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Balm To The Soul - Energy Healing to soothe mind, body and soul
This podcast has everything you need to know about energy healing. My mission is to show that if you are not looking after your energy field, then you are missing a big piece of the puzzle which is our overall holistic health. If you upgrade your energy, you upgrade your life.
When we consistently look at, clean and expand our energy fields we are able to achieve better balance on all levels - that is mental, emotional, physical and spiritual. When our energy is clean and clear we feel more centered, joyful and focused.
Sometimes it can be very confusing as to where to start, so this podcast is about looking at the options out there. What can I try? What will it help me with? Where could it lead me?
Pop over to my website www.dandeliontherapies.co.uk and use the free Healing Meditation to get an idea where you need to start.
You can also subscribe on https://www.buzzsprout.com/1827829/support to gain additional information and assistance to find your purpose and your passion.
Balm To The Soul - Energy Healing to soothe mind, body and soul
What a Thai Village Can Teach Us About Modern Wellness with Nuttha Goutier
What can a traditional Thai village teach us about modern wellness and business success? Nuttha Goutier's remarkable journey provides an answer to this question through lived experience rather than theory.
Born in a remote Thai village with no electricity or modern amenities, Nuttha launched her first business at age eight, selling coffee and hot chocolate at the local market. This early entrepreneurship instilled a powerful belief in her abilities that would shape her future. The village's collective approach to life—where neighbors naturally gathered to build houses, harvest crops, and care for the sick without being asked—formed the foundation of her business philosophy.
When Nuttha witnessed her grandfather's recovery from a stroke through traditional herbal treatments and massage after hospital care had limited success, her passion for natural healing was ignited. This experience led her through various beauty and wellness ventures in Thailand before eventually bringing her to Canada, where the cultural "coldness" inspired her to create a warm, immersive space that would transport people to Thailand without boarding a plane.
With less than a thousand dollars but unlimited determination, Nuttha established Sabai Thai Spa through an inspiring system of trades—lawyers, artists, and web developers exchanged their services for massages. Her vision went beyond transactions; she created a sensory experience that reconnects people with their natural selves while fostering community among staff and clients alike.
After 20 years of learning "through the school of hard knocks," Nuttha has expanded into franchising to share her proven business model. Her approach to wellness is refreshingly straightforward: preventative self-care should be scheduled like important meetings, not saved for special occasions. "If you don't have good health, nothing else matters," she reminds us, echoing wisdom from her village upbringing.
Start your day like Nuttha —with brief meditation, yoga, and expressing gratitude. Choose joy deliberately, live in the moment, and make self-care a priority. Your body, mind, and spirit will thank you.
Subscribe to Balm to the Soul for more conversations that nourish your wellbeing and inspire your journey.
Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!):
https://uppbeat.io/t/sky-toes/featherlight
License code: ZTXJPK8BA5WMLKSF
My new novel The Red Magus has recently been published in conjunction with the Unbound Press. An entralling mystical adventure set across time and space, where past and current lives converge. Find it on Amazon and Barnes & Noble.
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Natasha Joy Price
www.dandeliontherapies.co.uk
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Books:-
Freedom of the Soul - available on Amazon UK
The Red Magus - available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble.
So welcome everybody to another episode of Balm to the Soul. I'm your host, natasha Joy Price, and I'm a lawyer, I'm an energy therapist, I'm an author and, of course, I'm a podcaster. And today we have a super new guest and her name is Nita Gudja. So welcome, nita. Thank you so much for coming on.
Speaker 2:Thank you for having me here. I'm very honored to be here with you.
Speaker 1:Oh, lovely. And so Nita is the founder and CEO of Sabai Thai Spa, which is actually a franchise, isn't it? And you're based in Canada, so it's Canada. Yes, yes, right, yes, and we're going to talk about, really about the importance of wellness and you know, having that in our, how important it is for people to have take time out for self-care, and. But initially I just wanted to ask you because I was reading a little bit on your um I don't know where I read it actually all sorts of things about you um and articles, because there's a lot, a lot out there, um, and you had. I wanted to ask you about your first business because you had your first business as a child with your father in Thailand yes, actually I have a few business right.
Speaker 2:I have been eight years old. We sell our coffee and hot chocolate at the local market. I mean local market is mean like it's the dirt fall and with the bamboo stand, and then that is the local market right. Because when I grow up there's no power, no electric city, no phone, no bike, no car, and we just go by foot right, and that's what I did with my mom Every morning before the school. We wake up at six o'clock in the morning and then we'll carry our warm hot charcoal and boiling water and the coffee and hot chocolate and the egg. Usually the egg is not boiling egg. Actually people put the raw egg in the coffee and drink it like that. Right, that's a strange thing. And then, but anyway, this way, just people pick up that story. People are just writing selling egg. But no, I, I didn't sell egg, I sell coffee. I would egg inside the coffee, inside the coffee. Yeah, and people love it.
Speaker 2:It's quite a young age. What I did learn in that time is you know we go to school, the parent will give you one bath. I know less than a cent. I know less than one cent is one bath, it's so small and then. But the noodle soup costs about two baths. It's a small amount in that time still. And what I learned is I earned 50 baths of selling coffee in the market. That made me think, wow, all my friends only get to go to school one bath. I make 50 baths. 50 baths is probably twoadian dollar, right, it's not a lot we're talking about, like a two bag in a day. But it's just what I learned is like wow, I can do something. I can get up early, you know, just before the school, can do this and help my family. And then I'm so happy to be contribution, to have an earning to a household right.
Speaker 1:So it really instilled a really good work ethic, didn't it? And just that passion for let's improve life, let's help your family, let's offer services to the community, I suppose as well. It's just all part of it, isn't it?
Speaker 2:I'm just so excited every morning when I woke up and do that. And then, of course, my family. We're just farmers, right? We're just small town, village. We know what we have, the whole household, we know exactly just all we have. That's it. We just have, like you know, less than 20 bucks in the whole income that we have in the whole family. And then everything we do we just hunt for food. We raise our own food and we plant our own veggie, own rice and things like that. We just everything just making our own. And then all the people in the village they just share, right, you share your vegetable, you share your chicken, you share your if you kill your pig, you share your pig, right.
Speaker 1:It's just a lot of sharing. That chicken, you tell you. If you kill your pig, you share your pig, right, it's just a lot of sharing. No, I think that's really good though, and it really instills a lovely values for a child that everybody helps you. Yes, that's what in a lot of societies you don't know. You don't even know your neighbors some people.
Speaker 2:Yeah, oh that the whole village know each other but, by the way, we only have 200 people in my village. Where we go we know everybody and everyone helping each other is just amazing and the caring and the love of the village, that the love of other to care, even you sick. You don't have to ask anyone. Someone will come in with the boiling herb, some food and they even sleep over at your house. It helps look after you right. And if someone wants to build a house, a man will come with a hammer without asking Maybe 20, 30 men will show up. All the women and the kids will show up with the chicken, the vegetable, whatever you have in your household, and a pot and then they cook the big pot of food and everyone just show up. Your house will be done so quick. Same thing with the farm. They will show up in your farm. If you want to harvest your rice or your cough and set, tomorrow people just show up 30, 40 people will take one or two days to finish your cough and said tomorrow people just show up 30, 40 people who will take one or two day to finish your cough and your farm. But I was asking, that's what I learned and during that time, what I'm learning is amazing is even it's a hard work planting rice all day, bending down on your lower back all day long. The sun. Sun is hot, the temperature is hot, but people are laughing and singing palm. They didn't listen to anything, they just make up their own song and then they back and forth. It's just a lot of laugh, a lot of joy. That what I learned doesn't matter how hard work they are, because when you carry the hard work with your heart is so much joyful that you get the end of the day you just cover with mud. People just show the mud shoulder. You know, like it's just fun, right, and I I planting rice. You know it's just, it's a hard work. Job is you know you deal with the mud. You is so many things, things like snakes and all the water bugs, even me. It's just the water bugs and all the what do you call it? The brass sucker, right, and I get a lot of bites. Sometimes we get the snake. I just grab them and throw them as fast as I can away from you and then you move on and sing a song again and sing a song again. But yeah, what did I learn from that is the caring caring for other and caring for your community and just show up when someone needs help. It just is amazing core value and I want to have that everywhere I go. I try to create it. I create it with the work with the sabayatai spa.
Speaker 2:We create a lot of community. You know. We support local community hospitals, school charity, and then every massage. We planting tree, and then every product we sell, we planting kelp, and then we get community together. We do a lot of things together, even my, my personal life too. Everywhere I go I have kids. I get oh, mom, let's get together. Do some workout together in the morning before the kids wake up, or we go for a hike together. Get the kids together. It's just so much more fun and joyful in life.
Speaker 1:And I think that's an amazing platform for you moving forward, because as a very young child, you have this belief. You have this belief that you couldn't do a business, you could earn money, that everybody would help you, that it felt good, that it was fun. And actually a lot of you know, I know a lot of people struggle with all that oh, I can't earn business, I can't earn money and I can't be the one who earns money in the family, and they have these beliefs that hold them back. But your childhood really instilled positive business mindset for you, didn't it?
Speaker 2:I think it's also the comedy is just support too. And then on that time you try thing, people say, oh, try thing doesn't work. Well, at least you try. And that's always. I always say if I want to try something, I need to try. If I fail, at least I try right. Instead I just like, oh, I want to do this, but I'm so scared I don't want to do it. But I don't want to go back later on 10 years, go by and look back oh, I wish I done that.
Speaker 2:And then, if I have the dream, the driving, and believe in something, do it and try it. And then, if you fail, at least you tell yourself you did it, and then, if you fail, you can get up again. That's the thing when you try early, you try sooner it, because if you fail you can get up again and again. Right, if you fail seven times and you get up eight times, all you need is one win, that's it.
Speaker 1:So that's a really. I mean, that's a great message for small business people, isn't it? You know, okay, something fails, don't give up. You just have to think of a different way of presenting that, or perhaps adding something, or whatever it is you're doing, but it's about just continuously having that mindset to continue, isn't it?
Speaker 2:Yeah, and learn from it. And what I learned from that village we always live with the moment right. We always keep the past is the past. You know, like yesterday, we can't change them. You know Well, learn from it and carry with the wisdom, not carry your weight. And then just today is a present day.
Speaker 2:And what can you do? Find joy on today, at the moment, is now, and then celebrate small win. Even the win could be something small. I get a lonely done, it's a win, you know, celebration with it, get it complete, cleaning the dishes. Even small win, that's what I learned from that village. We just celebrate small win, we celebrate the moment, because the moment, because the moment is the most important thing. And then the future is not come yet. Your future is your, your to shape it. You know you can shape intention and action and with your decision you can shape your own future. And that what I learned quite a young age and that way, and always living with this method, right past, future and present and future yes, yeah, yeah, and the business that you've created over the last 20 years is now massive, isn't it?
Speaker 1:I mean, it's a huge success. Yes, got loads of awards for exceptional service and high standards and you've been voted as a an amazing leader, haven't you? Thank you, tell us all about the spa, because it's all about um self-healing and wellness, isn't it?
Speaker 2:but in the thai traditions, Well, let me bring you back again in the village where I grew up. We have no hospital, right Nothing. And natural healing and self-care is part of life, right? We always care for ourselves. We always eat healthy food and stretching, do some massage and herbal steam, herbal scrub and always care for our health and well-being. And also, healthy is not just only care for our outside, appealing or feeling, also in our mind as well, always thinking good and something not good. We just let them go and just only thinking good, speaking good and do something just only good. That means you treat your mind, body and spirit, not just only the outside. And what I learned? We're just using a lot of herbs. We work in a farm. Of course we get achy and pain, people get injured and things like that. We're always using natural healing. And then I always learn from the local healer in the village, always interested what herb are you using? Oh, you get a cut. You pick this herb and put it. You cut, uh, the breathing, I stop. And if you get swallowing and things like, use this herb and massage it and complace it. And same thing with my.
Speaker 2:Another one is just just stuck with me is my grandfather, he who have a stroke and we have to him to. It take many days to take him to hospital Before you have to use the wagon right by car. It doesn't have the car. And then he stayed there for three months. The family stayed there three months and my grandma said take him home. You know we want to use the natural healing. And three months the doctor said, oh, you know, we can, we can't get him back. You know we can try to do some physio and things like that, but eventually, you know it, it's not going to get better, that what he's going to be, that's what he's going to be. And grab my grandma, take him home and then everyone help. You know everyone busy working in a farm and I help grant my grandma. Every day we're correcting different herbs. We smash the herb, we wrap him with the herb and then we massage him every single day with me and my grandma massage my grandpa. About one month he say ouch and he started figuring his finger, his arm. And three months he able to get up and walk. Not 100%, he still need a crane. He able to talk his mouth still, you know, not 100%. But he not able to go back to work in a farm but he able to be back to work in his garden like a herb garden, vegetable garden, clean the house and just be around the house, walk with the crane to visit his neighbor and friend and and that is really like for me wow, natural healing is amazing.
Speaker 2:After that I just want to learn more. I always ask different people and study and learn. I give my parent massage every day when I was a kid and when I finished the elementary school. Of course, during that time I do business with my dad. You know tapioca serving rice and watermelon and orange.
Speaker 2:We've done a whole bunch of stuff, but I did went to the esthetician school right away and after that I just learned more about the beauty and stuff. I just love that industry. Actually, I opened my first beauty salon when I was 13 in my village and then 15, I go to Bangkok and then 17, I opened the second beauty salon in Bangkok. That time didn't work out because I go in the bigger space, doesn't know the marketing, doesn't know the market research, doesn't understand the business for real Actually I do not, and that one didn't work. We lost money, we lost everything and then after that. So I need to learn more and then I just start to work with the different resort hotel spa with so I need to learn more. And then I just start to work with the different resort hotel spa, you know, with all the fancy top resort spa, and after that I start to meet people from all over the world. Wow, what? Why is there people out?
Speaker 1:there.
Speaker 2:I have no idea. Okay, now I want to see the world and then I get a job in Canada, I get a job here, I come here and start to work there for a while and then I left, come to the city, vancouver, work in different spa, different clinic, different hotel. It's the missing something, that missing the warm, the experience, the journey. And then I already get married with my husband. I said I really want to open a space that people feel belonging people. When you first step the walk in, I want people to feel the transport somewhere else, transport to thailand, without getting on airplane. I want the five senses to take care of the sight, the sound, the touch, the feeling. You know the taste. Everything will have that when they come in. I want the journey to Subaitai Spa become more like an explorer, like a traveling, become more excitement. You know it's not just a transaction. I want that they have that experience. You know that when they come out of it they become better version themselves, they feel good, they feel experienced and that memory stay with them and after that I want them to go back and tell everyone that you need to come and try this place. This is somewhere that you have to go. That's what the first thing that I want to do have to go. That's what the first thing that I I want to do.
Speaker 2:While I'm doing that, I also want to people experience the cultural and I'm immigrant right in that time. It's feel lonely when you come here. It's cold, the weather is cold, the culture is cold. You know I want to create something more warm, that people that working there also feel belonging because feel like a family and feel like my village. You know everyone knows each other, care, cares each other, all the co-workers Just get along and feel belonging. That is my core, that I start from the beginning. I want people to feel joyful and happy and feel like a set-up community at workplace and I did achieve that. You know people hang out together. They do so many things. I just like when I saw that, I'm just so happy. You know people go for a hike together, you do something outside, work together. It just, it just satisfied. For me, that is that is successful, not about how much money you have is successful. That means you achieve something that impacts other people's life in a positive way.
Speaker 1:Yes, lovely, so they're completely immersed into this beautiful space, relaxing state while they're with you.
Speaker 2:basically, yeah yeah, when first location open, we get so popular right away. People stop what is it, this place? And then we people come in oh, I'm going to tell everyone. I want you guys to stay in business. Okay, give me 20 gift certificate, I'll give to everyone. And then we get so much local support. It's amazing thing is the community. Community is everywhere when you open your heart into it, when you believe it.
Speaker 2:I started this business with less than a thousand dollar. It's just a dream and the vision and the belief right. And then I talked to the landlord. Landlord said how are you going to pay rent, how are you going to start a business with less than a thousand pack? And I said I have the belief and I'm young and full of energy and I think this is what people need to have it in this, this community here. And he is so kind that give me that opportunity.
Speaker 2:But the amazing after that is just like and then after that, oh, so what? What I'm going to do now? I have no idea to start a business in canada. But it's amazing thing, people come in. I have the lawyer come in. Oh, just give me two massage. I trade you with two massage and then I would incorporate the company for you. And now just, I feel like I went back home in my village because you know everything, all trade, right, we don't pay anyone, it's all trade, trade, trade. And then here it's coming in.
Speaker 2:I have the guy said I want the lobby to look like a Thai house over 2,500 years ago, thai house with the warm wood and things. It's oh, give me a tan massage, I'll do that for you. And then he said I have someone who do a painting. I talked to that. He interviewed another person, depends, depends, they come in. Okay, I can make them look like, take the wood and color like that. Just give me 10 massage. I said, sure, and then I'll have my friend too. Okay, give another 10. And then another 10 massage. Okay, sure, and I have another person, I can do your website for you. Just give me two massage, have bookkeeping come in, give me one massage, and just on and on right, and then the whole thing set up from a trade.
Speaker 2:And then people show up. I don't know those people, right, they're just showing up when you need them to. And then, after these people help me to set up, the amazing thing is the local community stop in. Even they don't know me. This is the first time they stop in my spa. Okay, give me 20 massage gift certificate, I will tell everyone. I want you guys to stay in business. It's amazing. And then, on and on, it's the same thing. We have people lie up in front of a spa to purchase the gift certificate.
Speaker 2:I wrote my hand and my hand gets sore. And then people were saying, anyway, and even now, many years go by, I just heard another um, someone just went to a meeting with a mayor and then, you know, like a mayor meeting, and then she said you know what the mayor talk about is your spa. She just go on and on about your spa. She just, she just love it so much. She just went to your spa and you know, I just talk a lot about it. And and then this is just one case. But I heard so many from other people that started talking and that I would like from beginning. I want people to just you have to try. You have to go and try this spot. It is something you need to. You know, experience it. That is what I been created in here. And fast forward.
Speaker 2:20 years went by.
Speaker 2:You know we go up and down with economic you know, world financial crisis, covid, a whole bunch of stuff and I've been tweaking the business and you know, go up and down one step forward, three steps backwards, sideways.
Speaker 2:That's the thing I'm done 20 years early and I don't have business coach. I don't have business degree and I learned a hard way, right, a hard knock, on business school. I did pay for it in a different way, not in the school, but from the life. I make a lot of mistakes and then, with two, 20 years, if I can help other people that they don't have to go to what I have to go to, they can achieve their success sooner and that's what I want to do and that's why I'm just not franchising. I should be franchising this business because I already know inside out, I've done everything, I have proven business model for 20 years. Why don't I just open the opportunity? Anyway, in the last two and a half years I spent time studying about the franchising, about business. We created the back end, the support, and now we're ready to share this opportunity to other people.
Speaker 1:Wow. So they come to you and get the benefit of all your experience basically, yes, that has gone before. Basically, yes, that has gone before, which is invaluable, like you say. It gives them a real kickstart, doesn't it? They don't have to go, hopefully, through the knocks that you went through.
Speaker 2:Yes, it's a big difference because I look back. If I have someone, if someone like me, tell me as a younger version of me, I would not go to what I have gone to, I would achieve my goal sooner, but I did not have anyone to go alongside with me, hold my hand and just try my own, you know.
Speaker 1:And you've come out the other side amazingly cheerful and positive and still passionate about it, which is amazing. Yes, I would have thought what you offer people is so important now and in fact I would have thought over the years it's almost got more and more important for people to be able to, you know, to see the importance in self-care, to take that moment for themselves, to have that massage and just bring themselves back into balance. Basically, yeah.
Speaker 2:So what I see is what I offer people is a good product, because what else can you do to help people to feel good? Every day, people can recharge and reconnect to themselves, right, the main thing we want to reconnect people back to where they were, because we are human beings. We're part of nature. Our body is part of nature. We still like the touch, the feel, the sound, the sight. All the five senses are still in us, but now we disconnect from it. And for me, it's just one. How can we reconnect people, create a space that people can come in to reconnect and then they come out in a better version of themselves.
Speaker 2:So, after you reconnect, when you take a pause, when you breathe and you get a massage, even just an hour, you feel so much different, right, and you come out. Why don't we get that back into passive routine? How about we give every week, every two weeks or every month, and imagine that if you do that throughout your whole life, you'll probably extend your life in 10 or 15 years. Not just only that throughout the whole time that you're doing that, you also feel good and you're preventative of the future illness or sickness. And when you're getting old, your body starts to get tight, naturally get tighter, achy and pain and loss that strength and flexibility too. But if you get Thai massage legally, your body will get more flexible, more strength and then the circulation flow.
Speaker 2:But in Thailand we believe it's the energy flow. We have 10 energy channels that flow through. But if the body gets tight, not somewhere, now the energy block, when the energy block doesn't flow properly and now can cause the sickness, right, it starts with one spot and now refer to the one. Start from the shoulder and now refer to your low back. The low back refer to your knee. The knee refer to what. Start from the shoulder, now refer to your low back. Low back refer to your knee, knee, knee refer to the leg. But that's also the belief in my village where I grew up too. We always care for ourselves. That we always care, that preventative is so important, like we don't just, until the maximum, get sick and go to see doctor. We're always thinking what can we do to care for ourselves? To not get there? Yeah. Not to get to the hospital yeah, preventative it's just preventative.
Speaker 2:It's just so normal over there, it's just that everybody just it's just so natural and normal over there. But here and when they come to canada it's not normal yet people are only go to self-care, self-care, put off the work, come first or something else, come first, it's okay. It's not not before, right. And then they only go when the anniversary or the birthday, right. It's two times a year.
Speaker 2:I said no, no, no it's okay, it should be number one because in in belief. In my village we always said if you don't have a good health, nothing else matters. You cannot enjoy life, you cannot achieve anything and you'll feel grumpy and then you're not living your life right. And that's why we say self-care is number one. Even we are farmers. We don't have money, the income is small, but we put farmer. We don't have money, the income is small, but we put that money aside to take care of ourselves.
Speaker 2:Yes, and in here people actually earn more money, they have better job. You know, ambition is so strong. That part is good. I think it's good, but they all they need to do here is to treat the self-care like you set up the meeting, like that's the most important. You set the meeting time, you set the self-care time. You know you just have to come in, because it's different culture, right. In this culture people need to put on calendar, they need to treat like a meeting and then it's scheduling that routine and putting that work, like you say, to prevent things coming in the future.
Speaker 2:absolutely, I wish you were over in the uk because I'd definitely be visiting soon we're working on that uh part of the world and hopefully not too long we'll be there yeah, it's been amazing talking to you, but one look, can I just ask one last thing?
Speaker 1:I often ask with a lot of my guests and just what's one thing that you do every day personally in your routine to just um, keep you balanced and centered. That makes you feel good for me.
Speaker 2:Every day I always do a quick meditation. Usually I love meditation so much Before I do many hours in, like an hour, two hours a day, but now it's like five minutes a day and then a quick yoga, maybe 30, 40-minute yoga every day and that keeps me setting my tone. And also when I wake up every day, I always feel gratitude. This is the new day, here's the present day. I can choose, I can make a choice today that what my day will look like. Today I choose to be joy. I'm going to be joy for the day, right and just that. To live with the moment and then just worry about future later. Just just just live in the moment and do your best at the moment and try to find joy every day.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and just being that positive mindset that you've obviously got, which brought you to where you are now, which is amazing, thank you. Thank you so much for joining us on Balm to the Soul. It's been a real pleasure to talk to you. Thank you so much for joining us on Balm to the Soul. It's been a real pleasure to talk to you and I've loved hearing about your village and how you were brought up. I think we have a lot to learn from that, so thank you so much for coming on.
Speaker 2:Thank you for having me here. It's an honour to be here.
Speaker 1:It's a pleasure and if you enjoyed listening to us having a chat, please listen, please share and listen to the other episodes as well, and you can always subscribe to the podcast, and I will speak to you all soon.
