The Mood Maker Podcast

Have you caught yourself thinking, “I just don’t feel like myself lately”?

I've recently realised something that completely shifted the way I think about authenticity. It wasn’t another mindset hack or productivity tip. It was something much simpler…

Girls really do just want to have fun.

I keep witnessing how fun is the gateway back to who we really are.

In this episode, I’m sharing one of the biggest lessons my recent Bali retreat queens unknowingly taught me: that our truest selves emerge at the intersection of safety and play. When we feel safe enough to let our guard down and playful enough to stop performing, the masks begin to fall away and we remember who we’ve been all along.

We’ll explore:

• ​Why so many millennial women feel disconnected from themselves.
• ​How over-functioning and people-pleasing quietly pull us away from our authenticity.
• ​The science behind why joy expands us (including Barbara Fredrickson’s Broaden-and-Build Theory).
• ​How to intentionally create environments that help your nervous system soften.
• ​Simple invitations you can try this week to reconnect with the version of you that’s been waiting patiently beneath all the expectations.

The version of you you’ve been searching for isn’t missing at all, she’s simply waiting until she feels safe enough to come out and play.

I can’t wait to hear what you do this week to recreate this intersection of safety and play for yourself. If it resonates, send it to someone who needs a little more fun in her days.

With love, Claire 🤍

Join my next reset retreat in Tasmania from August 14-17 https://www.amillastudio.com.au/retreats/tasmania

You've been told a lie about motivation.

That one day you’ll magically wake up feeling inspired, energised, clear and READY… and then you’ll finally do the thing.

Start the workout. Launch the idea. Take the action. Change your life....

But what if motivation doesn’t actually come before the thing? What if it comes after?

In this fiery pep-talk episode, we’re unpacking the truth about motivation, momentum and why so many of us stay stuck waiting to feel ready before we start showing up for ourselves.

This episode dives into:
✨ Why action creates momentum

✨ The psychology behind “motion breeds motivation”

✨ Why you stay stuck in low-energy cycles

✨ Momentum psychology

✨ How environments interrupt stagnation

✨ Why the things you resist are often the doorway to your growth

Because the reality is…
the spark you’re waiting for often doesn’t arrive while you’re sitting still overthinking your life.

It arrives when you move. When you take the first step before you feel fully ready.

Connect with Claire on instagram:

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@themoodmaker.podcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

or our retreat page⁠ @amillastudio⁠

Explore our upcoming 5 night Bali Retreat ⁠⁠⁠⁠www.amillastudio.com.au/retreats/bali⁠⁠⁠⁠

Explore our upcoming 3 night Winter Reset Retreat in Tassie

⁠https://www.amillastudio.com.au/retreats/tasmania⁠

This episode is a raw reflection on the biggest lessons, revelations and takeaways I experienced after spending four days retreating with 13 women who arrived with their hearts cracked wide open… by the ocean, under the full moon, ready to reconnect with themselves and one another.

We’re talking:
✨ the vulnerability that changes everything
✨ the signs, synchronicities and “holy shit” moments that appear when you finally slow down enough to notice them
✨ why women become mirrors for one another’s healing
✨ the contagious nature of love, respect and safe spaces
✨ and the truth I witnessed over and over again, that the answers you’re searching for already live inside of you

I also open up about the strange and spiritual flow I experience when hosting retreats and why I’ve realised I need to stop trying to force wisdom into neat little formulas and simply trust what moves through me.

This episode feels like a love letter to retreating yourself, to stepping away from the laundry pile, the notifications, the pressure, the performative version of who you think you should be… and remembering who the fuck you actually are underneath all of it.

Connect with Claire on instagram:

⁠⁠⁠⁠@themoodmaker.podcast⁠⁠⁠⁠

or our retreat page @amillastudio

Explore our upcoming 5 night Bali Retreat ⁠⁠⁠www.amillastudio.com.au/retreats/bali⁠⁠⁠

Explore our upcoming 3 night Winter Reset Retreat in Tassie

https://www.amillastudio.com.au/retreats/tasmania

From an abusive relationship… to stripping her way into a completely new life, Hayley shares the raw, unfiltered story of how she lost herself, found herself, and rebuilt everything in between.

This is a conversation about reclamation, of your body, your energy, your voice and your life.

In this episode, I’m sitting down with my darling friend (and certified sparkly earth angel) Hayley Jones, a holistic brand consultant who embodies what it means to design your life from the inside out. And when I say this conversation goes deep… I mean it.

We explore the journey from chaos to clarity, from seeking love externally to becoming it internally and the wild, beautiful, sometimes unexpected paths that get us there.

Inside this episode we dive into:

✨ Hayley’s experience in an abusive relationship, from being hospitalised and him going to prison, to choosing forgiveness and compassion over resentment

✨ Boundaries, self-worth, and asking “is this actually serving me?”

✨ Why sexiness is an energy (and how to actually embody it)

✨ The unexpected chapter of becoming a stripper… and how it became a catalyst for confidence, boundaries and self-worth

✨ The breakdown before the breakthrough (and trusting it’s all leading somewhere)

✨ Building a life and brand that feels deeply aligned, not just aesthetically pleasing

✨ The art of noticing, presence, and reconnecting with your inner world

This conversation is a reminder that no matter where you’ve been, how lost you’ve felt, or how unexpected your path has looked… you always get to come home to yourself. Enjoy!

Connect with Claire on instagram: ⁠⁠⁠@themoodmaker.podcast⁠⁠⁠

Explore our upcoming 5 night Bali Retreat ⁠⁠www.amillastudio.com.au/retreats/bali⁠⁠

Connect with Hayley:

@hayles_tales_

@novara_designs

www.novara.design

In this episode, I sit down with Olga Newman, creator of The Face Up Method, a powerful modality that blends face sculpting, lymphatic work, fascia release, nervous system regulation and somatic healing.

Together, we unpack the deeper story behind facial tension, body stagnation, blood flow, emotional holding patterns and why true radiance starts far beneath the surface.

We Get Into:

• Why Olga believes it’s not ageing we're fighting, but tension
• Why the face can’t be treated in isolation

• The link between blood flow, beauty and energy

• How stress, emotion and life experiences get stored in the body
• The difference between quick fixes and root-cause care
• Why small daily rituals matter more than intensity
• How this work can bring you back to your natural self

This episode is a beautiful reminder that caring for yourself doesn’t have to be hard, forceful or invasive. Sometimes it looks like softening. Sometimes it looks like slowing down long enough to hear what your body has been trying to say all along.

This isn't a conversation about beauty, but something more than that, it’s a conversation about connection. About tension. About what happens when we stop decorating the surface and start tending to what’s underneath.

Connect with Claire on instagram: ⁠⁠@themoodmaker.podcast⁠⁠

Explore our upcoming 5 night Bali Retreat ⁠www.amillastudio.com.au/retreats/bali⁠

Connect with Olga and Face Up:

@olga_faceup

https://faceup.pro/

In this episode, I’m unpacking what really went down at my first urban day retreat in Melbourne, the energy, the connections, the moments that made me stop and think… oh, this is what we’ve all been craving.

We get into:

• Why showing up alone might be the most powerful thing you can do
• How quickly real, soul-level connection can happen (like… 5 mins in a car parks all it takes)
• The truth about how depleted we actually are, and how little it takes to feel like yourself again
• Why we are desperate for more feminine, feel-good spaces
• The magic of dropping the mask and being fully seen (and loved anyway)
• And my biggest business lesson, to do the thing even when it doesn’t look perfect

I’m also sharing the real behind-the-scenes, including the fact that this event cost me money… and why it was still one of the best decisions I’ve made.

This is your reminder that the most aligned things don’t always look “successful” on paper… but energetically? They change everything.🤍

From burnout to Bali, this conversation is a beautiful reminder that your body always knows.
In this episode, I’m sitting down in Bali with our retreat yoga facilitator, Anna Viktoria, to talk about burnout, intuition, healing, alignment, and what happens when you finally stop pushing against your own life.

Anna shares her journey from a small town in Sweden, through insomnia, perfectionism and severe burnout, to finding yoga as part of her healing path — and eventually building a life teaching in Bali. We explore the quiet ways the body speaks, the courage it takes to choose a different life, and the magic that unfolds when you start listening to what’s true for you.

This is a soft, powerful conversation about coming home to yourself, letting go of control, and trusting that life can feel a whole lot more flowy than forceful.

Connect with Claire on instagram: ⁠@themoodmaker.podcast⁠

Explore upcoming experiences & retreats:⁠@amillastudio⁠⁠www.amillastudio.com.au⁠

Upcoming experiences include:

Melbourne Day Retreat www.amillastudio.com.au/urban-day-retreat

Tasmania 3 night Retreat www.amillastudio.com.au/retreats/tasmania

Bali 5 night Retreat www.amillastudio.com.au/retreats/bali

Connect with Anna on instagram:

@annaviktoriayoga

This guided visualisation meditation is designed to help you embody the grounded freedom, courage, and forward momentum of the Year of the Horse.

If you’ve been feeling restless, ready for change, or aware that you’ve outgrown parts of your life, this practice supports you to move forward without urgency, pressure, or burnout.

Through breath, visualisation, and gentle nervous system regulation, you’ll be guided into an expansive inner landscape where freedom feels safe, instinct becomes clear, and aligned movement becomes possible.

This meditation is perfect for:• reconnecting with your intuition and inner guidance• cultivating courage and forward momentum• beginning your day feeling centred and clear• integrating the energetic shift into the Year of the Horse• anchor a guiding word to carry into your day and year ahead

Find a quiet space, get comfortable, and allow yourself to arrive.

This is your moment to reconnect with your breath, your body, and your natural forward momentum.

If this meditation supports you, share it with someone who needs a moment to breathe and reconnect.

Connect with Claire on instagram: @themoodmaker.podcast
Explore upcoming retreats & experiences hosted by Claire: @amillastudio
www.amillastudio.com.au

We’ve entered the Year of the Fire Horse in the Chinese lunar calendar, and if you’ve been feeling restless, ready for change, or quietly done with the version of yourself you’ve been carrying… you’re not imagining it.

This episode explores the energetic shift from the Year of the Snake, which was a year of shedding old identities, relationships, and beliefs, into the Fire Horse year, a rare and potent cycle of freedom, forward momentum, and aligned action.

In this episode we explore:

• the emotional and energetic themes of the Year of the Snake (2025)

• why shedding old layers can feel uncomfortable

• the Chinese lunar calendar and the 12-year zodiac cycle

• if you're a 1990 baby (like me) we'll uncover your zodiac return

• the core energies of the Horse, and how to align to it

• the shadow side of Horse energy and how to avoid burnout

• how to tune into your intuition using simple yes/no body guidance

BONUS:

I've included a bonus 10 minute grounding guided visualisation meditation to help you embody the year of the horse energy.

What is the mood you are setting for the Year of the Horse…and how are you going to become it?

Connect with Claire:
Instagram: @themoodmaker.podcast

Explore upcoming experiences & retreats:
@amillastudio
www.amillastudio.com.au

Upcoming experiences include:
• Melbourne Day Retreat
• Tasmania 3 night Retreat
• Bali 5 night Retreat

Hello my darlings… we’re back ✨
And wow, 2026 has entered the chat.

In this first episode of the year, I’m reflecting on the 9 BIG, life-altering, slightly uncomfortable (but wildly necessary) lessons 2025 dragged me through, so you don’t have to learn them the hard way like I did.

We’re talking gut instinct vs the drama queen in your head, self-trust, dancing as therapy, connection as medicine, alcohol boundaries, and the brutal truth about whats been getting in my way all year.... spoiler alert, it was ME!

If you don’t want to repeat the same patterns I did, kick back and take this one in. I feel like I’ve done the heavy lifting for us both, so we can breeze (or dance) through 2026 together.

Join our next retreat:

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠MELBOURNE: www.amillastudio.com.au/urban-day-retreat

BALI: www.amillastudio.com.au/retreats⁠⁠⁠/bali⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠TASSIE: www.amillastudio.com.au/retreats⁠⁠⁠/tasmania

Connect with me:

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@themoodmaker.podcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@amillastudio⁠⁠