Embodied Microdosing Podcast

Curious About Microdosing? Here's What It Feels Like

• Ryanna Battiste • Season 1 • Episode 1

Share episode

Everyone wants to know: what does microdosing actually feel like?

In this first episode of the Embodied Microdosing Podcast, I'm illuminating what it could feel like to commune with small doses of sacred mushrooms.

Drawing from seven years of personal experience, and five years guiding others, I'll walk you through understanding the delicate balance of finding your "sweet spot"—a dose that enhances neuroplasticity without interrupting your daily rhythm.

Let's explore how microdosing isn't about escaping reality but about expanding our capacity to be rooted in reality as our highest selves.

Join me as we unravel the interplay between microdosing and embodiment, highlighting how this practice can encourage more mindful reactions to the world around us.

With an emphasis on presence and intention, I'll share a few practical ways to integrate these principles into your daily life.

________________________________________________________________________________________

More than just a podcast, the Embodied Microdosing Ministry is an invitation to become part of a growing community of self-healers.

Our ministry offers support for your intentional microdosing experience!

Courses, memberships, and guidance for your spiritual journey to heal.

>> Visit Embodied Microdosing <<

>> Work with the Sacrament <<

Embodied Microdosing Ministry is a faith-based organization. As a Self Supported Ministry (SSM) we are legally recognized as a church for federal tax purposes under IRC Sec. 508(c)(1)(A).

Awaken the healer within!

Find us on Instagram, TikTok and YouTube, and take your first step on the path of self-healing.

Ry:

Hello and welcome to this very first episode of the Embodied Microdosing Podcast. I'm so honored you're here and that you were drawn to the content here. I'm going to jump right in and answer one of the most common microdosing questions and, you know, in a few episodes I'll share more about my story, maybe even more, here, as I explain what it feels like to microdose. I've been microdosing intentionally with sacred mushrooms for seven years now and helping others, guiding them to their own experience, communing with psychedelic mushrooms for five years now, and I'll be the first to tell you that not everybody has the same experience. And this is the beauty of this medicine for lack of a better word that it really, truly does work with you and you work with it to produce an experience that you can't replicate in someone else. Right, I could give the same exact dosage and the same exact schedule in the same exact way and have both individuals set the same exact intentions and they're likely to have two very different experiences. Why is that right? Why? Why can't we control this like a pharmaceutical or a supplement and say here are the exact benefits and here's the percentage of people that experience this? Over this, because the sacred mushroom isn't really the medicine, it is the sacrament, it is the spiritual gift that we get to commune with. But you, you, you, you the individual, you're the medicine and that's the coolest part about being on this intentional journey with psychedelics. Whether you're using teeny, tiny doses of a substance like sacred mushrooms or LSD or even something like ketamine, or you are taking large journey size doses of any of these things on your own, in an intentional way, in a safe way, or with practitioners and guides or sitters, it doesn't matter how and what you're using. It matters that you're using it and working with intention. And it's so individualized. So I'll start there, because everybody wants hard and fast answers and it's really not how this works so technically, if we're to go back to the grandfather of microdosing, james Fadiman.

Ry:

In the Psychedelic Explorer's Guide the first book that I really got my hands on to try and get data on this after I'd tried it a few times and was like what the heck is actually happening he says the goal is to have a sub-perceptual experience. The goal is actually not to perceive anything at all. So if we're to go back to the origins of how this practice was introduced not that long ago, sub-perceptual was really the term that a lot of people were working with back in 2016, when I was first exploring as well, and so I want to be clear here that we can explore a variety of doses and truly that's the beauty of the whole spectrum of doses that one can take between a micro or a nano dose and a macro dose or a hero dose. It's not sort of one or the other. You get to play in the whole spectrum of doses, but you're not supposed to feel high or have an obvious psychedelic experience. If we're using the term microdosing, okay, the idea with a microdose is that you are having a, I like to say, subtle experience. Okay, instead of sub-perceptual, a subtle experience. This is a low dose, and everyone's low dose is going to look a little bit different. In a future episode, I will get more into dosages and how to ride that spectrum. This particular episode is answering the question of what it feels like to microdose.

Ry:

So, whether you feel something or not, whether it's sub-perceptual or subtle or not so subtle, the idea is that the sacrament, the sacred mushroom, is working in the background. Right, it's working on your brain. It's connecting areas of your brain and allowing whatever intention that you are setting must always set an intention to sort of like blaze a path through your consciousness. Okay, to connect the dots around the thing that you've said. This is what I want to bring healing to. So the more specific you are in working with the sacrament, the more you're going to have that neuroplastic experience where you are forming those new connections in the brain. So that's happening at most all doses, you know, even a nano dose.

Ry:

Just because you don't feel something doesn't mean that something isn't happening. That said, most of us would like to be able to notice a little bit of something right, a little bit of evidence that it's working, and really give us something to work with right, to be in communion with. So the term sweet spot is often what you'll hear to articulate that sort of magical dose that offers just enough of a heightened experience to let you know, okay, something's happening, something new is happening, something feels different here, but a subtle enough experience that you are still able to safely go about everyday life operating a vehicle, caring for children and more than that, not compromised right. This isn't like cannabis if you're a cannabis user, where it's like I need to get high, or commune with cannabis, if you're doing it intentionally in order to deal with this family gathering or in order to come down from this family gathering right, or work or whatever right. This isn't like a stress relieving tool.

Ry:

Um, and when people say like, yeah, I just um, I stopped drinking because I started using mushrooms instead, that's an entire episode in and of itself, because sacred mushrooms are incredible for helping with alcohol dependence and they are not, when used with intention for the purpose of healing, just a quick something to take to change your state so you don't have to deal with what was there before you took them. Does that make sense? So they are. They're here to help expand us into being more capable to be with and move with the energies of what is happening. So what does it feel like?

Ry:

Some people feel like brighter, like the color on a television. If you're as old as me, you used to be able to turn a dial and turn the color up on a television, dazzled. And I was living by the ocean. I saw it regularly and, of course, appreciated its beauty, but really felt dazzled by, you know, the sparkle on the water and that line where the sky meets the water, that horizon line, right. Some people report feeling more focused, you know, really being able to like dig into that spreadsheet at work or dive into a project or a business thing they may have been avoiding, can kind of put you, especially if you set that intention with with the sacrament, put you in that uh, more, uh focused state. Um, but creative as well, it can be a creative focus. I can get really into gardening on a micro dosing day, really like finding that flow with the dirt and my hands and the plants and the experience of being outside and just loving it and not wanting it to stop. The present moment can just be a little more alluring. It can be a little easier to kind of say like, oh, I'm just going to stay right here for a second. This feels really good, instead of sort of having to like, oh, my God, I got to take a few deep breaths and find the present moment it's kind of a little more available to some. Okay, remember, it's not the same for everyone. So music may sound more beautiful, colors might seem brighter, tastes, the taste of your food, right, so the senses you can tell are really heightened and turned up for many people.

Ry:

And uh, anxiety, depression, ptsd, adhd, all the diagnoses that you won't hear me refer to that much here. Um, all the dysregulation that happens and all the symptomology and the ways we can point to it and say like, well, this is the syndrome that I have and this is the disorder that I have, and, um, it's all, it's all the stuff that we're bringing healing to right and it's all has the same root, um, that disconnection with self, with god, and with God and with others. And what the research shows and what we can see for many people is a decrease in those pesky symptoms. Now, that said, I like hate to say it because then we expect it. Right, well, I started microdosing and I expected my anxiety to go away and it did not. My anxiety felt bigger. Right, well, I was microdosing for depression, but it made me cry. Right, I was microdosing for ADHD, but it did not do the same thing as Adderall.

Ry:

Okay, those are the things that I can hear sometimes and hear some people saying for real, when they've tried microdosing, albeit often for a very short period of time. This is not like a pill where it's going to just fix you quickly, although I will say you can notice these things on the very first time that you microdose. It's not like an SSRI where you have to give it weeks and months to kick in. Okay, so that's the beauty here. So I want to be clear here too. It's not always brighter colors and warm fuzzy feelings and less anxiety that comes to the surface when you microdose.

Ry:

This medicine is incredibly powerful at moving energy. So in a larger microdosing or a macrodosing experience I'll say rather a journey experience many who've done that are familiar with what happens when the mushroom activates. When it comes up, it could be vomiting, it could be crying, it could be shaking, it could be sweating. There's a purge, there's a movement of energy that happens. This is with a lot of psychedelics and so even with a microdose, some people report and can feel this slight activation, the heart rate picking up, temperature shift, feeling of like antsiness in the arms and legs, like there's excess energy. This is that energy moving, this is the emotion moving. Some people burst into tears, some people just have kind of a weepier day.

Ry:

I've found a few times that I feel filled with anger and frustration and rage when the medicine comes up, and so I want to be really clear here. It's not the sacrament made me mad, the sacrament made me cry. It's the sacrament highlighted the energy that needed to be moved, brought your attention to it and brought the emotion to the surface. So if you're well-practiced at stuffing your feelings, you may notice the sacred mushroom is bringing up emotions and energy that you might have spent a lifetime running from or suppressing. As I said, many people report that a microdosing day can be more teary, right, and when the occasional person says to me I can't stop crying or I'm filled with rage, that's an opportunity to examine lowering the dose or maybe taking a break, depending how long you've been at it, or re-examining the intention. What did you ask?

Ry:

Okay, and this is where the embodiment part comes in guys, sitting to be with your breath and in your body when this is happening, right, when you have this activation, will help you to notice the impact of the microdose and to help you shift from it just being oh, today was a microdosing day and, holy crap, that was messy. Or today was an embodied microdosing day and when that activation, when that energy rose, I was able to work with my breath, I was able to move my body, I was able to process in my journal, I went for a walk and talked out loud or called a friend, I did some breath work and then fell into a meditation. That was just divine. Do you get what I'm getting at here? It's your job to move that energy, to move with that energy, to extrapolate what that energy is showing you as it pertains to your intention. How does that land?

Ry:

So, remember, you're not supposed to feel a big shift on a true day to day, regular old. It's a Tuesday microdose. Okay, maybe different if it's, you know, a Saturday night and a full moon and you've got a fire and you're planning on doing a breathwork ceremony like heck, yeah, go deeper, right, but we're talking about a regular old day. Okay, You're not supposed to feel high. The shift won't be as perceptible as that.

Ry:

So when you're early on in the journey, it can be frustrating, like well, I can't feel it. I'm going to give you a new way to think about this. Instead of focusing on what you may or may not be feeling, do I feel happier? Do I feel more focused? We get very internally focused, tune in to how you are reacting and responding to what's happening around you. Just a point of curiosity Does your inner motor seem to be running a little faster or slower? Is it easier to respond to your boss or your partner instead of react. Perhaps Can you more easily take a breath and find a little presence in the face of a trigger. Are you noticing any shifts in the way you are talking to yourself or others? So just some points for curiosity here. So also, if someone struggles to feel the impact of the microdose, I really suggest you explore whether you've created the space to notice anything.

Ry:

So we've got two types here, at both extremes Someone who's like hyper focused on is it working? Is it working? How many more things? Do I need to go outside? Do I need to meditate? Do I need to pray? Is it working? Is it working Right? This hyper fixation on like how do I make it work and am I noticing anything? And the other extreme is take the microdose and spend 12 hours doing exactly what I always do and staring at a Zoom screen for work and then my phone screen and then my television, and being really busy busy with tasks or kids and not even taking a moment to notice if anything is different, and then at the end of the day saying, oh, it didn't work, right.

Ry:

So there's this middle ground of finding this space for a little presence and for a little embodiment on a microdosing day or really any time when you are on a microdosing schedule. We get so fixated on the actual day, but often the days between microdosing days can be more magical or just as magical. So don't hesitate to drop into some embodiment on the day after a microdosing day and you may be surprised at what you notice there. So back to the person who may not be making space to notice anything. This, in general, is a practice that you will need to find this time and the space for if you're doing any intentional healing work microdosing and not Right. If avoidance is a common practice for coping with your life and distracting with substances, foods, screens, to-do lists it's going to be very difficult to make any healing changes, any intentional changes. So it's going to be extremely difficult to notice the benefits and work with the microdose and engage in embodiment practices.

Ry:

So, sitting to do some breath work, which honestly is just the practice of moving air in and out with intention, I'll be providing you with tools and inspiration to breathe. Try right now, while I'm talking and slowing down, to breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth, just through the end of this episode. Taking a walk without your device is a way to make space Looking around at the trees and the sunlight, listening for birds, going outside to swing in a hammock or your kids swings, trying a new form of movement, putting on your favorite song and having a spontaneous dance party in the kitchen, leaning into some pleasure, sitting to meditate, right Going and getting some body work Lots of ways that we can break free from the everyday screen-focused lifestyle many of us lead and find little opportunities. You don't need to take the day off from work to notice whether the microdose is working. You don't. The whole point of this is to integrate it into your everyday life, but you need to take moments to check in with yourself, microdosing or not, what's here, what's happening in my experience, closing down your eyes, placing your hand on your heart, taking a deep breath how can I work with what's here right now?

Ry:

I hope this episode was helpful for you and understanding a little bit more about what it feels like to microdose and beginning to understand what it looks like to have an embodied microdosing practice.

Ry:

It's an absolute pleasure and a privilege to do this work in this way and you know, to be able to combine two simple tools a sacred medicine from the earth and the gift that you've been given to have a body that feels things and can breathe and move.

Ry:

Those two things together can create deep and lasting transformation, and so I'm just honored that you are interested in the embodied microdosing message in the podcast and in this ministry. I would encourage you to check out the show notes, to go ahead and join the ministry. It's free and it gives you access to the sacrament and all of the goodness that happens inside of this community, including a free healing breathwork church the first Sunday of every month for anyone, and please don't hesitate to reach out. Send me a DM, hang out with me on Instagram or TikTok or YouTube, check out those links in the show notes, reach out to me on the Embodied Microdosing website contact page and feel free to submit your own questions for me to answer. I can't wait to breathe and be more present and embodied with you. Thank you. Thank you Until next time.