019 – Microdosing with Tiffany Hurd – Microdosing Guide & Plant Medicine Facilitator
Join Kelli Russell & Tiffany Hurd, Microdosing Guide & Plant Medicine Facilitator
Have you heard about microdosing and want to learn more about it and if it might be right for you?
In this episode, learn all about:
- benefits
- adverse effects
- best practices & what you can do to enhance the experience
- what someone can expect from utilizing a guide, and,
- discover the most surprising thing Tiffany discovered from being a microdosing guide.
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Want to learn more about microdosing, plant medicine, and working with a guide? Book a consult on Tiffany’s calendar here:
microdosing one-on-one
ceremony one-on-one
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and follow Tiffany on:
IG: @iamtiffanyhurd
website: www.tiffanyhurd.com
Epsiode Transcript
Kelli Russell  0:02
Hello, everybody, welcome to our radical enlightenment Podcast. I’m so excited to have a very special guest. We have with us Tiffany Hurd, she is a micro dosing guide and a plant medicine facilitator, and I have so many questions. Welcome, Tiffany,
Tiffany Hurd  0:18
thank you so much for having me, I’m really excited to be here. Good feel it’s gonna be really good conversation.
Kelli Russell  0:24
So it’s something that I’ve explored in my past. I’m dabbling in it a little bit right now, I have a lot of clients in my subconscious change work, that are also dabbling in or are interested in it. And something I thought would be really cool to have a guide on to tell us the ins and outs of it, and we get the insider’s perspective. So we can go right to the source. So super excited that we have you here. So my first question is, what issues do most people want to solve when they come to you?
Tiffany Hurd  1:00
Hmm. Yeah, that’s a really good question. So there’s such a variety of reasons. But, I would say most often I work with people who really want to create healthy habits in their life where they want to climb out of something mental health related, whether that be anxiety or that be depression, I see a lot of people that feel kind of stuck in their lives or in certain areas of their lives. And, they really just need that extra support, or someone in their corner that accountability, or a modality of medicine, such as what we’re gonna dive into, to help them and making those changes. I see a lot of people that desire to get off their medications. And they’ve read about my personal story about how microdosing really supported me and getting off a couple of my antidepressant medications. And so they’re interested. How did you do that? How did you work with microdosing for that? I would say that people also come to me where they’re experiencing some sort of unfulfillment in their life, and they’re really looking to kind of reignite their passion or their motivation their inspiration, things along those lines, that usually shows up in their careers or somewhere in in some type of relationship in their life. Overall, I would say, the main theme I see with all of these things is people really want to just feel connected, they want to feel connected to themselves, they want to feel they want to feel again, they want to feel in their bodies, they want to feel alive. They want to connect spiritually, that that’s, that’s a big one as well. So, yeah, I work with a lot of a lot of varieties of different people that for all those reasons, I’d say even recently, a lot more like entrepreneurs and leaders or people that have a really strong influence, or love, they love to microdose specifically for new creative ideas or honing in on specific projects within their business and microdosing has been incredible for that.
Kelli Russell  3:07
So that leads me into a question about what types of things can we expect some things that I’ve noticed from from microdosing is you said that enhance connection to self, more deeply feeling your feelings. I also noticed feeling more connected to nature and other people in general. But talk more about that. I’m wondering if the way that the mushroom works in nature, the mycelium is connecting trees to be able to communicate to one another. For example, if there’s a pest eating one tree, the mycelium could go underneath the ground a mile and a half to the next tree and tell that tree to change the flavor of its leaves to make an undesirable to that pest. So in that same way as that connective tool is my understanding is we’re helping connect to neurons in our brain and that same way could you speak to that?
Tiffany Hurd  4:05
Yeah, so I love the mycelium lowdown that you gave that amazing I love that. Yeah, so you know when we’re micro dosing when we’re working with psychedelics in general, but to just hone in on micro dosing, psilocybin, specifically micro dosing is it’s reducing what’s called the default mode network in our brains, we all have this and in essence, the default mode network is activated. When we are replaying memories or we’re imagining something in the future or we’re listening to just like that little ruminating voice in our minds. It could be really active, it could be just on autopilot or on repeat. And so while you know baseline levels of the default mode activity are totally normal, and overactive Default Mode Network often translates into Like I said, kind of these repetitive thought loop patterns or this circular thinking or fixation, things like that. And so, you know, it’s really it’s, it’s the it’s the biological basis for limiting beliefs for being in a rut for feeling stuck for feeling inside the box, sort of sort of rigidity thinking. And so what happens when we microdose not to get like to science on you, but what happens when we microdose is it just kind of helps paint the picture, because so many people are like, wait, what’s the default mode network, and it just helps to kind of simple, simplify it a little bit. And so what’s happening when we are micro dosing is micro dosing is actually interrupting those patterns. And so as it’s interrupting the patterns, it’s simultaneously fostering these new neural connections, such as what you just shared. And so as a result, it becomes easier to create new habits, new beliefs, new ideas. And so this becomes very, very useful, because a lot of our old beliefs or habits can really be the root of why we might be experiencing depression, or anxiety or addiction, stress, lack of creativity, things like that. And so, in other words, to kind of summarize this, all micro dosing is allowing your brain the ability to sprout new neurons to create new neural pathways, which essentially get you out of that same thought loop pattern presents new opportunities for that thought path to kind of go down. And that’s where you’re, you know, people who are microdosing are experiencing these opportunities to create healthier habits to you know, feel like they’ve had a really kind of shift in perception, or, you know, the ways that they were really set on, you know, such as a ruminating thoughts, they’re now they now have options of things to choose from first feeling like you’re just stuck in that same pattern in that same thoughts dot loop pattern.
Kelli Russell  6:57
That’s so awesome. We have definitely like overlapping objectives in the work that we do. And I help people reprogram their subconscious thinking as well. And the way I describe it to people is like, it’s for those who have been snowboarding or skiing, there’s like a well worn path that everybody’s used to going down, but it can get kind of icy or hard under there, and it’s not that comfortable. But that’s the path that we go down. So when we create this new pattern, it’s like fresh powder over here. And we’re training the brain to go to this new fresh powder. Now the tendency is for the brain to go back to what it’s always known that old well worn path, but through the medicine, there’s that new opportunity, and it’s like hand holding to that fresh powder so that people can then take that new pathway. So that’s really beautiful.
Tiffany Hurd  7:52
Yeah, yeah, I love that that perspective. And, you know, that’s, that’s something that will most likely get to a little bit more in this conversation. But it’s, you know, microdosing is, is a modality, it’s a tool that can support you in in shifting your patterns, subconscious beliefs, everything along those lines. But you know, there’s rituals, and there’s tools that really anchor you in, for example, if you relied on microdosing, as something that’s the heal all fits all approach, you’re not actually doing the work to create the the lasting change of what could actually be possible for you to just be in the moment versus really integrating the changes for it to last long term versus just be a momentarily experience.
Kelli Russell  8:37
So this is where having a guide is really important. So the first the first question I have if if somebody is working with a guide, such as you, is it best that they have very clear goals and intention? Or do you allow them medicine to guide and then you disseminate what you discover later and create understanding around it?
Tiffany Hurd  9:02
Yeah, so, you know, it’s kind of both so, yes, 100%, to having an intention. And, I say that because the, this is your foundation, your intention is your foundation of your experience for microdosing. And it’s essentially your roadmap. So what I tell my clients all the time is, this is your roadmap. And so, without clear intentions, you’re putting yourself in a position to not fully receive the most out of microdosing. And so in my opinion, everything you do in life gets to have a purpose. It gets to have a meaning it gets to have intention and so microdosing wouldn’t be any different. So I think mainly it’s If you want to know your why. And so you want to know, why am I micro dosing? Why? What do I want to receive out of this experience? Because that is the anchored Foundation. And so the medicine will guide that intention. And because microdosing is foundationally, an ancient spiritual practice, it works really well with ritual and works really well with intention. I mean, if we go back and back and back to the ancient times, that’s how this medicine is was served is still served, you know, we’ve just industrialized it pretty much.
Kelli Russell  10:38
Was it as doses back then? Or do you think it was the large dose that people partook in, in ceremony, right of passage, or religion?
Tiffany Hurd  10:50
yeah, it was both. Yeah, there’s, there’s a lot of research within the history that it actually was both. Wow. Which is really powerful. Yeah. You know, so going back to , is it good to have an intention, will the medicine guide you? Yes. And yes, and I speak to this pretty strongly as well, because it in today’s world, microdosing right now is incredibly trendy, it’s very mainstream. And there’s so much beauty in that. And, you know, because everybody wants to microdose, there’s a lot. It’s kind of like micro dosing isn’t also for everybody. So just just being mindful of knowing that, hey, what’s my why, what do I want to microdose? For? What do I want to get out of this? Is this something where I’m seeing other people have a positive experience, and I’m relating to that, and also, you know, desire to experience something similar, because, you know, it may support them, and it may not support you. And I think overall, just knowing that, everything you read about microdosing online the good things, it’s yes, all those things are so available, and so possible, and there also are things you don’t read online, that can be challenging.
Kelli Russell  12:06
And so talk about some of those. So who should not be microdosing? And what might be some of the adverse consequences or things that would be warning flags, you know, that we would want to avoid? And not try. So who wouldn’t be served well by this?
Tiffany Hurd  12:26
Yeah, so who wouldn’t be served well, by this is, if you have and if you are currently diagnosed, or you have in your family, bipolar, schizophrenia, seizures, that’s like the main medical contraindication safety approach that I would take. You know, for those of you that are interested in microdosing, but you don’t feel like you can fully like commit to this to this journey, I would say that, it’s probably not for you either. I’m trying to think if, if you’re, if you don’t have like the proper like, what’s what a term that is, is really well known in the psychedelic space is like set and setting set. And setting is like your mindset, going into the experience, and the setting is your environment. So if you don’t feel supportive with either of those, that may lead to just a very ungrounded experience. There are some medications that are contraindicated. So knowing knowing which ones those are, I would say, people that aren’t fully educated on microdosing, or you don’t have to be fully informed of every single thing. But at least if you’re new, I would highly recommend working with somebody who has the experience so that you can learn how to how to microdose.
Kelli Russell  13:52
Is there a way to find out which medications are contra indicated? Because some people might not want to go to their primary doctor, and they want to try this alternate route. So is there a website people can go to to find out if their medication doesn’t work? Yeah.
Tiffany Hurd  14:08
Yeah. So the microdosing Institute. They’re a great platform. They have a wonderful list of medications that are contraindicated, any supplements or vitamins, which is very rare, but they list everything out, which is incredible. So I would highly recommend that. That’s great.
Kelli Russell  14:29
And then on the other side of that, is there anything that you can take like a supplement or vitamin or vitamin C or drinking some lemon juice or orange juice prior to the work? Does that actually benefit it? Have you heard of anything that can enhance the effects of when working with a guide?
Tiffany Hurd  14:48
Yeah, so to answer that, I would say so, the citrus lemon approach, that is called lemon tekking. And I absolutely would not recommend lemon tekking with microdosing, because it’s known for really being more activated. And so I see where you’re going with that of like, hey, what can kind of help enhance this experience, that actually would, would enhance it a little bit too more than you would like for just a smaller dose, that’s definitely more. So more. So for ceremonial experience. I would say that, you know, to take a different approach with it, I would say that microdosing is is most effective when, like I said, you can prepare for your experience, you can set clear intention, so you can fully commit your time to constantly following a protocol a set time. You know, having that clear understanding of what you want to accomplish experience within the right mindset and the environment. Something else to like, you know, physically enhance your microdose Ian is what’s referred to stalking. And so that’s a really big term used in the psychedelic mainly in the micro dosing space. And stalking is when you combine a non psychoactive substance, such as medicinal mushrooms, such as Lion’s Mane, or Chaga, or Reishi, if you’re familiar with that, a lot of people will stack with like a brain nootropic or ceremonial cacao. And you basically will add these natural herbs, medicinal mushrooms, what have you into your psilocybin, which then increases the benefit relating to your overall microdose and experience. And so it’s really specific to what you really want to enhance, right? So, to speak to this, if you want to stack with say, lion’s mane or brand nootropic with psilocybin, this is going to be really supportive for, you know, mental health, alertness, or focus or really enhancing the creative activity. Yeah, exactly. Exactly. Yeah, yeah. And so you know, this also is a really good approach for someone who, you know, maybe in their family or currently, dementia or Alzheimer’s, it’s a great neurological repair approach. You know, I would say ceremonial cacao is, is one of my favorite enhancers. I love this. It’s a it’s a plant medicine as well. But it’s very, very heart based. It’s a heart opener. And so if you want to have an experience that’s a little bit more grounded, you don’t need to really go into this deep creative process or feel more alert. You just want to kind of ground more and be more in your heart or you want to process or access emotions. I think this is a beautiful blend to to stack with.
Kelli Russell  17:37
I just thought of this elderly couple that I’m seeing where the wife has early stage dementia and Alzheimer’s. And I’m, I’m wondering if there this would be helpful, even in this stage of it? Or is there a certain age where that would start to be detrimental and unhealthy? Have you heard any of the research around that?
Tiffany Hurd  18:01
You know, that’s, that’s a great question. And there hasn’t been any research that shows anything along the lines of an age that microdosing is not supportive for. So I’ve, I’ve worked with elders as well. And it’s beautiful, and it’s really amazing, especially those with dementia or Alzheimer’s, it has been has been really supportive and a few different approaches where, you know, what, it helps them make peace with it. That’s a huge one. But you know, it alleviates the stress and the anxiety that they may feel. And it also just helps them like feel more just joyful and present, which you know, if you’re if you have dementia or Alzheimer’s, that can be really challenging, and so many different ways where you can even just experience just some lightness or some peace throughout the day. That’s huge.
Kelli Russell  18:50
Yeah, yeah, that’s huge. Okay.
Now, what can somebody expect in working with a guide? And since we don’t know what all the other guides are doing, and you’re the one that we’re speaking to? Could you describe? Is it something where people would work with you for six months and meet with you once a week? Or is it over a shorter amount of weeks? Or what would be the connection? And the set and setting for working with a guide?
Tiffany Hurd  19:19
Yeah, thank you for that question. So I have a variety of ways that I work with people. And so you know, there’s four weeks, there’s eight weeks, there’s 12 weeks, I also work with people, longer term, six months to a year. I really try to individualize it for people, depending on what they’re coming to me for, and so if we’re speaking specifically microdose say those are the options whereas more long term, maybe micro dosing with ceremony. That’s a bigger a bigger journey, a different journey. But overall, within that microdosing specifically, everything will be virtual. And yes, we do have those solid anchored weekly calls where we’ll just be, will be processing things. So to just give you an idea of it. So you know, you can really expect to learn one how to microdose that’s important, and really learn how to work with the medicine to receive positive outcomes. throughout the journey, you will receive a customized microdosing protocol that’s tailored to your specific needs your specific goals. This is everything along the lines of the schedule to follow, how long do I follow this. Really working with a dosage that works for you. This is like one of the most important things is finding a dosage, it’s reference like your sweet spot. That is, that’s the journey, if you can’t find the dose, you’re going to be up and down with with the process. That’s what this journey really teaches you are those foundational things along with daily rituals and wellness practices that go hand in hand with micro dosing. And so the idea is, throughout the week, you’ll be set up on your micro dosing regimen, you’ll be you’ll have your set days, everything that your that your micro dosing with, and then we’ll have that weekly session to bring in everything that you need to feel supported, and to process what’s actually starting to come up throughout the throughout your microdosing experience. And then that’s where I take that approach of based on what you’re bringing into our sessions, what support do you need? Do you need grounding practices? Do you need somatic tools? Do you need certain practices to help you move through emotions? Anything like that. So it’s really just a whole supported anchored process for you to just arrive, everything is very intentional. And we really build from that intentional place. And because micro dosing is such an individualized experience, it’s not a one size fits all approach. One dose might not work for one dose that works for somebody might not work for you. And so knowing how to find the dose, knowing how to work with the medicine and understanding specific rituals and practices, ultimately, just leave just lead you to a positive experience.
Kelli Russell  22:16
And do you meet with people for 20 minutes? Half an hour? An hour? And is it a group call? Or is it a private one on one call? And is it zoom? Or is it a telephone?
Tiffany Hurd  22:27
I love the details. Yeah. So it is zoom, it is one hour weekly. And I have a few different things running at times, I usually have one on ones available unless spots are filled. Groups I run every so often, but there’s more availability with the one on one. So it’s both.
Kelli Russell  22:46
Okay. That’s great. So I noticed in my own experience, I have microdosed with a couple of different varietals that I didn’t know what what kind it was. And I had a very good outcome. And then I switched to something else. And there was nothing else that changed in my life, or my diet or my sleep or anything else. This was the only factor. And I started getting headaches. And this is embarrassing to say but constipation, that I didn’t experience from the previous. I don’t know, do we call that a varietals? The type of mushroom? So is this common? How do you source the right type? And what happens if you’re getting these side effects?
Tiffany Hurd  23:26
Interesting. Yeah. So do you know the strain? Do you remember the strain that you worked with?
Kelli Russell  23:31
I’d have to look it up. But, and I also I had a client in here a couple weeks ago, and she said she was taking some type of white varietal. And she said “I had to stop because I was getting so anxious.” So that’s kind of like the dark side of it.
Tiffany Hurd  23:46
So yeah, the shadow said,
Kelli Russell  23:49
so what do you what do you notice about that stuff? Would you put someone on a different type of mushroom? Or is it just changing the dosage and every type should be “fine”? With air quotes?
Tiffany Hurd  24:01
This is a really good question. I’m really happy you brought this in. So if you’re microdosing, especially for those of you that are new to micro dosing, the strain that you want to microdose with is called Golden teachers. It’s the most mild strain. One of the main mild strains, one of the most safe strains to microdose. With other strains, there’s some funny names like hillbilly or penis envy, you know, there’s just they’re the names are, are pretty hysterical. But those ones are a lot more of a stronger strain. And so that’s more for like a ceremonial experience. Whereas, you know, with microdosing the idea isn’t to trip it’s not to hallucinate, it’s not to feel more anxious than you know, may have felt before microdose and it’s intended to feel good and grounded. And although you may feel emotional, it’s not a bad thing. And so you should be able to drive a car you should be would have hop on work calls, everything should feel normal, just like a little bit more enhanced a little bit more energy, a little bit more openness, awareness, things like that. So, to answer your question, if that’s the experience is, you know, yes, that could mean that the dosage is is too high that is creating that. So you when you would absolutely want to dial back, always measure out your dosage. Right, that’s one of the most important pieces is always know exactly how much you’re dosing. Because a lot of people I get this all the time, where people like, yeah, I have these mushrooms, and I just, I just ripped a little bit off and I didn’t get and I’m like that little piece is sometimes really, really potent and is a much larger amount than you think. So measuring it out is definitely crucial.
Kelli Russell  25:48
So let’s talk about legalities, because some people would go, Well, how do I get my hands on some? Is this something I should be growing in a shed in my backyard? And then I’m grinding it up myself? Or can I buy it in a capsule form? And if so, can I get it across state lines? And am I going to get busted? So let’s talk about some of those factors that you know a lot more than I do about?
Tiffany Hurd  26:12
Yeah, so legality is this is obviously the big thing. So we’re having this great conversation like, well, this is illegal. So yeah, so psilocybin use self possession is illegal in the United States. So however, it’s decriminalized in Denver, Oakland, Santa Cruz, Washington, DC, Seattle, Detroit. All this really means is, is yes, you can grow your own, but you can’t purchase any. And if you’re caught outside your home and possession of psilocybin, making an arrest for your possession is considered more of like one of their lower priorities within those specific states. Okay, so that’s still at your own risk. But that’s huge. It’s huge. And so to just share a little bit more about that, so Oregon voters passed the 20 ballot measure, making it actually the first state to both decriminalized psilocybin and also legalized but under specific supervised usage, Colorado also followed the same measure two years later. Australia is the first country to legalize it as of a month ago, but you know, what it’s looking like right now. There’s incredible data, incredible research, ongoing clinical trials with huge credible institutions such as John Hopkins that are predicting the legalization could take place over the next coming years. Again, that’s still very wide open.
Kelli Russell  27:42
You mentioned Santa Cruz, so that is in California, so they’re kind of creating their own laws within the city or what’s different from Santa Cruz to us here?
Tiffany Hurd  27:53
It’s decriminalized so it’s not decriminalized here, what does that really mean? So decriminalized really means that you can grow your own mushrooms, but you can’t purchase any.
Kelli Russell  28:06
All right. So and you purchase the spores, or is that illegal?
Tiffany Hurd  28:12
So I hear that you can purchase the spores and you can grow, you can grow them still, but mainly in those decriminalized state or state cities and within the states.
Kelli Russell  28:23
So if you’re caught with growing your own at your home, you won’t be prosecuted basically, is the message basically,
Tiffany Hurd  28:29
basically is yeah, basically what they’re saying is, is it’s at the lowest priority.
Kelli Russell  28:34
Okay. Yeah. All right. So, um, have you heard anything about where we live in this part of the world in San Diego? Are there any talks about doing the same or not as much?
Tiffany Hurd  28:47
There is? Yeah, there’s I mean, within the whole state to be fully transparent, there is and that’s where, just that, you know, what researchers are predicting is that, you know, over the next few years, this should start to shift, if not sooner. Okay. Yeah. Which is, which is huge.
Kelli Russell  29:05
It’ll be interesting to see what happens with that, especially with other things like, in my office building with some people who work in psychiatry, and they’re getting involved in the assisted journeying with with ketamine, and with micro dosing. And, you know, not quite this, but I think we’re seeing a resurgence with the the MDMA as well. So it was used a lot in the 80s. And now we’re seeing now we’re finally getting the research to back it up and seeing a lot of mindset changing especially as it we’ve done a lot of research with the veterans and seeing how are shifting out of PTSD in just in just a couple of sessions that are high dose.
Tiffany Hurd  30:00
Yeah, which is incredible. And, you know, now more than ever, the research and the data, there’s no going back at this point. We’re as a collective, everybody within the psychedelic space, whether a guide or a researcher or a doctor, what have you… therapist, everybody’s really cautious with how this approach is being taken place so that we don’t repeat the same cycle that happened, you know, in the 80s. And then war on drugs came in and just shut everything down. So there’s a whole different approach that’s being taken here. And, you know, there’s a lot of societal stigma around these being drugs and harmful drugs and addictive drugs. And it’s really breaking that stigma down and rewriting through education and clinical trials and data, all the things that this is a really powerful medicine, it’s not addictive, and it can be abused, of course, anything can be abused. But it’s just another holistic approach that’s available for people than the Western approach of just being on medication. There are options now, which is amazing.
Kelli Russell  31:12
It’s really funny to me, in a very sad way, how much we promote in our culture, alcohol use. We have a teenage daughter, but I’m actually the one that will watch the teenage shows sometimes : ) . And everybody’s drinking all the time. This is crazy. And that is a numbing agent that disconnects you from yourself and others. Whereas this is something that enhances your creativity and your connection to self and your connection to others. And I think that can be very dangerous in a society that wants to control 100%. That’sthe other factor here that is made to make us look silly or hippyish. But it’s a tactic to avoid personal power that might disagree with the status quo, or the governance politics.
Tiffany Hurd  32:10
I totally agree. Yeah. It allows us to wake up and see beyond the things that, to directly just say it that we’ve been influenced and manipulated by so yeah, there’s a lot. That’s like a whole other podcast.
Kelli Russell  32:28
I remember reading a study about the 1970s. They did some LSD research with soldiers, and they’d given them a high dose. And what happened is almost every single soldier decided that they didn’t want to fight or battle or be in war anymore, and they all dropped out. And so because they had such a deep connection to universe, to each other, to love, the plug was pulled so quickly on that experiment, they’re like, oh, we can’t have that.
Tiffany Hurd  33:01
Yeah, it’s a threat. It challenges everything. And that’s why now more than ever, I feel like we are challenging it back. There’s a lot more confidence in it. And it’s amazing to just be in this generation and to be a part of it.
Kelli Russell  33:21
Yeah. And the way that we’ve had to do it with is through very structured, very quantitative research. So I think they’ve had to, 100%. So here’s the question, what is the most surprising thing you’ve discovered when working with it and guiding others?
Tiffany Hurd  33:45
Hmm, it’s a great question. So I feel like there is a two fold for me. What surprised me the most initially was when I actually started working with micro dosing for my own personal experience about five years ago. And it was through my own journey with the medicine where I initially sought out micro dosing because I started to hear about it a little bit. There was nearly no research or anything like there it is today, but I heard some things about it. And I was like, I want to see if this would be supportive for me to get off my medication. I was on Lexapro, I was on Adderall for over seven years. And while there are people that medication really works for and people really need, I knew that I wasn’t one of them, that I just hadn’t dealt with a lot of just unresolved trauma. And that just accumulated to a lot of different things that put me in that place. And so, as I researched everything about micro dosing, I ended up just creating my own protocol, and which I don’t recommend because now there’s so much out there, but I did and within two months, I was completely off my medication and I never looked back. And so that was just mind blowing to me, and something that really surprised me within that experience was learning that the medicine, microdosing, wasn’t going to do the work for me, it wasn’t going to heal me, it wasn’t going to fix me that. It needed to come from me. And I learned that through microdosing, that hey, this is actually a tool, this is an ally, to support this process to just give me that boost, or help me start to see things a little bit differently. And so that’s really why I created like wellness, somatic and nervous system regulation modalities and practices to support your microdosing practice. For example, if you’re getting off medication through microdosing, one that’s like a whole, it’s a whole process to work with intentionally.
Kelli Russell  35:43
But assuming that they’re weaning off their medication, right?
Tiffany Hurd  35:47
100% Yes, this is this is a slow tapering process. And so and you’re working with whoever’s prescribing the medication, and then I’ll work with you as the guide, and it works really well together, depending on the person but for anybody, that’s if we just go there for a moment that’s going to start that process, the medication kind of baselines things, and so you might not feel as much emotionally whereas once you start to taper off, and especially as you start to microdose with it, you are going to start to get into your emotions, and for someone that’s not used to experiencing that that could feel uncomfortable. Yeah. And so what does it mean?
Kelli Russell  36:25
Maybe that’s the anxiousness? Because it’s like, Oh, my God, I have these feelings. I don’t know what to do with them.
Tiffany Hurd  36:37
Yeah. I don’t know how to label them. I’ve never had experience with that. So it’s just kind of this I don’t want to feel this. What is this?
Kelli Russell  36:40
So is that something that you help people with? When they have the call with you?
Tiffany Hurd  36:45
Exactly. Yeah, that’s a lot of the work that I do is, okay, how can we get back into our body, create that safety, regulate our emotions, so that anxiety isn’t crippling throughout the day, but I actually can have a relationship with it. And I can connect with it versus making that part about me wrong? How can I actually understand what’s creating the anxiety, go in, process it, move it, whatever that process will look like for you. So ultimately, it can move from the body, and microdosing is going to amplify what’s already present. A lot of people don’t realize that and you most likely won’t find that in Google. And so if you are someone who has a lot of anxiety, it may amplify that anxiety. And so it’s all an opportunity to shine a spotlight on some things. So that’s why having the tools and the practices to know how to process when that does come up, is literally night and day to having a positive experience with microdosing.
Kelli Russell  37:49
That makes perfect sense. And what do you wish people who have never tried it before could understand about it?
Tiffany Hurd  38:04
Interesting. What we were talking about a little bit before…there could be a lot of a lot of judgment on just plant medicines and psychedelics in general, simply because the war on drugs and our history and just still being in that experience that these medicines are addictive drugs. And it’s not true. And so as someone who comes from a 12 year career in the medical pharmaceutical industry, I truly understand how there are just different approaches than the medication approach. And so I do really wish people could understand or at least shed more insight that while medications do serve many people and are necessary for a lot of people, my main message would be that there’s now an alternative, holistic approach that you can take that’s available. One that’s non addictive without side effects. And so that’s a big one, I would say for those of you who have never tried it and do have an interest, that would be my main message would be to really just inform and educate yourself. I know, we’ve kind of touched on that already. But really, just educate yourself, be curious learn about it and get guidance, get support from someone who has experience in this field. It just sets the foundation for you. Because you may end up wanting to microdose more than just that one time, like this may be just something that you you have as like a part of your life on and off protocols. And so just having the foundation of understanding how and what to do is is incredible to just have and so yeah, I think with all that too, just to be open minded to it all and knowing that none of this has to be a roadblock to your healing.
Kelli Russell  39:59
Right. Yeah. And people can reach out to you at tiffanyhurd.com. And your Instagram is IamTiffanyHurd. If they have any questions about microdosing or working with a guide, especially with you and how that looks, I think you have a complimentary consult. I think I saw 20 minute that you offer.
Tiffany Hurd  40:28
Yes, yes, it’s a complimentary consult, an intro for us to connect for you to get any any questions answered. And for me to just learn more about you and the support that you desire.
Kelli Russell  40:42
Okay. And not only do you help people with microdosing, but also ceremonies and you had mentioned Ayahuasca so if there’s anything that you would like to share about that, just a little teaser or a taste on our way out? Is there anything you’d like to I mean, that’s a whole different level and a whole different ballgame, different medicine and different pod? We’ll have to come back around to but maybe just a little bit about why somebody might want to learn more about that.
Tiffany Hurd  41:19
Yeah, so if the grandmothers calling, then you know, that she’s calling, so I’ll just throw that one out there. I would say for anybody who’s new to just plant medicine in general, I would suggest starting with microdosing, and then potentially sitting in a mushroom ceremony, and then an Ayahuasca ceremony. Again, there’s a lot of things that factor into this. If you’re somebody who’s really interested in sitting in ayahuasca, whether you have experience or not with plant medicines, I also support people with micro dosing with just the vine of ayahuasca. So that doesn’t have any DMT effect in it. It’s just the vine I was because a two part brew. And that is amazing to just help you alleviate a lot of the fear going into a bigger ceremony connecting with the spirit of the medicine. And so that’s, that’s an option as well. And so, yeah, I think if if you’re just curious to sit in a bigger in a bigger ceremony that’s available here, whether it’s psilocybin or it’s ayahuasca, through the intro call, we can talk about all that. If you’re someone who wants to do both, or one or the other. We can we can have that conversation.
Kelli Russell  42:32
Thank you so much. Is there anything else you want to leave people with?
Tiffany Hurd  42:39
Yeah, just so grateful for this conversation. I really appreciate your questions. And I really hope that this serves anybody who’s listening to this. And if any of you are just curious to learn more about the medicine, just have questions or questions about sourcing. I know, we didn’t dive into that. That’s one of the biggest questions that I get, but for legal reasons, we’re not gonna talk about it on the podcast. But you can reach out to me if this is a journey that you’ve been interested in and you have questions about it. So I appreciate you so much, Kelli. Thank you for this.
Kelli Russell  43:14
Thank you. It’s such a great conversation. I’m so excited to share this information with everybody. And it’s really cool to hear about what it’s like being a guide and what somebody could expect on a guided experience with you. And it sounds like you offer a lot of great resources, especially as things come up, that there are different practices to help people move through that energy instead of it just being stuck, so I really appreciate that. And thank you so much for being on our podcast today.
Tiffany Hurd  43:45
Yes, thank you so much.
Kelli Russell  43:47
