Why do I perpetuate this habit?
If it's something that I know, um, is not correct for me, or why do I believe in this thing? Why do I do this? How did I come to form this belief?
It was a question that was posed to me in a nutrition training that I took probably about seven or eight years ago, how did I come to form this belief? And this is way before Human Design. As soon as I heard about Human Design and started learning more about it, that question kept popping up because they always had in the back of my head, because when you talk about unexpected things, I went into this nutrition program, expecting to learn about nutrition.
And there was, it started off with this whole, um, the beginning part of it was how did you come to form your beliefs? And that really had an impact on me and helping me understand, well, I have a tendency to hoard things, or even in the way that, you know, um, I shop or even the way that I feed myself, I tend to hoard things because they said, I grew up on a really small Island in Hawaii where we didn't have access, easy access to a lot of things. And so I learned to, to really conserve what I have to make it last longer.
And in hindsight, I realized that that behavior carried with me through, through my adult life into many ways that I didn't even realize.
Nadia Gabrielle: It's so interesting. And I like that you make that distinction of, cause one thing I've learned about you and that I found so helpful in my own life as well, is you, you always go that one, why deeper? Because someone else can stop at you, you say, why?
And then someone gives the answer and they're like, well, this is why - there we go.
And you're like, yeah, but, but why that? And then you go deeper and deeper.
And it's like, you, you arrive somewhere completely different as in, in the example you just said with, you know, your upbringing and how that informs so many more things than one would think in your present day life, even though you haven't lived on that Island in a long time.
And when it comes to then actionable topics that your clients come to you with like nutrition, like, you know, one thing that popped into my mind when you were speaking was I had this thing for a long time because I was consuming like medical medium information, which, you know, anyone who's, who's doing that, that's cool. Um, but for me, I remembered then I was deadly afraid of eggs.
I was like, I shall, shall not have an egg for it will ruin my entire, you know, like it will infest my body with the viruses and so on. And I did not have eggs for a long time. And it was, and the belief was so strong that I didn't even like, I like eggs.
I think eggs are delicious, but I, because I believed so strongly, I did not even crave one. Like it was just absolutely out of the question. And then I remember when I reintroduced them after a long time, it was really like, I had to, to break down the belief first.
So, you know, it reminds me of what I do with strategy and capacity. It's like, I can give you the strategy, but if there's a capacity gap, if there's a belief that that needs to be shifted first, otherwise like, you know, like I can see the nutritional value of an egg and I can see how a cake is going to be better if I add two eggs rather than black seed, whatever.
Naomi Nakamura: I'm laughing because like for most of my childhood, I refused to eat eggs. Absolutely refused to because when I was a kid and we would have family at the beach, my grandma would make egg salad sandwiches, which is like, not what you want to eat at the beach. So I never ate it until I became an adult.
And even before like anybody knew what paleo was, my trainer was like, why don't you just try eating caveman? I'm like, what does that mean? And he was like, just don't eat processed foods.
There's not a lot of snacks that way. And so I was really like reaching for snacks. So I finally broke down and had hard boiled eggs.
And I was like, Oh, this is actually really good. And literally when like family members would see me eating eggs, they were like taken aback because they were like, Oh, you don't need eggs. I do now.
So when you use that as an example, I started laughing because I'm like, I had the same thing. I didn't eat eggs for a long time either.
Nadia Gabrielle: And then you shifted that, you shifted that perception of, and then that allowed you to introduce the thing.
Okay. So tell me about, I always love hearing like real life stories of what are some successes that you have witnessed from past clients and students in, you know, sort of real world things.
Naomi Nakamura: It's been really fulfilling because some of the work that you, like you said, takes you to places that like neither of you expect to really see people shift their relationship with food and to not be afraid of food or to be able to have a deep understanding of themselves that they're able to just know what intuitively they need to eat for, you know, in the moment, how they need to feed themselves. Also to really help people learn how to work in partnership with their doctors or their healthcare teams and to empower them in a way that they understand that they know what questions to ask.
Nadia Gabrielle: Right.
Naomi Nakamura: And they know how to ask them in a way that doesn't feel challenging or threatening to, you know, whoever their provider is, but, and it really forms this partnership. And I actually had that experience for myself where I would, you know, I did.
So I, the tools that I use with my clients, I use with myself as well, and I'll take them to my doctor's appointments and they would be just fascinated and so appreciative that they had a patient willing to take that time to really examine themselves and document things about themselves. And it helps them because we all know that, you know, we have limited time with our providers. And then also just to see clients become more confident in their choices that they make for themselves and their ability to make decisions for themselves.
And again, when we ask ourselves why we peel back the layers that comes down to deep self-trust confidence comes to deep self-trust and self-love. And I'm going to make a statement right here. I think one of the most important skills and one's healthcare that you can have is the ability to make correct decisions for yourself.
Nadia Gabrielle: Tell me more about that.
Naomi Nakamura: Because are you, are you trying to do, you know, trying to eat keto because it's the trend on social media. You know, I, I tried that.
I understand the benefits. There's many great benefits to it, but for me, like, it doesn't really work for me, you know, and to be able to understand what you need. And here's the thing, I think people should try it.
You know, if you have a curiosity, give it a try, because how are you going to know if something doesn't work for you unless you, you try it out for yourself. Right. But to have that confidence to make the decision to know what you need in the moment and speaking like a Splenic Authority, what you need in the moment I think is a really important skill.
So when we, when people come to me and they're struggling with their health issues, I take them back to the basics, which is not always what they want to hear because they want, they're dealing with really complex things and they're looking for complex answers, but it really goes back to how are you sleeping? Not well.
Okay. Why are you not well, Naomi?
Nadia Gabrielle: I know.
Naomi Nakamura: Why are you not sleeping well? And then we pull back the layers and sometimes it's a matter of um, I'm scrolling on my phone. And so it becomes a choice, right.
To put the phone down and to,
Nadia Gabrielle: I'm sorry, I feel attacked.
Naomi Nakamura: You know, to, to really decide I'm going to set an alarm at like nine 30 to start getting ready for bed so that I can go to bed at 10 versus like at one o'clock in the morning every day.
Nadia Gabrielle: And again, I'll doubt with like a really dysregulated nervous system and then you're like, so weird that I don't sleep well.
Naomi Nakamura: Exactly. And it, and then what happens when you don't sleep well for a long period of time, I've been very open on my podcast that I struggle with sleep for many different reasons. And in fact, we started this morning where I told you, I actually woke up to an alarm today because I typically don't need an alarm, but I set one anyway.
And to me, when I wake up by an alarm, that's a win for me. And, and we all know that when we get a good night's sleep, we feel like a brand new person the next day. And so again, it becomes a choice.
Are you going to decide to prioritize your sleep and go to bed early? And then what kind of impact will that have on your health and your everyday life and being able to function every day? If you're able to sleep well, consistently, I literally feel like you just gave me a session.
Nadia Gabrielle: Like I, I am so motivated right now to set that alarm and to priority because I'm like, this is like the mark of a good guru. Just by listening to you, I am motivated and inspired to make change.
Naomi Nakamura: But again, it's a choice, right? So it's a, it's a, it's a decision that we all have to make. And, and we're filled with these decisions every day and our ability to make decisions that are correct for each, each of us individually.
That is, in my opinion, the most important skill that you can have when it comes to being healthy, you know, and with social media, right?
Nadia Gabrielle: You mentioned that trendy thing in that trendy thing. I mean, depending on the sort of corners you move around in on social media, it's like your mind is being dragged into a million different directions. And at the end of the day, you feel like, okay, I need to get on it with like hyperbaric oxygen.
I need to like do, you know, on IVs. And it's like, yeah, should we look at your sleep first, honey? Like, should we look at the absolute basics?
You know what I mean? Like, we get sold these ideas of like these 1% things that we absolutely need. And it's like, yeah, but then you're scrolling until 1am.
Naomi Nakamura: Yeah.
Nadia Gabrielle: So I really like that philosophy that you have of going to those just fundamentals and getting those rights and really asking why is it that so far that hasn't been happening?
Okay. So Naomi, inquiring minds must know your listeners will have noticed you've been you've gone a little bit quiet on us, which fair.
What have you been up to? Because she's not just been vacationing.
Naomi Nakamura: I have not. I haven't vacationed in so long.
Nadia Gabrielle: We'll talk about that later.
Naomi Nakamura: We'll talk about that.
Nadia Gabrielle: Yeah.
What have you been up to?
Naomi Nakamura: So we started working together probably about a year ago. Yeah.
And, and, of course, like you said, I went into it thinking I needed strategy work. And then you're like, Oh, I think you need everyone. I think you need some capacity work.
So we did that. And, and honestly, I have been having for the past, gosh, like eight years, all of these ideas floating in my head. And then as Human Design came into my world, it's just like magnified of these programs that I wanted to produce, and I just never did it.
And it was just so overwhelming to me. And our work together provided the foundation for that to happen.
So from January to June, so first six months of the year, I really went heads down, I went inward, and I put together five really, I think, simple self-study learning programs.
And to do so, you know, I tried to keep the podcast going, I tried to like show up on social media. And we all know the feeling of when you try to do too many things, and you're doing a lot of things, but you're not doing any of them.
Nadia Gabrielle: Well, yeah. And so you're like, What did I do?
Naomi Nakamura: What did I do? And what I'm putting out is like, not my best work.
Nadia Gabrielle: Yeah.
Naomi Nakamura: So I shut everything down. And I have an Undefined Head Center. So I always have all the ideas.
And I'm very prone to overwhelm from all the things. And so I decided that I just need to go inward. And I needed to pause everything that required creative energy of me, meaning the podcast, meaning social media, and then just put all of that energy into these programs.
And that's really where I've been. And so I really got hyper vigilant about where that energy was spent, but also what I allowed to influence me during that time.
Nadia Gabrielle: I think that's so smart. And I mean, I got to witness the process. And I can tell everyone that you've been working so hard, you've been hyper focused on this.
And it's going to benefit so many people that you did, like that you made those decisions in the back end, to be able to come out with these, these programs and these offers, which I want to hear about every single one, how they see what inspired them, because it's such a unique grouping of offers that, you know, I work with many people in this field. And this is something completely unique. Like when Naomi came to me with these ideas, and we sort of fleshed them out together.
And that, you know, with the post-its, right, like we did the digital post-its. We did this way. But no, I think this needs to go over here.
Like, I got so excited. And I was like, wow, this is really gonna serve the market in again, that niche area that I think is, is not served at the moment.
So talk to me, talk me through it.
Naomi Nakamura: So I really wanted to create these programs to provide a common language to put me and the clients that I worked with on the same page, because for many years, I worked one-on-one with clients. And then there was also a few years where I did group work. And a lot of that time where like, you're on one-on-one, or one-to-many in a group is spent on the like, the tactical things about, okay, so, you know, what can I substitute for this?
Or, you know, what goals can I set this way, but there was really this gap of common language. And there wasn't a lot of opportunity for education. And so I wanted to create these programs to fill that gap to provide a means to of educating, and to put us in the common language.
And so in many ways, it's a precursor to my other offerings of one-on-one work together. And it's really a supplement so that the time spent when we're working one-on-one can be focused on, on what's going on in the moment for that client. And how can we dive deep into that, and then also come up with some practical, actionable ways to help them work through that.
And so the first one, I call it “Healthy x Human Design”, because it's really my approach in explaining everything that we're talking about today, but in a much deeper way.
It really talks about what is Functional Nutrition, and what is Human Design and, and how we practice self-observation with non-judgment, which is something I frequently talk about on the podcast, which really is “how do we build awareness”, because a lot of the times - and I do this myself - what we think we're doing, or what how we think we're feeding ourselves is actually not what's going on. And so it's really building that awareness and that perception around that.
And so that is a free program, just because it teaches my approach so that if you want to find out, well, you know, Human Design and nutrition, there, there's so many different ways of approaching it so many different ways of working in it. But if you want to understand my approach and my take and how I work with it, that's, that's where you start.
Nadia Gabrielle: And I love that. And that is so generous of you. Because obviously, I have the background - what do you call it in English? I have the…
Naomi Nakamura: Inside scoop?
Nadia Gabrielle: Yes, the scoop.
Exactly. Oh, there's that Woody Allen movie, right? Called the scoop with Scarlett Johansson.
Have you seen it?
Naomi Nakamura: Oh, I haven't seen that one.
Nadia Gabrielle: It's really good.
Naomi Nakamura: See, this is how all our sessions go, right?
Nadia Gabrielle: We're like, Oh, did you see that? I have a note in my notes app. That's purely recommendations for Naomi.
And don't you worry, listeners, I will keep her I will not let her leave before she gives us her current recommendations. I thought it all all jotted down. Don't you worry, I've got you.
But yes, so I've got the scoop. And I think this is so generous because this is sort of your, your common ground establishing program. And I love that it gives people so much already.
Naomi Nakamura: I have to say that was the most difficult one to create.
Nadia Gabrielle: Why is that?
Naomi Nakamura: Well, it was the first one.
So I had to figure out the process of how I go about it. But also, it was really I mean, they're all in my own words, but it was really me articulating probably so holistically for the first time what my point of view is.
Nadia Gabrielle: Was it helpful for you as well?
Naomi Nakamura: Like that? Oh, it's extremely helpful. And I really organized my thoughts about a lot of things.
So that one, I would say was the most challenging one to create.
Nadia Gabrielle: And what has the feedback been so far?
Naomi Nakamura: I think people are like, “I never thought of things that way.” Right? And to me, that's the best thing you can say about it.
It's like, Oh, you kind of opened my eyes to this. I never thought about it that way.
Nadia Gabrielle: Exactly. And then tell us about the other programs, because you've been working so hard. And it's like, it's just a joy to see what has come out on the other side.
It's kind of like you went into the black box, and then you came out. And here we are with all these offers. But I know it's not just like poof, voila, it's like a lot of work and thought has gone into it.
So what else do we have?
Naomi Nakamura: So after that, and people can take these in any order they like, but my recommendation is based upon how I think is the is the best way to, to learn Human Design.
So we'll start with Human Design Essentials, because I think you can't really have these conversations about digestion, and you know, energy centers until you understand the fundamentals, like what is your aura?
What is your Type, Strategy, Authority? And so those are the things I discussed in Human Design Essentials. And, again, people can take these in any order they want.
That's where I would recommend starting with and use that as a prerequisite to the others.
Nadia Gabrielle: So if someone's new to Human Design, they would start here. And maybe if someone is a little more seasoned, they would start with the next tier kind of thing.
Naomi Nakamura: I think so. That being said, I always enjoy hearing about learning, yeah, relearning, but also hearing how other people talk about Human Design.
Nadia Gabrielle: Very true.
Naomi Nakamura: I attended your class last week on the Projector’s aura. I'm very well versed in the Projector’s aura, but even just hearing you speak about it was really, you know, it was refreshing to me.
Nadia Gabrielle: That's a really good point.
Naomi Nakamura: So the next one is called Energy Management and the Nine Centers, and it's about stress management and how to manage that, working with the centers in Human Design. And that's really where we talk about, you know, your defined and your undefined centers and how that energy is expressed.
Nadia Gabrielle: So you go through all the nine centers in their defined and in their undefined state. And I do sort of through the lens of stress and energy.
Naomi Nakamura: Yeah. And really also talking about the different kinds of stress that we're exposed to, because when we hear stress, everyone thinks about like, Oh, I have so much on my shoulders. But like I said, for me and my story, I didn't, I had no idea that too much exercise was a bad thing.
I really didn't understand like I'm getting everything right.
Nadia Gabrielle: Exactly. Getting all these issues.
Naomi Nakamura: Yeah, exactly. Or eating foods that are like my body can't tolerate currently. That is another stress that really creates a stress response.
And it's understanding what, what the stresses are, what kind of responses they are, and then how to work through some of that with through the nine centers.
Nadia Gabrielle: I really like how you're making it, you know, so you go through all the nine centers.
So even if I'm going through this, I can also get an understanding of maybe someone else in my life who's important to me, how stress shows up for them, or, you know, if people have children, you can sort of have similar as several charts.
Nadia Gabrielle: Yeah, one in front of you offers, it's the same with the Human Design Essentials and sort of get that understanding, especially if you're in charge of taking care of someone, you know, if you're a parent, I think that would be such important information to have about a child, but also about a spouse, a partner, so that you can understand how they thrive, and sort of the way that they're set up to be.
Naomi Nakamura: Exactly, exactly.
Nadia Gabrielle: It's really nice that you're providing it that way, and that you've grouped it that way, so that people don't have to sort of go, okay, I'm just going to buy the Projector one, but like, you have everything there.
Generous.
Naomi Nakamura: And then after that is Eating for Energy.
I put the Energy Management one before the eating one, you know, when people think about, oh, I need to get healthy, they immediately think about, oh, I, you know, what should I eat?
Nadia Gabrielle: Jump, jump ahead to this one.
Naomi Nakamura: Yeah. I really argue that if people were to address some of their stress levels, I honestly think, especially in our current environment, in this era that we're living in, that I think that honestly, is more of a pressing need that a lot of people have even before looking at some of these other more obvious things.
But Eating for Energy...
So I am a certified coach of the 21-day Sugar Detox program. I understand that there are many different ways to eat and you know what how you eat how you ate that was correct for you 10 years ago, five years ago, a year ago may not be correct for you now.
But I think regardless, if you're vegetarian, if you're vegan, if you’re Paleo, however you choose to eat, the one thing that I think we can all agree on is that processed sugar is not good for anyone.
And so I what I did is I really just took the I guess, for lack of a better word, the textbook part of the program and I put it into this program, but I also added Human Design, and, and the elements of Human Design about how we are designed to eat, and I that's where I really start to get into the, the Human Design Variables, which is some of the more advanced topics of Human Design, just really start to get there.
But I also talk about your Authority and the role that your Authority plays and, and how you choose to decide what to eat, how to feed yourself.
Nadia Gabrielle: Amazing, amazing. And it makes so much sense to me, you know, going into the Variables that you, you would want your students to have that solid foundation before going.
Naomi Nakamura: Mm hmm. You know, yeah, I used to do readings in three different levels, and I would have people book because once everyone hears about digestion and Human Design, they all want to know that, right, they want to know about digestion, or they want to know about motivation…You know,
Nadia Gabrielle: Yeah, absolutely. Totally fair.
Naomi Nakamura: That's, what got me interested in Human Design as being a coach that specialized in digestion and gut health. Like, what do you mean?
Nadia Gabrielle: What is your digestion, Naomi?
Naomi Nakamura: I have a High Sound.
Nadia Gabrielle: Okay. Does that make sense to you?
**Naomi Nakamura: **It does. It really does. Even going back to when I was a kid, you know, you know how you have some families who like, you know, you sit together on the table and you eat dinner together.
Yeah, I don't know. I never liked that. Like ever.
I always like to have either the TV on or the radio on and it would drive my mother crazy. But like, that's just always felt soothing to me. And, you know, and that's in a literal sense, there's a lot of, it's a lot deeper than that.
Nadia Gabrielle: But just in the very basic sense. But yeah, that's the fifth program is digestion one on one. And amazing.
Naomi Nakamura: This is the program that for me is this is why I what personally what compelled me to do this work, because they really go deep into human Ddigestion. Like what is the digestive process?
We hear so much about the trendy topic that is gut health. And it's even made its way into mainstream media. We see the pharmaceutical commercials on TV talking about gut health.
But then I asked the question, “Do you know how your body's meant to digest food? Do you know what is the proper digestion?” And so we go deep into that.
And then I talk about what is Human Design Digestion, and then I bring them together to connect the dots…
Nadia Gabrielle: …which is what you do, which is your, your actually genius.
And I think it's so helpful. Because again, you know, you're saying like, how is your how is the body meant to design food to digest food? And it's, it's not the same for everyone.
Naomi Nakamura: It's not. I mean, there is a digestive process that we all go through. But the environments in that digestive process are unique for each person. And even within a person, it really depends on what's going on with you right now.
Nadia Gabrielle: Yeah.
Naomi Nakamura: So long story short, those are the programs. Those are the programs as long-winded as that was, that is a long story short.
Nadia Gabrielle: No, I mean, that warranted because you did so much work.
And you know, I, this is something that we talked about as we were working together on the strategy level of this whole production, which it truly was and is a production like these things don't just sort of come together willy nilly, like someone puts a lot of work into it in the back end.
And one thing we talked about is sort of, are you gonna do one, then come out with it, have people take it, and then go back into, you know, what I call my little dungeon and go back to creation mode.
And you were quite clear at, you know, once it sort of the, it had revealed itself to you, you were quite clear, I remember that you're like, “No, I'm going to do them all together. Like I'm going into the dungeon and churning these out.”
And it makes so much sense to me now, on the other side of it, listening to you speak about it, because they do build on each other, I know, you're making them sort of pick what you need, there's no order, like, it's not like you're you're banned from taking one, if you haven't taken the previous ones.
But I do see that they build, they do build, and they all need to be there.
Naomi Nakamura: We don't all learn linearly, we all don't live linearly, which is and I also didn't want to make it all one big thing, because I personally would not want to take one big thing. Like, that's just not how I would consume it.
Nadia Gabrielle: It's overwhelming, right?
Naomi Nakamura: Exactly. And yeah, and I just wanted to make, craft it and design it in a way that I would consider consuming, consume and enjoy consuming it as well.
Nadia Gabrielle: Exactly. Yeah. So you said, sort of the way that we went through them, would be the sort of best way right to to move through them.
Naomi Nakamura: If one were looking for an order, like basically someone who's sort of new to Human Design, start with the free, the free program that explains the approach. And that gives you the language, the vocabulary, the understanding, and then you go to Human Design Essentials.
Nadia Gabrielle: Mm hmm.
Naomi Nakamura: And then and then the Nine centers, and then Eating for Energy, which kind of starts to to get more technical. And then and then Digestion 101 which is really the more advanced topics like I based it on the order that I think is sensible to learn Human Design.
But again, we all learn differently.
Nadia Gabrielle: So so you're leaving it open to your people. I think that's also nice. That's kind as well.
Naomi Nakamura: You know, you decide for yourself. But if you were to ask me, that would be my recommendation.
Nadia Gabrielle: Yeah. And then tell me about your other offers, because this is your most recent edition, but you've been in business for yourself for a long time.
And, you know, I know personally, you've been through Service Design School, you've been through Product Design School, you're incredibly thoughtful with your offers, you're not just sort of keeping going with something just because it works.
You're always redesigning and ideating and making things better and reworking things to be better for your clients and for you.
So what is your offer suit at this moment?
Naomi Nakamura: So I really got this idea from actually my full time job, because we do a lot of it.
We do a lot of enablement of people, you know, we call it enablement, but it's really helping them to learn how to do their job.
And so we have three phases that we work with. And as I was sitting back, I was like, you know, these are the three phases that I really recommend working with my suite of offerings to.
And so the self-study learning programs are the Awareness stage is education is where you're starting to learn and become aware of these concepts and how to look at these topics through these lenses.
And then the next phase, I call it Enablement. This is where you start to be given the tools of, OK, how do I customize? How do I make this work for me?
I learned about Human Design, but what does that mean for me? How does it look for me? And that's where I have, you know, basically, it's Human Design readings offered virtually.
So. I create a really in-depth ebook on one's Human Design, going from the very basic essentials to the more advanced Variables, and then I deliver it with a recorded session, basically given a human design reading.
Nadia Gabrielle: I mean, you should do them.
Naomi Nakamura: When scheduling any live sessions, it's always challenging to make to be available when people want to be available and making calendars work.
And also I found having several Human Design readings myself, it's a lot to take in.
Nadia Gabrielle: Yeah.
Naomi Nakamura: And then. You kind of like you kind of get lost in the process of that one session, and so I like doing it this way because it presents it, I think, in more of a consumable way.
And I also offer Functional Nutrition assessments, and this is for people who are struggling with different health issues and they want to really start to understand what's going on here.
And it's pretty involved and comprehensive where I provide a really in-depth assessment that that asks them to collect information on their health history, their family health history, but also what's going on with them in the current moment to understand how all of these things came together to influence what's going on right now.
Nadia Gabrielle: Mm hmm.
Naomi Nakamura: So it's really a way of gathering data and information and organizing it in a way that is understandable to help create to understand actionable.
Also, what's the big picture? How did we get here?
Nadia Gabrielle: Right.
Naomi Nakamura: What are all the influences that brought you to this moment? And then I present it in in ways that, you know, in a visual matrix type of way, but also in a timeline.
Nadia Gabrielle: Mm hmm.
Naomi Nakamura: And I think that really helps give people the big picture of what's going on.
Nadia Gabrielle: You're so good at that. And it's kind of what you were saying. Sorry, I'm interrupting.
Naomi Nakamura: No, no, go ahead.
Nadia Gabrielle: It's kind of like you were saying, you know, when you were starting to run and putting in all these miles and then all these health issues were creeping up and you said,
Naomi Nakamura: Exactly.
Nadia Gabrielle: It's a perfect storm.
Naomi Nakamura: But like, it didn't feel that way at the time. It was just like, why are these random issues popping up? This is so annoying.
Nadia Gabrielle: But I mean, what would you have given then to have someone like you on the other side going, actually, here's a matrix where you can visually see the conditions that are contributing to your reality right now?
Naomi Nakamura: Exactly. And, you know, it's for some people, it's like, you know, they suffered a great loss in their childhood. Or like, you know, maybe they had this, you know, they had a sickness in their childhood that they've recovered from, but yet they don't understand the impact, whether that be physically, emotionally, whatever, on where they are now.
And so that's what I call the Dnablement stage where we start to make it personal and customize to the individual. Like, how do I take these things and apply them to what I'm going through right now?
Nadia Gabrielle: Yeah.
Naomi Nakamura: And then the third phase is Amplification. And that's one-on-one coaching sessions with me where we take, you know, what we've discovered or what your design is. And then that's where we really do some deep work to look in the sessions with you to, okay, what's going on?
And how can we address this?
Nadia Gabrielle: And it's a really... I think that's where someone gets your eyes on it.
Naomi Nakamura: Yes.
Nadia Gabrielle: Yeah. Specifically and can interact in the moment. And yeah.
Naomi Nakamura: Yes. Yeah.
Nadia Gabrielle: I think that's wonderful.
Naomi Nakamura: That's the vision that I currently have and how after going through Service Design School and Product Design School of how I've been able to create this design, how to work with me. It's kind of a hybrid of both.
Nadia Gabrielle: Yeah, exactly. It is. It's you're putting together because that way you're also serving, I think, the most people because some people really like to learn sort of self-study style.
And then also some people might need, you know, it's kind of providing someone an intro to your work. And then maybe at some point they're like, okay, you know, I trust this woman. Like she's really helped me so far.
And I want to get her one-on-one insight or I have this one gnarly thing going on or this tricky thing. And I really want her eyes on this. That's how it goes for me a lot, a lot of the time.
So during this whole process of working on these offers and putting things together, what was something that was either like really surprising or really fun or even like super challenging in the back end of creating these offers?
Because, you know, through my job, I know that what we see in the front end is not always what's going on in the back end. And sometimes I think it's really nice when you hear a little bit about like, what's one thing that people would never know just because they're just sort of listening to the podcast that went on while you were making this?
Naomi Nakamura: So two things.
The first one is, you know, in the work that you and I did together, there were two things, I guess, two affirmations that came out of that.
And one was that it's safe for me to share my voice.
And the other was that my insight is unique. And as I worked through these, that really, my insight is unique really hit home.
Nadia Gabrielle: Yes, I remember.
Naomi Nakamura: It really hit home for me to realize, you know what, this is unique. And that's something that I just, I guess I just never like, you can't, it's one of those things that you just, you know, but you didn't really know.
Nadia Gabrielle: You didn't know it.
Naomi Nakamura: Yeah, I didn’t.
Nadia Gabrielle: You were like, no, no, everyone, everyone can do this. Everyone knows this. I'm like, Naomi, no.
We don't know it. You know it, which is why I would be really gracious of you to make these things so that we can also know it. But we don't know it yet.
Naomi Nakamura: So that was the first one, my insight is unique.
And then the second one was that for me to put together these programs, yeah, I had to put myself in, in a very nurturing and supportive space. So I really had to, like I said, I had to go .
And so I paused the podcast. I was super consistent on social media, but I really had to, I guess, place myself and equally remove myself from the spaces and places that either weren't bringing me closer to alignment, or did bring me closer to alignment versus, you know, the opposite direction.
So I really had to go inward. And I really had to make sure that I was in a good place.
And I was projecting the nurturing and, and the, I guess, the positive energy for me to be able to, to, to birth these things. Yeah, which I did not expect. But then as it would became very apparent that like, I can't, can't be doing these things.
If I'm putting together this program to teach this, like, I really had to make a conscious effort to make sure that I was in a nurturing space, also to foster that creative energy.
Nadia Gabrielle: Yeah, especially as a Projector as well, right? We're susceptible to the outside energies, let's, let's call it. Yeah, it required, it required a lot of going inward, a lot of I understand.
Naomi Nakamura: Yeah.
Nadia Gabrielle: And now that you've kind of reemerged on the other side, and these offers are here now, and they're here for us to, to learn and to consume and to move through and to work with. What is next?
Are you like, okay, I'm taking a big old break. I need this or like, what's or is the next vision already forming? Because you did say you have an Undefined Head.
Naomi Nakamura: Well, I am I have, I did take a big rest.
I actually finished these programs in June, I would have finished them in May, but I got COVID for the first time. So I finished them in June. And I kind of have taken the second half of June and all of July off.
So this episode here is kind of my re entry into going outward again.
So I do plan for the podcast to return with weekly episodes.
If that's one thing that this whole process did is that it's just reinvigorating, you know, I've had the podcast for this so long, actually, this month will be seven years. And seven years, to constantly have to come up with ideas for episodes, you know, a lot of times it's just seamless, and it just happens effortlessly.
But then you go through periods, you're like, I honestly, I feel like I've talked about everything and there's not much more to say about a lot of things.
But this process has reinvigorated that thought process. And I also did not email my email community.
So I'm starting that back again, and taking inspiration from you and doing it monthly again, just to kind of relieve the pressure off of myself of constantly having to create things.
Yeah, I want to be more consistent on social media, because that is so much of a community for me, working from home, and just, you know, being a Projector, a lot of times, like, that is a lot of my daily interactions, because I'm not in an office every day interacting with people.
And so yeah, and then also just to continue more of my client work.
That's one thing that I did have to slim down a little bit through this creative process, but opening that availability back up a little bit more.
Nadia Gabrielle: That's really cool. I'm excited to hear about that. And what about you personally, if you feel like sharing?
Anything that's sort of on the horizon for you in your personal life? And I don't know, a goal that you have, or something you're excited to do or learn about or dive into?
Naomi Nakamura: I do need to take a vacation sometime. So still trying to figure out when that right time is with all of the other things they have going on.
Nadia Gabrielle: I mean, Europe is beautiful in the fall.
Naomi Nakamura: I know, I know. I'm thinking next spring, maybe for that. But but that's definitely on the horizon and just kind of just going with the flow day to day and just just letting things happen.
Nadia Gabrielle: Yeah. Wonderful.
Is there anything that you feel like we've missed or that that you would add or that you wish I had asked? I've been a little bit rusty. You know, I haven't said but this was actually my first job.
My first ever job out of school was to interview rock stars, which Naomi is for the course. But, you know, actual rock star.
So I used to be an interviewer but this was like me at 17, 18, 19 and I haven't done this in quite a while. So if there's anything that you feel like, oh, man, would have been nice to talk about that.
Tell me now.
Naomi Nakamura: I would just say that the work that we did together was really the was really gave me the confidence and also the focus to to finally put these four because like I said, these are things that had been floating around in my head for years that I just never found, you know, and it's this Undefined Head, the ideas are all over the place and it can feel quite overwhelming.
And then I'm just like tired before I even began.
Nadia Gabrielle: I remember I remember because we started off with that one single session that was kind of strategy. I still remember my notes, I guess. I don't have them here.
But I still have them. And it was kind of like, oh, okay, this and this and this. And then pattern sort of starts emerging.
And I love the two words that you said you had, it gave you the confidence, which is the capacity and focus, which is the strategy and you didn't need both.
Like you came with that sort of bundle of ideas and inputs, and we had to order it. But we also had to get you on a capacity platform where you were able to, to actually move through with the strategy.
Naomi Nakamura: And I will say, and I've said it before, on other episodes that you've been on with me that, you know, we all know the work that you do. And we all know that it's wonderful. But until you actually start working with you, I don't think people can really fully grasp the power of it.
Nadia Gabrielle: No, they can't. Because every single client says that they're like, Oh, my God. Yeah, the phone with a client who had two sessions, we had our third session.
And she's like, Nadia, my entire life has changed.
Naomi Nakamura: Yeah, it really has, you know, I have now my phone wallpaper is a photo and it on the bottom. So, you know, under all the apps where I can see it, it says “My insight is unique”, so that whenever I pick up the phone, I'm reminded that my insight is unique.
Nadia Gabrielle: Oh, I love that.
And I remember when we did that specific capacity session on that topic, that opened up so much, like from then on, we were able to really build.
Naomi Nakamura: It did, it did. And so I can't, I can't just, I can't speak about that enough. And I can't thank you enough for that.
Nadia Gabrielle: Thank you so much. That's such a really beautiful reflection. Thank you.
And what I'd like to do to close out this episode is to have just some sort of fun, rapid fire questions. I already alluded to it. Naomi always has the good…
I have an entire list that's just Naomi recommendations of like, podcasts, what have you.
So tell us any good books you've read any good shows you've watched, tell us, tell us what to do. Basically, we'll do it.
Naomi Nakamura: Well, I started Season 3 of The Bear, which you and I both love. But after three episodes, I had to pause because it's a lot on the nervous system.
Nadia Gabrielle: Intense.
Naomi Nakamura: So I switched to this Apple TV show called “The Buccaneers.” It's like, I think there's only like six episodes of Season 1. It was cute. I liked it. It was kind of like Bridgerton meets. Gossip Girl.
So that was cool. But the Brat Pack documentary came out on Hulu. And I was a little bit young for the Brat Pack.
But like, you know how when like, you're like, early teens, you still know what's going on. And that was my group. Like, I loved all of them.
So when that documentary came out, it was like taking me back to my adolescent years. And I have been on the kick of that ever since I've been watching the movies that the Brat Pack has put out. And it was your favorite.
Oh, St. Elmo's fire. You know, when that movie came out, I was too young to watch it. It was rated R. My parents didn't let me watch rated R movies. But I snuck over to my aunt's house. She had HBO and I watched it. I was probably way too young to watch it. But I loved it.
Nadia Gabrielle: Memories, though.
Naomi Nakamura: Yeah. And so if you are maybe not old enough to know what the Brat Pack is, go check out that documentary because so awesome is like, the 80s is awesome. And so I've been on a Brat Pack kick still.
Nadia Gabrielle: So your favorite member of the Brat Pack?
Naomi Nakamura: Oh, Rob Lowe. He was the one.
So growing up, I didn't have Internet. Internet didn't exist. So I would buy like Superteen magazine and 16 Magazine and Bop Magazine because they would have like you could pull out the pages and they would have like pictures of your favorite celebrity.
And so my room would be covered in Rob Lowe pictures.
I have not kept up with him in a long time, but he has two books out, but I read the first actually I listened to the first one because I don't read books. I listen to them - Rob Lowe: The Stories I Tell My Friends”, which is the behind the scenes of his whole career from when he started off.
And, you know, to hear the backstory of the movies that The Outsiders, if you haven't read or watched The Outsiders, that was like that was my coming-of-age movie. So it was taking me back in time.
And I absolutely love listening to his book. I know I tell some of my younger friends, “I loved him on West Wing.” I go, I had a whole ‘nother career before The West Wing.
Yeah, so that and then my favorite podcast is Smartless. I listen to Smartless every week. And I know I recommended episodes to you.
it's Jason Bateman, Will Arnett and Sean Hayes. And that podcast started during the pandemic where they just decided to be three friends to start a podcast.
And because you and I love business and we love and so their podcast, I think they sold it to Amazon for like millions of dollars.
And then that contract just came up and they just sold it for another gazillion amount of dollars to Sirius Radio.
So this little idea that started of, hey, we're three friends, let's just do a podcast with a pandemic because we can't do anything else.
It's probably been the most successful project of all of their careers. And yeah, and and it's really I don't know, I love it. I've been listening to it every week, every Monday since the 2020.
Nadia Gabrielle: So you're very loyal. You're a loyal listener.
Naomi Nakamura: I am very loyal to the things in the brands that I love. I am.
Nadia Gabrielle: Yeah, I'm the same way.
Naomi Nakamura: Like, yeah, I love a good brand story. And so you and I know this, but yeah, I'm very much into business and branding and look at how things are branded.
Nadia Gabrielle: And, you know, like I said, I work very discerning, I find like you're very, very mindful of the things you consume, and you really appreciate the small touches.
So it's less, you know, a brand sort of coming in and being all like hype and, you know, having a big story about authenticity, but you really look at the small things that actually makes a brand valuable and authentic, and then you're in. That's what I've noticed.
Naomi Nakamura: I can see through the holes.
Nadia Gabrielle: Absolutely.
Naomi Nakamura: I can see through the holes.
And you know, you know, this brand that I love, I love Victoria Beckham, but my goodness, Victoria Beckham Beauty, I gotta tell you, I have worked with a beauty brand for the past six, seven, eight years, her beauty brand, all of the little touches, there's not a lot of holes there. There are some, but there's not a lot.
And all of those little touches, I gotta tell you, it is a very chef's kiss to me.
Nadia Gabrielle: Yeah. And that's the kind of thing that makes you stick around, right?
Naomi Nakamura: Exactly.
Nadia Gabrielle: Where so many brands are popping up left and right. And, you know, there's like, oh, now you need this, this new product and this and this, but like, if a brand really manages to capture you and also to deliver and to consistently deliver and to show you how valued you are as a customer, which I remember you had an experience like that with Victoria Beckham.
That, that makes for real relationships, which we talk about in Service Design School and Product Design School, which is absolutely the backbone of any business.
And that is, that has longevity and that is healthy in the long run.
Naomi Nakamura: Absolutely.
Nadia Gabrielle: So speaking of longevity, you have the most, I mean, we just were saying before, Naomi has been at this for seven years, seven years.
This podcast is like, what is it in first grade? It's insane. You have such an impressive back catalog of episodes.
So it's 285 today, right? This is 285.
Naomi Nakamura: Yes.
Nadia Gabrielle: 285th episode. My goodness. And I know I've said this before, but whenever you and I sort of chat about something, any topic comes up and I'll be like, oh yeah, I've been wanting to look into that, like red light lamps or whatever.
Nine times out of 10, you're like, oh, I have a thought on that. I've already thought of it. You know, say no more, fam - I've got you.
You're, you're kind of on the forefront of so many things.
And my question to you is, is there one episode sort of off the cuff that stands out?
One episode that maybe you're particularly proud of, or one that maybe people have been sleeping on a little bit and you're like, this is a really good one. You should really listen to that one. What, what would that one be?
Naomi Nakamura: So in transparency, I honestly like don't remember the early ones, but from the more recent ones, I would say Episode 280: Catalysts for Change.
Cause that like when we talked about, you know, the people that I work with and these are people who are ready to make change. And so that episode talks about what will be your catalyst for making change.
Nadia Gabrielle: Yeah.
Naomi Nakamura: So if you're here and you're listening, I'm assuming there's something that maybe like you're, you're wanting to, to change something or, you know, for whatever reason. And, and so change something, right. Yeah.
Right. And, and so what will be the catalyst for you to finally do that?
Nadia Gabrielle: Yeah, exactly. Do that. Okay.
Everyone, she's going to, I'm sure link it in the notes and then if you haven't listened to this one yet. And then my last question to you, what is your morning routine?
Naomi Nakamura: So I'm a pretty routine-oriented person.
I get up and we've been in a heatwave like the past month, but if there's one thing that it's done, it's helping me get up a little bit earlier, but cause I start my day with a workout. I use Apple Fitness Plus, or I have a Zoom workout with my trainer twice a week.
So always with a workout.
And then right after that, I take my dog out for her workout for her walk and then come home and have breakfast.
And I have a morning smoothie.
Some people have, can't start the day without their coffee. I can't start the day without my smoothie. And then I take a quick shower and I start working.
That's every morning. That's, that's my morning routine weekends too. That's it.
Well, not the working part, but you know, that's it.
Nadia Gabrielle: And you've been doing these challenges. You were telling me about before we started recording that if you're willing to share it with me, cause I'm already inspired. Naomi works like this is the magic of Naomi or part of the magic of Naomi.
Cause she's just by me listening to her. I'm already like, okay, I need to get on this and this.
Naomi Nakamura: Well, is there anything more, a 3rd Line energy than like a challenge, right?
And it's more of a curiosity about what's possible. What could happen if I do this for like 30 days, you know?
And that's, that's really what I used to do when I ran. Like what's possible if I stick to my training schedule, my training plan, like clockwork, like what's possible for me on the other side of this.
And so as I shared, I got COVID Memorial day weekend, which was the end of May.
I had it for two full weeks. So, some people are like, oh, it's fine after four days. No, I had it for 14 days. And then it took like another 14 days for me to really feel like I got my strength back.
And so, and we've been in a heat wave for the month of July and it was, it's really hard to, to do a lot of the workouts that I would like to do.
So I told myself, you know what I'm going to for July, I'm going to do 30 days of yoga.
There's 31 days in the month. I'll give myself a one-day leeway. I'm going to try to do 30 days of yoga just to see how, well, for one thing, it's like one of the few workouts I could do in heat, but also just to see how I feel afterwards.
And so today is day 30. I slept so well. I, you know, some days it was just a 10 minute yoga and like lately it's been 45 minute yoga is it's been fantastic.
And so I'm kind of lining up ideas of what I might do for the next few months for other challenges. And, you know, they're also great ways to build habits.
Nadia Gabrielle: So I really love that. Cause I could do like, I'm, you know, there's very few things that I commit to. Cause I know that there, I just like, I need to keep it one or two things tops.
So I do Eternal Business every morning. And then maybe one more thing, but if I say I'm going to do this for 30 days, that's like a really good time period for me to sort of go, I can do 30 days, you know, and I'm not committing myself forever.
Naomi Nakamura: Yeah. I'm not committing myself to always have to do yoga every day now.
I just wanted to see how it felt after 30 days. I did yoga before it and I'll do it after it, but maybe like not every day. I don't know.
I'm just like really have that immersion. Yeah. How it feels in the moment, but it's been nice and you know, and it's not the only work that I did.
Some days I did 30 minutes of something else and finished it off with 10 minutes of yoga, but yeah.
Nadia Gabrielle: Cause you listen to yourself. Cause you now know what to do that.
Naomi Nakamura: Exactly.
Nadia Gabrielle: Exactly.
Naomi Nakamura: I wake up in the morning and ask what does my body need today? Because if I, if I slept terribly, I'm not going to push myself through a hard workout because that's just going to tax myself even more.
Nadia Gabrielle: What a, what a change from that person or that those circumstances in that reality you had, you know, all those years ago that you were telling us about at the beginning of the episode.
Naomi Nakamura: Yeah. I left the rigidity behind.
Nadia Gabrielle: Yeah. And I mean, I think that's what makes you so trustworthy as a guide and as a coach and as a teacher, because you've been through all of that.
And like that to me that that is what I'm looking for when I'm looking for someone to learn from or to work with that they have that understanding and they have that, that, that curve that they've been through that themselves.
So your listeners, your new fans, your old fans, your diehards, your ride or dies, where will, where shall we direct them to sign up for your new offers? Like, where is, where is the one place they should go?
Naomi Nakamura: Always to my website at livefablife.com.
Um, if they want the specific link, just go slash work with me. And that, that takes them to the page with all of my offerings.
Nadia Gabrielle: Wonderful, which I cannot wait for people to move through again.
As someone who's had the pleasure of sort of being by your side a little bit in the back end and just witnessing, um, this is quality, this is real quality stuff. You're not going to get that anywhere else in this, like the way that it's being delivered to you here.
And with that unique insight that we were talking about, and I'm really, really excited for the people who need this to, to now have it because you did the work on yourself to be able to provide it. So thank you for that.
Naomi Nakamura: I'm excited to, if there's anything this process did, it was reinvigorate my energy around them.
Nadia Gabrielle: Oh, I'm so happy to hear that. And again, thank you for, for trusting me with your precious podcast and for allowing me to come on and ask you all the questions that I've been wanting to ask you. And that I hope really helpful for people to hear the answers to.
Naomi Nakamura: Well, thank you for all your support through the process. And thank you for taking time from your workation to do this.
Nadia Gabrielle: My absolute pleasure. There's nothing else that I would have loved, um, showing up for more than this.
Naomi Nakamura is a Health x Human Design coach who’s creating a healthier society through aligned energy.
She blends a bespoke mix of Functional Nutrition and Human Design to help others shift into alignment to leverage and correctly manage their energy to support their body, mind, and spirit.
She believes that when we embrace our authenticity and lean into our bio-individuality, we naturally live a life of freedom, empowerment, and optimal health.
Naomi resides in the San Francisco Bay Area and can often be found exploring the area with her puppy girl, Coco Pop!
Connect with Naomi on: Instagram
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