From the Heart with Rachel Brathen

How many times have you thought that racism was perpetrated by a select group of ‘bad’ people, that you were completely separate from it, or even that racism didn’t exist at all? The truth is, as white people we have inherent biases and prejudices within us and whether we like it or not, we benefit from that privilege every day. Once our eyes are open to our privilege and to the injustice that com...

With the current climate of the world, many of us may be noticing little things that we have never realized before. Little things that are actually big things, from the voices we elevate in the media to the color of bandaids. In this episode, Rachel starts by touching on the Black Lives Matter movement from the place of a learner, an observer, and a listener - as all white people should be doing r...

Today’s episode features three guest hosts, Dianne Bondy, Maite Onochie, and Rocky Heron, all guides on the yogagirl.com platform and voices from the Black community. Coming from different global perspectives, they share their views on how they see the world right now - and how the world has seen them. Offering up their deep wisdom on everything from white supremacy, complacency and allyship, this...

In this episode, Rachel finds herself in a place of shame after realizing she has gained weight during quarantine. But here’s the thing - she felt no shame at all, in fact she felt great in her body, until she stepped on a scale. What was it inside of her that caused that shift?  This pandemic has brought with it a lot of change, and many of us are seeing changes in our physical bodies. The minute...

In this episode, Rachel reflects on the patterns and relationships that haven’t been serving her throughout her life. There is one common thread between them all: she played a role in the decision making. The pace of her life, the people she invited into it, and the work she focused on was ultimately decided by her. What if this is true for all of us? Are we are all actively playing a part in the...

How often has your intuition warned you that the exchange (physical or energetic!) between you and another individual was unfair, unbalanced or absolutely exhausting? More importantly, how often have you ignored your intuition to benefit that other individual’s needs before your own? In today’s episode, Rachel discusses the importance of setting and keeping boundaries for the sake of your own ment...

We are all subjected to one ultimate truth of life: nothing is permanent. Plants, people, jobs, relationships, and homes – everything that surrounds us is fragile and fleeting. In this week’s episode, Rachel has been watching her garden be assaulted by lizards, dogs, white flies, mildew and a multitude of other challenges, and she is suddenly hit with the realization that her garden represents a m...

We are on the cusp of a major life transition. We can choose to stray away from ourselves, or we can make decisions that put us in alignment with our soul’s true calling. But how can we know what that calling is? In today’s episode, Rachel reflects on the times in her life when she felt actual peace and genuine happiness. She realizes that all of those times have a common thread - they were the ti...

Being human is messy! We are intricate, deeply emotional beings with the ability to feel so many things - and so many conflicting things - at the same time. We swing on a pendulum between productivity and numbing ourselves, between giving too much and shutting people out, between our ego and our soul taking control in the driver’s seat. But - it is all okay. This is exactly what doing the work loo...

Are you struggling with feelings of anxiety or is your nervous system exhausted from being stuck in fight or flight? In this time of quarantine, we may have found ourselves with the opportunity to explore our inner landscape and do some deep self-healing work, and that is exactly what this week’s episode is about! This week’s show is a perceptive and resourceful conversation between Rachel and hol...

How are you doing in quarantine? Have you asked yourself that question lately, and then allowed yourself to sit with the answer? Are you having a hard time being present with your surroundings?  In this week’s episode, Rachel unpacks the collective quarantine experience of slowing down, removing distractions and doing our inner work. While being faced with that regardless of the social isolation,...

This week’s episode is a special one as Rachel has on the ultimate guest, her hilarious and down to earth husband, Dennis Schoneveld! Rachel and Dennis are recording from Aruba on their 10th wedding anniversary as they have found themselves at home, like the rest of us.  Tune in as they discuss everything a husband and wife would discuss during this time of isolation, from how they reacted to Luna...

Tune in today as Rachel shares more than ten of her best tips to bring normalcy to your day, to move stagnant energy, and to clear your mind of repetitive thoughts so you can get through this period of isolation feeling whole. From doing yoga to making your bed, these small, day-to-day practices can keep you healthy and grounded in a time filled with so much uncertainty and loss of structure. The...

As coronavirus has the entire world in its grip, this global energy of fear has left many of us in a place of uncertainty. Will there be a resource shortage? Why isn’t everyone self-isolating? And what if the most unlikely happens, as it seems to be happening every day? In times of such uncertainty, many of us are feeling emotions we have never felt before – and many past traumas may find themselv...

Are you looking to grow your business - or are you struggling to start one? Having a hard time balancing work and family life? Trying to use social media to grow your business but wondering how to stay authentic in the process? Then this podcast is for you!  In this week’s episode, Rachel is joined by the king of entrepreneurship, Gary Vaynerchuk. Gary shares his knowledge on how he stays so extre...

How can you know yourself deeply if you’ve never touched the depths of your anger or reached the height of your joy? We have to feel our emotions to process them in a healthy way – and our ability to do that is often impacted by how our parents led us through sensitive moments as children. But what if our parents left us with empty spaces in our hearts? A beautiful opportunity for healing presents...

In this moment - right here, right now - you are on the cusp of a major epiphany. The struggles you are moving through today are teaching you something hugely important, the way every lesson hides a blessing. What if you could get so present with your inner world that you could find nuggets of gold in every challenge you come across, no matter how mundane? What if the path to freedom isn’t found i...

Are you struggling to find your purpose, looking to find genuine ways to be of service, or trying to figure out how to cultivate a fulfilling life that celebrates all of your passions? This week’s podcast guest can help you with all of the above! New York Times bestselling author and multi-passionate entrepreneur Marie Forleo joins Rachel this week to discuss why everything is “figureoutable”. Mar...

Up until now, having the tools to heal past pain has been something afforded only by a privileged few. What if there was a way to make tools for personal development and healing accessible to everyone? In this episode, Rachel is joined by her dear friend, 29k co-founder and expert on happiness research, Erik Fernholm. Together with the 29k team, they have created an app that offers the tools and p...

What if we grew up with the tools we need to be able to feel the full spectrum of emotion? What if we were taught how to check in with ourselves and process the heavy parts of life? In this episode, Rachel opens up about the existential life crisis she is having - on purpose! It involves the act of tuning in and becoming really present with your emotions so you can recognize what you are feeling,...

Are you exhausted from battling your inner critic all day? Are you struggling with limiting beliefs leading to a cycle of numbing behaviors? In this episode Rachel shares about the struggle with her own inner critic, the behaviors she has been using to cope, and how she is learning to find peace in slowing down. We all cope with some type of self-medication. Who doesn’t want to sit on the couch, d...

We are one people. We all have the same beating heart inside our chests. We are all born with the same longing to be loved and free. However, our freedom only extends as far as our privilege, and some of us are born with more privilege than others. In this episode, Rachel shares the story of how she found herself faced with the challenge of having her US ESTA visa revoked and the eye opening proce...

Are you struggling to cultivate the habits that you intended to create in the New Year, or do you find it hard to create and stick to healthy habits in general? Maybe you just haven’t found the method that works specifically for you! On this week’s podcast, Rachel is joined by happiness and habit expert and best-selling author, Gretchen Rubin.  Together, they break down the types of habits you can...

As we move deeper into the new decade, we have a chance to shift our lives and choose goals to work toward. This year, can you break down your intentions so that you have the ability to live a simpler life while manifesting your dreams? Can you give yourself the option to live a more intimate life and take time to be present with your loved ones and community? Being busy doesn’t equal being accomp...

So many of us are struggling to heal from traumatic events that took place in our past. If you have suffered through loss, separation, disease, abandonment, abuse, neglect... You are not alone.  Trauma is not identified by what happened to us, but by our ability to respond. We often minimize trauma by saying “it could have been worse”, but when something comes our way and it’s too fast, too much,...