JOY Unfiltered: Choose Joy on Purpose

What if the nervous system regulation tools you've been using are just band-aids? In this episode, Rachel sits down with Dr. Alena Candova — chiropractor, neurocoach, and author of Grace Over Grit — for a rich, science-meets-soul conversation about what it actually takes to create lasting change in the body and mind.

Dr. Alena's journey began with yoga in her twenties during a difficult season, eventually leading her through chiropractic training, somatic therapy, and subconscious reprogramming work. What she discovered along the way? Most of us are using emergency regulation tools — breathwork, cold exposure, quick resets — without ever addressing the deeper nervous system wiring underneath.

In this episode, you'll learn:

Why nervous system regulation is so much more than calming down in a triggered moment — and what neuroplasticity-based rewiring actually looks like

The three-layer framework Dr. Alena uses: neurocognitive awareness → interoceptive awareness → emotional resolution

How to find your body's baseline (especially if chronic stress has made it hard to feel anything at all)

The neuroscience behind the 90-second rule — why allowing a physiological response to complete for just 60–90 seconds can actually dissolve it

Why you don't have to process the story of your emotions — just the raw neurochemical reaction in your body

What "co-regulation" is and why working with a skilled practitioner can fast-track your healing in ways solo work often can't

Simple daily practices to start building interoceptive awareness right now — no yoga mat required

Why joy is fleeting for so many high-achievers — and how subconscious blocks and a narrow nervous system capacity are often the culprit

Dr. Alena also shares a client story that will give you chills: after deep work together, her client triggered, gave herself a "session" at home, and said it felt like being in the room with Dr. Alena. That's the kind of inner authority this work is building toward.

Connect with Dr. Alena Candova:

Website: satvaintegralhealth.com

Book (Grace Over Grit): available on Amazon

Email for a free PDF overview: [email protected]

AI Concierge: available directly on her website Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com

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Guest: Alena Candova — Chiropractor, Neurocoach, and Author of Grace Over Grit

Episode Description

What if the reason you can't sustain joy isn't a mindset problem — it's a nervous system problem? Alena Candova joins me to talk about the deeper wiring beneath our behaviors, why "nervous system regulation" is so much more than a buzzy breathing exercise, and how to finally stop repeating the patterns that keep joy just out of reach.

In This Episode

Why most nervous system regulation tools are just band-aids — and what lasting rewiring actually looks like

The difference between emergency regulation and neuroplasticity-based practice

How to develop interoceptive awareness so your body can tell you what it needs before you hit a breaking point

The 90-second rule: what neuroscientist Jill Bolte Taylor discovered about emotional activation

Why you don't have to process the emotional story — just the neurochemical reaction underneath it

How co-regulation with a skilled practitioner creates the safety your nervous system needs to release old patterns

What it means when joy feels fleeting — and what that tells you about subconscious blockages

Simple daily practices to start building nervous system flexibility today

Alena's 3-Layer Framework

Layer 1 — Neurocognitive Awareness: Recognize your nervous system's behavioral patterns — fight/flight vs. freeze/withdraw — and separate your identity from the activation.

Layer 2 — Interoceptive Awareness: Tune into subtle body signals (jaw tension, chest tightness, clenched fists) before the amygdala takes over. Catch the pattern early.

Layer 3 — Emotional Resolution: Allow the nervous system to complete the stifled neurochemical charge — not by reliving the story, but by letting the body process and release.

Quotable Moment

"Joy is a state of inner freedom. And when something bad happens and it hits me, if I've done the work, I have my feet on the ground. I know who I am. It's not going to shake me as badly." — Alena Candova

Where to Find Alena

Website: www.sattvaintegralhealth.com

Book: Grace Over Grit — available on Amazon

Free nervous system overview PDF: [email protected]

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What if the next version of you does not require more hustle?

What if she requires more safety?

In this episode of Joy Unfiltered, Rachel sits down with Melissa Hoffman, holistic mindset coach and breathwork facilitator, to talk about nervous system regulation, subconscious belief work, identity alignment, and what it really means to feel safe being seen.

Melissa shares her journey from corporate sales to luxury makeup artistry to coaching women entrepreneurs through the deeper inner work of confidence, visibility, and business growth. After years of helping women feel beautiful on the outside, she realized many of them were still struggling with fear, self-doubt, and the belief that who they were was not enough.

Now, through hypnosis, NLP, EFT tapping, somatic breathwork, and nervous system work, Melissa helps high-achieving women entrepreneurs grow their businesses with more ease, authenticity, confidence, and capacity.

Rachel and Melissa explore the fear of visibility, imposter syndrome, subconscious rewiring, breathwork, emotional regulation, heart rate variability, and why a flexible nervous system may be one of the most underrated business tools a woman can develop.

Because success is not just about what you build.

It is about who your body feels safe becoming.

Melissa Hoffman is a holistic mindset coach and breathwork facilitator who helps high-achieving women entrepreneurs regulate their nervous systems, rewire subconscious beliefs, and embody the version of themselves who feels safe being seen, fully expressed, and abundantly paid.

Through her signature blend of nervous system work and identity alignment, Melissa guides women to grow their businesses with ease, confidence, and authenticity without the hustle.

Before becoming a coach, Melissa spent 12 years as a luxury makeup and hair artist, helping women feel beautiful and confident for weddings, photo shoots, and brand sessions. That work revealed a deeper calling: helping women feel confident not just for a day, but from the inside out.

www.melissahoffmann.com

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What if the next level of leadership is not about pushing harder, doing more, or proving yourself again and again?

What if it is about awareness?

In this episode of Joy Unfiltered, Rachel sits down with Steve Barton, executive coach, author, and creator of Game of Ten, an awareness-based framework that helps leaders operate with greater clarity, confidence, peace of mind, and purpose.

Steve shares how many high-achieving leaders are operating from fear, self-doubt, guilt, or shame without even realizing it. Through his Game of Ten framework, he explains how we can begin to recognize those thought patterns, let them go, and return to a deeper truth:

I am enough.
 I do enough.
 I have enough.

Rachel and Steve talk about awareness, overthinking, leadership, emotional clarity, intuition, the power of the present moment, and why “enough” may be one of the most powerful words in both life and leadership.

This conversation is part practical, part spiritual, part brain science, and fully human.

Because joy is not fluffy.
 Awareness is not extra.
 And leadership does not have to be powered by pressure.

Guest Bio

Steve Barton is an executive coach, author, and creator of Game of Ten, a powerful awareness-based framework that helps leaders operate at their highest level of clarity, confidence, and performance.

With over 30 years of real-world business experience, Steve grew a company from $200,000 to $2 million in annual revenue. His work blends practical business strategy with deep insight into human awareness, decision-making, and emotional intelligence.

Steve has presented his coaching process to the Harvard Business School case study team and works with executives, entrepreneurs, and high achievers who want more than financial success. They want peace of mind, stronger relationships, and a clear sense of purpose.

He is also the author of The Father, the Son, and the Aha Moment and is currently writing his next book focused on helping leaders and professionals develop the mindset, emotional clarity, and inner alignment needed to succeed in both business and life.

Steve Barton Coaching

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What if the first few minutes after waking could change the way you experience your entire day?

In this episode of Joy Unfiltered, Rachel talks about the science of the waking brain, theta brain waves, nervous system regulation, priming, gratitude, and how to “brainwash” yourself for more joy.

Not in a toxic positivity way.

Not in a pretend-life-is-perfect way.

In a grounded, practical, science-backed way.

You’ll learn why your brain is especially open during the transition from sleep to waking, how your first inputs can shape your mood and attention, and what to do before reaching for your phone.

Rachel shares a simple 5-minute joy reset you can try this week:

Take three breaths.
 Ask one joy question.
 Choose one sentence.
 Do one joyful thing.

Because joy is not waiting at the end of the day.

Joy is available at the beginning.

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In this episode of Joy Unfiltered, Rachel sits down with Anni Eza, mental health expert, master healer, shadow priestess, teacher, and co-founder of Seeds of Bliss.

Annie brings a powerful perspective on healing, nervous system resonance, shadow work, fear, grief, and what it means to expand your capacity to hold the life you actually want.

This conversation explores why the nervous system often chooses what is familiar over what is freeing, why shadow work is not about “getting rid” of the dark parts of ourselves, and how grief, fear, anger, and joy all belong in the full human experience.

Rachel and Annie also talk about the difference between living from endurance and living from capacity, especially for high-functioning leaders, nurturers, creatives, and people who are used to holding everything together.

This episode is a beautiful reminder that you are not broken. You are not here to fix yourself into perfection. You are a miracle in progress.

Connect with Anni:

https://seedsofbliss.life
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What does it actually mean to be the change — not just talk about it? In this episode, Rachel sits down with Jaclyn Orent, cultural catalyst and CEO of the Cultural Catalyst Network, for a rich conversation about inner transformation, feminine leadership, and what it really takes to shift culture from the inside out.

Jaclyn shares her remarkable journey — from a 36-day water fast that cracked her world open, to building a science-backed framework that helps purpose-driven leaders create exponential cultural change. If you've ever felt like you've achieved what you set out to achieve and wondered now what? — this episode is for you.

In this episode, you'll hear about:

• How a 36-day water fast became the unlikely catalyst for Jaclyn's transformation and life's work
• What a "cultural catalyst" actually is — and how to know if you are one
• The Cultural Catalyst System: visioning, setting impossible frames, and why your goals might be keeping you stuck
• Why feminine leadership is rooted in desire rather than force — and how that distinction prevents burnout
• The Positive Emotional Attractor (PEA) and why your vision has to truly light you up to fuel change
• Why purpose-driven leaders are siloed right now — and what happens when they connect
• EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique) as a tool for expanding leadership capacity
• The Gene Keys and finding your unique path to self-actualization
• Why joy, love, and inner states are not "fluffy" — they produce quantifiable, exponential outcomes

Resources & Links Mentioned:

• 🌐 Cultural Catalyst Network & 15-page synopsis: culturalcatalysts.net
• 🌐 Cultural Catalyst Initiation (half-day to full-day experience with Jaclyn & Tracy): culturalcontribution.com
• 🌐 World Tapping Circle (EFT library with 300+ videos by Sonia Sophia): available at culturalcatalysts.net
• 📖 Gene Keys by Richard Rudd
• 📖 Science of Scaling by Dr. Benjamin Hardy
• 📖 Power vs. Force by David Hawkins
• 🔬 Intentional Change Theory (Richard Boyatzis)

Connect with Jacqueline Orand:

• Website: culturalcatalysts.net

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What if the goal was never to simply endure more?

After starting with one of the hardest endurance races in the world, Rachel learned a truth that reaches far beyond athletics: just because you can endure something does not mean endurance should become your life strategy.

This episode introduces Rachel’s Joy-Led Leadership framework and the four shifts at the heart of The JOY Collective:

Joy over Endurance
 Regulation over Urgency
 Integration over Compartmentalization
 Community over Competition

This is not about forced happiness, toxic positivity, or pretending life is easy. It is about building a new model of power where joy becomes strategic infrastructure, leadership becomes more sustainable, and women no longer have to abandon themselves in order to succeed.

If you have ever been praised for carrying too much, leading through pressure, holding it all together, or proving how strong you are by how exhausted you are, this conversation is for you.

Joy is not the reward.

Joy is the strategy.

Let’s use it.

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What if productivity wasn’t about doing more…
 but about missing less of your life?

In this insightful and refreshingly honest conversation, Rachel sits down with Angela Jamieson - former petroleum engineer turned author, speaker, and creator of Relaxed Productivity - to challenge everything you thought you knew about success.

Angela shares how a deeply personal loss led her to rethink life, work, and what actually matters—and how she now helps high-achieving professionals slow down mentally so they can show up more fully in their lives.

This isn’t about doing less.
 It’s about living more.

🎙️ In this episode, we explore:

•  The hidden cost of “doing everything right” 
•  Why your brain might be working against you (and how to override it) 
•  The real meaning of productivity beyond work 
•  How stress can actually point you toward what matters most 
•  The power of stepping back to see the bigger picture 
•  Why joy, presence, and success belong in the same sentence 

And yes… we also talk about her unforgettable book:
 https://mybook.to/2to1book - a wildly creative, hilarious, and surprisingly profound take on personal growth. 💩➡️🥇

Website: https://www.angelajamieson.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/angejamieson

Freebie: The Glide Test: https://www.angelajamieson.com/glidetest

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What if joy isn’t something you wait for… but something you build?

In this episode of Joy Unfiltered, Rachel breaks down the science and strategy behind joy—and how fun, variety, and happiness work together to create a life that actually feels good.

Blending research from leading experts like Arthur Brooks, Catherine Price, Kelly McGonigal, Ross Gay, and Shawn Achor with her own ENJOY Method™, Rachel shows you how to move from checking boxes to truly experiencing your life.

You’ll learn:

•  Why happiness alone isn’t enough (and what’s missing) 
•  The real definition of fun—and why it matters more than you think 
•  How movement creates joy in your body (not just results) 
•  Why variety is the secret to feeling alive again 
•  How noticing small moments can rewire your brain for joy 
•  Rachel’s “Macros of Joy” and how to use them daily 

This isn’t about doing more.

It’s about feeling more… with what you already have.

🎯 Your takeaway: Joy isn’t the reward. It’s the way forward.

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• Joy-Led Leadership Forum
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