In this sacred space episode, Mel sits down with Loz Antonenko - personal trainer, integrative health coach, author, and a woman whose lived experience with grief, trauma, and chronic health challenges has reshaped her entire understanding of balance.

Together they explore what it means to listen beneath the noise: the emotional noise, the cultural noise, the internalised expectations, and how reconnecting with their own rhythm can guide us back to a life that is resilient, authentic, and aligned.

Loz shares her journey through a trilogy of losses and traumas that pushed her into extreme fitness, restrictive dieting, and the relentless pursuit of validation through social media. What began as coping slowly became obsession. It took her body breaking down for her to recognise the toxic culture she was living inside, and to begin advocating for her own wellbeing.

Grief, she says, "made me confront parts of myself I didn't want to know about". That confrontation became a turning point.

By asking 'What do I need?' Loz began the slow, steady work of finding balance - learning to pause, to recognise her limits, and to step away from a pace and identity that were never sustainable. Giving herself permission to stop became the doorway to rebuilding her life with intention.

Her journey moved from survival to purpose: shifting from a fear-driven mindset to one rooted in connection, service, and helping others avoid the same pitfalls. 

Where is your body asking you to pause, soften, or listen more deeply? What would it look like to rebuild at your own pace, from the inside out?

*Special thanks to the artists of Pixabay for their royalty-free music.

What happens when the body becomes the messenger we can no longer ignore?

Carolyn, Founder of Empowered Happiness, shares her journey through burnout, breast cancer, and later a brain tumour — a sequence of wake‑up calls that forced her to stop, listen, and finally honour what her body had been trying to tell her for years. She speaks candidly about the cost of pushing through, even in work she loved, and the cumulative stress that slowly eroded her health.

The episode explores:

• How the body signals imbalance long before the mind is willing to acknowledge it

• The difference between “being connected” and being chronically overstimulated

• Why cumulative stress becomes a physiological threat

• The courage it takes to stop, set boundaries, and choose yourself

• How compassion, breath, and heart‑based practices can restore balance

• What it means to rebuild a life that honours your needs, not your obligations

Drawing from her lived experience and her work as a kinesiologist, Carolyn offers a gentle, practical foundation for anyone seeking to reconnect with themselves — one that centres presence, self‑kindness, and the slow, steady return to balance.

In this opening episode of Season 3, Dr Mel Baker returns to the heart of what connects our previous season on self-love with this new exploration of inner balance. Mel reflects on her own relationship with her phone and the moment she realised how constant digital stimulation was shaping her body, her stress, and her ability to hear her inner voice. What we often mistake for connection is, in truth, overstimulation - a subtle but powerful force pulling us out of balance.

Mel also speaks to the recent shift toward teens stepping away from social media, and the surprising, hopeful impact this is having on their wellbeing. This generation may be the ones who lead adults back to stillness, presence, real connection, and healthier rhythms.

Throughout the episode, Mel invites listeners to consider balance not as a fixed state but as a living cycle - one that moves through rest, growth, contraction, expansion, and renewal. True longevity, she reminds us, comes from honouring these natural seasons rather than pushing against them.

She also revisits a powerful tool by NLP Trainer and Coach, Rik Schnabel, a practice that revealed a profound truth: we were always loved before life happened to us. For those interested in exploring this tool, you can find it here: Life Beyond Limits self-love audio.

Call to Action: What does finding balance mean for you in your life? This is a sacred invitation to honour your own cycles and seasons - to pause, to listen, to recalibrate, and to choose what truly sustains you. Are you willing?

What if children grew up fluent in self-compassion before self-criticism ever took hold? In this transformative conversation, child development specialist Aliesha Embleton founder of Sapling Minds invites us to imagine a world where emotional safety, self-awareness, and resilience are nurtured from the very beginning. 

Together, we explore how teaching self-compassion before the age of 14 can change the trajectory of the child's life, helping them embrace mistakes as part of growth, flip their natural empathy inward, and build a foundation that reduces mental health challenges later on. 

Aliesha reminds us that we have the choice now to raise a generation rooted in resilience and authenticity, children who lead from empathy rather than criticism. By instilling these skills early, we can help prevent burnout, shame, and self-abandonment later in life.

Aliesha is a passionate about her work as it equips families with practical strategies to nurture self-compassion in children, ensuring they grow up with the emotional tools to thrive. This episode is a call to action for all parents. 

*Special thanks to the artists of Pixabay for their royalty-free music.

In this Guest Glimpse, life coach and author Mark Worthington, whose latest book The Truth About Love, explores love's many dimensions. Mark's reflections on love are rooted in a profound spiritual awakening and personal transformation. Guided by metaphysical mentors, he has embodied self-love, healed karmic patterns, and now offers his wisdom through writing, coaching, and leadership. 

Mark speaks to: 

The frequency of love: when our vibration is high, ego faces and validation-seeking lessens.

Three pillars of love: self-love as the cornerstone, true love as the ultimate practice, and mirroring as the infinite intelligence. 

Karma and forgiveness: shifting from cycles of pain to restoration through self-forgiveness and clearing karmic patterns.

Soulmates and expectations: questioning the idea of "one soulmate for life" and reminding us that love resists rules.

Falling out of love: often a sign that the vibration of love has diminished, calling couples to grow through conscious relating.

Mark reminds us that "You are worthy of the love you hope for".

This episode invites us to release rigid expectations, be open to love's own power, and embrace conscious relating as a path to growth. 

*Special thanks to the artists of Pixabay for their royalty-free music.

This is an empowering, transformational exchange between Mel and Jaci, a trauma transformational coach and breathwork facilitator who previously served in the police force. Jaci shares her journey of separating from the identity of being "the cop who helps others" after leaving the force. She reflects on how victim support often felt like a tick-box exercise, and how that experience shaped her commitment to creating spaces where people can feel truly supported and vulnerable.

We explore:

• The challenge of letting go of an identity tied to service and authority.

• The power of stopping, even for a few minutes, to listen to what you need.

• Leading from within and the importance of genuine connection.

• Why self-compassion, though often foreign, is a critical act that sustains us and those we care for.

• Breathwork as a ceremony, where Jaci witnesses extraordinary transformations in her clients.

This is a conversation about identity, healing, and the practices that helps us sustain ourselves with self-compassion.

Healing begins when we create space to pause, listen, and lead from within.

Learn more about Jaci's work at www.jacirogash.com

*Special thanks to the artists of Pixabay for their royalty-free music.

Can self-compassion be the cure to break free from your relationship with alcohol?

In this guest glimpse, alcohol mindset coach Kathryn Elliott shares her powerful story of moving from shame and excuses into freedom and kindness. For years, alcohol carried weight and control in her life, accompanied by the heavy burden of shame. Kathyrn discovered that you cannot shame yourself into change - instead, the path forward is through self-compassion.

Drawing on Dr Kristin Neff's framework of mindfulness, common humanity, and self-kindness, Kathryn explains how these practices helped her transform her relationship with alcohol. Now, 6.5 years free, she offers tools for grounding, gentle self-love, and breaking generational patterns.

This episode is a reminder that self-compassion is not indulgence, it is a radical act of healing and leadership. Kathryn invites us to turn toward kindness, embrace our uniqueness, and step into freedom.

Join us for this glimpse into Kathryn's journey and discover how compassion can transform not only your relationship with alcohol, but your relationship with yourself.

*Special thanks to the artists of Pixabay for their royalty-free music.

In this energetic conversation, Lisa joins Mel to explore why self-compassion isn't a luxury, it's a neurological necessity. 

Lisa blends the science of mindset with the human side of growth, working at the intersection of psychology, neuroscience, and lived human behaviour. She brings clarity, grounded energy, and genuine passion, shaped by her own experience of navigating the tension between inner truth and outer expectation.

Together, we unpack: 

• Why self-compassion is often mistaken for weakness, and why that belief is harmful

• How guilt, perfectionism, and the pressure to perform wreak havoc on our nervous system

• The interconnection between self-love, self-compassion, self-acceptance, and self-validation

• Practical techniques that help us externalise stress and let it go

• Visual tools Lisa uses to help people shift perspective and reclaim focus

• Why starting small matters if self-compassion doesn't come naturally

Lisa reminds us that without self-compassion, there's no real growth—only burnout disguised as ambition. This episode offers cues and gentle practices to help you begin cultivating compassion for yourself today and why that is important.

Lisa Infante is a Mindset & Behaviour Specialist, Performance Coach, NLP Coach, and Founder of Courage to Change Collective.

*Special thanks to the artists of Pixabay for their royalty-free music.

In this soul-stirring episode, Mel sits down with Kijuan, a former U.S. Air Force Refuelling Specialist whose life was irrevocably altered by a devastating motorbike accident en route to duty. He spent a month in a coma and emerged into a world that would demand everything of him—physically, emotionally, and spiritually. 

But this is not a story of defeat, it's a story of radical resilience.

Kijuan reminds us that strength of character is not forged in ease, but in the decision to keep showing up. He leaves us with two imperative truths for anyone navigating trauma—truths that anchor us in hope, healing, and the courage to begin again.

His life now is devoted to empowerment, modelling what it means to rise, speak, and live with purpose.

Kijuan's book: Don't Focus on Why Me?

*Special thanks to the artists of Pixabay for their royalty-free music.

In this episode, I hold space for a story that is raw, transformative, and still unfolding. Loving the Unseen is the journey of Sam Angell - Founder of Angell Designs, queer and disabled branding designer, author of Built for Belonging, and passionate mental health advocate.

Sam grew up believing love meant accommodating others and never asking for help. That belief turned into a life where mind and body fought against everything, chaos became normal, and belonging felt out of reach. Addiction, homelessness, and undiagnosed ADHD, bipolar disorder, and autism shaped years of struggle often in and out of hospital beds - "where I ended and the chaos began."

To the outside world, it looked like self-destruction. But Sam was misunderstood, carrying the weight of believing they were the problem. Exhausted, unworthy, and unlovable, it all became too much... until Sam heard a whisper. 

In that whisper, Sam began to rebuild. Loving the Unseen meant breathing again, belonging, showing up authentically, and no longer proving themselves to anyone. Sam showed up for Sam. And in that act of radical self-love, they discovered renewal.

Sam shared with me: "I wholeheartedly believe our stories of survival aren't just meant to be endured. These stories can become the foundations for renewal."

This episode is a reminder that transformation is not a destination but a journey - one that honours the unseen, the misunderstood, and the deeply human struggle toward belonging.

*Special thanks to the artists of Pixabay for their royalty-free music.