Written by Tara Polley, Realtor and Television Host Tara Polley is a Telly Award-winning TV host, media strategist, and national speaker with 25+ years of experience in luxury real estate, branding, and storytelling. She helps professionals grow their visibility with clarity, creativity, and an upcoming TEDx Talk on purposeful leadership. Raise your hand if you have ever talked yourself out of an opportunity you were objectively qualified for. If you are reading this alone, you still know the answer. I spent over two decades as a luxury real estate agent before a national television producer invited me to become a show host. By every logical measure, I was ready. My first reaction was panic. My second was to draft a very gracious, very cowardly decline. What stopped me from sending it is the same thing I now talk about on stages across the country, the recognition that what I was calling "not ready" was actually something else entirely. It is not imposter syndrome Imposter syndrome gets blamed for a lot. But what keeps most high-achieving professionals invisible is something more specific and, honestly, more insulting than doubting your own credentials. It is a set of beliefs so reasonable-sounding, so easy to mistake for wisdom, that you never think to question them. "I'd rather let my work speak for itself." "I don't want to be that person." "When the timing is right, I'll step up." These sentences feel principled. They feel like integrity. What they actually are is a very sophisticated disguise for fear. And the professionals most trapped by them are not the ones still developing their expertise. They are the ones who already have it. “Readiness is not a point of arrival. It is a choice to participate in your own potential.” Your nervous system is terrible at technology Here is something that will make you feel immediately better about yourself, the dread you feel before going on camera, hitting publish, or walking into a bigger room is not a character flaw. It is ancient wiring doing exactly what it was built to do. For most of human history, standing out from the group was genuinely dangerous. Your brain is still carrying that data. Your nervous system still thinks a LinkedIn post is a saber-toothed tiger, so it responds to both the same way, threat detected, abort mission. Nothing is wrong with you. Your system is just terrible at technology. The problem is that in a professional landscape where silence is mistaken for absence, that outdated response is no longer protecting you. It is costing you. Visibility, when it is grounded in purpose rather than performance, creates the exact safety your nervous system is looking for. Credibility, trust, and opportunity are not vanity metrics. They are protection. “In a world saturated with content, being the loudest is no longer the advantage. Being the clearest is.” Expertise and influence are not the same thing Expertise is what you know. Influence is what people feel because of what you share. These are not interchangeable, and the gap between them is where most talented professionals quietly stall. I have interviewed executives, innovators, and industry leaders across my television work, and I can tell you, the ones with the most credentials are often the most reluctant to be seen. A CEO who leads thousands of employees still hears the voice of a teacher who told him he would never lead. A brilliant professional worries that talking about her craft publicly will somehow diminish it. The reluctance does not disappear with achievement. It just gets better dressed. What separates the people who build real influence from the ones who remain the best-kept secret in their field is not more preparation. It is the willingness to be seen before they feel completely ready. And then to do it again. "Your courage has the power to become someone else's permission slip." What micro-bravery actually means It is not quitting your job, overhauling your brand, or going viral. Micro-bravery is one small, deliberate act of visibility that is just big enough to stretch you without shutting you down. Saying yes to the panel you were about to decline. Sharing the story behind a recent win instead of just posting the result. Recording the video instead of rewriting the script for the hundredth time. Each one builds something your nervous system can actually use, evidence that you can handle being seen, that the world does not end when you are imperfect, and that the people watching are far more generous than the voice in your head. Confidence does not precede visibility. It is created by it. That is the part most professionals have backwards, and it is the thing that changes everything once you understand it. Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and visit my website for more info! Read more from Tara Polley Tara Polley, Realtor and Television Host Tara Polley is a Telly Award-winning television host, media strategist, and national speaker with over 25 years of experience in storytelling, branding, and luxury real estate. As a host on The American Dream TV, an Emmy-nominated lifestyle show, she brings California Wine Country to a national audience through cinematic, narrative-driven content. Tara has a TEDx Talk upcoming and is known for her dynamic keynote appearances that blend emotional intelligence with actionable strategy. As a proven thought-leader, she helps professionals amplify their message, lead with integrity and authenticity, and build meaningful visibility across media platforms.

I can hear you now, “Zondra, what does a book about modern masculinity have to do with the growth of a streaming TV network?” The answer is everything. At Zondra TV, our mission has never been just about “putting people on camera.” It’s building a dedicated community where small-to-mid-sized businesses and visionary leaders can move from the small screen of social media to the authority of a global streaming platform. Of course, for this to work, and work well, Zondra TV has and continues to support and elevate creators who aren’t just following trends but are actively shifting the culture with positivity and action. The power of community As we accelerate toward the national launch of our new network, Go Shop America, this early June, authors are turning to the platform to transform their written words into a powerful voice in the marketplace. But it all starts at home, so we are highlighting our producer’s accomplishments that align with our growth. It reinforces the strength and fabric of the entire Zondra TV ecosystem. This month, I am incredibly proud to spotlight Zondra TV Producer, Kenneth G. Alexander, and the national release of his groundbreaking new book, The Successful Man: A New Model of Masculinity. Kenneth Alexander and the doctrine: Challenging the definition of masculinity and success At a time when conversations around masculinity, leadership, and identity are evolving across workplaces, families, and culture, Alexander offers a direct challenge to the traditional definition of success. For generations, men have been taught to measure their worth through achievement, income, dominance, and emotional control. In The Successful Man, Alexander names this inherited framework “The Doctrine”, a system of beliefs that has shaped how men think, behave, and relate to others. “This book names something many men feel but have never been taught to see. We’ve been trained to perform, provide, and push through, often at the cost of connection, relationships, and our own sense of self,” says Alexander. “What I offer is a way back to alignment, where success actually feels like your life, not just something that looks good from the outside.” Grounded in lived experience and supported by research in psychology and emotional intelligence, the book examines how men are conditioned to equate worth with performance. Alexander combines personal narrative with cultural analysis to help readers make more aligned choices in their careers and relationships. "At Zondra TV, we are committed to highlighting voices that don’t just follow trends, but actually shift the culture. Ken Alexander is doing exactly that. This book is a valuable resource for any man looking to lead with emotional intelligence and true authority." – Zondra Evans, Founder of Zondra TV Network The power of purposeful programming At Zondra TV, we are committed to providing a space for deeper, meaningful conversations. Ken’s success is a perfect example of who a Zondra TV producer is. A former Marine and corporate executive, Ken uses his platform to challenge outdated frameworks of leadership and success. In his new book, Ken introduces a concept he calls “The Doctrine”, a system of beliefs that has forced men to measure their worth solely through performance and dominance. A new definition of success The Successful Man introduces a model centered on alignment over performance, presence over pressure, emotional awareness over suppression, connection over competition and a life guided by love, joy, service, and play. Rather than offering surface-level self-help, the book addresses the deeper conditioning that shapes identity and decision-making. Early praise “The Successful Man maps out seven pillars of conventional masculinity and offers a grounded alternative built on presence, authenticity, and connection, a solid pick for men rethinking what success looks like.” – Scott Olsen, San Francisco Book Review Elevating through positive brand value This is the exact “Level-Up” content that adds value to our viewers and increases the brand value for everyone involved in our ecosystem. At Zondra TV, we work with entrepreneurs and creators who are ready to use their message to not only scale their business but also achieve their professional and personal goals. It’s growing beyond social media and potentially thriving in global markets. When done right, a well-placed commercial, Brand Spotlight, interview, or TV show can elevate your business in the eyes of prospective audiences. Like Mr. Alexander, who is using his voice to redefine the definitions of success and tradition. He is doing exactly what we strive for, shifting culture with true authority. Be heard, be seen, grow The national launch of The Successful Man on Amazon is more than just a book release, it is a testament to the type of thought leadership we are fostering at Zondra TV. We don’t just broadcast stories, we turn them into cinematic experiences that command attention. The Successful Man by Kenneth G. Alexander is available here. As we move toward the mid-year mark, our focus remains on global growth and providing our clients and producers with the exposure they deserve. Look, 2027 may seem far away, but it really is just around the corner. Today is a great day to grow beyond social media and your local business model in order to lead with true authority. To learn more about how authors can get their book featured on TV, click here to join our next informational.

Written by: Olga Glasson Dr. Mikhail Urinson, investor and quantitative professional with over two decades across investment banking, M&A, asset management, and entrepreneurship, on the structural misalignment between deployable capital and investor-ready business opportunities. In 2025, global venture capital reached its second-highest annual total on record – $512 billion in deal value, according to the PitchBook-NVCA Venture Monitor. Yet in the same period, nearly half of small business loan applicants in the United States were denied or received less than they requested, according to the Federal Reserve's 2025 Small Business Credit Survey. The paradox is not a shortage of capital. It is that capital and the businesses that need it are operating in entirely separate ecosystems – and the mechanisms designed to connect them are not working as well as the headline numbers suggest. Dr. Mikhail Urinson is an investor and quantitative professional with over two decades of experience across investment banking, mergers and acquisitions, asset management, and entrepreneurship. His work sits at the intersection of capital markets, advanced quantitative modeling, and artificial intelligence – a combination he applies across the full capital lifecycle, from opportunity selection and company preparation through to investment structuring and execution. He is currently leading a Miami-based structured initiative aimed at preparing growth-stage businesses for institutional investment across sectors, including artificial intelligence, financial technology, digital infrastructure, advanced manufacturing, energy and industrial independence, strategic resources access, and dual-use technologies. He describes the core problem driving that work as the disconnect between capital availability and investment-ready opportunity. Dr. Urinson's perspective on this problem is not formed in isolation. He is actively engaged across global financial centers – New York, Miami, Paris, Frankfurt, Istanbul, Dubai, etc. – participating in hundreds of investor and founder interactions and maintaining ongoing engagement with a network exceeding tens of thousands of market participants. His background in capital formation includes participation in transactions exceeding $1 billion across debt, equity, and structured instruments across multiple jurisdictions and market environments. A capital problem that isn't about capital Despite unprecedented levels of global liquidity, a significant portion of small and mid-sized businesses remain unable to access growth capital. The issue is not the scarcity of capital but its misalignment. Businesses at critical growth stages frequently lack the structure, operational discipline, and strategic positioning required by institutional investors, while capital providers face the inverse problem: an overwhelming volume of opportunities, but limited access to those that meet execution, scalability, and risk-adjusted return expectations. This inefficiency is particularly visible among companies generating between $100,000 and $1 million in annual revenue. They often demonstrate real traction yet remain unprepared to meet institutional investment standards – not because their businesses are weak, but because the criteria by which institutional capital evaluates opportunity are rarely communicated clearly to the founders seeking it. The gap, in other words, is as much informational as it is operational. The concentration visible in the 2025 venture data makes the picture even clearer. Half of all venture dollars last year flowed into just 0.05% of deals, with activity dominated by AI mega-rounds and a narrow set of favored sectors. Meanwhile, across the economy for many strategic sectors where genuine capital demand and operational traction both exist, funding remains inaccessible. Why events and introductions are not enough Traditional venture ecosystems are largely built around fragmented interactions – introductions, pitch events, and opportunistic networking. While these mechanisms have genuine value, they are not designed to produce consistent capital deployment. “An introduction gets you in the room,” as Dr. Urinson puts it. “What happens after that depends almost entirely on how prepared the company is – not on who made the introduction.” The passive nature of most professional networks compounds this problem. Connections exist across the ecosystem in abundance, but they are rarely structured into actionable capital pathways. Access to a network and the ability to deploy capital through one are two fundamentally different capabilities – a distinction that matters most for founders who invest heavily in relationship-building only to find that those efforts do not translate into results. What they typically lack is not access, but the preparation that makes access productive. Emerging innovation ecosystems illustrate this particularly clearly. Miami is one market Dr. Urinson references frequently: capital is present, and ambition is in abundance, yet the distance between available opportunity and investor-ready businesses remains wider than it should be. “Rather than representing a limitation,” he notes, “this highlights a structural gap – the need for systems that improve preparation, positioning, and investor readiness at scale.” The same pattern, in his experience, repeats across markets at different stages of maturity – from the more established hubs of New York and Frankfurt to the rapidly developing ecosystems of Istanbul and Dubai. What investment readiness actually requires The businesses that successfully raise capital are rarely those with the most connections. They are the ones with the most preparation – and the two are less correlated than the venture ecosystem's event-driven culture tends to suggest. “Most founders treat investment readiness as a destination,” Dr. Urinson observes. “It is actually a process – and most of them start it too late, with the wrong expectations of what a first conversation is supposed to accomplish.” Across his experience with growth-stage companies, Dr. Urinson has found that the most consequential interventions happen well before any investor meeting. First and foremost is how the companies are valued by the Founders – single biggest point of failure and rejection by investors. Be very careful with your valuation expectations. You can lose investors forever in case they feel that your valuation are not reasonable. Second, investors must see a clear growth and acceleration strategy, proven by Team’s ability to execute the plan, and previous track record of success. Thirdly, finances must be accurate, structured, and transparent. All documents must be organized in access ready due-diligence data-rooms. Lastly the investment opportunity must be properly positioned and curated to specific investor mandates. In practical terms, investment readiness means founders need to understand investor mandates not in the abstract but in the specific terms – what a particular type of capital provider requires at a particular stage, in a particular sector, based on current competitive and economic landscape. It means ongoing growth and acceleration through advanced operational capabilities, continuously meeting or exceeding expectations, and clearly conveyed vision of financial outcomes. And it means engaging with capital at the right moment, rather than as early and as often as possible. The real work, as Dr. Urinson sees it happen behind closed doors, in the offices, factories, construction sites, labs, in between events – through ongoing implementation of growth and acceleration strategy. Most Founders, at most growth stages, still lack the infrastructure to support that reliably. Closing that gap – not by adding more events to the calendar, but by building more rigorous pathways between capital and the businesses prepared to use it – is where the real opportunity in modern venture ecosystems lies. It is also where Dr. Urinson has focused his current work: developing the structured, process-driven infrastructure that most venture ecosystems still lack for founders outside the top tier of deal flow.

In many small towns, local businesses do more than provide products or services. They create gathering places. They give people routines, relationships, and a sense of connection. That idea has shaped the career of Arthur Deibler. Based in Valley View, Pennsylvania, Deibler has built multiple businesses focused on bringing people together. As the Founder & CEO of Bullpen Fitness & Recreation and owner of Prima Pizzeria and Lucky Horse Tavern, he has spent the past several years turning practical ideas into community-centered businesses. “I never wanted to build something that felt disconnected from the people around it,” Deibler says. “If people don’t feel welcome, it doesn’t work.” His path into entrepreneurship was not built overnight. It started with sports, discipline, and a mindset shaped long before he entered business. Arthur Deibler’s early life and athletic background Growing up, Deibler was known as a standout football player in high school. Sports became one of his first lessons in leadership and accountability. “Football taught me consistency,” he says. “You learn quickly that results come from preparation.” That mindset stayed with him after graduation. In 2013, he earned his degree from Lebanon Valley College and began looking for opportunities to create something of his own. Unlike entrepreneurs chasing trends or fast growth, Deibler focused on businesses that could have a direct impact on the people around him. “I always liked the idea of building something local,” he explains. “Something people could actually use in their daily lives.” How Arthur Deibler built bullpen fitness & recreation One of Deibler’s biggest ideas became Bullpen Fitness & Recreation in Valley View. The concept was simple. Create a fitness space that felt approachable instead of intimidating. “I wanted a place where people could walk in and feel comfortable from day one,” he says. “Not everybody is a serious athlete. A lot of people just want a positive environment.” That approach helped separate Bullpen from larger commercial fitness chains. The focus was not only on equipment or workouts. It was about creating a community atmosphere. According to a feature published in The Citizen Standard, Bullpen was designed to offer more than physical fitness. It aimed to create a space where people could connect, improve their health, and stay engaged locally. “The atmosphere matters,” Deibler says. “People remember how a place makes them feel.” The gym became part of a larger business strategy centered on accessibility and consistency. The business philosophy behind his local ventures In addition to Bullpen Fitness, Deibler also owns Prima Pizzeria and Lucky Horse Tavern. While the industries are different, his approach remains similar across all three businesses. He focuses on creating places where people naturally gather. “Whether it’s food, fitness, or recreation, people want places that feel genuine,” he says. “You can tell when something is built with real effort.” Deibler believes one of the biggest mistakes business owners make is overcomplicating things. “You don’t always need some huge idea,” he says. “A lot of success comes from showing up every day and doing the basics well.” That practical mindset has helped him manage multiple businesses while staying connected to the local community. Why community matters in business For Deibler, success is closely tied to community involvement. Outside of work, he volunteers at Hebron United Methodist Church in Millersburg, Pennsylvania. He sees volunteer work as an extension of the same values he brings into business ownership. “Being part of a community means being involved,” he says. “Not just when it benefits you, but consistently.” That idea has become increasingly important as many small towns struggle with declining local engagement. Research from the U.S. Surgeon General has shown rising levels of loneliness and social disconnection across the country. Local gathering spaces, fitness centers, restaurants, and recreational businesses often play a role in rebuilding those connections. Deibler believes business owners can contribute in simple ways. “People need places where they feel comfortable showing up,” he says. “That matters more than most people realize.” Life outside of business Despite managing multiple ventures, Deibler keeps a strong connection to his personal interests. He enjoys running, fishing, mini golf, old sports cars, and following Penn State football. “These things help keep me balanced,” he says. “You need time away from work to reset.” His interest in sports still influences how he approaches leadership today. “A good team matters in every business,” he explains. “You can’t build anything long-term by yourself.” What Arthur Deibler’s career says about modern entrepreneurship Arthur Deibler’s career is not built around flashy headlines or rapid expansion. His story is more practical than that. He identified needs in his local area. He created businesses around those needs. And he focused on consistency instead of hype. “I’m not trying to reinvent anything,” he says. “I just want to build places people enjoy being part of.” That mindset has allowed him to bring several ideas to life while staying grounded in the community that helped shape him. In a business world often focused on scale and speed, Deibler’s approach stands out for a different reason: it is built around people first.

What starts as simple curiosity can sometimes shape an entire career. For Erin Waid, that curiosity led to a path in endodontics – where precision, problem-solving, and patient care come together every day. A nonlinear path that led to dentistry Not every career starts with a clear plan. Erin Waid’s story is a good example. Today, she works as an endodontist in Oregon. But her path began in a different place. “I didn’t set out to become a specialist right away,” she says. “I followed what I was interested in and kept building from there.” Waid grew up in Belle Chasse, Louisiana, just outside New Orleans. Her early life was shaped by education and discipline. Her father was an attorney. Her mother worked in early childhood education. In high school, she ran cross-country. That experience stayed with her. “You learn patience,” she says. “Progress takes time. You just keep showing up.” Erin Waid’s education and early career choices Waid started with a degree in biology from the University of Portland. At the time, she was focused on healthcare but not yet dentistry. She went on to earn a Master of Science in Nursing from Seattle University. There, she trained as a Family Nurse Practitioner and was recognized for her performance and community involvement. “I wanted to understand patients more broadly,” she says. “Not just one issue, but the full picture.” Her early work included clinical research and dermatology. She handled patient care, testing, and treatment support. “It taught me how to think through problems,” she says. “You can’t just follow steps. You need to understand what’s happening.” These experiences gave her a strong base. But they also pushed her to look for something more hands-on. Why Erin Waid transitioned into dentistry Over time, Waid realized she wanted a role that combined precision with problem-solving. “I liked working with my hands,” she says. “I liked figuring things out in real time.” That led her to pursue dentistry at Oregon Health and Science University (OHSU). During dental school, she focused on research as well as clinical training. She earned the Dean’s Research Scholarship and an award in Oral Biology. Her research looked at how preventive treatments vary among children with severe dental conditions. “I was interested in why the same treatment doesn’t always work the same way,” she says. This focus on detail became a theme in her career. Specializing in endodontics: A focus on precision After earning her dental degree, Waid chose to specialize in endodontics. Endodontists treat issues inside the tooth. This includes infections, nerve damage, and trauma. “It’s very detail-oriented,” she says. “You’re working in a small space, but the impact is big.” She completed her specialty training at OHSU and contributed to research that was later published in 2025. For Waid, this step was about narrowing her focus. “I wanted to go deeper into one area and really understand it,” she says. Career growth across clinical and academic roles Waid’s career includes both clinical work and teaching. At OHSU’s Russell Street Clinic, she worked as a general dentist while also serving as an assistant professor. She treated patients and helped train future dentists. “Teaching makes you better,” she says. “You have to explain your thinking clearly.” She also worked in emergency dental care. There, she handled urgent cases like trauma and infections. “You learn to make decisions quickly,” she says. “But you still have to be precise.” In 2024, she stepped into her current role as an endodontist. She now practices in Salem and Portland. What Erin Waid does today as an endodontist Waid’s daily work centers on diagnosing and treating tooth pain and infections. She performs procedures such as root canals and microsurgeries. These treatments often help patients avoid losing teeth. “A lot of people come in when things are already serious,” she says. “My job is to solve the problem and make it manageable.” Her background in nursing still shapes how she approaches care. “I think about the whole patient,” she says. “Not just the immediate issue.” This broader view helps her handle complex cases. Big ideas that shaped Erin Waid’s career Waid’s career reflects a few key ideas that guided her decisions. First is the value of building across disciplines. She moved from research to nursing to dentistry. Each step added new skills. Second is a focus on detail and understanding. “I’ve always wanted to know why something works,” she says. Third is consistency. “I didn’t plan everything from the start,” she says. “I just kept moving forward.” These ideas helped her turn a general interest in healthcare into a specialized career. Professional growth and industry involvement Waid continues to stay active in her field. She is a member of the American Association of Endodontists and the Marshall Baumgartner Endodontic Study Group. These groups focus on collaboration and ongoing education. “You have to keep learning,” she says. “Things change quickly.” Her research background also keeps her connected to new developments in dentistry. Looking at the bigger picture Outside of clinical work, Waid has been involved in community efforts. She served on the Ryan White Planning Council, helping allocate funding for HIV/AIDS programs. “That showed me how decisions affect larger groups,” she says. She has also mentored young women through the Seafair Scholarship Program. “It’s about helping people build confidence,” she says. A career built step by step Erin Waid’s story is not about one big moment. It is about steady progress. She moved through different roles, learned new skills, and refined her focus over time. “I think success comes from staying curious,” she says. “And being willing to keep improving.” Her career shows how small decisions can lead to larger outcomes. Not through shortcuts, but through consistent effort and a clear sense of direction.

Some careers are built through titles and promotions. Others are earned through hard work, hands-on experience, and the trust of the people around you. For Joel Ney, a career in construction and welding has been shaped by steady growth, practical skills, and a commitment to doing the job right. How hard work and steady growth shaped Joel Ney’s career in the trades Some careers are built in offices. Others are built with tools, long hours, and hands-on experience. Joel Ney’s career falls into the second category. Based in Pine Grove, Pennsylvania, Ney has spent years building his future through construction and welding. His story is not about overnight success or flashy titles. It is about consistency, learning from others, and taking pride in doing the job right. “Success to me is having the people around me trust that I can get the job done and being able to provide for my family,” Ney says. That idea has guided him from the beginning. Growing up in Pine Grove, Pennsylvania Joel Ney grew up in Pine Grove, a small Pennsylvania town where family, sports, and community played a big role in everyday life. As a kid, he enjoyed playing sports and spending time outdoors with friends and family. Those experiences helped shape the way he approaches work today. Teamwork mattered. So did reliability. After graduating from Pine Grove High School, Ney continued his education at Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology and Mansfield University. Instead of searching for shortcuts, he focused on learning practical skills that could lead to a long-term career. That decision would eventually lead him into construction and welding. Starting a career in construction Ney began working in construction with PKF III Construction. Like many people entering the trades, he started with limited experience and had to prove himself from the ground up. “One of the biggest obstacles I have faced is starting as the new guy and having to work my way up with little experience,” he says. For many workers, that early stage can be frustrating. There is pressure to learn quickly while earning the trust of experienced crews. Ney approached it with patience and effort. “I overcame this by working hard and learning from anyone I possibly could.” That mindset became one of the foundations of his career. Expanding skills through welding As his experience grew, Ney expanded into welding and later worked with Great Coasters International. The move added another layer to his skill set and opened the door to larger projects and new opportunities. He believes growth in the trades comes from staying open to learning. “A hard-working attitude and the willingness to learn and grow within your career,” Ney says, “that’s what really matters.” In industries like construction and welding, experience often becomes the best teacher. Ney built his career by paying attention to details, learning from coworkers, and improving with every project. That steady approach helped him move forward without losing focus. How Joel Ney defines success For Ney, success is not measured by recognition or outside opinions. It is measured by trust and consistency. “As long as I believe myself and my work to be successful, peer feedback is not very valuable to me.” That perspective reflects the kind of confidence that often develops through experience. In hands-on industries, the quality of the work usually speaks for itself. Ney focuses on doing the job correctly and staying dependable. Over time, those qualities helped him build strong relationships with coworkers and people around him. He also believes success is tied closely to family and community. “My family and the people around me that I work with motivate me and I strive to help them succeed as well.” Staying focused in skilled trades careers Construction and welding can be demanding careers. Long hours, physical work, and constant problem-solving are part of the job. Ney has learned how important mindset can be in handling those challenges. “One thing at a time and stay away from feelings of uncertainty and self-doubt.” It is simple advice, but practical. Instead of getting overwhelmed by large goals, he focuses on steady progress. He also believes goal setting is important. “Setting goals and pushing myself to achieve them.” That approach has helped him continue growing while staying grounded in the day-to-day work that built his career in the first place. Life beyond construction and welding Outside of work, Ney enjoys traveling, hunting, fishing, riding ATVs, and taking on construction and contracting projects of his own. Even in his free time, he enjoys building and working with his hands. He also gives back to his community through volunteer work at his church and by helping local youth sports teams. In addition, he supports SPCA organizations and local charities. These efforts reflect the same values that guide his career: consistency, responsibility, and helping others when possible. What Joel Ney’s career story shows about the trades Joel Ney’s path shows that careers in the skilled trades are often built step by step. They require patience, effort, and a willingness to keep learning. His journey from being “the new guy” to becoming a trusted construction professional and welder highlights something many people overlook about the trades: success usually comes from mastering the basics and showing up every day ready to work. For Ney, the formula remains simple. “Having the people around me trust that I can get the job done.” That trust has become the foundation of a career built through hard work, steady growth, and real-world experience.

Diana May is a yoga educator, Somatic Experiencing® practitioner, and applied-neurology specialist who helps people reduce pain, restore mobility, and deepen connection with their bodies and nervous systems. She discovered yoga at age 19 during a challenging period of early adulthood, an experience that opened a lifelong path toward embodied awareness and integrative healing. Diana May, Neuro Somatic Practitioner & Yoga Teacher What first shifted for you when you discovered yoga at 19, and how did that shape the way you work with the body today? At the heart of yogic philosophy is this: yoga is when the mind chatter stops. And in that stillness, you realize something profound about who you are. I didn't grow up religious, and I definitely didn't grow up connected to my body. At 19, I became seriously ill, the result of years of ignoring my body's signals, pushing for grades, performing competence, suppressing my emotions. I had inherited a belief that I was unlovable unless I constantly proved myself. When I found yoga and genuinely sensed the difference between my swirling thoughts and the possibility that there was something else, that was the beginning of my healing. I remember a whisper, barely audible compared to my usual inner noise, that said: What if things could be different? What if you're already good? It stopped me in my tracks. I've practiced ever since. That experience shapes everything about how I work with people today. One of my core principles is building right relationship with your body. I don't care what shape it's in, how injured it is, or how long it's been ignored. The body you have right now is enough. In my work, two yogic principles guide what I do and their order matters. First, santosha: the practice of contentment. Meeting this moment exactly as it is, and trusting it. Then, tapas: the burning desire to grow. When contentment comes first, the drive to change stops coming from judgment and starts coming from love. Where do you see the biggest misunderstanding between pain and movement in traditional yoga or fitness spaces? One of the things I loved most about yoga was how it seemed radically different from the fitness world. No competition, no "no pain, no gain,” just listening to your body. Professional dancers and gym athletes would come to my classes specifically for that reason. Yet I still saw people pushing past their limits into injury. I used to believe that if someone got hurt in yoga, it was a matter of ego or disconnection, a shadow to examine. That assumption sat unchallenged in me for years. Then I studied pain science, and it changed everything. Injury is a part of life. And even when tissue damage is present, it doesn't always produce pain. One meta-analysis of people with asymptomatic low back conditions found herniated discs, spondylolysis, fissures, and more, across every age group from 20 to 80, in people who felt no pain at all. Real structural damage, zero symptoms. Pain is a complex, whole-person experience. Yes, it involves your tissue but also how your brain interprets threat signals, your emotional state, and your social environment. I was trained to modify postures and avoid movements that hurt. That's sometimes the right call. But I've learned that consistently avoiding painful movements can actually teach your brain that those movements are dangerous which potentially reinforces and amplifies pain over time. Now I bring more tools, more curiosity, and far fewer assumptions. We find a path forward together. How does applied neurology change the way you approach something as simple as mobility or stretching? I see movement as a relationship. Applied neurology is what makes that relationship complete. In the yoga and somatic world, there's almost an unspoken avoidance of the mind. Which makes sense as we live in a culture that glorifies rational thought, and so many people are completely disconnected from their bodies. I was one of them, and it literally made me sick. So the emphasis on embodiment in yoga and somatic work is something I deeply needed, and I think a lot of people do too. But applied neurology reminded me of something that was being cast aside: the brain and body are not separate. They never were. The movement we love so much? It originates in the brain. And every sensation the body experiences, from temperature to the pleasant buzz of a good stretch and our proprioception, it gets sent right back up. It's a conversation, constantly happening. Applied neurology looks at how signals travel along that pathway. And one of its most powerful insights is this: when your brain and nervous system feel safe, your brain opens up more movement. When your brain perceives threat, it restricts mobility to protect you. That changes everything about how I approach even the simplest stretch. If we're only working with the muscles and joints and ignoring the nervous system, we're missing half the story, maybe more. Bringing the brain into the room doesn't make movement more complicated. It actually makes it more effective, more sustainable, and far more interesting. When someone wants to “listen to their body,” what are they often missing or misinterpreting? The mind speaks in words. The body speaks in sensations. And most of us only learned one language. Eugene Gendlin coined the term "felt sense" to describe a full-body, multilayered experience that exists beneath our words. The stories we tell ourselves, the thoughts that run on repeat are usually being driven by something deeper: physical sensations, emotions, impulses, an inner atmosphere we've never been taught to name. Most people grow up learning to articulate their experiences verbally. But the body was communicating long before language showed up. So when someone tries to "listen to their body" and only has words as their tool, they're missing most of what's actually being said. Part of the work I do is help people build fluency in those other channels. And because the body has often been ignored for a long time, there's usually some judgment layered in too, or an urgent need to immediately interpret whatever arises. Someone notices tension in their belly and within seconds it becomes: that's bad, let’s fix it or they explain exactly where it comes from. What I try to support people in doing is slowing that down. Staying in the experience a little longer before reaching for an explanation. Letting the sensation just be a sensation for a moment, without rushing to categorize it. What’s a simple way someone can begin regulating their nervous system through movement in daily life? Eye exercises. Genuinely, it's one of my favorite entry points. It’s accessible to almost anyone, at any time of day, and it’s completely free. Working with the visual system is one of the most direct ways to communicate safety to your brain. You can find a full guide in my article on eye exercises, but even the simplest version makes a difference: just orient to your space. Right now, take a few moments and consciously look around the room you're in. Try not to get caught up in the story of what you see, if the living room is a mess, don't spiral into that. Look at it like abstract art instead. Just take in the shapes, the light, the space. Doing this consistently gives your brain real-time information that you're safe. And a brain that feels safe moves better, thinks better, and heals better. What does it mean in practice to treat movement as a moment-to-moment conversation rather than a fixed routine? I'm far more interested in your present-moment experience than I am in perfecting your alignment. The movement itself is just a doorway. What we're really exploring is your brain, your body, and who you are right now in this moment, your strengths, your edges, and everything in between. When you approach it that way, movement stops being a performance or a checklist. It becomes a way of understanding who you are, not what you can do. How has your background in environmental activism influenced the way you understand the body as a system? It taught me patience. And it taught me that solutions alone are never enough. With the climate crisis, what's so frustrating is that we actually have the tools. In her book What if We Get it Right?, Ayana Elizabeth Johnson has written beautifully about innovative solutions already happening across ocean health, transportation, food systems, and more. The knowledge exists. But knowing what needs to change and being ready to change it are two very different things. The body is the same way. Most people already know the general outline: move more, eat better, tend to stress, try somatic therapy. But a list of solutions has never healed anyone on its own. Real, lasting change takes something else entirely. It takes joy. When I was deep in environmental activism, the weight of it was immense. What kept me grounded wasn't more information or more urgency, it was staying connected to my love of nature itself. Swimming, hiking, playing. Remembering what I was actually fighting for. Our bodies need the same thing. Especially when we're in a tough season or just beginning a healing journey, it can feel like an overwhelming checklist. But what's essential is simpler than that: keep living your life. Laugh. Do silly things just because they're fun. The nervous system doesn't heal through discipline alone. It heals through moments of genuine aliveness. As seriously as I take this work, joy is always at the center of it. If there’s one shift people could make to feel more at home in their bodies, what would it be? Show up for yourself consistently, regardless of how you're doing. When you're thriving, take care of yourself. When you're struggling, take care of yourself. Good mood, bad mood, somewhere in between, take care of yourself anyway. That consistency becomes a kind of balm. It builds a trust with your own body that runs deeper than any single practice or breakthrough moment. A trust that says: you deserve care no matter what. When your body begins to believe it is seen, heard, and tended to, that's when life starts to feel genuinely full. Follow me on Instagram and visit my website for more info! Read more from Diana May

Written by Tara Swann, Emotional Empowerment Coach & Author Tara Swann is an Emotional Empowerment & Embodiment Coach and three-time Author who guides women to alchemise emotional patterns, reclaim their inner power, and manifest a life that reflects their deepest truth. My partner and I have recently started working together, combining our teachings and coaching a new client through a major life transition, from married to single, supporting him to become self-sourced. This particular client was grieving his relationship and expressing how his wife was his “ride or die”, and he followed with, “just like you guys are for each other.” My partner, Matt, was the first to compassionately reply, “Tara is not my ride or die; I do not rely on her.” I was waiting for him to say it, and it brought a smile to my face. I then shared, “I, too, do not rely on Matt to make me happy, because I know who I am.” Why we outsource love, security, and happiness There are multiple reasons we may outsource our happiness and security. We are conditioned in our society to seek partnership, marriage, children, careers, money, a house, for external security and happiness. We are taught that this is how we find it. Every cartoon and movie we watched growing up pointed to the same thing: that life is hard until you find your one and only. Then, as children, if we grow up never having our needs met by our parents, or never fully feeling secure and loved to the extent we needed at home, we seek this in another as adults. Chasing love, relationships, even if fleeting, to fulfil our unmet needs. This is our inner child reaching for the love and security they still long for, until we learn to give it to ourselves. How to stop outsourcing I wrote another article on this that delves deeper: ‘How to stop seeking happiness outside of yourself, and become Self-Sourced’. You can read it here, but in short, we stop seeking love, security, happiness, and wholeness from outside ourselves when we learn to give them to ourselves. When we learn to love every part of ourselves, we stop ‘needing’ love from another. When we learn to feel our emotions fully, we build security within ourselves and stop chasing it through relationships. When we learn that we can gift ourselves everything we are seeking from someone or something else, we become self-sourced. Why self-sourcing matters in a relationship When we are in relationships, if we are constantly leading from a place of insecurity, attempting to meet our own unconscious needs, we begin to self-abandon to retain the relationship, to hold on to something to soothe our scared inner child. We abandon our truth, appease the other, lack boundaries, and eventually lose ourselves to keep the relationship. You form an identity based on the relationship, rather than independent from it. It becomes codependent, an unhealthy attachment to which the relationship breaks down over time, whether you’re together or not. To me, the success of a relationship is not determined by longevity. The success of a relationship is determined by whether you can be authentically you and you both choose the relationship from a place of wholeness, not need it from a place of insecurity. What is wholeness? Everyone is innately whole, whether you feel it yet or not. A person who is connected to their wholeness is someone who can fulfil their own needs, who has met themselves fully, who loves and accepts every part of themselves, even the messy, because when you abandon parts of yourself, you begin to disconnect from your wholeness. Healthy detachment comes from two whole people forming a union, not two people seeking wholeness and a life path from the relationship itself. Two halves don’t make a whole When two people who have not connected to their wholeness enter a relationship, they attach to that relationship to feel whole. The problem is, this becomes conditional on this relationship lasting, and the only way for a person to retain their sense of wholeness is through the relationship, forming an unhealthy attachment to the other person. I have been here many times. I longed for security, so I’d seek it through a relationship. I longed for love and companionship, so I’d seek it through another. I longed for touch, play, and connection, all of which I soon realised I could give to myself. When I released my fear of abandonment, my insecurities, and my overwhelming feeling of being incomplete, I soon realised that in my essence, the truth of who I am underneath the conditioning is undeniably whole, complete, and loved. When I said to our client, “I do not need Matt because I know who I am”, what I meant was, I have met myself fully, deeply, wholly, on the other side of the pain I avoided for nearly twenty years. On the other side, I connected to my innate wholeness, my inner power, my connection to myself and life. In that, I no longer needed a relationship for fulfilment, because I was fulfilled within myself by myself. From that place, I could consciously choose, will this be for my highest growth and expansion? The answer was yes. Your relationship is your mirror Feeling discomfort in a relationship happens, conflict happens, and there are moments of disconnection. This doesn’t mean they aren't your person or aren't for your highest expansion. These moments are simply opportunities to look within, reconnect with what’s true for you, and express it from a place of love. Your closest relationship is your biggest mirror. It will reflect unmet needs, unhealed wounds, and anything else within you that isn’t aligned with who you truly are. Where there is love, anything that isn’t love will be brought to the surface. You can choose to avoid and run, or stay and reflect, or recognise when the relationship is no longer aligned. 5 Benefits of feeling whole and detached from your relationship You don’t need to be fully healed to enter a relationship, but realising your wholeness doesn’t come from another creates a whole new dynamic. From this place, relationships begin to feel different; more authentic, more real. This is what I’ve noticed in my own relationship and in the people I work with. True compatibility: Until you have met yourself fully, you won’t truly know what your values are, what you need and desire within a relationship, and importantly, how to express those needs and desires confidently. When you know yourself at this level, you can have an honest conversation with another about their own values, needs, and desires, and find out, from a place of truth, whether or not you’re compatible. If you’re not, you can choose to end that relationship securely. Grief of its ending is inevitable, but you know, on the other side of grief, you get to meet yourself even more deeply than before. You get to choose: A person who feels whole is no longer seeking security from the relationship and is in it by conscious choice rather than due to unconscious unmet needs. You can authentically decide whether the relationship is for your highest good. Your highest potential: A person who is connected to themself also knows what they desire for their life, or more accurately, how they desire to feel. When they meet someone, they can discern whether that person will align with this. They can truly commit not only to the relationship's highest potential but also to their own by continuing practices that help them stay connected to themselves as their priority. Deep, authentic connection: A person who is deeply and authentically connected to themselves can then deeply and authentically connect with another. What that feels like connection before this place is often two wounds recognising each other. Responding in conflict: Relationship conflict is inevitable. The difference is, will this conflict be used as a tool for growth and deeper connection, or instil further self-abandonment and disconnection? In conflict, two people who are connected to themselves can remain truthful rather than abandon themselves to keep the peace, even when it’s uncomfortable. They understand that anything unspoken creates disconnection. They can be vulnerable because they have been vulnerable within themselves. Healthy detachment follows choosing yourself first and, as Matt has said to me, “I wouldn’t choose someone who doesn’t choose themself.” Will you embody wholeness? The truth is, most of us long for connection, for a partner to ride through life with, and that is fair. Love and connection are basic human needs. You do not need to pretend that the desire for your life does not exist. But be curious about where that desire is coming from, wholeness or outsourcing? Ultimately, when you finally meet yourself, you can discern which relationships are good for you and which ones aren’t, and from this place, you can choose with certainty which to keep and which to let go. You do this all with the knowledge that you have gotten yourself through the ups and downs. You can hold yourself through it all and no longer rely on another for your sense of wholeness. You are innately whole, fundamentally worthy, and completely loved, with or without another. These are the foundations for a successful, divine union. If you’re ready to deepen your connection to your Self and find it within another, Matt and I are opening one coaching space where we combine our teachings to support you in reconnecting with your truth, wholeness, and inner power. Reach out on Instagram for more info. Visit my website for more info! Read more from Tara Swann Tara Swann, Emotional Empowerment Coach & Author Tara Swann is an Emotional Empowerment Coach, Author, and Speaker known for helping women alchemise emotional patterns into personal power. She guides women into deeper confidence, clarity, and self-connection through her unique blend of emotional mastery, feminine embodiment, and manifestation work. Tara is the author of You Don’t Have Anxiety, Becoming Her, and The Ocean Is She, and is currently deepening her expertise through formal Tantra Practitioner training. Her mission is to help women remember who they are and consciously create lives that feel aligned, expansive, and unapologetically alive.

Written by Noriko Ueda-Lang, Holistic Acupuncture for Brain Health Dr. Noriko Ueda-Lang is a leading expert in acupuncture, functional medicine, and brain coaching. She helps patients restore balance and vitality by treating the root cause of illness. Founder of Ueda Lang Acupuncture in San Diego, she integrates mind-body healing to achieve optimal health and performance. Most people walk into their first acupuncture appointment bracing for pain. They leave wondering why they waited so long. Because acupuncture involves needles, the assumption is that it must be uncomfortable. In reality, most patients describe the experience as profoundly relaxing, a warmth, a heaviness, a quiet settling of the body into what I call an “acu-nap,” that soft threshold between wakefulness and sleep where real healing begins. But there is a deeper misunderstanding worth addressing, and it goes beyond the needles. Acupuncture is not a single technique. It is a sophisticated, diverse medical system with multiple styles, philosophies, and clinical approaches, each reflecting a unique way of understanding the body, the mind, and the process of healing and it is not just for pain. At its foundation, acupuncture is a nervous system therapy. It influences stress response, sleep, digestion, hormones, immunity, emotional regulation, and brain-body communication. Pain relief is often the visible outcome of a deeper internal shift, not the end goal in itself. What is acupuncture, really? At its core, acupuncture is about restoring balance. Traditional theory describes “Qi” (life energy) flowing through pathways called meridians. When that flow is smooth, the body functions optimally. When it becomes disrupted, symptoms emerge: pain, fatigue, anxiety and illness. But there is a layer beneath the physical that is easy to overlook. Everything begins with the mind. Your thoughts shape your nervous system. Your nervous system regulates the flow of Qi. When the mind is locked in chronic stress, the body reflects that disruption at every level. When the mind quiets, the body finds its natural rhythm again. This is why true healing is not just physical, it is neurological and emotional. And it starts long before a needle touches skin. Common acupuncture styles and their uses Acupuncture is not one-size-fits-all. The right style depends on your goals, your sensitivity, and how your body responds to treatment. Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) The most widely practiced system globally uses stronger stimulation and structured protocols. Well-suited for chronic pain, digestive issues, fertility support, respiratory conditions, and general wellness. Japanese meridian acupuncture This is the style I practice and it reflects a fundamentally different philosophy. Rather than forcing a response, it “listens” to the body. Needles are ultra-fine and inserted at shallow depths, with strong emphasis on palpation, reading the body through touch before a single needle is placed. Ideal for sensitive patients, children, and anyone seeking nervous system regulation with minimal discomfort. Five-element acupuncture Rooted in a person's constitutional type and emotional patterns rather than isolated symptoms. A powerful approach for emotional balance, stress-related conditions, and deeper mind-body healing. Electroacupuncture Adds mild electrical stimulation between needles to amplify the therapeutic effect. Most effective for chronic pain, nerve pain, and muscle recovery. Auricular (ear) acupuncture Treats the whole body through a microsystem mapped on the ear. Particularly effective for anxiety, addiction, PTSD, and weight management. Scalp acupuncture Targets neurological zones on the scalp to directly influence brain function. Used for stroke recovery, neurological conditions, and cognitive support. Trigger point/dry needling Releases stubborn muscle knots and myofascial tension. Best for sports injuries, localized muscle pain, and movement restrictions. Korean hand therapy Maps the entire body onto the hand for targeted, convenient treatment, especially useful when full-body needling is not practical. Cosmetic acupuncture Focuses on facial circulation and rejuvenation. Addresses fine lines, dullness, uneven skin tone, and facial tension, without injectables. Complementary techniques that enhance results Acupuncture is frequently combined with other therapeutic methods to enhance the healing process. Moxibustion, a gentle heat therapy, helps improve circulation and vitality by warming specific points on the body. Cupping, a suction-based therapy, works to release muscle tension and promote better blood flow. Gua Sha, a scraping technique, is particularly effective for reducing inflammation and stagnation, encouraging smoother movement of energy. In addition to these therapies, Tai Chi and Qi Gong are movement-based practices that focus on regulating energy and calming the mind. Together, these complementary methods work synergistically to move Qi, blood, and lymph throughout the body, fostering a more complete and integrated healing response. Complementary therapies that deepen results Acupuncture is often paired with additional techniques to provide a more comprehensive healing experience. Moxibustion involves gentle heat therapy using mugwort to improve circulation and vitality. Cupping is a suction-based therapy that helps release muscle tension and promotes blood flow. Gua Sha, a scraping technique, works to reduce inflammation and break up stagnation in the body. Tai Chi and Qi Gong are movement practices designed to regulate energy and calm the nervous system, enhancing overall well-being. Ear seeds, which are adhesive beads placed on specific ear points, continue the treatment by stimulating these areas. They typically stay in place for 3 to 7 days, helping to maintain therapeutic benefits. Together, these methods work in unison to move Qi, blood, and lymph, supporting the body from multiple angles and promoting a more integrated healing response. My approach: Meridian-based Japanese acupuncture In my practice, I see the body as a dynamic system of flow. Think of it like a lake. When the wind is still, the water is clear and calm. When external forces disturb it, waves form, temperature shifts, and the surface becomes unsettled. Your body responds the same way. Your body responds in the same way. Rather than chasing symptoms, I assess the meridian flow patterns through touch and subtle feedback. My goal is not to “fix” the body, but to restore its natural flow so it can heal itself. The mind-body loop that blocks recovery Your thoughts influence your physiology more than you realize. Chronic stress – dysregulated nervous system – disrupted Qi flow – physical symptoms. This cycle repeats, often quietly, until it becomes the body's default state. It is why I integrate breathwork and nervous system regulation into every treatment, not as an add-on, but as a core part of the work. I have seen patients follow every right protocol, proper treatment, targeted supplements, consistent sleep, and still plateau. Not because the approach was wrong, but because the nervous system never fully received the signal that it was safe to heal. The mind had already decided the body was supposed to hurt. And the body, loyal as it is, agreed. The CLEAR method: Resetting the system from the inside To move beyond symptom management and into genuine healing, we have to address what is happening internally. My CLEAR Method gives patients a simple, repeatable way to reset: C: Calm the Breath – Shift out of stress mode L: Let Go of the Thought – Stop feeding the stress response E: Engage the Senses – Return to the present moment A: Align the Intention – Create internal direction R: Reset the Nervous System – Allow healing to begin Healing does not begin when you do more. It begins when you remove what is standing in the way. How to choose the right style for you When choosing the right acupuncture style, start by identifying your primary goal. For pain relief, electroacupuncture or trigger point therapy can offer effective solutions. If stress and emotional balance are your focus, consider Five Element or Japanese acupuncture. For neurological support, scalp acupuncture is a specialized approach. If you're a first-time or sensitive patient, Japanese acupuncture is often the gentler option. However, beyond the specific style, the most crucial factor is finding a practitioner who sees you as a whole person. The best practitioners recognize that the nervous system, mind, and body are interconnected, not separate issues to address. They focus on treating you as an integrated system, offering a more holistic and lasting form of healing. A final word: Don't feed the thought The greatest obstacle to healing is rarely a lack of treatment. It is internal interference. When the mind repeatedly rehearses fear, pain, or frustration, the body interprets those signals as an ongoing threat and reinforces the exact patterns that prevent recovery. I see this regularly: a patient finds genuine relief after treatment, then returns to the same pain within days because the mind had already scripted the outcome. The body followed the expectation rather than the healing. True recovery requires more than treatment. It requires awareness. When you calm your breath, quiet the inner noise, and stop adding fuel to the stress response, something fundamental shifts. The interference clears. And the body, which has always known how to heal, finally has the space to do so. Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and visit my website for more info! Read more from Noriko Ueda-Lang Noriko Ueda-Lang, Holistic Acupuncture for Brain Health Dr. Noriko Ueda-Lang is a leader in integrative healing, combining acupuncture, functional medicine, and brain coaching to treat the root cause of illness. After witnessing how stress and imbalance affect both mind and body, she developed a unique system to restore the autonomic nervous system and enhance mental clarity. She founded Ueda Lang Acupuncture in San Diego, where she helps patients reclaim their vitality and resilience through a blend of Eastern wisdom and modern science. Her mission: Heal the mind to heal the body. References: Benson, H., & Proctor, W. (2010). 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Dry needling: A literature review with implications for clinical practice. Physical Therapy Reviews, 19(4), 252–265. Liu, Z., Guan, L., Wang, Y., Xie, C., & Lin, X. (2015). History and mechanism for treatment of intracerebral hemorrhage with scalp acupuncture. Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine, 2015, 1-9. Maciocia, G. (2005). The foundations of Chinese medicine: A comprehensive text for acupuncturists and herbalists (2nd ed.). Elsevier. Nielsen, A., Knoblauch, N. T., Dobos, G. J., Michalsen, A., & Kaptchuk, T. J. (2007). The effect of Gua Sha treatment on microcirculation of surface tissue: A pilot study in healthy subjects. Explore, 3(5), 456-466. Porges, S. W. (2011). The polyvagal theory: Neurophysiological foundations of emotions, attachment, communication, and self-regulation. W. W. Norton & Company. Shudo, D. (1990). Japanese classical acupuncture: Introduction to Meridian Therapy. Eastland Press. Vickers, A. J., Cronin, A. M., Maschino, A. 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Written by Alice Patterson, Holistic Health Practitioner Alice Patterson is a holistic health practitioner, mindfulness and meditation guide, and creator of the RISE method, blending reflexology, Reiki, and energy healing helping people reconnect with their natural state of well-being for over two decades. You've tried the supplements. The massage. The therapy. The elimination diet that made you sad in ways that were frankly worse than the original problem. You've done the yoga class, the meditation app, the energy session your friend swore would change your life, the weekend workshop that changed your life for approximately eleven days before it quietly didn't anymore. You're still here. Still tired. Still in pain. Still carrying whatever it is you've been trying to put down. Here's the thing I want you to hear, and I want you to really hear it, "You are not the problem." The approach is. The band-aid is not a “bad guy” Let's be fair to the band-aid for a moment. It has its place. If you stub your toe, you do not need to spend three sessions unpacking your relationship with furniture. You need ice and possibly someone to commiserate with. But most of what we're carrying around (the chronic pain, the anxiety that hums underneath everything, the exhaustion that sleep doesn't fix, the emotional weight that shows up in your shoulders or your gut or that one spot in your neck that's been tense since 2019) isn't a band-aid situation. That's a root situation. Treating a root situation with a band-aid doesn't mean the band-aid failed. It means it was never designed for the job. Your body does indeed keep the score (and it is very patient) Here's something the body does that is equal parts impressive and inconvenient: it stores things. Stress that never got processed. Grief that got shelved because life kept moving. Old patterns of protection that made complete sense once and have been running quietly in the background ever since, like software you forgot you installed. The body is not dramatic about this. It doesn't send strongly worded letters. It sends symptoms. A headache. A tight chest. Digestion that's been "off" for so long you've stopped thinking of it as off and started thinking of it as just yours. Fatigue that isn't explained by how much you slept. Pain that moves around or changes or gets worse when you're stressed, which, come to think of it, is always. You treat the headache. The headache goes away. The headache comes back. Not because you failed. Because the headache was never the headline. It was the footnote. The question nobody asked you In most of the appointments you've sat in (and I say this with genuine compassion for everyone involved), someone looked at what was happening on the surface and addressed what was happening on the surface. Understandable. Efficient. Often the only option available. But somewhere underneath that symptom, there is a story. A pattern. A place where energy stopped flowing, where an old experience got lodged, where the physical, emotional, and energetic layers of you got tangled up together and started pulling in directions that don't serve you anymore. The question that changes everything is not, "What is hurting?" The question is "Why is this hurting, and what is it actually trying to tell you? " That second question requires someone willing to listen to the whole answer. Not just the part that shows up on the intake form. What root cause healing actually looks like It looks slower, at first. Which I know is not what you want to hear when you've been dealing with something for years and you showed up ready for results. But here's the difference: when you treat a symptom, you get temporary relief. When you address the root, the relief tends to stay. Because you're not managing a problem. You're resolving it. Root cause healing means someone is reading your body, not just your chart. It means looking at where tension lives, how energy moves (or doesn't), what your nervous system is doing, what's beneath the physical layer and influencing it. It means understanding that the lower back pain and the unprocessed grief and the boundary you've been unable to hold might not be three separate issues. They might be one story told in three places. It means being met, actually met, as a whole person, not a collection of presenting symptoms. When you find that, something shifts. Not just in the session. In the weeks after. In the way you start to feel in your own body. In the slow, quiet reclaiming of a baseline you maybe forgot was available to you. What to look for in a holistic health practitioner If you're ready to try a different approach (and if you've been nodding along this whole time, I think you might be), here's what I'd encourage you to look for. Look for someone who asks why before they decide what. Someone whose first question isn't "where does it hurt" but something closer to "tell me about yourself." Someone who treats your history as relevant information, not background noise. Look for someone who works across layers. The physical, the emotional, the energetic. These are not separate systems. They talk to each other constantly. A practitioner who understands that is working with your whole body, not just a piece of it. Look for someone who is genuinely curious about you. Not about your diagnosis. About you. There is a difference, and you will feel it within the first five minutes of any session. Look for someone who isn't in a hurry to give you the answer before they've listened to the question. Look for someone who measures success not by whether you feel better for a day, but by whether you're building something that lasts. This is where RISE comes in I've spent decades in treatment rooms and circles and quiet conversations asking the second question. The why. The underneath. The thing that hasn't been named yet but has been making itself known in the body for a very long time. Out of that work, and out of genuine frustration with how often people arrive having tried everything and failed by the shallowness of the approach, not the sincerity of their effort, I developed RISE. RISE stands for Reflexology Informed Somatic Energetics. Which is a formal way of saying: a method that listens to the body across every layer it speaks from. It blends reflexology, craniosacral therapy, Reiki, acupressure, and energetic body alignment. Not as a menu of separate treatments, but as an integrated approach designed to find the root and work from there. It reads the body's language: posture, pulse, energy flow, the places that brace, the places that have gone quiet. It works with the physical, emotional, and energetic patterns, as the single system they actually are. RISE is also a training method for practitioners, for healers who are ready to move beyond surface-level work and learn to facilitate the kind of healing that actually holds. Because the world doesn't need more band-aids. It needs more professionals willing to ask the second question. If you're tired of managing and ready to actually heal, you're in the right place. Learn more about RISE here. Visit my website for more info! Read more from Alice Patterson Alice Patterson, Holistic Health Practitioner Alice Patterson calls herself a Peace Insurgent, and after two decades of holistic health practice, mindfulness teaching, and helping people find the quiet beneath the chaos, she has earned the title. She is the creator of the RISE healing method, the Allow Peace framework, the Safe Space Holding practitioner training, and a mindfulness workbook series called The Space Within Us. She is also an emerging speaker, a storyteller, and your all-natural pain reliever. No prescription required.

Written by Jenna Ellis, High Performance Somatic Coach Jenna Ellis is a High-Performance Somatic Coach specializing in nervous system regulation for women with autoimmune conditions. With 17 years of lived RA experience, she guides women from symptom management to embodied self-leadership through evidence-based somatic practices. Have you ever felt like you’re doing everything “right” but nothing is actually changing? Maybe you’ve followed routines, adopted new mindsets, and committed to healing, yet your body still feels stuck or resistant. This might not reflect your effort, but the state of your nervous system. True transformation isn’t forced, it arises when your body feels safe to change. Transformation begins with your relationship to your body For years, we’ve been taught that growth comes from discipline and pushing through discomfort. But if your nervous system is always in protection mode, any new pressure, no matter how beneficial, triggers resistance. Lasting transformation begins with the relationship you have with your body. Change happens at the speed of safety This isn’t just a mindset shift, it’s physiology. When your body perceives stress or threat, it shifts into survival patterns such as tension, shallow breathing, inflammation, and hypervigilance or shutdown. From that state, sustainable change becomes nearly impossible. Not because you’re failing, but because your body is protecting you. You are shaping your biology whether you realize it or not Regulation isn’t just an emotional goal, it’s a biological process. Your nervous system is constantly adapting to what it experiences most. If your system is repeatedly exposed to stress, pressure, or internal chaos, it organizes itself around survival. But when you begin to introduce safety, intentionally and consistently, your body starts to organize differently, not toward protection, but toward capacity. Over time, this becomes the difference between living in reaction and living in alignment. You are not separate from your biology, and you are not powerless to it either. You are participating in it, whether consciously or not. My experience with Rheumatoid Arthritis I learned this in a very real way during the early stages of my diagnosis with Rheumatoid Arthritis. At the time, I was searching for answers and trying to understand what was happening in my body. Like many people, I turned outward. I listened to every opinion, followed recommendations, and focused on what I was told to take, what to expect, and what my future would likely look like. While there is value in medical support, I didn’t realize how much I was overriding my own system in the process. I stopped listening to my body and trusting my internal signals. Over time, this created a level of disconnection I couldn’t ignore. I lost my sense of self, what I wanted and what I felt capable of, not just physically, but internally. The shift – From overriding to attuning It wasn’t until I began learning how to regulate my nervous system, rather than overriding, bypassing, or dismissing it, that things began to shift. Not overnight, but steadily. I started making decisions that felt more aligned with my body, my health, and the life I actually wanted to live, rather than the one I had been told to expect. This shift wasn’t about rejecting support, it was about no longer abandoning myself within the process. Stress lives in the body, not just the mind Chronic stress doesn’t just exist in your thoughts, it lives in your body, often beneath conscious awareness. It shows up in the tightness in your chest, the way you hold your breath, and the patterns and beliefs you’ve repeated so often they feel like truth. These patterns become familiar, and what’s familiar, the nervous system often interprets as safe, even when it isn’t supportive. However, your body is adaptable, which means those patterns can change. Somatics: The gateway to nervous system regulation You cannot think your way into safety, you have to feel your way there. This is where somatic work becomes essential. Somatics brings you out of the constant loop of the mind and back into the body, where regulation actually begins. It starts with awareness, noticing where you hold tension, recognizing your body’s stress signals, and learning to pause rather than push. Before transformation can happen, awareness has to come first. Breath as a bridge back to safety One of the most accessible tools for regulation is your breath. Diaphragmatic breathing, slow, intentional breathing into the belly, can begin to signal safety to the body. It supports activation of the vagus nerve, which plays a key role in shifting the body out of survival states. This isn’t about doing it perfectly, it’s about giving your body a new experience, one that communicates that it is safe enough to soften. Rebuilding trust with your body Regulation isn’t just about tools, it’s about relationship. The way you speak to yourself matters, as do the boundaries you set and the environments you choose. If every sensation is met with frustration or fear, your nervous system remains guarded. But when you begin to listen, to attune instead of override, you begin to rebuild trust with your body. You are the guardian of your internal world Over time, this work reshapes more than your nervous system, it reshapes your identity. You begin to recognize that you have influence over what enters your system, including the thoughts you engage with, the relationships you stay in, and the boundaries you uphold. You become the guardian of your internal environment, and your body responds accordingly. True transformation isn’t forced You don’t need to force transformation. You need to create the conditions where transformation feels safe. Healing isn’t about fixing your body, it’s about learning how to listen to it and building a relationship where it no longer has to protect you from change. Ready to begin your own transformation? If this resonates, start simple. Pause, breathe, and notice what your body is asking for before you override it. If you’re ready to deepen this work, explore somatic practices and nervous system support that help you reconnect with your body in a safe and sustainable way. Follow me on Instagram, LinkedIn, and visit my website for more info! Read more from Jenna Ellis Jenna Ellis, High Performance Somatic Coach Jenna Ellis is a High-Performance Somatic Coach who specializes in nervous system regulation for women with autoimmune conditions. Diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis at 21, she was told she'd never run again, today, she's in better physical condition than 17 years ago. Through her transformation journey, Jenna discovered that autoimmune conditions aren't the body attacking itself, but the body's intelligent attempt to protect and survive. She now guides women beyond symptom management to authentic self-leadership, serving clients globally from her base in New York. Her mission is to help women with autoimmune conditions reclaim their power and create lives aligned with their authentic truth.

Written by Lee Lin Cher, SEC (O Level) English Tutor Mr Lee Lin Cher, SEC (O Level) English Tutor and Exam Strategist. Mr Lee Lin Cher is a veteran teacher and tutor, coaching students on the subject of English language for the Singapore-Cambridge SEC (O Level) English exams. He has been teaching since 1993 and has authored (to date) a total of 16 books on the subject. It’s official, the O Levels are evolving into the Secondary Education Certificate (SEC). New name, same old headache for students who think "studying English" means flipping through a ten-year series five minutes before the paper starts. If you want to dominate Paper 1 and Paper 2, you need to stop studying and start absorbing. That absorption starts with a habit most Gen Z students have abandoned: reading actual, physical books. As an SEC English strategist, I’ve seen it all. Students tell me they "read articles online" or "follow news on TikTok." Let me be blunt: that isn’t reading; that’s scrolling. If you want to build an intellectual arsenal that makes Cambridge examiners sit up and take notice, you need to change your methodology. The paper advantage: Why physical books trump digital screens I know, I know. You have an iPad. It’s convenient. But if you’re serious about SEC (O Level) English success, you need to put the tablet down and pick up a paperback. Research suggests that comprehension and retention are significantly higher when reading physical books compared to e-readers. A prominent study by marketing research firm Millward Brown indicated that physical media leaves a "deeper footprint" in the brain. Why? Because of the tactile experience. The physical act of flipping a page creates a "mental map" of the information. Your brain remembers that a specific word or idea was located on the bottom left of a page about a third of the way through the book. This spatial anchoring is absent in the infinite, featureless scroll of a digital screen. Furthermore, the physical act of slowing down and flipping the pages helps with cognition. Digital reading encourages "skimming", a death sentence for the deep comprehension required in the SEC English syllabus. The "active absorption" protocol: Underlining and notebooking For non-native learners, or even native speakers who have grown lazy with their language, simply seeing a word isn't enough. You aren't a sponge; you are a builder. You need to work for your vocabulary. When you read, you should always have a pen in hand. Underline every word or phrase you don't fully understand. Transfer those words into a dedicated, physical notebook. Research the definitions and write them down, again, by hand, beside the word in your notebook. Don't stop at single words. If you encounter a sentence that is particularly "chechim" (sophisticated) or a phrase that flows with the wit of a master, write that down too. The neuroscience of handwriting You might be tempted to just type these notes into a Google Doc. Don’t. A 2024 study in Frontiers in Psychology highlighted that handwriting leads to "widespread brain connectivity" patterns that typing simply cannot replicate. Handwriting is an active motor task that leaves "memory traces" in the brain. If you want the word to stick, your hand needs to feel the shape of the letters. Memory: The foundation of all learning Let’s get one thing straight: no learning takes place without memory. If you find a great word today but can't recall it during your Situational Writing or Continuous Writing paper, that word is useless to you. Once you've jotted down your new vocabulary and phrases, you must commit them to memory. This isn't just about rote learning; it's about building a Word Bank in your head. When you enter the exam hall, you shouldn't be searching for "good words." You should be selecting tools from a well-organized chest you’ve been filling for months. The cycle of mastery Success in SEC (O Level) English is a recursive cycle: Read (Physical books only). Note (Handwritten in your notebook). Memorize (Commit the bank to your brain). Utilize (Deploy these words in your writing and comprehension practices). Repeat. Who should you be reading? If you're wondering where to start, you need to read the masters. I’ve previously discussed my "Power Trio" for dominating Paper 1: Malcolm Gladwell: Read him to understand how to structure a convincing argumentative essay. Robert Greene: Read him for the "GP-level" intensity and vocabulary that will set you apart from the average candidate. Roald Dahl: Read him to master the art of flow, wit, and perfect grammar. You can find my full breakdown of why these three are essential here. The SEC English exam is designed to find the thinkers, not just the test-takers. Put down the phone, pick up a book, and start building your arsenal. The A1 isn’t going to earn itself. Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and visit my website for more info! Read more from Lee Lin Cher Lee Lin Cher, SEC (O Level) English Tutor Mr Lee Lin Cher, SEC (O Level) English Tutor and Exam Strategist. Mr Lee Lin Cher is a veteran teacher and tutor, coaching students on the subject of English language for the Singapore-Cambridge SEC (O Level) English exams. He has been teaching in one way or another since 1993, and has authored (to date) a total of 16 books on the subject. An unwilling educator, Mr. Lee had been trying to escape from the education industry forever. A life-changing experience in May 2025 convinced him that escape is not an option and that it is in his destiny to continue teaching and transforming the lives of his young charges.