Pretty Mental

Today’s conversation is with the magical spirit Tara Zinnamon and it was the exact nourishment my soul was hungry for. We laughed, cried and showed up with our hearts wide open. In this convo, Tara dives into:

• Dealing with the compounding loss and grief of having her dad taken away by the legal system when she was just 5 years old
• What it looks like to wholeheartedly embrace anger after suppressing it for so many years
• Losing her beautiful mother to a rare aggressive ovarian cancer and being her full-time caretaker during COVID
• Why seeing mortality face to face taught her all about allowing every part of her life to be seen and not just the shiny sides 
• How she's finding ways to unload grief and step deeply into radical softness

"There’s more beyond struggle, there’s more beyond survival" - Tara

Tara's Links:

Today I dive into an intimate solo about my health and how the universe has been guiding me to come face to face with old traumas. I bring in lessons that I learned in my early and mid-20s when I was living with a scary eating disorder that I thought I would never be able to heal from. And I let you guys in on the way I’m being asked to approach life right now. 

Pretty Mental Links:

Today I am joined by the beautiful spirit, Murray Hidary, who is the artist behind Mind Travel - an incredibly magical musical experience that takes you through the internal layers of your being. Together Murray and I dive into:  

• The intensely painful experience he was met with when his little sister suddenly passed and the profound grief that followed 
• How music has carried him through some of the darkest times of his life 
• How to lead an examined life How moving directly into the pain sets us free 
• What to do when grief comes knocking on our door 

Make sure you tune into Murray's music right after the intro (starting at 6:58 & ending at 16:18).

Today we are calming our nervous systems as we experience the transitions of life. Slow back down, come back home.

Pretty Mental Links:

This was an incredibly emotional episode to prepare for and dive into. Today we are diving into Pretty Mental’s next evolution. Today we chat about: 

• The importance of listening to the calls of our spirit and following what feels the most aligned  
• Reflections of our journey together and what we have experienced doing Pretty Mental 
• Letting our thoughts be of service to our hearts vs letting our thoughts shut down or hearts    

As Paula says in the episode: “When we do whats in our highest good, that our spirt is telling us to do, it’s what's in the highest good for everyone involved.”

This week we got to sit with Mayan & Toltec cosmologist and ceremonial guide Aiesha Cosmos. Aiesha has been devoted to following and studying this ancient way of relating to life for 20+ years and we are so excited to share her profound knowledge and wisdom with you guys on today’s share. In this podcast, Aiesha channeled messages covering: 

• Letting go of conditioned identities and embracing our authentic truths.
•  Becoming immune to the negative energies that often derail us from our path.
•  The way of the Toltec masters and what we can learn from them about the art of personal transformation 

For this Solo Sister's session we catch up with each other and you guys on the adventures and journeys we have recently been on. We unpacked:

• Valentina's career progression and staying in an aligned heart space as she traverses current uncertainties. 
• Lessons on letting go that Paula has been encountering on her month long stay in Tulum. 
• Recognizing the conditioning that limits the infinite potential for what's possible in our lives and learning to die to these ideas so we can be free. 
• Getting deeper into somatic work and allowing energy to move freely though us. 
• Tapping deeper into spiritual guidance.  

This week we got to sit down for a truly heart opening conversation with therapist, entrepreneur, podcast host and all around beautiful human Matt Shenker. Through the authenticity of his story , Matt takes us on a profound journey of emotional pain alchemy- reminding us that we all have a lot more in common than we often think we do. Through this conversation we explored: 

• Matt’s journey of alchemizing emotional pain through years of commitment to healing. 
• What it means to face this life with the heart of a warrior. An honest overview of our options for healing given our current systems.  
• Holding ourselves with grace as we move towards the dream of a more beautiful, connected, & healed world.  

In this week's powerful share we got to deep dive with internationally renowned Shaman, Best-Selling Author, and host of Ceremony Circle Podcast, Alyson Charles. In this conversation Alyson shares with us the miraculous, inspiring and very human journey that led to her awakening and the deep teachings that have come from that journey. We explored:

• Recognizing when we're out of alignment and coming back to our divine gifts
• Recognizing initiations on our journeys and how to move through these in our full power.
• Staying in devotion to our healing work and holding faith to the visions in our hearts for what we know is possible in this life.
• Working with Power Animals and how they can support us through this wild and magical life journey. 

For today's episode we got to sit down with the all around powerful woman & Embodiment Coach Abigail Rose Turner. In this episode we deconstruct the popular notion that working a 9 to 5 is the antithesis to our soul's purpose. We explore how the truth of our evolution is so much more nuanced than that and deep dive into:

• Why we need to be discerning in filtering all the therapy, spirituality and manifestation messaging through the lens of our embodied truth. 
• How honoring our need for safety and our organic pacing is so necessary on the journey to our soul's expression.
• Learning to the balanced dance between taking big risks and listening to the pace of our nervous system
• Moving towards creating sustainable ecosystems that honor the feminine principle on our planet. 

During this Solo Sister's catch up we process through some major transitions that have been coming up and the practices and mindsets that help us stay resilient, balanced and in alignment during these moments. We unpacked:

• How to cultivate psychological flexibility during transitions, what this means and why it matters
• The potent practice of letting yourself get excited by your future self
• Viewing every experience as a circumstance to be learned from rather than a "problem"
• Learning to recognize what is our authentic energy and truth and letting all other misplaced narratives go

For this week’s episode we got to sit with the CEO and Fearless Founder of Consciouss Conversion, Sara Yamtich. In this FIERY conversation, Sara inspires us with her courageous journey from a conventional work life in Atlanta, Georgia to becoming a serial entrepreneur from the jungles of Costa Rica! In this podcast we deep dove into:

• How to cultivate the inner stability that is required for moving through radical life transformations.
• Building community and businesses that embody the energy of collaboration over competition.
• Conscious parenting for both our offspring and our own inner children. 
• Learning to live in the questions and why this matters to our individual and collective evolution.

For today’s podcast, we got to sit with the vibrant soul Beth Hilton- also known as @TheycallmeComet on IG. 

In this joy-filled high vibe conversation, we got to learn more about Beth’s incredible journey and her wisdom for living an authentic, deeply nourishing and satisfying life. We deep dove into: 

• Liberating our Voice as a spiritual practice, what this means and why it matters. 
• Cultivating the courage to go after what truly lights us up. 
• Opening up to the yumminess of nourishing ourselves so that our full power can shine. 
• Creating the life of our dreams TODAY from a place of joy and fun. 

This week we got to deep dive into the incredibly healing perspective of Dr. Cat Meyer. Dr Cat is a licensed sex psychotherapist, who has helped tens of thousands of people around the world come back to their hearts and bodies to embody their fullest power and authentic sexuality. In this nourishing conversation we got to explore:

• What it means to show up for ourselves consistently and why this matters. 
• Redefining sex and arriving at more authentic, inclusive, liberated definitions of this powerful experience. 
• Why reclaiming our sexuality and fully embodying our sensuality is a necessary part of the healing journey. 
• Why learning to tune into the intelligence of the body is necessary for identifying our needs and coming more deeply into our authenticity. 
• How to cultivate the necessary inner safety that is a prerequisite to owning our full sexual power. 

For today's conversation we got to sit with the beautiful human and powerhouse healer Noelle Kovary. Noelle has inspired our family for a long time and we were beyond excited to get to learn more about her incredible story and refreshing common sense approach to using food as medicine. In this conversation we got to unpack:

• The wild, courageous journey that led Noelle to becoming a nutritional holistic healer. 
• Her inspiring common sense approach to using food as medicine and an introduction to the basics.
• How to develop a gentle and patient partnership with our bodies for increased ease and health. 
• Her gentle, self-compassionate approach to balancing motherhood, career and wellbeing.
• The mindset that helped her take back the power over her health and inspire thousands. 

“Let the human have the experience” is a beautiful quote by a fellow healer and one of our prior guests, Dani Dillard (Ep.45). This statement resonated so deeply with us and its inspiration fully flowed into today conversation. In this episode we dive deeply into what this means for us and how integral it is for accessing our highest wellness and joy in this life. In this conversation we also unpacked:

• Rooting practices we’ve been turning to and how these benefit our mental health.
• Socializing and making new connections during the age of social media.
• How embracing every part of our humanity is the most direct route to inner freedom and the ways in which we practice this on an on-going basis.
• FULLY bringing the body into the healing journey.
• Referencing some recent events that have taken place- we also unpack how to be there for others when they’re having a trauma response.

For this week’s episode we sat down for our weekly catch up to explore our best practices for navigating transitions and healing patterns of defensiveness. We unpacked: 

• Practices and mindsets to root to when going through life transitions. 
• What drives our emotional system to turn to defensiveness as a coping mechanism. 
• A deeper understanding of this energy and why it ends up creating the exact scenarios we are trying to protect ourselves from. 
• The mindset and skills that we can begin cultivating in order to shift out of patterns of defensiveness in our life. 

For this week’s episode we sat down with Dr.Azad of Tipping Point Liberation Coaching for a deeper understanding on the causes of burnout and how we can begin liberating ourselves from this experience. In this episode we unpacked: 

• How to recognize burnout in ourselves. 
• Why our current systems lead to so much burnout. T
• he larger socio-political context that must be acknowledged as we do this work. 
• How we can begin to take our power back and rescue ourselves from systems of burnout. 

In this week’s Sister’s Solo podcast session we have a raw, honest conversation unpacking:

• Understanding the relationship dynamics that encourage chronic guilt as a coping mechanism.
• More tools and insights for healing through chronic guilt.
• Some personal realities that have been going on behind the scenes.
• How to uncover the wisdom in our breakdowns if we are willing to slow down and listen.
• The practice of Presence and what it takes to really be HERE for our lives in this digital age.

For this week’s Special Edition Valentine’s Day episode we sit down for a round-table Q&A with one of our favorite soul sisters & Transformational Coach, Nicole Dominguez. In this episode we answered questions from our Pretty Mental community on all things relationships and being single. We explored:

• How to cultivate self-intimacy in and outside relationships.
• What it takes to develop authentic romantic relationships.
• Working through the fear of being alone. 
• Working through the fear of being hurt in relationships.
• How to handle when we want commitment but the other person doesn’t.
• Conscious, ethical dating and hooking up even when there is no intention for long-term relationship.

In this week’s Sister’s Solo podcast session we do another deep dive to unpack:

• Our current relationship with technology and social media and cultivating healthy boundaries in the digital age.
• Cultivating deeper resilience in our personal lives and business practices by learning from the pace of nature.
• Why honoring what’s truly nurturing and healthy will often require a tolerance for being misunderstood.
• Healing the self-abandonment wound to reclaim our Self-worth.

In this week’s Sister’s Solo podcast session we do a deep dive into the energy of Guilt and unpack: Why this emotion is so common in our culture and why it’s so important to manage it How healing our relationship to guilt helps make us immune to manipulation Why not being controlled by guilt is essential for having true intimacy and building an authentic community. Liberating ourselves from the idea that  being a “good person” means self-sacrifice and not having boundaries 

In this week’s Sister’s Solo podcast session we do a juicy deep dive into the energy of Fear and unpack:

• The major role it plays in our experiences of anxiety and depression.
• How to recognize it, stand up to it and transcend it.
• What we’ve personally learned on our journey of healing from this energy.
• How to hack out physiology to override the fear response.
• Why thriving can only happen when our minds and bodies are equally considered on this journey.

In this week’s Sister’s Solo podcast session things got very real as we unpacked:

• Shaking off the societal pressures to put on a one dimensional, “professional” mask in order to have a seat at the table in your industry.
• The mindsets we need to cultivate in order to bring our full selves forward.
• How so much of what we consider Depression, is actually the result of settling for a life of suppressed desires and fragmented identities.
• The joy that is possible when we integrate all of who we are into our life experience.

This week we sat down for another sister’s solo and deep dove into:

• Understanding narcissism, narcissistic relationships and how they tear us down over time.
• Normalizing the range of emotions that come up in the process of healing after these types of relationships.
• Exposure therapy and normalizing the discomfort that’s a part of healing and growing.
• Embracing imperfection and using humor to heal feelings of shame and inadequacy.

To finish out the year we sat down for another sister’s solo and reflected on :

• The healing gems that can be revealed when we get triggered by family.
• Why our feelings of inadequacy can actually guide us towards a more authentic life.
• Why becoming more self-accepting leads to having a deeper acceptance of others’ differences.
• Practical tools for coping with anxiety and having healthy boundaries in real-time.

Pretty Mental Links:

For this week’s episode, we sat with the brilliant, Abigail Iquo Isuo. Abigail is an Integrative Transpersonal Psychotherapist with 20+ years of experience who guides her clients through profound shadow work to uncover the gifts that lie in the painful depths of the psyche. In this conversation with Abigail we got to explore:

• A deeper understanding of the different types of anger and the wisdom that this emotion has to offer us
• What is shadow work and why reintegrating the dark, taboo parts of ourselves is a necessary step on the journey to wholeness and mental health
• How to reclaim the parts of ourselves that have been put in the shadow
• How to navigate our own and others’ difficult emotions and differences of opinions in ways that can help create a more harmonious world

In this conversation, we sat down for another Solo session to unpack the ways in which perfectionism and social anxiety feed into each other and how to counteract this through the power of intention. In this episode we deep dove into: 

• Our own experiences of challenging perfectionism and how showing up imperfectly has become a powerful exposure therapy practice. 
• What liberation perfectionist conditioning means to us and identifying safe spaces for beginning this journey. 
• How to utilize the power of intention to offset social anxiety and form authentic connections with others. 

Pretty Mental Links:

In this conversation we sat down for another Solo session to explore the ways in which western medicine and academia have often left spirituality out of the conversation on healing. We get honest about why this matter, how it’s affected past conversations on the podcast and deep dive into: 

• What it means to give ourselves FULL permission to allow more spirituality and faith to join us on this human healing journey 
• The expansive impact of reclaiming our voice, prayer and intention to activate healing energy in our lives. 
• Seeing life’s challenges as Initiations to greater levels of personal power rather than simply obstacles that are here to make our lives harder. 

Pretty Mental Links:

For today’s solo podcast session, we sat down to unpack triggers and the value of giving ourselves permission to be free thinkers. In this conversation we deep dove into: Why opening up to the gray areas and nuance of life is so valuable to our mental health and human journeys. Cultivating deeper self-intimacy through a nuanced exploration of our triggers and our layers of conditioning. Recognizing the value of social norms and traditions as well as the value of questioning them. How the willingness to question what we think we know increases our psychological flexibility and mental health over time. 

Pretty Mental Links:

In this Solo podcast we sat down to explore the energy of anger and our recent encounters with it. Anger plays a really important role in this human experience and there are both helpful and not so helpful ways that we can engage with it. In this conversation we unpack:

• The recent experiences we’ve had encountering this energy.
• Understanding the different survival strategies that get activated in the face of anger.
• How and why our anger can help us identify our boundaries.
• Exploring the fine line between self advocacy and indulging our anger.
• What it means is to remain emotionally responsible with our anger even when we don’t have to be and why this matters. 

Pretty Mental Links:

For today’s podcast we got together for the first Sister Solo since Valentina’s return from the jungle. In this conversation we are unpacking and challenging our civilization’s obsession with linear, rigid, binary, medicalized world-views of the human psyche. We deep dove into:

• Embracing the reality that we are all walking paradoxes, and how okay that is.
• Introducing the PM community to the paradigm shifting therapeutic technique of Internal Family Systems (IFS).
• Unpacking and challenging the level of influence that diagnostic models have on our current view of the human psyche.
• Valentina’s third and final Kambo ceremony.
• How surrendering our resistance to discomfort decreases our experience of suffering and opens us up to palpable joy.

Pretty Mental Links:

For this week's episode, we sat down for another sisters heart to heart solo. For this conversation, we deep dove into the insights that we have been having while living through two very different life experiences. In this session, we explored: 

• Valentina's recent Kambo ceremonies in the jungles of Costa Rica. 
• Paula’s personal journey to becoming an OCD therapist. 
• A deeper dive into understanding OCD and anxiety and the brain patterns that are involved. 
• What exposure and response prevention therapy is and our lived experiences with this behavioral therapy tool. 
• How incorporating parts work (IFS) into our mental health practices can help create exponential results. 

Pretty Mental Links:

For today’s podcast, we explored the beginning lessons of Valentina's current journey in the Costa Rican Jungle and the ways in which a different landscape can help facilitate a shift in consciousness. In this conversation we got to deep dive into:

• Lessons from co-habiting with an off-grid conscious community in the jungle. 
• What it means to step out of our comfort zone and sit through the tension of expansion. 
• How her current jungle experience is a great real-life example of exposure and response prevention therapy in real time. 
• The concept of location cure and discerning between running away from pain versus moving towards growth. 
• A deeper exploration of turning to emotional regulation tools to carry us through exposure practice. 

Pretty Mental Links:

For today’s podcast, we came together for a solo session to deep dive into mental health-informed dating practices. We know that the quality of the relationships and bonds we are able to cultivate makes a huge difference in the quality of our mental health. So in this conversation, we pull from our experiences and the lessons we have picked up along the way to deep dive into:

• Recognizing healthy and unhealthy patterns in the beginning stages of the dating process. 
• What love bombing is and why it’s important to be able to recognize it. 
• Understanding intermittent reinforcement and why it’s such an addictive dynamic. 
• Tools and strategies for effective limit-setting and self-advocacy in relationships. 
• Trauma bonding 101 and how doing our healing work can help us avoid this. 

Pretty Mental Links:

For this week’s podcast episode we jumped on for yet another sister solo catch up sesh. In this candid, raw conversation we deep dove into:  

• What it means to take back sovereignty over our health and well-being.  
• Waking up to the reality that our systems are focused on control and not evolution. 
• Recognizing the ways in which our unacknowledged traumas keep us in a state of reactivity towards those with different beliefs. 
• How to cultivate peace and nonviolent communication during these turbulent times. 

Pretty Mental Links:

For today’s conversation we got the chance to have a fascinating conversation with the lucid dreaming and sleep expert and author of “Wake Up to Sleep”, Charlie Morley. In this eye-opening conversation we deep dove into: 

• Learning from our ancestors what natural and healthy sleep cycles actually are. 
• How to lucid dream and why this can be such a powerful practice for healing trauma.  
• Understanding anxiety dreams and nightmares and how they can actually be helping us.  
• Deep wisdom and tools for healing insomnia and sleep related anxiety.

Charlie Morley Links:

For today’s podcast session we came together for a Sisters Solo once again. In this conversation we unpack Paula’s most recent transformative experience from Psilocybin Mushrooms and deep dive into: 

• The intention that Paula went into this journey with as well as a deep integration of all of the messages and insight that came through. 
• Acknowledging, identifying and transcending victim mentality in our psyches and why the Earth is asking this of us.
•  How to navigate the balance between self-compassion and self-discipline that is necessary for the healing journey. 
• We jump off of these insights to further evolve the dialogue we’ve been having on healing the balance of masculine and feminine energies on this planet. 
• How this conversation on energies can be utilized in conjunction with the Western Medical Diagnostic model for as holistic of an approach as is possible.

Pretty Mental Links: 

For today’s podcast we sat down with each other for another Sister’s Solo for a courageously authentic conversation on our journey to healthy romantic relationships. In this deeply personal episode we deep dove into: 

• The polar opposite ways in which our relationship wounds have shown up and the journey we’ve both been on to heal this.  
• The role that Breathwork and Internal Family Systems therapy have played in our healing.  
• What learning to come home to ourselves and becoming deeply embodied has done for this relationship journey and healing our abandonment wounds. 
• How to recognize emotional abuse and why boundaries are so important. 

Pretty Mental Links:

For today’s podcast we got to sit with the beautiful Goddess and Feminine Embodiment guide Victoria Richmond to explore all things masculine and feminine energies. In this beautiful, nourishing conversation we deep dove into: 

• A deep understanding of what is meant by the Divine Feminine and Masculine energies that we all have with us. 
• Why healing these energies within us is key to maintaining and cultivating sexual polarity in our relationships. 
• How we can recognize when we’re operating from wounded feminine or wounded masculine energies. 
• How to heal these energies in ourselves and step into sacred energetically balanced relationships. 
• What is meant by sacred sexuality and the power of living in devotion 

Victoria Links: 

Welcome to Season 3 of Pretty Mental!! For today’s podcast session we dove back into a Sister’s solo to share Valentina’s recent plant medicine journey with San Pedro and all of the recent deep insights and shifts that have been coming through for us. In this episode we explore: 

• Why this is the beginning of Season 3 
• Valentina’s powerful insights from the sacred plant teacher, San Pedro. 
• Insights from Paula’s most recent island adventure 
• The Divine Masculine and the Divine Feminine and why this is so relevant for us right now. 
• Powering up our healing journey by learning to honor and cultivate our natural balance of masculine and feminine energies. 

Pretty Mental Links: 

A time to root, rise, and remember.

For today’s podcast episode we got a chance to Sit with MarY Grace for a part II to have a beautiful conversation on the soul nourishing practice of Self Love. In this session we deep dove into:

• The inspiring journey that led MarY to dedicate herself to the medicine of self-love.
• The patterns and conditioning that we have to release to access self-love consciousness.
• A practical understanding of the tools we need for cultivating self-love and what this means for mental health.
• Overcoming negative self-talk and getting curious about our internal dialogue.
• The role that healthy boundaries plays in all of this. 

MarY Grace

For today’s podcast episode we had the opportunity to sit with the self-love medicine woman and Human Design pro MarY Grace. In this conversation we got to really explore the power that can be found in gaining a deeper understanding of ourselves and breaking through patterns of personal insecurity that have been passed down through many generations. We deep dove into:

• Human Design 101
• Learning to honor and find strength in our different energy patterns

MarY Grace

For this week’s podcast episode we had the opportunity to sit with the beautiful, authentic soul Gunny Sodhi of YouVeda. In this conversation with Gunny we explored the deep healing that is available to us when we approach ourselves from as holistic of a perspective as possible. In this episode we deep dove into:

• The critical role that conscious grieving plays in our capacity for healing.
  
• Understanding the mind-body- spirit connection through the lens of Ayurveda science.
  
• How to navigate difficult emotions and release the associated energies for optimal health.
  
• Why we need to become informed consumers of the western medical model.
  

Pretty Mental discount code for 35% off your first YouVeda: PURPOSE

YouVeda:

For today’s podcast episode we had the incredible opportunity to sit with Colorado psychotherapist Pierre Bouchard. Pierre is an incredibly dynamic human being and healer who is amongst those on the cutting edge of the Psychedelic Psychotherapy movement that is currently taking place in the mental health world. In this fascinating conversation we got to deep dive into:

• Ketamine 101 and how it’s being used within the therapeutic container to facilitate deeper and faster shifts in depression and trauma recovery.
  
• The important role  that music plays in the Psychedelic Therapy process.
  
• Stories of deep healing that Pierre has witnessed in clients through the therapeutic use of Ketamine.
  
• Understanding and implementing integration work and why this matters.
  
• The medicine of getting deeply in touch with the experience of being alive and treating every emotional and physical experience with deep grace and appreciation.
  
• Pierre’s own journey of healing and arriving at the type of work he is able to guide his clients through today.

Pierre Bouchard:

For today’s podcast episode we had the opportunity to sit with the incredible artist and human being Meredith Anne White for an inspiring conversation on boundaries, coming home to ourselves and the magic of learning to flow with life. In this episode we deep dove into:

• The beautiful parallels between art, spirituality and healing.
• How to turn to practices of deconstruction for grounding our healing journeys and reclaiming our consciousness.
• The gift and challenges of practicing boundaries and having the courage to be misunderstood.
• Why learning to honor our rhythms and cycles from a place of embodiment is soooo important for mental health.
• How fostering a deep connection with the lands we inhabit and the communities we exist in nourishes our own healing journeys.
• The magic that happens when we open up to intuitively moving through life.