Ep 395: Bridging Science and the Sacred with Dr Maya Shetreat

Dr. Maya Shetreat is a neurologist, herbalist and astrologer who is bridging science and the sacred. Maya is a conventionally-trained pediatric neurologist but she’s also an herbalist and author of The Dirt Cure and she will be the first to tell you she’s weird. And if that’s true then I am her kind of weird and you might be too!

Maya spent her 20s getting married, having babies, and becoming a doctor. She spent her 30s building a practice and growing her family. By the time she reached her 40s, Maya had checked off all the traditional boxes of “success” and then decided to “burn it down.” 

Why? Because she knew the expectations that came from being a wife and a woman in her heterosexual marriage were no longer in alignment with her soul’s purpose and longings on this earth. 

In our conversation we dig into what it was like to develop at an early age, what it looks like to pursue non-traditional currencies of “success” instead of money and what it looks like to exercise as a spiritual practice.

As Maya is approaching her 50s she has no desire to return to her former self and is falling more in love with her body, her soul and her purpose with each passing day. Our chat touches on how you can do the same.

In our time together we also discuss Maya’s work with mushrooms and psychedelics (you’ll also learn about my first accidental experience with psychedelics) and Maya’s course on creating fun, play and spaciousness in our lives. If you need to heal from trauma, are looking to create more space in your life to pursue your true heart’s desires or would like to work 1:1 with Maya, make sure you connect on  drmaya.com. 

In episode 395 of the Embodied Podcast we discuss: [0:37] Maya’s complicated relationship with being a doctor [2:10] Maya’s relationship with God, a creative force, the unnameable [5:36] What happens when we harness ourselves to the worship of money [8:16] The types of currency that are valued in western society vs the type of currency Maya has learned to value [9:58] How Elizabeth is using peace and space to determine what she does and does not do [10:45] Maya’s course on fun, play and spaciousness [12:23] The curing abilities of mushrooms and psychedelics for trauma and addiction [16:04] Finding spirituality in exercise [17:16] The 12th House and why it is referred to as “the house of undoing” [19:10] The main reason Elizabeth got back into exercising [22:22] Balancing masculine and feminine energies [24:11] Lifting as a pathway to your personal power [28:04] Blowing up narratives around femininity [32:13] Fatphobia and how it is rooted in prejudice [36:12] How Maya felt in her body when she was in relationship with a man vs. being in relationship with a woman [39:14] The expectations that came with being a wife and a woman in a heterosexual marriage [41:25] How maturing early led both Maya and Elizabeth to protect their body [43:00] Learning to love yourself as a revolutionary idea [46:16] What it looks like to peacefully end a soul agreement and how that can be celebrated [48:05] The beauty in non-traditional paths [50:14] Learning to not be attached to outcomes [52:22] Understanding that when you say yes to something you say no to something else [55:01] Connecting with the sacred through nature

For full show notes and resources, head to https://untameyourself.com/podcasts/395

About the EMBODIED Podcast with Elizabeth DiAlto 

If you’re feeling it, subscribe to the show, and leave us a review wherever you listen from. You can also keep up with show updates and community discussion on Instagram here.