The Power of Love in a Busy Season

A Simple Shift That Brings Peace, Presence, and Joy to the Holidays

In this final episode of our four part holiday series, we arrive at the gift that holds everything together. Love. This conversation brings us home to the foundation beneath our words, our gatherings, and our pursuit of happiness. Love is not something extra we add to the season. It is the energy that shapes how everything else is experienced.

We explore what love really is beyond romance or grand gestures. Love as a choice. A practice. A way of showing up with intention, kindness, and presence even when the season feels tender or emotionally full. This episode gently unpacks how choosing love lightens our emotional load, softens expectations, and allows connection to unfold without pressure or strings attached.

You will also hear simple, meaningful ways to express love that require no shopping or planning. From anonymous acts of kindness to presence, self love, and giving without expectation, this episode offers grounded ways to move through the holidays feeling steadier, more aligned, and more connected to who you want to be.

This is a closing invitation to return to what matters most. To love fully, gently, and intentionally. Because love is not just the final word of this series. It is the heartbeat of it all.

If this episode resonates with you:Share it with someone who’s standing on the edge of their own growth.Subscribe to The Self-Love Shift wherever you listen to podcasts, or for deeper support, you can connect with me for 1:1 coaching, subscribe to my weekly self-love notes, or come hang out with me on Instagram where I share more self-love wisdom, nervous system support, and real talk.

The Gift You Feel the Moment It’s GivenEpisode Three of our Holiday Series

What if one of the most meaningful holiday gifts costs nothing and can be felt instantly in the body?

In this episode of The Self Love Shift, we explore happiness as a learnable practice rather than a fleeting mood. Through powerful science, a surprising long term study, and a playful exercise you can try anywhere, this conversation reveals how joy spreads through connection and why it has such a profound impact on our nervous systems.

You will learn why happiness is contagious, how smiling changes brain chemistry even when it feels forced, and how small moments of warmth can soften a room and strengthen relationships. This episode invites you to experience happiness not as performance, but as presence.

Settle in, take a breath, and discover why the simplest gestures often create the deepest connection.

If this episode resonates with you:Share it with someone who’s standing on the edge of their own growth.Subscribe to The Self-Love Shift wherever you listen to podcasts, or for deeper support, you can connect with me for 1:1 coaching, subscribe to my weekly self-love notes, or come hang out with me on Instagram where I share more self-love wisdom, nervous system support, and real talk.

The quiet skill that makes you a magnetic host

How to build connection and trust at any holiday table

In this second episode of our four part holiday series, we explore the quiet power of gathering on purpose. The holidays often bring us to tables filled with voices, stories, emotions, and memories and this episode is an invitation to rethink what it means to host. Not through perfection or performance, but through presence.

This episode reminds us that we don’t have to be polished or perfect to create a beautiful moment. We only need sincerity and the willingness to lean in intentionally.

Settle in and let this guide help you create warmth, presence, and connection in the most human way possible.

If this episode resonates with you:Share it with someone who’s standing on the edge of their own growth.Subscribe to The Self-Love Shift wherever you listen to podcasts, or for deeper support, you can connect with me for 1:1 coaching, subscribe to my weekly self-love notes, or come hang out with me on Instagram where I share more self-love wisdom, nervous system support, and real talk.

The Holiday Gift Hidden in Your Words

A Simple Guide to Softer Conversations During the Holidays

In this opening episode of my four part holiday series, I explore one of the most meaningful gifts we can offer during a season built on togetherness. Words. The right words can comfort, connect, regulate, and create emotional safety. They cost nothing, and they can shift our entire experience.

This conversation invites us to slow down and reconnect with the power our words hold. I look at why language lands so differently during the holidays, how presence shapes the way we hear and speak to one another, and why our nervous system responds to tone long before it interprets meaning. Together, we uncover how intentional language can turn tension into tenderness, restore connection, and support both us and the people we love.

I also explore the moments we slip into mmmhmm-ing and autopilot listening, and how small shifts in presence can completely transform the way we relate. Plus, I share the quiet influence of self talk and how the words we whisper to ourselves set the emotional tone for every gathering and interaction.

This episode is a gentle beginning to our holiday journey. A reminder that the season becomes softer and more connected when we choose presence over pressure and intention over speed. Settle in, take a breath, and let this first gift guide you into a steadier, warmer December.

If this episode resonates with you, please share it with someone who may need it.

If this episode resonates with you:Share it with someone who’s standing on the edge of their own growth.Subscribe to The Self-Love Shift wherever you listen to podcasts, or for deeper support, you can connect with me for 1:1 coaching, subscribe to my weekly self-love notes, or come hang out with me on Instagram where I share more self-love wisdom, nervous system support, and real talk.

Busy Isn’t a Flex. It’s a Flag

How busyness creates anxiety in the body and what to do about it

In this episode, we take an honest look at what we really mean when we say we are busy. Is it pride or is it a quiet signal that we are running on empty? We explore the deeper story beneath our constant doing and why the body often speaks long before our minds are willing to listen.

You will hear a fresh, compassionate perspective on busyness as a nervous system state, not a personality trait. We talk about the science behind overwhelm, the subtle cues our bodies send when we are moving too fast, and the cultural pressure that keeps us performing at a pace our biology cannot sustain.

This conversation is an invitation to pause. To tune in. To notice what your body needs. You will walk away with a gentler understanding of yourself, renewed permission to slow down, and one question that can help you shift out of automatic busy and into meaningful alignment.

If you are craving a steadier way of living, this episode is for you.

If this episode resonates with you:Share it with someone who’s standing on the edge of their own growth.Subscribe to The Self-Love Shift wherever you listen to podcasts, or for deeper support, you can connect with me for 1:1 coaching, subscribe to my weekly self-love notes, or come hang out with me on Instagram where I share more self-love wisdom, nervous system support, and real talk.

When Love Feels Like WhiplashHow to Recognize Toxic Relationship Cycles and Break Free from Emotional Chaos

This episode dives into what it really feels like to be caught in an unhealthy relationship cycle. Not the textbook signs, but the lived experience. The confusion after conversations that leave your chest tight. The highs that feel magical. The sudden shifts that make you wonder what you did wrong. The emotional whiplash that keeps you hooked even when you know something feels off.

You will hear two powerful stories. One reveals how trauma bonding forms through unpredictable affection and emotional withdrawal. The other shows how naming the cycle together can create real change. We also explore the science behind intermittent reinforcement and why your nervous system often confuses relief with love.

This is a tender conversation for anyone who has questioned their worth or stayed in a pattern that felt familiar rather than healthy. You will learn what real steadiness feels like and why your body often knows the truth first.

I mention a related Substack piece in the episode. You can read it here:Why We Keep Falling for the Same Kind of Love

If this episode resonates with you:Share it with someone who’s standing on the edge of their own growth.Subscribe to The Self-Love Shift wherever you listen to podcasts, or for deeper support, you can connect with me for 1:1 coaching, subscribe to my weekly self-love notes, or come hang out with me on Instagram where I share more self-love wisdom, nervous system support, and real talk.

The Hidden Power of Knowing What You Stand For

Why defining your values changes how you love, lead, and live

Have you ever walked away from a conversation and thought, Why did that bother me so much?

Or said yes to something that looked perfect on paper but somehow felt wrong?

That whisper inside - the one that says this isn’t it - is your values trying to get your attention.

In this episode, we explore the quiet framework that shapes every choice we make: our values. They’re the invisible architecture of our lives, guiding what we believe to be right and true. And yet, most of us were never taught how to name them, let alone live by them.

We talk about how values influence the nervous system, why misalignment can leave us feeling uneasy or stuck, and how reconnecting with what truly matters can bring clarity, calm, and a deep sense of integrity back into our lives.

You’ll learn:

What values actually are and why they’re different from goals

How values shape our relationships, boundaries, and emotional safety

The neuroscience behind alignment and why our body reacts when we’re off track

Simple ways to uncover and reconnect to your own core values

How values can transform decision-making, communication, and self-trust

Because when we live from our values, life gets simpler - not easier, but clearer.We stop explaining ourselves. We stop overthinking.We start feeling at home in our own skin.

Want to uncover your own values?Send me a quick email or a DM on Instagram and just say values.I’ll personally send you my one-pager - a simple way to help you get clear on what’s most true for you and see how your values show up in your everyday life.

If this episode resonates with you:Share it with someone who’s standing on the edge of their own growth.Subscribe to The Self-Love Shift wherever you listen to podcasts, or for deeper support, you can connect with me for 1:1 coaching, subscribe to my weekly self-love notes, or come hang out with me on Instagram where I share more self-love wisdom, nervous system support, and real talk.

The Truth About Imposter Syndrome

How Fear, Resistance, and the Nervous System Shape Self-Doubt

Have you ever felt like you’re faking it - like any minute now, someone’s going to realize you don’t actually know what you’re doing?

You’re not alone. And you’re not an imposter.

In this week’s episode of The Self-Love Shift, I explore what’s really underneath that familiar feeling we call imposter syndrome. Because when you strip it down, it’s not about being an imposter at all - it’s about being human.

I talk about how fear and resistance show up when we step into something new - especially when we’re levelling up or doing something that truly matters. Drawing on neuroscience and lived experience, I unpack why the nervous system reacts to newness as danger, and how that very reaction is proof that we’re growing.

You’ll hear about:

The real difference between fear and resistance - and how to recognize when you’re actually expanding.

What happens inside the body when we do something unfamiliar, and how to calm the nervous system in those moments.

Why courage isn’t the absence of fear - it’s the willingness to move forward with it.

How to spot the stories that keep you small, and meet them with compassion instead of criticism.

Simple tools to ground your body and quiet your mind when fear starts to take over.

And because safety in the body is what allows courage in the heart, I share a reminder that you don’t need to be fearless to move forward - you just need to be willing.

Mentioned in this episode:For more on calming the body and building heart-brain coherence, listen to my episode on HeartMath® and Heart-Focused Breathing

If this episode resonates with you:Share it with someone who’s standing on the edge of their own growth.Subscribe to The Self-Love Shift wherever you listen to podcasts, or for deeper support, you can connect with me for 1:1 coaching, subscribe to my weekly self-love notes, or come hang out with me on Instagram where I share more self-love wisdom, nervous system support, and real talk.

The Hello Effect

The Quiet Cost of Disconnection in a World That Never Looks Up

Have you noticed how many people walk past each other without a glance, a smile, or even a simple hello?

In this episode, Christina invites us to explore what’s really happening beneath our heads-down, hurry-up culture. She shares her own reflections after moving to a new city and realizing just how often we miss the small, beautiful moments of human connection that make life feel warm and alive.

Together, we’ll talk about the science and psychology of being seen — how eye contact and small acts of kindness release oxytocin, calm the nervous system, and remind us that we belong. You’ll hear how connection is not just emotional, but physiological, and why simple gestures like smiling at a stranger can change both your day and theirs.

We’ll explore why many of us learned to look away, how loneliness quietly shapes our health, and how to gently rebuild connection — one hello, one kind word, one moment of presence at a time.

What you’ll take away from this episode:

How modern life quietly trains us to disconnect

The neuroscience of eye contact, empathy, and belonging

Why loneliness impacts the body as much as the mind

Simple ways to reawaken warmth and connection in your daily life

How choosing to see people can heal more than you realize

This episode is both a reminder and a gentle plea: look up. Smile. Say hi. Because those tiny moments of connection are what keep our hearts alive — and they might just be what someone else needs to keep going today.

If this conversation touched you, share it with someone you love. Let it be your small act of connection today.

For deeper support, you can connect with me for 1:1 coaching, subscribe to my weekly self-love notes, or come hang out with me on Instagram where I share more self-love wisdom, nervous system support, and real talk.

If you’ve ever felt unseen - like no one notices what you do or how much you hold - you’re not alone. Many of us have been conditioned to believe that love is earned through strength, reliability, and silence. That if we keep showing up, someone will finally notice.

In this episode, we explore what happens beneath that pattern - how the nervous system braces for disappointment, how the ego builds stories to protect our worth, and how emotional shutdown becomes a form of self-protection that actually blocks connection. You’ll learn how resentment lives in the body, why your guard goes up when you feel unappreciated, and what it takes to calm the body and open the heart again.

We’ll end with the practice that changes everything: self-empathy. The kind that lets you hear the truth beneath the noise - that you are not unappreciated, you are simply unseen by those who can’t yet meet you where you are. And that doesn’t mean you’re not worthy of love.

If you’ve been the strong one for too long, this episode will help you finally exhale - and remember what it feels like to be seen, heard, and held.