Exploring Life & Business with Kaitlyn Raine of RN Recovery Room

Today we’d like to introduce you to Kaitlyn Raine

Hi Kaitlyn, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I grew up in Iowa and became an ICU nurse. Health and the intricacies of the human body, and life in general, have always fascinated me and come naturally to me. In my early twenties, I had a lot of autoimmune issues that were manageable, but draining for me. Western Medicine fell very short, and as I was pursing my nursing degree I began exploring alternative medicine paths, including Ayurveda, TCM, and chiropractic care. I had a lot of success managing my autoimmune issues (that originate and are pervasive in my family line), and learned so much about a holistic, dynamic process of aiming toward the ever-evolving target of health and vitality.

As I entered the world of Western Healthcare, I was almost immediately so discouraged by what this system truly is, and the veil these systems work hard to keep over the eyes of the people who don’t understand it (and even the ones that do). It took years for me to see how I had been conditioned in my training to assert myself over my patients, choose their story for them, and disconnect to trudge forward. It didn’t, however, take me long to understand that our health that presents on a physical level is the last line of communication the body offers when something is amiss on much subtler levels in the mind, the emotional, and the spiritual experiences of each person in front of us, asking for help to feel like ‘themselves’ again.

I became quickly hungry for the more that was missing from my education, my upbringing, and the world as I knew it, that brought colorful context and meaning to life- especially the foundational pieces of health and wellness. I started studying global, ancient wisdoms of health and quickly learned that by simply being present in life, slowing down, and listening, many traditions of medicine became attuned to what science is just now catching up to prove (and reluctantly, rarely humbly, admitting it). I’ve worked in and studied nursing, psychology, chiropractic care, Ayurvedic practices, TCM, breathwork, yoga, and plant medicine. I’ve also studied extensively therapeutic and shamanic practices with psychedelics, and their benefits working with mental and emotional imbalances. In this work I have witnessed over and over that there is no separation of mental, emotional, spiritual, and physical health and balance. It is impossible to return to a meaningful baseline of health if one component is ignored or missed-something Western medicine has veered so far away from, and even stigmatizes in our “sick” populations.

I’ve directly experienced, held space for, and witnessed the way simple intentional practices with stillness and silence, cyclic breath, herbal allies, and even integrative medical practices have evolved humans beyond anything my Western teaching could’ve prepared me for. I’ve become an embodied bridge of ancient wisdom and progressive practices with a massive capacity to meet people in so many contexts to help them step forward on their health path. I’ve learned deep in my bones that the indigenous people were right when they predicted the return to earth-based practices, natural remedies, and reconnection to life in its many forms. I’ve learned they were right when they predicted a merging of worlds is our only way forward. That we can only do it together- by brining what we all know as true and putting it together for the benefit of all, by creating access for everyone to the information and wisdom, and by setting down our need to make one right or wrong, good or bad, black or white. We all get to strengthen our muscles of discernment for ourselves in an exponentially advancing world of information, and learn our bodies’ communications of what it needs for us to be healthy, and free to live a life that is meaningful to each of us.

The practices that have most deeply resonated with me that I now share with the world include Vinyasa and Restorative yoga, breathwork of many methods, plant medicine and ceremonial work, and events and workshops featuring Sacred Rage, Restoring Stillness, and sound collaborations. I work 1:1 with people in 3 month containers, I do long-term and short-term work with breath and sound, and work with other facilitators for events, retreats, and ceremonial experiences.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
This has been one of the roughest, most beautiful roads I’ve ventured. Being and entrepreneur is one of the quickest ways to be shown your strengths and challenges as you are, and to be grown into resiliency or sat down into surrender. Moving frequently has presented many challenges for me to build community, find people I trust and resonate in their craft to collaborate with, and to just restart. Feeling like I don’t know enough to serve the people who come to me never ceases, and yet I am in a constant arena of learning and stretching my capacity to hold more in a safe, responsible way with my clients and colleagues. Staying tapped into a creative spark when ideas that are so close to my heart and vulnerable to share can be challenging, especially if they are a total flop. It takes an incredible community of like-minded people with similar visions for the world to help keep me motivated, as well as taking breaks to take the pressure off the things I love so I don’t become burned out or lose my love of them. Staying in integrity and checking in about where I’m at, where my work is coming from is so important to me.

Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
My business is geared towards meeting the needs of my communities and myself at the same time through integrity, connection, and play. I use the modalities of Western medicine, Ayurvedic practices, yogic philosophy, breathwork, movement, somatic healing, plants, and sound to help people align to their balanced “Middle Path”. I curate 1:1 containers both short-term and long-term blending my modalities to meet the needs of the person/people in front of me and their present experiences. We focus on accepting and allowing what is while balancing it with where they’re desiring to head. I’ve craved intensity and deep adventure my whole life, and bring safety to those looking to explore their depths, while bringing balance of more easily integrated, subtle practices to sculpt life to meet desire.

What sets me apart from others is my background in Western Medicine, combined with traditional and indigenous practices from all over the world. My background in ICU medicine, trauma-informed healing work, and health and wellness trainings from many cultures makes my arsenal of healing tools very expansive and adaptable to meet people where they are, or refer them in a direction that feels aligned for them. I have a comfort around topics and experiences that many people haven’t felt safety to explore yet- death, deep shadow and trauma work, sexuality, and addiction. I have a wide range of ways to meet people mentally, physically, emotionally, energetically, and spiritually through my extensive trainings, travel, lived experiences, and shared experiences with my communities globally.

I’m most known for my signature offering of Sacred Rage. It’s a workshop where people get to come practice feeling safe in full, responsible self-expression of a heavily stigmatized but normal part of the human experience. I teach people how to safely use their voice and bodies to move big energies. I teach people how to feel safe in a space where big feelings are being expressed, healthy boundaries, not taking on another’s experience. We learn how to communicate these feelings effectively and responsibly, and help others do the same in a world that desperately needs this outlet and healing to move forward. I teach people how to be responsible in big powerful aspects of themselves, while not taking responsibility for another’s experience. I give them the opportunity to heal, learn, create, and explore anger, Rage, and all the emotions these feelings cover up such as fear, pain, guilt, grief, etc. People get to feel safe in a playground where we feel how heavy and playful all these things can be. They get to experience the learning and healing through all layers of the body-mental, physical, emotional, energetic, and spiritual- through movement, speech, breathwork, silence. We ground and recalibrate back to a new baseline, pulling it all together with sound healing to allow the body to center and create a new space to move from going forward. People often feel emptied out in a peaceful way, connected to truth, calm, unshakable after this workshop.

What I would love for readers to know about Recovery Room, and me as a person, is that integrity is my highest value. For all beings. It is so important to me that we are able to shine and breathe in our creativity, growth, and offerings- with deep responsibility and integrity to keep others as safe and respected as possible. This requires vigilance, guidance, and outside help. It matters to me that we bring indigenous practices back to the center of culture, and keep a pulse on the health of progress before it becomes a cancer. My business is built to evolve with me and my communities, shedding light on what needs to be changed, and fostering what is helpful with many voices contributing. It matters that science has its place to move us together safely, and that each person is encouraged to strengthen their discernment of truth. It matters that truth is respected and acknowledged in all its forms, and that each person’s experience is held with compassion and respect. I love collaborating in ways that fit everyone’s needs, and being connected globally to like-minded people of all backgrounds, wisdoms, and experiences with the idea of moving forward and being present together. My work travels with me and weaves into many venues worldwide.

Do you have any advice for those just starting out?
I wish I knew that I’m meant to build a slow, steady foundation, without putting pressure on my business to blast me off into capitalist ideals of success. I wish I knew how valuable and versatile my nursing career was meant to be to help me launch my business successfully and from a seat of vast knowledge, rather than something I abandon in burnout. I still wish I had a really great aligned mentor to help me with what I’m still struggling with to this day. They come and go. And I’m so grateful for every situation and every person that has taught me what is for me, what is not for me, and encouraged me not to quit because it makes a difference. Find an incredible support system who will hold your vision for you when you forget and when it wears you down. Make time every single day to tap into that flame that fuels you, and fuel it right back. Nourish it, and remember what drives you to serve in life.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://rnrecoveryroom.com
• Instagram: @rnrecoveryroom