Renaissance Rachel

I’ve lived many lives, both on this Earth and beyond, but this lifetime began as a creative, imaginative child who loved dinosaurs, dirt, and drawing. Somewhere along the way, I lost her. I silenced my intuition, buried my creativity, and became hyper-analytical as I climbed the tech industry ladder. But burnout has a funny way of waking you up. This is the story of how I healed—physically, emotio...

A huge part of my journey has been learning to trust myself. In this episode, I muse about trusting myself and through that process come to a realization of how to do so.

What makes us want to call other people names? Specifically here I’m unpacking why one might call someone else “misinformed.” Ultimately, who are we to say who is “misinformed” and how do we know? Are we all knowing? Can we know all the information about a given situation?

We all have different backgrounds. Naturally. Yet I’ve come to realize how in the holistic health community, many health coaches don’t understand office workers. Speaking as an office worker myself. A hurdle health coaches don’t grasp about office workers is their mentality around work. When that shifts, they can open up so many possibilities.

Storytelling as a healing art involves taking incidents or situations in your life that you want to reframe and reshape. No lie, when I was a little girl, I went on a playground in the shape of a pirate ship, climbed to the top, and peed on all of the kids below me. I set my intention to write a story about that incident and to process it and this is what came out!

After finishing Suzanne Collins' latest addition to The Hunger Games world, Sunrise on the Reaping, I thought I'd share a summary of the book as well as my reflections on the book itself. Note: there will be spoilers. It's not a comprehensive summary but it hits the key points. If you'd like more comprehensive summaries, let me know. Am very curious to know your feedback! These reflections are not...

I'm embracing my inner "bad girl" and decided to give vaporizing a try. Not just any vaporizing: herbal vaporizing, that is, vaporizing herbs so that I can connect with the spirit of the herbs themselves and learn best how to work with them. However, I know nothing about smoking or vaporizing, so I'm sharing what I've learned so far through trial and error. These reflections...

Are we born with shyness? Or is shyness something that we take on? I don’t think I was always shy, but somewhere along the line I became shy and that has hurt my relationships. These episodes are not recorded in any special studio. I may be outside walking, in the car, or at home. I encourage you to do the same when listening.

It’s layoff season. Again. And I’ve been spared…this time. But at companies, you have layoffs and then you have “soft” layoffs where they give you ultimatums that you have to decide whether to adhere to, or leave. And I’ve had several of those over my career. In this episode, I reflect on these layoffs as I walk to work. I do not record in a fancy studio. You will hear background noise.

Did you know that the vampire legends actually come from Serbia? I didn’t either until last year. In this episode, I share what I’ve learned from historians and the book, The Slavic Myths by Noah Charney and Svetlana Slapšak. The first half goes into the history of vampire legends as a whole and then in the second half, I retell the legend of Sava Savanović, Serbia’s most famous vampire. These epi...

With the recent release of Sunrise on the Reaping, the latest Hunger Games book that explores Haymitch’s story and finally reading Fourth Wing, I share some reflections on my experiences with both books as I drive to Pilates. These episodes are not recorded in any special studio. I may be outside walking, in the car, or at home. I encourage you to do the same when listening.

As someone without an athletic background, finding Pilates has been a game changer. These episodes are not recorded in any special studio. I may be outside walking, in the car, or at home. I encourage you to do the same when listening.

The throat is the energy center of creativity and expression. For too long, I’ve allowed my voice to be suppressed. No longer. These episodes are not recorded in any special studio. I may be outside walking, in the car, or at home. I encourage you to do the same when listening.

There once was a girl named Rachel, who loved to shine her light. Then life made her small. Only now is she learning to reclaim her voice and shine it once more. With this inaugural episode, Rachel kicks off a new series where she shares her truth with the world. These episodes are not recorded in any special studio. I may be outside walking, in the car, or at home. I encourage you to do the same...

From oil field roughneck to a nurse caring for elderly patients in a nursing home, Tyler Bottger has seen an awful lot! Learn about his journey to his own wellness and his commitment to helping others get there too.    Nomination form: https://form.typeform.com/to/iHGkOKlF

A Global Program Manager at IBM, Meighann Helene takes meetings by day and dances with fire at night. Meighann thinks on both sides of the brain and is truly able to wear many hats through her interest in STEAM.    Find Meighann on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/meighann-helene/  Nomination Form: https://form.typeform.com/to/iHGkOKlF

Nikki Dunlop noticed early in her personal training career that her clients were confiding more of their experiences with her than she’d expected.   Now, a practicing holistic lifestyle and movement coach, Nikki helps clients process unresolved trauma in their bodies.    Visit Nikki's website: https://www.lifeforcemvmt.com/ Find her on Instagram: @lifeforcemvmt   -- Nominate so...

Core values are what you have valued since you were a small child, and that you will continue to hold dear until you die. These are the things that run your life consciously and unconsciously. They are so deep that they have become part of you.   Even though “core values” is a common enough term, I didn’t realize how much they ran my life. Once I had a coaching session with Dawni, I understoo...

Jordan Ashley dropped the corporate ladder to be her own boss. However, before starting her own company, she worked as the Director of Marketing for Illinois State University's sports department. As a student athlete, working in sports as always been a love of hers and she'd been able to combine that love with her experience in marketing. Jordan shares how marketing around games isn't too differen...

Nicole Alleva tells her story of changing her mind about what she wants to do with her life. She explains how, at first, she didn't really see veterinary medicine as a career option, but now she feels  it is so rewarding to work as a veterinarian. Veterinarian Nicole Alleva tells us what life is really like as a veterinarian and gives some great advice for those looking to pursue the field. &...

Sometimes it's easy to forget that people are dealing with larger things than you are. And sometimes, they're doing it while still managing to put on a happy face. It's easy to take that for granted, especially when one feels "fine" or doesn't have any big problems -- but this video is a reminder that everyone has their own inner struggles and life is not always rainbows and butterflies. As a ment...

All through college, Lillie was convinced that going into healthcare was not for her. Then through a series of events she realized that being a Physician Assistant was what she was meant to do. Hear about her journey as we talk about what the role involves, the financial implications, and more!   Find Lillie on: Instagram - @lilliebrannen LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/lillie-brannen/...

Software development is a hot field to get into. Casey Cook isn't your average software developer. She didn't go to school for computer science and she had no idea that's what she'd end up doing when she first started her career. However, due to a really special program at her workplace, she ended up being able to transition into software development and is loving it! Hear her advice on making car...

What does an illustrator and cartoonist like Rashad Doucet like to do in his spare time? Draw, of course! The amazing thing is that Rashad earns a living doing just that.  When Rashad Doucet is not teaching illustration at Savannah College of Art & Design, he’s likely working on his comics. And when he’s not doing that? He’s probably doing something else artistic, like staging his action...

The ability to be there for her community is something Katie really loves about being a pharmacist. While a doctor may not always be available, a pharmacist is always there to lend an ear for your healthcare related questions. Tune in to learn about the secret life of a prescription (i.e. why does it sometimes take so long?) from hearing about Katie's experience skydiving for the first (and probab...