The Violette Podcast

Ariel sits down with Donna Griffin, founder of JaNova Naturals, to talk about her journey into herbalism, what it means to heal naturally, and how she's building community both in person and online. Donna grew up in a Jamaican household where turning to plants for wellness wasn't alternative - it was just life. Her mom would pull herbs off the fence in the backyard for tea, and that connection to nature never left her.

Donna shares how a personal health journey led her to buy herbs in bulk, start blending formulas, and deliver them to neighbors - all before she even realized she was starting a business. Now she's taken her career in a different direction to run JaNova Naturals full-time, creating products like her beloved Fire Honey and natural mouthwash while connecting with people at metaphysical conventions and building an online presence.

This conversation goes deep into what herbalism actually is, why Western medicine trains us to expect instant fixes, how to trust your intuition when choosing herbs, and why community is everything when you're on a healing journey. Donna also breaks down the difference between healing modalities, why she believes the mind heals first, and how to avoid the fear-mongering that's all over social media when it comes to natural remedies.

If you've been curious about herbalism, want to explore natural wellness, or just love hearing stories about people following their calling - this one's for you.

Topics Covered:

0:00 - Welcome & meeting Donna at the metaphysical convention

3:00 - Growing up with herbalism in a Jamaican household 7:00 - What herbalism actually is and how to define it

12:00 - How most people find their way into herbalism

15:00 - Birth of JaNova Naturals

20:00 - What's in Fire Honey and why it works

25:00 - Building community in person vs online

30:00 - The power of testimonies and word-of-mouth growth

35:00 - Natural mouthwash and the connection between oral health and whole body health

42:00 - Herbs as support, not a quick fix

47:00 - Trusting your intuition when choosing herbs

50:00 - Dispelling myths about herbalism and natural healing

53:00 - Where to find JaNova Naturals

Subscribe for more conversations about herbalism, natural healing, building community, and finding your people.

Connect with The Violette Podcast:

TikTok: @theviolettepodcast

YouTube: The Violette Podcast

Find Donna & JaNova Naturals: Website: jenovanaturals.com

Instagram: @jenovanaturals

Facebook: JaNova Naturals

TikTok: @jenovanaturals

When you find your people, everything changes. Join the Violette waitlist: violette.com

#Herbalism #NaturalHealing #JaNovaNaturals #FireHoney #PlantMedicine #CaribbeanHerbalism #HolisticHealth #TheViolettePodcast #AlternativeMedicine #Wellness #BlackSeedHoney #NaturalMouthwash #FindingYourPeople #HealingJourney #ConsciousCommunity

Ariel just got back from Envision Festival in Costa Rica - a 7-day transformative experience in the middle of the jungle - and she's breaking down everything. This isn't your typical music festival. From sunrise yoga and tantra workshops to ceremonial cacao and sound healing, Envision blends personal growth with celebration in a way that left her completely shifted.

She shares her most profound moments: the tantra workshop where she stared into strangers' eyes and felt walls come down, the Rose Priestess ritual in the women's-only Red Tent, the Kundalini activation that moved energy through her body, and the somatic movement workshops that taught her to dance like no one's watching. Ariel talks about finding her power as a woman, reconnecting with divine feminine energy, and discovering new healing modalities she's now deeply called to explore - Kundalini and tantra.

This episode is also packed with practical advice if you're thinking about going next year: what to pack (spoiler: way less than you think), whether VIP is worth it, how to navigate the heat and mud, the best stages for music, and why you absolutely need to hit the beach at sunset. Ariel covers the daytime workshops, the nighttime party scene, the food, the art, and why this festival feels safe enough to attend solo.

If you've been searching for a transformative experience, want to try healing modalities without committing to full retreats, or just love the idea of dancing barefoot in the jungle surrounded by thousands of conscious souls - this one's for you.

Topics Covered: 

0:00 - Welcome back & Envision Festival overview 

3:30 - Getting to Costa Rica and the journey to the jungle 

6:55 - What Envision Festival actually is: workshops, yoga, music & more 

9:00 - Day 1: Tantra workshop & making eye contact with strangers 

12:30 - The Red Tent: women's-only sacred space & Rose Priestess ritual 

13:50 - The food, the stages, and the artist area 

21:00 - Day v Night

24:00 - Music stages breakdown: Luna, Lapa, Bamboo, Village 

29:00 - Kundalini yoga & activation experiences 

35:00 - Finding your people & the magic of spontaneous connections 

37:00 - Tips & tricks: what to pack, VIP worth it?, camping vs Airbnb 

45:00 - Reclaiming divine feminine power & stepping into 2026

Subscribe for more conversations about transformative festivals, plant medicine, healing modalities, and finding your people.

Connect with The Violette Podcast: 

Instagram: @theviolettepodcast 

YouTube: The Violette Podcast

Ariel also shares an exciting update about Violette - a new platform launching soon to help you find your people and build real, authentic communities in the digital space. When you find your people, everything changes.

Join the waitlist: violette.com

Envision Festival: envisionfestival.com

#EnvisionFestival #CostaRica #TransformativeFestival #Kundalini #TantraWorkshop #SomaticHealing #RedTent #DivineFeminine #SpiritualGrowth #TheViolettePodcast #HealingJourney #ConsciousCommunity #YogaFestival #FindingYourPeople #JungleFestival

SlayDay is a DJ and producer in the bass music scene for over 15 years, but his work goes way beyond making beats. He's building community, one show, one connection, one person at a time!

In this conversation, we dive into how SlayDay went from playing instruments in church to becoming a pillar of the Colorado Springs EDM community. He shares how he helps run Denver EDM Fam, a 76,000-person Facebook community where no one has to go to a show alone. He talks about the shift from talent-driven music careers to network-driven ones, how social media changed everything, and why being genuine is the key to building real community.

We also get into the nitty-gritty: how to actually make connections that last, how to transition from digital community to face-to-face relationships, and what it takes to rebuild a local music scene from the ground up. Plus, SlayDay drops some serious wisdom on networking strategies, intentional scrolling, and why treating people like they matter is the foundation of everything.

This episode is for anyone trying to find their people, whether that's in music, in a new city, or just in life!

Topics Covered:

0:00 - SlayDay's journey from playing instruments to DJing

10:00 - The golden era of 2016 EDM 15:00 - Moving to Colorado and the bass music capital 20:00 - Helping run a 76,000-person community: Denver EDM Fam

30:00 - How to actually connect in large digital groups

40:00 - Rebuilding Colorado Springs' EDM scene

45:00 - The Grown and Sexy stoplight party (and a wedding!)

50:00 - Networking strategies for musicians (and everyone else)

55:00 - How social media changed the music industry

1:00:00 - The shift from talent to followers

1:05:00 - Why your network is your net worth

Subscribe for more conversations about community, healing, and finding your people.

🎙️ New episodes every week

Connect with The Violette Podcast:

TikTok: @theviolettepodcast YouTube: The Violette Podcast

Find SlayDay:

Instagram: @dj_slayday TikTok: @slaydaymusic

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/4UojgMbBJKpfPaq0ZFJYLg?si=TwhRrejhQNae4Tur39jMNg

SoundCloud: soundcloud.com/slaydaymusic

Website: www.slaydaymusic.com

#EDM #BassMusicCommunity #DJLife #FindingYourPeople #ColoradoSprings #DenverEDM #NetworkingTips #MusicIndustry #CommunityBuilding #TheViolettePodcast #RedRocks #SocialMediaMarketing #Networking #MusicCareer #EDMCommunity

This episode is Ariel's most vulnerable yet. She's taking you through her entire 2025 journey: the year of the snake, the year of shedding everything that no longer served her. From her spiritual awakening in June to discovering real self-love through plant medicine and ceremony, this is her raw story of transformation.

Ariel shares what a spiritual awakening actually felt like for her (spoiler: it wasn't blissful or peaceful... it shook her entire foundation). She talks about the integration process that followed, why it's harder than the awakening itself, and how she had to completely rebuild who she surrounded herself with. She opens up about the relationships she lost, the boundaries she finally set, and how ceremonial cacao became her daily practice for self-love.

2025 was about going inward, shedding the old skin, and doing the deep work. Now we're stepping into 2026, the year of the horse, and everything is accelerating. This year is about movement, momentum, and showing up fully without apologizing for being "too much."

This conversation is about reclaiming your muchness, finding your people, and understanding that transformation isn't comfortable but it's worth it. If you've been feeling called to change, to shed, to step into who you really are... this one's for you!

Topics Covered:

0:00 - Welcome: Year of the Snake overview

4:30 - The shedding process: letting go of shame and limiting beliefs

8:45 - What my spiritual awakening actually felt like in June 14:20 - Integration: the real work after awakening

19:15 - Plant medicine journey: ceremonial cacao and self-love

25:40 - Finding my community and why it changed everything

31:10 - Year of the Horse 2026: what's coming and how to prepare

36:45 - Reclaiming your muchness and giving yourself permission to be you

Subscribe for more conversations about spiritual awakening, plant medicine, integration, and finding your people!

🎙️ New episodes every Week

Connect with The Violette Podcast:

TikTok: @theviolettepodcast

YouTube: The Violette Podcast

#SpiritualAwakening #YearOfTheSnake #YearOfTheHorse #PlantMedicine #CeremonialCacao #Integration #SelfLoveJourney #PersonalTransformation #FindingYourPeople #TheViolettePodcast #ConsciousCommunity #HealingJourney #Awakening #2026Energy

Alizee has had the gift of mediumship since she was a child. Growing up in a religious household, she stepped away from it... until this year, when it returned stronger than ever. Now, she helps people connect with loved ones who've passed, showing them how thin the veil really is. But her work goes deeper than that. She also guides women to reconnect with their inner girl, not just their inner child, but the playful, vibrant, unapologetic parts of themselves they've had to hide.

In this conversation, Alizee shares her journey from setting aside her gifts as a child to embracing them fully as an adult. We talk about grief as love in a different form, why healing doesn't have to be so serious, and how getting out of survival mode starts with music and movement. She also opens up about how losing her mom at nine forced her into survival mode, why finding safety in your body is the key to being present, and why play is one of the most healing things we can do.

This episode is about reclaiming your voice, getting safe in your body, and remembering that life is meant to be lived, not survived.

Topics Covered:

0:00 - Alizee's journey with mediumship since childhood

10:00 - Growing up in a religious household

15:00 - How the gift returned this year

23:00 - What a mediumship session looks like

31:00 - Grief as love in a different form

38:00 - Inner girl work vs inner child work

49:00 - Getting out of survival mode through play

57:00 - Simple practices: music, movement, and presence

1:03:00 - Finding community and saying yes

Subscribe for more conversations about healing, spirit, and finding your people.

🎙️ New episodes every Friday

Connect with The Violette Podcast: TikTok: @theviolettepodcast YouTube: The Violette Podcast

Find Alizee: Instagram: @alchemywithalizee

Website: alchemywithalizee.com

#Mediumship #Grief #InnerGirlHealing #SpiritCommunication #SurvivalMode #PlayHealing #FindingYourPeople #TheViolettePodcast #HealingJourney #SomaticHealing #InnerChildWork #SpiritualAwakening #LoveAndLoss #Community #Transformation

Note: Due to technical difficulties during recording, the audio and video may not be perfectly synced in some sections. We've done our best to align them, and we appreciate your understanding!

Marissa struggled with mental health as a teenager. After trying talk therapy and medication with limited results, her father discovered ayahuasca and brought her to Mexico at 16. That first ceremony changed everything! The medicine showed her that she wasn't separate from nature, that she was deeply interconnected with all living things. And in that moment, something shifted.

Since then, Marissa has spent over 12 years training with indigenous medicine keepers across North and South America, learning sound healing, herbalism, and the art of creating community-based healing. Now, she's building the Stream Entry Institute in North Florida, a space dedicated to making healing accessible to everyone, regardless of financial barriers.

In this conversation, Marissa shares her journey and why community is the foundation of all healing. She's creating scholarship funds to make healing accessible to everyone, regardless of financial barriers. We talk about how healing is never meant to be done alone, what it means to actively foster community instead of just wanting it, and how showing up authentically is how you find your people.

This is about more than individual healing. It's about collective transformation.

Topics Covered:

0:00 - Marissa's journey from therapy to natural medicine

15:00 - Training with indigenous medicine keepers for 12+ years

25:00 - Why community is central to healing

35:00 - How to actively foster community (not just want it)

45:00 - Sound healing, herbalism, and plant dietas

55:00 - Making healing accessible through scholarship funds

1:00:00 - The documentary and Stream Entry Institute

Subscribe for more conversations about healing, community, and finding your people.

🎙️ New episodes every Friday

Connect with The Violette Podcast: TikTok: @theviolettepodcast YouTube: The Violette Podcast

Find Marissa: Instagram/Facebook: @streamentryinstitutecf TikTok: @eyeoftheocelot Newsletter: DM Marissa for her handwritten newsletter

Website: https://www.streamentryinstitute.com/

#CommunityHealing #NaturalMedicine #SoundHealing #Herbalism #AlternativeHealing #MentalHealthJourney #FindingYourPeople #TheViolettePodcast #HealingJourney #Wellness #IndigenousMedicine #HolisticHealing #Community #Transformation

This episode is different. We don't just talk about cacao ceremonies... we experience one together. Kristina, a ceremonial cacao facilitator, guides us through an opening ceremony before sharing her powerful journey from spontaneous spiritual awakening to the Peruvian jungle and her work with ceremonial cacao.

Kristina shares her story of going to the Peruvian jungle for a 9-day dieta (traditional shamanic purification), living in complete isolation on a purification diet with no phone, no comfort, no distractions. Just her and the medicine. It cracked her open in the most profound way, turning her eyes inward and showing her that the safest place to be is home in her body.

We talk about what ceremonial cacao actually is (and why it's different from chocolate powder), how to source it ethically, and why the cacao fat is considered the soul of the medicine. Kristina breaks down the integration process, and why it's not enough to just have the experience, you have to embody the changes in your daily life.

This conversation is about reclaiming your voice, softening the armor around your heart, and remembering that you don't have to have it all figured out. Sometimes the most powerful intention is simply: show me my next right step.

Topics Covered: ⏱️ 0:00 - Opening cacao ceremony (participate with us!) ⏱️ 14:00 - Kristina's spiritual awakening and journey to the jungle ⏱️ 21:00 - What is a dieta? 9 days of purification in isolation ⏱️ 28:00 - Victim to accountability: the shift that changes everything ⏱️ 35:00 - What is ceremonial cacao and why it's different from chocolate ⏱️ 43:00 - Integration: getting the lessons into your body ⏱️ 52:00 - Sourcing ethical cacao and how to make your first cup ⏱️ 1:00:00 - Supporting others: helping people find home in their bodies ⏱️ 1:14:00 - Reclaiming your voice and standing in your power

Subscribe for more conversations about plant medicine, healing, and finding your people.

🎙️ New episodes every Friday

Connect with The Violette Podcast: TikTok: @theviolettepodcast YouTube: The Violette Podcast

Find Kristina: Website: https://kristina-medicina.square.site/ Instagram: @kristina.medicina Instagram: @heart_house Facebook: Kristina Medicina Facebook: Heart House Collaboration

Cacao Laboratory (Mentioned in Episode): www.cacaolaboratory.com use code Lionflower10 for a discount! 

#CeremonialCacao #CacaoCeremony #SpiritualAwakening #Integration #PlantMedicineHealing #ShamanicHealing #SelfLove #FindingHome #HeartOpening #TheViolettePodcast #AlternativeHealing #Wellness #PersonalGrowth #FindingYourPeople #CacaoFacilitator

Kayla is a licensed massage therapist and spinal flow practitioner who specializes in helping people release trauma stored deep in their bodies. But her journey didn't start in the wellness space... it started as a lifeguard at the YMCA, teaching herself yoga, and eventually discovering that our bodies hold layers of trauma we don't even realize are there.

In this conversation, Kayla breaks down what spinal flow technique actually is and how it accesses the three types of blockages in our body: physical, chemical, and emotional. We talk about why our hips hold so much emotion, how the nervous system communicates through cerebrospinal fluid, and what it looks like when someone's body finally releases what it's been holding onto.

Kayla also shares a powerful story about doing a heart-opening spinal flow session, watching someone's body express and move in ways that helped them process years of stored emotion. This is about more than massage. It's about creating space for the body to heal itself.

We also dive into the shift from growing up in traditional religion to discovering Ayurveda, Buddhism, and the Vedas, and why these ancient practices feel like they're finally being validated by Western medicine.

Topics Covered: ⏱️ 0:00 - Kayla's journey from lifeguard to wellness practitioner ⏱️ 10:00 - How yoga and Ayurveda changed her perspective on healing ⏱️ 16:00 - What is spinal flow technique? ⏱️ 22:00 - The three types of blockages: physical, chemical, emotional ⏱️ 28:00 - A powerful heart-opening session and what happened ⏱️ 35:00 - How Reiki, spinal flow, and energy work connect ⏱️ 41:00 - Finding your people and building healing community ⏱️ 48:00 - Why surrounding yourself with the right people changes everything

Subscribe for more conversations about healing, trauma release, and finding your people.

🎙️ New episodes every Friday

Connect with The Violette Podcast: TikTok: @theviolettepodcast YouTube: The Violette Podcast

Find Kayla: Website: BodyflowbyKayla.com Instagram: @kayla_adannaya Location: Seabreeze Hair and Skin, Navarre, Florida

#SpinalFlow #TraumaRelease #SomaticHealing #NervousSystemHealing #MassageTherapy #EnergyHealing #Reiki #Ayurveda #YogaJourney #BodyHoldsTrauma #HealingJourney #TheViolettePodcast #AlternativeHealing #Wellness #FindingYourPeople

Mark Shays built an empire in action sports. He co-founded the Pro Tour, hosted the X Games for 10 years, traveled the world producing events in Moscow, Shanghai, Paris. From the outside, it looked like the dream life.

But Mark wasn't present for any of it. He has almost no photos, few memories. People would share stories of deep, meaningful conversations they'd had with him, and he wouldn't even recognize their faces.

At 48, during Burning Man 2018, everything shifted. A friend asked if he was okay... and could tell there was something deeper going on. That moment led to a profound awakening that cracked open what had been unconsciously controlling his entire life.

In this conversation, Mark shares his journey from being a triple major in college to getting sponsored by Rollerblade, from creating action sports history to finally becoming present in his own existence. We talk about the difference between consuming and creating, raising your vibration to attract your people, and why being in the "receiving" changes everything.

This isn't surface-level. This is the deep conversation Mark asked for; about presence, awakening, and what it means to finally show up for your life.

Topics Covered: ⏱️ 0:00 - Mark's journey from X Games to spiritual awakening ⏱️ 15:00 - The question that changed everything ⏱️ 30:00 - How to know if you're present in your life ⏱️ 45:00 - Raising your vibration to attract your people ⏱️ 1:00:00 - Being vs doing: the shift that changes everything

Subscribe for more conversations about spiritual awakening, consciousness, and finding your people.

🎙️ New episodes every Friday

Connect with The Violette Podcast: TikTok: @theviolettepodcast YouTube: The Violette Podcast

#SpiritualAwakening #Presence #Mindfulness #Consciousness #FindingYourPeople #RaisingYourVibration #PersonalGrowth #BurningMan #XGames #MarkShays #TheViolettePodcast #Meditation #SpiritualJourney #ActionSports #Transformation

What happens when everything you thought you knew suddenly shifts? When you discover plant medicine, natural healing, or a deeper way of living, and the world looks completely different?

In this inaugural episode of The Violette Podcast, host Ariel shares her own journey, the spiritual awakening that changed everything and how finding her people transformed her entire path.

If you've ever felt alone in your transformation, if you've wondered "does anyone else understand what just happened to me?" This episode is for you.

About The Violette Podcast: Real conversations with seekers, healers, and guides in the psychedelic and plant medicine space. Whether you're in the middle of your transformation right now, you've been walking this path for years, or you're just beginning to feel that pull toward something more... you belong here.

When you find your people, everything changes. Welcome home.

Subscribe and leave a review to help others find their people too.