#8 – Return to the Heart: Sovereignty, Stillness & the Dance of Life with Krista Critchley

Retreat facilitator and spiritual guide Krista Kritchley joins us from Costa Rica to talk transformation that’s lived—not lectured. From addiction and fibromyalgia to leading retreats and community, Krista shares how radical responsibility, nervous-system regulation, and heart-led choices can turn pain into peace.

We get into cacao ceremony as a heart-opening practice, psilocybin for healing and integration, why “doing nothing” can be the most productive move, and how to step off the Victim-Villain-Hero triangle. Expect tools you can use today: finding your middle path when the pendulum swings, tuning thoughts/words/behaviors to the same “station,” and practicing compassion without losing boundaries.

In this episode:

• Saying “yes” to a new life (and manifesting a 7-year plan in 6 months)

• Cacao & ceremony (intentions, gratitude, and real-world grounding)

• Mushrooms, microdosing, and nervous-system healing

• Left/right brain harmony, growth mindset & neuroplasticity

• The Four Agreements in practice; life as a mirror

• Alchemy: turning triggers into peace; the power of non-engagement

• Integration: journaling, community, nature, ecstatic dance

https://www.qimovements.com/

https://imoveclinic.com/

https://neurokinetictherapy.com/

Timestamps:

• 00:00 Intro & Episode Theme

• 01:37 Affirmation: “Wisdom of my heart”

• 03:17 Meet Krista Kritchley

• 05:06 Seven-Year Plan → Six Months

• 06:55 Origin: From burnout to Costa Rica

• 08:33 Yoga, meditation, insomnia shift

• 11:55 Saying “Yes” during COVID; community

• 14:35 What’s a Cacao Ceremony?

• 17:03 Water intentions & gratitude

• 19:16 Mushrooms, migraines, microdosing

• 21:31 Left/Right brain & nervous system

• 23:52 The Pendulum & the Middle Way

• 25:58 “Do the Opposite” experiment

• 27:12 Productive stillness & nature

• 32:35 Compassion & the 80/20 rule

• 35:03 Reframing sickness as an upgrade

• 41:08 Life as mirror; ego triangle

• 45:32 The Four Agreements (recap)

• 53:25 Music & inputs as medicine

• 57:15 Why Peace • Love • Joy

• 1:03:38 Alchemy: turning pain into peace

• 1:11:16 Integration after ceremony

• 1:13:13 Seed of Life invite (Fridays)

• 1:15:24 Moving Well / Living Well

• 1:18:51 Empowering question & close