What if meditation isn't about clearing your mind at all?

In this re-released episode of Roots of the Rise, Sarah Hope explores Heart-Based Meditation—a simple yet powerful practice that has transformed her life for more than a decade. Unlike many meditation techniques that focus on controlling thoughts, Heart-Based Meditation welcomes thoughts as part of the process and teaches a practical integration tool called Heart-Centering, helping you bring greater calm, clarity, and resilience into everyday life.

Sarah shares her personal journey with meditation, the benefits she has experienced through consistent practice, and why this method continues to be her "ride-or-die" tool after ten years of daily use. You'll learn how meditation can support stress reduction, emotional regulation, improved relationships, greater self-awareness, better sleep, and a more grounded response to life's challenges.

Whether you're completely new to meditation, have struggled to maintain a practice, or are looking for a meditation method that creates meaningful change beyond the cushion, this episode offers a refreshing perspective on what meditation can be and how it can help you become more peaceful, resilient, and heart-centered in everyday life.

Topics Covered:
• Heart-Based Meditation explained
• The role of Heart-Centering in daily life
• Common meditation misconceptions
• Managing stress and anxiety naturally
• Emotional resilience and self-regulation
• Meditation for beginners
• Consistency versus perfection in practice
• How meditation improves relationships and parenting
• Creating lasting inner peace

Learn Heart Based Meditation

Questions or Comments? Message me!

Support the show

Interested in becoming a member and gaining access to notes, prompts, guided meditations and more? Listen to the membership episode to learn more, or Go here to check it out for one week free!

Stay connected by signing up for my newsletter or checking out all my offerings at www.risingwithsarah.com

Do you struggle to accept compliments, ask for help, or fully enjoy the good things in your life? You may think gratitude is simply about focusing on what's going well—but true gratitude also requires us to receive.

In this special re-release, Sarah revisits two powerful episodes from the Roots of the Rise archive: Gratitude vs. Scarcityand The Power of Receiving Gratitude. Together, these conversations explore how scarcity thinking shapes our lives, why we often focus on what's missing, and how discomfort with receiving can prevent us from fully experiencing the support, appreciation, love, and abundance already present around us.

You'll learn:

• The difference between a scarcity mindset and a gratitude mindset
• Why gratitude is a skill that can be developed
• How difficulty receiving compliments, help, or appreciation may be limiting your wellbeing
• The connection between self-worth and receiving
• Practical ways to cultivate gratitude and allow yourself to take in the good

If you've ever found yourself minimizing compliments, turning down help, or feeling uncomfortable when others acknowledge your contributions, this episode is for you.

Because gratitude isn't only about noticing what's good. It's also about allowing yourself to receive it.

Topics discussed: gratitude, scarcity mindset, abundance, receiving help, self-worth, personal growth, emotional wellbeing, mindfulness, self-awareness, gratitude practice, receiving compliments, emotional health, intentional living.

Questions or Comments? Message me!

Support the show

Interested in becoming a member and gaining access to notes, prompts, guided meditations and more? Listen to the membership episode to learn more, or Go here to check it out for one week free!

Stay connected by signing up for my newsletter or checking out all my offerings at www.risingwithsarah.com

Should you journal? What if you don't know what to write about? And does journaling really improve mental health?

In this re-released episode of Roots of the Rise, Sarah Hope explores several powerful journaling methods and how each can support self-awareness, emotional healing, stress reduction, and personal growth. Whether you're brand new to journaling or looking to deepen an existing practice, you'll discover simple approaches that make journaling feel accessible and meaningful.

Sarah discusses:

• Line-a-day journaling for capturing memories and tracking growth over time
• Morning pages for mental clarity, intention-setting, and reducing overwhelm
• Integration journaling to process retreats, healing work, difficult conversations, and major life experiences
• Stream-of-consciousness writing for breaking through mental blocks and accessing deeper insight
• The research-backed expressive writing protocol shown to improve both mental and physical health

You'll also learn why journaling doesn't have to be perfect, why typing can be just as effective as handwriting, and how to avoid the common trap of "pretty journals" that never get used.

If you've ever wondered how to start a journaling practice, what type of journal is right for you, or whether journaling is actually worth the effort, this episode offers practical guidance and encouragement to help you begin.

Because journaling isn't necessarily about keeping a record of your life. It's about creating a conversation with yourself.

Companion journaling prompts and resources available for Patreon members

Resources:

Line a Day Journal

Huberman: A Science-Supported Journaling Protocol to Improve Mental & Physical Health

Related Episodes:

Episode 53 - Know Who You Are: The Foundation of Authentic Living

Episode 54 - Why Loving Who You've Been Can Change Everything

Questions or Comments? Message me!

Support the show

Interested in becoming a member and gaining access to notes, prompts, guided meditations and more? Listen to the membership episode to learn more, or Go here to check it out for one week free!

Stay connected by signing up for my newsletter or checking out all my offerings at www.risingwithsarah.com

We're halfway through the year—a perfect time to pause, reflect, and ask an important question:

Are you prioritizing your priorities?

Many of us started the year with goals, intentions, and plans for personal growth, better habits, healthier relationships, and a more balanced life. But as the months pass, it's easy to become overwhelmed by daily responsibilities and lose sight of what truly matters.

In this special re-release of Episodes 30 and 38, Sarah explores how to identify your most important priorities, align your time and energy with your values, and create a more intentional life. You'll learn a simple but powerful framework for evaluating where your attention is going, determining which areas of your life need the most support, and recognizing when it's time for a personal reset.

In the follow-up listener Q&A, Sarah answers a common question: How often should we revisit our priorities? She shares practical guidance for recognizing the signs of burnout, overwhelm, and misalignment—and how to recalibrate before those feelings take over.

Whether you're feeling stretched too thin, struggling with work-life balance, pursuing personal development goals, or simply looking for a mindful mid-year check-in, this episode offers a compassionate invitation to slow down, reflect, and reconnect with what matters most.

Because intentional living isn't about doing more. It's about making sure the things receiving your energy are the things that matter most.

Questions or Comments? Message me!

Support the show

Interested in becoming a member and gaining access to notes, prompts, guided meditations and more? Listen to the membership episode to learn more, or Go here to check it out for one week free!

Stay connected by signing up for my newsletter or checking out all my offerings at www.risingwithsarah.com

What if inner growth didn’t have to feel overwhelming? What if meaningful transformation could happen through small, consistent steps rather than massive overhauls?

Roots of the Rise brings the spiritual and practical together through bite-sized wisdom, grounded tools, and guided self-inquiry—all designed to help you create meaningful change without adding more overwhelm to your life.

Episodes explore emotional intelligence, mindfulness, meditation, nervous system regulation, self-compassion, relationships, personal growth, spiritual development, authentic alignment, and more. Some are practical. Others are reflective. All are created to offer insights you can integrate into your everyday life.

Whether you’re a seasoned seeker looking for fresh inspiration or just beginning to explore your inner world, Roots of the Rise will meet you where you are. For those who want to go deeper, many episodes are accompanied by guided contemplations, worksheets, reflection prompts, and other supportive resources through the Rising with Sarah membership community on Patreon.

Host Sarah Hope draws from her experience as an Ayurvedic Health Practitioner, Spiritual Mentor, Meditation Teacher, Biodynamic Craniosacral Therapist, and Energy Healer to share a wide range of healing practices and transformative tools—always with the understanding that every path is unique.

Her approach is grounded not only in professional expertise, but also in lived experience. Having navigated childhood trauma, grief, depression, and profound personal transformation, Sarah brings compassion and authenticity to every episode. The result feels less like instruction and more like an invitation: to explore your own path with curiosity, courage, and self-compassion.

If you’re ready to cultivate greater peace, clarity, resilience, and self-trust, follow Roots of the Rise and take your next grounded step toward authentic alignment.

Know who you are.
Love who you’ve been.
Become who you’re here to be.

Questions or Comments? Message me!

Support the show

Interested in becoming a member and gaining access to notes, prompts, guided meditations and more? Listen to the membership episode to learn more, or Go here to check it out for one week free!

Stay connected by signing up for my newsletter or checking out all my offerings at www.risingwithsarah.com

Your plan can be responsible, well thought out, and still quietly stop fitting. That’s where we start: the uncomfortable moment when I realize I can produce another podcast episode on sheer willpower, but the spark is gone and the pushing feels like a clue, not a virtue. If you’ve been forcing a timeline, a habit, a relationship dynamic, or a version of success that used to make sense, this is your permission slip to call it what it might actually be: recalibration.

I share the practical reason I missed a release (a painfully scratched cornea) and the deeper truth underneath it: a months-long internal shift that’s been asking me to slow down and listen. Along the way, I tell the story of a health journey that led me to try a GLP-1 medication (Zepbound) and the spiritual and emotional resistance that came with it, especially the fear of judgment and the belief that accepting help means I’m “cheating.” This is not medical advice, but it is an honest look at the mind-body connection, postpartum weight struggles, cardiovascular risk factors like lipoprotein(a), and what it can feel like when your favorite healing tools work in many areas but not in the one place you want them to most.

The biggest surprise wasn’t weight loss. It was the quiet. With the mental noise turned down, I could finally see patterns I’d normalized for years: destination addiction, overwork, and the way worthiness chasing can hide inside ambition. That realization leads to a clear choice: I’m taking the summer off from new episodes so I can rest, integrate, and actually live the life I keep saying I’m trying to protect. I’ll re-release some of the most useful conversations, and members will get bonus contemplations and guided practices to go deeper.

If you’re changing your mind this summer, I’d love to hear what you want more of when I’m back in September. Subscribe, share this with a friend who needs a reset, and leave a review, then tell me: what are you ready to stop forcing?

Suggested Resources:

Dr. Peter Attia's book Outlive

Dr. Peter Attia speaking with Dr. Benoit Arsenault about Lp(a) and it's impact on heart disease

Dr. Salas-Whalen's book Weightless

Mel Robbins talking with Dr. Salas-Whalen about obesity and Ozempic

Questions or Comments? Message me!

Support the show

Interested in becoming a member and gaining access to notes, prompts, guided meditations and more? Listen to the membership episode to learn more, or Go here to check it out for one week free!

Stay connected by signing up for my newsletter or checking out all my offerings at www.risingwithsarah.com

What if the thing keeping you stuck isn’t reality… but the story you keep telling yourself about it?

In this re-released episode of Roots of the Rise, Sarah Hope explores the “BS” that quietly shapes our lives: belief systems. From confirmation bias and inherited family patterns to unconscious loyalty, identity, and self-sabotage, this episode dives into why we cling to limiting beliefs—even when they hurt us—and how those beliefs shape our relationships, self-worth, healing, and future.

You’ll learn:

• How confirmation bias reinforces limiting beliefs
• Why familiar suffering can feel safer than change
• The difference between illusion and vision
• How inherited relationship and family patterns affect your life
• Why some people stay stuck in painful cycles
• Practical ways to begin questioning the beliefs that no longer serve you

This episode also includes powerful reflection questions to help you uncover the unconscious stories driving your thoughts, emotions, and behaviors.

Perfect for anyone interested in:

• personal growth
• self-awareness
• nervous system healing
• mindset work
• emotional healing
• spirituality and psychology
• breaking old patterns
• healing limiting beliefs
• shadow work and self-inquiry

Plus: Patreon members can access a companion handout and a guided visualization designed to help you release beliefs that are keeping you from becoming the next version of yourself.

Related Episodes:

Episode 99 - Common Limiting Beliefs That Keep You Out of Alignment

Episode 101 - Limiting Beliefs and Language: How to Recognize and Reframe Thoughts That Hold You Back

Questions or Comments? Message me!

Support the show

Interested in becoming a member and gaining access to notes, prompts, guided meditations and more? Listen to the membership episode to learn more, or Go here to check it out for one week free!

Stay connected by signing up for my newsletter or checking out all my offerings at www.risingwithsarah.com

In this episode of Roots of the Rise, we’re exploring why honest communication can feel so emotionally difficult — both for the person giving feedback and the person receiving it.

If you’ve ever carefully rehearsed a difficult conversation, softened your tone, tried so hard to say something kindly… only to have the other person still hear criticism, rejection, or attack, this episode is for you.

We’ll talk about why feedback so often activates shame, defensiveness, and nervous system dysregulation, and how nonviolent communication can help us express ourselves with greater clarity, honesty, and care. You’ll learn the difference between criticism and constructive feedback, why timing and tone matter so much, how to communicate needs and requests more effectively, and why healthy communication is ultimately about repair — not perfection.

This episode also explores:

• Why people become defensive
• The connection between feedback, shame, and perfectionism
• How to give feedback without emotional dumping
• The difference between requests and demands
• How to stay honest without becoming cruel
• Why you can’t control how someone receives your feedback
• The role of nervous system regulation in communication and conflict

Whether you struggle to speak up, fear conflict, tend to people-please, or simply want healthier and more connected relationships, this episode offers practical tools and compassionate insight to help you communicate more effectively.

Episode 69 - When "Please" Becomes Pressure: Understanding Requests vs. Demands and Why it Matters

Questions or Comments? Message me!

Support the show

Interested in becoming a member and gaining access to notes, prompts, guided meditations and more? Listen to the membership episode to learn more, or Go here to check it out for one week free!

Stay connected by signing up for my newsletter or checking out all my offerings at www.risingwithsarah.com

In this episode of Roots of the Rise, we explore why feedback can feel so deeply personal — and why some people hear criticism even when constructive feedback is being offered. Sarah Hope dives into the connection between shame, perfectionism, defensiveness, trauma, and the nervous system, explaining how past experiences shape the way we receive correction, guidance, and emotional discomfort.

You’ll learn the difference between criticism vs feedback, why defensiveness is often a form of self-protection rather than ego, how perfectionism creates fear around mistakes, and why being corrected can sometimes feel like rejection. This episode also offers practical tools for receiving feedback with more curiosity, self-awareness, emotional regulation, and discernment — without collapsing into shame.

If you struggle with taking things personally, feeling overly sensitive to criticism, people pleasing, perfectionism, or emotional defensiveness, this conversation will help you better understand yourself and others with greater compassion.

Topics include:

• criticism vs feedback
• shame and the nervous system
• perfectionism and self-worth
• defensiveness and emotional triggers
• taking things personally
• emotional regulation
• healing shame
• self-awareness and growth
• trauma responses and feedback
• learning how to receive feedback in healthy ways

Related Episodes:

Episode 6 - Curiosity Required

Episode 55 - Breaking the Silence: How Shame Holds Us Back and How to Heal

139. Learn The Four Agreements And Start Living With More Peace and Clarity

Questions or Comments? Message me!

Support the show

Interested in becoming a member and gaining access to notes, prompts, guided meditations and more? Listen to the membership episode to learn more, or Go here to check it out for one week free!

Stay connected by signing up for my newsletter or checking out all my offerings at www.risingwithsarah.com

You know that moment when a single text or offhand comment sends your brain into a full replay marathon? We’ve been there, and we wanted a cleaner way out than spiraling, mind reading, and self-judgment. So we’re digging into Don Miguel Ruiz’s The Four Agreements, a personal growth classic with four deceptively simple commitments that can reshape your communication, your relationships, and your inner peace.

We walk through Be Impeccable With Your Word and why integrity matters as much in your self-talk as it does in what you say out loud. Then we move into Don’t Make Assumptions, where so much unnecessary suffering starts, and share practical ways to trade “always/never” stories for clear questions, curiosity, and tools like nonviolent communication. If you’ve noticed people pleasing patterns or you catch yourself agreeing with things you know aren’t true just to keep things smooth, this part lands hard.

From there, we tackle Don’t Take Anything Personally, one of the toughest agreements, and unpack how criticism hurts most when a part of us already believes it. We also cover Always Do Your Best, a self-compassion practice that replaces perfectionism with an honest view of capacity that changes day to day. Along the way we mention Byron Katie’s The Work as a powerful way to question the stories that keep you reactive.

If you want more clarity, less conflict, and a calmer mind, listen now. Subscribe, share this with a friend who overthinks, and leave a review so more people can find the show. What’s the hardest agreement for you to live right now?

Questions or Comments? Message me!

Support the show

Interested in becoming a member and gaining access to notes, prompts, guided meditations and more? Listen to the membership episode to learn more, or Go here to check it out for one week free!

Stay connected by signing up for my newsletter or checking out all my offerings at www.risingwithsarah.com