Ljubica's professional path brings together education, psychology, systemic family therapy and an ongoing exploration of emerging technologies. Ljubica holds a BA in Preschool Education from the University of Belgrade, completed additional studies in psychology and four years of specialist training in systemic family therapy, and holds the European Certificate of Psychotherapy (ECP). Ljubica Tasic Kennedy, Systemic Family Therapist What first drew you to systemic family therapy, and what keeps you engaged with this way of understanding people and relationships? What first drew me to systemic family therapy was, in many ways, already present in my work in education. I have been working in education for 18 years, and throughout much of that time, I have been engaged in pedagogical counselling with families. These experiences gradually revealed to me just how deeply connected we are, not only to the people immediately around us, but also to the cultures, languages, stories, beliefs, and values within which we live. As Lev Vygotsky observed, human beings are fundamentally relational and develop through interaction. Systemic family therapy, and systemic practice more broadly, speaks directly to this phenomenon: the reciprocal processes and dynamics between people and the contexts in which they live. No person exists or develops in isolation. Every interaction with our environment contributes to our experience and shapes the ways in which we engage in future relationships. At the same time, our actions also influence, transform, and reshape the environments and relationships around us. Over time, through reading and exploring different bodies of literature, I encountered systemic family therapy as an approach that articulated something I had already begun to recognise through my professional experience. It therefore felt less like a departure into a new field and more like a natural evolutionary step in my professional development. It gave me a framework for understanding what I had been observing for years: that people are not simply individuals within systems, but active participants in reciprocal processes that continuously shape both themselves and the worlds they inhabit. When someone comes to therapy with anxiety or burnout, what helps you see whether the struggle is personal or connected to the wider system around them? I do not see personal and systemic factors as separate explanations for anxiety or burnout. Every difficulty is simultaneously personal and relational, embedded within the systems and contexts in which we live. These are not competing dimensions, but inseparable parts of the same experience. Anxiety can be understood as a response to the circumstances and relationships through which we move. It may emerge when a person senses that the way they are currently organised, relating, or integrating within their environment is no longer sustainable and that some form of adaptation or change is required. This can happen during transitions within the family and individual life cycle, or in response to significant vertical stressors that enter a person’s or family’s life. Individuals, families, and communities all move through recognisable developmental stages. Leaving the family of origin and entering independent life, becoming a parent, or transitioning to an empty nest are examples of life cycle transitions. At the same time, experiences such as the death of an older family member, moving to another city or country, divorce, or a significant change in employment can introduce major stressors that require a system to reorganise. During these periods of change, both the individual and their surrounding relationships are required to adapt and renegotiate how they function together. Anxiety and burnout can therefore emerge at precisely these points of transition, when established ways of relating and coping no longer fit the circumstances. In therapy, I explore the client’s context and, importantly, why these symptoms have emerged at this particular point in their life. We look at the relationships, expectations, beliefs, and narratives surrounding the difficulty and deconstruct those that are no longer useful to the client. At the same time, the client actively works on identifying and mobilising resources that can support adaptation to the challenges they are facing. I see anxiety and burnout as experiences that can serve a function. Understanding what that function is and what the symptom may be communicating about the person’s relationship with themselves, others, and their wider context is often an important first step towards meaningful change. What tends to surface in intercultural relationships that couples may initially mistake for a personality or communication problem? Answer: In intercultural relationships, what initially appears to be a personality difference or communication problem is often a difference in meaning. Partners may use the same words, gestures, or expressions while attaching very different meanings to them. Our ideas about independence, family loyalty, gender roles, parenting, privacy, hospitality, conflict, or financial responsibility are shaped by the cultural and family systems in which we grow up. A partner may therefore experience the other’s behaviour as controlling, distant, disrespectful, or overly dependent, while the other understands the same behaviour as caring, responsible, loyal, or appropriate. This is why I work from a dialogical and collaborative perspective. I am interested in exploring the meanings partners give not only to words, but also to gestures, rituals, facial expressions, silences, and everyday interactions. Importantly, this process is not limited to intercultural couples. Even partners who share the same cultural background can inhabit very different relational worlds and attach different meanings to the same experience. In intercultural relationships, however, these differences can become particularly visible. Migration, language, family traditions, religious or cultural narratives, and different expectations about relationships can all become part of the relational context. Rather than deciding whose interpretation is correct, therapy creates space to become curious about how these meanings were constructed, what they represent for each partner, and how they influence their relationship. This can transform “Why don’t you understand me?” into “Help me understand what this means to you.” That shift can create space for negotiation, flexibility, and connection. From your work in schools, what do adults often overlook about the relationship between student wellbeing, family dynamics, and the school environment? One thing adults can easily overlook is that the challenges students face are not fundamentally different from those we, as adults, encounter throughout our own lives. We all move between multiple roles and relational contexts: as partners, parents, colleagues, friends, family members, and members of wider communities. Maintaining clear, healthy, yet sufficiently flexible boundaries between these contexts is not always easy. For young people, however, this process is intensified by development itself. Adolescence involves ongoing developmental tasks and the gradual integration of a sense of self, while young people are simultaneously learning how to occupy increasingly complex social roles. They are moving between family, school, friendships, online spaces, and wider communities, each with its own expectations, rules, and meanings. When a student becomes anxious, withdrawn, aggressive, or disengaged, adults can easily locate the difficulty within the young person: their motivation, personality, or emotional resilience. From a systemic perspective, I am interested in what is happening across the relational contexts around them. How are expectations communicated? Where do boundaries become unclear or rigid? Are the messages from family, school, and peers compatible, or is the young person navigating conflicting demands? This is a question I am particularly engaged with through my work in education, youth and community settings, and my wider work with families. I believe wellbeing is supported when the systems around a young person can provide both connection and space for differentiation. As artificial intelligence becomes part of everyday learning, what changes in young people’s relationships or development concern you most? Change is an inherent part of human development, and every generation introduces changes that are not always immediately welcomed or understood by those who came before it. I am therefore cautious about viewing artificial intelligence simply as a threat. Young people have always developed within changing social and cultural contexts, and adaptation to change is part of how societies evolve. What concerns me more is something potentially different about the context in which this generation is developing. Historically, when children and adolescents encountered new social, emotional, or developmental challenges, they could turn to adults who, even if they did not have all the answers, had some lived experience of the world they were navigating. Adults could provide an attachment relationship from which young people could explore, test ideas, regulate emotions, make mistakes, and gradually develop autonomy. Today, an increasing part of that developmental environment is digital. Young people form attitudes, experiment with identities, enter relationships, and construct their understanding of themselves and others within a digital reality. Adults are now raising a generation in a rapidly evolving digital realm in which they themselves may have little developmental experience. This creates a new form of cultural distance between generations. The concern is not simply what artificial intelligence might do to young people, but what happens to relationships when adults struggle to understand a significant part of the world in which young people are growing. From a systemic perspective, the challenge is therefore to preserve the relationship between adults and young people as a space for dialogue, curiosity, and collaborative exploration, rather than allowing technological change to become another source of generational disconnection. When someone feels chronically exhausted, what should they examine beyond their own habits and ability to cope? I think it is important not to reduce chronic exhaustion to an individual’s habits, resilience, or ability to cope. Not every symptom should be given a psychological explanation. In therapy, I therefore always explore the wider context, including sleep, changes in circadian rhythm, physical symptoms, illness, caring responsibilities, financial difficulties, major life circumstances, and other factors that may be contributing to someone’s exhaustion. We are whole beings. Our psychological experience cannot be separated from our bodies, relationships, responsibilities, and material circumstances. Chronic stress and burnout can also become pervasive and embodied, which makes it particularly important to recognise when someone may need medical assessment or another form of care alongside, or instead of, psychological support. There is also a systemic dimension that I find important to explore. Sometimes people remain in patterns of chronic dysregulation or difficult relational dynamics because those patterns have become familiar. What is familiar is not necessarily healthy, but it can feel predictable and therefore difficult to change. A person may understand intellectually that something is not working while still finding it very difficult to reorganise their relationships, boundaries, responsibilities, or expectations. At that point, I become interested not only in what is exhausting the person, but also in what is preventing change. What keeps the current pattern in place? What would changing it mean for their relationships and wider system? These questions can become an important part of the therapeutic work, while remaining attentive to the possibility that psychological, relational, physical, and contextual factors may all require consideration. How can couples from different cultural backgrounds distinguish a genuine relationship conflict from expectations they have inherited from family or culture? I do not think there is always a clear boundary between a “genuine” relationship conflict and a cultural difference. Cultural and family expectations can genuinely contribute to conflict because they shape what each partner believes a relationship should look like. The important question is what happens when those expectations meet the needs and values of the two people who are actually in the relationship. In therapy, I would therefore explore what each partner understands the conflict to mean. Is this something that genuinely matters to both of them in their present relationship, or are they responding to an expectation they have inherited from their families, communities, or cultural narratives? Sometimes a partner is defending not only a personal preference, but an idea of what a “good daughter,” “good husband,” or “proper family” should be. At the same time, cultural differences should not automatically be explained away. Couples may genuinely have different values or needs around parenting, family involvement, finances, autonomy, or belonging. These differences may require negotiation and sometimes difficult decisions about how they want to organise their life together. The therapist’s role is not to decide whose cultural framework is correct. It is to create a space where both partners can examine the meanings they bring into the relationship and decide what they want to carry forward, what they want to adapt, and what they want to create together. Every couple has a unique story, and that story deserves its own time to be told before we decide what the conflict is really about. What does treating the client as the expert in their own life change about the therapeutic conversation? Treating the client as the expert in their own life changes the therapeutic conversation from one in which the therapist provides answers to one in which knowledge is developed collaboratively. I may bring professional knowledge, therapeutic frameworks, and experience, but the client remains the person who knows their own history, relationships, meanings, and lived experience most intimately. For me, an important part of this approach is returning ownership and competence to the client. Therapy should support people in making their own decisions and recognising their capacity to act, while also acknowledging the responsibility that comes with that agency. This can be deeply empowering because the client is no longer positioned primarily as someone who has a problem that an expert needs to solve. There is also an important power dimension to this. Therapy inevitably contains an asymmetry: one person is often arriving in pain, uncertainty, or crisis and sharing deeply vulnerable parts of their life, while the other is listening from a position of professional expertise. If we are not attentive to this, the therapeutic relationship can unintentionally reinforce the idea that the therapist knows what is best for the client. Giving competence back to the client helps rebalance that relationship. It also reminds us that therapists are not omnipotent and that therapy is not a panacea. We have knowledge, but we do not have access to the client’s truth outside the dialogue we create together. For me, maintaining a grounded therapeutic position means knowing what I can offer, recognising what I cannot, and making enough space for the client to reclaim authorship of their own life. What is one idea about relationships or wellbeing you hope people carry with them after reading this interview? Perhaps the one idea I would most like people to carry with them is that we are fundamentally creatures of interaction. We shape the people and relationships around us, just as they shape us. This process is mutual and circular, and understanding it can help us move away from the simple causal and often blaming logic of “Who did this to whom?” A systemic perspective offers a different way of understanding relationships. It allows us to look at patterns rather than assigning a single cause or a single person to blame. This does not mean giving up responsibility. Quite the opposite: it can help us see more clearly what is within our sphere of influence and responsibility and what belongs to other people or to circumstances beyond our control. When we begin to recognise these relational processes, we can develop more meaningful relationships, understand ourselves with greater compassion, and perhaps heal from relationships that did not last without reducing them to failure or blame. We can also begin to reclaim our own experience and our capacity to decide how we want to participate in the relationships that shape our lives. Ultimately, I find this way of thinking deeply humanistic. It allows us to see people not as isolated individuals with fixed characteristics or problems, but as complex human beings continuously developing through their relationships and contexts. For me, that creates more room for responsibility, compassion, curiosity, and change. Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and visit my website for more info! Read more from Ljubica Tasic Kennedy

Written by Erika Allison, Founder of NuFeet Medical Pedicures® Erika Allison is the founder of NuFeet Medical Pedicures® and creator of the medical pedicure business model, pioneering a private, condition-based approach to pedicures that incorporates physician collaboration. Through education, consulting, and live events, she has trained professionals worldwide and helped transform the pedicure industry. After more than a decade of providing Medical Pedicures®, one thing has become abundantly clear to me, patients are often frustrated, not simply because of their nail condition, but because they do not fully understand the journey they are about to take. As certified Medical Nail Technicians, we have a unique perspective. We do not typically see our clients once or twice. We see them every four weeks, month after month, sometimes for years. We witness the emotional highs and lows, the excitement when healthy nail growth begins, and the disappointment when a treatment does not produce the expected results. Because we are with our clients throughout this journey, we hear everything. The biggest misconception about discolored toenails One of the most common mistakes I hear, both from the public and from some nail professionals, is this statement, “That looks like fungus.” Or, even worse, “You have toenail fungus.” The reality is that no one can determine the cause of a discolored toenail simply by looking at it. As nail technicians, making statements like these crosses into the realm of diagnosis, which is outside our scope of practice. A discolored nail may indeed be caused by a fungal infection. It may also be caused by trauma, psoriasis, eczema, lichen planus, a bacterial infection, aging, medication, circulation issues, or many other conditions. The only way to know whether fungus is truly present is through laboratory diagnostic testing of a nail clipping or sample. Without that information, treatment becomes educated guesswork. Why proper diagnosis saves time and money Throughout my career, I have referred countless clients to podiatrists for evaluation. Many have received excellent care. Others have returned months later, frustrated because treatment was not working. In some cases, they shared that no nail sample had been collected before treatment began. Instead, they were prescribed topical medications, oral medications, laser treatments, or other therapies based solely on the appearance of the nail. If the nail condition was truly fungal, those treatments may have been appropriate and successful. However, if the underlying cause was something else, months of treatment could pass with little or no improvement. A toenail typically requires nine to twelve months to grow out completely. If the client wears cosmetic toenail enhancements, that process can easily take much longer. Every unnecessary month matters. Patients are already investing their time, money, and hope. Starting with an accurate diagnosis gives them the best opportunity to receive the appropriate treatment from the very beginning. The role of the Medical Nail Technician One difference between podiatrists and Medical Nail Technicians is how often we see our clients and patients. Many physicians may see a patient only once or twice during treatment, while we often see them every four weeks. We watch the nail grow, photograph progress, monitor changes, encourage clients when they feel discouraged, and remind them that healthy nail growth takes patience. In many ways, we become their accountability partner throughout the process. Because of this relationship, clients frequently share their frustrations with us first. We hear when treatments are working, when they are not, and when clients are confused about what comes next. That ongoing relationship gives us valuable insight into the patient experience. This is about strengthening the relationship with podiatrists I want to be absolutely clear about something, sharing this perspective is not about discouraging patients from seeing a podiatrist. It is actually the exact opposite. Medical Nail Technicians exist because we believe in collaborative care. We understand our scope of practice. We do not diagnose disease, prescribe medications, or replace physicians. We know that podiatrists play an essential role in diagnosing and treating diseases of the feet and nails. Every referral we make is made because we believe our client deserves medical evaluation when it is needed. Our goal has never been to replace the podiatrist. Our goal is to encourage more people to seek treatment from them. However, if we are encouraging clients to trust the referral process, we also want to know that they are receiving the care we referred them for. When clients understand the importance of diagnostic testing, they are less likely to become discouraged after months of unsuccessful treatment. They are more likely to trust the process, follow recommendations, and remain committed to their care. When clients lose confidence in medical treatment, everyone loses. They often become frustrated, stop treatment altogether, and begin searching for miracle products instead of continuing with evidence-based care. As Medical Nail Technicians, we spend months walking beside these clients. We answer their questions, celebrate their progress, and encourage them when they feel like giving up. Helping clients understand what to expect before they even arrive at their podiatry appointment strengthens the relationship between the patient and the physician. That is why we exist. Educating clients before their appointment One of the most valuable things I believe we can do is prepare our clients before they ever walk into a podiatry office. When I refer someone, I encourage them to ask their physician whether diagnostic testing would be beneficial in their situation. I also explain that laboratory testing may involve a separate fee. While no one enjoys unexpected expenses, understanding exactly what is causing the nail abnormality can save months of frustration, unnecessary treatments, and additional costs in the future. Patients appreciate honesty. When they understand why a diagnostic test may be recommended, they are much more likely to accept the process. Education removes uncertainty. Not every discolored nail is fungal This may be the most important lesson I have learned during my career, not every discolored nail is fungal. I have worked with many clients whose nail changes were associated with psoriasis. Some did not even know they had psoriasis until later. Through routine Medical Pedicures®, proper nail maintenance, reduction of damaged nail, protection from additional trauma, and consistent home care, I have seen significant improvements in nail health without antifungal medications. This does not replace medical evaluation. It reinforces why understanding the true cause of a nail abnormality is so important. When everyone understands what they are treating, everyone is working toward the same goal. A collaborative future Medical Nail Technicians and podiatrists should never be viewed as competitors. We are partners serving the same patient from different perspectives. The podiatrist provides the medical diagnosis and develops the treatment plan. The Medical Nail Technician provides routine maintenance, reinforces home care, observes changes over time, encourages compliance, and supports the patient throughout a process that often lasts a year or longer. Together, we create a better experience for the patient. After more than a decade in this profession, I have learned that my responsibility extends far beyond performing a Medical Pedicure®. My responsibility is to educate, encourage, observe, advocate, and help clients navigate what is often a slow and emotional journey. When Medical Nail Technicians and podiatrists work together, patients receive the best of both professions. That collaboration is not only good for our industries. It is exactly what our clients deserve. Follow me on Instagram, and visit my website for more info! Read more from Erika Allison Erika Allison, Founder of NuFeet Medical Pedicures® Erika Allison is the founder of NuFeet Medical Pedicures® and creator of the medical pedicure business model. In 2012, she introduced a private, condition-based approach to pedicures that helped bridge the gap between the beauty and medical industries through physician collaboration and specialized foot care services. As an educator, speaker, inventor, and entrepreneur, she has trained professionals worldwide and developed innovative programs and products that have helped reshape the pedicure industry. Through her courses, consulting, and live events, Erika continues to advance professional standards and elevate the way pedicures are delivered around the world.

Written by Anna Woolliscroft, Writing for Wellbeing Specialist Anna is a journalling coach and wellbeing advocate on a mission to share the transformative power of writing with 100,000 people. Through her company, Writing with Purpose, she helps women navigate life’s challenges and rediscover their joy through creative expression and nature connection, alongside hosting the Writing with Purpose podcast. You had a full weekend. Maybe you slept in, took a slow walk, or had an early night. Then Monday arrives, and you still feel flat. If rest has not been working the way it is supposed to, you are not doing it wrong. You are probably doing the wrong kind of rest for what you need. Journalling for rest and restoration is not about writing, ‘I must relax,’ and hoping it sticks. It is a way of finding out, in your own words, what genuinely restores you, so you stop guessing and start protecting the right kind of downtime. What is true rest? Most of us picture rest as stillness. A lazy day in the garden, an afternoon nap, or snuggling up with a captivating book on the sofa. For some people, that is exactly right. For others, rest looks like a long walk, a trip to an unfamiliar city, or a HIIT session at the gym. Neither version is more correct than the other. Rest and restoration are not the same thing, either. Rest is the pause, you stop doing. Restoration is what that pause gives back to you. You can rest for eight hours and wake up rested but not restored, still carrying the same low-level depletion you went to bed with. That gap is usually the reason a full weekend off does not fix how you feel on Monday. There is no universal formula for closing that gap. What restores your friend might drain you completely. The only reliable way to find your own answer is to get curious about it in writing, rather than copying someone else’s version of a good rest day. Why professional women run this deficit If you are a high-achieving professional, you are likely already carrying more than most. Recent UK figures give some shape to why. One in six adults experienced symptoms of a common mental health problem, such as anxiety or low mood, in a single week, according to the most recent national survey, and women report these symptoms more often than men. Burnout data tells a similar story closer to home. Mental Health UK’s 2025 Burnout Report, based on a YouGov survey of over 4,000 UK adults, found that a third of adults experienced high or extreme pressure or stress ‘always’ or ‘often’ over the past year, and nine in ten experienced it at some point. One in five needed time off work because of it. If you are managing a career, a household, and possibly a parent or a teenager at the same time, you already know these are not abstract numbers. None of this means rest is a luxury you have not earned yet. It means the standard advice to do less and switch off is not specific enough to work for you. Try the energy audit This is a simple and eye-opening exercise because it turns a vague feeling of tiredness into something you can act on. Take a fresh page and draw a line down the middle. On one side, write ‘Drains.’ On the other, write ‘Restores.’ Then list freely, without overthinking it. The same thing can be written on both sides, and it is okay to repeat yourself. Drains and restores are not only activities. They can be people, places, environments, seasons, or even objects sitting in your peripheral vision. A cluttered desk can drain you as much as a difficult conversation. A phone call lasting five minutes with the right person can restore you as much as a full night’s sleep. Once you have written both lists, reflect on your words. What is on your drains list that you have more control over than you think? What is on your restores list that you have been neglecting? 5 journalling techniques for rest and restoration The energy audit: Revisit the exercise listed above monthly rather than doing it only once. What drains and restores you will vary with the seasons, your workload, and your calendar, so a single snapshot will not stay accurate for long. The rest sprint: Set a timer for five minutes and write freely using one of these prompts. Where in your body do you feel tiredness first, and what usually shifts it? When did you last feel fully rested, even briefly? If rest could look exactly as you needed it to this week, what would change? There is no structure to this activity and no editing is required. Just get it down. Future self journalling for rest: Picture yourself a year from now, properly restored rather than merely coping. Write a short letter from that future version of you to your current self. What does she do differently? What has she stopped apologising for? This technique works because it is easier to spot what is missing from your current routine when you can see the contrast written out in front of you. The permission sentence: Complete this sentence stem as many times as you need. Write, ‘A form of rest I keep putting off is...’ Many people are surprised by what surfaces here. It is often not a lack of time that is the real obstacle, but a belief that this particular kind of rest is not allowed. Permit yourself to rest when you need it and in a way that works for you. The weekly rest check-in: At the end of each week, write one sentence about what restored you and one about what you thought would restore you but did not. Over a month, this builds a much more accurate picture of your own patterns and behaviours than trying to remember them after the fact. What gets in the way The biggest obstacle usually is not time. It is the belief that rest has to be earned first. If you finish the task list, then you can stop. Since the list never actually ends, permission never arrives either. Guilt is the other common block, particularly for women managing caring responsibilities alongside a career. Taking time for yourself can feel indulgent even when you know, rationally, that you function better afterwards. Writing about that guilt on the page, rather than pushing it aside, tends to loosen its grip faster than trying to reason your way past it. There is also a common myth worth naming, that rest only counts if it looks peaceful from the outside. An intense activity or an adventure into the unknown can restore you just as completely as a nap, even though it does not look restful to anyone watching. Trust what the page tells you over what a wellness feed suggests you should be doing. Begin your own audit Journalling for rest and restoration will not add another task to your list. Done well, it removes a few because you stop spending energy on things that were never restoring you in the first place. Start with the energy audit this week. Open your page and create two columns. There is no pressure to get it right the first time. If you would like support building a personalised rest practice that actually fits your life, book a Journalling Audit consultation. Together, we will identify the techniques that match how you actually recover, not the version of rest everyone else seems to be selling. Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and visit my website for more info! Read more from Anna Woolliscroft Anna Woolliscroft, Writing for Wellbeing Specialist As a certified Journal to the Self Instructor and holder of a Master's in Creative Writing and Wellbeing, Anna guides women in reclaiming their purpose through proven journalling techniques and creative writing strategies. From climbing Mount Kilimanjaro to transitioning her marketing business into meaningful work, Anna has learned that transformation begins with honest self-reflection. Whether through live workshops, on-demand training, self-learning resources, or her podcast featuring therapeutic writing experts, Anna's mission remains clear, to share the life-changing power of intentional writing with 100,000 people over the next decade, helping women move from feeling stuck to living with clarity and confidence.

Written by Sarah Frustié, Ecotherapist, Forest Guide, Nature Retreat Facilitator and Holistic Counselor Sarah Frustié is an ecotherapist, forest guide, nature retreat facilitator, and holistic counselor working between Australia and France. Through nature-based practices, she supports people in caring professions to navigate burnout, ease chronic stress, and reconnect with the Earth. What if healing begins not by escaping life’s challenges, but by reconnecting with the natural world and ourselves? This article explores ecotherapy as a journey of mindfulness, self-discovery, and renewal, revealing how nature can guide us toward deeper connection, emotional balance, and personal growth. Through the rhythms of nature, we are invited to slow down, listen, and remember that we are not separate from the Earth, but an essential part of it. Nature: You are intrinsically connected to nature. The wisdom of Mother Earth guides you towards exploring, healing, and growing. You are nature. Mindfulness: Ecotherapy is a slow and intentional process that calls on deep grounding, care, and nervous system regulation. It involves being in the here and now, active listening, stillness, contemplation, and the art of noticing. Cycles: Nature teaches us to embrace rhythms and cycles. We learn to accept chaos, disorder, and discomfort as essential aspects of being. We learn to embrace both destruction and renewal, which are necessary for rebuilding. Reconnection: Ecotherapy is a profound invitation to reconnection. One that brings you back to yourself, exploring all the parts and layers of who you are. It involves deepening and discovering your connection with your sacred, wilder self through your bond with the natural world. Soul work: Therapy can support you in reconnecting with your deeper, darker, wild, sacred, and brighter Self. We learn how to embrace the unknown, the invisible, and the intangible. Therapy is soul work and can also be a spiritual quest. Discomfort: Therapy can be a challenging, deep, occasionally painful, and uncomfortable process. Reorganising the mind and reconnecting humans with themselves and nature can be a slow and confusing process. Balance: The idea of finding the perfect balance is a myth. Realistic balance comes from experiencing and embracing inevitable challenges and imperfections while also cultivating inner peace. Relationships: Therapy is also about learning to master relationships and communication. We focus on forming, maintaining, and enriching relationships with yourself, others, animals, and the more-than-human world. Change: Change is inevitable. We learn to navigate and integrate change with acceptance, openness, and awareness, stepping into a more authentic and empowered version of yourself. In essence, ecotherapy is an invitation to come home: Come home to yourself Come home to nature Come home to the deeper rhythms of life. To summarise, ecotherapy includes, nature, mindfulness, cycles, reconnection, soul, discomfort, balance, relationships, change, and coming home. Ecotherapy is a homecoming. It is not about fixing or escaping what is difficult, but about learning to listen, feel, reconnect, and grow through it. Through nature, mindfulness, relationship, discomfort, cycles, and change, we begin to remember something we may have forgotten, we are not separate from nature. We are part of it. Sometimes, healing begins when we slow down enough to remember. If you’re ready to slow down, reconnect with your wild self, and explore the healing benefits of nature, I offer a free 20-minute phone call to start your path. You can visit my website or email me here. Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn for more info! Read more from Sarah Frustié Sarah Frustié, Ecotherapist, Forest Guide, Nature Retreat Facilitator, and Holistic Counselor Sarah Frustié is a bilingual ecotherapist, holistic counselor, and forest guide based in the Adelaide Hills and France. She supports people in caring professions to navigate burnout, release chronic stress and anxiety, and reconnect with themselves through nature-based practices, forest bathing, and guided nature and meditation retreats. With a deep belief in the healing power of the natural world, Sarah blends mindfulness, eco-psychology, trauma-informed, and whole-person approaches to create safe and sacred experiences. She is the founder of Sarah Frustié Therapy, where every session is an invitation to slow down, breathe, and connect with the living world.

Written by Disha Modi, Health and Wellness Coach Disha Modi is a Board Certified Health & Wellness Coach, NBC-HWC, Menopause Specialist, and Clarity Catalyst Coach with a Master's degree in Biochemical Engineering. She helps individuals create sustainable habits, navigate life transitions, and improve their health through evidence-based coaching that bridges science and intentional living. We plan our lives around certainty. We map careers, relationships, families, health goals, and routines with the belief that if we do enough right, life will unfold in a way that feels relatively orderly. Then perimenopause begins, and suddenly some of that certainty starts to unravel. Your sleep changes. Your energy feels unpredictable. Your body responds differently to food and exercise. You may feel anxious when you have never considered yourself an anxious person. Your concentration shifts. Your patience feels thinner. You look at a life that is still recognizably yours and wonder why you don't quite feel like yourself inside it. One of the hardest parts is that there is rarely a clear announcement that says, this is perimenopause. There is no exact date on the calendar, no universal checklist, and no single way the transition appears. Most women experience menopause between the ages of 45 and 55, but the transition can begin years earlier and affect physical, emotional, mental, and social well-being. Menopause rarely arrives into an otherwise empty life. It often comes during a period when women are already navigating enormous change, children growing up or leaving home, aging parents, changing relationships, career transitions, shifting identities, grief, health challenges, reproductive loss, or simply the realization that the way they have been living for the past 20 years may no longer work for the next 20. So perhaps the conversation we need to have about menopause is bigger than hormones. Menopause is not a diagnosis. It is a life transition. Before we rush to optimize, correct, supplement, track, or fix everything that feels different, perhaps we need to do something we are rarely encouraged to do, pause long enough to process what is changing. Why processing has to come before action When something changes in our bodies, our instinct is often to react. We search symptoms. We buy supplements. We change diets. We push harder at the gym. We book appointments. We listen to podcasts. We scroll through conflicting advice telling us what to eat, when to fast, how to exercise, which hormones to test, and which habits we need to overhaul. Information can be incredibly valuable. But information without clarity can also become more noise. In my work as a Health and Wellness Coach and Clarity Catalyst Coach, I often see women who already know a remarkable amount about health. Their problem is not always a lack of information. Sometimes they need space to understand what is actually happening in their lives. Processing means slowing down enough to notice what has changed. It means becoming aware of patterns, acknowledging what is true without immediately judging it, and then deciding what support is actually needed. That might include medical care. It might include nutrition, movement, sleep, stress management, or community. It may mean changing expectations, asking for help, setting a boundary, grieving something that has ended, or deciding what you want the next stage of your life to look like. Clarity changes the question from “What is wrong with me?” to “What is happening, what do I need, and what is one intentional step I can take next?” That is a very different place from which to make decisions. The life around the hormones matters None of this minimizes biology. Hormonal changes during perimenopause and menopause are real. Hot flashes, night sweats, sleep disruption, mood changes, brain fog, vaginal dryness, joint discomfort, and changes in sexual health can significantly affect quality of life. These symptoms deserve to be taken seriously. But hormones do not exist separately from the rest of our lives. The World Health Organization recognizes menopause as a natural stage of the life course and notes that women's experiences can be influenced by physical, psychological, social, cultural, and environmental factors. This is why lifestyle matters. Nutrition, movement, sleep, stress management, relationships, and community are not simply wellness trends to layer onto menopause. They are fundamental components of health throughout midlife and beyond. Sleep is a particularly important example. Sleep disturbances become common during the menopause transition, while inadequate sleep can influence mood, metabolic health, energy, and our ability to manage stress. Stress matters too. Research into mindfulness-based interventions suggests that practices designed to improve awareness and stress regulation may help some women with anxiety, depressive symptoms, sleep, and overall well-being during the menopause transition. This does not mean women can meditate their way out of menopause, nor does eating well replace appropriate medical treatment. Hormonal and non-hormonal therapies can be valuable options for many women, and persistent, new, or concerning symptoms should always be evaluated appropriately. But lifestyle and medical care do not need to compete. The more useful question is, "What combination of support does this woman need at this point in her life?" What longevity cultures can teach us This is one reason I find the Blue Zones so interesting. These regions associated with exceptional longevity are not following a special “menopause protocol.” Yet many of the patterns observed within them reflect behaviors associated with healthier aging, plant-forward eating, regular natural movement, strong social connection, routines that reduce chronic stress, and a sense of purpose. There is an important lesson here. We have become very good at turning wellness into individual interventions, a supplement, a diet, a workout, a morning routine. But health is also the environment we create around ourselves every day. Research across different populations also reminds us that menopause is not experienced identically everywhere. Biology is central, but cultural expectations, diet, lifestyle, social structures, attitudes toward aging, and environment can influence how symptoms are perceived, reported, and experienced. In other words, hormones are part of the story. The life surrounding those hormones is another part of the story. A woman navigating menopause while chronically overextended, sleep-deprived, stressed, isolated, and undernourished may require a very different kind of support from a woman whose life allows room for nourishment, movement, recovery, medical care, purpose, and connection. We should be talking about both. My own health crisis changed this conversation for me I understand the limits of optimization because I had to confront them myself. A year ago, I was at my fittest. I was eating well, exercising consistently, and doing most of the things we associate with taking care of ourselves. Then my life changed. I fractured my lower back. Soon afterward, following treatment for bone loss, I experienced a severe reaction and subsequently developed Mucha-Habermann disease, a rare inflammatory skin disorder that, in severe forms, can become life-threatening. At the same time, I was navigating perimenopause. Like many women, I also carried the experience of miscarriage. What I thought would be a season of optimization became a season of survival. Suddenly, the habits that had worked for my old body did not necessarily work for the body I was living in now. I had to process injury, fear, inflammation, hormonal change, reproductive loss, changes in my physical capacity, and a complete redesign of my lifestyle. For someone accustomed to doing, solving, planning, and moving forward, one of the hardest lessons was realizing that I could not simply work harder and force my way back to who I had been. Eventually, I stopped asking, “How do I get back to where I was?” and started asking, “What does my body need from me now?” That distinction changed how I approached my own recovery and how I think about menopause. Because perhaps the goal is not always to get back to the woman you were. Sometimes the work is understanding the woman you are becoming. Menopause rarely happens in isolation This is the part of the menopause conversation I believe we need to explore more deeply. Midlife can hold many transitions simultaneously. A woman may be navigating menopause while caring for aging parents. She may be watching children leave home. She may be questioning a marriage or rebuilding one. She may be grieving a parent, a pregnancy, a friendship, her fertility, her younger body, or an identity she has outgrown. She may be reaching the height of her career while quietly wondering whether she wants to continue doing the same work. She may simply be exhausted from decades of taking care of everyone else. Then her hormones begin changing too. It becomes tempting to blame menopause for everything. But that can be just as limiting as ignoring menopause altogether. Not every difficult emotion is hormonal. Not every exhausted woman needs to push through. Not every new symptom should automatically be attributed to menopause. Sometimes what we are experiencing is menopause layered onto chronic stress, grief, inadequate sleep, loneliness, overwork, underfueling, another health condition, or years of living in overdrive. The question is not whether hormones matter. They do. The question is whether we are curious enough to look at the whole woman. We need better conversations, not more silence Women should not have to figure this out alone. Menopause is still not discussed openly enough in families, relationships, communities, workplaces, and even some healthcare settings. Silence creates unnecessary confusion. Women question themselves. Partners may misinterpret changes in mood, energy, intimacy, or emotional capacity. Families can personalize behavior they do not understand. Workplaces may overlook how disrupted sleep, hot flashes, concentration difficulties, or other symptoms can affect confidence, comfort, and performance. The same silence has historically surrounded reproductive loss. An estimated 23 million miscarriages occur worldwide each year, yet pregnancy loss is still frequently experienced privately. These experiences are different, but they share something important, women's major biological and emotional transitions have too often been carried quietly. We can change that. A woman being able to say, “I think I'm in perimenopause and I'm struggling with sleep,” should not feel embarrassing. A woman being able to tell her partner, “My body feels different and I need you to understand what I'm experiencing,” should not feel unusual. Asking a workplace for reasonable support should not require a woman to pretend nothing is happening first. Conversation does not solve every symptom, but it removes some of the isolation around them. Three gentle first steps The temptation when we realize something needs to change is to change everything. I encourage women to start smaller. 1. Become aware before you act Instead of immediately asking, “What's wrong with me?” begin by observing. What has changed? When did you first notice it? What patterns are emerging in your sleep, energy, mood, cycle, movement, appetite, stress, or symptoms? What else is happening in your life right now? Awareness gives you information. It can also help you have a more productive conversation with your healthcare provider. 2. Stabilize one lifestyle pillar Do not overhaul your entire life in one weekend. Choose one area. Perhaps it is sleep: Creating a consistent bedtime, reducing late caffeine or alcohol, and protecting your wind-down routine. Perhaps it is nutrition: Building more balanced meals around protein, fiber-rich plants, and minimally processed foods. Perhaps it is movement: Adding strength training, walking, mobility, or appropriate recovery rather than assuming harder is always better. Or perhaps what you need most is not another health behavior. Perhaps you need rest. Start where the greatest need is. 3. Start one honest conversation Choose one person, a partner, a friend, a colleague, or a healthcare professional. Tell them what is changing. Rather than simply saying, “I'm struggling,” identify one way they could support you. Maybe you need help carrying more of the household load. Maybe you need a cooler bedroom. Maybe you need protected time for movement. Maybe you need flexibility at work. Maybe you need someone to listen without immediately trying to fix you. Small conversations can create meaningful change. A different definition of strength For much of our lives, women are rewarded for endurance. Keep going. Handle it. Take care of everyone. Push through. Be productive. Do not complain. Then menopause arrives during a stage of life when that strategy may no longer serve us. Perhaps strength begins to look different. Strength can be paying attention. Strength can be changing a habit that no longer serves you. Strength can be asking for help. Strength can be making a medical appointment. Strength can be protecting your sleep. Strength can be saying no. Strength can even be admitting that the version of you who handled everything for everyone is tired. This is why I resist framing menopause solely as a problem that needs to be solved. Menopause is not proof that the body is failing. It is not evidence that a woman is becoming less capable or less relevant. It is a biological transition, but it can also become an invitation to examine the way we are living. What still serves me? What no longer does? What does my body need now? What am I carrying that I no longer need to carry? Perhaps most importantly, "Who do I want to be in the next chapter of my life?" A kinder way forward Kindness during menopause does not mean passivity. It does not mean ignoring symptoms or avoiding medical care. It means meeting change with awareness rather than judgment. Seek appropriate medical support. Learn about your options. Nourish yourself intentionally. Protect your sleep. Move in ways that support the body you have today. Build and protect meaningful relationships. Create space for recovery. Ask for help. Recognize that you do not have to transform everything at once. Sometimes sustainable change begins with one small, intentional decision. Perhaps the invitation of menopause is not to identify the exact day it begins, fear every symptom, or desperately try to become the woman we were before it started. Perhaps it is to pause long enough to understand what is changing, to acknowledge what we need, to decide what we want to carry forward, and then to move into the next stage of our lives with greater clarity and intention. Because menopause does not have to be the moment we lose ourselves. It can be the moment we begin to return to ourselves. Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and visit my website for more info! Read more from Disha Modi Disha Modi, Health and Wellness Coach Disha Modi is a Board-Certified Health & Wellness Coach, Menopause Specialist, and Clarity Catalyst Coach passionate about helping people create sustainable habits for lasting health and well-being. She combines evidence-based coaching with practical strategies to help clients improve nutrition, manage stress, navigate life transitions, and live with greater clarity and purpose. After overcoming a life-changing health crisis, Disha brings both professional expertise and personal experience to her work, empowering others to create meaningful, lasting change. She is the founder of DM Health Coaching and co-founder of The Terra Sana Experience, where she helps individuals reconnect with themselves and build healthier, more intentional lives.

Written by Florentina Gionea, Spiritual Mentor for Leaders Florentina Gionea is a spiritual mentor for leaders, featured on Fox TV USA, Forbes, and the TEDx stage. Author of The Blissful Leader book and backed by 16 years of intense practice, she blends business with spirituality to help leaders clear blocks and build their next legacy. Access her Blissful Leader Toolkit. If you freeze every time you try to record a reel, or your fingers hesitate over the “Publish” button, it is not because of a lack of discipline. Your social media influence is not failing because of a bad algorithm or a weak strategy, it is being held hostage by your past. For entrepreneurs, a failed launch, a messy client breakup, or a sudden financial dip can leave deep energetic scars. This invisible block is business trauma. When left unaddressed, it silently erodes your confidence and destroys your online presence. In this article, you will discover exactly how business trauma cripples your social media influence, along with five trauma-informed energetic tips to break the loop, claim your authority, and confidently grow your personal brand. What is business trauma? Business trauma is an energetic and psychological block that occurs after an entrepreneur experiences a significant professional failure, betrayal, or financial collapse. Unlike standard strategic setbacks, business trauma embeds itself deep within your nervous system and subconscious mind. It creates a state of perpetual fight or flight, making your energetic body associate expansion, visibility, and business growth with danger. Even if you have a perfect strategy on paper, business trauma will cause you to unconsciously stall your own progress to keep yourself safe from being hurt or judged again. What causes business trauma? Business trauma is caused by sudden, deeply painful professional experiences that catch your nervous system off guard. Key causes include: Public business failure: Losing a company or filing for bankruptcy under the watchful eyes of family, peers, or competitors. Professional betrayal: Having a trusted business partner, investor, or client break a contract or steal your intellectual property. Severe financial loss: Experiencing a sudden cash flow crash that threatens your personal stability and peace of mind. Massive public criticism: Receiving harsh judgment, viral negative feedback, or public rejection after putting your heart into a project. The five energetic types of business trauma Business trauma manifests in various energetic archetypes, each altering how you show up in your current venture: The Ghost: This entrepreneur completely hides behind their brand. They refuse to put their face on video or write personal captions due to an intense, cellular fear of being seen and judged. The Hypervigilant Controller: Traumatized by a past betrayal, this leader micromanages every contract, email, and metric, unable to trust anyone else to help them scale. The Underpricer: Haunted by past financial scarcity, this type drastically discounts their services and tolerates toxic clients because they energetically fear that money will run out if they say no. The Serial Pivoter: To avoid the potential failure of a fully finished launch, this entrepreneur constantly changes their niche, offers, and branding right before hitting the market. The Overworker: They wear burnout like a badge of honor, energetically believing that massive struggle is the only path to safety, which prevents them from receiving effortless abundance. Signs and symptoms of business trauma The symptoms of business trauma rarely look like a lack of skill. Instead, they show up as severe energetic resistance. The most prominent symptom is a paralyzing fear of posting on social media, where creating content feels like exposing yourself to a firing squad. You might write a post, only to leave it in your drafts for weeks. Other symptoms include dynamic self sabotage, procrastination on high leverage tasks, physical anxiety or stomach knots before client enrollment calls, downplaying your current wins, and a persistent, lingering dread that your current success will suddenly vanish. Five tips on how to heal business trauma Identify the hidden financial or professional wound: You cannot heal what you refuse to look at. Take a moment to sit quietly and map out your past professional timeline. Locate the exact moment you felt betrayed, humiliated, or financially broken in your career. Acknowledge that your current nervous system is still trying to protect you from that past event. To easily unearth these hidden energetic blocks, you can use the Business Trauma Tracker inside The Blissful Leader Toolkit, which is specifically designed to isolate and release the emotional patterns keeping your visibility stuck. Separate your personal worth from past business metrics: Your business is an entity you create, but it is not who you are. Business trauma tricks your ego into believing that a failed launch equals a failed identity. Energetically decouple your self worth from your revenue numbers or social media engagement. Remind yourself that past failures were simply data points on your evolutionary journey, not definitions of your value as a leader. Regulate your nervous system before posting: When your body associates social media visibility with danger, opening an app triggers a trauma response. Before you write a caption or record a video, ground your energy. Place your hand on your heart, take three deep belly breaths, and remind your body that you are completely safe in the present moment. By shifting your state out of fight or flight before hitting “Publish,” you change the energetic frequency of your content and attract aligned clients. Practice microdoses of visibility: Do not force yourself to go live for an hour if your nervous system is screaming in fear. Instead, build your energetic capacity using small, safe steps. Post a simple behind the scenes photograph today. Share a short written thought tomorrow. By taking small, consistent actions, you gradually prove to your subconscious mind that being visible on social media is safe, allowing your confidence to expand organically. Reprogram your mindset for impact, not pressure: Shift your daily entrepreneurial focus away from the desperate need to survive and realign it with the pure intention to serve. When you create from a space of pressure, your trauma runs the show. When you create from a space of soul aligned impact, your energetic field clears, allowing opportunities to flow effortlessly to you. Reclaim your power as a blissful leader Healing business trauma requires deep, intentional energetic work that traditional business coaching simply does not provide. If you are ready to break the loop of self sabotage, erase the fear of being seen, and confidently share your true magic on social media, it is time to recalibrate your leadership energy. Florentina Gionea has compiled a powerful digital sanctuary featuring 28 full daily alignment tools, meditations, and coaching processes worth over $3,000, now fully accessible for a single investment of just $28. Inside The Blissful Leader Toolkit, you will immediately unlock: The Business Trauma Tracker, Tool 19: To pinpoint and clear the hidden emotional patterns keeping you hidden and stuck. The 5 Minute Productivity Ritual, Tool 8: To gain instant mental clarity and fast prioritization without overwhelm. Reprogram Yourself for Success, Tool 26: A powerful Gamma Waves reprogramming audio to safely release limiting beliefs and wire your mind for impact. Do not let past professional ghosts dictate your future success. Reclaim your voice, heal your nervous system, and step into your next level of impact today. Click here to claim your complete Blissful Leader Toolkit for just $28! Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and visit my website for more info! Read more from Florentina Gionea Florentina Gionea, Spiritual Mentor for Leaders Florentina is the Spiritual Mentor for Leaders, featured on Fox TV USA, Euronews, Forbes, and the TEDx stage. Author of The Blissful Leader Book and backed by 15,000 hours of intense practice, she blends business with spirituality to help leaders clear blocks and build their next legacy. She is the creator of The BLISSFUL Leaders Program, The Spiritual Studies Academy, The Gentleman Code Program, and a series of courses on abundance, wealth, and spirituality.

A'FERREIRA is delighted to announce that it will be exhibiting at the National Beauty Show 2026, taking place at BOXPARK Liverpool on 19 September 2026. Founded by Sandra Mihailova, A'FERREIRA was born from a personal journey with psoriasis and a desire to create skincare that truly supports the skin. Inspired by time spent living in Brazil and the remarkable potential of its botanical ingredients, the brand combines carefully selected Brazilian botanicals with evidence-informed skincare formulation to support stressed, sensitive and mature skin. The National Beauty Show brings together beauty professionals, brands and consumers to discover new ideas, innovations and products within the industry. For A'FERREIRA, the event is an opportunity to introduce a philosophy that goes beyond skincare products – one that encourages a healthier relationship with our skin through understanding, resilience and thoughtful care. Visitors to the A'FERREIRA stand will have the opportunity to learn more about the brand's story, discover its collection and meet founder Sandra Mihailova, who will be available throughout the event to share the inspiration behind the brand and its approach to skin health. Sandra Mihailova said: "Creating A'FERREIRA has been a deeply personal journey, inspired by my own experiences with sensitive skin and psoriasis. I'm looking forward to meeting people at the National Beauty Show, sharing the story behind the brand and having conversations about healthy skin that go beyond the pursuit of perfection." Event details Event: National Beauty Show 2026
 Date: 19 September 2026
 Venue: BOXPARK Liverpool

Written by Erika Allison, Founder of NuFeet Medical Pedicures® Erika Allison is the founder of NuFeet Medical Pedicures® and creator of the medical pedicure business model, pioneering a private, condition-based approach to pedicures that incorporates physician collaboration. Through education, consulting, and live events, she has trained professionals worldwide and helped transform the pedicure industry. When I entered the nail industry in 2012, I had no idea that my career would eventually become about much more than performing pedicures. I saw an opportunity to change the way we thought about them. My career began in Atlanta, where I trained as a nail professional and soon found myself working inside a podiatry practice. That experience changed the trajectory of my career. I was exposed to clients with complex foot and toenail concerns and began to understand both the importance of advanced education and the very clear distinction between the role of a licensed nail professional and the role of a medical provider. That distinction would eventually become one of the foundations of my work. Helping advance an industry In 2012, I founded NuFeet Medical Pedicures®, building my work around a more advanced approach to professional pedicure care. Long before “advanced pedicures” became the growing segment of the nail industry that we see today, I was advocating for waterless services, higher sanitation and sterilization standards, advanced toenail care education, professional referral relationships, and additional education for nail professionals who wanted to work with more complex feet. Over the years, NuFeet evolved from hands-on services into education, professional training, consulting, and product development. I developed educational programs around Medical Pedicures®, waterless pedicures, toenail reduction, and toenail restoration. I wrote about the industry, spoke publicly about it, educated other professionals, collaborated with professionals across foot care, and consistently pushed conversations that were not always comfortable, but were necessary. My work has also been featured through industry and media platforms, and I have had opportunities to contribute my perspective as an educator, writer, entrepreneur, and longtime advocate for advancing professional pedicure education. But one of the contributions I am most proud of cannot be measured by a title or an article. It is seeing how much the conversation has changed. Today, professionals openly discuss advanced pedicures, waterless techniques, toenail restoration, e-file education, sterilization, referral relationships, working alongside podiatrists, and the importance of continuing education. Those conversations were far less common when I started. I have spent more than a decade helping push this part of the nail industry forward, even when doing so meant challenging longstanding ideas about what a pedicure professional could learn, how we could elevate our services, and where our professional boundaries should remain. After years of doing that work, I realized something else: The industry didn't just need more education. We needed more unity. Why I created Pedi Pro United Advanced pedicure education has grown tremendously, but growth has also brought division. There are different certifications, techniques, philosophies, educators, brands, and opinions about what advanced pedicure care should look like. At times, we have become so focused on defending the individual approaches that we have forgotten how much we can learn from one another. I didn't want to create another organization that told everyone there was only one correct way. I wanted to create a room big enough for the industry. That is why I created Pedi Pro United. Pedi Pro United was built under a simple message, "By the Industry. For the Industry." It is a place where nail technicians, advanced pedicure professionals, educators, foot care nurses, podiatrists, brands, and other professionals connected to foot care can come together to learn, build relationships, and exchange knowledge. It isn't about one certification. It isn't about one educator. It isn't about one company. It isn't about creating another title for nail professionals to put behind their names. It is about education. Education without overstepping One of the most important conversations we need to have as advanced pedicure education continues to grow is about scope of practice. I strongly believe nail professionals deserve access to better education. I also believe education does not expand our legal scope of practice. Those two ideas can exist together. We can learn more about the feet in front of us without diagnosing disease. We can become better at recognizing when something may be outside our scope without attempting to treat a medical condition. We can master our craft while understanding when it is time to refer a client to a podiatrist or another qualified healthcare professional. In fact, I believe the more advanced our education becomes, the more important understanding our boundaries becomes. That philosophy is at the heart of Pedi Pro United. Our goal isn't to turn nail professionals into medical professionals. Our goal is to help create exceptionally educated nail professionals. Bringing the right people into the same room That is also why I believe podiatrists, foot care nurses, and other professionals have a place at Pedi Pro United. For years, I have advocated for stronger relationships between nail professionals and medical providers. We don't have to compete with one another when our roles are different. A knowledgeable nail professional who understands scope can become an incredible referral partner. A podiatrist who understands what a properly trained advanced pedicure professional does can feel more confident referring patients who need routine cosmetic foot and nail maintenance that falls within that professional's scope. Those relationships ultimately benefit the people sitting in our chairs. Pedi Pro United creates an opportunity for those conversations to happen in person. October 4 is bigger than a conference On October 4, 2026, Pedi Pro United will bring the advanced pedicure community together in Atlanta for a full day of education and connection. Attendees will learn from professionals representing different areas of the industry, with education covering advanced pedicuring, toenail reconstruction, toenail bracing, professional safety, emergency preparedness, client communication, and more. They will meet educators. They will discover brands. They will meet professionals who may approach advanced pedicure care differently than they do. Hopefully, they will leave with more knowledge and a larger professional community than they had when they arrived. For me, that is the point. The next chapter I have spent more than a decade contributing to the evolution of advanced pedicure education. I've watched ideas that once required constant explanation become conversations happening throughout our industry. I've also watched the advanced pedicure community grow beyond any one person, company, certification, or methodology. That's a good thing. Because real change is bigger than the person who helped start the conversation. Pedi Pro United represents the next chapter of my contribution to this industry. Earlier in my career, much of my work was about showing nail professionals that pedicure services could be approached differently, that we could pursue more education, raise our standards, build relationships with medical professionals, and create careers centered specifically around advanced foot care. Today, my focus has expanded. Now I want to help bring the people doing that work together. There is room for different educators. There is room for different techniques. There is room for nail professionals, nurses, podiatrists, manufacturers, and brands. There is room to disagree. There is also room to learn from each other. What matters is that we continue moving toward an industry that values education, safety, professionalism, collaboration, and respect for scope. That is why I created Pedi Pro United. Not to own the advanced pedicure industry. To unite it. Follow me on Instagram, and visit my website for more info! Read more from Erika Allison Erika Allison, Founder of NuFeet Medical Pedicures® Erika Allison is the founder of NuFeet Medical Pedicures® and creator of the medical pedicure business model. In 2012, she introduced a private, condition-based approach to pedicures that helped bridge the gap between the beauty and medical industries through physician collaboration and specialized foot care services. As an educator, speaker, inventor, and entrepreneur, she has trained professionals worldwide and developed innovative programs and products that have helped reshape the pedicure industry. Through her courses, consulting, and live events, Erika continues to advance professional standards and elevate the way pedicures are delivered around the world.

Written by Marianna Penna, CEO & Founder WOW Women Of Worth Ltd Marianna Penna is Human Brand Creator, CEO of WOW Women Of Worth, marketing Strategist, speaker, and co-author of the Amazon bestselling anthology "Changemaker" in 2025. She helps entrepreneurs and professionals build authenticpersonal brands through her signature Slow Marketing approach, where identity becomes the foundation of lasting impact. One of the most interesting shifts taking place in marketing today is not simply that artificial intelligence allows us to create more. It is that it is changing the value of creation itself. For much of my career, producing high-quality communication required considerable time and resources. A professional campaign might involve copywriters, designers, photographers, editors, and agencies. Even a well-researched article required hours of concentration, and translating one idea into multiple formats was a substantial piece of work. That landscape has changed very quickly. Today, one person with a laptop can research a topic, structure an article, generate ideas, create images, analyse an audience, and adapt one message into several formats in a fraction of the time such tasks once required. AI is not simply another marketing tool, it represents a fundamental change in the economics of production. As somebody who has spent around twenty-five years working in marketing, I find this genuinely exciting. I do not approach artificial intelligence with nostalgia for the way things used to be, nor do I believe that resisting technological development is a viable strategy. The possibilities are extraordinary, particularly for entrepreneurs, small businesses, and experts who previously lacked the resources required to communicate at scale. However, the speed of this transformation leads me to a different question. If everybody can create, what becomes valuable? That question, I believe, will define the next phase of Personal Branding. When production becomes abundant There is a simple economic principle behind much of what we value, when something becomes abundant, scarcity moves elsewhere. For years, professional production itself represented a barrier. Creating high-quality communication required specialist skills, significant time, or financial investment. AI is reducing many of those barriers. As a result, we are approaching a world in which technically competent content will be available in enormous quantities. Articles will be easy to produce. Images will be easy to create. Presentations will be faster to design. Social media posts will be generated almost instantly. Professional polish, once a sign of significant effort, will become increasingly accessible. This is not a negative development. On the contrary, it will allow many people to express ideas that might otherwise have remained invisible. But it will also change what makes one professional distinguishable from another. If polished production becomes common, polish alone will no longer be enough. The value will move towards interpretation, judgment, and point of view. It will lie in knowing what deserves to be said, why it matters, and what perspective you bring to it that somebody else cannot simply reproduce. That is why I believe discernment will become one of the most important professional skills of the AI era. Artificial intelligence can generate possibilities at remarkable speed. Human beings still need to decide which possibilities are worth pursuing. Experience cannot be prompted into existence At 52, I do not think about marketing in the same way I did when I was 30. That difference is not simply the result of having acquired more information. It comes from having lived another two decades. I have seen ideas become fashionable and disappear. I have watched businesses grow and struggle. I have experienced different markets, people, personalities, and professional environments. I have changed my mind about things I once believed strongly. I have made mistakes, recognised patterns, and learned lessons that are difficult to explain because they gradually became part of the way I think. This is where I believe the conversation around AI often becomes too narrow. We talk extensively about what artificial intelligence knows, but less about how human judgment is formed. AI can organise information, compare data, and help articulate an idea. What it cannot do is live the sequence of events that causes a person to understand why one idea matters more than another. It has not sat in a meeting and realised halfway through that the strategy was wrong. It has not experienced the consequences of trusting the wrong instinct and learned from the result. It has not built professional relationships over decades, watched human behaviour under pressure, or recognised the subtle signs that tell an experienced practitioner that a client is asking for one thing but actually needs something else. It has not moved country and learned how culture changes communication. It has not balanced ambition with family life, rebuilt confidence after disappointment, or reached midlife and discovered that the professional identity that once felt completely right no longer represents the person you have become. These experiences are not simply stories we attach to our biographies. They shape judgment. They create pattern recognition. They influence taste, intuition, and decision-making. They form what I think of as a kind of intellectual and emotional capital. In an environment where access to information becomes increasingly democratised, that capital becomes extremely valuable. The role of authentic identity This is why I have become increasingly interested in the concept of Authentic Identity in personal branding. Authenticity is an overused word, and it is sometimes reduced to a style of communication. We are encouraged to “be authentic” by showing more vulnerability, sharing personal stories, or speaking informally online. Those things may occasionally be appropriate, but Authentic Identity goes much deeper. For me, it is the alignment between who you are, what you know, what you believe, what you communicate, and how other people experience you. It is not about saying everything. It is about ensuring that what you do choose to say has a recognisable source. That distinction will become increasingly important in the age of AI because technology is extraordinarily good at producing competent language. It can construct persuasive arguments, create elegant structure, and emulate professional tone. What it cannot determine for you is whether the conclusion actually belongs to you. That remains a human responsibility. Before publishing something, we may need to become much more disciplined about asking ourselves whether we genuinely believe it, whether we would express the idea in the same way during a real conversation, and whether there is anything in the piece that carries the weight of our own experience. The danger of AI is not necessarily that it will replace human creativity. The more immediate danger is that we may use it so extensively that we begin to remove ourselves from our own communication. If every professional adopts the same language, follows the same structures, and repeats the same safe conclusions, the result may be an extraordinary volume of competent content with very little identity. That is why the ability to remain recognisable inside technology-assisted communication will become a major personal-brand advantage. Midlife expertise may become more valuable, not less I feel particularly strongly about this in relation to women in their forties, fifties and sixties. There is an uncomfortable assumption in rapidly changing industries that experience and technological agility exist in opposition to each other. Older professionals are sometimes described as needing to “catch up,” while younger generations are assumed to possess an automatic advantage because they have grown up closer to the tools. Of course, new skills need to be learned. That has always been true. Every generation of professionals has had to adapt to technological change. But the idea that experience becomes less relevant because a new tool has arrived misses something fundamental. A woman with twenty-five or thirty years of professional experience possesses a form of pattern recognition that cannot be acquired by simply learning how to use software. She has seen cycles. She understands consequences. She can often distinguish between an exciting new idea and an old problem wearing new language. She has developed professional instincts that may be difficult to articulate precisely because they were formed through repetition. The challenge is not that this experience lacks value. The challenge is that experienced professionals often fail to recognise their own accumulated knowledge as a source of differentiation. What feels obvious after twenty years of doing something is not obvious to the person encountering the problem for the first time. That is why personal branding at this stage of life should not be about manufacturing a new identity in order to appear current. It should be about translating depth into relevance. Technology can help enormously with that translation. Artificial intelligence (AI) can assist with research, organise ideas, accelerate production and make it easier to turn experience into articles, books, courses, presentations and other forms of thought leadership. Used well, it can give experienced professionals more leverage than they have ever had before. But the technology is most powerful when it amplifies something that already has substance underneath it. The personal brands that endure will have a centre As AI becomes embedded in everyday professional life, I suspect we will become much more sensitive to communication that feels technically perfect but emotionally anonymous. The brands that remain memorable will be the ones that have a centre. That centre might be a strongly held point of view, a distinctive way of solving problems, a particular philosophy of leadership or a body of experience that gives someone an unusual perspective. Whatever form it takes, there will be something recognisable beneath the output. This is important because personal branding is not ultimately about content production. It is about reputation. A personal brand is the interpretation that forms in other people's minds over time. It is the ideas they associate with your name, the expectations they have of your work and the confidence they place in your judgment. AI can help distribute that reputation. It can help express it more clearly, adapt it to different platforms and increase the efficiency with which it reaches other people. But AI cannot decide what your reputation should stand for. That remains entirely yours. This, I believe, is where the future of personal branding becomes particularly interesting. The most successful professionals will not necessarily be those who use the most technology or those who reject it in favour of a supposedly more human past. They will be the ones capable of integrating both. They will use artificial intelligence to extend human intelligence, rather than allowing one to replace the other. They will recognise where automation creates genuine value and where a human decision is still necessary. They will know when data is useful and when experience should challenge it. They will use AI to increase speed where speed matters while protecting the parts of their work where depth, empathy and judgment create differentiation. In other words, the future will demand not less humanity, but more conscious humanity. Perhaps AI will make us more aware of what cannot be automated There is an interesting irony in all of this. The arrival of artificial intelligence may ultimately force us to become much more precise about what human value actually means. For years, we have spoken about expertise largely in terms of knowledge. Yet knowledge is becoming easier to access. Information that once required hours of research can now be retrieved and synthesised almost instantly. What remains harder to automate are qualities such as judgment, curiosity, emotional intelligence, courage, taste, context and self-awareness. These qualities have always mattered, but they may become much easier to recognise once production itself is no longer scarce. This is why I believe Authentic Identity will become central to the next era of personal branding. The more sophisticated artificial intelligence becomes, the more important it will be to understand which parts of your professional identity are genuinely yours. What do you believe because you have lived enough to believe it? Which ideas have been shaped by your particular career and experiences? What can somebody learn from you that cannot be obtained simply by reading the same information? What is your way of seeing? These questions do not belong to the past. They are profoundly future-facing. I am optimistic about the role AI can play in our professional lives. I believe it will enable experts to share knowledge more widely, allow small businesses to compete with larger organisations and give individuals creative capabilities that would previously have required significant resources. But I also believe we should resist the temptation to confuse capability with identity. Technology can help us create more. It cannot decide what makes us worth listening to. That part comes from somewhere much more human, our experiences, the conclusions we have drawn from them and the courage to express those conclusions in a way that is recognisably our own. Perhaps, then, the most important question of the AI era is not whether machines can become more like us. It may be whether we can become more conscious of what makes each of us impossible to replicate. In personal branding, that may prove to be the greatest competitive advantage of all. Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and visit my website for more info! Read more from Marianna Penna Marianna Penna, CEO & Founder WOW Women Of Worth Ltd Marianna Penna is a Human Personal Brand Creator, Strategic Marketing Expert, and the Founder & CEO of WOW Women Of Worth London, a platform empowering women entrepreneurs to build authentic purpose-driven brands. Wth more than 25 years of International Experience across Italy and the UK, she developed the Slow Marketing philosophy, helping professionals transform authenticity into visibility, influence, and sustainable business growth. She is the creator of the Marketing SPA, Natural Marketing Cycle Guide, and Brand YOU Gemscraft Journey frameworks. As a speaker, podcaster, and G100 Italy Chair for Brand Creation and Marketing, Marianna explores marketing, identity, and leadership to help women build brands with commercial and social impact

Written by Timeout Taumua, Award-Winning Author On behalf of Brainz Magazine, let us introduce Timeout A. Taumua, a multi-award-winning author of The Magnificence of the 3, an expository book about the scientific nature of the Bible. The book and the author had been dubbed by some prominent editorial reviewers as "a rare work constructed by a rare being" and "a rare book by a rare person". The presence of “waters” in the universe before the seven days of biblical creation may offer intriguing probabilities and mysteries that are beyond the scope of a faith-based belief system. Genesis 1:2 describes the Earth as “without form, and void,” with darkness over “the deep,” while the Spirit of God hovered over the face of the waters. That has been one of my unresolved quests since my youth, as it is the only ordinary matter in Genesis that God did not claim He created. Debates are normally about what these “waters” were, but not where they came from. I believe this could be one of the most important clues in the entire biblical creation narrative. The presence of these “waters” raises questions under the universal causation theory in that, for the universe to be, it must follow the Law of Cause and Effect.[1] Therefore, the “waters” of Genesis had to be a byproduct of a cause. The exact cause needs to be determined, but cosmologists might have revealed the reasons behind the out-of-sequence biblical creation. Under the “cause and effect” law, “waters” had to be produced by an event. That event could have been the Big Bang, as generally accepted today, or something similar. I explored the idea that once the “waters” of Genesis are placed alongside modern discoveries about cosmic water and planetary formation, a series of biblical stories appear to parallel and complement these discoveries. The question is no longer, “What were the waters?” It is, "Why were the waters there before the Earth was formed?" Modern science may offer new insights into this mystery. Here are some points for review.[2] Where did the waters of Genesis 1:2 come from before creation began? First: The universal law of causation and the mystery of the waters in Genesis I propose that the presence of “waters” before biblical creation was deliberate. It was meant to convey the idea that when God appeared, an event had occurred that produced these “waters.” To explore the mystery, I had to consider the Big Bang theory. However, I am not sure whether this theory is the correct version of creation, but based on the presentation, it is reasonable to assume that the reason God did not specifically claim that He created the “waters” was because they were the result of an event that He had nothing to do with. With modern discoveries, the biblical creation sequence no longer appears to violate the universal Law of Cause and Effect.[1] The mystery left, however, was the nature of that cause. How it got there may have a foundation for seekers, based on recent discoveries discussed below. Second: Why are the “waters” of Genesis in plural form? This clue defines biblical deliberateness. Recent discoveries identified dust particles in the heavens about 600 million years after the Big Bang.[3] Hydrogen gas also appeared as a result, and oxygen was produced later through stellar processes. Both elements can combine to form water molecules. These water molecules can exist as vapor, but under freezing conditions in the cosmos, they can form ice.[4] Water molecules can also freeze onto trillions of dust particles floating in the cosmos.[5] These trillions of icy dust particles may offer one interpretation of why Genesis uses the plural “waters.” It is my claim that God was hovering over trillions of these icy particles, accounting for the presence of “waters” before Earth was formed. Third: The orderly design of creation and the “waters” as divine superglue As it turned out, icy dust particles eventually became part of the building materials of stars, planets, moons, asteroids, and other celestial bodies. Drifting through the cosmos, these materials met and began sticking together. Tiny dust particles turned into larger grains, then pebbles, which became rocks and eventually grew large enough to contribute to the formation of planets.[6] These icy coatings can act like glue, helping dust particles stick together.[4] So the timing of the appearance of “waters” in biblical creation is important in both biblical and scientific design. A reasonable deduction can be made that God introduced two materials for the later creation of Earth, dust and water, by simply citing “waters” in plural form. It adds another piece of evidence denoting the orderly sequence of creation. Fourth: The discovery of a 12 billion year old water reservoir in the cosmos Researchers also discovered a water vapor reservoir more than 12 billion light years away in the cosmos that contains roughly 140 trillion times the amount of water in Earth's oceans (Staff, 2011). The age and distance of this reservoir are important, as they demonstrate that water existed in the cosmos billions of years before Earth formed. I believe this parallels the placement of the biblical “waters” before the formation of Earth and denotes God’s full awareness of the universe thousands of years before mankind understood it. Fifth: Water as the magnificence of three, H2O As I proposed, water was the very first ordinary matter of the biblical universe. Water, as you may know, is a compound made of two separate elements: two atoms of hydrogen (H) and one of oxygen (O), for a total of three atoms (H2O). Before the atom was discovered, “waters” appeared as the first ordinary matter in biblical creation. I claim that its placement in Genesis was intentional, preserving circumstantial evidence of God’s awareness of atomic structure and the three atoms within a water molecule. Though the atom was invisible, water was visible, and its molecule contains three atoms. This makes “waters” the first example of what I interpret as a scientific parable presented in a biblical story, as its structural design evolved around the magnificence of three. “Waters” acted as a witness for the invisible atom.[2] Sixth: Water hidden in Earth’s mantle Another fascinating scientific discovery involves water deep beneath Earth's surface. Researchers have found evidence of enormous quantities of water stored within minerals hundreds of miles into Earth’s mantle. This water is not found in underground oceans or liquid reservoirs. Instead, hydrogen and oxygen can be chemically bound within minerals under the extreme pressures and temperatures found deep inside Earth.[7] This discovery adds another dimension to the biblical association between “waters” and dust. If planets began forming from icy cosmic dust and water acted as glue, it is reasonable to consider whether this could help explain why water has been incorporated into rocks in Earth’s mantle. These rocks ultimately developed from materials that once existed in the cosmos. Seventh: The Rock of Horeb In Exodus 17:1 to 7, the Israelites complained to Moses about their thirst in the wilderness. God instructed Moses to strike a rock, and water came forth. Since the discovery of water related compounds within rocks and minerals, this biblical account has gained another layer of interest. What appears to be solid rock can contain chemical components associated with water. If God was the Creator, then He would have been fully aware of these hidden “waters” within the rocks, the “waters” of Genesis. Eighth: Water baptism for survival purposes One of the coincidental parallels between God and science is the conclusion by our experts that “water means life”.[8] God presented water in the same way throughout the scriptures, culminating in its final purpose in the New Testament. Here are three events that linked the “waters” of Genesis to “water as life” for the developing modern world. First, it is my claim that God returned as the Son, Jesus, in human form. He adopted a new culture of “water baptism” as a means for violators of the laws to publicly display remorse and reconnect with God for survival purposes. When Jesus was asked how a man could be born again to enter heaven, Jesus said: “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.” John 3:5 (NKJV). Second, one day, Jesus warned His disciples of the upcoming destruction of Israel’s Second Temple, Matthew 24:2 to 4 (NKJV). The Romans burned it in 70 AD. Under the Old Covenant, the Temple provided a place for those who violated God's laws to offer burnt sacrifices and peace offerings as expressions of remorse and repentance, restoring their relationship with God through atonement and reconciliation. Since the Temple would eventually be destroyed, I believe this helps explain why water baptism was adopted as an alternative to the blood sacrifices of the past. Third was the Great Commission. Jesus reassigned the task of priests, which was once assigned to Israel exclusively, to include Gentiles. As I interpret it, Israel did not understand its priestly task of blessing “all families of the earth” by teaching Gentiles about God and the Commandments (Genesis 12:3). The Temple was destroyed twice, and the Jewish people experienced repeated displacement from the land. The plan, in my interpretation, was always to expand God’s tribe beyond the once promised land to include all of mankind. Israel was chosen to learn about God and the law, then go out and “bless all families of the earth” by teaching them about God. This, I believe, was why they were chosen. So God returned as the Son for this very purpose. For the Garden of Eden to be fully developed, God’s tribe had to expand, tied together by the Commandments. So Jesus reassigned the task of priests to include Gentiles with the Great Commission, Matthew 28:18 to 20 (NKJV). Instead of temples and sacrifices to sustain relationships with God, the apostles were commanded to “go out and expand the tribe” by making “disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,” using water. Water first appears in Genesis as a fundamental tool of creation. It gave life to the universe and is now classified as essential to life for humans. Developing water baptism to expand God’s tribe is consistent with the role water played in creation and continues to play in sustaining life. To use water as a means of spiritual renewal and tribal expansion suggests a deeper continuity with the biblical creation story. Water served as “glue” in the birth of the universe and, symbolically, serves the same purpose for the modern world, rebuilding sinners and gluing Gentiles to His tribe. "Taumua's insights are as bold as they are thought-provoking, revealing a divine blueprint that seems to hum beneath the surface of science and spirituality alike, a reminder that these two worlds, so often seen as opposing forces, might actually be pieces of the same puzzle…" – Literary Global Book Review (2025) Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and visit my website for more info! Read more from Timeout Taumua Timeout Taumua, Award-Winning Author Timeout decided to join our community to share the scientific meaning of biblical stories that God revealed to him, such as the identities of the Ark of the Covenant, the Garden of Eden, the Tree of Knowledge, and the Tree of Life, including parabolic tales depicting the splitting of the atom. In light of the 26 book awards, a Non-Fiction Book of the Year Award, and the nature of our community, these discoveries should be of interest to some of us, if not all. References: [1] (Miller, 2011) [2] Taumua (2023), ppg. 290-314 [3] (Clery, 2017) [4] (Water Vapor in Space, 2011) [5] (Friedreich Schiller, 2020) [6] (How Do Planets Form?, n.d.) [7] (Walsh & Genzer, 2014) [8] (Choi, 2016)

Candice Sturtevant is the founder and integrative life coach of Clearly Connected in Whitesboro, N.Y. She brings her expertise and direct experience into every aspect of her life coaching practice and her business overall. In this interview, Candice shares insights into the history, vision, mission, and process of creating Clearly Connected, as well as how it has evolved over the years. Rooted in her personal journey of healing, personal growth, and professional development, she helps you discover and create your most Clearly Connected life on a number of different levels. Candice Sturtevant, Founder, Owner and CEO of Clearly Connected How did you come up with the name “Clearly Connected” for your life coaching practice and how has the meaning evolved since first opening? Being Clearly Connected to myself and my life was a dream. Being Clearly Connected to my purpose and my dreams was a dream. No matter the focus, all of the work that I do with my clients in my life coaching practice is rooted in my personal journey first. I was born into the world with the gift of being able to process information around me very clearly and very deeply, but I had nobody to turn to who wanted to listen, understand, or really get to know me. Emotional neglect and trauma had a tremendous negative impact on my development and life overall. For many years, I felt lost, stuck, hopeless, and was just coasting through on autopilot. I knew that I was disconnected from myself and what was truly possible for my life. Getting to that “I can’t take this anymore” moment was a pivotal turning point for me. Like so many people that I meet and now work with, I tried everything, including traditional therapy when I was in my early 20’s. It was a great starting point for me to talk about the things that I was never allowed to talk about, but it didn’t actually help me to move forward and grow. Years later, I connected with a former local life coach in my area who introduced processes that did, and it was history from there. I made a commitment to myself and my family that I would continue to do whatever it takes. I now have the honor of helping people, in my community and beyond, to get Clearly Connected to their life’s true potential on a number of different levels, and there is nothing that I am more passionate about. What does integrative life coaching look like in your day-to-day work with clients? My day-to-day work with clients varies since it is tailored to each individual and based on the focus of our work together. People reach out to me for a variety of reasons, both personally and professionally. Although I do not plan my sessions in advance, there are a series of realizations that I work through with each client. Each session is designed to build upon the next, and there is also work that we do together in between sessions, all with the intention of supporting the process of getting Clearly Connected and discovering what is truly possible for our lives. How do you help your clients gain clarity in a way that actually creates lasting change, healing, and sustainable growth? Although we live in a very urgent culture, what I know about the journey is that it is ongoing and unique to each individual-the unlearning, learning, unraveling, healing, growth, whatever the focus may be. I am very honest and direct with each person that I work with because I understand what it takes and what their inner world may feel like in the process. There is no “quick fix” or surface-level approach that leads to anything sustainable. The realizations that I take my clients through dive deep into the subconscious part of ourselves, which is what runs our lives on autopilot on a number of different levels. When we start digging into those layers and my clients are committed to their work, this is when they start to experience results. I can meet people very deeply because I have met myself there first. It’s one step at a time, and each of those steps is what ultimately leads to lasting change, healing, and sustainable growth. How do you personally define “connection” in this process? Connection is when people feel heard, seen, and understood in a way that they never have before, often for the first time in their lives. It transcends beyond the superficiality and masking that we are so accustomed to in our daily lives. When this happens, it leads to a new level of awareness that is life-changing and has a huge impact. It leads to more meaning and fulfillment. It opens the doors to an expansive connection to oneself and life’s possibilities overall. What made you commit to building a physical space instead of scaling purely online? In-person sessions have always been my favorite as I feel they are the most effective, but I have equally as many virtual clients that I connect with just as well. I know that I can pivot at any time, but I love my physical space and the personal history behind it all. When I first opened my practice in 2017, I started working out of my home office. I moved into my first commercial location in the summer of 2018, and then in the spring of 2019, I expanded and relocated to another facility in the same village and have been there ever since. My office is actually the same office that I worked with the therapist in a full circle moment. In the fall of 2022, I opened my second location, which is the Studio for my dance-fitness classes. Why did you decide to expand and create a multi-service model with other businesses in both of your locations? The vision for the multi-service business plan is also rooted in my personal journey, an evolution of services, so to speak. After I moved into my first commercial location in 2018, I knew shortly after that I wanted to expand and create that same mirror, and as I continued my inner work, which takes the lead in everything that I do, an opportunity for a larger facility presented itself later that year. Both locations have their own unique vibe and incorporate my life coaching practice, other non-traditional and traditional practices, dance, movement, and many other opportunities that support overall growth for my community on a number of different levels. It is not something that I have to do; it is something that I chose to create, and it continues to evolve as I do. What have you learned about creating spaces where both practitioners and instructors can grow side by side? The business model I created and operate definitely has its challenges, and it’s only a small fraction of my work overall. Although there are many people under the umbrella of Clearly Connected, everyone is their own separate entity and is responsible for their own work and growth, while simultaneously having the opportunity to be a part of the community and collaborate. It’s been a beautiful thing to slowly watch the crossover of services unfold over the years, which was my intention from the beginning. It requires a lot of hard work and balance on my part. I am leading people who are a part of my vision, but they are not my employees. Everyone has business contracts that outline the agreements for running their practices in my facilities and for being a part of everything that I offer. I want everyone to succeed, and my services and support are available to help them do so if needed, but it isn’t my weight to carry if they don’t. I have learned many hard lessons over the years, but each lesson has given me more clarity, both personally and professionally, and has contributed to continued growth. What opportunities are available with you for people to start living their most Clearly Connected lives? For people who are interested in life coaching, my primary focus is on my work in individual sessions. There are also options available for couples, families, corporate events, and speaking engagements. I am going to be launching a new program in the near future, with details coming soon! For people who are interested in business partnerships, I have space available to rent at both of my locations and am actively looking for established doctors, practitioners, and instructors to join our community. Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and visit my website for more info! Read more from Candice Sturtevant

Written by Myra Swan Kotze, Quantum Wealth & Energetic Business Mentor Myra Swan Kotze is a Quantum Wealth & Energetic Business Mentor, subconscious reprogramming expert, and host of the Elevated Woman podcast. She helps female entrepreneurs scale to $20K–$100K+ months through energetics, strategy, and identity mastery. Women-owned businesses generate $1.8 trillion a year in the US alone. According to Fundera.com, women started 1,821 new businesses every day in 2019, and women own 40% of US businesses. I think it's safe to say that women are taking over the world of business. We are also far more likely to do business internationally than our male counterparts. Yet, I still read comments on social media and talk to women daily who do not stand in the truth of their value. Fear and doubt bringing them down no matter how much they enjoy doing what they do. To be totally aligned, you need to stand in your value, and there are 3 areas you need to work on to find true success. 1. Value your worth to your clients If you don’t value your worth, how can they? I often hear, “But how do they know?” Your prospects unknowingly feel the energy in which you value yourself. If that value is low or comes from a place of uncertainty, they will never work with you. I see so many brilliant women at what they do, but they do not stand in the truth of their value, so they struggle to find clients. They lose clients to someone far less brilliant, and that has a negative impact on both sides. They don’t get the clients they deserve, and the client doesn’t get the result they deserve. “Don’t waste time downgrading your value. Know your worth” — Elena Lipson Ask yourself, do I stand in the truth of my value? If that answer is not an overwhelming yes, then sadly, you are not. Do this exercise, write down how your programs, products, or services impact your clients' lives. Next, answer in which way do these results impact my clients in each of these key areas. Finances/money Health/well being Family/relationships Business/career Future purpose Depending on your niche, you might not have answers for each area, and I want you to really think about it before you discard one or more areas. This exercise will help you get clearer on your value to your clients. “Be a living example of your value, and success will be yours,” — Myra Kotze. 2. Value your programs, products, or services You’re brilliant at what you do, you get your clients amazing results, and your programs, products, and/or services reflect that. So women, why do you still question your value? Why do I see you write on social media how scared you are to put your work out there? If you let the fears and doubts hold you back from putting your work out into the world with pride, knowing the value they have, you are doing the people who need you in their life a huge injustice. Your business ends up going nowhere fast. 3. Value your pricing Most women struggle with this. I read a post on social media again today of a female coach talking about her program and how much work she has put into it and its value. She talks about how much it’s worth financially, and she’s selling it for $297 when she knows it’s worth at least $4000. Knowing it’s worth more but not standing in the truth of its value are two hugely different things. If she fully stood in the power of the program's value and were totally aligned with it, she would charge what it’s worth. She isn’t because, again, she has doubts and fears holding her back. Can you see the financial impact this has on her business? I’m so grateful to be able to guide women through these doubts and fears they have to be able to stand in the truth of their value. To show them what’s possible and how their business can become hugely profitable once they are fully aligned in their value. Reach out if you need support in finding your value. Book a call, and let’s chat. Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and visit my website for more info! Read more from Myra Swan Kotze Myra Kotze, Quantum Wealth & Energetic Business Mentor Myra Kotze is a Money Breakthrough Business Coach, NLP and Timeline Therapy Master Coach. She is an 8-Figure Business builder both offline and online and have 20+ years hands-on experience in building successful businesses. Myra specializes in helping women entrepreneurs scale their business to multiple 6 and 7-figures. She knows what it feels like to be at the top and burned out. Without the freedom to make empowering choices. After recovering from working 18-hour days she built a highly successful coaching business. Using her personal experience, knowledge, and leadership skills, she’ll teach you to build and scale a lucrative business, creating Impact and Freedom while making Fabulous Money. Her mission is to help 10,000 women create a 6-figure business and 1,000 women to build a 7-Figure Empire.