Anchored & Alive with Blaze

January often arrives with a strange pressure: to want something, decide something, improve something, even when your body and mind are still recovering. In this episode, we talk about what it means to be in January as it actually is , not as productivity culture says it should be. If you don’t feel motivated, inspired, or ambitious yet, there may be nothing wrong with you at all. We explore...

What if the best way to begin a new year isn’t with goals or resolutions but with reflection? In this episode, Blaze invites you to look back on your year as if it were a landscape or a weather system you lived inside of. Instead of asking What should I do next? we explore a gentler, more honest question: What did it actually feel like to inhabit my life this year? Using emotional weather as...

January can feel slow, heavy, and unexpectedly difficult—especially when the world is pushing “new year, new you” energy before your nervous system has fully recovered from the year behind you. In this episode, Blaze explores the concept of wintering : the natural season of rest, recovery, reduced capacity, and emotional recalibration that many people experience during deep winte...

The space between Christmas and New Year can feel unexpectedly heavy. There’s pressure to reflect, pressure to improve, pressure to plan ahead—and often a quiet question underneath it all: Did I do enough this year? In this episode, Blaze explores a different approach to year-end reflection: one rooted in self-compassion, emotional honesty, and nervous system awareness instead of produ...

The holidays can bring up a lot: grief, overwhelm, loneliness, nostalgia, emotional exhaustion, complicated family dynamics, and moments when you’re not even sure what you’re feeling. If you’re riding emotional waves this week, you are not alone. 💛 Before you dive in, download the Living in Rhythm Guide — a free resource for emotional regulation, nervous system support, an...

December was never meant to feel like an obstacle course. Yet for many people, the holiday season becomes another layer of pressure: decorating, cleaning, cooking, hosting, traveling, shopping, and trying to hold everything together while already exhausted. In this episode, Blaze explores how productivity culture and “do it all” expectations have transformed seasonal pauses into source...

It’s the beginning of December, and everywhere you look, there’s pressure to finish strong, set ambitious goals, and reinvent yourself before January even begins. If that leaves you feeling exhausted, behind, overwhelmed, or quietly irritated, this episode is for you. In this conversation, Blaze explores the myth of the New Year sprint—the cultural pressure to constantly optimize...

If you’ve been wondering, What’s wrong with me? Why am I so tired? as December begins, you’re not alone. In this episode, Blaze explores holiday burnout, year-end exhaustion, and the pressure to keep pushing long after your nervous system has reached its limit. Together, we unpack how people-pleasing, perfectionism, emotional labor, and constant responsibility can leave you feeli...

It’s Thanksgiving week in the U.S.—a season of travel delays, crowded kitchens, family dynamics, and mounting holiday stress. In this episode, Blaze explores why rest is essential during overwhelming seasons and how to access it even when life feels loud, busy, and emotionally demanding. Using the story of sore muscles after a mountain hike as a metaphor for physical and emotional tens...

As we move deeper into November—with darker evenings, holiday planning, and more time spent indoors—our homes and nervous systems often begin carrying more than they can comfortably hold. In this episode, Blaze explores how clearing physical clutter, reducing mental load, and softening emotional overwhelm can help you move through the holiday season with more steadiness, presence, and...

Right after the Daylight Saving Time change, when darker evenings, cooler air, and the first waves of holiday stress arrive, many people notice a strange mix of extra energy in the morning and deep exhaustion by late afternoon. In this episode, Blaze explores how fall invites us to slow down, protect our energy, and practice nervous system support before the holiday rush fully begins. Through refl...

This first episode begins where all true transformations do: in the soil of loss. When Blaze’s brother Matt died by suicide, life stopped making sense. What followed was a long, disorienting year of grief and healing. One that stripped away everything except what truly mattered. Through that painful stillness, she discovered surprising lessons about emotional resilience, purpose, and what it...

Hi friends, It’s been a while. If you’ve been a listener of The Self-Awareness and Self-Compassion Podcast , thank you for being part of this journey with me. Since December 2023, I’ve been moving through a deep season of reflection, healing, and change. And through that process, a new podcast began to emerge: Anchored & Alive. This weekly show is rooted in the work I care ab...

Welcome to Anchored & Alive — a podcast for sensitive women navigating burnout, overwhelm, emotional exhaustion, and the search for a more sustainable way of living. Hosted by seasonal nervous-system guide Blaze Schwaller, this weekly show offers grounded support for deep feelers, recovering people-pleasers, caregivers, healthcare workers, and anyone longing to feel more connected to the...