The We Shine Well Podcast

What if the problem isn't your gut? That's the question Dr. Mary Pardee, Naturopathic Doctor and Founder modrn med, shares her in this episode. If you've ever walked out of a doctor's office with a label but no answers, this one is for you. In this episode: Why "everything starts in the gut" is an oversimplification and what to look at instead What IBS actually is, the criteria you have to meet for a real diagnosis, and why so many people are misdiagnosed or lumped into the wrong category The gut-brain axis: how the brain and gut communicate bi-directionally, what "visceral hypersensitivity" means, and why two people can have the same amount of gas but only one feels terrible The eating disorder and GI connection, Why skipping meals when you're bloated makes your symptoms worse, not better SIBO: when motility is the root cause and how to actually address it How Dr. Mary uses cognitive behavioral therapy to rewire the stress response around GI symptoms and the IBS symptom severity scores she's seen drop from 220 to 75 What your muscles actually secrete when you exercise (myokines, BDNF, insulin sensitivity) and why exercise is "one of the best drugs we have" GLP-1s vs. research-grade peptides Connect with Dr. Mary Pardee: Instagram: @dr.marypardy Work with Dr. Mary modrnmed.com Longevity + prevention course: launching soon — follow her for details Ways to Support the Show: Leave a 5-star rating and review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify — it helps more people find us Subscribe to the We Shine Well Substack for deeper dives, journal prompts, and more Share this episode with someone who's been dismissed by a doctor or is still searching for answers

What if getting dressed in the morning could change the entire trajectory of your day, your confidence, your opportunities, the way people receive you? In this episode, I sit down with Chellie Carlson, wardrobe stylist and creator of the Magnetic Style Method , for a conversation that goes so much deeper than clothes. Chellie has spent 25 years in the fashion industry and has built her career on a truth most women have never been told - style is a personal development tool. A manifestation tool. A physical vision board for your next level self. And your closet? That's where all of your skeletons live. We go deep on why high-achieving women hide, what it costs them, and the practical codes that will shift everything starting today. Tune in! Key insights: Why most high-achieving women are blending in when they were built to stand out (it's in our DNA) Your closet as a microcosm of your life and why cleaning it out clears the path forward Style as a physical vision board — Chellie styles clients 3 to 5 years into their future Get rid of half your clothes. Seriously. You will not miss a single piece. Outfit repeat. Less is more. Find what people respond to and wear it again. Create a signature look — it saves time, builds trust, and raises your frequency How Chellie went from farm girl in Missouri to unemployment to 7 figures in 4 years Ways to be Supported: Follow @chelliecarlson on Instagram (Chellie with a C!) Explore the Magnetic Style Method + Style Society at chelliecarlson.com Ways to Support the Show: Join our We Shine Well Substack for prompts + community Connect at @weshinewell Follow, rate + review, and share with a woman who's ready to stop hiding You are loved, supported, and exactly where you're meant to be.

You cannot heal in survival mode. Your body will not prioritize creating life, balancing your hormones, or healing your gut when it thinks it's being chased by a tiger. In this episode, I sit down with Dr. Elizabeth Wade , naturopathic doctor, educator, and founder of Fertility Reclaimed , for a conversation about what root cause medicine actually looks like in practice, and what most of us are still missing when it comes to our health. Elizabeth went from coordinating international exchange programs in Chicago to sitting on a beach in Costa Rica reading The Blue Zones, realizing her real passion had nothing to do with her career, and eventually becoming one of the most grounded practitioners in the fertility and hormonal health space. Her path led her to build the program she needed and couldn't find. Tune in! Key insights: What naturopathic medicine is and why the iceberg analogy explains everything The dermatologist story that made Elizabeth genuinely frustrated at 20, and why it called her to medicine How to quiet the wellness noise and actually hear what your own body is telling you The lab trick that gets conventional doctors to run panels they'd otherwise refuse The gut microbiome as the foundation and what happens when it's off How scrolling your phone creates the same stress response as being chased by a predator Why your body won't conceive — or heal — when it's in chronic survival mode Preconception health and the Fertility Reclaimed program: what it covers and why it matters Daily choices as self-love: sleep, hydration, self-talk, and reparenting yourself Ways to be Supported: Follow @dr.elizabethwade on Instagram Work with Elizabeth virtually or in person at drelizabethwade.com Ways to Support the Show: Join our We Shine Well Substack for prompts + community Connect at @weshinewell Follow, rate + review, and share with a woman who's ready to come home to her body You are loved, supported, and exactly where you're meant to be.

Your brain is your best asset. So why do most of us treat it last? In this episode, I sit down with Angie Noack, licensed professional counselor and Sr. VP at Brain Code Centers , for a conversation that started before we even hit record, with an actual brain map of my brain. Angie fractured her skull at 19 donating blood. Spent weeks in the ICU. Was released in a walker. Reversed her own severe anxiety and panic attacks through neurofeedback. And built her entire career around helping other people do the same. She believes you are not beholden to what you were born with. Your brain is neuroplastic. It is capable of change and neurofeedback is the hardware-level work that no amount of supplements, meditation, or cold plunging can replace. This one gets specific and personal, including what Angie saw in my own brain scan. Tune in! Key insights: Angie's skull fracture at 19, the TBI that changed her life, and 40-60 sessions that reversed her panic attacks What a brain map (QEEG) actually is and what it reveals that an MRI or standard scan can't The four brain waves — delta, theta, alpha, beta, high beta — and what happens when they're off Software vs. hardware: why supplements and meditation can't fix a neurological pattern What Angie saw in Zoë's brain map — hyperfixation, alpha dominance, and the impact of a 12-year-old head injury Anxiety and depression through a neurological lens — and what lifting that fog can do to someone's identity The 13-year-old hockey player who had two schools and one hockey team threatening him — two months into neurofeedback, a different kid How neurofeedback works differently from medication — and why the results don't have a shelf life Fertility, pregnancy, and postpartum — why neurofeedback is safe and why fight-or-flight brains struggle to conceive Daily brain health: morning sunlight, box breathing, bilateral tapping, puzzles, blood sugar, and making sleep your superpower Ways to be Supported: Follow @braincodecenters on Instagram Book a free consultation + explore brain mapping at braincodecenters.com Use code SHINE for a discount on the neurofeedback program Ways to Support the Show: Join our We Shine Well Substack for prompts + community Connect at @weshinewell Follow, rate + review, and share with someone who has tried everything and is ready for the hardware work You are loved, supported, and exactly where you're meant to be.

You cannot heal from a place of fear. That's the truth at the center of everything Lauren Vaknine does. And once you hear her say it and hear the story that led her to it you can't unhear it. In this episode, I sit down with Lauren Vaknine , holistic healer, identity coach, and founder of the RISE membership, for one of the most layered and insightful conversations on healing I've had on this show. Lauren was diagnosed with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis at 23 months old. At 18, a chemo-based drug spread it to every joint in her body and left her in a wheelchair. Eleven years later, after piecing together every layer of healing, physical, mental, emotional, spiritual, she reached remission. That was 13 years ago. She has been able-bodied since. The root of her healing wasn't a protocol. It was identity. This conversation gets into all of it - why nothing heals in isolation, what the biohacking world gets wrong, how trapped emotions become illness, what identity shifting actually means, and why the most powerful healing tools in the world are completely free. Tune in! Key insights: 27 years of rheumatoid arthritis, a wheelchair at 18, and the decision that changed everything Holistic means whole, not natural. Why healing one part requires healing all parts. The 18-wheeler analogy: one flat tire and the whole vehicle is off Why you cannot heal from fear and why most of the biohacking world is operating from exactly that Trapped emotions and what happens when they don't move through the body Identity shifting as the root of all healing and why "my arthritis" is a language Lauren won't allow The RISE membership The biohacking lie: the stuff that actually heals you costs nothing Women heal more deeply in community and why Lauren built her whole program around that Her book I'm Fine — coming later this year Ways to be Supported: Follow Lauren on Instagram and explore the RISE membership at laurenvaknine.com Ways to Support the Show: Join our We Shine Well Substack for prompts + community Connect at @weshinewell Follow, rate + review, and share with a woman who is ready to stop running from the real work You are loved, supported, and exactly where you're meant to be.

Your vision doesn't live in your mind. It lives in your nervous system. That's the idea Jamie Janko has built her entire life and practice around. In this episode, I sit down with Jamie Janko, founder of ReWild Breathwork , somatic educator, practitioner trainer in over 25 countries, and one of the most nomadically adventurous humans I know, for a conversation about breath, vision, the nervous system, and what becomes possible when you finally come home to yourself. Jamie left a 12-year career in Major League Baseball, a marriage, and the country — all after one breathwork session in Venice Beach that showed her exactly where her life was supposed to go next. She didn't believe it. She thought the universe was talking to the girl next to her, but she followed it anyway and this is where it led. This one is also personal for me. I shared about my own experience with breathwork opening things that years of therapy couldn't reach. I think it'll land for a lot of you too. Tune in! Key insights: Baby Jamie failing a physical exam for cheerleading tryouts and discovering breath at age 12 before the internet What conscious connected breathwork actually is and why it's nothing like you expect Why it's similar to a psilocybin experience — there are actual studies on this The difference between functional breath and conscious connected breath — and why both matter Your vision lives in your nervous system, not your mind — what that means and why it changes everything Nervous system flexibility vs. regulation — why the goal isn't calm, it's range Email apnea: the way you hold your breath every time an email comes in without realizing it Building ReWild: staying in your lane, giving back globally, and learning it's safe to be visible Going nomadic: leaving LA for Ireland, Spain, and Bali — and doing it scared Do it scared. And if you don't like it, you can always come back. Ways to be Supported: Follow @jamiejanko + @rewildbreathwork on Instagram Explore retreats, trainings + the Somatic Breathwork Practitioner Training at rewildbreathwork.com Ways to Support the Show: Join our We Shine Well Substack for prompts + community Connect at @weshinewell Follow, rate + review, and share with someone who's ready to follow the thread You are loved, supported, and exactly where you're meant to be.

If hunger isn't the problem, food isn't the solution. That's the through line of everything Laura Conley does and once you hear her say it, you won't be able to un-hear it. In this episode, I sit down with Laura Conley , life and weight loss coach, founder of the Yummy Mummy Method, and host of the top 1.5% podcast Lose Weight for the Last Time, for one of the most refreshing and genuinely funny conversations about food, bodies, and what it really takes to get out of the cycle for good. Laura figured all of this out the hard way. She was the woman who knew every diet, had every supplement, had tried everythin and still couldn't follow through. Then her daughter came home from a month in the hospital as a newborn, and Laura took a shower and started beating herself up for not being back in her pre-baby jeans. That was the wake-up call. And the Yummy Mummy Method was born from everything she figured out after it. Tune in! Key insights: Why she had a breakdown in the shower after her daughter came home from the hospital and what it changed What emotional eating actually is and why most people don't realize they're doing it Hunger hormones: insulin, leptin, ghrelin, and how processed food hijacks your ability to hear your body Why willpower doesn't work and what allow power is instead Healthy happy restriction: the middle path between 800 calories a day and eating whatever you want The when-then game: "when I lose the weight, then I'll feel confident" and how to reverse it Pleasure as a non-negotiable why women who don't know what they enjoy are more likely to reach for food Almost immediate gratification: how to get a hit of reward without waiting six months for the goal The five pillars of the Yummy Mummy Method You are not bad or wrong. It's not your fault. And it might just be your responsibility. Ways to be Supported: Follow @lauraconleycoaching on Instagram Grab the free Best Weight Loss Plan Ever at lauraconley.com/plan Listen to the Lose Weight for the Last Time podcast Ways to Support the Show: Join our We Shine Well Substack for prompts + community Connect at @weshinewell Follow, rate + review, and share with a woman who has tried everything and is ready to try something different You are loved, supported, and exactly where you're meant to be.

The protein movement is one of the best things to happen to women's health in years and Morgan Zanotti has thoughts about it. In this episode, I sit down with Morgan Zanotti — co-founder of Primal Kitchen, founder of Waay, and one of the most genuinely honest founders I've had on this show — for a conversation about building businesses, managing the mental weight of it, and why protein, but make it fun, might be exactly what we needed. Morgan bootstrapped Primal Kitchen to $50 million in revenue without outside investors, pioneered seed-oil-free condiments before that was even a phrase people used, and sold it to Kraft Heinz for $200 million. Then she spotted a gap in the protein space, discovered clear whey protein isolate, and thought: put it in sparkling water. It's not that complicated. Call it day for your protein goals with Waay. We also talk about the mental health breakout session at a VC summit that every founder showed up to and nobody expected, the Untethered Soul and what happened when she closed her eyes at a country club pool in her twenties, and why you don't have to have it figured out to take the next step. Tune in! Key insights: How Primal Kitchen started with mayonnaise and why that wasn't actually an accident Bootstrapping to $50M without investors Pioneering seed-oil-free condiments before anyone had words for it Why she said no to Walmart in year two and what happened when the timing was finally right Starting Waay when you know everything that can go wrong (it's harder and she knows it) The protein movement for women: why Morgan thinks it's one of the healthiest shifts in a long time The VC founder wellness breakout session no one expected to be standing room only The Untethered Soul, therapy, and how she manages anxiety as a visionary Building community by hiring people you genuinely love, not just people with the right resume You don't have to have it figured out. You never do. Keep going anyway. Ways to be Supported: Follow @morganzanotti and @drinkwaay on Instagram Shop Waay at drinkwaay.com or find it at Whole Foods, Sprouts, and Target Ways to Support the Show: Join our We Shine Well Substack for prompts + community Connect at @weshinewell Follow, rate + review, and share with a founder who needs a reminder to keep going You are loved, supported, and exactly where you're meant to be.

What if your body knows what it needs before your mind does? In this episode, I sit down with Erika Bloom, internationally renowned movement therapist and founder of Erika Bloom Wellness, to talk about what becomes possible when we understand how our bodies are actually designed to move, heal, and communicate with us. Erika has spent nearly three decades studying the human body across more than 20 somatic modalities. We get into everything from interoception and fascia to posture, nervous system resilience, strength, digestion, and longevity. She also completely changed the way I think about “tight” muscles, good posture, and even what nervous system regulation is supposed to look like. One of my favorite parts of this conversation is how practical it gets. We talk about the tiny patterns we repeat every day, why your big toe actually matters for longevity, and simple ways to become more connected to your body without adding another complicated wellness practice to your life. Tune in! Key insights: What interoception actually means and how to get better at hearing your body's signals Why your body can sometimes register how you feel before your conscious mind catches up Why “tight” muscles may be a protective response rather than something you need to stretch more Posture vs. protection and the patterns our bodies pick up from stress, injury, environment, and even our parents Why nervous system health is about adaptability, not trying to stay regulated and calm all day How healing movement affects much more than muscle, including digestion, circulation, fascia, bone health, and longevity The surprising connection between big toe mobility, gait, osteoporosis, and staying engaged with life as we age Why strength isn't just about lifting heavier and what Erika sees even with professional athletes What good posture actually looks and feels like Simple practices you can try today to reconnect with your body How becoming more somatically aware can change the way you care for yourself, relate to others, and make choices Why Erika believes we have far more ability to change how our bodies feel as we age than we've been taught Ways to be Supported: Follow Erika at @erikabloomwellness Explore Erika Bloom Wellness at erikabloom.com Explore the Erika Bloom Digital Membership at erikabloomdigital.com Learn more about the Erika Bloom Method certification + education program WSW listener offer: Access 6 months of Erika Bloom Digital for $100 (originally $720). Redeem here ! https://www.erikabloomdigital.com/buy/97bcccf1-110d-49d0-bca6-28e092ce5699 Ways to Support the Show: Join our We Shine Well Substack for deeper reflections + community Connect with us at @weshinewell Follow, rate + review the podcast Share this episode with someone who wants to feel better and more connected to their body You are loved, supported, and exactly where you're meant to be.

Hot take from someone who has been in the clean skincare industry since 1999: most skincare, even the clean stuff, is a band-aid. Your skin isn't broken. It's starving. In this episode, I sit down with Tammy Demos — founder of Kleos+Klea , the world's first nutrient-focused skincare line — for a conversation that made me want to immediately audit everything on my bathroom shelf. Tammy's story starts in 2014 when her skin completely fell apart. Melasma, hyperpigmentation, flaking, redness — and nothing in the clean beauty world touched it. She tried everything. She traveled to Thailand, Cambodia, Dubai looking for an esthetician with a secret nobody in the US had found. She came home empty-handed. And then she turned to plants. Three days later, her skin was responding. Two months later, it was healed. Seven years later, she hasn't gone back to a conventional skincare product once. The line she built from that experience is like nothing else I've found. Four products — powder cleanser, mineral mist, powdered serum, omega oil. No water, no fillers, no stabilizers. Just 150+ nutrients per formula delivered to your skin as potent and pure as possible. Tune in! Key insights: The hot take: most skincare is a band-aid — your skin needs nutrients, not more products How Tammy's skin completely fell apart between 2014 and 2019 — and what healed it in 3 days Why she traveled to Thailand, Cambodia, and Dubai looking for skincare answers Nutrients are the language of cells — why your skin literally can't use what most products give it What your skin is actually telling you about what's happening inside your body Why powdered skincare delivers 100% potency vs. the 2-5% you get from water-based formulas Don't start your skincare routine until you're in a state of love and gratitude — the quantum physicist story Her daily routine: meditation, intention, gratitude, antioxidants before sunscreen The 4 Kleos+Klea products and where to start (hint: start with the mineral mist) The spiritual awakening that happened as she built this line — the plants kept giving her stories Ways to be Supported: Follow @kleosandkleaskincare on Instagram Shop at kleosandklea.com — discount code linked in show notes Ways to Support the Show: Join our We Shine Well Substack for prompts + community Connect at @weshinewell Follow, rate + review, and share with anyone who has ever felt like their skin is a mystery You are loved, supported, and exactly where you're meant to be.

Joy isn't the reward for a life well lived. It's what you have to be brave enough to pursue in the middle of all of it. In this episode, I sit down with Alicia "ACE" Easter — wellness practitioner, yoga teacher, and founder of ACE Yoga LA — for one of the most genuinely human conversations I've had on this show. ACE lost her father at 17 and her mother at 19. She was a freshman in college, lying next to her mom's body, thinking: it's just me now. What followed wasn't a breakdown — it was a decade of breadcrumbs. A free yoga class sign in Chicago. A gym in every new city. A mat that helped her grieve what she hadn't let herself grieve. And eventually — a calling so clear she couldn't ignore it. Nearly 20 years later, she's teaching yoga to kids in preschools across LA, leading Peace in the Pause, and closing every class with the same words she dropped into her mind one day: stay brave in your pursuit of joy. Tune in! Key insights: How ACE found yoga in Chicago on a work trip and why it cracked her grief wide open Losing both parents before 19 and what she learned about survival, community, and trust What grief actually is — layered, ever-changing, and different every single year Stay brave in your pursuit of joy — the origin story and what it actually means to live it Peace in the Pause: a lifestyle shift, not just a breathing practice How she knew it was her turn — and what unshackling herself from the "alone forever" belief changed Why she started teaching yoga to kids and what she's watching happen in those little bodies What kids can teach us about falling, moving on, and asking for help The energize vs. drain scan — doing a 30-day review of your own lived experience ACE Yoga for Kids on Inner Dimension TV for ages 3 to 12 Ways to be Supported: Follow @aceyogala on Instagram Explore Peace in the Pause, retreats + offerings at aceyogala.com Find ACE Yoga for Kids on Inner Dimension TV for ages 3 to 12 Ways to Support the Show: Join our We Shine Well Substack for prompts + community Connect at @weshinewell Follow, rate + review, and share with a woman who needs a reminder that joy is still available to her You are loved, supported, and exactly where you're meant to be.

Most of us are living from a version of ourselves that was programmed before we turned seven. The beliefs we hold about our worth, our money, our capacity, downloaded before we had any say. And most of us have never questioned whether any of it is actually true. In this episode, I sit down with Tasha Triana – transformational coach, certified hypnotherapist, and former nurse – for one of the most grounding, eye-opening conversations about identity, subconscious reprogramming, and becoming your future self. Tasha spent a decade in nursing, survived early burnout, got rejected from Doctors Without Borders, went on a nine-week solo backpacking trip through Central America – and followed every breadcrumb until she built a practice dedicated to helping people close the gap between who they are and who they're becoming. Her claim? Your mind is neuroplastic. Which means change isn't just possible – it's available to you right now. Tune in! Key insights: 90% of your subconscious programming was set before age 7 – most of us have never questioned it What the subconscious mind actually is – the iceberg analogy that reframes everything How your thoughts create your feelings, your frequency, and what you attract What hypnotherapy actually is How Tasha wrote her own future self script and listened every morning to rewire her identity The energize vs. drain list – one of the most powerful and accessible tools in this episode Why survival mode is normal – but oscillating between it and rest is the real goal The three life experiences that will bring every limiting belief to the surface Proximity as power: getting into rooms where your future self already exists How to start following the breadcrumbs toward who you're actually here to become Ways to be Supported: Follow Tasha on Instagram + explore offerings at thenurturednurse.co Ways to Support the Show: Join our We Shine Well Substack for prompts + community Connect at @weshinewell Follow, rate + review, and share with a woman in the middle of becoming You are loved, supported, and exactly where you're meant to be.

What if wellness didn't add pressure, it reduced it? In this episode, I sit down with Angie Tebbe, co-founder and CEO of Rae Wellness , for a grounded, honest conversation about building a brand that actually serves women, not just sells to them. Angie grew up in Fargo, North Dakota meditating in the yard while her dad did Reiki and her mom handed out Advil. She spent 15 years at Microsoft and Target overseeing $15 billion in P&L and then walked away to fill a gap the wellness industry had left wide open: a brand rooted in support over correction, consistency over intensity, and meeting women exactly where they are. Rae launched in 2019 and reached 4.5 million customers without selling out. This is how she did it and why. Tune in! Key insights: From $15B P&L at Target to founding Rae and the slow, undeniable signs that led her there The shift from performance to alignment: what it changed and how it shows up now Support over correction: why Rae's wellness philosophy is the antidote to the industry What accessibility actually means - it's not just price, it's language, representation + trust Building a brand with soul: values as the filter for every decision The moment Rae pulled a product from Target shelves and why it built more trust Community as a two-way relationship, not an acquisition metric Creating space quarterly: Angie's hotel-for-two-nights clarity practice What's next for Rae beyond products and the thing she hasn't started yet but knows she's meant to Ways to be Supported: Follow @raeforwellness on Instagram Shop at raewellness.co — use code WESHINE10 for 10% off Ways to Support the Show: Join our We Shine Well Substack for prompts + community Connect at @weshinewell Follow, rate + review, and share with a founder building something real You are loved, supported, and exactly where you're meant to be.

Growth happens when we allow ourselves to be fully seen, fully known, and supported by people who reflect back what's possible. I'm bringing you inside our 2026 We Shine Well Summit: Limitless, where Nyakio Grieco , DJ Blatner , and Morgan Zanotti joined me for a conversation about identity, resilience, and the power of showing up as yourself. One shared truth: when you show up as yourself, the right people find you. Watch on YouTube for the full experience. Tune in! Key insights: Nyakio navigated a co-founder breakup, an attempted cancellation, and her first lawsuit in 365 days and came out more grounded than ever. DJ walked into a job interview with no sports knowledge, told the truth, and earned a World Series ring. Morgan has been reinventing herself since 16, still doesn't have it all figured out, and owns that completely. Why authenticity isn't just a vibe, it's a business strategy and a superpower Ways to be Supported: Follow @nyakio , @djblatner + @morganzanotti on Instagram Shop Thirteen Lune at thirteenlune.com + Waay at drinkwaay.com Watch the full experience on YouTube Ways to Support the Show: Join our We Shine Well Substack for prompts + community Connect at @weshinewell Follow, rate + review, and share with a woman ready to be fully seen You are loved, supported, and exactly where you're meant to be.

Limitless isn't always about shooting for the stars. Sometimes it's about going down into the decay first and deciding what you're going to plant in its place. In this special episode, I'm bringing you inside the We Shine Well Summit: Limitless, where @kelseyjpatel , @aceyogala , and @sabrina_soto joined me for one of the best coversations. Kelsey built a healing career out of pain and after answering her mother's calls from the psych ward from her Capitol Hill cubicle. ACE lost her mother at 19 and turned that grief into a global yoga and children's mindfulness movement. Sabrina was homeless at 17, kept her family home beautiful out of necessity, found a Craigslist ad at 4am, and filmed her first HGTV show 16 weeks later. They followed the breadcrumbs + turned pain into purpose. Watch on YouTube for the full embodied experience. Tune in! Key insights: The compost-to-garden framework, pain and decay become the soil for new growth ACE's story: losing her mom at 19 and finding yoga, grief, and community along the way Sabrina's story: homeless at 17, a 4am doorbell, a Craigslist ad, and 20 years on HGTV Kelsey's story: Capitol Hill, chronic back pain, and a healing career she never planned Reinvention at any age - why staying stuck because it "looks good on paper" costs everything Ways to be Supported: Follow @kelseyjpatel , @aceyogala + @sabrina_soto on Instagram Watch the full experience on YouTube Ways to Support the Show: Join our We Shine Well Substack for prompts + community Connect at @weshinewell Follow, rate + review, and share with a woman in a season of becoming

You are not here to contain yourself. You are here to live as your most alive self. In this special episode, I'm bringing you inside our 2026 We Shine Well Summit: Limitless, where Samantha Skelly , speaker, author, founder of Pause Breathwork, opened the day with one of the most powerful, electric experiences I've ever witnessed in a room full of women. Samantha walked away from a $2.7 million company because her soul was crushed, started over with nothing but a whisper from the universe, and built one of the most recognized breathwork platforms in the world. Her workshop, Can't Be Contained , is part philosophy, part nervous system activation, part breathwork journey, and all of it is an invitation to come home to the fullest, most alive version of yourself. We talk about energy as your greatest business asset, the inner board of directors framework, why aliveness is the strategy, and then we move into the most powerful breathwork session ever recorded at a WSW event. Watch on YouTube for the full embodied experience. Listen wherever you are for the philosophy and the breath. Tune in! Key insights: Why your energy and aliveness are your greatest business assets, not your strategy The moment Samantha walked away from a $2.7M company and what the universe said next Profit is proof of alignment, what that actually means and how to live it The inner board of directors: your aligned self, inner child, soul, and God/life force Why your inner child running the show is costing you money, clients, and joy Women in business are playing a different game and what that actually requires Why Samantha optimizes for joy over revenue and what follows when she does Collaboration over competition as the foundation of feminine entrepreneurship Ways to be Supported: Follow @samanthaskelly on Instagram Join her November event Women & Wealth in San Diego Join her LIFE Mastermind Ways to Support the Show: Watch the full experience on YouTube for the embodied version Join our We Shine Well Substack for prompts + community Connect at @weshinewell Follow, rate + review, and share with a woman ready to come alive You are loved, supported, and exactly where you're meant to be.

In this episode, I sit down with Julie Loos , co-founder of Ground Up , a nut butter brand built around a job training program for women overcoming adversity, for a conversation that proves business really can be a force for good. Julie's story begins in Uganda, where at 22 years old she oversaw a job training program for 160 women, helping them save enough to start their own small businesses and watching that impact ripple through entire families and communities. When she moved home to Portland, she couldn't let go of one question: why couldn't this model work here? She met her co-founder Carolyn, who was making remarkable nut butter out of dietary necessity, and Ground Up was born. Ten years later, Ground Up has employed and empowered over 100 women through its six-to-nine month job training program, expanded into more than 1,000 grocery stores, and proven that mission and profitability don't have to be at odds, even without outside investors. We talk about what it actually takes to scale impact alongside growth, the cost of saying yes too often, the power of delegation, and how becoming a mother completely reshaped the way Julie leads. Tune in! Key insights: How two years in Uganda became the blueprint for Ground Up's job training model Why Ground Up doesn't run background checks and what that means for hiring with grace What it actually takes to "do business for good" for founders and individual contributors Learning to delegate, ask for support, and let go of "doing it all" Why celebrating wins matters more than chasing the next milestone Ground Up's evolution: from a custom-order kitchen table business to 1,000+ grocery stores Dive deeper with us! The conversations don’t end here, they ripple into real life. Ways to be Supported: Follow @groundup pdx on Instagra m Shop at grounduppdx.com — use c ode SHINE for 15% off Find B Corps to sup port at bcorporation.net/find-a-b-corp Ways to Support the Show Join our We Shine Well community on Sub stack to: Dive deeper with with guided prompts, resources, and community conversations with fellow listeners and guests to expand you Connect with us on Instagram at @weshinewell If you enjoy the show, I’d love your help by … • Following or subscribe wherever you listen • Follow, rate + review, and share with a founder building something with purpose

You come home to motherhood. But it's never the home you left. In this episode, I sit down with Dr. Sanam Shamtobi, clinical psychologist, perinatal mental health specialist, and founder of The Mother Hood , for a conversation that validates exactly what so many women are feeling and rarely saying out loud. Sanam had nearly 15 years as a psychologist and felt completely resourced heading into motherhood. And still, postpartum anxiety caught her off guard. That experience is the reason The Mother Hood exists, she signed the office lease the day after her daughter was born. We talk about the core beliefs hiding underneath postpartum fears, the grief that gets missed because moms are expected to just be grateful, the concept of matrescence, and why, no matter what you're thinking or feeling right now, you are not crazy, and you are not alone. Tune in! Key insights: Why even well-resourced, well-prepared women get blindsided by postpartum anxiety The core beliefs hiding under intrusive thoughts: "I'm not good enough," "I'm going to fail" The grief of early motherhood and why centering the baby instead of the mother misses the mark Matrescence: the lifelong, repeating identity shift of becoming a mother Why perfectionism is really just an illusion of control How Sanam catches herself cleaning instead of being present — and what shifted it Self-care isn't one-size-fits-all and the guilt around "getting it wrong" What changes in friendships after kids, and how to hold space for that grief too Why therapy is one piece of the puzzle, not the whole solution The Mother Hood's at-home, virtual + in-office therapy model Ways to be Supported: Follow @themotherhoodla on Instagram Book a free consultation at themotherhoodla.com Virtual, in-person + at-home therapy available Ways to Support the Show: Join our We Shine Well Substack for prompts + community Connect at @weshinewell Follow, rate + review, and share with a mom who needs to hear she's not alone You are loved, supported, and exactly where you're meant to be. If this episode brings up something tender, please know support is available, reach out to a trusted provider or loved one.

What if the thing you're searching for isn't outside of you, it's already here, just buried under everything in the way? In this episode, I sit down with Gwen Dittmar, creator of Somatic Medicine and Activation Breathwork, Human Design analyst, Shamanic Energy Medicine Practitioner, and Akashic Records channel, for a conversation that moves seamlessly between the scientific and the sacred. Gwen blends two decades of biotech research with a Master's in Spiritual Psychology, and her own life — childhood illness, a near-death experience, infertility, 21 years of sobriety, single motherhood — has shaped a body of work centered on one belief: the medicine is already inside you. We talk about what it means to be truly present with the sensations in your body, how to work with stuck energy instead of around it, what Human Design reveals about why you operate the way you do, and how to become your own healer. Tune in! Key insights: Why what you're searching for isn't outside you, it's all within you What somatic medicine is and how presence itself becomes the medicine Working with "sticky, stuck" energy: how to dialogue with what's inside you Why the body leads before the mind and what happens when we override it Human Design 101: what it is, where it comes from, and what it reveals, why understanding your type changes everything Using elements (breath, water, fire, earth) as ancient, accessible healing tools Becoming sovereign: why true healing happens inside you, not from a facilitator Activation Breathwork: what it is and how it rewires the nervous system How Gwen supports herself: somatic noticing, breath, and elemental rituals, no fancy tools required Ways to be Supported: Follow @gwendittmar on Instagram Join the monthly membership ($64) — somatic healing circle, breathwork, Human Design workshop + Akashic Records reading at gwendittmar.com Listen to The Beautiful Grit podcast Ways to Support the Show: Join our We Shine Well Substack for prompts + community Connect at @weshinewell Follow, rate + review, and share with a woman ready to come back to herself You are loved, supported, and exactly where you're meant to be.

90% of women diagnosed with breast cancer have no family history and no known genetic mutation. So why are we only paying attention when there's a reason to be scared? In this episode, I sit down with Gina Lamanna, breast cancer thriver, fashion stylist, and founder of The Fondle Project — for a conversation about body literacy, self-advocacy, and trusting your gut even when the scans come back clear. In 2016, Gina's mammogram and ultrasound were normal. But something still felt off. She pushed for an MRI, pursued second and third opinions, and that persistence is the reason she's here today. Now she's on a mission to help every woman learn her normal, without fear, without shame, and without waiting for breast cancer awareness month to have the conversation. We walk through what a real self-exam looks like, bust some major breast health myths, and talk about what it takes to rebuild your confidence and your relationship with your body after a health crisis. Tune in! Key insights: Gina's story: clear scans, a gut feeling, and the second opinion that saved her life 90% of breast cancer diagnoses have no family history — why that matters for every woman What "knowing your normal" actually means and why breast tissue changes constantly How to perform a proper self-exam — including the areas most women skip Mammogram myths busted: they do not cause cancer, but they're not always accurate Why 40% of breast cancers are found by women themselves, not screenings What to do when a doctor dismisses your concerns Rebuilding confidence and identity after diagnosis, surgery, and major body changes How personal style became a healing tool for reclaiming sensuality and self Teaching daughters body awareness without creating fear Ways to be Supported: Follow @thefondleproject + @ginamlamanna on Instagram Learn more + get involved at thefondleproject.org Ways to Support the Show: Join our We Shine Well Substack for prompts + community Connect at @weshinewell Follow, rate + review, and share with a woman who needs this reminder You are loved, supported, and exactly where you're meant to be. If you've experienced loss or health challenges, please know support is available, reach out to a trusted provider or loved one.