“Consciousness doesn't let wonderful things be marginalized.”The energy of intimacy is a powerful way to connect deeper with life. In turn, a quest for intimacy can transform your relationship with everything including yourself, your partner, your work, and the world. I met this episode’s guest at a retreat for people seeking greater levels of intimacy with themselves and their significant others. Stuart Sovatsky was a guest speaker and he blew my mind. When he spoke, EVERYONE listened to his every word. Stuart’s career has spanned over 4 decades. His experience and wisdom in the relationship, intimacy, and erotic art space makes me want to bow. He’s been a marriage counselor for 44 years and was the first choice to co-direct Ram Dass’s prison ashram, and first in the US to bring yoga to incarcerated youth and the homeless mentally-ill in the 1970s. He’s served at the office of the Dalai Lama and has taught spiritual practices and modalities across the world. He’s the author of multiple books including Advanced Spiritual Intimacy and Words From The Soul. He’s practiced kundalini yoga for 24 years and is the director of two psychotherapy clinics in the San Francisco Bay Area. He teaches at JFK University and the California Institute of Integral Studies. “It's very grounding to take the mundane aspects of life and not be bored by them.” The way Stuart moves through life is so inspiring because he instills the concept of devotion and tantra at the core of everything. Stuart meets every person and treats every experience as if God is inside, which means his appreciation and reverence for life is far beyond what most people know is possible. In this episode, Stuart and I explore: What is devotional love?Tackling polarity with shared human experiences. The intense power of eye gazing as a devotional practice. Defining tantra.The simplest secret for letting love in. Balancing emotions through alternate nostril breathing.Experiencing the power of reverence. Stay grounded by appreciating yourself. Tune in for a beautiful conversation about cultivating a profound reverence for life. It’s time to discover the power of finding a level of depth and potency in the everyday moments.“The best grounding is you appreciating yourself.” Summary/ Call to Action: We thrive on your feedback, so if you’ve enjoyed this show, please rate us and leave us a review. And don’t forget to subscribe to ensure you never miss an episode again. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“Your shadow work, your mindset, those subconscious programs, is what governs everything in your body. It's the control center. It's the thermostat to the house.”Shadow work is a huge focus in my life right now and I’m excited to share more in the podcast. In these shadow themed episodes, I’m bringing on people to talk about their experiences of different shadow emotions. In this episode, Juanique Roney (aka @gutsy_mom) shares her experience with grief. Juanique is a soul sister to me and one of the most inspiring and powerful women I’ve ever met. She’s had a traumatic five years after her husband Tristin was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer in 2017. He died last July. They had two young children.The way Juanique chose to navigate loss, death, and grief is one of the most powerful and inspirational things I’ve ever witnessed. She chose to grieve for her husband before he died by willingly diving into her fears, pain, and loss. Her strength is breathtaking. Somehow, she was able to alchemize her pain into a new kind of love for Tristan. One that’s empowered their children to write a story about loss that’s unconventional and beautiful. “Loving yourself is the biggest service you can give to the world, because then you become a mirror for someone else to do the work.”As well as supporting her kids, Juanique’s journey through grief has allowed her to serve her thriving community in the most beautiful way. As the gutsy_mom, Juanique shows people how to lean into their bodies so they can live their healthiest, most vibrant lives. Through her wellness clinic, she teaches people to be their own self-healing superheroes. Tune into this episode to hear Juanique’s story and more…  Inspiring the courage to dive into the pain of shadow work. How desperation empowered Janique to heal her stress. Softening the walls around your heart. Admitting the things that you’re afraid to admit. The difference between transactional and unconditional love. Breaking down your heart walls. Tackling the global shadow. Empathogens. Manifesting medicines that help people do true healing. Addiction as a tool to push down, self-soothe, and numb out the shadow. How the fear of changing your life stops you from changing. Setting boundaries and navigating the response.How Juanique’s kids have experienced life after their dad’s death. The meaning of rainbows. And more…“Self love is not selfish love, it's self love. And when you fill your love cup, you can then give what's overflowing.”Shadow work is confronting and painful. But if you allow yourself to sink in, you experience the flip side of healing, love, and freedom. Juanique’s story is a beautiful example of finding beauty in pain. Tune in now and you’ll see that there are rainbows inside of grief. Contact Info:https://www.instagram.com/gutsy_mom/The Gutsy Health Podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“When we choose to go into the darkest aspects of ourselves, change is exponential.” For me, the first month of 2022 (really the last 5 months) has been infused with shadow work. I want to emphasise that I’ve been fully supported through my journey with mentors and coaches. Shadow work is deep and can be very uncomfortable. It pulls you through emotions and memories that can be hard to hold (which is why I always recommend you do this work with the right support).  Shadow work has sparked exponential shifts for me, but it’s been confronting. This work sits at the intersection of tension, conflict, and resistance. It requires you to step into the discomfort and explore the darker side of your psyche. Where you feel entitled. Where you switch on victim mode. Where you’re attached to egoic beliefs about yourself. Shadow work is a practice to feel feelings you don’t want to feel. You cycle through pain and triggers. But when you surrender to the pain, confusion, and chaos into love, a new edge appears. It’s the edge of infinite potential.And it’s at this edge that your quality of life expands exponentially. “Feeling the feeling does not make the story true. Feeling the feeling that charges the story does not make the story true.” The personal development world is very comfortable embracing modalities that spark an upward spiral. But if you never explore the darker aspects of self, you hit a glass ceiling that you can’t breakthrough. Shadow work explores the downward vortex, which is just as valuable and often unexplored. It’s the inner work I believe society needs to do - especially as we feel resistance to doing so (assuming we have the right support). Here’s an overview of what we explore in this important episode. Creating a depth of insight from a mundane activity. Why nuance is key as your healing journey unfolds.Redefining what it means to stay grounded. The problem with spiral up positivity for our personal growth and healing. Why relationships are powerful containers for growth. Exploring the shadow side of overnight success. Leveraging radical honesty as a gateway into shadow work. The importance of learning how to communicate. And more…I’m pumped to share these experiences with you in this January reflection episode. As usual, your old friend Georgina is here to guide our conversation. Tune in, enjoy, and get a sense of the depth of transformation that’s available when you choose to dance in the dark. “When I think of shadow work, I think of exploring the aspects of ourselves that we feel very uncomfortable exploring.” Summary/ Call to Action: We thrive on your feedback, so if you’ve enjoyed this show, please rate us and leave us a review. And don’t forget to subscribe to ensure you never miss an episode again. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“I don’t think I’ve found any greater amount of growth than I’ve found as a result of choosing to look into the shadow.” Do you have emotions that you struggle to feel? Is there a dark shadow to your character that you’re reluctant to explore? Have you noticed an undercurrent of anger, shame, or guilt that bubbles to the surface every now and again? If so, you’re human. Most of us struggle to navigate and hold emotions associated with our shadow. As a society, we’ve labelled feelings such as rage or grief ‘bad’ and as such, we’re reluctant to feel them. The shadow can feel like a scary place to go. But when you have the courage to look inside, you tap into the most profound opportunity to release, heal, and step into a more authentic version of who you are. In this episode, I’m talking with the founder of Visionary Alignment, Jason Ayers. As an executive coach, Jason is gifted at guiding entrepreneurs to navigate their darker emotions to find more authenticity. His ability to hold people in their darkness continues to blow me away. It’s a reflection of who he is as a man, a husband, father, and business owner. He’s done the work (and continues to do so) and is a role model for others willing to step into the abyss. “Your unwillingness to feel anger, for example, mutes your ability to feel the other emotions.” In this episode, Jason shares the story of how he reclaimed himself through an acknowledgement of anger. As a society, we label anger as bad, but like every emotion, it has utility. For Jason, anger was a form of protection that was concealing much deeper feelings of isolation, hurt, and powerlessness from a childhood experience. We also explore…Why we are so afraid of our shadow.Alchemizing feelings of resentment into compassion. Redefining anger. The difference between shame and guilt.What we can learn from the root of Jason’s anger.  Why forgiveness can become a form of spiritual bypassing. How shadow work elevates self-awareness. Discovering the gold that lies inside the hard stuff. Inviting compassion by asking for help. And more…Developing the capacity to navigate and alchemize ALL our feelings is central to becoming grounded, centered, whole humans. Jason’s work and story is here to inspire you to feel into your shadow - so that you can ultimately set yourself free. I’m excited to see what this conversation opens up for you. “When you fully embrace both sides of you — the light and the dark — your capacity grows exponentially.” Contact Info:Website - https://www.visionaryalignment.comSummary/ Call to Action: We thrive on your feedback, so if you’ve enjoyed this show, please rate us and leave us a review. And don’t forget to subscribe to ensure you never miss an episode again. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Rian Doris, CEO of The Flow Research Collective, discusses the role of feelings in decision-making, the power of curiosity and fascination, and the importance of intuition. They explore fear, apathy, and boredom's impact on decision-making, and introduce the MacGyver method for intentional decision-making. The guest also shares their experience with Wim Hof's breathwork app for stress management.

“When it comes to healing the body, one of the most fundamental things that we need to do is whatever action we take, if we don't believe that it's going to work, it will not work.” How can you heal from the challenges that keep you from expressing and experiencing your fullest potential? Jena Sophia is a world-renowned Subconscious Specialist and Healer who’s helped thousands of people - including celebrities, CEOs, creatives, and billionaires - transform emotional stress and physical pain in record time. Jena has worked with the subconscious and various healing modalities since the age of 12. At the time, she was experiencing trauma, depression, and chronic illness, which led to her taking a lot of medications. She chose a path of self-healing, which empowered her to heal from all conditions and get or medication permanently.  Through this personal healing journey, Jena cultivated a deep understanding of epigenetics and how our emotions, traumas, and ancestral influences affect how the physical body operates today. Combined with her deep understanding of the conscious mind, Jena guides people to step into their personal power and realign their energy so they can experience better health, relationships, success and fulfillment. In this powerful episode, Jena reveals some of the practices and principles she’s used in her own life and with her clients for optimal results.“I think something that's really important to recognize is that before we are physical, we are energetic.” Jena has a depth of insight on the subject of holistic healing. She studied at Columbia University and SOAS University of London. She’s taught energy healing classes and stress management seminars for hundreds of corporate clients and university students. She’s also studied along with some of the top scientists and healers in the world, and uses this knowledge in her holistic approach to becoming your optimal self.Tune into this episode to hear Jena and I explore: What is the energy body? The reason we have to do so much work to remember who we really are. Understanding the role of the mind in the healing process. What is pain? Exploring the language of the subconscious.A process for transforming challenging emotions and feelings. How to know which healing tools and modalities will work for you. How does resonance feel?And more…“It's always our responsibility to decide how something makes us feel. The external world—it's not good or bad, it just is.” The way you work with your subconscious mind can change the way you show up for yourself and your life. From releasing emotional blocks to moving through challenging physical ailments, your power to heal is astounding. If you’re ready for a transformation and are curious about how this looks through an energetic lens, this episode is for you. Contact Info:Check out Jena’s work at https://www.beyondthebelief.comSummary/ Call to Action: We thrive on your feedback, so if you’ve enjoyed this show, please rate us and leave us a review. And don’t forget to subscribe to ensure you never miss an episode again. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“I actually don't want to try to be divine. I want to try to be as human as possible.” Welcome to the first interview of 2022! Traditionally, this time of year is potent for goal setting because January represents a fresh start. In the past, I’ve been used to setting clearly defined goals and I’ve had a lot of success with the process. However, as I feel more deeply into a more holistic way of creation, I’m discovering new ways to spark growth and evolution. In this episode, my good friend Makhosi and I explore why the most rich and fulfilling life starts with YOU. We discuss the different energetics that you can weave into the way you create your life - opening a gateway for Euphoric Evolution. This episode is a doozy and I’m so excited for you to dive in and kick-start your 2022 with the ideas and concepts we present.  “Who you are is most evident when there aren't people around.” Makhosi is a powerhouse with one of the strongest energetic presences I’ve ever experienced. Better known as The Royal Shaman, Makhosi is a divine oracle for Elite Empire Builders, an illustrious priestess of epic abundance, advisor to new kings and queens, breaker of paradigms, and a mystic of life beyond accomplishment. In this episode, Makhosi and I explore: Why your beingness can help you achieve bigger goals. What happens when you take the timeline away from goal setting. Creating goals from a place of how you want to FEEL. The power of calibrating to an aspirational version of you. Using senses intentionally to shift your mood. Why who you are is most evident when people aren’t around you. Secrets of branding yourself. The key to the creative process. Strategies for bringing more depth to your human experience. And more…If you’re curious to start the new year in an elevated, evolved way then this episode is for you. Tap into Makhosi’s energetic presence and allow yourself to be inspired by a life beyond expectation, settling, and societal definitions of success. “We can play and create different emotions and different states of being from scent.” Contact Info:Website - https://www.theroyalshaman.comInstagram - https://www.instagram.com/theroyalshaman/Summary/ Call to Action: We thrive on your feedback, so if you’ve enjoyed this show, please rate us and leave us a review. And don’t forget to subscribe to ensure you never miss an episode again. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“I knew what I wanted, and I was so afraid that I wasn't going to get it. But when I let myself surrender and just feel the disappointment of not getting it, I ended up getting it.” This first episode for 2022 has been an entire year in the making. Welcome to my 2021 reflection - a culmination of hours of intentional reflection to extract and share the lessons and insights that life has been teaching me. Tune in to hear a deep-dive account of all my highs and lows and discover how these experiences led to a lot of healing, growth, feeling, expansion, and love. This is one of my favorite episodes to record and a tangible representation of my commitment to living a lifestyle of awareness. I hope this episode inspires you to create your own 2021 reflection. If you want to understand my process for creating this reflection, you’ll want to check out last week’s episode (#211), where I reveal all my secrets! “Purpose is not found in what you do, purpose is found in who you are.” As usual, my dear friend Georgina El Morshdy is here to hold space and guide us as we navigate this conversation into all the events, challenges, celebrations, and inspirations that made my 2021 a year I’ll never forget.Here are some of the key takeaways you’ll hear us discuss: How my breaking open earlier in the year invited deep connection. The lesson of living an inspired life rather than hustling to be an inspiration. The joy of finding a deeper sense of self. Learning to trust that everything is happening FOR you. The secret to getting what you really want. What I learned about cultivating energetically sound endings. What are we robbing ourselves from by keeping one pinky on the shore? The role symbology played in my year. What I learned about crafting a lifestyle of awareness. Why does the universe love us so much? How I stayed grounded in 2021. And more! “Don't lean back, lean in—lean into all of this.” I’m so grateful for the man I’ve become thanks to the life I’ve been blessed to live in 2021. It’s been a spectrum of highs and lows. I’ve experienced some of my biggest challenges, but in the process, I was able to feel a depth of love and connection that I’ve never been able to touch before. If this reflection inspired something in you, please let me know. Share your takeaways on Instagram or DM me. I love hearing from the Stay Grounded community. I’m so grateful you’re a part of it.Contact Info:Georgina’s - Instagram & Facebook. Summary/ Call to Action: We thrive on your feedback, so if you’ve enjoyed this show, please rate us and leave us a review. And don’t forget to subscribe to ensure you never miss an episode again. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“It doesn't matter if you're closing out a year or 10 years, the act of closure feels the same.”When I think about my pace of growth, I’m so clear it’s because I’ve cultivated a lifestyle of awareness. This means I intentionally carve out time to reflect on the things that are happening in my life - and how I move through them. For me, hindsight is 20/20 vision. Reflection reveals all the lessons and secrets life is teaching me. You can avoid repeating mistakes and integrate discoveries with more ease and grace by pulling them out. If you’re a regular listener of Stay Grounded, you’ll know I reflect monthly. I reflect on an annual basis too. It’s actually one of my most favorite things I do. And in this episode, I’m revealing my entire process- step-by-step - for the first time. Check it out. “That's why my life has been able to grow so fast over the years—it's because I don't make the same mistakes again.” In this episode, we explore:Why your annual reflection starts with a month-by-month overview.Why we look for the highs and lows - not the wins and losses. Annual reflection as a game of two halves. Really learning from ‘mistakes’. My closure ritual (and why it’s not for the end of the year alone). My 7 reflection questions. Finding your theme. Crafting goals around the way I want to feel - instead of the things I want to attract. And more…BONUS! Here’s a list of the reflection questions I ask in the episode: Who or what would you like to acknowledge?What would you like to acknowledge about yourself?What are you ready to let go of or forgive?What did you love most about 2018?What do you want more of / what do you want to do differently in 2019?What would need to happen for you to feel complete closure of 2018?What’s next for you RIGHT NOW?This reflection process is here for you to explore whenever you choose to take some self-awareness time for yourself. It’s perfect for closing out the year, but you can also use this sequence anytime you’re at an ending. If you want to see this process in action, check out next week’s episode of Stay Grounded when I share my personal annual reflection. “At the core, it's not the things we accomplish that bring life into our years... it's the things that we feel.” Summary/ Call to Action: We thrive on your feedback, so if you’ve enjoyed this show, please rate us and leave us a review. And don’t forget to subscribe to ensure you never miss an episode again. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“The reaction to the trauma doesn’t necessarily stop with the people who experienced it.” Do you have symptoms that you can’t explain? For example, are you overly anxious for no obvious reason? Do you instinctively push people away or intentionally disassociate from difficult feelings in your body? Do you have irrational fears or thoughts about what could happen that don’t make logical sense?If so, there’s a chance you may be experiencing inherited trauma; that’s trauma, which started with your parents or your grandparents - not you. Generational trauma can impact our lives in profound ways. Fortunately, there is something you can do to transform the fears and soothe the feelings. There is a way to break the pattern so that the ancestral trauma stops with you. Mark Wolynn - author of It Didn’t Start With You and the director of The Family Constellation Institute in San Francisco has devoted his life to understanding and healing inherited family trauma. In this must-hear episode, Mark reveals how his work holds the potential to wildly transform your life as well as the life of your children and grandchildren [even if they’ve not yet been born].    “We don’t make the link that our anxiety, our depression, our shutdown is connected to our parents and our grandparents. We just think we’re wired this way.” The concept of inherited trauma is backed by science. As Mark explains in the episode, as we learn more about epigenetics, our clarity about the way trauma is passed on increases. Ancestral trauma is often behind the curtain. Logic can convince us that certain things are best left unsaid. But just because we don’t hear things doesn’t mean we can’t feel things. Mark’s work empowers people to dig deeper into their familial setting so they can understand the reactions and feelings locked in their body. As a result, his clients get to experience unimaginable feelings of freedom, closure, and clarity. You can get a taste of the potential that healing ancestral trauma could have for you when you tune into this episode. What is inherited trauma?What’s a healthy way to experience a healing event if you can’t tap back into the original trauma? How can you learn to be present with what is? How to differentiate between attachment and generational trauma. Why traumas affect fathering and mothering. The profound difference between forgiveness and understanding.What is inner child healing and why is it powerful healing work?How healing generational trauma impacts your children [and your children’s children].Changing how our genes express to protect our kids [and grandchildren]. Why Mark is passionate about this work [and how it healed his sight]. The significance of Mark crying into his mother’s clothes. And more…  “We’ve got to tame our trauma responses so we can live a loving, open, compassionate, and gentle life.” How to contact Discover more details about Mark’s work at https://markwolynn.comLike Mark on Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/mark.wolynn.31Follow Mark on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/markwolynn/We thrive on your feedback, so if you’ve enjoyed this show, please rate us and leave us a review. And don’t forget to subscribe to ensure you never miss an episode again. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.