How to Trust Yourself: The Messy, Human Path to Becoming Who You Are

In this episode, Anna sits down with Lara Birk, PDH, founder of The Sage Practice and one of the most thoughtful, compassionate, and courageous voices in mind-body healing today.

Lara’s work is rooted in lived experience: her own journey through a rare medical condition as a teenager, 17 surgeries, structural complications, chronic pain, and decades of navigating a system that often has no place for complexity. Her mission is ...

Have you ever caught yourself thinking:

"I shouldn't complain. Other people have it so much worse."

Or...

"I have so much to be grateful for. I shouldn't feel this way."

If so, you're not alone.

In this solo episode, Anna explores why these seemingly innocent thoughts can actually become a form of emotional self-censorship. While gratitude is a beautiful and important practice, it can sometimes be used—often without us realizing i...

In this episode, Anna sits down with Mari Reisberg, therapist, performer, creativity coach, and host of the Sustaining Creativity Podcast. Mari’s work lives at the intersection of somatic therapy, performance, and play — and her core belief is simple: life gets a lot more fun when we tap into our creativity.

Together, they explore how creativity shows up in everyday life (even for people who don’t think of themselv...

What if the reason you're feeling stuck isn't that you're not trying hard enough... but that you're trying too hard?

In this solo episode, Anna shares one of the most transformative lessons she learned during her own recovery from chronic migraine: "Don't try harder. Try softer."

Originally shared by mind-body physician Dr. John Stracks, this simple phrase didn't fully make sense to Anna until one unforgettable migraine attack reveal...

In this episode, Anna sits down with Kati Morton, LMFT, bestselling author and one of the internet’s most trusted mental-health educators. Kati has spent more than a decade helping millions of people understand their emotions, navigate trauma, and break unhealthy patterns. Her latest book, Why Do I Keep Doing This?, unpacks the emotional habits we fall into — and what it actually takes to change them from the inside out...

Many of us pride ourselves on being good people.

We strive to be helpful, responsible, accommodating, generous, and easy to love. On the surface, these qualities seem unquestionably positive. But what happens when being "good" becomes something we feel compelled to perform in order to earn love, approval, or belonging?

In this episode, therapist Anna Holtzman explores the concept of goodism—a term coined by mind-body physician ...

In this episode, Anna sits down with Naomi Vladeck, founder of Creativity Matters Coaching and author of Braving Creativity. Naomi brings over two decades of experience working with creative professionals in the nonprofit arts world, combined with her own background as a performer, writer, and solo parent. Her work helps artists navigate the emotional terrain of change, uncertainty, and reinvention with compassion and courage.

In th...

Why can opening up feel so hard, even when connection is exactly what we want?

In this solo episode, Anna reflects on a recent experience that unexpectedly cracked something open in her: an intimate dinner conversation with a cousin that led to a moment of tenderness, vulnerability, and surprising emotional healing.

Although Anna has done years of therapy and personal growth work around painful experiences from her past, she found he...

In this episode, Anna sits down with Stephanie Thoma, speaker coach, author of Confident Introvert and Not That Sweet, and founder of Connect With Confidence. Stephanie helps introverts and rising leaders craft keynote talks, strengthen their messaging, build speaking schedules, and — most importantly — connect with people in a way that feels meaningful rather than performative.

Stephanie is not in the business of polish...

What do you do when fear takes over?

How do you trust yourself when your nervous system is fully activated?

And how do you move through moments of fear without swinging to one of two extremes: reacting impulsively in an attempt to regain safety… or overriding your own experience and convincing yourself everything is fine?

In this deeply personal solo episode, Anna explores what happens internally when fear, self-doubt, attachme...

In this soulful and expansive episode, Anna speaks with Noga Shefi — musician, healer, and guide for sensitive creatives — about what it means to heal, create, and live from a regulated, intuitive, embodied place.

Noga’s personal story is profound. After being diagnosed with Crohn’s disease in 2010 and told she’d be suffering for life, she embarked on a deep healing journey that took her far beyond conv...

Have you ever found yourself twisting into a pretzel trying to become the “right” version of yourself?

The more visible we become — in business, relationships, leadership, creativity, or simply stepping into a new chapter — the easier it is to lose trust in ourselves and start overcomplicating everything.

We think we need to be more polished, more impressive, more productive, more “on.”

But what if ...

In this rich, heartfelt episode, Anna is joined by Ashley Olson, Founder and Executive Chef of Southern with a French Twist. Ashley creates intimate culinary experiences across Austin and the Hill Country — from luxury dinner parties to private jet catering — with a philosophy that blends Southern warmth with French finesse.

But this episode isn’t just about food. It’s about returning to the parts of yourself...

In this intimate and inspiring conversation, Anna talks with award-winning ceramic artist Hannie Goldgewicht, whose work blends wheel-thrown pottery with pine-needle basketry — a unique hybrid rooted in her Costa Rican upbringing, her travels throughout Latin America and beyond, and her lifelong devotion to handmade craft.

Hannie’s creative journey began in childhood, learning soldering and jewelry-making from her mother...

What if the reason you don’t feel confident… isn’t because you’re unqualified?

In this solo episode, I share a simple but powerful shift that came out of a recent Seen & Safe group session—one that challenges the common belief that we need to become experts before we can show up fully.

We often tell ourselves:

“I need more training.”

“I need more experience.”

“I need to fe...

In this illuminating and refreshingly honest conversation, Anna sits down with Richelle Fredson, Book Proposal Coach, publishing aficionado, and former Director of Publicity & Book Marketing at Hay House. With 20+ years of industry experience — including roles in acquisitions, author development, and major launches — Richelle has helped thousands of authors turn their ideas into compelling proposals and land publish...

What if the thing holding you back isn’t what you’ve been through… but what you’ve had to hide?

In this solo episode, I explore the physiology of shame—how the parts of ourselves we keep hidden don’t just stay tucked away, but actually shape how we move through the world.

From the outside, it might look like you’re doing fine. But internally, there can be a quiet contraction: a subtle bracin...

What happens when the thing you most want to share is also the thing that terrifies you most?

In this episode, Anna sits down with poet and author Mer Monson to talk about Mer’s debut poetry collection, For the Wounded, and the deeply human journey that brought it into the world. Together, they explore writing as a place of refuge, the connection between depression and expression, the fear of being seen, and the slow, tender p...

What happens when the pressure to perform pulls you out of connection with yourself?

In this solo episode, Anna explores the subtle but powerful difference between performance and connection — and how getting stuck in performance mode can cut us off from our creativity, intuition, and leadership.

Drawing from her former career as a reality television editor, Anna shares a vivid behind-the-scenes story of what it was like to wor...