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In this episode, I’m talking about conscious femininity; why the world needs more of it right now, where the phrase comes from (Marion Woodman, via Sharon Blackie’s If Women Rose Rooted), and what it looks like in everyday life.

We explore the difference between unconscious femininity (living “from the neck up,” outsourcing self-worth, over-adapting, over-functioning) and conscious femininity (embodied self-awareness, nervous system regulation, boundaries, cyclical living, and truth-telling with kindness).

I also unpack why this isn’t about man-bashing — conscious femininity is about balance: healthy feminine (intuition, empathy, feeling) + healthy masculine (structure, boundaries, action). In other words: structure with feeling.

Practical takeaways:

• Come back into your body daily (breathwork/HeartMath, walking, nature)
• Learn your nervous system patterns (fight/flight/freeze/fawn)
• Honour your cycles + energy rhythms (stop pushing like a machine)
• Set boundaries without over-explaining
• Notice over-giving/over-functioning — and practise receiving support

If you relate to over-functioning, S5EP1 is a great one to listen to HERE.

Want to go deeper?

Join me in Johannesburg for my in-person weekend workshop, Weaving a New Way (14–15 March, Fourways).

Find out more HERE.

Or explore 1:1 coaching + shamanic healing sessions with me HERE.

I'd love to connect - message me on Instagram @EmmaOBrienCoach.

If you’re done playing small and ready to lead yourself — you’re in the right place.

I’m Emma O’Brien — Martha Beck trained and certified life coach, HeartMath practitioner, and shamanic healer helping high-achieving women stop second-guessing themselves and finally trust their own voice.

Through nervous system re-calibration, strategic coaching, and deep energetic work, I help you move from self-doubt to self-trust so you can create a life you actually want to be in — no external approval required.

🌀 Want to work together?

Explore the 6-week Nervous System Reset, 1:1 coaching, or Shamanic Soul Retrieval sessions here: emmaobriencoach.com

Questions or ready to chat?

DM me on Instagram @emmaobriencoach
or book a free connection call HERE.

Send us a text

What if feeling lost in midlife isn’t a failure… but an invitation?

In this episode, I’m exploring something I see again and again — both in my own life and in the women I work with. That moment (often in our 40s and beyond) when we wake up and quietly think:

Is this it? Is this really how I want the rest of my life to look?

Midlife has a way of stripping things back. Our hormones shift, our tolerance drops, and suddenly the roles, relationships, and choices we once managed to hold together just don’t fit anymore. What used to feel “fine” starts to feel heavy, exhausting, or even unbearable.

Rather than seeing this as a midlife crisis, I believe it’s something much more powerful — a midlife awakening.

In this episode, I talk about:

• Why so many women feel like they’ve “lost themselves” in midlife
• How societal conditioning teaches women to put everyone else first — and the anger that surfaces when that no longer works
• The role of perimenopause and hormonal shifts in changing what we’re willing (and able) to tolerate
• Why being confronted with our own mortality can actually be a profound gift
• The fear and discomfort of the liminal space between who you were and who you’re becoming
• What we can learn from snake medicine — and why shedding an old identity is meant to feel uncomfortable before it feels freeing

If you’re in that in-between space — not who you were, not yet who you’re becoming — please know this: you’re not destined to be unhappy forever. You’re in transition, and you don’t have to navigate it alone.

✨ Work With Me - If this episode resonated, I’d love to support you further:

🐍 Ending an Era – Online Workshop

This is a powerful, guided workshop where I help you consciously shed old stories, identities, and patterns that no longer fit, so you can create what comes next with clarity and intention.

👉 Access the workshop HERE.

🌿 Johannesburg Weekend Retreat (In-Person)

If you’re based in Joburg and craving a deeper, embodied reset, I’m also hosting a weekend retreat designed for women in transition. This is sacred space to reflect, release, and reconnect with yourself — supported, held, and guided.

👉 Details and booking info are HERE.

Thank you so much for being here, for listening, and for being willing to ask the bigger questions 💛

If you’re done playing small and ready to lead yourself — you’re in the right place.

I’m Emma O’Brien — Martha Beck trained and certified life coach, HeartMath practitioner, and shamanic healer helping high-achieving women stop second-guessing themselves and finally trust their own voice.

Through nervous system re-calibration, strategic coaching, and deep energetic work, I help you move from self-doubt to self-trust so you can create a life you actually want to be in — no external approval required.

🌀 Want to work together?

Explore the 6-week Nervous System Reset, 1:1 coaching, or Shamanic Soul Retrieval sessions here: emmaobriencoach.com

Questions or ready to chat?

DM me on Instagram @emmaobriencoach
or book a free connection call HERE.

Send us a text

In this episode, I explore why change so often feels uncomfortable, slow, and frustrating, especially when we’re ready for something new but life hasn’t caught up yet.

I reflect on the transition from the Year of the Snake into the Year of the Fire Horse, and why the early part of change is often about shedding old stories before momentum arrives. Using the Andean medicine wheel, I talk about serpent energy as the first stage of transformation; where we release outdated identities, beliefs, and narratives that quietly keep us stuck.

Episode highlights:

• Why change moves in cycles, not straight lines
• The frustration of waiting for external results after deep inner work
• How old stories become part of our identity
• Why repeatedly retelling the past can prevent forward movement
• Serpent, Jaguar, Hummingbird and Eagle as stages of change

I also share four journal prompts to support your own shedding process:

1. What part of my current life story has already expired, but I’m still carrying?
2. Where am I choosing familiarity over aliveness?
3. What does my body tell me about the situation I wish I didn’t have, but keep participating in?
4. What am I afraid would unravel if I stopped telling this story?

Ready to go deeper?

I’m hosting a live online workshop, Ending an Era – A Serpent Workshop for Conscious Shedding, on Thursday 5th February. It’s a 60-minute guided space to help you identify and release the stories keeping you where you are.

£22 | Live on Zoom | Replay included
Sign up HERE: www.emmaobriencoach.com/endinganera

If you’re done playing small and ready to lead yourself — you’re in the right place.

I’m Emma O’Brien — Martha Beck trained and certified life coach, HeartMath practitioner, and shamanic healer helping high-achieving women stop second-guessing themselves and finally trust their own voice.

Through nervous system re-calibration, strategic coaching, and deep energetic work, I help you move from self-doubt to self-trust so you can create a life you actually want to be in — no external approval required.

🌀 Want to work together?

Explore the 6-week Nervous System Reset, 1:1 coaching, or Shamanic Soul Retrieval sessions here: emmaobriencoach.com

Questions or ready to chat?

DM me on Instagram @emmaobriencoach
or book a free connection call HERE.