Because I'm Healing

Welcome to the second week of October! This month, we are talking all about celebrating, but today I want to address something I saw on Threads recently that completely caught my attention. Someone responded to a question about regrets by saying, "I regret healing."I completely understand why healing can feel that way. When we treat healing like a never-ending item on our to-do list, like getting another degree or another promotion, it becomes exhausting. But healing isn't about fixing something that is broken. It is the process of processing reality, coming back to our "zero point" before trauma, and celebrating the revelations that set us free.In this episode, I get vulnerable about a massive revelation I had recently. As a recovering people-pleaser and the daughter of a textbook narcissist, I learned early on to shape-shift, over-give, and manage relationships to keep the peace. Last month, I realized I was repeating that exact childhood pattern in my business in Lisbon, giving away so much that I was becoming resentful.Instead of spiraling, I got excited. Recognizing the pattern gave me the exact opportunity I needed to change it, set real boundaries, and include myself in my vision of justice. Key TakeawaysRedefining Healing: Healing is not a list of endless tasks or proof that you are broken. It is the practice of integrating reality so old emotional patterns no longer dictate your future.The Natural Healing Cycle & The Zero Point: Trauma moves us away from our baseline "zero point". Healing is the journey back to that original state of love and self-acceptance.Spotting Childhood Patterns in Adulthood: How survival strategies learned in childhood, like over-giving, shape-shifting, and avoiding conflict, secretly show up in romantic relationships, friendships, and even business operations.Including Yourself in Justice: Generosity that requires your own resentment isn't altruism. True balance means putting your needs on the scale alongside everyone else's.Celebrating Revelations: Hard realizations are not failures; they are exciting opportunities to break generational cycles and protect your peace. (00:00) - Celebrating Healing and Self-Reflection(05:06) - Understanding Trauma and Its Impact(09:54) - Navigating Relationships and Personal Growth(14:28) - Business Dynamics and Personal Patterns Resources MentionedFramework: The Natural Healing Cycle (Trauma ➔ Trigger ➔ Integration ➔ Zero Point)Connect with Asha:Follow on Instagram: @ashawilkersonesqConnect on Threads: @ashawilkersonesqWork with Asha: ashasplacelisbon.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Welcome to the first week of October! I am so glad you are here. This month on the podcast, we are talking all about celebration, partly because it is my birth month (hello, Libra season!), but also because of something that has been showing up consistently in my recent tarot card readings.Lately, when I hold space for women asking about their relationships, the Justice card keeps coming out. The message is always about doing what is fair and right, but I notice that the person I am reading for rarely includes themselves in their vision of justice. As a recovering people-pleaser, I know this pattern intimately. I naturally balance all sides of a story, but I had to learn that to truly balance the scales, I have to put my own wants, needs, and desires into the equation too.This month, I want you to focus on celebrating you. Not in relation to other people, not only after all your responsibilities are finished, and not just when society validates you. In this episode, I share a simple 7-day daily practice to write down your wins, from cooking dinner for yourself to winning a new client, so you can start collecting data on your own value, building self-trust, and protecting your peace. Key TakeawaysIncluding Yourself in Justice: Fairness isn't just about how you treat others; true balance requires including your own needs and desires in the equation.The Power of the Micro-Win: Celebrating small daily choices (like eating breakfastUncoupling Worth from Productivity: Your existence is already a gift to the world. You do not have to earn your right to celebrate or prove your value through constant output or self-sacrifice.Harvesting Your Seeds: October marks harvest season, a time to recognize the seeds you've planted over the past months or years before moving into winter rest and hibernation.Celebration as Boundary Protection: Acknowledging your own impact makes it significantly easier to say no to things that drain you and prioritize your peace without guilt. (00:00) - Celebrating Yourself and the Justice Card(00:30) - Putting Yourself in the Picture of Fairness(01:30) - How to Start a Daily Wins List(02:27) - Small Wins Build Self-Trust and Confidence(02:54) - Recognizing Your Inherent Self-Worth(03:21) - Letting Go of People-Pleasing and Proving Yourself(04:16) - A Simple Daily Self-Celebration Practice(04:46) - How Self-Celebration Can Change Your Relationships(05:13) - Fall, Harvest Season, and Recognizing Your Growth(06:10) - A Seven-Day Self-Worth Challenge(07:08) - How Celebrating Your Wins Helps You Set Boundaries(08:01) - Putting Your Needs First and Protecting Your Peace(08:31) - Your Daily Self-Celebration Practice Resources MentionedTarot Archetype: The Justice CardConnect with Asha:Follow on Instagram: @ashawilkersonesqConnect on Threads: @ashawilkersonesqWork with Asha & Book a Private Session: ashawilkerson.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In this final installment of the Reclaiming Your Personal Power series, I explore how highly empathic people can protect their energetic boundaries without sacrificing their compassion. Reflecting on my transition from legal practice and higher education to running Asha's Place Lisbon, I share real-life examples of how unhealed people-pleasing and old family dynamics can pull us into fixing other people's emotional chaos, and I provide a framework for separating what is yours to hold from what belongs to someone else. Key TakeawaysEmpathy vs. Empathic Perception: Empathy allows you to understand and care for someone else's experience, while being an empath means physically absorbing their emotional state. Power lies in learning to separate your energy from theirs.The Pause as Energetic Protection: When confronted with conflict, dissatisfaction, or external reactivity, taking a step back to process gives you space to respond from a grounded place rather than react from defensiveness.Uncoupling Blame from Responsibility: Unresolved childhood dynamics, such as managing an unpredictable parent's emotions, often teach us to absorb misplaced blame. Maturing as an empath means recognizing that another person's dysregulation is not yours to fix.Protecting Business & Personal Energy: Responding to client feedback or misunderstandings from an anxious desire to "fix it right now" surrenders your personal power. Objective distance helps you hold your boundaries while staying clear and kind. (00:00) - Reclaiming Your Personal Power(00:38) - Customer Service, People-Pleasing & Emotional Burnout(02:17) - Protecting Your Energy as an Introvert(03:30) - Empathy vs. Being an Empath(05:07) - Separating Your Emotions From Other People’s Emotions(07:05) - Childhood Patterns, Emotional Manipulation & Boundaries(11:16) - Handling Client Complaints Without Losing Your Power(14:48) - How Pausing Helps You Respond Instead of React(16:01) - Emotional Regulation, Self-Awareness & Healthy Boundaries(17:15) - Setting Boundaries With Parents and Family(20:10) - Responding to Criticism, Feedback & Difficult Customers(21:15) - A Practice for Healers, People-Pleasers & Adult Children(22:22) - Reclaim Your Energy and Personal Power Resources MentionedAsha's Place Lisbon: Studio offerings, workshops, and community circles. Explore the classes HEREThreads: Join the conversation with me @ashawilkersonesq.Love Notes: Subscribe to my weekly newsletter for updates on online courses, memberships, and studio events. Sign up HERE. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In this episode, I explore how connecting with your spirituality and intuition serves as a primary doorway to reclaiming your personal power. Grounding the esoteric in high school physics, I break down how we are energetic beings who constantly perceive invisible information, why society conditions us to ignore our innate body wisdom, and how honoring your physical data directly increases your personal power and self-trust. Key TakeawaysThe Physics of Intuition: Everything is made of energy. Human beings are electrical beings designed to pick up on unseeable data, intuition is simply your body processing real information before your brain applies logic.Body Data as Power: Tapping into physical sensations (like a sudden drop in your stomach or an ache in your chest) gives you more information to make aligned choices about your career, business, and relationships.Redefining Spirituality: Spirituality isn’t about external dogma, complex rituals, or moral control. True spirituality is your internal connection with yourself as a valid, trusted energy source.Life Force Within: Practices like yoga and breathwork teach us that life force energy (prana or qi) is already inside us. Listening to your body is a direct connection to universal consciousness.Sovereignty in Action: Making choices based on your body’s intelligence, such as resting in bed while working instead of forcing yourself into a rigid chair, builds self-trust and true autonomy. (00:00) — Spirituality, intuition, and personal power(00:29) — Why intuition makes sense scientifically(00:58) — Energy, physics, and human awareness(02:22) — Energy perception and energetic shifts(03:49) — Intuition as information(05:36) — The limits of logic vs body wisdom(07:32) — Spirituality as self-connection(09:29) — Spirituality vs control and oppression(10:30) — Breath, prana, qi, and life force energy(11:58) — Reclaiming power through embodied decisions(12:54) — A real-life example: moving to Portugal(14:50) — Rest, intuition, and productive flow(15:50) — Spiritual practice as empowerment Resources MentionedAsha's Place Lisbon: Studio offerings, bodywork, and community circles.Threads: Connect and share your reflections with me @ashawilkersonesq.Email List Community (Love Notes): Join my email list for updates on new online offerings, courses, and studio events.  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Spurred by a discussion on Threads about creating a life that supports the nervous system rather than constantly forcing it to adapt, I unpack why exhaustion in a capitalist society isn't a personal failure. I explore the historical roots of modern capitalism and explain why you shouldn't expect your nervous system to go quiet in the face of a genuine threat, along with how small, daily micro-acts of rebellion allow you to reclaim your personal power. Key TakeawaysSystemic Design of Burnout: Capitalism is built to keep us busy and depleted so there is no time or energy left to analyze, question, or rebel against the system.Rebellion Over Adaptation: Instead of trying to force your nervous system to adapt to overwhelming environments, true power lies in rebelling, slowing down, setting firm boundaries, and choosing where your energy goes.Listen, Don't Silence: Your nervous system freaks out because it perceives a threat; the goal isn't to silence or force it into compliance, but to listen to its data and move away from the threat.Generational Shifts in Autonomy: Autonomy and the ability to push back look different across generations; honoring how much room you have to rebel allows you to take calculated risks for your peace.Micro-Acts of Power: Reclaiming your power starts with accessible micro-decisions, taking a breath before answering the phone, closing your inbox early, or taking a walk instead of forcing another meeting.  (00:00) – Intro: Black Women, Recovery, and Nervous System Support(01:22) – Reclaiming Personal Power in a Capitalist System(03:16) – Rest Is Resistance and the History of Capitalism(07:07) – Burnout, Recovery, and Living a Life of Ease(08:01) – Small Acts of Rebellion to Reclaim Energy(09:29) – Generational Differences, Career Pressure, and Rebellion(12:46) – Nervous System Regulation and Listening to Your Body(14:42) – How to Start Reclaiming Power Today(16:35) – Closing Thoughts and Listener Call to Action Resources MentionedRest Is Resistance: A Manifesto by Tricia HerseyThreads: Join the conversation with me @ashawilkersonesqLove Notes: Subscribe to my weekly newsletter for updates on online courses, studio events, and community offerings Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.