June 7, 2025 • 37 mins
Valerie Pedigo’s journey through burnout began with a shocking moment—finding herself crawling up her stairs, physically unable to walk, yet still answering work calls from the floor. This powerful visual captures what burnout truly means: not just having too much to do, but having nothing left of yourself to give.
As a certified life coach, human design reader, and co-founder of Renewed Spirit Adventures, Valerie transforms her hard-won wisdom into a framework that helps women reclaim their authentic selves after burnout. She walks us through the five essential steps of her approach, beginning with the most challenging: acknowledging burnout without shame. For those hiding behind the "I'm fine" mask while suffering physically and emotionally, this simple admission can be revolutionary.
What sets Valerie's work apart is her emphasis on integration—the missing piece in most wellness interventions. While many experiences provide temporary relief, without integration, we return to the same patterns that caused our burnout. Through one-on-one coaching, small group work, and immersive retreats, she creates spaces where women can not only experience healing but also learn to apply it to "five o'clock on a Tuesday" when real life comes crashing back.
The power of community emerges as another cornerstone of lasting recovery. Whether through culturally immersive experiences or the shared understanding that comes from sisterhood, this connection provides perspective that catalyzes deeper transformation. For those currently struggling, Valerie offers a simple starting point: take five minutes to write down who you are—who you used to be before burnout took hold.
If you're feeling the emptiness of burnout or supporting someone who might be, this conversation offers both practical guidance and profound hope. As Valerie reminds us, healing begins with choosing yourself when you've been choosing everyone else for far too long—not out of selfishness, but as the authentic path toward becoming who you were meant to be.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Sherry (00:01):
Welcome back to This is It! The Podcast by Thriving
Yinzers, where you keep growing,especially when life feels
overwhelming?
Today, we're honored to welcomea guest whose work speaks
directly to that mission.
Valerie Pedigo is a certifiedlife and business coach, human
design reader, attuned Reikipractitioner and co-founder of
(00:22):
Renewed Spirit Adventures, anorganization that helps women
reclaim their energy, realignwith their purpose and recover
from burnout throughtransformational retreats,
sisterhood and intentionalliving.
In this episode, Valerie sharesher personal journey through
burnout, the five things sheteaches to overcome it, and the
(00:43):
power of healing in community.
We'll also explore how herone-on-one coaching, small group
work and culturally immersiveretreats are helping women
create lasting change from theinside out.
Whether you're running on emptyor simply seeking a reset,
today's conversation is areminder that you're not alone
in your healing.
So welcome, Valerie.
(01:04):
We're happy to be able to havean opportunity to share what
you're doing, because there's alot of synergy between our goals
and why we're doing this in thefirst place, so it's really
cool to have .
you.
Valerie Pedigo (01:15):
Thank you for having me.
Sherry (01:17):
Your personal through your own burnout is what led you
to co-found Renewed SpiritAdventures.
I was wondering if you couldshare with us how that
experience shaped your missionto help others reconnect with
their authentic selves.
.
(02:22):
.
(02:48):
.
Valerie Pedigo (01:30):
Yeah, absolutely so.
I mean it would take a longtime right to tell someone's
whole journey, so I'll do it ina nutshell and then we'll come
to the present day.
But I am a recoveringperfectionist, an overachiever,
high performing, and so eversince I was a small child, one
(01:52):
of the things that I learned todo and to use as a mask was to
manage other people's emotionsso that everyone liked me,
everyone thought I was the bestat everything, and it helped me
really make my way through, andwhat it ended up developing was
a lot of need for externalvalidation inside, responsible,
(04:15):
be the leader that I needed tobe.
What was happening was that Iwas losing the whole self-care,
self-love, self-appreciation.
So, I had a very long run withthat.
I went throughout my whole lifeand I have and had a beautiful
life, but one of the things thatstarted happening was I
recognized that I was gettingfurther and further away from my
soul's purpose and who I trulywas, and I'll tell you a people
bit about how that happened andhow that manifested in my health
and lots of other things.
But that's the background.
I had a great childhoodpsychiatry- loving parents, and
I think one of the things thatwe all need to leave understand
is, for the most part, mostpeople are doing the best that
they can, and there's thingsthat happen in our life your
pain, shame, conditioning andjust overall societal
expectations that do have animpact on us, right?
So we come here and our soulchooses this body at this time
and there's a purpose for it,and so I really believe in that.
But throughout my life, I hadlayers and layers added on.
And so on the outside gosh,everything looked perfect, right
, I have a beautiful family,four children, a great career,
small businesses, active in mycommunity and travel the world
all of these different things onthe outside.
But on the inside, there wasdefinitely something that was
missing.
And so, in 2021, I reallystarted to feel the physical
effects of what happens whenyou're not connected to yourself
or connected to nature.
At my rock bottom, I was notable to walk, I had some severe
back issues, some injuriesthrough playing collegiate
sports, and I had a car accident, but it was more than that.
And so there was a point whereI was crawling up the stairs in
my house to try to get from oneroom to another and the
interesting thing and I can kindof look back at it and laugh
right now, but at the time andfor people in this journey, I
was still answering phone callswhen I was on the floor because
it was so important to me tomeet my obligations, be
responsibleappreciation.
So I went from that and Inoticed I'm like, oh, this, this
is not great, right.
So I started to get sometesting and started to think
through what is it right?
I had a lot of brain fog.
I had all the symptoms thatwe're going to talk about when
(04:36):
we help.
We'll identify.
I still wanted to push through.
So that was 2021.
And then I did not get help, aformal official help from a
psychiatry psychologyperspective, until October of
2022.
And then I did not take a leapof absence from my corporate
career until January of 2023.
Jodi (04:58):
That's a lot of pushing.
Sherry (04:59):
and just trying to find your way through while the
outside world didn't know whatwas happening.
Valerie Pedigo (05:11):
Yeah, no idea.
Yeah, I mean, I'm sure myfamily felt it in some ways, but
I held it together, man, I heldit together, it was all
internalized.
Sherry (05:15):
Yeah, and it's so much more common than we realize.
I saw some things that werehappening and certain people,
like you said it looked likethey had it all, but they were
facing awful realities.
And that is true.
We don't know what someone faces, but if you were on the outside
looking in, someone would havehad no idea, because things
seemed that they were going sowell and and that's, I think
(05:36):
that's what we do a lot put onthis brave face and you know, I
got it.
I got this, I got it, let's go.
Jodi (05:43):
So, .
Valerie, what brought you outof that?
What brought you into the nextphase of getting yourself on
track?
So I put together a team ofpeople and, as I look back on
that and as I've told my storyover and over again, it really
is a miracle that I was able todo that.
I'm so thankful and gratefulfor that.
(06:03):
But I was able to seek outhealers and so I put together a
team and I started to really digin.
I remember I was sitting on anairplane and I'm like okay, I
know the root of this isself-love, right, it's a
detachment from authentic self,it's neglecting yourself.
And so I just sitting on thatplane to search to my podcast
(06:26):
self love, and there were somethings that came up and I just
started listening.
I'm a part of both of thecommunities now that original
time where I looked for thosepodcasts and doing a lot of work
with them.
But putting that all togetherwas really important and I was
resolved to say you know whatthis isn't right, this isn't the
way that it's supposed to be.
It wasn't easy.
I take time to look back at myjournals during that time and
(06:48):
the writing that I was doing,and it was very bleak, but the
first thing I had to do wasconvince myself that I was worth
keeping those appointments thatI made right.
I was worth moving everythingelse aside as much as I could to
be able to show up for myself,and that's really the whole
process.
So I tried lots of differentthings.
(07:13):
I learned lots of differentthings.
My whole life I've been veryinterested in self-development.
A lot of it came in the form oflike new business ideas and
ways to travel and ways to livenomadically and independence,
and so it's like my core alwayswas peeking through, and so I
went on a deep dive forself-love, and that brings us to
where we are today.
I'm very happy.
(07:33):
I did have to make a lot ofchanges and so once I started
peeling back those layers, itbecame clearer and clearer that
the life that I was livingwasn't necessarily the right
life for me.
And that doesn't mean that wetake anyone for granted.
That's a part of our life.
But it's important to cut offthe things that really are not
meant for us.
So I make I completely changedmy life like a full 180,
(07:57):
including leaving my corporatecareer after almost 20 years
changing my family dynamics.
So it was a lot and takes a lotof bravery, and so, along that
self-love theme, I feel proud ofmyself.
One of the things, how we cameinto Renewed Spirit Adventures
and I'll talk a little bit aboutmy partner as well my business
partner but we noticed we bothwent through a clinical burnout
(08:17):
journey that there were somegaps.
Everybody was doing their best,but a lot of things were
existing in silos, and so one ofthe things that I said was I
really feel called to this workand once I get myself onto the
right track, I'm going todedicate my life to helping
women prevent, identify andovercome burnout, you reclaimed
your own spirit and you are nowhelping others recognize burnout
(08:40):
and you've developed a processfor this, for helping others
recognize burnout and begintheir own healing journey.
Sherry (08:46):
Would you be able to walk us through you call it the
five things.
Could you walk us through thatand sort of explain how each one
contributes to renewal?
Valerie Pedigo (08:55):
Yeah, absolutely .
So.
This is to get started.
As you said, sherry, to getstarted.
This is by no means a completepiece, but it's a good place for
us to start, because I thinkthe term burnout is still it's
like a, like an umbrellacatch-all.
Yeah, it's either a catch-allor something that people deny.
So right, you know.
(09:15):
It's important to understandthat the burnout is chronic,
unmanaged stress, and one of thethings that we say at Renewed
Spirit Adventures is day-to-daystress means you have too much.
Burnout means there's notenough of you there's nothing
left.
Sherry (09:30):
There's not much left.
Yeah, it's like that numbnessAlmost.
Valerie Pedigo (09:36):
And there's nothing left.
Yes, and so recognizing thesymptoms is really important,
and that's a part of the firststep, which is acknowledgement,
acknowledgement without shame.
So, physical fatigue, sleepissues, brain fog Both my
business partner and I thoughtthat we had early onset dementia
before we had this education,because we literally couldn't
remember where we were walkinginto the next room.
(09:58):
Emotional, this is a big oneIrritability, feeling numb,
feeling like nothing matters,but then also the cynicism or
like this feeling that everybodyis out to get you.
That's what it really feelslike.
It feels like why is this persondoing this to me?
And then, from a mentalperspective, it's hard to focus,
you get really forgetful.
And then, from a spiritualperspective, the acknowledgement
(10:20):
is I don't feel creativeanymore, I don't feel any
meaning, I don't feel anypurpose.
The things that used to lightme up don't do anything for me
anymore.
And then you combine that andthis is probably for another
time, another conversation forus but you combine that with
perimenopause and late diagnosedADHD, right, all the things
(10:41):
that we're starting to learn now, especially with women in
midlife.
It's like, okay, which one am Idealing with right now?
But they all contribute toburnout.
Sherry (10:50):
Yeah, there's a whole slew of things contributing to
some of my symptoms and the paththat I ended up on, but what
I'm figuring out along the wayis that the path forward, no
matter the cause, a lot of theways to help you move forward
are similar and it comes back tothat self-care and learning to
be your authentic self.
Valerie Pedigo (11:09):
Yes, yeah, yeah.
So the acknowledgement withoutshame is the first one of the
five things.
So there's all kinds of things.
We come from all differentbackgrounds, we come from all
different life stages, but thecourse to start to correct and
start to get back to yourauthentic self, it can be very
similar and that's why we cangroup together women and
(11:30):
actually it's really fun to seewomen from different backgrounds
, different life stages,different ages come together and
really share in sisterhoodabout what they've gone through.
So that's the first piece, andthen the second piece and we're
all kind of alluding to this isto identify your energy drains,
and this is easier said thandone, right?
So we're just doing a smallconversation on this.
(11:53):
We're going to talk about thekind of support that's available
, but I have to admit thatrelationship that maybe has not
been giving for many, many yearsand it has been taking, taking,
taking that job that you don'tenjoy anymore or maybe never did
, and you took it out ofdesperation.
So again I say this, notbecause it's easy, but it's a
(12:14):
place to start.
Sherry (12:15):
That's what we do we just push through.
Then you just keep on adding alayer and, before you know it,
you're burying yourself.
Yeah, push through.
Yeah, so taking some time inyour journal and your voice
memos just thinking about wheredo I the biggest drains of my
life, and that will point you tothe right direction, and then
we can talk about what to do tomove on and then reclaiming
micro joy moments.
(12:35):
Not everybody needs to quittheir job and change their whole
family and move out of thecountry and do all the stuff.
That may be it, but where wecan start is micro joy moments,
those little things that areabsent from your life, that you
used to just love, maybe whenyou were younger.
One of our sisters, when shecame on retreat with us, she's
like I want to walk barefootagain.
(12:56):
I used to do it all the timewhen I was a child and it's like
, well, do it, take off yourshoes right and just starting
there, lighting that candle thatyou look at every single day
but you never do it because youdon't have time.
Those are the tiny littlethings that you can do to start
to create that momentum, createthat magnetism, and then rituals
for yourself.
It could be what happens atnight, a nighttime routine, and
(13:21):
I don't subscribe to a lot ofthe stuff that's happening right
now about like you've got toget up at four o'clock in the
morning and do these seventhings do a whole day before
your day has started.
I understand the thoughtprocess behind that, but this is
your own ritual, just startingwith some suggestions that you
can find within the support thatwe have here.
But even if, like, oh man, Iwould really like to do a face
(13:42):
mask I haven't done one in along time right, just little
things like that.
And, believe me, self-care is alot more than a bubble bath and
a face mask okay, those aremore rituals that you can start.
That gets you down the path oftrue self-care.
The idea of self-care ischoosing you, choosing you, when
you have been choosing everyoneelse but you for so long.
(14:02):
So any kind of rituals, it'sgiving you intention.
I did a speaking engagement atthe beginning of this month and
we talked about simple ritualsand one of the women there said
you know what?
I haven't looked at mycookbooks in a long time and
cooked a recipe.
I used to do that all the time,but now I order in or I go to
the grocery store and get singleserve meals and I'm going to
(14:23):
take out my grandma's cookbookand I'm going to make one of
those recipes Perfect.
And then, finally, don't dothis alone.
We've all, along the line,shared our stories and it's just
fascinating.
I had several calls today withclients.
We call our clients sisters andeverybody is dealing with this
in some form or fashion.
Our goal at Renewed SpiritAdventures is to help before it
(14:44):
gets to clinical burnout.
And if you are clinical burnout, we have support and resources
available for that, because webelieve in the entire spectrum
of care, treating the wholewoman mind, body and soul.
But the whole point is you donot have to do it alone.
You may think that you're theonly one going through this, but
you talk to any other woman alittle bit of vulnerability,
you'll see over 50% of allAmerican women are in burnout
(15:06):
and I believe that that's verylow.
But the idea is don't do italone and there's so much
support out there to help you.
So that's the last piece.
Jodi (15:14):
So, of those five things, is there a particular area that
you feel like you see peopleresisting the most Like?
Is there a particular areawhere you think that it's harder
for people to kind of get onboard?
Valerie Pedigo (15:26):
Absolutely, it's the first one, the
acknowledgement of it.
Yeah, no, I'm fine when thingscalm down.
I'll be fine when I stop doingtrue jobs.
Jodi (15:37):
Yeah, it makes sense to me .
Yeah, I mean, I had a doctor'sappointment a couple of years
ago and it was just my regularcheckup and I'm sitting at the
table and the doctor was askingthe routine questions and she
said how are you feeling?
And I went to open my mouth andbursted into tears and I was
mortified and I'm like I'm okay,I'm okay, I'm okay.
She was like I think we need totalk about this and it was that
(16:01):
moment when I was like okay,I'm not really okay, right,
right.
Valerie Pedigo (16:05):
We as a collective really need to
normalize burnout and strong,capable women.
There's roadblocks andchallenges with all these right,
when you can only transform tothe level that you choose and
the effort that you give toyourself.
But yeah, I think, jodi, justto answer your question and to
mirror what you're saying andreflect what you're saying about
your own experience, it's thatfirst one.
(16:26):
That's our automatic response.
Nope, I'm fine, just let mewalk it off, right, yeah?
Sherry (16:32):
yeah, right.
So I think that's why whatyou're doing with the sisterhood
piece of this is so criticaland that community really is a
cornerstone of what you're doingwith the sisterhood piece of
this is so critical and thatcommunity really is a
cornerstone of what you're doing.
Why is that renewed spirit,sisterhood I think you've kind
of already touched on this, butlike why that kind of belonging
is so important to healing andhow that helps the process.
Valerie Pedigo (16:55):
Yeah, Anyone that works together with us
becomes a part of our sisterhood.
We are going to be launchingour online community, so that
will be the official onlinesisterhood.
It's membership based, it'scompletely accessible, and that
space is to know that you arenot alone.
There's resources, there'smaterial.
We're going to have recordedcalls and we're creating
(17:16):
pathways where you can takecourses for yourself from start
to finish.
There's going to be live callswith our beautiful practitioners
that we have all over the world.
So it's really, when you get inthere, it's a space where you
can be yourself, talk aboutwhat's happening, and I
guarantee if you're facingsomething, somebody else is as
(17:39):
well.
So we're just we're going totalk about it.
So that's the composition of it, is the learning component and
the resources that are available, but then the conversation.
Sherry (17:47):
Yeah, that's so critical .
Is that going to be somethingthat's done through social media
, or is it a standalone platform?
Do you know what that will looklike?
Valerie Pedigo (17:56):
Yep, it's a standalone platform.
It's called Kajabi, that's whowe use.
They are excellent with smallbusinesses.
It's an online communityplatform.
One of the most beautifulthings is even when myself and
my business partner, melody,kind of step back and observe
the way that people cometogether to ask each other
questions.
Jodi (18:15):
Is there something that stands out?
Do you have a story of someonethat made a big breakthrough?
Valerie Pedigo (18:20):
One of the stories of major breakthrough
and transformation that comesright to me is our sister from
Northeast Ohio, someone who wasmarried for 40 years and she
always knew that she was meantfor something different.
But we do what we do right wemom, we wife we do all the
things and we say, maybe this isthe best that I can do, or
(18:43):
maybe this is just the way lifeis supposed to be.
But she was able to take a stepback, review, have a great
conversation with her partnerand they decided to have an
amicable separation and they'restill friends.
But now she's going on retreat,she is traveling to where she
wants to travel.
She's preparing for herretirement in a couple of years.
She is looking at how thetraditions of her family are
(19:05):
different now.
And that strength, first of all, is so admirable, but second of
all, it always makes you veryemotional.
It doesn't matter how old youare.
If you choose yourself, we haveone life to live.
If you choose yourself, you'renot going to go wrong In your
authentic life.
Jodi (19:27):
And that doesn't mean being selfish, right, truly
saying this is who I am, and theright people in your life are
going to appreciate that andlove you even more for it right?
Valerie Pedigo (19:31):
Yes, that's right.
And you know, jodi, you justmade me think about that, one of
the things that I say aloud forthe listeners, because,
especially if you're a mom, youthink I have to create stability
and consistency.
Okay, whatever that means, butI need to keep things the way
that they've always been for thechildren, and, the truth is,
the greatest gift that you cangive your children is being
(19:52):
yourself, and for them to seeyour strength.
Sherry (19:57):
You mentioned about your retreats.
Can you tell us a little bitabout that?
And then also, I know you offerone-to-one coaching and small
group coaching.
Tell us about that and how thatsupports women in integrating
those more intimate settings.
Valerie Pedigo (20:10):
Yes, well, they all go together.
We never have large groups, andif we do, we make sure that
everyone knows that, but ourgoal is always to have between
10 to 15 people max women max,and sometimes depending on the
stage of burnout that they're inor the situations.
Like I said, we curateeverything and we have plans to
(20:31):
be able to scale this.
It's always going to staycustom, no matter how big we get
, because that is our commitmentand that's where really the
true transformation happens, sowe are always committed to small
groups.
Our retreats all include thecore fundamentals, and that is
movement, energetics, relaxation, wonder, and then integration.
(20:53):
So I'm going to talk about theintegration, because that is the
differentiator for us.
I think that's thedifferentiator between
one-on-one work, small groupwork, retreats, and, first of
all, I want to say I honoranyone that does this type of
work, so this is not about.
This is the right way, this isthe wrong way.
One of the things that Inoticed, though, is that
integration is truly missing inthis field, and it's because of
(21:18):
capacity.
Right, if you go to a massagetherapist.
Sherry (21:21):
So when you're saying integration, can you clarify?
Valerie Pedigo (21:23):
that.
Yep, yep, I'll talk through it.
So integration is taking thattransformation, the learnings
that you have, the understandingthat you have and being able to
apply it in your everyday life.
Because what happens and I'mglad that you asked for
clarification, because whathappens is we go and do a thing,
we go for a massage, we go fora massage, we go for a facial,
we go for a Reiki healing, we goto a retreat, and then we feel
(21:45):
great, but then we go right backinto our same lives with our
same schedule and our sameissues, with our children and
our pets or whatever it is right, and so no true sustainable
change is made.
That's the difference.
At Renewed Spirit Adventures.
We stay with you, so it's notabout the event, the experience
or that one-time appointment.
Once we start working together,then we focus on integration.
(22:08):
We have an integration coachingand framework method that helps
with that.
It's specifically for women inburnout situations and major
life changes to say, okay, I'vedone this work.
Now what does that mean for meat five o'clock on a Tuesday?
Because when you're in a bubble, everything's easy Right.
Jodi (22:27):
So you mentioned going through different life stages.
Is this something that is forall life stages?
Is this for, like, the new moms, the moms who are new to being
empty nesters, or the seniorcitizen that maybe finds
themselves by themselves for thefirst time that will have lost
a spouse?
Is it truly everything, or isthere more of an age grouping?
Valerie Pedigo (22:50):
Yes, it's for everyone what we find our
typical sister is usuallybetween the ages of 35 and 55,
but that is just how it happensright now and that's because of
a midlife thing and that's alsowhere our connections are right.
So, when we look at thedemographics of the people who
are part of our following, forexample but it is for everyone,
(23:11):
because the three examples youjust gave the birth of a child,
empty nesting and the loss of aloved one what do they all have
in common?
Grief, right.
When I become a new mother,it's the happiest time of my
life, but I'm saying goodbye tolife before children.
When I'm an empty nester, Ihave all these awesome things on
the horizon, but what am Idoing?
(23:32):
I'm saying goodbye to theselittle ones needing me and then,
of course, the most obvious iswhen I lose a loved one.
And so there's more that unitesus, regardless of age,
regardless of life stage, andthat's what we're there to help
empower the healing on.
And we don't heal people.
We empower people to healthemselves.
But that new mother that's 25years old has a whole lot in
(23:52):
common with the 75 year oldwoman that is starting to think
about end of life orexperiencing that in their
connections, in their network,in their circle.
So, yeah, definitely.
And the other piece on that whatusually comes up is what about
the activity levels?
So I met someone who is veryinterested and she's like I'm in
my silver years, I can dowhatever I want, but I am not
(24:14):
hiking any mountains and I'mlike it's okay, we don't need to
do that.
So we have differentexperiences that people can
choose from, from one that'smore in location spa services,
workshops to a little bit moreadventure, to cultural retreats
and there is something foreveryone.
But how we find that out is wedo pre, during and post
(24:37):
conversations.
For example, today I had twoconversations with women that
signed up for retreats myselfand my business partner, melanie
and what we do is just spend ahalf an hour getting to know
them and understanding it, andonce we have the final group
together for that particularexperience, then we make any
tweaks or changes to it.
So just very custom.
But you don't need to beclimbing mountains and doing
cold plunges.
(24:58):
That could be something, butyou don't have to choose that.
It's more about what sings toyour soul and what lights you up
when you take a look at it.
Sherry (25:05):
That's really beautiful.
I'm so interested to hear more.
Tell us about immersionretreats.
Valerie Pedigo (25:14):
Yes, first of all, we always use local as much
as possible.
So the things that we curate,the catering, the food that we
use, the locations we use, it'sreally grounded in making sure
we use as many local business,small businesses and
practitioners as possible.
But what I'd like to talk about, too, is what I think you're
referencing, sherry, is it'simportant for us to understand
(25:35):
that, even though we could liveacross the world from someone
else, we still have unitingfactors and there's things that
we can teach each other.
This person can be a teacherfor me.
Recently, we spent some timewith an indigenous village in
Costa Rica called the Bri BriVillage, and it is one of the
last remaining indigenousvillages left in Costa Rica that
wasn't conquered by the Spanish, and so they still live the
(25:58):
way that they lived many, manyyears ago.
It's a matriarchal society.
The leader she was holdingcourt for .
sure Beautiful, beautiful lady.
She's the one that is teachingall the adults in the village
Spanish so that they can knowtheir indigenous language but
understand the language of thecountry.
But we went and we were able tosee how they use the earth, how
they use the things availableto them to create, how they use
the things available to them tosurvive, and we learned how to
(26:22):
make cacao, which is a wholeother nother thing that we could
talk about when it comes tohealing, but the goal there was
to say I have my life here inPittsburgh and I do my things on
a day to day basis.
Let me look up and look aroundand see.
Sherry (26:36):
Perspective.
Valerie Pedigo (26:38):
and it's about wonder and it's about awe yeah.
Yeah, it's perspective
Sherry (26:42):
and that's the catalyst to much deeper transformation.
Valerie Pedigo (26:51):
Yes, and so we did journaling after.
What did the Bribri peopleteach us about presence and
about nature and connection withnature.
Sherry (26:55):
Yeah, you only see things through your own lived
experience and that's a way togain perspective and so much
more.
Valerie Pedigo (27:03):
We always do something like that.
And, then we have completecultural retreats that we're
planning.
We are going to be taking agroup of women to the Christmas
markets in Europe and that'sstill a retreat, it's still
(27:24):
healing and we'll still do someof the movement and some of the
sound practices.
But the day-to-day stuff isthat wonder, how do I expand my
mind?
Because when we expand our mind,when we eat different food,
when we see different things,when we hear different languages
it does.
It gives us perspective.
Sherry (27:44):
and seeking perspectives other than your own is
transformative because it helpsyou grow.
When you listen to someoneelse's ideas or experiences, you
begin to see the world in a newway.
Valerie Pedigo (27:54):
Yeah, yeah, not to feel guilty.
Not to feel guilty about whereyou are.
This is not like oh well, youthink you have it bad, they have
it worse.
That's not the point.
Sherry (28:02):
Right.
No, I don't want to talk aboutcomparing trauma or anything
like that, but I'm saying itgrounds me in gratitude.
Valerie Pedigo (28:08):
Right, yes, yes, gratitude presence yes.
Jodi (28:12):
Yeah, for people that are struggling right now, what is
one of the most important thingsthat someone could do right now
?
If somebody is listening, andfeels like they're just really
stuck in it.
Valerie Pedigo (28:23):
Yeah, it's tough , because I want to make sure
that one thing that you can do,if you're listening right now
and you're struggling, is pausefor just five minutes, take out
a piece of paper and write downwho you are and just a couple of
bullet points to at least getyou started.
The frame of mind might be likewho I used to be or what I love
(28:46):
to do, or it doesn't matter,just start writing a little bit,
because a lot of us don't takethat kind of time to and again,
it's five minutes.
It could be two minutes, buteven with the first word that
you put, it will feel probablyvery disconnected from your life
right now.
And so, again, that first stepis acknowledgement.
(29:07):
Then you can move forward withsupport and we're available for
you.
At the end here We'll give howyou can get in touch with
Renewed Spirit Adventures.
If you're like, okay, I alreadyknow I'm disconnected, then you
have support, you can reach outand we will at least get that
journey started.
Sherry (29:23):
Yeah, and to piggyback on that, how can you support
someone through burnout?
What is the most helpful thingthat a caregiver, a friend or a
family member can do?
How do you show up in support?
You can't come at it withhere's the answer, because we
don't have the answer.
But how do you help lay out,maybe small stepping stones for
somebody to take the initiativeto start their own journey?
Valerie Pedigo (29:46):
Yeah, I know what you're saying, right,
because it's a balance of tryingto save everyone, but here's
what I will say, and I thinkthat this is where you're going
with it.
The first thing is listening,just listen and ask the question
multiple times.
So, for example, are you okay?
Oh, yeah, yeah, I'm fine, areyou okay?
Are you okay Right?
(30:07):
And reinforcing that you are atrusted person for them.
There's a lot of assumptionsthat we make because we all have
the same societal programming,especially women, and there's an
issue with vulnerability.
Vulnerability is our naturalstate.
So, to caregivers, to friends,to family that know something is
off with someone that they love, you do not have the answers.
(30:28):
You cannot force someone to dosomething that they're not ready
to do yet, but what you can dois listen.
Sherry (30:34):
I'm thinking about your moments of crawling up the steps
and things like that, whenyou're so in it you can't see
the way out.
Somebody almost has to crackthe door open a little.
And I like the question are youokay?
I don't want to say I have aproblem with how are you?
It comes from a good place.
But when you're really goingthrough it it's a hard question
to answer.
It's just something we do andsomething we say.
(30:55):
But how are you?
We just say we're fine and moveon, or we throw some line of
shit.
Valerie Pedigo (31:02):
So remember the wording not how are you, but are
you okay?
Yeah, Right, Because there is adifference in those semantics,
right?
If I ask you, are you okay, theanswer is yes or no.
What's going to happen ispeople will say yes, but that's
no right.
No is no.
So that's why it seems simpleand it seems a little bit
(31:23):
surface level With people youcare about.
It's not broke, right, you know.
You want to know how they are.
However, that, are you okay?
Instead of how are you makesome assumptions.
That allows them to put somewalls down.
Jodi (31:34):
Yeah, that's a really powerful shift.
I like that.
Valerie Pedigo (31:37):
Yes,
Sherry (31:37):
I have a quick question about two other things that you
offer that we haven't talkedabout yet- your work as a Reiki
practitioner and also a humandesign reader.
I know about Reiki.
I'm not familiar with humandesign, so can you tell us more
about that before we close it up?
Valerie Pedigo (31:52):
Yeah, Okay, yeah , why don't we focus on human
design?
It's not that everyone knowsabout Reiki, but, like you said,
it's a little bit more common.
The idea of Reiki, though, isthat there are people that are
attuned, that can help channelso that you can heal from
internally from an energeticperspective.
Human design is 100% the mostprofound thing.
and I found this one podcast,and I was like you know what I
(32:16):
really like this.
Let me just start at number one, and number one was knowing
your human design.
So I was like what do you mean?
There is a system that can helpyou understand how you're to
function in this world, based onyour authentic self, and the
idea is you were put on thisearth at a certain date, at a
certain time, in a certainlocation, for a reason, and that
(32:39):
moment in time and thatlocation determines a lot of
things about you.
So the human design gives youyour energy type, so how you
should use your energy.
There's five different energytypes.
We can't go into them, but wecould do a whole another episode
just about human design,because it gives people so much
agency and license to say I knewI liked that, but I haven't
been letting myself do thatbecause no one else does that,
(33:00):
okay.
Well, you're not supposed to dowhat everyone else does, and so
you have your energy type, youhave your profile, you have your
authority how you should makedecisions.
Most of us in this world are notmeant to initiate, we're meant
to respond.
So a lot of us are out therehustling trying to initiate, and
that's not what's meant for us.
That doesn't create magnetism,and so it's anything from the
(33:20):
major part, which is your energytype, to even things about what
environment is best for yourdigestion, all from the date,
time and location you were born.
It puts together eightdifferent things from all over
the world to create this verycomplex human design.
My job as a reader is to takethat complexity and put it into
terms that you can use every day.
(33:41):
Once again, integration oh it'scool that I know that.
No, how do you actually usethat to empower yourself?
And once you're living yourtrue design, you create
magnetism, and that's when westart to get into manifestation,
and so, when you're really whoyou are and doing what you're
meant to be, things come to you.
And probably a whole notherthing for us to talk to the
listeners about, but it is a joyfor me and I am by no means an
(34:04):
expert, but I see not only whathappened with myself, but
everyone that it touches.
It's like, oh yeah, one of oursisters, her environment is a
cave environment.
That doesn't mean she's meantto live in a cave.
That means that she's meant toprotect her energy.
And so she's like oh, that'swhy I like to stay in this one
room with this one blanket.
That's why it makes me feel socomfortable, because that's her
(34:27):
natural environment and that'swhere she feels the best.
And there's a whole bunch to dowith that.
Sherry (34:32):
I'm so intrigued.
It's fascinating.
I'm going to do a deeper divethere.
Where can our listeners go tofind out more about your work
and your upcoming retreats andall the things?
Valerie Pedigo (34:43):
Yes, it's www.
renewedspiritadventures.
com, and on our website you'llbe able to see what we have
upcoming, you'll be able tolearn and get on the waiting
list for the sisterhood, andthen there's a Let's Connect
form and it'll ask you are youinterested in human design?
Are you interested inenergetics?
Are you interested inone-on-one coaching?
What?
What brings you here?
(35:03):
And that form will come rightto us and we will set up time to
to talk and do some discovery.
Our website,renewedspiritaventures.
com, and then we have abeautiful social media platform
with lots of education.
So, we are on Facebook asRenewed Spirit Adventures, we're
on Instagram at Renewed SpiritAdventures and on LinkedIn.
Sherry (35:24):
I'll link all that in the show notes and it'll be in
the transcript, too.
Thank you.
You're passionate andknowledgeable and I'm happy to
be able to share that.
So thank you for joining us andmaybe we'll do this again.
Thank you so much.
Nice meeting you.
Bye.
What an incredible reminder thatburnout isn't a sign of
weakness.
It's a signal and with theright tools, support and
(35:47):
intention, it can become thebeginning of something beautiful
and powerful.
Valerie's story and the workshe's doing through Renewed
Spirit Adventures show us thathealing is possible.
And the work she's doingthrough Renewed Spirit
Adventures show us that healingis possible and it often starts
with small, intentional choicesthat move us toward peace,
purpose and connection.
(36:09):
And if anything in thisconversation spoke to you,
consider what your next stepmight be.
Maybe it's rest, maybe it'sreaching out for support, maybe
it's just believing thatsomething new is possible.
(36:32):
This is it.
Keep growing.
Consider professional advice.
Thriving Yinzers LLC, its hostsor any associated parties are
not liable for any actions takenor consequences arising from
the information provided.
The views expressed by thehosts and guests are their own
and do not necessarily reflectthose of any organizations or
affiliations.
If you or someone you know isin crisis, please reach out to a
trusted professional or crisishotline in your area.
(36:53):
Help is available 24-7,nationwide at the
988-SUICIDE-AND-CRISIS-LIFELINEDial 988 to connect with a
trained crisis counselor forfree and confidential support.
If you are local to thePittsburgh area, resolve Crisis
Services offer 24-7 crisisintervention and stabilization
services to all Allegheny Countyresidents.
Welcome back to This is It! The Podcast by Thriving
Yinzers, where you keep growing,especially when life feels
overwhelming?
Today, we're honored to welcomea guest whose work speaks
directly to that mission.
Valerie Pedigo is a certifiedlife and business coach, human
design reader, attuned Reikipractitioner and co-founder of
(00:22):
Renewed Spirit Adventures, anorganization that helps women
reclaim their energy, realignwith their purpose and recover
from burnout throughtransformational retreats,
sisterhood and intentionalliving.
In this episode, Valerie sharesher personal journey through
burnout, the five things sheteaches to overcome it, and the
(00:43):
power of healing in community.
We'll also explore how herone-on-one coaching, small group
work and culturally immersiveretreats are helping women
create lasting change from theinside out.
Whether you're running on emptyor simply seeking a reset,
today's conversation is areminder that you're not alone
in your healing.
So welcome, Valerie.
(01:04):
We're happy to be able to havean opportunity to share what
you're doing, because there's alot of synergy between our goals
and why we're doing this in thefirst place, so it's really
cool to have .
you.
Valerie Pedigo (01:15):
Thank you for having me.
Sherry (01:17):
Your personal through your own burnout is what led you
to co-found Renewed SpiritAdventures.
I was wondering if you couldshare with us how that
experience shaped your missionto help others reconnect with
their authentic selves.
.
(02:22):
.
(02:48):
.
Valerie Pedigo (01:30):
Yeah, absolutely so.
I mean it would take a longtime right to tell someone's
whole journey, so I'll do it ina nutshell and then we'll come
to the present day.
But I am a recoveringperfectionist, an overachiever,
high performing, and so eversince I was a small child, one
(01:52):
of the things that I learned todo and to use as a mask was to
manage other people's emotionsso that everyone liked me,
everyone thought I was the bestat everything, and it helped me
really make my way through, andwhat it ended up developing was
a lot of need for externalvalidation inside, responsible,
(04:15):
be the leader that I needed tobe.
What was happening was that Iwas losing the whole self-care,
self-love, self-appreciation.
So, I had a very long run withthat.
I went throughout my whole lifeand I have and had a beautiful
life, but one of the things thatstarted happening was I
recognized that I was gettingfurther and further away from my
soul's purpose and who I trulywas, and I'll tell you a people
bit about how that happened andhow that manifested in my health
and lots of other things.
But that's the background.
I had a great childhoodpsychiatry- loving parents, and
I think one of the things thatwe all need to leave understand
is, for the most part, mostpeople are doing the best that
they can, and there's thingsthat happen in our life your
pain, shame, conditioning andjust overall societal
expectations that do have animpact on us, right?
So we come here and our soulchooses this body at this time
and there's a purpose for it,and so I really believe in that.
But throughout my life, I hadlayers and layers added on.
And so on the outside gosh,everything looked perfect, right
, I have a beautiful family,four children, a great career,
small businesses, active in mycommunity and travel the world
all of these different things onthe outside.
But on the inside, there wasdefinitely something that was
missing.
And so, in 2021, I reallystarted to feel the physical
effects of what happens whenyou're not connected to yourself
or connected to nature.
At my rock bottom, I was notable to walk, I had some severe
back issues, some injuriesthrough playing collegiate
sports, and I had a car accident, but it was more than that.
And so there was a point whereI was crawling up the stairs in
my house to try to get from oneroom to another and the
interesting thing and I can kindof look back at it and laugh
right now, but at the time andfor people in this journey, I
was still answering phone callswhen I was on the floor because
it was so important to me tomeet my obligations, be
responsibleappreciation.
So I went from that and Inoticed I'm like, oh, this, this
is not great, right.
So I started to get sometesting and started to think
through what is it right?
I had a lot of brain fog.
I had all the symptoms thatwe're going to talk about when
(04:36):
we help.
We'll identify.
I still wanted to push through.
So that was 2021.
And then I did not get help, aformal official help from a
psychiatry psychologyperspective, until October of
2022.
And then I did not take a leapof absence from my corporate
career until January of 2023.
Jodi (04:58):
That's a lot of pushing.
Sherry (04:59):
and just trying to find your way through while the
outside world didn't know whatwas happening.
Valerie Pedigo (05:11):
Yeah, no idea.
Yeah, I mean, I'm sure myfamily felt it in some ways, but
I held it together, man, I heldit together, it was all
internalized.
Sherry (05:15):
Yeah, and it's so much more common than we realize.
I saw some things that werehappening and certain people,
like you said it looked likethey had it all, but they were
facing awful realities.
And that is true.
We don't know what someone faces, but if you were on the outside
looking in, someone would havehad no idea, because things
seemed that they were going sowell and and that's, I think
(05:36):
that's what we do a lot put onthis brave face and you know, I
got it.
I got this, I got it, let's go.
Jodi (05:43):
So, .
Valerie, what brought you outof that?
What brought you into the nextphase of getting yourself on
track?
So I put together a team ofpeople and, as I look back on
that and as I've told my storyover and over again, it really
is a miracle that I was able todo that.
I'm so thankful and gratefulfor that.
(06:03):
But I was able to seek outhealers and so I put together a
team and I started to really digin.
I remember I was sitting on anairplane and I'm like okay, I
know the root of this isself-love, right, it's a
detachment from authentic self,it's neglecting yourself.
And so I just sitting on thatplane to search to my podcast
(06:26):
self love, and there were somethings that came up and I just
started listening.
I'm a part of both of thecommunities now that original
time where I looked for thosepodcasts and doing a lot of work
with them.
But putting that all togetherwas really important and I was
resolved to say you know whatthis isn't right, this isn't the
way that it's supposed to be.
It wasn't easy.
I take time to look back at myjournals during that time and
(06:48):
the writing that I was doing,and it was very bleak, but the
first thing I had to do wasconvince myself that I was worth
keeping those appointments thatI made right.
I was worth moving everythingelse aside as much as I could to
be able to show up for myself,and that's really the whole
process.
So I tried lots of differentthings.
(07:13):
I learned lots of differentthings.
My whole life I've been veryinterested in self-development.
A lot of it came in the form oflike new business ideas and
ways to travel and ways to livenomadically and independence,
and so it's like my core alwayswas peeking through, and so I
went on a deep dive forself-love, and that brings us to
where we are today.
I'm very happy.
(07:33):
I did have to make a lot ofchanges and so once I started
peeling back those layers, itbecame clearer and clearer that
the life that I was livingwasn't necessarily the right
life for me.
And that doesn't mean that wetake anyone for granted.
That's a part of our life.
But it's important to cut offthe things that really are not
meant for us.
So I make I completely changedmy life like a full 180,
(07:57):
including leaving my corporatecareer after almost 20 years
changing my family dynamics.
So it was a lot and takes a lotof bravery, and so, along that
self-love theme, I feel proud ofmyself.
One of the things, how we cameinto Renewed Spirit Adventures
and I'll talk a little bit aboutmy partner as well my business
partner but we noticed we bothwent through a clinical burnout
(08:17):
journey that there were somegaps.
Everybody was doing their best,but a lot of things were
existing in silos, and so one ofthe things that I said was I
really feel called to this workand once I get myself onto the
right track, I'm going todedicate my life to helping
women prevent, identify andovercome burnout, you reclaimed
your own spirit and you are nowhelping others recognize burnout
(08:40):
and you've developed a processfor this, for helping others
recognize burnout and begintheir own healing journey.
Sherry (08:46):
Would you be able to walk us through you call it the
five things.
Could you walk us through thatand sort of explain how each one
contributes to renewal?
Valerie Pedigo (08:55):
Yeah, absolutely .
So.
This is to get started.
As you said, sherry, to getstarted.
This is by no means a completepiece, but it's a good place for
us to start, because I thinkthe term burnout is still it's
like a, like an umbrellacatch-all.
Yeah, it's either a catch-allor something that people deny.
So right, you know.
(09:15):
It's important to understandthat the burnout is chronic,
unmanaged stress, and one of thethings that we say at Renewed
Spirit Adventures is day-to-daystress means you have too much.
Burnout means there's notenough of you there's nothing
left.
Sherry (09:30):
There's not much left.
Yeah, it's like that numbnessAlmost.
Valerie Pedigo (09:36):
And there's nothing left.
Yes, and so recognizing thesymptoms is really important,
and that's a part of the firststep, which is acknowledgement,
acknowledgement without shame.
So, physical fatigue, sleepissues, brain fog Both my
business partner and I thoughtthat we had early onset dementia
before we had this education,because we literally couldn't
remember where we were walkinginto the next room.
(09:58):
Emotional, this is a big oneIrritability, feeling numb,
feeling like nothing matters,but then also the cynicism or
like this feeling that everybodyis out to get you.
That's what it really feelslike.
It feels like why is this persondoing this to me?
And then, from a mentalperspective, it's hard to focus,
you get really forgetful.
And then, from a spiritualperspective, the acknowledgement
(10:20):
is I don't feel creativeanymore, I don't feel any
meaning, I don't feel anypurpose.
The things that used to lightme up don't do anything for me
anymore.
And then you combine that andthis is probably for another
time, another conversation forus but you combine that with
perimenopause and late diagnosedADHD, right, all the things
(10:41):
that we're starting to learn now, especially with women in
midlife.
It's like, okay, which one am Idealing with right now?
But they all contribute toburnout.
Sherry (10:50):
Yeah, there's a whole slew of things contributing to
some of my symptoms and the paththat I ended up on, but what
I'm figuring out along the wayis that the path forward, no
matter the cause, a lot of theways to help you move forward
are similar and it comes back tothat self-care and learning to
be your authentic self.
Valerie Pedigo (11:09):
Yes, yeah, yeah.
So the acknowledgement withoutshame is the first one of the
five things.
So there's all kinds of things.
We come from all differentbackgrounds, we come from all
different life stages, but thecourse to start to correct and
start to get back to yourauthentic self, it can be very
similar and that's why we cangroup together women and
(11:30):
actually it's really fun to seewomen from different backgrounds
, different life stages,different ages come together and
really share in sisterhoodabout what they've gone through.
So that's the first piece, andthen the second piece and we're
all kind of alluding to this isto identify your energy drains,
and this is easier said thandone, right?
So we're just doing a smallconversation on this.
(11:53):
We're going to talk about thekind of support that's available
, but I have to admit thatrelationship that maybe has not
been giving for many, many yearsand it has been taking, taking,
taking that job that you don'tenjoy anymore or maybe never did
, and you took it out ofdesperation.
So again I say this, notbecause it's easy, but it's a
(12:14):
place to start.
Sherry (12:15):
That's what we do we just push through.
Then you just keep on adding alayer and, before you know it,
you're burying yourself.
Yeah, push through.
Yeah, so taking some time inyour journal and your voice
memos just thinking about wheredo I the biggest drains of my
life, and that will point you tothe right direction, and then
we can talk about what to do tomove on and then reclaiming
micro joy moments.
(12:35):
Not everybody needs to quittheir job and change their whole
family and move out of thecountry and do all the stuff.
That may be it, but where wecan start is micro joy moments,
those little things that areabsent from your life, that you
used to just love, maybe whenyou were younger.
One of our sisters, when shecame on retreat with us, she's
like I want to walk barefootagain.
(12:56):
I used to do it all the timewhen I was a child and it's like
, well, do it, take off yourshoes right and just starting
there, lighting that candle thatyou look at every single day
but you never do it because youdon't have time.
Those are the tiny littlethings that you can do to start
to create that momentum, createthat magnetism, and then rituals
for yourself.
It could be what happens atnight, a nighttime routine, and
(13:21):
I don't subscribe to a lot ofthe stuff that's happening right
now about like you've got toget up at four o'clock in the
morning and do these seventhings do a whole day before
your day has started.
I understand the thoughtprocess behind that, but this is
your own ritual, just startingwith some suggestions that you
can find within the support thatwe have here.
But even if, like, oh man, Iwould really like to do a face
(13:42):
mask I haven't done one in along time right, just little
things like that.
And, believe me, self-care is alot more than a bubble bath and
a face mask okay, those aremore rituals that you can start.
That gets you down the path oftrue self-care.
The idea of self-care ischoosing you, choosing you, when
you have been choosing everyoneelse but you for so long.
(14:02):
So any kind of rituals, it'sgiving you intention.
I did a speaking engagement atthe beginning of this month and
we talked about simple ritualsand one of the women there said
you know what?
I haven't looked at mycookbooks in a long time and
cooked a recipe.
I used to do that all the time,but now I order in or I go to
the grocery store and get singleserve meals and I'm going to
(14:23):
take out my grandma's cookbookand I'm going to make one of
those recipes Perfect.
And then, finally, don't dothis alone.
We've all, along the line,shared our stories and it's just
fascinating.
I had several calls today withclients.
We call our clients sisters andeverybody is dealing with this
in some form or fashion.
Our goal at Renewed SpiritAdventures is to help before it
(14:44):
gets to clinical burnout.
And if you are clinical burnout, we have support and resources
available for that, because webelieve in the entire spectrum
of care, treating the wholewoman mind, body and soul.
But the whole point is you donot have to do it alone.
You may think that you're theonly one going through this, but
you talk to any other woman alittle bit of vulnerability,
you'll see over 50% of allAmerican women are in burnout
(15:06):
and I believe that that's verylow.
But the idea is don't do italone and there's so much
support out there to help you.
So that's the last piece.
Jodi (15:14):
So, of those five things, is there a particular area that
you feel like you see peopleresisting the most Like?
Is there a particular areawhere you think that it's harder
for people to kind of get onboard?
Valerie Pedigo (15:26):
Absolutely, it's the first one, the
acknowledgement of it.
Yeah, no, I'm fine when thingscalm down.
I'll be fine when I stop doingtrue jobs.
Jodi (15:37):
Yeah, it makes sense to me .
Yeah, I mean, I had a doctor'sappointment a couple of years
ago and it was just my regularcheckup and I'm sitting at the
table and the doctor was askingthe routine questions and she
said how are you feeling?
And I went to open my mouth andbursted into tears and I was
mortified and I'm like I'm okay,I'm okay, I'm okay.
She was like I think we need totalk about this and it was that
(16:01):
moment when I was like okay,I'm not really okay, right,
right.
Valerie Pedigo (16:05):
We as a collective really need to
normalize burnout and strong,capable women.
There's roadblocks andchallenges with all these right,
when you can only transform tothe level that you choose and
the effort that you give toyourself.
But yeah, I think, jodi, justto answer your question and to
mirror what you're saying andreflect what you're saying about
your own experience, it's thatfirst one.
(16:26):
That's our automatic response.
Nope, I'm fine, just let mewalk it off, right, yeah?
Sherry (16:32):
yeah, right.
So I think that's why whatyou're doing with the sisterhood
piece of this is so criticaland that community really is a
cornerstone of what you're doingwith the sisterhood piece of
this is so critical and thatcommunity really is a
cornerstone of what you're doing.
Why is that renewed spirit,sisterhood I think you've kind
of already touched on this, butlike why that kind of belonging
is so important to healing andhow that helps the process.
Valerie Pedigo (16:55):
Yeah, Anyone that works together with us
becomes a part of our sisterhood.
We are going to be launchingour online community, so that
will be the official onlinesisterhood.
It's membership based, it'scompletely accessible, and that
space is to know that you arenot alone.
There's resources, there'smaterial.
We're going to have recordedcalls and we're creating
(17:16):
pathways where you can takecourses for yourself from start
to finish.
There's going to be live callswith our beautiful practitioners
that we have all over the world.
So it's really, when you get inthere, it's a space where you
can be yourself, talk aboutwhat's happening, and I
guarantee if you're facingsomething, somebody else is as
(17:39):
well.
So we're just we're going totalk about it.
So that's the composition of it, is the learning component and
the resources that are available, but then the conversation.
Sherry (17:47):
Yeah, that's so critical .
Is that going to be somethingthat's done through social media
, or is it a standalone platform?
Do you know what that will looklike?
Valerie Pedigo (17:56):
Yep, it's a standalone platform.
It's called Kajabi, that's whowe use.
They are excellent with smallbusinesses.
It's an online communityplatform.
One of the most beautifulthings is even when myself and
my business partner, melody,kind of step back and observe
the way that people cometogether to ask each other
questions.
Jodi (18:15):
Is there something that stands out?
Do you have a story of someonethat made a big breakthrough?
Valerie Pedigo (18:20):
One of the stories of major breakthrough
and transformation that comesright to me is our sister from
Northeast Ohio, someone who wasmarried for 40 years and she
always knew that she was meantfor something different.
But we do what we do right wemom, we wife we do all the
things and we say, maybe this isthe best that I can do, or
(18:43):
maybe this is just the way lifeis supposed to be.
But she was able to take a stepback, review, have a great
conversation with her partnerand they decided to have an
amicable separation and they'restill friends.
But now she's going on retreat,she is traveling to where she
wants to travel.
She's preparing for herretirement in a couple of years.
She is looking at how thetraditions of her family are
(19:05):
different now.
And that strength, first of all, is so admirable, but second of
all, it always makes you veryemotional.
It doesn't matter how old youare.
If you choose yourself, we haveone life to live.
If you choose yourself, you'renot going to go wrong In your
authentic life.
Jodi (19:27):
And that doesn't mean being selfish, right, truly
saying this is who I am, and theright people in your life are
going to appreciate that andlove you even more for it right?
Valerie Pedigo (19:31):
Yes, that's right.
And you know, jodi, you justmade me think about that, one of
the things that I say aloud forthe listeners, because,
especially if you're a mom, youthink I have to create stability
and consistency.
Okay, whatever that means, butI need to keep things the way
that they've always been for thechildren, and, the truth is,
the greatest gift that you cangive your children is being
(19:52):
yourself, and for them to seeyour strength.
Sherry (19:57):
You mentioned about your retreats.
Can you tell us a little bitabout that?
And then also, I know you offerone-to-one coaching and small
group coaching.
Tell us about that and how thatsupports women in integrating
those more intimate settings.
Valerie Pedigo (20:10):
Yes, well, they all go together.
We never have large groups, andif we do, we make sure that
everyone knows that, but ourgoal is always to have between
10 to 15 people max women max,and sometimes depending on the
stage of burnout that they're inor the situations.
Like I said, we curateeverything and we have plans to
(20:31):
be able to scale this.
It's always going to staycustom, no matter how big we get
, because that is our commitmentand that's where really the
true transformation happens, sowe are always committed to small
groups.
Our retreats all include thecore fundamentals, and that is
movement, energetics, relaxation, wonder, and then integration.
(20:53):
So I'm going to talk about theintegration, because that is the
differentiator for us.
I think that's thedifferentiator between
one-on-one work, small groupwork, retreats, and, first of
all, I want to say I honoranyone that does this type of
work, so this is not about.
This is the right way, this isthe wrong way.
One of the things that Inoticed, though, is that
integration is truly missing inthis field, and it's because of
(21:18):
capacity.
Right, if you go to a massagetherapist.
Sherry (21:21):
So when you're saying integration, can you clarify?
Valerie Pedigo (21:23):
that.
Yep, yep, I'll talk through it.
So integration is taking thattransformation, the learnings
that you have, the understandingthat you have and being able to
apply it in your everyday life.
Because what happens and I'mglad that you asked for
clarification, because whathappens is we go and do a thing,
we go for a massage, we go fora massage, we go for a facial,
we go for a Reiki healing, we goto a retreat, and then we feel
(21:45):
great, but then we go right backinto our same lives with our
same schedule and our sameissues, with our children and
our pets or whatever it is right, and so no true sustainable
change is made.
That's the difference.
At Renewed Spirit Adventures.
We stay with you, so it's notabout the event, the experience
or that one-time appointment.
Once we start working together,then we focus on integration.
(22:08):
We have an integration coachingand framework method that helps
with that.
It's specifically for women inburnout situations and major
life changes to say, okay, I'vedone this work.
Now what does that mean for meat five o'clock on a Tuesday?
Because when you're in a bubble, everything's easy Right.
Jodi (22:27):
So you mentioned going through different life stages.
Is this something that is forall life stages?
Is this for, like, the new moms, the moms who are new to being
empty nesters, or the seniorcitizen that maybe finds
themselves by themselves for thefirst time that will have lost
a spouse?
Is it truly everything, or isthere more of an age grouping?
Valerie Pedigo (22:50):
Yes, it's for everyone what we find our
typical sister is usuallybetween the ages of 35 and 55,
but that is just how it happensright now and that's because of
a midlife thing and that's alsowhere our connections are right.
So, when we look at thedemographics of the people who
are part of our following, forexample but it is for everyone,
(23:11):
because the three examples youjust gave the birth of a child,
empty nesting and the loss of aloved one what do they all have
in common?
Grief, right.
When I become a new mother,it's the happiest time of my
life, but I'm saying goodbye tolife before children.
When I'm an empty nester, Ihave all these awesome things on
the horizon, but what am Idoing?
(23:32):
I'm saying goodbye to theselittle ones needing me and then,
of course, the most obvious iswhen I lose a loved one.
And so there's more that unitesus, regardless of age,
regardless of life stage, andthat's what we're there to help
empower the healing on.
And we don't heal people.
We empower people to healthemselves.
But that new mother that's 25years old has a whole lot in
(23:52):
common with the 75 year oldwoman that is starting to think
about end of life orexperiencing that in their
connections, in their network,in their circle.
So, yeah, definitely.
And the other piece on that whatusually comes up is what about
the activity levels?
So I met someone who is veryinterested and she's like I'm in
my silver years, I can dowhatever I want, but I am not
(24:14):
hiking any mountains and I'mlike it's okay, we don't need to
do that.
So we have differentexperiences that people can
choose from, from one that'smore in location spa services,
workshops to a little bit moreadventure, to cultural retreats
and there is something foreveryone.
But how we find that out is wedo pre, during and post
(24:37):
conversations.
For example, today I had twoconversations with women that
signed up for retreats myselfand my business partner, melanie
and what we do is just spend ahalf an hour getting to know
them and understanding it, andonce we have the final group
together for that particularexperience, then we make any
tweaks or changes to it.
So just very custom.
But you don't need to beclimbing mountains and doing
cold plunges.
(24:58):
That could be something, butyou don't have to choose that.
It's more about what sings toyour soul and what lights you up
when you take a look at it.
Sherry (25:05):
That's really beautiful.
I'm so interested to hear more.
Tell us about immersionretreats.
Valerie Pedigo (25:14):
Yes, first of all, we always use local as much
as possible.
So the things that we curate,the catering, the food that we
use, the locations we use, it'sreally grounded in making sure
we use as many local business,small businesses and
practitioners as possible.
But what I'd like to talk about, too, is what I think you're
referencing, sherry, is it'simportant for us to understand
(25:35):
that, even though we could liveacross the world from someone
else, we still have unitingfactors and there's things that
we can teach each other.
This person can be a teacherfor me.
Recently, we spent some timewith an indigenous village in
Costa Rica called the Bri BriVillage, and it is one of the
last remaining indigenousvillages left in Costa Rica that
wasn't conquered by the Spanish, and so they still live the
(25:58):
way that they lived many, manyyears ago.
It's a matriarchal society.
The leader she was holdingcourt for .
sure Beautiful, beautiful lady.
She's the one that is teachingall the adults in the village
Spanish so that they can knowtheir indigenous language but
understand the language of thecountry.
But we went and we were able tosee how they use the earth, how
they use the things availableto them to create, how they use
the things available to them tosurvive, and we learned how to
(26:22):
make cacao, which is a wholeother nother thing that we could
talk about when it comes tohealing, but the goal there was
to say I have my life here inPittsburgh and I do my things on
a day to day basis.
Let me look up and look aroundand see.
Sherry (26:36):
Perspective.
Valerie Pedigo (26:38):
and it's about wonder and it's about awe yeah.
Yeah, it's perspective
Sherry (26:42):
and that's the catalyst to much deeper transformation.
Valerie Pedigo (26:51):
Yes, and so we did journaling after.
What did the Bribri peopleteach us about presence and
about nature and connection withnature.
Sherry (26:55):
Yeah, you only see things through your own lived
experience and that's a way togain perspective and so much
more.
Valerie Pedigo (27:03):
We always do something like that.
And, then we have completecultural retreats that we're
planning.
We are going to be taking agroup of women to the Christmas
markets in Europe and that'sstill a retreat, it's still
(27:24):
healing and we'll still do someof the movement and some of the
sound practices.
But the day-to-day stuff isthat wonder, how do I expand my
mind?
Because when we expand our mind,when we eat different food,
when we see different things,when we hear different languages
it does.
It gives us perspective.
Sherry (27:44):
and seeking perspectives other than your own is
transformative because it helpsyou grow.
When you listen to someoneelse's ideas or experiences, you
begin to see the world in a newway.
Valerie Pedigo (27:54):
Yeah, yeah, not to feel guilty.
Not to feel guilty about whereyou are.
This is not like oh well, youthink you have it bad, they have
it worse.
That's not the point.
Sherry (28:02):
Right.
No, I don't want to talk aboutcomparing trauma or anything
like that, but I'm saying itgrounds me in gratitude.
Valerie Pedigo (28:08):
Right, yes, yes, gratitude presence yes.
Jodi (28:12):
Yeah, for people that are struggling right now, what is
one of the most important thingsthat someone could do right now
?
If somebody is listening, andfeels like they're just really
stuck in it.
Valerie Pedigo (28:23):
Yeah, it's tough , because I want to make sure
that one thing that you can do,if you're listening right now
and you're struggling, is pausefor just five minutes, take out
a piece of paper and write downwho you are and just a couple of
bullet points to at least getyou started.
The frame of mind might be likewho I used to be or what I love
(28:46):
to do, or it doesn't matter,just start writing a little bit,
because a lot of us don't takethat kind of time to and again,
it's five minutes.
It could be two minutes, buteven with the first word that
you put, it will feel probablyvery disconnected from your life
right now.
And so, again, that first stepis acknowledgement.
(29:07):
Then you can move forward withsupport and we're available for
you.
At the end here We'll give howyou can get in touch with
Renewed Spirit Adventures.
If you're like, okay, I alreadyknow I'm disconnected, then you
have support, you can reach outand we will at least get that
journey started.
Sherry (29:23):
Yeah, and to piggyback on that, how can you support
someone through burnout?
What is the most helpful thingthat a caregiver, a friend or a
family member can do?
How do you show up in support?
You can't come at it withhere's the answer, because we
don't have the answer.
But how do you help lay out,maybe small stepping stones for
somebody to take the initiativeto start their own journey?
Valerie Pedigo (29:46):
Yeah, I know what you're saying, right,
because it's a balance of tryingto save everyone, but here's
what I will say, and I thinkthat this is where you're going
with it.
The first thing is listening,just listen and ask the question
multiple times.
So, for example, are you okay?
Oh, yeah, yeah, I'm fine, areyou okay?
Are you okay Right?
(30:07):
And reinforcing that you are atrusted person for them.
There's a lot of assumptionsthat we make because we all have
the same societal programming,especially women, and there's an
issue with vulnerability.
Vulnerability is our naturalstate.
So, to caregivers, to friends,to family that know something is
off with someone that they love, you do not have the answers.
(30:28):
You cannot force someone to dosomething that they're not ready
to do yet, but what you can dois listen.
Sherry (30:34):
I'm thinking about your moments of crawling up the steps
and things like that, whenyou're so in it you can't see
the way out.
Somebody almost has to crackthe door open a little.
And I like the question are youokay?
I don't want to say I have aproblem with how are you?
It comes from a good place.
But when you're really goingthrough it it's a hard question
to answer.
It's just something we do andsomething we say.
(30:55):
But how are you?
We just say we're fine and moveon, or we throw some line of
shit.
Valerie Pedigo (31:02):
So remember the wording not how are you, but are
you okay?
Yeah, Right, Because there is adifference in those semantics,
right?
If I ask you, are you okay, theanswer is yes or no.
What's going to happen ispeople will say yes, but that's
no right.
No is no.
So that's why it seems simpleand it seems a little bit
(31:23):
surface level With people youcare about.
It's not broke, right, you know.
You want to know how they are.
However, that, are you okay?
Instead of how are you makesome assumptions.
That allows them to put somewalls down.
Jodi (31:34):
Yeah, that's a really powerful shift.
I like that.
Valerie Pedigo (31:37):
Yes,
Sherry (31:37):
I have a quick question about two other things that you
offer that we haven't talkedabout yet- your work as a Reiki
practitioner and also a humandesign reader.
I know about Reiki.
I'm not familiar with humandesign, so can you tell us more
about that before we close it up?
Valerie Pedigo (31:52):
Yeah, Okay, yeah , why don't we focus on human
design?
It's not that everyone knowsabout Reiki, but, like you said,
it's a little bit more common.
The idea of Reiki, though, isthat there are people that are
attuned, that can help channelso that you can heal from
internally from an energeticperspective.
Human design is 100% the mostprofound thing.
and I found this one podcast,and I was like you know what I
(32:16):
really like this.
Let me just start at number one, and number one was knowing
your human design.
So I was like what do you mean?
There is a system that can helpyou understand how you're to
function in this world, based onyour authentic self, and the
idea is you were put on thisearth at a certain date, at a
certain time, in a certainlocation, for a reason, and that
(32:39):
moment in time and thatlocation determines a lot of
things about you.
So the human design gives youyour energy type, so how you
should use your energy.
There's five different energytypes.
We can't go into them, but wecould do a whole another episode
just about human design,because it gives people so much
agency and license to say I knewI liked that, but I haven't
been letting myself do thatbecause no one else does that,
(33:00):
okay.
Well, you're not supposed to dowhat everyone else does, and so
you have your energy type, youhave your profile, you have your
authority how you should makedecisions.
Most of us in this world are notmeant to initiate, we're meant
to respond.
So a lot of us are out therehustling trying to initiate, and
that's not what's meant for us.
That doesn't create magnetism,and so it's anything from the
(33:20):
major part, which is your energytype, to even things about what
environment is best for yourdigestion, all from the date,
time and location you were born.
It puts together eightdifferent things from all over
the world to create this verycomplex human design.
My job as a reader is to takethat complexity and put it into
terms that you can use every day.
(33:41):
Once again, integration oh it'scool that I know that.
No, how do you actually usethat to empower yourself?
And once you're living yourtrue design, you create
magnetism, and that's when westart to get into manifestation,
and so, when you're really whoyou are and doing what you're
meant to be, things come to you.
And probably a whole notherthing for us to talk to the
listeners about, but it is a joyfor me and I am by no means an
(34:04):
expert, but I see not only whathappened with myself, but
everyone that it touches.
It's like, oh yeah, one of oursisters, her environment is a
cave environment.
That doesn't mean she's meantto live in a cave.
That means that she's meant toprotect her energy.
And so she's like oh, that'swhy I like to stay in this one
room with this one blanket.
That's why it makes me feel socomfortable, because that's her
(34:27):
natural environment and that'swhere she feels the best.
And there's a whole bunch to dowith that.
Sherry (34:32):
I'm so intrigued.
It's fascinating.
I'm going to do a deeper divethere.
Where can our listeners go tofind out more about your work
and your upcoming retreats andall the things?
Valerie Pedigo (34:43):
Yes, it's www.
renewedspiritadventures.
com, and on our website you'llbe able to see what we have
upcoming, you'll be able tolearn and get on the waiting
list for the sisterhood, andthen there's a Let's Connect
form and it'll ask you are youinterested in human design?
Are you interested inenergetics?
Are you interested inone-on-one coaching?
What?
What brings you here?
(35:03):
And that form will come rightto us and we will set up time to
to talk and do some discovery.
Our website,renewedspiritaventures.
com, and then we have abeautiful social media platform
with lots of education.
So, we are on Facebook asRenewed Spirit Adventures, we're
on Instagram at Renewed SpiritAdventures and on LinkedIn.
Sherry (35:24):
I'll link all that in the show notes and it'll be in
the transcript, too.
Thank you.
You're passionate andknowledgeable and I'm happy to
be able to share that.
So thank you for joining us andmaybe we'll do this again.
Thank you so much.
Nice meeting you.
Bye.
What an incredible reminder thatburnout isn't a sign of
weakness.
It's a signal and with theright tools, support and
(35:47):
intention, it can become thebeginning of something beautiful
and powerful.
Valerie's story and the workshe's doing through Renewed
Spirit Adventures show us thathealing is possible.
And the work she's doingthrough Renewed Spirit
Adventures show us that healingis possible and it often starts
with small, intentional choicesthat move us toward peace,
purpose and connection.
(36:09):
And if anything in thisconversation spoke to you,
consider what your next stepmight be.
Maybe it's rest, maybe it'sreaching out for support, maybe
it's just believing thatsomething new is possible.
(36:32):
This is it.
Keep growing.
Consider professional advice.
Thriving Yinzers LLC, its hostsor any associated parties are
not liable for any actions takenor consequences arising from
the information provided.
The views expressed by thehosts and guests are their own
and do not necessarily reflectthose of any organizations or
affiliations.
If you or someone you know isin crisis, please reach out to a
trusted professional or crisishotline in your area.
(36:53):
Help is available 24-7,nationwide at the
988-SUICIDE-AND-CRISIS-LIFELINEDial 988 to connect with a
trained crisis counselor forfree and confidential support.
If you are local to thePittsburgh area, resolve Crisis
Services offer 24-7 crisisintervention and stabilization
services to all Allegheny Countyresidents.
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