The Mindful Journey

What if the discomfort of inner change isn’t something to escape, but an invitation to listen? On The Mindful Journey, host Swati and sociologist Maria Van Der Maaten explore navigating change with patience and awareness. Maria shares how a wellness plan built on doing it all alone left her stuck in guilt, why she now sees self-care as something we’re meant to do together, and how small, realistic...

How do you trust what you cannot prove, when your training says to prove everything? If you carry both a need for evidence and a quiet inner knowing, this conversation is for you. Sana speaks with Jason Zuk, an attorney and psychic medium, about holding both worlds, dreams, grief, and why intuition may be one tool among many. About the Guest: Jason Zuk is a licensed attorney and a psychic medium w...

Growing older can feel like a countdown, or like a long road walked one season at a time. If birthdays bring a quiet dread, this conversation offers another way to look at the years. Sana and Dr. James Beckwith, an optometrist for nearly 40 years, explore reframing, purpose, connection and pausing, without pretending the hard parts away. About the Guest: Dr. James Beckwith is a doctor of optometry...

What does it actually mean to go through an inner transformation, without pressuring yourself to have it all figured out? On The Mindful Journey, host Swati and author and healer Xenia Ioannidis explore that quiet, unfolding process. Xenia shares how a career change, a move across the world and a deeply humbling season reshaped her, why patterns repeat until we learn from them, and a simple five-l...

What does it really mean to heal? Can energy-based technologies support the body's natural processes, and how do we distinguish scientific evidence from exaggerated claims? In this episode of The Mindful Journey, host Sana welcomes Michael Upstone, president of Keep Health Research and author of the Frequency Healing book series, to explore his 18-year journey investigating frequency healing, ener...

This is my strongest choice because it addresses a specific concern that listeners with endometriosis may be searching for, while accurately reflecting Heather's experience. Other compelling options are “Why Endometriosis Pain Can Persist After Surgery,” “The Hidden Nervous System Connection to Chronic Pain,” “Living With Endometriosis: Finding Hope Beyond Surgery,” and “How Heather Yoshimura Recl...

What we expect about our health may matter more than we realise. This episode is for anyone curious about the mind and body connection and the quiet power of expectation. Dr. Janey Little explains the placebo and nocebo effects through a hospital story and her own practice, and shares her views on belief, hope and prognosis. It is a perspective to reflect on, not medical advice. About the Guest: D...

Have you ever frozen before a big decision, or replayed a mistake long after it was over? On The Mindful Journey, host Sana sits with Silvia Rizzo to explore how we respond to pressure, uncertainty and error. Silvia shares why fear fills the empty spaces of uncertainty, how to decide from reality rather than imagined outcomes, and why every mistake is simply new information. About the Guest: Silvi...

Mindfulness now arrives as apps, courses and checklists. What did it look like before all that? This episode is for anyone who practises mindfulness and wonders what the techniques grew from. Dr. David Lee Fish traces mindfulness back to the Zen teaching “only go straight, don’t know” and shows how it speaks to performance anxiety. You leave with a quieter question to sit with, not another method...

Have you ever been told you're too sensitive , take things too personally , need too much rest, or should simply toughen up? What if sensitivity isn't something you need to eliminate? In this episode of The Mindful Journey , Swati speaks with Kathryn Riordan , a National Board Certified Health & Wellness Coach who works primarily with neurodivergent women experiencing burnout. Kathryn explores...

In this episode of Mindful Journey, host Yusuf talks with manifestation expert and career coach Baiba Wisse about what it really means to find purpose. Baiba unpacks the common misconception that purpose equals a job title, and shares how her own path started with a simple longing to feel enthusiastic about each new day instead of just getting through it. The conversation moves through childhood s...

Moving so fast you forget to simply be where you are? On The Mindful Journey, host Swati and Scott Ambrose explore navigating inner growth through presence, from everyday mindfulness to a simple meditation practice. You will learn why a wandering mind is part of meditation and how to shift from fight or flight into rest and digest. About the Guest: Scott Ambrose is an attorney in Scottsdale, Arizo...

Always preparing for the next thing while life slips by? On The Mindful Journey, host Niharika and coach Steve Barton explore navigating change with presence rather than prediction. You will learn why mindfulness is exciting, not boring, how to clear the weeds of overthinking, and a playful way to let go of the past. About the Guest: Steve Barton is a coach who helps clients build awareness and re...

What do you do when you stand at the edge of a big decision and part of you hesitates? On The Mindful Journey, Rev. Steven Golden explores how our thoughts shape our experience of life transitions. You will hear simple daily practices for releasing fear and doubt, building self-gratitude and self-love, and meeting setbacks with patience. About the Guest: Rev. Steven Golden is an ordained minister...

Why does part of us keep pulling back, even when we want to change? This episode of The Mindful Journey is for anyone who procrastinates, avoids, or keeps finding reasons to wait, and feels stuck without knowing why. Sam Brooks shares how rethinking his news habits helped him move forward, why resistance is data rather than an enemy, and how to decide when to listen to it and when to gently set it...

Are you actually present in your life, or just getting through it? This episode of The Mindful Journey is for anyone moving through busy days on autopilot who wants to feel more awake without adding another self-improvement project. Author and strategic life coach Kirana Sidin explains why mindfulness is about returning rather than never drifting, how small pauses change the way we respond, and wh...

Why does real inner change feel so slow, even when you're doing the work? This episode of The Mindful Journey is for anyone who has tried mindfulness, felt their mind get louder, and wondered if they were doing it wrong. Author Michael Muccio shares why he left a high-flying corporate career, what faith taught him about presence, and why returning without judgment matters more than never drifting....

What if our brains simply aren't wired for how fast change happens today? Host Swati talks with executive coach Dr. Marcia Ruben about why our nervous system craves certainty, and why staying present during change is a learnable skill. Marcia shares simple grounding techniques, like rubbing your fingers together or imagining roots into the ground, a stop-sign visualization for interrupting a spira...

What if fighting your ego is exactly what keeps it in charge? Host Shridha talks with David Fiala about why making friends with the ego, rather than battling it, is the fastest way to quiet it down. David shares a self-forgiveness visualization for easing self-criticism, the idea of the observer, the part of you that watches your thoughts and isn't the thoughts themselves, and why kindness and gra...

What if the drive to achieve more is its own kind of addiction? Host Sana talks with trauma specialist Anu Verma about redefining success away from external validation and toward how you actually feel inside. Anu shares how childhood trauma can leave the nervous system stuck in fight, flight, or freeze, why running from problems rarely solves them, and why forgiving those who hurt her was about re...

There's a voice inside you that speaks before your thoughts fully form, a pull toward certain choices logic can't explain. Most of us have felt it, and most of us second-guess it. On this episode of The Mindful Journey, intuitive and author Katharine Giovanni shares how she learned to trust that quiet inner voice, including one decision that may have saved her life. About the Guest: Katharine Giov...

Nearly thirty years as a certified accountant and business finance coach doesn't sound like the origin story for someone called the Busy Woman's Cheerleader. But for Cindy Rand, the two chapters of her life, finance and faith-driven service, were never actually separate. In this episode of The Mindful Journey, host Sana talks with Cindy Rand about surviving domestic abuse and homelessness, why bus...

Most mindfulness practices, whether it's breathwork, journaling, or meditation, are trying to do one thing: bring you back to your heart. But what happens when the mind you're trying to quiet keeps pulling you toward every unresolved thread in your life? In this episode of The Mindful Journey, Sana sits with Taras Machula, a certified hypnotherapist and spiritual regression practitioner from Manit...

Most of us learn to override our bodies instead of listening to them. Andrew Scheim, an integrative wellness practitioner and advanced body worker, has spent decades helping people do the opposite. From his years as a blues musician to acupuncture, detox, and PEMF therapy, Andrew walks through how the body holds what the mind hasn't processed, and why real healing needs both the right input and re...

There's a kind of hope that doesn't just wait for things to get better. It builds plans, creates, and moves through the world with purpose. When it comes to the health of a planet, that kind of hope isn't optional, it's the whole point. Swati sits down with David Gottfried, founder of the U.S. Green Building Council and the World Green Building Council, for a conversation that moves from backpacki...