Shownotes

In this illuminating conversation of Be It Till You See It, aesthetic nurse and biohacker Rachel Varga joins Lesley Logan to discuss how to achieve lasting radiance by aligning health, mindset, and beauty. She shares how lowering inflammation, managing stress, and purifying your environment can help you look and feel your best—proving that confidence and feeling at peace are the real anti-aging secrets.

If you have any questions about this episode or want to get some of the resources we mentioned, head over to LesleyLogan.co/podcast. If you have any comments or questions about the Be It pod shoot us a message at beit@lesleylogan.co.

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In this episode you will learn about:

• How Rachel’s nursing career evolved into a holistic approach to beauty and biohacking.
• The science behind lowering inflammation to boost vitality and radiance.
• Why redefining vanity as self-respect empowers confidence and self-care.
• Everyday habits that support graceful aging through stress management and sleep.
• How cultivating peace and integrity supports inner and outer radiance.

Episode References/Links:

• The School of Radiance Website – theschoolofradiance.com
• Promo Code: LesleyLogan15 for 15% off one-on-one sessions, tutorial, and membership
• School of Radiance Podcast – https://www.theschoolofradiance.com/podcasts
• Instagram: @RachelVargaOfficial – https://www.instagram.com/rachelvargaofficial

Transcript

Rachel Varga 0:00
I take this approach of longer lasting beauty through biohacking, because when we reduce inflammation and toxins on all fronts, we then set our body up for success, for being our most radiant versions. And the more radiant we are, the more high vibe we are, the more we can get what we desire out of life, in both our personal and professional lives, and be great people, because our bodies are operating properly.

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INTRODUCTION

Lesley Logan
Welcome to the Be It Till You See It podcast where we talk about taking messy action, knowing that perfect is boring. I’m Lesley Logan, Pilates instructor and fitness business coach. I’ve trained thousands of people around the world and the number one thing I see stopping people from achieving anything is self doubt. My friends, action brings clarity and it’s the antidote to fear. Each week, my guests will bring Bold, Executable, Intrinsic and Targeted steps that you can use to put yourself first and Be It Till You See It. It’s a practice, not a perfect. Let’s get started.

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Lesley Logan 1:11
Hi, Be It babe. Okay, this is gonna be a really fun conversation. I wanted to have this conversation for a while, and it’s really like, I’m intrigued by all this, right? I want to, I want to actually look and feel good for as long as possible, but not in like, a crazy, like, change how I look dramatic way, but like, as in a no, this is like, I want to look like me. And so when I met our guest today, because I was on her amazing podcast, Rachel Varga, she’s the host of the School of Radiance, and I was like, oh, I vibe with this person. I really like what they’re saying. It’s intelligent. It’s from a place of research and science and methodologies, and she is so knowledgeable about biohacking and things we can do when it comes to med spas and what we’re doing with to support ourselves and how we feel and how we look, and then we go on a wide range of topics. We don’t hit everything I want to talk about, so I’m going to have to do this again. But I really think you’re going to, one, learn a ton and have a lot of permission get granted, because maybe it’s not something you have to do to you, maybe it’s something you would get to do around you, or maybe it’s about changing something in your environment, right? So now I’m going to let Rachel Varga give you all of her amazing wisdom.

Lesley Logan 2:26
All right, Be It babe, this conversation is one I’ve been really wanting to have, but it had to be with a special person, and so I’ve been waiting the 500 plus episodes to find the person who we can have a conversation about radiance and how we how our how we can age the way we want to, and look good doing it without feeling like we’re being vain or going too far. And so Rachel Varga is our guest today. Rachel, can you tell, can you tell everyone who you are and what you rock at?

Rachel Varga 2:51
Yes, Lesley, so great to be here, and we had a fantastic interview on my show recently, the School of Radiance podcast. And, so technically, I’m a nurse, and I’ve been an esthetics nurse since 2011 so I’ve been in the game for the rejuvenation side of things for a while. Been in that game, published research papers. You can look my name up on PubMed, Rachel Varga, you’ll see my eye rejuvenation papers, jawline rejuvenation papers. And then I also teach other doctors and nurses internationally how to do rejuvenation from the non surgical side of things that like injectables. And I know we’re going to talk a little bit about that, what we can do that’s cleaner options, what’s actually going to work and give us the results that we desire. And so I love to teach, and I love to talk about what we can actually do at home. So on this podcast, we’ll talk about the lifestyle side of things, and kind of delineate what we can do at home and then what’s available in the clinic. But I take this approach of longer lasting beauty through biohacking, because when we reduce inflammation and toxins on all fronts, we then set our body up for success, for being our most radiant versions. And the more radiant we are, the more high vibe we are, the more we can get what we desire out of life, in both our personal and professional lives, and be great people, because our bodies are operating properly.

Lesley Logan 4:23
I love this because I love that you can they it’s almost like a there’s a few different prongs. So if you’re someone who’s like, I don’t want to do surgery, I don’t want to do the injectables like people start to look like cat ladies at some point. And I’m sure that’s not all injectables do that. I’m sure there’s a point which one could stop. But the idea that we there’s things we could do at home, it sounds why wouldn’t you, like, Why? Why wouldn’t you want to do something at home? So before we get into that, though, I do want to kind of know, like, did you always want to get into esthetics? Was this something that you could wear, like, interested as a kid? Like, were you doing makeup? Like, how? Like, what was the journey that got you here?

Rachel Varga 4:59
Yeah. Okay, well, practically speaking, my mom’s an RN, and I saw how hard she worked, but I also saw that it was a great job. It’s a great way to be in that nurturing, supportive, healthy role in the family. It’s like something happens to the kiddos, like you know what’s going on, or your partner or yourself. It’s just great knowledge to have from a nursing perspective for yourself and those you love. My father’s are carpenter and so I always had this eye for, oh, that bumper is a little not so straight, or that picture is a little canted. So I had this eye for symmetry and proportions from that, and then also the health side of things. But I saw my mother really struggle as a night nurse. And she did night nursing, so shift work, it’s just brutal in extended care for her pretty well entire career, she got breast cancer. She was, at one point, weighed 220 pounds. So she was the type of woman, great woman over gave, did the shift work. So I learned early in my career that I didn’t want to be that kind of nurse. And did Pediatric Nursing, pediatric ICU care for a couple years. And during that time in my nursing education, I’d had a few rejuvenation procedures myself too, both surgically and non surgically, and to myself, the aftercare information like the pre post care wasn’t great, and for me, going through nursing training, I was obviously watching all the vlogs online. There aren’t really a lot of professionals actually talking about this stuff, and I think it’s kind of interesting, and people want to know how to get the most out of what they’re investing in in the clinic, and, of course, at home, and how to recover before and after non surgical or non surgical rejuvenation options. And thought I wanted to be a doctor. So did all the med school prerequisites, chem, Organic Chem, biochem. And while I was doing prerequisites and applying to med school, which I did for one year, I got a job as an esthetics nurse, did my injectable training, started in ocular plastics in 2011 and just loved the field. I loved the pace. The hours were great, and I would get access to anything and everything. Then something happened. I met my good friend Dave Asprey. Actually helped get his face ready for superhuman so when you look at that book cover, that’s my work. Oh, what’s this biohacking stuff? This is pretty cool. Started to do some of it myself, cold plunging, intermittent fasting, more protein, adding antioxidants, amino acids, all sorts of great stuff that’s in the biohacking world, red light therapy. And then I was in two car crashes. I had to really lean into the biohacking and recovery side of things and supplementation so that I wasn’t hurting all the time, and so that I would recover faster. And partner has been a pro athlete as well, so very in tune with the athletic recovery side of things too. Then something interesting happened. The better I cared for myself from an inflammation perspective, I didn’t need as much rejuvenation. Scars were fading after just a couple of days post breakout, instead of for months, and I’d have to laser that redness away. I didn’t need to do neuromodulators every three months, I would actually go anywhere from like, a year to a year and a half in between.

Lesley Logan 8:45
For the people who are like, what’s a neuromodulator,

Rachel Varga 8:49
The brand names that you probably know about are Botox, Xeomin, Dysport, Nuceiva, Jeuveau. There’s always new ones growing up. So the technical term for those is neuromodulators. And then I also started to notice, oh, wow, I’m not burning in the sun in 10 minutes anymore. These deoxidants, this reducing inflammation, is actually allowing me to go outside and enjoy my life more. And I as a researcher, put together a paper for the biohacking community a couple years ago. What are some of the biohacks that actually can support slowing aging in sort of like a methodical framework, kind of way, because there’s so many bright, shiny objects in the in the biohacking and wellness space, like, what actually should we start with?

Lesley Logan 9:42
This is insane. So this journey that you went on, like, first of all, you met the person. Like, yeah, you were like, you just met them. And then you needed what they had. Like, thank goodness you met them, because you put, who knows how long would have taken you to stumble upon biohacking in that way. And then it got you to see how it worked on the things that you already do. I can it’s interesting to me because, like, I think some people in your field would be like, what is the need for me if I could just biohack my way to blemish-free skin that can be out in the sun, you know what I mean. But obviously, like, there’s, there’s kind of a place for everything. You know, there’s also like, what works for you and what helps with what you need. And so I love the idea for those at home who are like, well, what are some like, what are like? Maybe they could Google what an antioxidant is. But like, what are some things that they should be thinking about when it comes to inflammation and things that can affect how they look? Because I think sometimes people go, Oh, I’m just older. And we were taught like, Oh, you’re 40, so now you’re 50. Like, these things happen. But from what I understand in biohacking, you can actually do a whole lot. It’s not about the age, it’s kind of about what you’re eating and what you’re doing.

Rachel Varga 10:54
Yeah, you could actually test instead of guess what your biological age is. And I do this usually about once a year, and my biological age, last time I tested it was nine years younger than my chronological age. So doing something right.

Lesley Logan 11:11
I love that.

Rachel Varga 11:14
When I started to speak on the anti aging, the functional, integrative and wellness sides of things, being an aesthetic nurse, like a traditionally trained nurse, and then in the specialty of aesthetic medicine, I was kind of the odd one out, a little bit misunderstood, especially in the rare community that I’m in, people didn’t really get it. It’s more like a California and Florida kind of thing, where people in there, in those states in particular, really big into anti aging medicine, and so that was a bit tough for me. But you know what, some of us were just pioneers in the space. And Dave is more of a disruptor, and I’m more of like an encourager. If I can do it, you can do it too.

Lesley Logan 11:59
Yeah. And I think, like, you know, the I, what a great place where you can go, okay, here are your options. We can do these things, and here’s how often you’d have to do them, and we can absolutely do them, or we can do this thing, and then this is how often, or you could also do this at home. And then it would make whatever we’re doing here would support that, or it would reduce your need for that, is that what I’m hearing, like, the biohacking, like, really supports what you do?

Rachel Varga 12:26
Bingo. So for me to speak on things, because I am a traditionally trained RN, I have to be able to speak on things that are published in the literature. There wasn’t really anything, and I knew this worked. I would see it in my before and after photos. See, you know, 70 to 90 year olds looking fantastic, and they barely need anything. They were aging better. So the jawline paper that I wrote, I basically put in that paper an algorithm for rejuvenation, starting with skin care, then getting into maybe at home peels and at home dermarolling, doing some in-clinic lasers for reds, browns and collagen, you know, resurfacing pore size, polishing the skin, and then the non surgical injectables. So say you guys all probably hear the word Botox, so neuromodulators and fillers and then surgery. So to start from a space of least invasive, you know, do some things, see if you’re happy with those results, you might not need the surgery, but surgery definitely does have a place, coming from ocular plastic surgery for the eyelids. And so I wrote a paper on that, basically an algorithm do least invasive to most invasive, and then the Oxidative Stress Status and Its Impacts on Skin Aging paper that was more like a framework of what’s the lifestyle stuff that we can do to actually clean up and purify our environment by purifying our air, water, lighting, electromagnetics, testing, instead of guessing the foods that we’re eating and then getting into detoxing. And when you do all those things, you should actually be able to get better results from your treatments. And if you go on message boards for people that have issues after injectables or lasers, chances are there was a degree of autoimmune conditions running in the background, or their toxic bucket was really full. They had rejuvenation bucket tipped over, and they had a manifestation of some underlying things that were happening. And then also, during the process of writing those papers, I came across some data. This is why it’s not a nice to do. It’s a need to do, to look after yourself, that autoimmune conditions, or, more precisely, deaths of unknown causes, which I reached back to the source of you know, what does this category actually mean, autoimmune condition or someone passing away before diagnosis, it actually doubled in 2019 compared to the data six years earlier in Canada, this is Canadian information, and then it doubled again in 2021. So autoimmune stuff for skin is like, eczema, psoriasis, those are typically the skin stuff that we see.

Lesley Logan 15:25
It’s interesting that you brought that up because it is like, I think people are like, there’s so many people with autoimmune it’s like, well, now that we know what to test for. The thing about tests, that’s the thing, when we it was all, there, it has probably been there for a really long time. The doubling in such a short period of time is scary, but also it, you know, if the tests weren’t right arranging or the doctors don’t know to test for these things. But I love that you brought that. I like how you bring that up. It’s like if you had stuff run in the background, if you were already inflamed, and then you do something that can add to that, like, it is just like the needle that broke the haystack. And so then the things get the blame when it’s a whole host of things that are going on. And so I think this is really cool. You know it’s and I don’t want to be ignorant, so I think it’s really, to me, what I find interesting is that, like, I would never have associated a biohacker with someone who would also be doing any of these treatments. Like I would, you know what I mean? Like, I think people think you’re either nothing goes in your body except for these things, or you’re, like, whatever, It’s a free rein, I can do whatever I want. And so to find someone who sits in the middle, I actually think it gives people a lot more permission. And I actually one of the things I want to talk with you about is, like, just permission, like, I think a lot of people feel bad or feel embarrassed or feel like they shouldn’t talk about that they want to make any changes to how they look, because we do live in a place now where, thankfully, people are more accepting and people have been taught to not hate their bodies like we should love our bodies. In fact, your body is listening to you. So part of biohacking would actually be to not talk about the things you don’t like about your body because your body’s listening. But how can we think about like is it vain for us to want to want to change things on our face, or to want to look a little younger, to want to look a little fresher? Is that? Is that a bad thing? Like, should we not be wanting to change these things? We just be happy with how we look?

Rachel Varga 17:11
I think that there’s a similarity here with this concept of imposter syndrome. Everyone who starts to do something new is like, Oh my gosh. I don’t know of like, Can I do this? Am I gonna get laughed at? I think it’s that’s just as common as the shadow side of beauty, which is, is this vain? Am I doing something that’s selfish to care for myself? One of the reframes that I love to talk about is self-care, self-love. I get so many sweet downloads when I’m doing my skincare, I’m blow drying my hair, I’m doing my beautification, my makeup, putting on a cute outfit, looking at myself in the mirror, it’s like, Oh, wow. I had three hours of sleep last night. How the heck do I look this good? Well, there’s some biohacks that I did to hack a bad sleep and why I had a bad sleep, which is hilarious. So we can definitely talk about that. But the vanity component is essentially the shadow side of beauty and radiance at its core. So I love to investigate the psychological, the energetic things behind everything as well, because everything is energy. And we’re seeing a shift now, though. In about 2018, a number of my clients started to ask me, Rachel, what can I do for healthier skin I want to improve my skin health. So I really started to notice the shift. And then now fast forward to the year that we are in now, every med spa, well, the ones that are, you know, up with the current times, are doing things like NAD infusions, they’re offering weight loss, they’re offering hormone support, and all of these different things that we’re now seeing a really exciting time in the med spa industry, the functional space, integrative and biohacking space, coming together. It’s almost like this bifurcation point a couple years ago, but I did see the writings on the wall back in about 2018 that this was going to happen, and now this is what the most notable med spas in the world are doing, is they’re incorporating all these things because people want to go to a one-stop shop and not necessarily just look at rejuvenation as being vain, but a form of self-care. They’re doing other things as well that they’re investing time and energy in, or they might have a health spending account that makes them feel better, because when you feel better, you look better, and when you look better, you feel better. So what I like to suggest, if someone is really grappling with, okay, money’s tight or I feel vain about doing this, feel like that money should go to my kids or whatever. But if something’s bothering you for a while, say, for example, lines between the brows, or lines to the forehead, or hooded upper eyelids, lower eye bags, melasma, pigmentation, red acne scars, large pores, acne scarring, losing sharpness to the jaw, lines, jowls, fullness to the neck, the list goes on. But if something is really bothering you and you’re looking at yourself in the mirror, be like, I really love to do something about that, because it’s the one thing that kind of bugs me. I think that the benefit of knowing that, hey, there are some really great health non surgical, or surgical things that we can do to actually support those things. But my angle is, okay, what’s the least toxic thing that we can do to give the best results? What is going to give the most long term benefits? So that’s why sometimes surgery, like eyelid surgery, is one of the most common surgeries performed to remove excess eyelid tissue. That’s actually probably even going to cost less money than trying to do all these other non surgical things, and you have a longer result. So it just depends on everybody’s situation. But the vanity thing is something I think every single person grapples with, if they’re completely honest with themselves, and then they do it. They do their rejuvenation, they bump up their at home skincare routine, they purify their environment, like, Oh, I feel better. I’m gonna keep doing this, because it’s something I do for myself, kind of like getting your (inaudible) you always feel so much better after you have, you know, fresh highlights or whatever.

Lesley Logan 21:36
Yeah, yeah. Well, I think, like, there’s a difference between doing something because you think it’s going to get you people’s reaction from people, and doing something for yourself. You know, I think if you are do making changes to yourself, because for other people, that would be a problem, but if you’re doing it for yourself, like you said, you don’t like the way your pores are. I have my mom, she has talked about the eyelid surgery, and I saw her recently in person. I was like, Oh, poor thing. I don’t know. Can you see? Get like, you know, like, and that’s not a vain thing. It’s also like a necessity, necessity thing, but also like in being it till you see it, some of these things are taking up so much brain space that they’re holding us back from coming out and showing people who we are like, if you’re not putting yourself out there because you have a scar or you have you don’t like the way something looks, that that does bother me, because it does mean that the world is missing out on what your gift is. You know, there are people that you’re the only person who can do what you do, and if you’re hiding yourself for whatever reason, then that is a bummer, because those people miss out on it and they end up getting swindled by somebody else. So I, I’m of the place, like, if it’s for you and it’s going to help you show up as the best version of yourself, like, you know, you really do have to look, look into that. But I also love your approach of, like, what’s the least invasive, least toxic, most long lasting. And I think if we, I think if we go with that approach, as opposed to quick fixes, then we all, and that goes for everything, not just even for the things you do with your face.

Rachel Varga 23:11
100% Oh, you touched on so many beautiful things. So we’re gonna back this, because there’s some nuggets here for everybody. What happens when you go into the wild, you know, if you’re, if you’re anything like me, you’re working from home, you’re going to the gym, you’re going to the grocery store, going to church, you know, some work in social events, but that’s kind of what the lifestyle looks like. But when we and sometimes I want speeches, and that’s super fun, I get all glammed up when you go out into the wild and you see two kinds of people, you see the one person that I just have my hair and, like, a cute little dancer’s button I got my workout outfit on. You would love it. It’s, like, very Pilates appropriate.

Lesley Logan 23:56
I saw it when you (inaudible) I was like, that’s so cute. I need a little shawl for my my one my jumpsuit.

Rachel Varga 24:02
Oh and I love my body, and I work hard. I lift weights, work on the flexibility, stability, cardio, strength, all those things. I feel fantastic because it brings me in my body as well. W e’re very grounding at the end of the day, when you see that individual that they got a little bit of makeup on, they brush their hair, they don something cute, even if it’s a little bun, and they have a smile, and they’re bright, and they’re connecting. Compared to the other person that’s just schlepping it. They got their PJ pants on or their sweat pants, they’re not put together at all, and they just look like they legitimately rolled out of bed. It’s like, okay, something’s going on with that person. Oh, this person’s really showing up for themselves. They’re, you know, putting effort into their appearance. What that actually communicates when you show the world that you’re valuable because you value yourself, that’s powerful. And if you’re showing the world that you just rolled out of bed, your life’s a mess, people aren’t actually going to value you in the same way. I know that sounds really brutal, but you will be more valued in your relationships. In the professional space, you’ll have better relationships. You’ll probably be able to make more money, because there’s also research to show that people actually who care for themselves the way that they look, earn higher income. But the cool part here that you touched on for you know, reactions for other people is it for yourself. I’ve seen that where ladies have come to me and their boyfriends in the waiting room and they say, I want to get my lips done. And their lips are already like fantasy lips, if you know what I mean. And I just say to them, no, that’s gonna go. If I do anymore, it’s gonna really put your lips out of the ideal ratios that actually creates beautiful lips. So you’re not a candidate for this treatment. Obviously, there’s some body dysmorphia that can have too. However, when we do rejuvenation in a way that looks natural, feels good for us. You know, the body’s just like, yes, I want to do this. But thinking about it for a while, it helps to build confidence. Something very interesting about confidence, actually, is that the more confident we are, the better able we’re going to be in showing up and building our community. And community is a deep survival need. We’re not meant to go through life on our own. We’re not meant to over give. We’re meant to be supported and receive from those around us, and obviously have it be reciprocated. But the there’s the value component, there’s the confidence component, there’s the community component as well. So there’s a lot of really beautiful things actually, about beauty and what it does to our lives.

Lesley Logan 27:00
Yeah, and I do, I find it’s like, so I used to work at a studio when I lived in L.A., I’d have to, like, leave the house and obviously, how I run and how I shop at the gym, different things, but anything before 7 a.m. that’s what different. But when I would go to my studio, I would get dressed to work, go to work, I would teach the whole thing. When I started working from home, I noticed like, oh, I’m not in front of the camera today, so I would just kind of like, still be in the same clothes I did my walk and my workout in, and I was like, starting to slowly feel down about myself and having to give myself more pep talks. And I was doing my fake eyelashes, and they kept getting bigger and wrong, and I kept giving them feedback. And I was like, I don’t really like how this is looking. So then I got rid of the fake eyelashes, and now I’m like, well, now I’m a bald eagle, and now I think I’m over at and and I was like, hold on. I also could learn how to do makeup for my natural lashes, and I could get dressed each day, like, how would if I got dressed each day? And what I realized is, by using the clothes in my closet and getting dressed and having a routine of putting my makeup on and and things like that. All those things actually made me feel better. So that whole little haze that, like cloud that was kind of like following around, kind of like an oppression commercial. I don’t know if you havethem in Canada, but we have them here, where they’re, like, trying to sell you like this cloud that just like hovers over this girl as she walks around, the cloud’s gone. I was like, oh, over time, I slowly became used to not doing these things that felt like a waste of time or like not a big deal who’s seeing me, and the more I actually spent time with myself. It’s not to go back to the vanity topic, It’s not vain. It actually just made it easier for me to show up as myself and put myself out there. Because I wasn’t going, Oh God, my hair is a mess. Like, like, I, like, got ready for the day, just like, as if I went out into the world to go to work. And so I would say, like, it’s really easy for us to go, oh, the world expects us to look a certain way. And really, I actually think the world is quite obsessed with people who are confidently walking in front of them, people who are confidently walking in a room like it. Actually, I’m always amazed, like the people who are famous or infamous and things like that, like some of them, I would never consider like a natural form of beauty, but people are excited about them because they’re so calm they walk in, they have their head held high. And so I think if we just go back to like, what are you doing for yourself to help you show up to be the person you want to be, like, those things can’t be wrong.

Rachel Varga 29:25
Very well said, the, I love this show so much. I love connecting with you, Lesley, I think you’re fantastic. You’re hitting the nail on the head of, like, really deep topics around beauty and rejuvenation and not enough people are kind of talking about this stuff, the concept of feeling down and self-talk. Let’s break that down for a second. A lot of us say, Oh, my fine lines and wrinkles, or, you know, my elevens, or my acne scars, or from an injury perspective, because a lot of you listening are ahletic and sometimes injuries can happen when you’re doing new things and pushing your limits and building your strength and your resilience and your readiness and adaptability and all those good things. So instead of saying my whiplash, I detach from it, and I don’t say my I say, oh, you know, I’m experiencing this or, Oh, I have a blemish, but I’m not reinforcing it into my identity, because a lot of people have these things that they reinforce into their identity, and then it’s like, stuck in their field, if you will. Now we’re gonna go just a little bit woo.

Lesley Logan 30:39
Oh, you know, we used to only be a one woo show, and considering where the world is right now, Brad and I have gone two woos. We’re woo woo in it.

Rachel Varga 30:50
Yeah, very much grounded in the 3d science, I published papers. I just the other day, was teaching 60 doctors in Vancouver. Super fun. I just can’t help but notice this group of patients that I observed in my career. This is why I talk about radiance, men and women aged 60 to 90 that had never done any rejuvenation. They would come to see me, either on a video call like this, or in the clinic, and I would look at them and be like, Wow, you look fantastic. Like, yeah, you know a couple of things like, bother me. I’d love to do something about it, but it was just how they carried themselves. So I started to kind of unpack this. What is this? What is this that I’m noticing it’s like this inner glow, this inner vibration, and what are the components in their life that are contributing to that, which you can ground to the key determinants of health, which are recognized globally as being important factors to determining how healthy you’re probably going to be depending on the environment around you. They had a certain vibe to them. Their skin shown differently. Their voice was different. They were very present. They had a family life, they had a spiritual practice. They had hobbies, they had a community. So I coined this radiance, and then I started to dive into some Ayurvedic texts, and came across the definition of radiance, which I think is one of the best definitions of that word that I’ve ever come across. It’s the electromagnetic projection of all of your body systems. The radiant body is the 10th body, and then we have our body, mind, spirit, energy. There’s some other bodies in there, but the radiant body is basically that electromagnetic projection of you and a reflection of how all your operating systems are running into the world. And when you begin to hone and cultivate this radiant energy, it’s kind of like you become a queen, and you enter a room and everybody notices you for all the right reasons, you become a magnet. And with that, when you step into that very powerful, radiant, queen, feminine and (inaudible) energy, you also repel vibes of certain people that aren’t going to be in your highest it’s like you’re a magnet, but you’re also very attractive.

Lesley Logan 33:22
Yeah, just like magnets also repel the other side.

Rachel Varga 33:25
Exactly. Yes. So magnetic to the right people, the right situations, the right opportunities, and telling yourself (inaudible) oh, you know, there’s great things coming just around the corner that are better than I even imagined. And I say that all the time, and it happens all the time. So this becomes you. You become like this force. And one of the most cool things about this as a woman is you get respected, and you are revered by men, not just idolized for looking a certain way, but actually respected and revered, and this is getting into some of the more powerful layers of beauty and radiance. And what you mentioned with your self talk, you probably felt some guilt and shame, right? And those are the lowest vibrations we can possibly sit in. The highest ones are peace love, joy, then there’s pre enlightenment, then there’s enlightenment. So peace, love, joy, channel your inner (inaudible) that is actually setting the stage for all of your cells and inner machinery and operating systems and field, the human biofield, is an emerging body of science to shine brighter, to slow aging, to feel better, to look better.

Lesley Logan 34:47
I love this, and I really do believe in it, because there was years ago I listened to a podcast where they said your cells are listening to you, and how you talk about yourself is what you produce. So if you, going back to your like, my scars, my this, it’s so important that you do, you don’t hold on to those things, because the body is listening and like they actually did some scientific studies, multiple ones. One of them was they took these people, they blindfolded them, they set them in a chair. They were in a room where they could hear a fire burning, right? And they could hear this hot and they could hear like this, when you put, like, water goes right, that whole thing. And they’re like, okay, we’re gonna take this (inaudible) and we’re gonna brand you, right? And these people are like, Oh my God, they’re telling, they’re describing what the branding mark is going to be. All these things. I don’t even know how they clear this, because it sounds like trauma and torture and all the things, however they did it. And what they would do is they would like make the sound, and then they touch the person with a pen, a pen, and the person develop the welt in the shape of the description of what the branding was going to be. Right? Like, now, whether it lasts or not, wasn’t part of the thing, but like they the body was like, so prepared for what it was told it was going to become. And another doctor was trying to figure out if it was a scraping of the knee or the drain of the knee that actually was healing these knee issues. So of course, he has to take three groups of people, one where nothing happens, one where they scrape and one where they drain, and then compare the three and the people who had nothing they were just put into they were put under anesthesia. They played, they played a video of a knee surgery happening so that they would hear in their subconscious they were sent to do all the same post surgical protocol as everyone else. They had the same results as the people who had had surgery, because they told themselves, I had surgery, my knee is fixed, and their body did these things. And so I became so conscious of like, what are we actually talking to ourselves about? Because before we go into all the things we could do to change our bodies, before we go into the biohacking foods, and then what type of treatments we could do, how you’re talking to yourself, is literally free. It’s a, it’s a, it’s a free thing you can change. It costs nothing.

Rachel Varga 37:01
when you think of a monk, what are they doing all the time?

Lesley Logan 37:03
Oh, we get to see them in Cambodia all the time. They are meditating and they’re praying. They give blessings. That’s what they’re doing, just sitting there meditating.

Rachel Varga 37:15
And you said something very profound, giving.

Lesley Logan 37:19
Blessings.

Rachel Varga 37:23
Who you are, depending on what really your reason is for being here. For mine, it’s really to activate and initiate men and women around me to be their best versions. I’m very clear on that. So for me and my presence, that’s how I serve. That’s how I offer. It’s how can we be in this state where we engage with others and we brighten their day, we say something kind to them, the way that we move through life is like an offering and a blessing. We first need to fill our cup first, though, that’s very important. One of the things that you can channel next time you’re in your Pilates or a heavy lifting situation, I do this all the time at the gym. I actually do breath work because for activity as women, especially if you’re around that pre perimenopausal, perimenopausal, menopausal and postmenopausal, the body’s going through transmissions, and what breaks down collagen and elastin quickly is elevated cortisol, which results in a drop of estrogen. When estrogen falls, collagen, elastin, fall too the more at peace you are, the more in that parasympathetic state you are, the less you’re in the sympathetic state with high cortisol, adrenaline, you’re going to age slower. You’re going to have a slowness of the collagen elastic breakdown. And you could actually just do things to stimulate it, right? Like good skincare, sunscreen on the high real estate areas, mineral only at home, dermarolling, in clinic, lasers to get that collagen back up. Consuming collagen is also great. 10 to 12 grams a day is what’s in the literature to actually create those visible skin changes in a month. But what I do when I work out is something hilarious, and I actually did bench press with the bodybuilder gym (inaudible) crew at the gym. I was included. They respect me. They revere me. They see my dedication and hard work. So, you know, I was right there with them get it spotted and encouraged, and here I am elevating their presence as well. But when I work out, and I was actually sharing this with one of the bodybuilders, because they’ll do like smelling salts to get them in the sympathetic state, which could be good for the masculine, but for the feminine, we don’t want that. We want to keep that cortisol down, what I do, actually, between sets of working out, is go right into parasympathetic breathing. Breathe in for four seconds, hold it for four seconds, exhale for four seconds. And you can do this, do like four to five cycles of that. You can drop into that at any point during the day when you get some news of a task that you need to do. I run like 13 businesses. So there’s always, you know, these kind of small fires, and I have to figure out, like, who to delegate what I need to do, blah, blah, blah. But there’s always something. So no matter what, I just always drop into that. Have those dates, have that honey, so I have that glycogen. Take those adaptogens to support the adrenals. Do the self care. But the biggest thing, I think, for beauty and slowing aging is, what do you think creates peace?

Lesley Logan 41:05
What do I think creates peace? In someone’s life?

Rachel Varga 41:07
Yeah, what do you think creates peace in someone’s life?

Lesley Logan 41:10
Oh, my gosh. Well, I don’t, to be honest, my mind is (inaudible) a few places. One, good sleep, that helps with peace. Two, not taking things personally, that could take, I think that could cover a lot of things. Maybe the whole four agreements would create peace and then self love.

Rachel Varga 41:29
That’s beautiful. What actually builds our confidence when you make a decision and we’re happy with those decisions that we’re making, or making them out of integrity. People who make really bad decisions, they have to live with guilt and shame, and they have terrible sleep. They’re tossing and turning, and they got night sweats. All sorts of stuff goes on in someone’s nervous system when they constantly have that guilt and shame, operating in the background. Ask for forgiveness, but move towards operating in integrity in every single thing that you do, you will have more peace because you’re making better decisions. I wouldn’t I can’t picture a monk acting out of integrity, right? That’s like against their code. So to have that, I just think it’s gorgeous. Not taking things personally is also great. So you’re recognizing that not everybody is taking as good care of you. You might have different values or lifestyles or what’s important to you. So not taking things personally and just kind of witnessing that everyone’s on their own journey, and just let go, but just have that knowing that the decisions you’re making are out of integrity, and self love is such a beautiful component to that as well because you’re telling your body when you’re doing your skincare in the am and pm, you’re washing your face, you’re putting great things on that aren’t toxic, and you’re doing a lot of the personal development stuff as well, to be the best human that you can be, to be the best woman partner that success in your career, and just be a light in the world and think that and bring beauty. Literally, I’ve done this. I’ve just had a terrible day, something’s going on, and I put on a cute outfit, do my hair and makeup, and I go engage with someone. They’re like, Wow, you look so pretty today. It was like, it brightens my day. My beauty brightened their day. And then send and receive. I give them a compliment of something that I see is beautiful in them, too.

Lesley Logan 43:35
Yeah, oh my gosh. You know, so many good things. And there was like five, five other things I wanted to get to in today’s episodes. We’re just gonna have to have you back. We’re just gonna have to have you back because I was like, really hoping we could talk about, like, is Gua Sha really working? What are the things I should be doing? So we’re just gonna have to do this again, and we’re gonna take a brief break and find out how people can find you, follow you, work with you. And you already gave us some good stuff, but some Be It Action Items.

Lesley Logan 43:58
All right, Rachel, where do they hang out? Where do you hang out? Where can people like stalk you in the best way, get more information, work with you, talk with you, where can we send them?

Rachel Varga 44:08
Absolutely, I hang out on Instagram. I love to engage with those who are you? They say yes to themselves. They know they’re worth it, and they’re curious about some of the different options I share a ton of very entertaining education, like, I shared some sleep stuff like, why (inaudible) sleeps because I took creatine too late after my workout. But how did I hack that not so great sleep? I took a little bit more in the next day because it fires up your ATP, anyways, funny stuff like that. As a biohacker and also in the med spa space is over @RachelVargaOfficial, that’s my Instagram handle. And then the podcast, really great show, the School of Radiance podcast. And then theschoolofradiance.com is my website, where you can book a one-on-one. You can join my seasonal skin tutorials, where I actually show you how to do Gua Sha, do your skincare, your makeup, your dermarolling peels, retinols, what rejuvenation is great to do that time of year, so basic and advanced stuff over six weeks, great. Not a YouTube tutorial. It’s way better.

Lesley Logan 45:13
I’m already in. I’m like, hold on, I need to.

Rachel Varga 45:15
Super fun, super fun, right? And then the membership is more of that high level. How do we actually activate this radiance and stuff so we can enjoy our lives better and make more money in the process? Those are the two key metrics you’re gonna get benefits from.

Lesley Logan 45:30
Amazing. You guys, we have a promo code for you in the show notes and everything, so make sure that you check that out. I already have an appointment booked because I am really excited. And it’s, again, not because of it’s like, oh, I’m trying to be vain. I’m trying to be something that the world wants. No, it’s so that when I look in the mirror, I feel awesome about myself, and I can show up more and more and do all the things. And so I’m just so grateful that our paths crossed. You have given us a lot of great tips. Ladies, get on the creatine. Okay, it’s really amazing. There’s tons of research. Oh yeah, muscles also, just like, apparently, tons of work on the Alzheimer space, which I’m very excited about. Thank God I’ve been doing creatine for years. But bold, executable, intrinsic or targeted steps our listeners can take to be it till they see it. What do you have for us?

Rachel Varga 46:16
Yeah, the skincare checklist, actually, over at theschoolofradiance.com when you sign up for my newsletter, I have a free 30 minute biohacking lesson too, and use promo code LesleyLogan15 for 15% off of your one-on-one here with m. Creatine, creatine, creatine, yes, high protein, one gram to 1.5 grams of protein per pound of body weight, huge when I started to lift heavy and do those two things, and keep up with the flexibility, mobility that just gave me more inner power, activation, if you will, great for the skin too, and caring for yourself, not just your skincare, not just your rejuvenation, but purifying your environment, air, water, lighting, electromagnetics, eating the right food, then detoxing is a key part, but it’s what we do every single day.

Lesley Logan 47:07
I love that you brought those things up, because I do a lot of people go on detox all the time, but they don’t fix their don’t check their water problem. When I lived in L.A., all the water stuff said the pipes were great. Everything is great. You guys, I had arsenic and cadmium in my system. So how, right? So we had to, like, we lived in a 500 square foot apartment and had, like, a $5,000 water system put in, and yes, I took it with me when we moved. But I think it’s really important so that you all can support things. Right? These are things you can do at home, with your for yourself and in your environment to help you feel really good. So I am obsessed with these tips. I really am obsessed with you. I can’t wait for more conversations together and how people are going to use these tips in your life. You guys, let us know. Tag Rachel Varga, tag the Be It Pod. Share this with the friend who needs to hear it. Sometimes we have friends who are actually overly picking on themselves, and maybe I actually think the words that we talked about here today can really support that and help them understand like, you know what is needed, what is necessary, what is helpful, and then also, if you’re starting to feel a little bit out of it yourself, like I, I’m gonna tell you right now, it’s really okay to care about how you want to put your hair or how you want to dress, because those things actually help us show up more in the world. And we’re we are allowed to take up space. So Rachel, thank you so, so much. And until next time everyone, Be It Till You See It.

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Lesley Logan
That’s all I got for this episode of the Be It Till You See It Podcast. One thing that would help both myself and future listeners is for you to rate the show and leave a review and follow or subscribe for free wherever you listen to your podcast. Also, make sure to introduce yourself over at the @be_it_pod on Instagram. I would love to know more about you. Share this episode with whoever you think needs to hear it. Help us and others BE IT TILL YOU SEE IT. Have an awesome day!

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Lesley Logan
‘Be It Till You See It’ is a production of The Bloom Podcast Network. If you want to leave us a message or a question that we might read on another episode, you can text us at +1-310-905-5534 or send a DM on Instagram @be_it_pod.

Brad Crowell
It’s written, filmed and recorded by your host, Lesley Logan and me, Brad Crowell.

Lesley Logan
It is transcribed, produced and edited by the epic team at Disenyo.co.

Brad Crowell
Our theme music is by Ali at APEX Production Music and our branding by designer and artist Gianfranco Cioffi.

Lesley Logan
Special thanks to Melissa Solomon for creating our visuals.

Brad Crowell
Also to Angelina Herico for adding all of our content to our website. And finally to Meridith Root for keeping us all on point and on time.