In this engaging conversation, Karen Mellers and Rosy Daniel explore the profound impact of personal space on our mental, emotional, and physical health and well-being. They discuss the importance of creating a nurturing environment with beauty and space for stillness, as well as the necessity of personal time and sacred spaces for self-care. They examine the effects of clutter and how it reflects our mental state.

The dialogue also touches on the significance of light, oxygen, and nature in our lives, the challenges of maintaining a healthy work–life balance, and the healing power of sacred space, silence, and ritual. Through personal anecdotes and thoughtful insights, they emphasize the need for awareness and intentionality in shaping our spaces to support and enhance overall health and happiness.

Takeaways

• The environment around us significantly impacts our health.
• Creating personal space is essential for mental clarity.
• Light and nature are crucial for emotional well-being.
• Clutter can be a sign of depression and deeper emotional issues.
• Sacred spaces, however small, can facilitate healing and self-connection.
• Silence and stillness can lead to profound insights.
• Working from home needs clear boundaries to protect our home environment.
• Intentionality in designing our spaces can enhance our quality of life.
• The spirit of a place can influence our mood and energy.
• Small details in our environment can create a sense of safety, love and care.

Chapters

• 00:00 New Beginnings and Personal Space
• 01:09 The Impact of Space on Well-being
• 09:24 Light, Oxygen, and Our Environment
• 15:13 Clutter and Emotional Attachment
• 22:45 Creating Sacred Space
• 26:56 The Power of Silence and Stillness
• 34:49 Enhancing Our Space with Beauty

We’re proud to be sponsored by Cytoplan, a UK-based, practitioner-led supplement company offering ethically and sustainably sourced products to support your health and wellbeing.

✨ Enjoy an exclusive 15% discount for our Alive and Loving It community with the code ALIVEPOD-15 at checkout. Discover more at cytoplan.co.uk

Join our Alive and Loving it Community find the loving support that you need to change, grow and heal

This is more than a podcast, it’s a movement. A space to reignite your energy, find kindred spirits, align with your purpose, and step into a future of love, vitality, and limitless possibility.

🌟 Your kindred spirits are here! Visit www.aliveandlovingit.org for more resources, and follow us on Instagram

In this beautiful closing episode of Season 2, Karen and Rosy welcome circle sister and Rising Connected facilitator Amy Mullery — the very first Scottish voice on the podcast and a woman whose journey with circle work has touched both of our hearts deeply.

Together, we explore why Women's Circles are transforming lives, how the Rising Connected framework, and especially the 8 Agreements, creates profound emotional safety, and why being witnessed in authenticity is one of the most powerful catalysts for healing.

Amy shares:

• How becoming a Weleda Wellbeing Advisor connected her to Karen’s community
• How joining Joey’s online circles with babes in arms became a lifeline
• How circle work helped her rediscover her voice, leadership and balance

Season 2 threads — community, belonging, authenticity, emotional regulation, feminine wisdom and healing the sister wound — remind us:

We are stronger together.

Takeaways:

• Circle is a practice of showing up for yourself
• Being witnessed is healing
• The feminine way is rising
• Deep healing happens collectively
• The pause is where clarity arrives
• We are mending the sister wound together
• Circle wisdom is moving into workplaces
• Community is medicine

References Mentioned

• Rising Connected: Joey Walters
• The 8 Agreements (Authenticity, Awareness, Responsibility, Purpose, Wellbeing, Relatedness, Heartmind, Integrity)
• The Heart Seat process
• Broughton Hall & the Science and Consciousness Conference (WYRD)
• Dr Alan Watkins & emotional self-regulation
• The Japanese concept of ma — the sacred pause
• Jude Currivan — unified consciousness & interconnectedness
• The Healing Space to Blossom online program
• Weleda Wellbeing Advisor community

Chapters

• 00:00 — Welcoming Amy and the story of how we all met
• 02:30 — Discovering community through Weleda & the online circles
• 05:00 — Showing up imperfectly: babies, darkness, exhaustion
• 06:00 — The power of authenticity
• 08:30 — Facilitating safety in circle and the softening that follows
• 10:00 — Fun, joy and celebration in women’s circles
• 12:00 — Amy’s profound grief shift at Broughton
• 14:00 — Losing yourself in motherhood and finding yourself again
• 16:30 — The Japanese concept of ma: the magic in the pause
• 18:00 — Creativity, clarity and slowing down
• 20:00 — The science of witnessing and energy
• 23:00 — Feminine power and rising consciousness
• 26:00 — Heart Seats and the art of holding space
• 29:00 — Healing, belonging and reclaiming the feminine
• 31:00 — The sister wound: where it came from and how we heal it
• 36:00 — The call toward unity, connection and collective energy
• 38:00 — Women’s circles in the workplace
• 44:00 — Circles as catharsis: lightness after expression
• 48:00 — Amy’s vision for circle leadership and community
• 50:00 — Closing reflections: community as the golden thread of Season 2

✨ Enjoy an exclusive 15% discount for our Alive and Loving It community with the code ALIVEPOD-15 at checkout. Discover more at cytoplan.co.uk

This week’s episode is one that so many listeners have been waiting for. After receiving multiple requests from our Alive & Loving It community, Karen and Dr. Rosy welcome the extraordinary Joey Walters, founder of Rising Connected — a woman whose teachings have profoundly shaped Karen’s personal and professional path.

In this powerful, intimate conversation, Joey shares her journey from burnout in a high-pressure leadership career, to a decade of deep apprenticeship with Earth Wisdom teachers, to the emergence of her global work: Rising Connected, a community framework dedicated to awakening feminine truth, power and wisdom.

Together, the three women explore the transformative healing of circle work, the need for safe connection in a disconnected world, and the foundational framework of Rising Connected’s 8 Agreements, principles that help women return to authenticity, embodied presence, choice, integrity, awareness, heartmind, and relatedness.

This episode invites listeners into thesacred feminine paradigm: one that honours slowness, nervous-system regulation, emotional truth, and leadership rooted not in perfection, but in soul-led humanity.

References

• Rising Connected: www.risingconnected.com (Join Joey’s community & updates)
• Earth Wisdom Teachings
• Awakening Feminine Leaders (Joey’s earlier community)
• Women’s Fires (Joey’s free online online gatherings)

Karen’s Women’s Circles (based on The 8 Agreements) https://afreshidea.org/womens-circles/

Takeaways

• The ‘8 Agreements’ are a living framework for awakening.
• Circle work restores what the modern world has forgotten.
• Burnout can be a sacred threshold.
• Co-regulation is powerful medicine.
• Slowing down is a feminine superpower.
• Wintering is part of leadership.
• We are in a collective feminine awakening.

Chapters

• 00:00 – Welcome & Listener Requests
• 01:20 – Introducing Joey Walters
• 02:00 – Burnout & the Birth of Rising Connected
• 04:00 – Earth Wisdom Apprenticeship
• 07:40 – The Healing Power of Circle
• 13:00 – Masks, Speed & Feminine Suppression
• 18:00 – Feeling the Full Emotional Spectrum
• 20:00 – Distorted Power vs. True Power
• 24:00 – The Myth of Perfection Falls Away
• 29:00 – Rising Connected’s 8 Agreements
• 37:00 – Wintering & Inner Leadership
• 41:00 – How to Join Circles & Work with the Agreements
• 48:00 – Final Blessings on the Feminine Path

We’re proud to be sponsored by Cytoplan, a UK-based, practitioner-led supplement company offering ethically and sustainably sourced products to support your health and wellbeing.

✨ Enjoy an exclusive 15% discount for our Alive and Loving It community with the code ALIVEPOD-15 at checkout. Discover more at cytoplan.co.uk

Join our Alive and Loving it Community find the loving support that you need to change, grow and heal

This is more than a podcast, it’s a movement. A space to reignite your energy, find kindred spirits, align with your purpose, and step into a future of love, vitality, and limitless possibility.

🌟 Your kindred spirits are here! Visit www.aliveandlovingit.org for more resources, and follow us on Instagram

In this conversation, Karen and Rosy explore the new discoveries about the profound impact of being part of communities on our health and well-being. They discuss the importance of belonging, and feeling recognised and values, and the need for safe spaces where individuals can connect authentically. They explore how in previous times communities may have stifled our creative and rebellious natures, ostracising those of us who didn’t fit in. Whereas nowadays in these days of online connectivity, we can find our tribes and connect into many loving like-minded communities and networks.

The dialogue emphasizes that in these times we can both promote our individualism and lean into communities and networks that give us support, nourishment and validation. We also explore the therapeutic value of support networks which can enhance emotional health and reduce illness and hospital admissions. Through personal anecdotes and research, they illustrate the transformative potential of community in overcoming isolation and promoting holistic wellness.

Takeaways

• Community cohesion is a significant predictor of health and well-being.
• Belonging to a community enhances emotional health and decreases isolation.
• Vulnerability in groups where we feel safe fosters deeper connections.
• Creating safe spaces allows for authentic sharing and emotional healing.
• Shared purpose strengthens community bonds.
• We can now both fully individuate and find our tribe where our authentic self is valued.
• Experiencing love and kindness and giving service in community is healing.
• Communities can be formed both locally and online.
• Communities that work are ones which have a unified purpose
• Leadership in community requires wisdom and right-relationship to self, others and the planet.

Sound bites

"It's about receiving love and giving love."

"The power of the group is incredible."

"We are returning to thinking local whilst acting global."

Chapters

• 00:00 The Importance of Community
• 10:13 Belonging and Connection
• 19:35 The Power of Shared Purpose
• 29:32 Creating Safe Spaces
• 39:30 Embracing Vulnerability and Support

We’re proud to be sponsored by Cytoplan, a UK-based, practitioner-led supplement company offering ethically and sustainably sourced products to support your health and wellbeing.

✨ Enjoy an exclusive 15% discount for our Alive and Loving It community with the code ALIVEPOD-15 at checkout. Discover more at cytoplan.co.uk

Join our Alive and Loving it Community find the loving support that you need to change, grow and heal

This is more than a podcast, it’s a movement. A space to reignite your energy, find kindred spirits, align with your purpose, and step into a future of love, vitality, and limitless possibility.

🌟 Your kindred spirits are here! Visit www.aliveandlovingit.org for more resources, and follow us on Instagram

In this episode, Emma Chapman shares her transformative journey from hitting a wall of burnout after a hugely successful career in theatre and film PR in London, to packing up her life and heading off to India. After a re-balancing yoga retreat she journeyed through the length of India to find the craftsmen to help her create her jewellery designs based on the patterns and scared geometry of India. After being there a year, she returned with her first collection and won her first award as ‘Emerging Jeweller of the Year’ and being featured in London Fashion Week!

Still yearning for the colour and artistic soul food of India, she returned and spent ten years working her way deep into the trust, and hearts of the craftsmen and their families. Her beautiful pieces often feature the traditional skills and styles of five different artisans and have come to be valued as future heirloom pieces in the world of jewellery couture.

Emma discusses the burnout that led her to stop dead in her tracks in London which enabled her to seek a completely different life. She explains the challenges of navigating cultural differences as a woman jeweller in India, and how once successful, she managed to support her colleagues and their families through the hard times of COVID. Emma’s passion for her art took her deep into the artisanal communities of Rajasthan and Nepal earning her great love and respect both in the East and the West.

She emphasizes to us all the importance of listening to ourselves and acting when our true self comes knocking on our door, ready to burst into life! Her journey was risky and tough, taking her to her edge time and time again, but resulted in the great beauty that you can see for yourself in our Alive and Loving It Market Place! To catch a glimpse of her wonderful Indian experience, watch here

Emma is kindly offering a 10% discount to our Alive and Loving It community with use of the code ALIVE 10, along with the knowledge that investment in her pieces is supporting the families and communities she works with in the North of India.

Takeaways

• Emma's journey reflects the importance of following one's passion.
• Burnout can be a catalyst for significant life changes.
• Building trust and respect in business is essential, especially in foreign environments.
• Emma's jewellery is a blend of artistry and craftsmanship from many different artisans.
• Pursuing dreams often requires courage and determination.

Chapters

• 00:00 Introduction to Healing and Creativity
• 01:19 Emma's Journey in Theatre and Film
• 04:59 Burnout and the Need for Change
• 07:59 The Epiphany Weekend
• 10:17 Yoga and the Journey to India
• 12:28 Exploring Gemstones in Jaipur
• 15:55 Discovering Nepal's Craftsmanship
• 19:26 The Turning Point: Launching the Jewellery Collection
• 22:20 The Impact of Creativity on Healing
• 25:14 The Importance of Creativity and Play
• 26:32 Cultural Immersion: Finding Life in Colour
• 27:49 The Journey to Jaipur: A Leap of Faith
• 29:46 Navigating Gender Dynamics in Jaipur
• 31:54 Building Community and Trust in India
• 34:40 Jewellery Couture: Craftsmanship and Collaboration
• 40:29 Pursuing Dreams: The Courage to Change

✨ Enjoy an exclusive 15% discount for our Alive and Loving It community with the code ALIVEPOD-15 at checkout. Discover more at cytoplan.co.uk

🌟 Your kindred spirits are here! Visit www.aliveandlovingit.org for more resources, and follow us on Instagram

In this deeply moving conversation, Karen, Rosy, and guest Clare Palmer explore
what it means to live well within chronic illness. Clare shares her 20-year journey
with pain, headaches, tiredness and frustration with the medical system, to
discovering the life-changing power of self-connection, nervous system
regulation, and emotional sovereignty.

Through creative self-care practices like Heart Rate Variability (HRV) monitoring to
learn how to achieve cardiac coherence, Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT)
tapping, Yoga Nidra meditation, gratitude, journalling and grounding in nature, Clare has found a new balance. Whilst not cured, she has found the way to change her mindset, developing resilience, patience, self-compassion, and authenticity in a healing dance of re-integration of mind, body, and spirit.

Karen and Rosy reflect on the safe spaces, support and co-regulation it takes with
caring others to be safe enough to feel, grieve, and heal. Together, they invite
listeners to witness Clare’s inspiring story as a reminder that when we are hurting,
healing begins with listening to ourselves and connecting with ourselves to receive our own compassion and care.

Chapters

• 00:00 – Karen returns after illness and introduces Clare Palmer
• 02:00 – Clare’s story: from accident to chronic pain and fibromyalgia
• 05:00 – Discovering the limits of the medical system
• 07:30 – Meeting Rosy and the transformative impact of Health Creation
• 09:00 – The link between chronic stress, trauma, and illness
• 11:00 – Learning heart coherence and the physiological sigh
• 14:00 – Understanding heart rate variability and nervous system balance
• 18:00 – Gratitude, hope, and emotional sovereignty
• 21:00 – Co-regulation: calming energy through presence
• 25:00 – What “self-connection” really means
• 27:00 – EFT tapping and communicating safety to the body
• 29:00 – Mindset shift: from despair to belief in healing
• 30:00 – What doctors could do differently
• 34:00 – Clare’s daily rituals for grounding and coherence
• 37:00 – Not a victim: resilience, grief, and emotional honesty
• 40:00 – Creating safe spaces for deep healing
• 42:00 – Closing reflections: witnessing with love

We’re proud to be sponsored by Cytoplan, a UK-based, practitioner-led supplement company offering ethically and sustainably sourced products to support your health and wellbeing.

✨ Enjoy an exclusive 15% discount for our Alive and Loving It community with the code ALIVEPOD-15 at checkout. Discover more at cytoplan.co.uk

Join our Alive and Loving it Community find the loving support that you need to change, grow and heal

This is more than a podcast, it’s a movement. A space to reignite your energy, find kindred spirits, align with your purpose, and step into a future of love, vitality, and limitless possibility.

🌟 Your kindred spirits are here! Visit www.aliveandlovingit.org for more resources, and follow us on Instagram

In this fascinating conversation, Rosy welcomes her old friend and colleague Dr Alan Watkins, a physician and neuroscientist whose pioneering work bridges medicine, psychology, and emotional intelligence. Together they explore how our heart rate variability (HRV) reveals the story of our inner state — and how learning to regulate our emotions is the single most powerful thing we can do to improve our health, performance, and happiness.

Alan explains the science behind HRV and why coherence between heart, mind, and emotions is the foundation for resilience, vitality, and clear thinking. From his early medical research to his work with world leaders through his company Complete, Alan shows how measurable physiology can reveal everything from burnout to brilliance — and how emotional mastery can literally change our biology.

This is an inspiring, mind-opening episode about how to take back ownership of your inner world and unlock your natural intelligence.

Karen was resting this week after a bout of illness — beautifully modelling the message of this episode: to listen to your body, honour your energy, and give yourself permission to pause.

Takeaways

• What heart rate variability (HRV) really is and why it’s a powerful predictor of health, longevity, and resilience.
• How coherence — the alignment of heart rhythm, emotion, and thought — transforms our consciousness and creativity.
• The Complete Energy Audit: a breakthrough tool that helps leaders understand their true energy, stress, and resilience levels.
• The hidden link between chronic stress, low DHEA, and diseases of modern life — and why emotional dysregulation is the “superhighway” to illness.
• How emotional states like loneliness, depression, and anxiety impact recovery from cancer and heart disease.
• The “three big E’s” — exercise, eating, and emotions — and why mastering the one that happens every second of every day matters most.
• Simple, practical steps to start regulating your emotions: rhythmic breathing, naming and shifting emotions, and daily gratitude practices like the Five Blessings.
• Why self-regulation should be taught in schools — and how it can transform the way we live, learn, and lead.

Find out more about Dr Alan Watkins and his work at www.complete-coherence.com and explore his books including Coherence: The Secret Science of Brilliant Leadership and Reinventing Education.

Try the Five Blessings tonight: before bed, name five things you’re grateful for from your day. Share them aloud with someone if you can. Notice how your heart softens, your breathing slows, and your body shifts into coherence.

To do your own HRV monitoring:

Step 1 – Download the Complete App on a smart phone or computer

Step 2 – Purchase a connecting piece that picks up your heart beat from either your ear lobe with a clip or fingertip from www.kytofitness.com/en-gb/products/bluetooth-mobile-heart-rate-monitor-with-ear-clip-kyto2935

To enquire about having a Complete Energy Audit

Please contact kathryn@complete-coherence.com

To enquire about Training to work with HRV Monitoring

Please contact kathryn@complete-coherence.com

As part of their support for our podcast community, Cytoplan are offering an exclusive 15% discount. Use the code ALIVEPOD-15

In this episode, Karen Mellers and Dr. Rosy Daniel delve into the complex topic of stress, exploring its definition, impact on health, and the importance of recognizing and managing it.

They discuss the difference between external stress, which is harder to control, and self-stressing, which we can take charge of by changing our beliefs, assumptions, and behaviour patterns.

The conversation explores the idea of “good stress,” known as eustress, which is a healthy challenge that helps us reach peak performance. They also look at how “Nixon’s curve” shows that when stress increases too much, we move into poorer performance and eventually burnout.

Rosy explains the physical symptoms of chronic stress and how many illnesses are linked to stress in our lives. Karen and Rosy highlight the importance of awareness, breathwork, and mentorship in healing from stress, as we often need support to shift the limiting beliefs that keep us stuck in self-stressing.

The episode ends with a focus on the mind-body connection and the many ways we can bring ourselves back into balance if we are ready to let go of our stress habit.

Takeaways

• Stress is a normal response to demands on the body.
• Chronic stress can lead to serious health issues.
• Self-stress often comes from low self-esteem, perfectionism, excessive ambition, and approval-seeking behaviour.
• Recognizing stress, and especially self-stressing, is key to managing it effectively.
• Eustress can enhance performance, while too much stress can lead to burnout.
• Physical symptoms of stress include a racing heart, sweating, high blood pressure, and difficulty sleeping.
• Breathwork is a powerful way to calm the body and mind. Yoga breathwork is called Pranayama.
• Mentorship can provide support and help us transform the limiting beliefs that keep us stuck.
• Being aware of your stress triggers is essential for healing.
• Nature and co-regulation with others can significantly reduce stress.

Sound bites

“Stress manifests in many illnesses.”
“Healing starts with self-awareness.”

Chapters

00:00 Understanding Stress: The Body’s Response
03:06 The Balance Between Stress and Relaxation
05:53 The Impact of Stress on Health
09:02 Self-Stress: Internal vs. External Factors
12:09 Recognizing Stress: Signs and Symptoms
14:51 The Stress Curve: Eustress vs. Excess Stress
17:51 The Journey to Healing: Unpacking Stress
21:11 Physical Symptoms of Chronic Stress
25:16 The Journey of Self-Healing
26:16 Understanding the Role of Self-Worth and Self-Love
28:41 Breath as a Tool for Calmness
30:55 Reversing Our Limiting Beliefs
36:40 The Importance of Asking for Help
39:07 The Impact of Stress on Health
42:06 Finding Balance Through Mind-Body Practices
44:35 Self-Regulation and Emotional Awareness

We’re proud to be sponsored by Cytoplan, a UK-based, practitioner-led supplement company offering ethically and sustainably sourced products to support your health and wellbeing.

✨ Enjoy an exclusive 15% discount for our Alive and Loving It community with the code ALIVEPOD-15 at checkout.
Discover more at cytoplan.co.uk

Join our Alive and Loving it Community find the loving support that you need to change, grow and heal

This is more than a podcast, it’s a movement. A space to reignite your energy, find kindred spirits, align with your purpose, and step into a future of love, vitality, and limitless possibility.

🌟 Your kindred spirits are here! Visit www.aliveandlovingit.org for more resources, and follow us on Instagram