Your Wise Self with Sara

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Have you ever been exhausted all day, then wide awake the second your head hits the pillow? In this solo episode, I'm talking about why that happens and what we can do about it - this is the topic for the November 4th Masterclass for Your Wise Year. Details below...

If your nervous system feels stuck in the "on" position, you're not alone. Many of us (especially women in midlife) are carrying the mental load, managing hormones, and running on empty. The good news? You don't need fancy gadgets to start shifting this. The oldest biohack in the world is simply lying down and letting your system settle on purpose.

I walk through three deep rest practices you can start today:

Yoga Nidra — an ancient guided practice (20–45 min) that research shows improves deep sleep and lowers cortisol

NDSR (Non-Sleep Deep Rest) — a 10–20 minute reset popularized by Dr. Andrew Huberman, perfect for midday

Constructive Rest — a simple somatic practice of lying on your back with knees bent to release the spine and hips

We also cover the autonomic nervous system (think: gas pedal vs. brake pedal), the signs your system is stuck in fight-or-flight, and five levers — breath, body, attention, rhythm, and self-compassion — that help you shift into rest.

Stick around for a short guided practice at the end, and join me live for the Your Wise Year Masterclass on Wednesday, November 4th at 7 PM Central. We'll go deeper into all of this with more tools and practices together. 

Save your spot here.

If this episode resonated, please share it with a friend who might need it. And remember - deep rest is a skill. You're not doing it wrong. Your body is just learning a new way.

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Are you still choosing the life you’re building, or are you simply following the patterns that built you?

This is not like any other episode I’ve done before, and I truly mean that. This conversation shifted something in me, and I have a feeling it’ll shift something in you, too.

My guest today is Paul Harkins, founder, mentor, and author of The Refrigerator Test: 32 Short Chapters on Dating, Compatibility, and the Ordinary Moments Where People Accidentally Tell the Truth About Themselves. And while we did talk about dating, we went so much deeper than that. We talked about what happens when you stop searching for answers outside yourself and start turning inward. We talked about ego, comfort, and emotional intelligence, and about how the hardest mirror to look into isn’t the one in your bathroom. It’s the one your relationships hold up to you.

Whether you’re married, single, dating, divorced, or simply navigating any relationship in your life, this episode is for you. It’s inspiring in a way that sneaks up on you. Not because Paul or I had all the answers, but because the answers were inside us all along.

In this episode, we cover:

• How Paul’s humble beginnings in the Bronx shaped his relentless drive
• Why comfort is one of the most misunderstood words in relationships
• The difference between chemistry and real connection
• What it means to cut the energy cord from a past relationship
• How to look in the mirror after a breakup without anger or ego
• Why emotional intelligence might be the only boundary you actually need
• A beautiful grounding exercise involving a balance scale and your solar plexus
• A reading from the final chapter of The Refrigerator Test

Find Paul Harkins here
The Refrigerator Test is available on Amazon

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GLP-1s like Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro, and Zepbound are everywhere — but the conversation can be full of hype or shame. In this episode, I offer something different: a clear, honest look at what GLP-1s are and five reasons they can genuinely benefit the right person. We cover how GLP-1 works in your body, why it quiets food noise, how it removes shame from the weight conversation, the powerful window it opens for lifestyle change, and what it teaches us about our own biology. Plus the honest truth about muscle loss, what happens when you stop, and how lifestyle medicine can help you build a foundation that lasts. No judgment, just support.

This episode is for educational purposes only and is not medical advice. Always talk with your healthcare provider before making any medication changes.

Connect with Sara:
Website: yourwiseselfwithsara.com
Email: [email protected]
Instagram: @yourwiseselfwithsara

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What if energy isn't just a woo-woo concept, but something you can actually understand, feel, and work with? In this episode of Your Wise Self with Sara, we sit down with Dr. Nichole Studd — certified yoga therapist, educator, doctor of natural and functional medicine, and founder of the Science and Spirit Playground at Yoga Studd Studio — to explore energy as vibration with information.

Nichole bridges neuroscience, medicine, mindfulness, and movement to help us understand how energy shapes our daily lives. We dive into:

• How to recognize when your energy is stuck, heavy, or off
• Practical tools to shift your energy — from breathing practices to movement and grounding techniques
• Working with both "heavy/foggy" energy and "wired/scattered" energy (hello, vata!)
• The role of labels like ADHD and human design in understanding your energy patterns
• How to hold two truths at once and embrace a patchwork of beliefs
• The koshas — the layers of our energy — and how exploring them can be empowering
• An impromptu oracle card reading with some beautifully timed messages

Plus, Nichole shares details about her upcoming masterclass on October 7th at 7 PM Central, part of the Your Wise Year series. If this conversation gives you language for something you've been feeling but couldn't name, the masterclass is where you'll learn to work with it more directly.

Find Nichole at yogastuddstudio.com and @nicholestudd on Instagram and Facebook. 

Registration for the Your Wise Year masterclass series is at yourwiseselfwithsara.com.

If you got something out of today, please follow the show, rate it five stars, and share this episode with at least one person who might need to hear it. That's how this podcast finds the people who need it most. Thank you!

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In this episode, Sara welcomes Fletcher Johnson, a certified yoga therapist, Reiki master, and founder of Elevate Your Health, to discuss how seasonal living and Ayurvedic wisdom can support nervous system regulation, especially for women in midlife.

Fletcher shares her journey from waiting tables to yoga therapy, how she noticed nervous system dysregulation as an "epidemic" in her classes and private practice, and how Ayurveda's elemental framework helps us understand why we feel different in different seasons. She introduces the Apana Mudra, a discreet hand gesture meaning "heart listening" that calms the nervous system in moments of anxiety, and explains why something as simple as eating meals at the same time every day can be a game-changer for regulation.

We also discuss resilience, a powerful client story of a young athlete overcoming debilitating anxiety through breath work, and why the biggest misconception about self-care might be that more is better - when sometimes, less is the answer.

Key Takeaways:

• Nervous system dysregulation often goes unnoticed until we hit a breaking point
• Ayurveda helps us understand seasonal patterns in our energy, emotions, and body
• Midlife is an ideal time to pause and reassess what's no longer working
• Apana Mudra is a free, accessible tool for grounding that you can do anywhere
• Eating meals at consistent times stabilizes blood sugar and supports regulation
• Resilience is about working with your body, not pushing harder
• Self-care isn't about adding more - sometimes it's about subtracting

Connect with Fletcher:

Website: elevate444.com

Facebook: Elevate Your Health

Instagram: @elevate.444

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Sara sits down with esthetician and health coach Melissa Raffone to share about the fall cohort of the Clarity Reset - a guided group detox program they launched last spring. They discuss why they chose Roger's Hood Apothecary and their tincture-based approach, break down the realities of parasites, heavy metals, and candida, and share how the spring cohort transformed participants' digestion, sleep, energy, and mood. The conversation covers the full program structure: three weeks of education on nutrition, lymphatic health, and stress management, followed by weeks of guided detox with community support. 

The fall cohort begins September 23rd, with a live Q&A on August 19th at 6 PM Central / 7 PM Eastern. Whether you're new to detox or looking for a supported, gentle approach, this episode walks you through everything you need to know.

Register for the Q&A

*To register for the Q&A click on the calendar -> Aug 19 -> only time available

Register for the Clarity Reset

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In this episode of Your Wise Self with Sara, I sit down with Analena Fuchs, an intuitive human design and Gene Keys guide who helps conscious leaders stop people-pleasing and step into their authentic power.

Analena shares her journey from corporate life and coaching into becoming a human design teacher, and opens up about a recent authentic pivot in her own work. We explore what human design really is, how it works differently from a "recipe" for decision-making, and why the mind isn't meant to make our big life choices - our bodies are.

We also go deep into true sidereal astrology: what it is, how it differs from the tropical astrology most people know, and how the precession of the equinoxes has quietly shifted where the planets actually sit in the sky (and in your chart) over the last 2,000 years. Analena explains how this discovery changed her own human design reading and why she now offers true sidereal human design charts to her clients.

We close with a conversation about the Money-Purpose Paradox, the power of gratitude, and Analena's upcoming Your Wise Year masterclass on September 2nd at 7:00 PM Central ($27 for live + recorded access).

Your Wise Year 

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In this episode of Your Wise Self with Sara, Sara welcomes Traci Herridge, a women's personal trainer, hormone and run coach, and founder of Train with Fire, for a practical, no-fluff conversation about healing your hormones naturally.

Traci shares her personal perimenopause story and breaks down how blood sugar, cortisol, sleep, and stress are all deeply connected to hormonal imbalance. You'll walk away with simple, actionable steps you can start today - from a morning walk to eating protein first, to why strength training is the one non-negotiable for women over 35.

Whether you're 35 and noticing early symptoms or well into perimenopause, this episode will help you understand what's happening in your body and what you can do about it. Plus, learn about Traci's upcoming masterclass on August 5th inside Your Wise Year.

Resources:
Traci's free Hormone Balance Checklist + coaching
Your Wise Year Masterclass – Healing Your Hormones (Aug. 5th, 7 PM Central)
Purchase to attend (or receive replay) of this masterclass

Books: Roar by Dr. Stacy Sims | 
Perimenopause Revolution by Dr. Mariza Snyder | 
The New Menopause by Dr. Mary Claire Haver
Balanced series on Amazon Prime

💌 Leave a written review for a chance to win a $100 Lululemon gift card!
📩 Connect with Sara: [email protected]

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Three Actionable Items You Can Do Today! 

We're halfway through 2026 - and in this episode, Sara covers three things that could transform the second half of your year.

Part 1 – Supplements: Sara busts three common myths around supplement use and invites you to her FREE Supplements 101 webinar on July 15th at 12 PM Central, where she'll help you figure out what's actually worth your money and what your body may genuinely need.

Part 2 – Hair Sensitivity Testing: Sara introduces a new à la carte offering - an 80-page hair test report that uncovers food sensitivities, environmental triggers, nutritional gaps, and hormone deficiencies. Available now for only $47, with an optional coaching review session for $97 (introductory pricing). Links in show notes.

Part 3 – Lululemon Giveaway: Sara is giving away a $100 Lululemon gift card (possibly two!). Enter by leaving a podcast review, sharing a coaching testimonial, or referring a friend to her newsletter. Deadline: July 31st.

Sara has 1:1 Coaching Sessions available. Simply email her for more information 

📧 [email protected] 

📅 Register for Supplements 101

🧪 Order your Hair Test

LinkTree: To find all the podcast options or leave a review here on YouTube!

📧 [email protected]

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What does it mean to truly heal — not just manage symptoms? 

In this episode, Sara sits down with Dr. Yi Song, a physician with 17 generations of Chinese medicine in her family who went on to study pathology at Brown University before returning to her roots. Dr. Song shares the six principles from her book Regeneration Effect: Sacred Wisdom for Staying Young - from recognizing your body's unique constitution to treating it like a garden, not a machine. She also opens up about her own health journey, the oral-systemic connection most doctors overlook, and the cutting-edge stem cell therapies she offers at the Zenerchi Retreat in Medellín, Colombia. If your doctor keeps telling you everything looks "normal" but something still feels off, this episode is for you.

Resources mentioned:

Free e-book: gift.regenerationeffect.com

Shop pamphlets & abridged book: shop.regenerationeffect.com

Pre-order the full book: book.regenerationeffect.com

Niacinamide toothpaste https://a.co/d/0dywkipd  

Retreat Center: https://zenerchiretreat.com/ 

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