Episode 61 - Brilliant Soul Gathering - Guest Speaker Cara Viana - Parenting

Raising Sensitive Kids and the Power of the Wiggle Dance

What if your child’s sensitivity is not a problem to solve but a superpower you can help them understand?

In this uplifting conversation from The Brilliant Soul Gathering Summit, Cara joins Teen Soul coach Nadine to explore how to support highly sensitive and empathic kids. Cara shares surprising insights from her own upbringing and offers a fresh way to see intuition, overwhelm, and emotional intensity in children.

You will hear simple, practical ideas for recognizing when your child’s nervous system is getting full, how to help them come back to calm, and why playful tools like grounding, quiet time, and even a quick wiggle dance can make all the difference. Cara also explains how to guide kids in setting healthy energetic boundaries so their sensitivity feels like strength rather than overload.

This episode is a warm reminder that your presence and love matter more than anything, and that you are far from alone as you learn how to support the brilliant, sensitive soul in your home.

Connect with Cara!

Website -⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.caraviana.com/⁠⁠

Instagram -⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/cara_viana/⁠⁠

Facebook Page -⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.facebook.com/caraviana⁠⁠

YouTube -⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/user/caraviana⁠

Episode 60 - Call of the Wild

What if feeling human again was less about escaping modern life and more about remembering your own natural rhythm?

In this live workshop recording, Cara guides you back to your wilder self, the part that knows how to breathe, feel, and recalibrate even when the world is buzzing nonstop. 

You will explore simple practices that help you step out of tech overwhelm and into something steadier, more instinctive, and surprisingly easy to access.

You will be guided through grounding movement, a nature-infused visualization, reflective questions, and a powerful shapeshift journey that reconnects you with vitality and intuition. Along the way, you will discover how small shifts can soften stress without abandoning your real life.

If you are craving simplicity, stillness, or a little primal spark, this workshop is for you.

Connect with Cara!

Website -⁠⁠⁠https://www.caraviana.com/⁠

Instagram -⁠https://www.instagram.com/cara_viana/⁠

Facebook Page -⁠https://www.facebook.com/caraviana⁠

YouTube -⁠https://www.youtube.com/user/caraviana⁠

Episode 59 - Winter Solstice Magic and Rituals with Stephanie Burg

Winter Solstice Magic: Rituals, Rest & Returning to the Light

A heart-centered guide to slowing down, honoring the season, and celebrating the light’s return.

The Winter Solstice is the turning point of the year, the moment when the longest night gives way to the returning light. Across ancestral traditions, this was a sacred threshold marked with ritual, feasting, reflection, and deep rest. Today, even if we don’t consciously celebrate it, our bodies still feel it.

In my recent conversation with herbalist and coach Stephanie Burg on the Playful Spirituality Podcast, we explored how the Solstice invites us into slowness, replenishment, and magical new beginnings.

Below, I’ve gathered the most powerful insights from that episode along with simple, beautiful Solstice ideas you can bring into your life, whether you’re celebrating alone, with family, or as a sacred moment of personal reset.

If you’re looking for more support to nourish you through this season, you’ll find invitations to go deeper with my Bloom Virtual Mini-Retreat and a curated page of Winter Spiritual Resources that you’ll love.

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Why the Winter Solstice Matters (and Why Your Body Feels It)

The Solstice marks the moment when darkness peaks, and the light begins to return.
Beyond astronomy, this time does something profound to our inner world.

Stephanie Burg shared a beautiful perspective:

“The Solstice is the return of the light. It’s the end of the descent into darkness, and the beginning of new life, new energy, new sun.”

Our ancestors knew this. They rested. They feasted. They tended candles and fires as symbols of hope.

Today, though?
We’re overstimulated, overcommitted, and often exhausted by the time the holidays hit. Many of us feel the natural urge to slow down and we resist it, judging ourselves for “being so tired”.

But nothing is wrong.
You are nature.
Your inner rhythm is responding exactly as it’s meant to.

In fact, one of my favorite moments from this episode was when I shared that for years, every November my body would slump into this mysterious fatigue, and I’d panic and think something was broken. Then my acupuncturist flipped back through her notes and read the exact same concerns I had expressed the previous November.

My body wasn’t malfunctioning.
It was wintering.
It was wise.
It was following nature.

Stephanie affirmed this so beautifully:

“January 1st is not the natural new year. Nature is still asleep. Spring is when the true new year begins.”

No wonder so many of us feel tired, resistant, or unmotivated. Winter asks us to soften, slow, dream, and restore.

Let's say it more plainly.  If you missed a whole night of sleep would you expect yourself to be productive, coherent and your best the next day?  Imagine a year is like one long day, with summer as mid day and night as winter. You need the rest in winter to go the rest of the year.

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Affirmations for Slowing Down This Season

Here are some reminders to breathe into as the Solstice approaches:

It is safe to rest.
Doing less is a sacred choice, not a failure.
My energy is not meant to be constant.
I am allowed to follow the rhythm of nature, not the calendar.
Stillness is productive. Quiet is creative. Darkness is fertile.
I bloom better when I honor my winter.

Let these words meet the parts of you that feel guilty for slowing down.
Let them soften the pressure to “start strong” on January 1st.
Let them remind you that you are part of the Earth.

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10 Beautiful, Simple Winter Solstice Rituals

Choose one or two — or weave several together.

Below are some easy practices inspired by the podcast conversation, ancestral traditions, and my own winter rituals. They’re intentionally simple, sensory, and doable — even if life feels full.

1. Light a candle at sunset

Mark the transition from darkness to light.
Hold a moment of gratitude.
Name what you’re releasing.
Name what you’re welcoming.
Candle-lighting is one of the oldest Solstice traditions for a reason.

2. Create a nature mandala or altar

Go for a walk and gather (here’s a few ideas):

Evergreen sprigs
Fallen leaves
Citrus slices
Seeds or pine cones
Anything that feels magical

Arrange them into a spiral, mandala, or tabletop altar.

This is gorgeous with little ones — even if they gleefully rearrange your masterpiece.

3. Plant “seeds of delight” for the coming year

Instead of resolutions, write down 12–13 tiny delights you’d love to encounter next year:

A new friend arrives easily
A moment of belly laughter
Falling in love with a new part of yourself

Fold each one and plant them with winter bulbs.
Let them grow in timing that is not rushed.

4. Burn what you’re ready to release

Write down anything you’re ready to let go of — old patterns, tension, expectations.
Burn it in a safe bowl or fire pit.
(Or roast marshmallows afterward for a cozy family moment.)

5. Make your bedroom a winter sanctuary

Add:Soft lighting or salt lamps
Cozy blankets
Calming scents (cedar, lavender)
A screen-free zone

Winter is the season of sleep and dreams. Let your space support that.

6. Slow-cook something nourishing

Soup, chai, cacao, apple cider — anything warm and slow.
Let it fill your home with winter magic.

7. Take a “Solstice walk”

Go outside as the light fades or returns.
Feel the quiet shift of the season.
Let your nervous system exhale.

8. Bless your home with winter herbs

Cedar, rosemary, juniper, frankincense, or Stephanie’s Winter Forest incense blend are beautiful for purification and seasonal transition. https://www.stephanieburgcoaching.com/shop

9. Have a personal reflection ritual

Jot down:

• What softened me this year?
• What surprised me?
• What grew me?
• What am I proud of  myself for?
• What am I ready to release?
• What am I ready to welcome?

Let your words bridge the old year into the new.

10. Choose one thing to let go of until spring

A chore, a should, a pressure, an expectation.

Give yourself a seasonal permission slip.

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Winter Loves You: A Gentle Reminder

If you feel tired, slow, cozy, introspective, withdrawn, dreamy, emotional, or unmotivated…
that isn’t you doing life wrong.

It’s winter doing its work through you.

This is the cocoon.
This is the soil.
This is the womb of the year.

Spring will come.
Your energy will rise again.
But for now, we rest.
For now, we dream.
For now, we light candles and remember:

The light always returns.

To explore everything we talked about in more depth — including ancestral perspectives, somatic healing, seasonal living, and how the Solstice aligns with the inner work so many of us are doing — listen to the full episode with Stephanie Burg.

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For a Deeper Seasonal Reset:

Bloom, My Virtual Mini-Retreat for the Turning of the Year

If you’re longing to feel restored, clear, inspired, and energetically aligned as you move into the new year, my prerecorded Bloom Virtual Mini-Retreat is a beautiful companion to the Solstice.

This retreat blends the magic of winter with the natural momentum of the year’s turning — guiding you through:

Sacred space creation
Energy healings
Meditation + visioning
Heart-storming
Releasing what’s complete
Planting the seeds of what wants to bloom in your life

It’s designed to be restorative, intuitive, and deeply nourishing, not a pushy “New Year’s hustle” experience, but a winter-aligned energetic reset.

“Bloom” is available any time, on your own schedule, and it’s included FREE when you purchase the Manifestation + Money Bundle.

You can explore the retreat and bundle options here:
Bloom Virtual Mini-Retreat

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Explore the Winter Spiritual Resource Library

Looking for more winter-specific support?
I’ve gathered an entire collection of meditations, healings, recordings, practices, and teachings to help you (many of them are free!):

Navigate family dynamics
Slow down with grace
Reset your energy
Sleep better
Process old emotional layers
Manifest with winter wisdom
Find peace, space, and magic

Inside, you’ll also find my free resource library, holiday support tools, abundance teachings, rest practices, and links to podcast episodes perfect for this time of year.

You can explore everything here:
Cara’s Winter Spiritual Resources Collection

Stephanie’s Bio:

Stephanie Burg provides women with the spaces and tools to liberate themselves from trauma, past conditioning, old storylines, and everything the world tells them they “should” or “shouldn’t” be.

A former professional ballerina, Stephanie is now a Trauma-Informed, Certified Integrative Health & Transformational Life Coach, Psychedelic Preparation & Integration Guide, Certified Breathwork Facilitator, Somatic Healing & Embodiment Guide, Andean & Amazonian Plant Medicine Apprentice, Folk Herbalist, and Sacred Circle Facilitator. With almost 13 years of experience, Stephanie supports her community through immersive retreats, private mentorship, online group programs, and her Healing Products apothecary—offering handcrafted herbal medicines and ritual tools.

Stephanie’s work has been featured in ABC News, Colorado Public Radio, Dance Magazine, Mind Body Green, Elephant Journal, Tiny Buddha, and other national and local publications. She was honored as one of Charleston, SC’s “50 Most Progressive” celebrating the most forward-thinking individuals having an impact on the future of Charleston.

Inspired by artists and leaders who break free from societal norms to share their gifts with the world, Stephanie’s work is an offering of deep devotion—to uplift humanity and guide others in reclaiming their freedom, wholeness, and soul’s expression.

Website: https://www.stephanieburgcoaching.com/

Healing Products Apothecary: https://www.stephanieburgcoaching.com/shop

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stephaniemburg/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sburgcoaching

Insight Timer:https://insighttimer.com/stephanieburg/guided-meditations

Episode 58 - Happier in 3 Simple Steps

What if becoming happier didn’t mean chasing bliss, but simply turning the dial up a notch or two?

In this special experiential episode, Cara invites you to take part in her Happier Workshop, a hands-on journey designed to help you feel about 15% happier, starting now. 

You’ll begin with a light, flexible meditation to tune into your body, breath, and surroundings, then move through a series of guided reflection prompts that invite you to write, notice, and shift. Each step helps re-frame stress, soften self-criticism, and strengthen your connection to what truly feels good. The session closes with a soothing guided energy healing that supports emotional balance, physical ease, and a deeper sense of self-alignment.

Cara shares practical tools for rewiring old mental loops (no perfection required), from journaling and bilateral tapping to re-framing negative thoughts as dashboard lights pointing you toward clarity. This workshop is a grounded reminder that happiness isn’t a destination, it’s a skill you can practice, play with, and expand one gentle percentage point at a time.

Connect with Cara!

Website -⁠⁠⁠https://www.caraviana.com/⁠
Instagram -⁠https://www.instagram.com/cara_viana/⁠
Facebook Page -⁠https://www.facebook.com/caraviana⁠
YouTube -⁠https://www.youtube.com/user/caraviana⁠

Episode 57 - Interview with Amy J Hellman: What if Your Purpose Wasn’t What You Do, But Who You Are?

We often treat “purpose” like a finish line, tied to productivity, careers, or achievements. In this episode of Playful Spirituality, Cara welcomes healer and author Amy J. Hellman to explore a more playful, embodied way of living with purpose.

Amy shares her practice of “following her smiles” — letting her body’s authentic responses point the way toward clarity, joy, and fulfillment. Together, she and Cara reimagine purpose as something we are always creating, an intersection of passion, service, and presence rather than a job title or outcome.

They talk about:

• The in-between phases of life — career shifts, parenthood, identity changes — as fertile ground for curiosity and creation

• How unlearning productivity culture makes room for purpose as presence, even in something as simple as a genuine smile

• Seeing the unknown as a buffer zone for observation and gentle redirection

• Amy’s origin story of sudden hearing loss, the letter that changed everything, and how it led her to Theta Healing

Cara also reflects on her own identity shifts through leaving a long-term job and becoming a mother, and how disorienting transitions can be deeply transformative.

Amy closes with what’s next: her upcoming book Dump Reflections: Essays on Breaking Up, Breaking Down, and Recycling Yourself, and a course on direct communication with self, others, and Source.

This conversation is an invitation to let go of striving, follow your smiles, and discover purpose in the spaces in between.

 Amy's Bio:

Amy J. is an educator, author, mother, and healing facilitator for students of all ages world-wide. Author of "An Instructor's Guide to Educating with Kindness and Leading with Love," and others, she believes in our human potential for great change and growth. She currently lives with her son on Hawaii island. 

Amy's Links:

Email: ⁠amy@manna-healing.com⁠
Insta: ⁠@mannahealingwithamyj⁠
Facebook Page: ⁠https://www.facebook.com/mannahealing/⁠
Website: ⁠www.mannahealing.com

Connect with Cara!

Website -⁠⁠ ⁠https://www.caraviana.com/⁠
Instagram - ⁠https://www.instagram.com/cara_viana/⁠
Facebook Page - ⁠https://www.facebook.com/caraviana⁠
YouTube - ⁠https://www.youtube.com/user/caraviana⁠

Happier in 3 simple steps? Click here to sign up for the free workshop?

Episode 56 - Why Can't I Talk About My Period??

Periods: one thing everyone knows about but nobody wants to talk about. Cara’s not having it. In this hilariously taboo-busting episode of Playful Spirituality, she shares how she ditched the secrecy, casually announcing her period to a grocery store checker and, yes, using menstrual blood as fertilizer for her houseplants (spoiler: they’re thriving).

Between laughs and raised eyebrows, Cara dives into some big truths:

• Your cycle isn’t an obstacle, it’s a training plan. Syncing workouts with menstrual phases can supercharge energy, resilience, and performance.

• The wild practice of using menstrual blood as a natural fertilizer — and why her plants love it.

• The cycle offers cues to partners about the kinds of support women need in different phases.

• The four phases of the menstrual cycle and how each one shapes energy, emotions, and movement.

• Her own experiences with hormone sensitivity and the impact it’s had on her mental health.

Along the way, she explains how the four stages of the menstrual cycle mirror the four seasons, each with its own rhythms of energy, emotion, and rest. Expect frank talk, funny stories, and a healthy dose of side-eye for a culture that treats menstruation like a shameful secret.

This episode is equal parts education and mischief, guaranteed to leave you a little wiser, a little braver, and maybe plotting how to out your own cycle at the checkout line.

Episode Time Stamps

00:00 Introduction to Playful Spirituality

01:11 A Taboo Topic: Talking About Periods

01:34 Grocery Store Anecdote

02:57 Normalizing Period Conversations

07:59 The Magic of Menstrual Blood

08:56 Personal Reflections on Menstrual Cycles

19:21 Understanding Menstrual Phases

21:06 Training with Your Cycle

27:02 Empowerment Through Cycle Awareness

29:01 Conclusion and Gratitude

Check out Master Your Magic here and get on the waitlist!⁠

Connect with Cara!

Website -⁠⁠⁠https://www.caraviana.com/⁠
Instagram -⁠https://www.instagram.com/cara_viana/⁠
Facebook Page -⁠https://www.facebook.com/caraviana⁠
YouTube -⁠https://www.youtube.com/user/caraviana⁠

Episode 55 - Money Bliss with Hanna Bier

What if money is a form of love? 

In this episode of Playful Spirituality, Cara talks with Hanna Bier, author of Wealth From Within and founder of Money Bliss, about healing our relationship with money from the inside out.

Hanna shares her journey from a high-pressure fashion career to a life centered on coaching, creativity, and her peaceful daily rhythms in a small village. Along the way, she discovered that the struggles we face — with money and beyond — can transform into growth, abundance, and deeper love for ourselves and others.

This conversation invites listeners to rethink money as an expression of love, shaped by early experiences and our capacity to receive. Hanna introduces ideas like "soul money numbers" and the power of visualization to unlock authentic financial flow. She reminds us that seeking financial freedom can be a deeply spiritual path, rooted in healing and self-trust.

If you’ve ever felt conflicted about money or wondered how it fits into a wholehearted life, this episode offers insights that just might change the way you think — and feel — about wealth.

Connect with Cara!

Website -⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠https://www.caraviana.com/⁠⁠

Instagram -⁠ ⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/cara_viana/⁠⁠

Facebook Page -⁠ ⁠⁠⁠https://www.facebook.com/caraviana⁠⁠

YouTube -⁠ ⁠https://www.youtube.com/user/caraviana⁠⁠

Hanna’s Bio:

Hanna Bier teaches the art of making money with elegance, excellence, and ease. 

Her work turns what once felt confusing or intimidating into something thrilling, repeatable, and profoundly freeing.

Sales becomes noble. Money becomes kind. Success becomes inevitable.

On her way to becoming a corporate fashion girlie, Hanna switched careers and found her true calling: helping women discover the power of financial mastery. 

Hanna believes that a woman isn’t truly free until she’s deeply secure with money.

Through her work, she invites you to become unrecognizable. To create your own luck. To dress to the nines and walk into every room like you belong there. Because you do.

The side effect of being fully in your power is outrageous financial success.

Join the thousands of women who’ve worked with Hanna and step into the Wealthy Girl™ version of yourself. You can find her signature challenge and private coaching options at ⁠hannabier.com⁠

Links:

Website ⁠https://www.hannabier.com⁠

Close More Sales Challenge Waitlist ⁠https://hannabier.kit.com/challenge⁠

Apply to work with Hanna ⁠https://www.hannabier.com/apply⁠ Instagram ⁠https://www.instagram.com/hannamoneybliss/⁠

Episode Time Stamps

00:00 Introduction to Playful Spirituality

01:17 Special Guest: Hannah Bear on Money and Abundance

02:29 Hannah's Journey: From Fashion to Life Coaching

05:07 Daily Life and Practices

08:15 Understanding Money and Energetics

16:19 Becoming a Great Receiver

21:03 Visualizing Wealth: The Power of Imagination

22:24 The Evolution of Entrepreneurship

24:29 Understanding Soul Money Numbers

25:54 The Joy of Having Money

28:55 Financial Planning and Emotional Security

33:36 Achieving Financial Freedom

37:48 Connecting with Hannah: Resources and Next Steps

41:48 Final Thoughts and Gratitude

Episode 54 - Nervous System Lessons from a Toddler

What if your two-year-old could teach you the most profound nervous system regulation technique you’ve ever heard?

In this solo episode of Playful Spirituality, Cara reflects on the tender, tangled experience of coming down from the high of her wedding in Costa Rica and how her toddler’s one-word wisdom became the nervous system cue she didn’t know she needed.

From dreamy days surrounded by loved ones on the beach to the messy reintegration of daily life, Cara digs into the emotional whiplash of big transitions…and how her little one’s honest expression of overwhelm illuminated her approach to her own.

You’ll walk away with a simple, grounding nervous system check-in you can use anywhere (yes, even mid-meltdown), a powerful reframe for handling stress with compassion, and a gentle invitation to pause when life gets loud.

Blending lighthearted insight with embodied wisdom, Cara invites you to treat your stress responses with tenderness, follow your body’s cues like a wise toddler, and shake it off just like the animals do.

____

⁠Check out Master Your Magic here and get on the waitlist!⁠

Connect with Cara!

Website -⁠⁠⁠https://www.caraviana.com/⁠
Instagram -⁠https://www.instagram.com/cara_viana/⁠
Facebook Page -⁠https://www.facebook.com/caraviana⁠
YouTube -⁠https://www.youtube.com/user/caraviana⁠

Episode Time Stamps

00:00 Introduction to Playful Spirituality

01:11 Personal Update: Wedding and Life Events

04:24 New Dreams and Financial Goals

07:04 A Lesson from My 2-Year-Old

16:10 Nervous System Awareness Exercise

25:58 Conclusion and Gratitude