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What if your breath could heal your deepest wounds and reconnect you with your truest self? In this transformative conversation, host Melissa welcomes Anthony Abagnano, founder of Alchemy of Breath and author of the newly released book "Outer Chaos, Inner Calm," for a profound exploration of how breathwork can reshape our relationship with trauma, presence, and authentic living.

Anthony shares his journey from being an eight-year-old outsider in an English boarding school to discovering the transformative power of breath through an unexpected childhood experience. This early awakening revealed a "still point" of peace amid his isolation—a foundation that would later inform his life's work helping others find their way home to themselves.

The conversation delves deep into our collective misunderstanding of trauma. Rather than merely developing coping mechanisms, Anthony advocates for true resolution through conscious connected breathing—a technique that creates communication between our conscious mind, subconscious patterns, and what many call a higher power. "Most breath workers do make up all kinds of different breath patterns," Anthony explains, "but remembering to breathe is half the job." This simple yet profound insight underscores how reconnection with our breath can transform our entire experience of life.

Perhaps most compelling is Anthony's gentle challenge to those who believe they haven't experienced trauma. With compassion and wisdom, he suggests that claiming to be trauma-free often indicates dissociation rather than absence. From birth experiences to witnessing others' suffering, trauma shapes us in ways we rarely recognize. By becoming "detectives of our own experience" and exploring our lives in seven-year increments, we can uncover how past events influence our present behaviors.

The episode concludes with a beautiful conversation on belonging. Anthony points out that "belonging" contains "be longing"—suggesting that our state of longing, though uncomfortable, is worthy of exploration. When we can witness our longing rather than frantically trying to satisfy it, we gain agency and avoid attaching ourselves to destructive habits out of desperation to fit in.

Ready to transform your relationship with breath and discover what lies beyond the chaos? Join us for this life-changing conversation, and consider attending one of Anthony's free Sunday breathwork sessions through Alchemy of Breath's "Breathe the World" initiative. Your journey back to yourself may begin with just one conscious breath.

More about Anthony and his work:

https://alchemyofbreath.com

Outer Chaos, Inner Calm

Free Sunday Breathwork Sessions

Join the Fully Mindful Community: ✨ Subscribe & Review: If you enjoyed this episode, please leave us a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify—it helps others find the show!
✨ Stay Connected: Follow @the_fully_mindful on Instagram for mindfulness tips, breathwork insights, and more!
✨ Free Breathwork Sessions: Email me at info@thefully.mindful.com to get signed up for your first session for free of my monthly Unwind Your Mind session.

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In this episode of The Fully Mindful, I’m joined by Andrea Epting, a trauma and addiction recovery expert, to dive deep into the intersection of neurodivergence, addiction, and how these challenges uniquely manifest in women. Andrea, who works with individuals navigating trauma and neurodivergence, sheds light on how ADHD is often misdiagnosed in women, with many only receiving a diagnosis later in life due to hormonal shifts.

We explore how ADHD shows up differently for women—particularly in how mental hyperactivity manifests and how it is often mistaken for anxiety or depression. Andrea also discusses the power of self-awareness and community in the healing process, emphasizing the importance of recognizing your neurodivergent brain as a strength, especially when navigating addiction and recovery.

We talk about the impact of EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing), somatic practices, and how we can use these tools to heal from trauma and integrate self-compassion. Additionally, Andrea shares her work at her nonprofit Heads Up Guidance Services (HUGS) in Savannah, Georgia, which provides accessible behavioral health counseling through volunteer professionals, and the release of her Plan to Recover Mini Journal—a resource designed to help individuals automate healthy habits and track their recovery journey.

Whether you are dealing with addiction, neurodivergence, or trauma—or all three—this episode provides hope, tools, and encouragement to continue your healing journey.

Links Mentioned:

• Plan to Recover Mini Journal on Amazon: Plan to Recover Journal
• Direct Impact Podcast: Direct Impact Podcast
• Heads Up Guidance Services (HUGS): Heads Up Savannah
• Resolve Strategies Inc.: Resolve Strategies Inc.

Join the Fully Mindful Community: ✨ Subscribe & Review: If you enjoyed this episode, please leave us a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify—it helps others find the show!
✨ Stay Connected: Follow @the_fully_mindful on Instagram for mindfulness tips, breathwork insights, and more!
✨ Free Breathwork Sessions: Email me at info@thefully.mindful.com to get signed up for your first session for free of my monthly Unwind Your Mind session.

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This week on The Fully Mindful, Melissa sits down with the incomparable Brenda Sarai Zuniga—a mindfulness coach, comedian, motivational speaker, and the vibrant force behind Getting Mental, the podcast and one-woman show that proves healing doesn’t have to be heavy.

From immigrating to the U.S. as a baby and growing up in 15 different homes, to getting diagnosed with ADHD at 25 and turning it into her superpower, Brenda shares how her journey shaped her work—and how she now helps others feel seen, understood, and empowered.

We go deep into:

• ✨ How mindfulness and self-compassion saved her life
• 🎤 Her one-woman comedy musical about mental health (yes, it’s brilliant)
• 🧠 Why ADHD is her secret weapon—and how she teaches others to harness it
• 😂 How humor breaks down stigma and makes mental health accessible
• 💡 Her upcoming course to help people reconnect with their inner child
• 💛 What it means to truly belong, even when you’ve felt like an outsider

We also laugh a lot, geek out over White Lotus, and talk about the power of performing, purpose, and creative breakthroughs.

Don’t miss this one—it’s honest, uplifting, and packed with insight, especially if you’ve ever felt “different,” struggled with self-worth, or wondered how to turn your pain into purpose.

📲 Connect with Brenda:

• Instagram: @officialbrendaz
• Website: www.brendasaraizuniga.com

Join the Fully Mindful Community: ✨ Subscribe & Review: If you enjoyed this episode, please leave us a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify—it helps others find the show!
✨ Stay Connected: Follow @the_fully_mindful on Instagram for mindfulness tips, breathwork insights, and more!
✨ Free Breathwork Sessions: Email me at info@thefully.mindful.com to get signed up for your first session for free of my monthly Unwind Your Mind session.

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What do Arctic Alaska, tribal law, trauma-informed yoga, and sober running have in common? Dawn Winalski. In this episode of The Fully Mindful, Dawn—attorney, consultant, yoga teacher, and long-distance runner in recovery—shares her inspiring path from growing up in the shadow of a contentious custody battle to becoming a fierce advocate for Indigenous communities and a champion for mental health in the legal profession.

We dive into how running in the Arctic helped her manage stress, how sobriety became a turning point, and how she found purpose through community, movement, and service. From courtroom to recovery, from isolation to connection, Dawn's story reminds us that healing can happen when we listen to the body, follow the breadcrumbs, and keep showing up, mile after mile.

Find out more about Dawn:

Website: https://www.winalskiconsulting.com

Instagram: Winalski Consulting

Find out more about Go the Distance:

Website: https://www.gtdgothedistance.org

Instagram: GTDGotheDistance

Find out more about She Recovers:

Website: https://sherecovers.org

Instagram: SheRecoversFoundation

Join the Fully Mindful Community: ✨ Subscribe & Review: If you enjoyed this episode, please leave us a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify—it helps others find the show!
✨ Stay Connected: Follow @the_fully_mindful on Instagram for mindfulness tips, breathwork insights, and more!
✨ Free Breathwork Sessions: Email me at info@thefully.mindful.com to get signed up for your first session for free of my monthly Unwind Your Mind session.

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What happens when a student with undiagnosed dyslexia and deafness grows up to become the kind of teacher who makes every child feel seen, supported, and celebrated?

In this heartfelt and eye-opening episode of The Fully Mindful, host Melissa Chureau sits down with second-grade teacher and literacy advocate Jill Rebholz to talk about what it means to truly support kids with learning differences—not just on paper, but in real life.

Jill shares her personal story of navigating school in the 1970s without a diagnosis, the powerful role of mentors and family in shaping her path, and how her own neurodivergence informs the way she shows up for students today. With honesty, humor, and deep wisdom, she talks about:

• Living with dyslexia and unilateral deafness in a world that didn’t yet have the language for either
• The impact of early advocacy—and missed diagnoses
• How she brings compassion, humor, and honesty into the classroom
• Creating safe, empowering spaces like her “Lunch Bunch” for dyslexic students
• Why labels can be both limiting and liberating
• How to advocate for your child with learning differences
• What she hopes to see shift in education—and what’s already giving her hope

Whether you’re a parent, educator, or someone who's ever felt like you learn differently, this episode offers validation, insight, and a deep reminder that intelligence and worth aren’t measured by grades or test scores.

Because when kids are believed in, everything changes.

Join the Fully Mindful Community: ✨ Subscribe & Review: If you enjoyed this episode, please leave us a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify—it helps others find the show!
✨ Stay Connected: Follow @the_fully_mindful on Instagram for mindfulness tips, breathwork insights, and more!
✨ Free Breathwork Sessions: Email me at info@thefully.mindful.com to get signed up for your first session for free of my monthly Unwind Your Mind session.

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Why are so many girls with ADHD still being overlooked?

In this episode of The Fully Mindful, I sit down with licensed psychologist Dr. Hila Pazner to explore the hidden side of ADHD—particularly in girls and young women. Drawing on her years of experience as a school psychologist and her current private practice where she specializes in assessing and working with children and adolescents with learning disabilities (such as Dyslexia, Dysgraphia, Dyscalculia), Intellectual Disabilities, giftedness, ADHD, autism, and behavioral and social-emotional difficulties, Dr. Pazner shares how outdated systems, subtle masking behaviors, and gender bias contribute to underdiagnosis and missed opportunities for support.

Together, we dive into:

• How ADHD presents differently in girls vs. boys—and why that matters
• The long-term consequences of undiagnosed ADHD in girls
• Why a diagnosis isn’t just a label—it’s a launchpad for understanding, support, and growth
• How psychoeducational testing can uncover hidden learning differences, executive function challenges, and emotional struggles
• The hopeful evolution of school psychology toward strength-based, neurodiversity-affirming models
• Real talk on masking, stigma, and what parents can do when something “just feels off” with their child

Whether you're a parent, educator, or someone with lived experience, this episode is a must-listen. It’s an invitation to rethink how we see neurodivergence—not as a deficit, but as a different and powerful way of being in the world.

🔗 Learn more about Dr. Pazner’s work: mindmaptesting.com

Join the Fully Mindful Community: ✨ Subscribe & Review: If you enjoyed this episode, please leave us a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify—it helps others find the show!
✨ Stay Connected: Follow @the_fully_mindful on Instagram for mindfulness tips, breathwork insights, and more!
✨ Free Breathwork Sessions: Email me at info@thefully.mindful.com to get signed up for your first session for free of my monthly Unwind Your Mind session.

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Welcome to a special minisode of The Fully Mindful. In this reflective episode, I share some of my own story—navigating neurodivergence and learning differences, and my reliance on alcohol to treat my differences—and how these experiences shaped my journey through rebellion, recovery, and ultimately, a return to Self.

This episode marks the beginning of a new podcast series that explores neurodivergence, learning differences, and addiction--and the often misunderstood intersection of these experiences.

In this minisode, I'm sharing as someone who’s lived it—from a quiet, but hyper kid masking her inner world, to a rebellious young adult spiraling through chaos, to a professional woman still secretly grappling with regulation and worthiness even after sobriety and success.

In the upcoming series I'm introducing here, you’ll hear from:

• A teacher once told she'd never succeed, now fiercely advocating for neurodivergent kids—including her own
• A psychologist helping families understand and navigate learning and thinking differences
• A lawyer living in alignment with her true self after walking through addiction and into mindful sobriety
• A woman with decades of 12-step recovery, sustained by community and connection
• A therapist working at the intersection of neurodivergence and recovery—helping clients reclaim wholeness

And that’s just the beginning.

This series is for anyone navigating ADHD, dyslexia, addiction—or all three.
For parents, partners, and professionals who love them.
For those tired of just surviving.
For those ready to reclaim purpose, creativity, sensitivity, and truth.

🔗 Want more of my personal story? Here's a link to an earlier minisode on The Fully Mindful.
Or check out the full story on Kintsugi Heroes.
💌 Reach out anytime: info@thefullymindful.com. I read an answer every email.
📣 Be sure to follow, subscribe, and share with someone who needs to hear this.

Join the Fully Mindful Community: ✨ Subscribe & Review: If you enjoyed this episode, please leave us a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify—it helps others find the show!
✨ Stay Connected: Follow @the_fully_mindful on Instagram for mindfulness tips, breathwork insights, and more!
✨ Free Breathwork Sessions: Email me at info@thefully.mindful.com to get signed up for your first session for free of my monthly Unwind Your Mind session.

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What if your biggest pain could become your greatest purpose?

In this soulful episode of The Fully Mindful, host Melissa welcomes Kate Yuoska—a digital marketing pro by day and the heart-centered guide behind Mystical Rituals, where she leads yoga, breathwork, and retreats rooted in nature, rhythm, and radical self-compassion.

Kate opens up about her journey through addiction recovery, infertility, and burnout, and how these deeply human experiences guided her to create a life rich in meaning, movement, and mindfulness.

We dive into:

🔹 How Kate balances a full-time corporate career with teaching yoga & breathwork
🔹 Finding yoga during active addiction and how yoga is a recovery tool
🔹 The healing power of yoga and conscious breathwork
🔹 Transforming the pain of infertility into creative purpose: What it means to mother beyond motherhood
🔹 Using breathwork as a way to access altered states and process emotions naturally
🔹 Why nature, ritual, and rhythm guide Kate’s personal and professional path
🔹 Recognizing burnout signals and learning when to pause for self-care
🔹 Embracing nature's rhythms as a spiritual guide and higher power
🔹 Letting go of perfectionism to become a more authentic teacher
🔹 Creating retreats as sanctuaries from modern life's constant demands
🔹 The upcoming Sanctuary Retreat and who it's for

Whether you’re a multi-passionate creative, a person in recovery, or simply someone seeking more connection and calm, Kate’s story will inspire you to trust your intuition, follow what lights you up, and create your own mystical path.

🌀 Connect with Kate Youska:
Website: www.mystical-rituals.com
Instagram: @mystical.rituals

🌿 Join us this June at the SANCTUARY Retreat — a weekend of rest, reconnection, and renewal. Learn more: The Sanctuary Retreat

Join the Fully Mindful Community: ✨ Subscribe & Review: If you enjoyed this episode, please leave us a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify—it helps others find the show!
✨ Stay Connected: Follow @the_fully_mindful on Instagram for mindfulness tips, breathwork insights, and more!
✨ Free Breathwork Sessions: Email me at info@thefully.mindful.com to get signed up for your first session for free of my monthly Unwind Your Mind session.