The ReProgram

I had the joy of speaking with 66-year-old therapist and fellow mother (who’s been practicing about as long as Taylor Swift has been alive), Maureen Motley about these times we're living in, how capitalism divides the generations, and what it feels like to watch her adult child navigating a very different world than the one she came up in. Maureen is wise and deeply joyful, and her love and wisdom feel like such an uplifting balm at this very moment, right when we need it. We wandered through topics like the illusion of control in uncertain times, the circle of control vs. the circle of concern, the grief of watching systems fail our own families, and the beauty of aging into greater self-acceptance. She spoke about how every generation faces its own “becoming,” and how vital it is that we stay connected through it all—sharing wisdom, laughter, and responsibility across the years. And she names so beautifully what we can all do "with our one drop." This episode is really about the long arc of healing—how each of us, no matter our age or role, contributes to collective change simply by doing the work in front of us, together. Enjoy!

Today I sit down with my dear friend and powerhouse healer Dula Josephine to talk about something that lights us both up: the collective side of healing. Josephine shares her own journey from deep burnout to a life filled with creativity, community, and pleasure, that was very much sparked by her involvement with my Group Coaching container Nurtured Mama. Together we trace how group work, inner-child tending, and the simple act of letting support in become the doorway to nervous-system safety and lasting change.We also wander into the fun places healing can take us—from fashion as somatic expression to the surprising ways technology can hold space for real emotional growth. This conversation is a love letter to every woman who’s tired of doing it all alone and ready to remember that desire and connection are medicine.What you’ll hear inside:Why group work is one of the fastest tracks to transformationHow relational safety rewires our stress responsesThe hidden link between burnout and the inability to receiveInner child practices that open space for joy and freedomWhy honoring emotions (instead of stuffing them) changes relationshipsCreative, even stylish, ways to embody healing in daily lifeIf you’ve been craving a safe, vibrant community—or just need permission to rest and be held—this episode is for you. And! Fall Group work is open, Embodied Boundaries starts 9/25, Safe Inside starts 10/8 and we will have another cohort of Nurtured Mamas in the Winter, stay tuned.

I had the privilege of sitting down with viral poet and author David Gate to talk about his recent beautiful book Rebellion of Care—a straight-from-the-heart exploration of how self-care and mutual care are radical and urgent in a culture that prizes productivity over people. We looked at how trauma shapes our relationships, why friendship and community are survival skills, and how language and art help us say the things our bodies already know.David read several of his beautiful poems, and touched something so deeply in me he made me cry. Felt good. Highly recommend. I am so grateful to bring forward this practical, honest conversation about what it takes to stay connected to ourselves and each other when the world keeps pulling us apart. It has never felt more necessary, and I am so grateful for wise people like David, gently showing us the way. Please connect with David and his work, on his website: https://www.davidgatepoet.com/

In this conversation with spiritual teacher, channeler, and one of my biggest mentors Paige Turlitzi, I felt like we were tracing the invisible threads that weave healing and consciousness together. We wandered through the Akashic Records, the Hawkins scale, and that brave journey from victim to creator consciousness. BTW, The Hawkins scale, developed by Dr. David R. Hawkins, is a map of human consciousness that ranges from low-vibration states like shame and fear up through courage, love, joy, and peace. It helps us see how our emotional states literally shift the energy we live in.We talked about how our bodies have to come along for the ride—because there’s no true awakening if the nervous system is left behind. We also explored something I’m endlessly fascinated by: the way compassionate witnessing softens everything. From codependency to sovereignty. From 3D to 5D. From old survival wiring to the felt sense of freedom.This episode is for anyone ready to remember their own higher self and the magic that happens when you stop outsourcing your worth and start living as the creator of your life.And so FUN, at the end of the episode Page taps in to my own level of consciousness and the consciousness of this community.....You can connect with Page and her incredible work on September 30th at 11am in a workshop for Paid Subscribers to my Substack, where she'll teach on “Mapping Consciousness: The Hawkins Scale as a Tool for Healing and Growth.”And you can connect with her and all the facets of her work on IG: @nomadicpriestess

I got to sit down with writer, mother and woman-in-a-body Ruthie Ackerman to talk about her powerful memoir The Mother Code—and let me tell you, this one cracked something open in me. Ruthie is re-imagining what motherhood even means, beyond the scripts and myths we inherited. We went deep into the messy truths: maternal ambivalence (yes, it’s normal), the weight of cultural expectations, and the way writing can become a radical act of self-discovery and freedom.What I love about this conversation is how Ruthie makes space for the many ways motherhood can look and feel. Success isn’t a performance—it’s caretaking, community, and emotional health. And for those of us rewriting our own mother code, this dialogue is a reminder that we don’t have to do it alone. We get to choose the stories we carry forward, and we get to make them fit the families and lives we’re actually living.This is one of those episodes that will stay with you—especially if you’ve ever questioned the old rules of what a “good mother” is supposed to be.You can access more of Ruthie's work here: https://www.ruthieackerman.com/Enjoy the episode!

In this episode, I sit down with Psychedelic Somatic Therapist Christian Snuffer for a conversation about attunement—what it really means to be in touch with ourselves and each other, and why it’s at the heart of healing.We talk about the nervous system (of course), and about how somatic awareness—paying attention to what’s happening in our bodies—isn’t just a side practice, but the actual doorway to healing. We explore how joy can sometimes feel just as threatening as pain when our bodies are wired for survival, and how dissociation shows up as a protective reflex when emotions feel too overwhelming.Christian brings such wisdom about the power of language, the pull of community, and the way nature herself teaches us how to return to regulation. Together, we explore why healing isn’t a “problem to solve” but a process of becoming more fully human.If you’ve ever wondered why you avoid your feelings, why you can’t quite let joy land, or why regulating yourself as a parent feels impossible some days—you’re not broken. You’re in the process of remembering.We also share about Christian’s new Attunement Collective, a free space for people ready to deepen their somatic and relational practices with support.This one is tender, grounding, and full of those “aha” reframes that make you exhale. So good. You can connect with Christian and his work on his IG page @_attunement, and find access to his many offerings!

Vanessa Kroll Bennett is one half of the So Awkward brand and co-author (with pediatrician Cara Natterson) of the hit book "This is So Awkward" that’s making puberty conversations a little less cringey and a lot more human. In this laugh-out-loud, deeply relatable conversation, we toss out the stiff lectures and lean into humor, personal stories, and the messy truth—because puberty isn’t just something our kids go through. Their changes stir up our own memories of middle school awkwardness, body confusion, and the tender places we still carry.Together, we unpack:How humor can melt the awkwardness out of puberty talksWhy sibling relationships shape how we understand and talk about bodiesThe surprising ways personal history impacts how we teach our kidsHow technology changes the timing and feel of pubertyWhy early puberty is on the rise—and what that means for parentingThe importance of treating kids by their actual age, not their appearanceHow to build trust that survives eye-rolls and slammed doorsWhy making mistakes is not just okay—it’s essentialHow listening to your child opens the door to connectionBy the end, you might just see puberty—yours and theirs—not as an awkward stage to survive, but as an ongoing, surprisingly sacred conversation that maybe, is so unavoidable because it's essential. And, you'll just love Vanessa and her wit and warmth. You can access the "So Awkward Universe," the book, the podcast, and all of the million other things Cara and Vanessa are doing at their website: https://lessawkward.com/

I sat down with the infectious Britt Giger with that big sister energy to talk about all things revolution, and what effective activism looks like now. Not the kind that burns us out, but the kind that brings us back to ourselves, and actually works for the long game. The kind rooted in community, creativity, and connection.You will be so inspired and lit up by THIS WOMAN. We talked about what is looks like to co-create matriarchy without knowing exactly what that looks like yet. And don’t worry, y’all, we figured it out: Women have a perspective that can reshape society. And the dads? Turns out they’re perfectly suited for modern parenthood.Also?? Britt, in her hilarious relatable way, talks about how she does shadow work in her bed while on gummies. She talks about the essentialness of starting clubs. She talks about how she's creating safe spaces for women in small-town Missouri to be "delulu" together, and how that shiitake actually works. If you’ve been feeling disillusioned, disconnected, or like your voice doesn’t matter, let this episode bring you home. The revolution is relational. The power is already inside you.And our new mantra—say it with us until you believe it:Good always wins.You can find her wise infectious goodness on her IG: @thebrittbee and also her website, @thebrittbee.com

In this episode, I sit down with Carla Fernandez to talk about something most of us carry but rarely feel safe enough to name: grief. But not just the grief of losing someone you love—though that’s here too. We’re talking Renegade Grief—Carla’s fiercely compassionate framework for the untidy, lifelong grief that shows up when we lose a relationship, a role, a dream, a version of ourselves. The kind of grief that cyclebreakers know all too well.Carla shares her story and the origin of The Dinner Party, a community space for folks navigating all kinds of loss. Together, we explore how grief isn’t something to “get over,” but something we’re meant to move with. To honor. To metabolize in community, not isolation.We name the grief of growing up without what you needed. The grief of parenting while healing. The grief of estrangement, identity shifts, ancestral rupture. The grief that lives in the body—and the grief that, when tended to with care and ritual, can open the door to deeper presence, purpose, and love.Some takeaways from our conversation:Grief is not a problem to solve, but a process to be witnessed.Community is essential—grief is too big to hold alone.Cultural grief practices have been lost, but they can be reclaimed.Rituals create space for the body to process what words can’t.Grief isn’t just about death—it’s about all the ways we love, lose, and evolve.Naming grief is a form of resistance in a culture that wants us to stay numb.When we meet our grief, we meet our capacity for connection and resilience.If you’re in a season of shedding, of awakening, of outgrowing… this conversation is medicine. You are not broken—you’re breaking open. I loved loved this conversation and I know you will too!You can purchase her book on her website: https://www.carlafernandez.co/renegade-griefAND the Dinner Party website is a wealth of resources for anyone that is grieving, she has created a curated list of books for each unique season and reason for grief: https://bookshop.org/shop/thedinnerpartyreads

I finally connected with Carson Meyer, birth doula, mother and author of the gorgeous book "Growing Together; Doula Wisdom and Holistic Practices for Pregnancy Birth and Early Motherhood." While I know most of us have already gone through the portal of motherhood and birth, this book and Carson's gentle wisdom and spiritual orientation to life, birth and motherhood can expand our context for ourselves, our children and our role as mother.We talk about the many ways we Doula our emotions, those of our children, ourselves and each other, Spirit Babies, intuition, going back and seeing and repairing with the young mother within us, and orienting to the entire motherhood journey as a growth process for all of us. This was such a beautiful conversation and I highly recommend it for all of us!You can connect with Carson and her work here with early mothers and her book (I wish I had a pregnant mama to send it to and I absolutely will when I do!): https://www.carson-meyer.com/

In this tender and truth-filled conversation, I sit down with somatic sage Abigail Rose Clarke to explore the deep waters of somatics, self-trust, and the quiet revolution of choosing presence over performance.Together, we name what it means to live through uncertain times in a body—how community, authenticity, and even gravity itself can be sources of support when the world feels like it’s unraveling. We talk about the sacred mess of motherhood, the difference between tending and repairing, and why small acts of care might just be the most radical thing we can do right now.We also speak to the grief so many of us are carrying—over the failures of the nuclear family model, over lost dreams, and over the myth that we have to hold it all alone. Abigail brings such embodied wisdom to this conversation, especially around the power of somatic practice to help us feel our feelings without getting swept away.This one is for anyone who’s tired of trying to control everything, who’s learning to soften, who’s ready to feel what they feel and still stay present.Come as you are. There’s room here for your rage, your tenderness, your longing to belong.You can access more of Abigail's work here: https://www.abigailroseclarke.com/

Ooooh this episode hits near and dear to my heart. And as we recorded I kept thinking, they are going to love this one! In this episode, I sit down with the radiant Stasia Savasuk to talk about something that hits close to home for so many of us: the tender, tangled relationship between our bodies, our clothes, and our sense of self. We go deep into how personal style can actually become a healing practice—one that helps us come home to our bodies instead of performing someone else’s version of beauty.Stasia shares her own journey of learning to listen to her body after years of shame, hustle, and hiding—especially in the wake of motherhood. We talk about fashion as a language of self-expression, intuitive eating as an act of rebellion, and why claiming your closet is sometimes the first step to reclaiming your life.She also shares such beautiful loving ways she talks with her kids about their bodies, that have stayed with me since our recording. This is a conversation about freedom. About dressing for your body, not against it. About letting joy, pleasure, and truth take up space on your literal and metaphorical hangers. We also talk about travel, community, and how healing can sometimes look like eating gelato in Italy in a dress that makes you feel like a damn goddess.You’ll laugh. You’ll cry. Your closet will never be the same. Come join us. Your body is welcome here.If you want to connect with Stasia further, her IG (wonderful!) and @stasiasavasuk

Today’s guest is someone whose work lands like a soul-level exhale in a world that so often asks us to numb, bypass, or carry our grief alone.Holly Truhlar is a politicized grief-tender, collapse-aware therapist, and soul activist who invites us into the sacred, communal, and often uncomfortable work of feeling—really feeling—what our culture has long asked us to suppress. She’s collaborated closely with grief elder Francis Weller in training over a thousand people in communal grief rituals and cultural repair. Her work blends depth psychology, systems thinking, and spirituality to tend not just the individual psyche, but our collective soul wounds.Holly challenges the myth of personal pathology and instead helps us see how our sorrow, rage, and burnout are intelligent responses to systems that were never built for our thriving. In a world fraying at the edges, she invites us back to what’s essential: community, ritual, remembrance, and relational repair.If you are a mother, a healer, or a human walking through the long dark asking, “Is it just me?”—this conversation is your answer. It’s not just you. And there are ways through.You can access more of Holly's work and online offerings and training at her website: https://hollytruhlar.com/

The masculinity conversation continues! Whip smart researcher, journalist, and the author of Emotional Labor: The Invisible Work Shaping Our Lives and How to Reclaim Our Power, is back on the pod to talk about her upcoming book, Men Too: How a Myth of Male Victimhood Ushered in a New Era of Extremism, and How to Liberate Ourselves From It.This one’s for all the cyclebreaking mamas raising sons, partnered with men — or just navigating what it means to mother in a culture still tangled in old scripts.We talk about the invisible weight women carry in relationships — not just the logistics, but the emotional tracking, the repair, the soothing. The labor that goes unnamed and unshared.We explore how boys are often raised inside a narrow box of masculinity that teaches them to disconnect from their feelings, and how that disconnection has real consequences for their relationships — and their inner lives.We name the reality that so many of our kids are growing up in a world that is digitally overstimulated and relationally undernourished — and how that’s affecting emotional development.And we ground the whole conversation in hope: that change doesn’t require perfection, just connection. That our softness is not weakness. That vulnerability is the beginning of healing — and that you modeling this work, even imperfectly, matters.You are not just raising children. You’re shifting culture.Big love,AnnYou can connect with Rose Hackman and her incredible work and insights at @rosehackwoman on Instagram and her book Emotional Labor; The Invisible Work Shaping Our Lives and How to Reclaim Our Power can be purchased anywhere books are sold!

Ooooo this one is so good! Like a breath of fresh air. Like sitting in on a conversation between wise women who have lived, learned, and care a whole lot upleveling themselves (and the Collective) with ease, alignment and flow. This, is what we need now, this is what we do now. I sat down (for the second time) with Laura Cardwell and Meghan O’Malley to talk about what it really means to live and lead from the body, and from how we are uniquely designed to operate. Meghan and Laura are mamas, mental health professionals, BEST FRIENDS/PLATONIC WIVES, and business owners. I always giggle and learn things when I hang out with them, you will too. We cover somatic healing, nervous system safety, human design, emotional congruence, and what happens when we finally stop white-knuckling through relationships and start building ones that are sustainable, honest, and nourishing. These women are teachers and expanders for me, and this conversation touched some many topics that have been swimming around in my head and have served me so extremely in my new, mostly-regulated life. We also talk about the evolution of family — how chosen family and collective care are reshaping the way we live, parent, and connect. This episode is a love letter to authenticity, interdependence, and the quiet power of being seen as your full, unfiltered self.Laura and Meghan are the creators of Embodied Leadership by Design, and anyone can benefit from their unique way of using Human Design and the mechanics of these brilliant bodies to find ease and efficacy in their lives. As we mentioned in the episode, you can get your Human Design Type for free and then go off to the races with discovering (and validating!) how you operate in this world. Life-changing. Truly. Meghan O'Malley is a former psychotherapist turned coach, writer, teacher and speaker, and Laura Cardwell is a mystic neuroscientist trained in neurofeedback. They both just finished their first book, and they're just, fabulous. Their website is here: https://www.embodiedleadershipbydesign.com/

Y'all I found the calmest person in the internet and she's here to talk to us about Adolescence, the show, the phase, all of it. In this episode, we explore the complexities of parenting adolescents in today's cultural landscape. Kristina and I discussed the Netflix show Adolescence, what we noticed as clinicians, and points we wanted to highlight for parents who have also watched the show and of course, want so desperately be protective of and connected to their teens. We discuss the impact of technology on teen development, the importance of emotional education, and the role of parents in fostering secure attachments. Kristina highlights the need for parents to connect with their children authentically, addressing past traumas and understanding the nuances of shame and guilt. Kristina talks about the uniqueness of the teen brain, the importance of emotional regulation, recognizing when to seek help, and the significance of connection before correction. Kristina is a warm, wise, licensed clinician in Asheville. As I was reviewing the conversation before posting it, I was struck by just how slow and calm and grounded she is, what a gift when we're tackling such a tricky topic. XoIf you live in the Asheville area and are interested in working with Kristina, her website is here: https://theblueridgecenter.com/55-2/63-2/

I had the absolute gift of a conversation with Dr. Doug Bolton—clinical psychologist, educational leader, and just an all-around wise, compassionate soul. We talked about something we both care deeply about: supporting kids who are struggling beneath the behavior.Doug has spent 25+ years walking alongside kids with emotional and behavioral challenges, and his insights hit me right in the nervous system. In this conversation, he reminds us that regulation is everything—and that so many behaviors we try to fix are actually signs of pain, often rooted in early adversity.He shared the Circle of Courage—a powerful framework that names four core human needs: belonging, mastery, independence, and generosity. When those needs aren’t met, kids let us know. Not with words, but with their bodies, their big feelings, their pushback. Sounds about right ;)And Doug? He’s all about connection over control. Repair over punishment. Curiosity instead of consequences. (YES PLEASE.)We also talked about how overparenting and overscheduling can backfire, and how unstructured play is not optional—it’s where real growth and regulation happen.Doug’s upcoming book "Untethered" is going to be such a gift for parents and educators. It’s not just about managing behavior—it’s about creating spaces where kids feel safe, seen, and able to thrive. If you'd like to buy Doug's book, you can do so here: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/735689/untethered-by-doug-bolton-phd/

Teacher, author, and psychological activist David Bedrick is here to talk about breaking free from shame to live a life of freedom, health and vitality, as he elaborates in his beautiful book "The Unshaming Way."I know I know, we all know about shame these days, but the way David talks about this topic is truly deep, gentle and illuminating. I have learned so much from his book, and keep going back to this simple concept "Shame robs us of an inner lover and protector," and of course, the opposite of this is to internalize love and protection in our system. We both share our insights and stories of working with shame from our childhoods, more illuminating and effective than any stats or statements I find. David is a lovely human and this was such an essential conversation in our journey back home to ourselves. If you want to get involved with his work and get your hands on his incredible book which I highly recommend: https://www.davidbedrick.com/Takeaways*Shame obstructs our deeper experiences and self-awareness.*The greatest injury of shame is making ourselves invisible.*People pleasing is often a trauma response, not a personality trait.*Parents' unfulfilled lives can shape their children's paths.*Healing involves reclaiming our authentic selves and stories.*Witnessing and integrating our experiences is crucial for healing.*The quality of relationships is key to emotional health.*Vulnerability in leadership fosters genuine connections.*There is inherent goodness beneath our coping mechanisms.*Self-accompaniment and compassion are vital for personal growth.

Clinician and author, mother and daughter Katherine Fabrizio is on the pod to tell us all about the archetype of the Good Daughter that she discovered in her thirty years working clinically with women. This award-winning book names so beautifully the issue of being an empathic daughter being raised by narcissistic, borderline and difficult mothers, and how to individuate and change the dynamic no matter our age.In this conversation, we cover why guilt is the #1 emotion keeping daughters trapped in this dynamic, how to know whether the relationship is workable or not , how to start with small boundaries and gather data, why physiologically holding boundaries and being in this dynamic is so scary and feels so unavailable, ways this dynamic affects every area of our lives, ways we can give and receive care to our little inner ones around this wounding and how aging, cultural and generational factors contribute to this issue. Katherine is so warm and wise, she has devoted her career to this issue and literally wrote the book on it. I loved this conversation and know that it will serve so many of you, whatever degree this dynamic may be in your life. This is such a good one y'all!If you want to access Katherine's book and learn more about her work, her website is here: https://daughtersrising.info/

I sat down with author, mother, sister and daughter Gina Demillo Wagner to discuss her beautiful memoir "Forces of Nature," where she recounts with such wisdom and warmth her experience growing up in an abusive household, having a special needs sibling, and mourning his sudden death in adulthood. While the details of her life story are specific to her, we zoom out into the complexity of grieving a relationship that never had repair, closure, and had both harm and love in it. I've been noticing how much our generation of parents is grappling with (or will soon grapple with) our parents aging and dying, and if this is you and your story this episode is hopefully healing and expanding to put in your brain and body. We also discuss relational trauma, and how we both have found healing and reframing in nature, small gestures, and the relationships around us that don't come in the form of the ones that harmed us. This was such a beautiful, deep and lovely conversation with such a wise woman. Highly recommend and hope it touches your beautiful heart!If you'd like to connect further with Gina and her beautiful writing, you can go to her website: https://ginadwagner.com/