If you’ve been doing “all the healing things” — therapy, inner child work, mindset shifts — but still find yourself overwhelmed, burnt out, or spinning in the same emotional loops month after month... this episode is for you.

This week, we’re diving into a truth that’s often overlooked in the wellness world:
Your nervous system is cyclical — just like you.
And healing isn’t just about what you do. It’s about when and how you do it.

Inspired by a powerful masterclass with Veronika of Waking Womb, I’m exploring the biological differences in the female nervous system and how our capacity for stress, emotions, and healing shifts across the menstrual cycle. We’ll talk about the science, the spiritual implications, and why breathwork is one of the most effective tools for trauma recovery when used in alignment with your body’s natural rhythm.

You’ll learn:

🤲🏼 Why the same breathwork or therapy practice can feel amazing one week and overwhelming the next

🤲🏼 What the “window of presence” is — and how it shrinks and expands across your cycle

🤲🏼 How estrogen acts as a buffer for trauma healing (and when to use this to your advantage)

🤲🏼 Why female bodies are more sensitive to abandonment wounds and relational trauma

🤲🏼 How to time your somatic healing practices in a way that supports nervous system safety

🤲🏼 What oxytocin (not dopamine!) has to do with women’s regulation and recovery

🤲🏼And how to stop forcing healing... and start flowing with it instead

This episode will help you understand why your healing hasn’t worked the way you hoped — and give you permission to approach it in a way that feels gentler, wiser, and more effective.

🌹 Want to go deeper?
Join me August 22–24 for Mending the Motherwound, a free weekend immersion to help you regulate your nervous system, reconnect with your inner mother, and tend to the wounds that still live in your body.

Click here to register

Send us a text

Looking for more support or resources?

Check out these links:

• Free Trauma Recovery Mini-Course: Begin your healing journey today.

• Website: Learn more about our services and mission.

• Book a Free Consultation: Connect with me for personalized support.

• Insight Timer: Join me for free meditations to help you find inner calm.

• Full Video Version: Watch the music video for "Reclamation" featured in the intro and outro podcast.

Subscribe and Stay Connected:
Make sure to subscribe to Healing Her Story so you never miss an episode! Let’s heal, grow, and rise together.


You're also welcome to reach out via email at riva@windsofchangesac.com

We’re kicking off a new cycle on the Healing Her Story podcast with a deep and timely exploration of care—who gives it, who receives it, and what it costs us all.

Inspired by Cancer season and its nurturing, mothering energy, this episode invites you to reflect on how care lives in your own body and your daily life. Using recent research from the National Partnership for Women & Families, we unpack just how much unpaid care women provide each year—over $1 trillion in value, yet often invisible and unacknowledged.

If you’re a woman who:

• Has felt the pressure to keep giving, even when your cup is empty
• Struggles to rest or put yourself first
• Feels unseen for the emotional labor and caretaking you do at home or work
• Is reckoning with emotional neglect, generational wounds, or your own desire to become a mother…

Then this episode is for you.

We talk about the roots of this imbalance, including how patriarchal systems and gendered stereotypes continue to undervalue care—and the way this shows up in your body, your nervous system, your calendar, and your inner dialogue. This isn’t just about social justice; it’s about your personal healing.

You’ll also hear:

• A story about Riva’s experience working in the care economy
• A powerful reflection on self-integrity and giving yourself the care you offer others
• Thought-provoking journal questions to explore your own relationship to care

🤲🏼 Reflection questions include:

• Do you see the caretaking you do as work? As valuable?
• Do you feel obligated to care for others at the expense of yourself?
• Is it easier to care for others than it is to care for yourself?

This episode is an invitation to pause, reflect, and begin reclaiming care as sacred, vital, and worthy.

🎧 Tune in now and join the movement of women rising to reclaim the value of care—in our homes, in our communities, and in ourselves.

And if you’re ready to go deeper, don’t miss our upcoming free online weekend immersion: Mending the Mother Wound. It’s a powerful space to break generational cycles, heal emotional neglect, and reconnect with your feminine power.

🔗 Sign up for the free immersion here

—

💌 Like this episode? Share it with a friend to help raise the feminine frequency.
🕊️ Want to support the show? Leave a 5-star review and email a screenshot to riva@windsofchangesac.com to

Send us a text

Looking for more support or resources?

Check out these links:

• Free Trauma Recovery Mini-Course: Begin your healing journey today.

• Website: Learn more about our services and mission.

• Book a Free Consultation: Connect with me for personalized support.

• Insight Timer: Join me for free meditations to help you find inner calm.

• Full Video Version: Watch the music video for "Reclamation" featured in the intro and outro podcast.

Subscribe and Stay Connected:
Make sure to subscribe to Healing Her Story so you never miss an episode! Let’s heal, grow, and rise together.


You're also welcome to reach out via email at riva@windsofchangesac.com

This week on Moon Phases & Feminine Power: Your Weekly Cycle Sync, we’re entering the dark moon—that liminal, tender space between what’s been and what’s yet to come.

If you’ve been feeling low energy, emotionally raw, or deeply fatigued… you’re not broken, love—you’re in rhythm with the cycle.

In this episode, I’ll guide you through the energetic and physiological invitations of this phase, which corresponds to the final days of the menstrual cycle—a time when estrogen dips and the body calls out for true, deep rest.

You’ll learn:

🌑 The difference between the dark moon and the new moon

🌑 Why this phase is essential for trauma recovery and nervous system regulation

🌑 How our fast-paced culture ignores this pause—and how you can reclaim it

🌑 Gentle, practical ways to honor your body in this sacred pause (even if you only have 30 seconds)

This episode is especially for the woman who struggles to slow down, feels guilty when resting, and is used to pushing through, even when her body is begging for space.

It’s a love letter to your in-between moments, to your nervous system, and your healing.

Plus, I’ve included three free trauma-informed somatic meditations in the show notes to help you ease into stillness, regulate your system, and create a felt sense of safety this week.

✨ Trauma-Informed Meditation for Rest & Restoration
https://insig.ht/rPJYtW358Tb

✨ Sensing the Support: A 5-Minute Daily Somatic Practice
https://insig.ht/TI36MS458Tb

✨ Creating Your Felt Sense of Safety
https://insig.ht/OfTD5r958Tb

Take the sacred pause, love. The next cycle will come soon enough. But for now… just be.

Send us a text

Looking for more support or resources?

Check out these links:

• Free Trauma Recovery Mini-Course: Begin your healing journey today.

• Website: Learn more about our services and mission.

• Book a Free Consultation: Connect with me for personalized support.

• Insight Timer: Join me for free meditations to help you find inner calm.

• Full Video Version: Watch the music video for "Reclamation" featured in the intro and outro podcast.

Subscribe and Stay Connected:
Make sure to subscribe to Healing Her Story so you never miss an episode! Let’s heal, grow, and rise together.


You're also welcome to reach out via email at riva@windsofchangesac.com

This week on Moon Phases & Feminine Power: Your Weekly Cycle Sync, we’re attuning to the energy of the waning moon—a sacred and often overlooked phase of the menstrual and lunar cycle. Associated with inner autumn and the premenstrual phase, this part of the cycle invites us to release, reflect, and return to ourselves.

But in a culture that rewards productivity over presence, this shift can feel… hard.

If you find yourself feeling overwhelmed, overstimulated, or afraid to slow down—especially as energy begins to wane—you’re not alone. And you're not broken.

In this episode, I share:

🌙 Why the waning moon often triggers resistance, anxiety, and overstimulation

🌙 How trauma and survival conditioning can make slowing down feel unsafe

🌙 Gentle, embodied ways to honor this phase of the cycle—even if you’re short on time

🌙 Practical, lived-in examples of what rest can really look like (hint: it doesn’t have to mean doing nothing)

Whether you're a woman navigating burnout, a cycle-aware being learning to soften, or someone reclaiming safety in rest—this episode is a gentle reminder that your body knows what to do when you listen.

✨ This is a beautiful one to bookmark, revisit, and share.

Free trauma-informed somatic meditations to support you this week

🤲🏼🌹
– Patience & Anxiety Relief
– Tension Relief & Grounding
– Rest & Restoration

Send us a text

Looking for more support or resources?

Check out these links:

• Free Trauma Recovery Mini-Course: Begin your healing journey today.

• Website: Learn more about our services and mission.

• Book a Free Consultation: Connect with me for personalized support.

• Insight Timer: Join me for free meditations to help you find inner calm.

• Full Video Version: Watch the music video for "Reclamation" featured in the intro and outro podcast.

Subscribe and Stay Connected:
Make sure to subscribe to Healing Her Story so you never miss an episode! Let’s heal, grow, and rise together.


You're also welcome to reach out via email at riva@windsofchangesac.com

This week on Healing Her Story, I’m joined by the radiant and revolutionary voice of Mari Candela—a poet, healer, teacher, and traumatic brain injury (TBI) survivor whose words are both balm and battle cry.

Mari’s story is one of radical reclamation. After surviving a traumatic brain injury, she found her way back to herself through poetry—not as performance, but as a deeply embodied act of healing. In this powerful conversation, we explore how writing can become a bridge between brokenness and wholeness, between memory and imagination, between pain and possibility.

If you’ve ever struggled to express your truth...

If you’ve ever felt like your voice didn’t matter, or that your story was too fragmented to be told…

If you’ve been looking for another way to process your past and reconnect with your body…
This episode is for you.

We talk about:

❤️‍🩹 How poetry helps us speak to our inner child, our rage, and our resilience

❤️‍🩹 Why you don’t have to be a writer or poet to use language as medicine

❤️‍🩹 How to move through "writing blocks"

❤️‍🩹 The role of rhythm in reclaiming your voice

and so much more!

Mari also shares the powerful healing practices she uses in her own life—and offers one of two of original poems live on the show (bring tissues).

Whether you’ve always loved writing or you’ve been scared to start, this episode will help you understand how to approach the blank page with compassion, curiosity, and courage.

Connect with Mari on Instagram

Send us a text

Looking for more support or resources?

Check out these links:

• Free Trauma Recovery Mini-Course: Begin your healing journey today.

• Website: Learn more about our services and mission.

• Book a Free Consultation: Connect with me for personalized support.

• Insight Timer: Join me for free meditations to help you find inner calm.

• Full Video Version: Watch the music video for "Reclamation" featured in the intro and outro podcast.

Subscribe and Stay Connected:
Make sure to subscribe to Healing Her Story so you never miss an episode! Let’s heal, grow, and rise together.


You're also welcome to reach out via email at riva@windsofchangesac.com

We’ve reached the full moon —an energetically potent time that can illuminate both the beauty and the overwhelm in your life.

In this week’s episode, recorded from the wide-open landscapes of Colorado, I invite you to pause and reflect. Whether you’re blooming or unraveling right now, this phase offers a powerful opportunity for healing, integration, and self-awareness.

Are you noticing a breakthrough after weeks of showing up for yourself?

Or are you feeling anxious, overstimulated, or like everything is “too much”?

Both experiences are valid—and both carry valuable information for your healing process.

This episode is especially supportive if you:

- Struggle with burnout or anxiety during the full moon

- Tend to skip over your wins instead of letting them resource your nervous system

- Are seeking deeper embodiment in your trauma recovery journey

- Need help understanding how cyclical living supports emotional regulation and energy balance

Inside, I share:

🌕 The science behind why you may feel wired, restless, or depleted during the full moon

🌕 How to recognize resourcing moments that build trust in your body and process

🌕 A nervous system-friendly way to celebrate breakthroughs and be with discomfort without judgment

🌕 A gentle reminder that healing doesn’t have to be forced—it can be embodied

This episode will help you take a compassionate look at where you are in your cycle and your life, and how to work with that energy instead of against it.

Need more support? I’ve included somatic meditations in the show notes to help you ground and integrate.

🤲🏼🌹

Trauma-Informed Body Scan »

Somatic Breathing to Hear Your Body’s Wisdom »

Somatic Meditation for Feeling More Confident »

Send us a text

Looking for more support or resources?

Check out these links:

• Free Trauma Recovery Mini-Course: Begin your healing journey today.

• Website: Learn more about our services and mission.

• Book a Free Consultation: Connect with me for personalized support.

• Insight Timer: Join me for free meditations to help you find inner calm.

• Full Video Version: Watch the music video for "Reclamation" featured in the intro and outro podcast.

Subscribe and Stay Connected:
Make sure to subscribe to Healing Her Story so you never miss an episode! Let’s heal, grow, and rise together.


You're also welcome to reach out via email at riva@windsofchangesac.com

So many women on the healing path struggle with all-or-nothing thinking — the belief that they’re either healed or broken, regulated or dysregulated, worthy or not. Sound familiar?

In this short but potent episode, I invite you to make a powerful shift in how you relate to yourself and your healing journey: “both/and” thinking. Especially during Gemini season — a time of duality, curiosity, and new perspectives — this shift can be a gateway to deeper self-compassion, more regulated energy, and sustainable growth.

You’ll hear:

✨ Common ways all-or-nothing thinking shows up in healing and life

✨ A gentle reframe that honors the complexity of your experience

✨ The science behind cognitive flexibility and why it matters for trauma recovery

✨Metaphors to help you feel this shift in your body, not just your mind

Whether you’re feeling stuck, burnt out, or like you're constantly “starting over,” this episode will remind you: healing isn’t black or white. You’re allowed to hold complexity. You’re allowed to be in progress and in power. You’re allowed to be both.

Listen now and begin softening into the nuance your nervous system is craving.

For more tools like this, download my free Trauma Recovery Mini Course, where I share three more simple, powerful shifts to help you move forward with more clarity and compassion.
🤲🏼🌹

Click here

Send us a text

Looking for more support or resources?

Check out these links:

• Free Trauma Recovery Mini-Course: Begin your healing journey today.

• Website: Learn more about our services and mission.

• Book a Free Consultation: Connect with me for personalized support.

• Insight Timer: Join me for free meditations to help you find inner calm.

• Full Video Version: Watch the music video for "Reclamation" featured in the intro and outro podcast.

Subscribe and Stay Connected:
Make sure to subscribe to Healing Her Story so you never miss an episode! Let’s heal, grow, and rise together.


You're also welcome to reach out via email at riva@windsofchangesac.com