What do raw chicken, tacos, and sangria have to do with boundaries and self-care?
Everything.

In this episode, I share three food-and-drink stories that turned into coaching metaphors I use all the time:
🍗 Don’t eat the raw chicken — when you ignore your intuition just to keep someone else comfortable.
🌮 Don’t give away all your tacos — when you automatically sacrifice your needs to feed others first.
🍷 Don’t dilute your sangria — when you refuse help, overextend yourself, and end up pouring from empty.

From cultural conditioning to motherhood myths, from driving on fumes in my first car (shout out to Cholita) to a powerful lesson I learned from my Curanderismo teacher—this episode is about fuel. Yours.

Because babygurl… your plate, your time, your energy?
They are yours to protect.
And the people who truly love you will want you well-fed—and well-fueled—body, mind, and soul.

🎧 Subscribe and share with anyone who needs this.

💬 Connect with me on IG @_colibricoaching and let me know what lands for you.

Why setting boundaries feels hard—and why it’s worth it

What happens after you discover your “hammer”—that old survival strategy that once protected you, but now needs an upgrade?

This episode is about what comes next: boundaries.

We’ll explore why setting them feels so hard (hint: unspoken contracts), what boundaries really are (they’re not walls), and how to start setting them—without betraying yourself or your relationships.

I’ll walk you through:

• The 5 types of boundaries everyone should know

• How to identify and rewrite unspoken contracts
• Real-life stories—from family dynamics to workplace gender roles
• A 4-step guide to setting boundaries that honor your needs
• A tiny morning practice to help you start protecting your peace

Plus, I share a deeply personal story about what happened when I told my ultra-Catholic mom I wasn’t baptizing my child—and the boundary I had to set when the guilt trip wouldn’t stop.

This one’s for every high-functioning people-pleaser, every “good daughter,” and every woman learning to choose herself.

📲 Connect with me on IG: @_colibricoaching
🎧 Subscribe to Dear Babygurl: Notes on Life, Leadership & Liberation, wherever you get your podcasts.

When All You Have Is a Hammer - A coaching deep-dive into survival skills, self-trust, and shadow work.

🛠️ Some tools got you through.
They earned you praise. 🙌🏼
They made you resilient.
But babygurl… they might also be burning you out. 🥵

✨In this episode, I break down one of my oldest coaching metaphors: the hammer. You know that go-to survival skill you reach for without thinking.

• Maybe it’s overdelivering.
• Maybe it’s people-pleasing.
• Maybe it’s doing everything yourself because trusting others feels… risky.

I share how I discovered my hammer—figuring things out on my own—and how that tool, while powerful, sometimes isolates me more than it protects me. (My wife will confirm this. I’m working on it, ok?!)

We’ll talk about the light and shadow sides of your hammer, why we’re not trying to get rid of it, and how to start building a fuller emotional toolkit—one that includes rest, receiving, softness, and trust.

You’ll also hear three powerful examples that might sound a little…familiar.

This is an invitation to honor what got you here—and gently ask: Is it still what you need now?

Because you don’t need to be in crisis to be worthy of care.
You don’t have to swing a hammer at everything.
You’ve got new tools now.

Let’s go build something softer. And stronger.

🎧 Subscribe and share with anyone whoneeds this.

💬 Connect with me on IG @_colibricoaching and let me know what lands for you.

✨ “Think you’re falling behind? Or are you just positioning for your next breakthrough?”

In this episode of Dear Babygurl, we talk about the moments in life that look like setbacks but are actually setting you up for your next big leap. I share the story of leaving a four-year university for community college—a choice that looked like I was “walking backward like a crab” (as my dad once told me) but became one of the best decisions of my life.

We explore:
🦀 Why your detours aren’t failures, they’re redirections
🏹 How intuition, research, and aligned action work together
🌊 The courage it takes to trust your own timing, even when it’s not linear

And we unpack what it means to let go of shame when your journey doesn’t look like everyone else’s, embracing the serendipitous moments and the slow, sacred pace your soul needs.

Whether you’re questioning your next move, sitting in a pause, or feeling “behind,” this episode is a reminder that sometimes you need to walk backward like a crab to leap forward like an arrow.

✨ Listen, share with someone who needs this, and let me know what lands for you.

🎧 Follow @_colibricoaching on IG for more notes on life, leadership, and liberation.

⚠️ TW: This episode includes discussion of deportation, environmental racism, and genocide. Please listen with care.

What do you do when your body won’t let you look away?

In this episode, I speak from the ache in my belly and the weight in my chest—brought on by recent ICE raids in California and the ongoing devastation in Gaza. I follow the signals in my body to trace a personal and politicaljourney: from being a fourth grader during Reagan’s IRCA immigration reform, to watching Prop 187 pass in California, to becoming a 14-year-old organizer after an explosion rocked my immigrant hometown of Wilmington, CA.

This is a story about how bodies carry fear… and truth. About how colonization, white supremacy, and state violence are connected, whether in East L.A. or Rafah. And how silence is a luxury some of us simply don’t have.

I offer historical context, personal memory, and ways to takeaction—because your heartbreak deserves somewhere to go.

✨ This episode includes reflections on:

• IRCA, Prop 187, and the roots of anti-immigrant policy
• How I became politicized at age 14 after a Texaco refinery explosion
• Mixed-status families and the trauma of proving you belong
• The genocide in Gaza and its connection to global systems of oppression
• The importance of solidarity, voting, and embodied resistance

🎗️If you're looking for ways to support immigrant rights and Palestinian-led efforts, here are a couple of organizations to consider:

• Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles (CHIRLA) https://www.chirla.org/?utm_source=chatgpt.com

• Central American Resource Center (CARECEN L.A.) https://www.carecen-la.org/?utm_source=chatgpt.com

• Palestine Children’s Relief Fund https://www.pcrf.net/

• Palestinian Medical Relief Society (PMRS) https://friendsofpmrs.org/

📰 If you're ready for alternative news outlets, these are two of my favorites:

• Democracy Now! https://www.democracynow.org/

• Al Jazeera https://www.aljazeera.com/

🎧 Subscribe and share with anyone who’s navigating rage, resistance, and tenderness all at once.

💬 Connect with me on IG @_colibricoaching
🌺 Let’s keep breathing—and keep building.

Bilateral Stimulation for Nervous System Care
Feeling overwhelmed, scattered, or totally shut down? This short, guided practice offers a gentle way to regulate your nervous system using bilateral stimulation—a method that rhythmically engages both sides of the body torestore balance.

In just a few minutes, you'll learn simple tools like the Butterfly Hug, slow eye movements, and even grounding stomps that you can use anywhere, whether you're anxious, frozen, or just holding too much.

These micro-episodes are here when you need a reset—perfect for busy mornings, anxious nights, or anytime your body is asking for care.

💛 Come back to this as often as you need.
🌀 And if it helps, share it with someone who could use a little nervous system love too.

With you always,
Carmen

📲 Connect with me on IG: @_colibricoaching
🎧 Subscribe to Dear Babygurl: Notes on Life, Leadership &Liberation wherever you listen.

Hey Babygurl - this bonus episode is part of a nervous system care series.

Are you feeling overwhelmed or untethered too?
These short guided practices invite you to reconnect with your body through the power of your breath.
We’ll slow down together and use diaphragmatic breathing, Box Breathing, and 4-6-8 breathing to regulate yournervous system, anchor you in the present, and remind you that you are safe.
🫶 One breath at a time, babygurl.

🎧 Subscribe wherever you listen topodcasts.

💌 Want to connect, share your story, orask a question? Find me on IG ⁠@_colibricoaching⁠

Hasta pronto.

✨ Hey Babygurl 🌈 Happy PRIDE Month!

⍰ In this episode, I share the story of a single question that cracked something open in me—and ultimately set me free.

😭 It starts wityh ugly crying in therapy and leads to a quiet rebellion: reclaiming my life from other people’s expectations.

💔 We talk about the ache of seeking approval, the truth about choosing yourself (spoiler: it hurts too), and how to begin when living your truth feels scary and messy.

❤️‍🩹 You’ll hear:

• A personal story about coming out, family rejection, and healing
• The moment my therapist handed me the keys to my own life
• Reflections on identity, performance, and cultural expectations
• 5 tangible ways to start choosing yourself—softly, boldly, and on your terms

🪻 This one’s for every good daughter, every rule-follower, every queer heart doing the hard work of becoming. Especially during Pride Month.

🐝 Let it sting if it needs to. And then… let it free you.

🌺 I love hearing what lands, connect with me on IG: @_colibricoaching

EPISODE 1: The Story Behind Dear Babygurl
Welcome to the very first episode of Dear Babygurl: Notes on Life, Leadership & Liberation.

This is the origin story—the why behind the mic.

This episode is for my niece, Lianna, who just became the second woman in our family to graduate from a four-year university. It’s for my younger self, who had to navigate so much with so little roadmap. And it’s for you—the brilliant, big-hearted, queer, BIPOC, first-gen soul learning to live and lead on your own terms.

In this episode, I share:
🌺 What it means to carry a legacy and rewrite it at the same time
🛠️ How 16+ years of coaching and therapy work have shaped the stories and tools I’ll share with you
🔥 And why it’s time we told our stories in our own voices—with tenderness, truth, and a little bit of side-eye

This isn’t just a podcast. It’s a love letter. A balm. A place to rest and rise.

Every episode is rooted in lived experience, ancestral wisdom, and the hundreds of coaching and therapy conversations I’ve held with women of color, LGBTQ+ leaders, first-gen changemakers, and visionaries like you.

Whether you're breaking cycles, setting boundaries, recovering from burnout, or dreaming a new life into being—I'm so glad you’re here.

✨ Let’s stay connected. Find me on IG @_colibricoaching for reflections, behind-the-scenes updates, and gentle reminders that you are not alone.

Welcome to Dear Babygurl—a podcast rooted in life, leadership, and liberation.

In this trailer, I’m introducing the heart behind the show: a love letter to my niece, my Babygurl. This podcast is also dedicated to my younger self and to every brilliant, big-hearted, queer, BIPOC, first gen soul learning to live and lead on their own terms.

You’ll get a feel for what’s coming: bi-weekly episodes filled with truth-telling, tenderness, and tools to help you shed the “shoulds,” center your joy, and lead with intention.

If you’ve ever felt like you’re figuring it out as you go—this podcast is for you.

Come through for stories, metaphors, and the kind of real talk that feels like sitting on your comadre’s couch, wrapped in a warm rebozo, remembering who the hell you are.

🎧 Subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts.

💌 Want to connect, share your story, or ask a question? Find me on IG @_colibricoaching Hasta pronto.