In this episode, we sit down with forest therapy guide and artist Brittany Carr for a soulful conversation about nature, nervous systems, and remembering our place within the living world. What begins with playful astrology and easy rapport unfolds into a rich exploration of forest bathing (Shinrin-yoku), environmental stewardship, and the healing power of slowing down.

We talk about Brittany’s journey from corporate life and art into becoming a certified forest therapy guide, including the leap of faith it took to follow a calling rooted in nature, community, and care. Brittany shares what forest therapy actually is, where it originated, and why having a guide can transform a simple walk in the woods into a deeply restorative, sensory experience.

Together, we explore the science behind nature’s impact on physical and mental health, the consequences of modern disconnection from the Earth, and the importance of reciprocity; moving from seeing nature as a resource to honoring it as our home. We also weave in conversations about mindfulness, nervous system safety, awe, presence, and learning to move at “Earth speed” in a culture that pushes constant stimulation.

This episode is an invitation to slow down, tune in, and remember that healing, personal and collective, often begins with simply paying attention.

In This Episode, We Explore:

• Brittany’s path from artist to forest therapy guide

• What forest bathing (Shinrin-yoku) really is and how it supports your health

• The science behind nature’s impact on the nervous system

• Mindfulness, sensory awareness, and slowing down in a fast-paced world

• Environmental stewardship, reciprocity, and nature’s rights

• How reconnecting with nature supports creativity, healing, and presence

• Ways to integrate nature-based practices into everyday life

Connect with Brittany:

• Learn about Brittany’s forest therapy sessions, guided hikes, and community offerings on Instagram at @rootinginnature

What’s Next:
Stay tuned cause we’re dreaming into future collaborations rooted in nature, community, and healing with plans to reconnect and explore offerings together in the spring and early summer!!!

Thanks for listening, remember to share, rate, comment, and spread the word about this Pod! <3

In this episode, we sit down with spiritual relationship coach and intuitive healer Karolin Velliste for a soul-deep (and silly) conversation about love as a spiritual path, conscious partnership, and the unseen realms that shape our relationships.

Together, we explore what it means to experience love as service, how soul contracts can influence romantic bonds, and the delicate dance between science and spirituality. Karolin shares her journey from environmental studies to spiritual coaching, including the mystical experience that awakened her to the invisible threads connecting us all after years of atheism.

We also dive into:

• How to navigate healthy conflict in long-term relationships

• The difference between sacred challenge and staying in misalignment

• Discernment, timing, and trusting divine orchestration

• The role of nature, spirit, and harmony in healing relational patterns

• What it really means to return to love in everyday moments

I bring my own stories of heartbreak, healing, and spiritual awakening into the conversation—creating an honest, grounded look at what conscious love looks like in real life.

If you’re curious about soul contracts, higher-self relationships, and how to build romantic connections rooted in trust, safety, and spiritual depth, this episode is for you.

Karolin is a spiritual relationship coach and intuitive healer who helps people heal anxious attachment, connect with their higher self, and create deeply aligned romantic partnerships. Her work blends spirituality, psychology, and energetic healing to guide people back to heart-centered love.

• Follow Karolin’s work and upcoming teachings

• Check out her “Heart to Heart” program

In this episode, we sit down with intuitive energy medicine practitioner Rebecca Capone, owner of Cinder and Sound Healing Studio in Rye, New Hampshire. We dive into the power of intuition, the messy beauty of personal evolution, and what it really looks like to reclaim your authentic self.

We drop quickly into the heart of Rebecca’s work—her journey of learning to trust her intuitive voice after years of overriding her inner knowing. Together, we explore how intuition actually feels in the body, how it shows up differently from anxiety, and why self-awareness is one of the most essential tools on the path of healing.

From there, we unpack the physical sensations, visuals, and quiet clarity of true intuition, including how Rebecca learned to tell the difference between intuitive hits and anxious spirals. We talk about what it’s like to ignore those signals… and the transformation that unfolds when you finally stop doing that.

We also explore the importance of surrounding yourself with people who reinforce your intuitive truth, along with Rebecca’s “Menagerie Management” approach to filtering out noise, negativity, and low-quality inputs—online and in real life.

Rebecca opens up about her own journey of taking ownership of her life; following her truest essence through divorce, shifting friendships, and letting people down instead of putting everyone else first. She shares the raw story of realizing she’d lost herself inside a picture-perfect life—and the courage it took to question everything: her marriage, her friendships, her identity. Releasing what wasn’t real made room for her to reconnect with her spirituality and sense of purpose. This part of the conversation is a dance through ego, faith, surrender, and the freedom that comes from letting others (and ourselves) be who they truly are.

Then comes one of my favorite parts: Rebecca’s relationship with divine signs, pattern recognition, and intuitive communication with the universe. She talks about learning to trust physical sensations over mental analysis, and I share a bit of my own perspective on meaning-making and spiritual pattern awareness.

All this and much more <3

Find Rebecca on IG here, and Cinder and Sound on IG here

Find me at @cyclesandshadowshealing on IG and online to stay up to date on all the Holly magic

Join me and Julie Lipsett for another epic episode of the Cycles & Shadows Podcast!

We explore the world of fertility awareness, body literacy, and the power of reconnecting with the menstrual cycle that so many of us have been taught to demonize.

We dive into Julie’s journey as a fertility awareness educator, trained through the Wells School of Body Literacy, and her work helping individuals understand their natural cycles, fertility signals, and hormonal rhythms. This episode unpacks how data-driven charting and intuitive body awareness can coexist, offering a grounded and empowering approach to cycle tracking.

We also explore Julie’s personal path into menstrual cycle awareness, including her story of moving from painful, irregular periods and the belief that something was “wrong” with her body, into discovering the truth: that her cycle was communicating with her, not betraying her.

We challenge cultural myths like the supposed “complexity” of cycles and the conditioning that keeps so many disconnected from their bodies.

Throughout our conversation, we chat about cervical fluid tracking, basal body temperature, and the learning curve of becoming comfortable with observing our own bodies...especially after years of being taught to carry shame.

We speak openly about sex education (including Julie’s schools' unforgettable pancake batter demo lol), the VAST gaps most of us grew up with, and how adults reclaiming this knowledge paves the way for healthier conversations with future generations.

We get into one of my fave topics, discussing seasonal metaphors, cycle syncing, and why it’s essential to honor individual experiences rather than forcing ourselves into prescriptive models.

And Julie does her thing putting self-acceptance at the forefront by sharing how her own productivity peaks in her mid-luteal phase; a reminder that every body has its own rhythm worth honoring.

If you're looking to learn more and work with Julie, she offers us a special look into her upcoming self-paced course, her one-on-one support, and her monthly menstrual charting meetups with guest facilitators, all designed to help people deepen into their cycle awareness journey.

You can find all of these offers and more on her instagram, and website plus a freebie on fertility awareness & hormonal health, she's kindly shared with all who listened today

And you can find me, your host, at @cyclesandshadowshealing on IG and my website for freebies, coaching offers, events, yoga classes, and more :)

Books Julie mentioned:

The Period Repair Manual by Lara Briden

Wild Power by Alexandra Pope and Sjanie Hugo Wurlitzer

The Moon Cycle Cookbook by Devon Loftus and Jenna Radomski

In this deep and soul-honest conversation, we explore the inner architecture of our relationships; how our attachment patterns, early relational wounds, and nervous system responses shape the way we love, connect, withdraw, or cling.

Together, we move through:

• How relational trauma and codependency form, and why these patterns show up in our work, money, friendships, and sense of self-worth
• The difference between healthy interdependence and the hyper-independence many of us have been conditioned to glorify
• Why anxious and avoidant partners often find themselves drawn to each other
• How hypervigilance, people-pleasing, and self-abandonment are adaptive strategies we learned early on
• The nuance between avoidant partners and narcissistic abuse (and why many of us confuse the two)
• What true self-rootedness looks like, and how it allows us to choose relationships rather than chase, perform, or avoid them
• The uncomfortable but liberating process of healing our intimacy patterns
• How neural pathways reinforce old beliefs, and what it actually takes to reprogram them
• Our shared journeys of codependency recovery, nervous system repair, and rediscovering intimacy
• The power of vulnerability, mutuality, and using the phrase “I don’t want to win” to soften conflict
• How surrender, higher power, and inner safety contribute to secure, nourishing relationships

  
  

We also share sneak peak details about Devotion, a 6-week program for codependency recovery and relational re-patterning that starts December 1st <3

This episode is for all of us who have struggled with attachment patterns, emotional intimacy, over-functioning, or feeling like we must “earn” love. Together, we name the truth of these experiences and explore what healing can look like.

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  , Coaching

In this episode of Cycles & Shadows, we sit down with Dr. Jess, a holistic family medicine physician and re-wilding guide who traded her burnout for a life of freedom, nature, and deep authenticity. Together, we unpack what it means to truly live in alignment with ourselves, with nature...with the rhythms of life itself.

We explore Jess’s powerful “Caged Animal Hypothesis” her lens for understanding how feeling trapped or domesticated impacts our physical and emotional health. Jess shares her incredible journey from the world of veterinary and family medicine to sailing down the California coast, living nomadically, and reconnecting to her wild nature.

This conversation takes us from the stormy seas of transformation to the quiet medicine of winter rest. We talk courage, primal fear, and how embracing both light and shadow invites deep healing. If you’ve ever felt stuck in a version of yourself that doesn’t feel alive anymore, this episode will remind you that freedom, like nature, is your birthright.

What We Explore:

• The Caged Animal Hypothesis and how modern life keeps us disconnected from our natural rhythms

• The power of authenticity: showing up as we are, even when we’re in the mess

• Jess’s transformational story of leaving comfort behind to sail into the unknown

• Navigating primal fear, death, and the cycles of light and shadow

• The medicine of cyclicality

Jess is offering Cycles & Shadows listeners 50% off a 90-minute Burnout Coaching + Rewilding Audit Session, a deep dive into your natural cycles and 12 core health indicators.
👉 To claim the offer, connect with Jess here

Work with Holly:

Learn more about 1:1 coaching here

In this tender and expansive conversation, we explore what it really means to grow through life’s challenges.

I'm joined by coach, yogi, and mama, Ashley Napoli and together we traverse the themes of self-discovery, emotional healing, and the courage it takes to let ourselves be shaped by the hard seasons.

We talk about how setbacks can actually be setups if we allow them to be; invitations into deeper trust, surrender, and self-understanding.

Through the symbolism of the lotus flower, we reflect on how real growth often happens in the mud...in those messy, uncomfortable places we’d rather avoid.

Ashley shares her personal story of slowing down after a herniated disc, rediscovering creativity through watercolor and journaling, and reconnecting with herself through therapy, Internal Family Systems (IFS), and mindfulness.

Together, we unpack what it means to hold space for conflicting emotions -- grief and joy, despair and excitment -- and how practices like meditation, creativity, and embodiment help us move through the discomfort of all those internal contradictions with compassion.

We also talk about what it means to live authentically, set boundaries rooted in self-worth, and step outside our comfort zones as a way of honoring who we’re becoming.

If you’re feeling like you’re stuck in the mud; unsure, heavy, or in-between identities...this conversation is a reminder that your growth is already happening beneath the surface.

💬 In This Episode, We Explore (TL;DR version):

• How the lotus mirrors our own growth through muddy seasons
• How setbacks can become setups for transformation
• Healing through therapy, creativity, and self-reflection
• Allowing ourselves to feel and integrate grief, anger, and softness
• The courage to step beyond comfort zones and live authentically

Follow Ashley’s work and her heart-led coaching for soul-centered entrepreneurs:

• Instagram: @ashleynapoliyoga

• Website: livinglotusyoga.com

  
  

Hosted by Holly Ransom, Cycles & Shadows is a space where we explore the deep, cyclical nature of healing and growth.

Each conversation invites us to meet ourselves more fully in the light, the shadow, and everything in between.

Connect with Holly:

• Instagram: cyclesandshadowshealing
• Website: cyclesandshadowshealing.com
• Currently Enrolling for 1:1 Holistic Coaching: Learn More

In this solo episode, I’m reflecting on our deep, interbeingness with the Earth and how it's been a crucial thread in my purpose, my wellness, and the hope I have for the future.

I share stories from my life and career, from growing up in my dad’s garden to working in horticulture and green tech, and how those experiences shaped the way I see our relationship with the planet.

Somewhere along the way, I realized that our disconnection from the Earth mirrors our disconnection from ourselves. The anxiety, the burnout, the isolation so many of us feel...it’s all connected to how we’ve forgotten that we are nature.

I also dive into some of the topics that light me up: the impact of light pollution on insects, the brilliance of ancient health systems like Ayurveda and herbalism, and how reconnecting with the natural world helped me move from anxiety and perfectionism into peace, purpose, and empowerment.

My hope is that this episode helps you remember your own inner magic and the truth that of your power to change reality from the inside out.

When you come back into rhythm with the Earth, everything changes. You start to feel more grounded, more hopeful, more alive...and you realize that your wellness and the planet’s wellness are one and the same.

You can find me on Instagram @cyclesandshadowshealing and on my website I’d love to hear what this episode brings up for you.

Lots of love always, see you next week on C&S!!

In this episode, we get into a delicious conversation with my amazing friend Kashira, a multi-passionate creative, healer, and branding expert, to explore what it really means to move from self-abandonment into self-devotion. Together, we open up about our personal experiences with financial instability, health challenges, and how to integrate the deep-rooted survival patterns that often drive our behaviors.

We get real about what happens when old coping mechanisms no longer serve us, and how the nervous system can keep us looping in familiar (but limiting) cycles. As well as how being wildly compassionate toward your own humanness can get you waaaay farther than bullying yourself into doing or being "better".

Through Kashira’s lens of trauma-informed awareness and holistic self-reflection, we explore how childhood wounds shape adult behaviors and how we can begin to build new, safer, kinder relationships with ourselves.

In this conversation, we explore:
✨ The difference between self-abandonment and self-devotion, how they show up in everyday life, and how you can shift toward the devotion side of things ;)
✨ How nervous system patterns and early experiences shape our responses to money, love, and control
✨ Kashira’s journey of healing perfectionism, setting boundaries, and finding compassion through imperfection
✨ Breaking financial and emotional cycles with awareness, curiosity, and grace
✨ The power of self-trust, self-apology, and emotional intelligence in creating sustainable change
✨ Why shame-free reflection is the key to true growth and nervous system safety

This conversation is an invitation to slow down, witness yourself without judgment, and begin to rebuild from a place of deep self love & devotion.

Whether you’re healing from burnout, navigating financial stress, or learning to trust your body again, this episode reminds us that we’re never too far gone to give ourselves another chance.

Connect with Kashira:

• Instagram: @consciouslykash

In this episode, we sit down with wellness coach, yoga facilitator, and community-builder Sheila Murray for a deeply human conversation about seasonal shifts, self-care practices, and the power of listening to our inner wisdom.

Together, we explore Sheila’s personal journey from thriving in corporate sales to answering the call of wellness and entrepreneurship. After a life-altering medical experience as a teenager and the loss of her mother years later, she began carving her own path; traveling Europe, diving into alternative healing, and eventually building her own coaching and wellness practice.

We explore:

✨ Seasonal changes & self-care rituals that keep us grounded and resourced
✨ The transition from corporate to coaching, and the lessons we carry with us
✨ How tools like Human Design and astrology invite us into deeper self-reflection and alignment
✨ The importance of boundaries, SMART goals, and celebrating progress on the path to success
✨ The magic of community through yoga, retreats, and shared healing spaces

This conversation is both practical and soulful, reminding us that growth doesn’t happen by pushing harder, but by aligning with our true nature and embracing the support available to us.

Whether you're navigating a career shift, learning to honor your energy, or craving more embodied self-care, Sheila’s story invites you to slow down, tune in, and trust the season you’re in.

Connect with Sheila: