If you've been doing all the inner work- the journaling, the therapy, the mindset shifts- and still feel like you're spinning in the same old patterns, this episode is for you.

It's all about how sometimes the missing piece is changing your environment. So much can happen and shift when you switch up where you are and who you surround yourself with.

I'm joined by my incredibly wise friend Jelena, who has been on the podcast so many times we've lost count, and honestly, our conversations never get old. We recently reunited in Thailand and I knew after our time together it was time to record another episode.

The topic we're diving into today is one that I think is genuinely underrated in the personal development world: your environment.

We talk a lot about doing the internal work, but what happens when that work isn't landing because everything around you is still keeping you stuck?

Jelena spent 15 years in corporate banking in London before her life completely turned upside down at the end of her twenties. Her thirties have been a radical journey of self-discovery, moving countries, changing her entire social world, and stepping into her calling as a somatic coach and breathwork facilitator. We met on a trip to Costa Rica when both of us were in moments of real transition — and that trip itself is actually a perfect example of what this episode is all about.

In this episode we cover:

• Why doing the inner work alone isn't always enough — and what the missing piece so often is
• Jelena's fish-in-dirty-water analogy that will genuinely change how you think about personal growth
• The nervous system piece: why your body keeps dragging you back to old patterns even when your mind knows better
• How both of us have used new environments as a catalyst for massive life change
• Why retreats are such a powerful incubator — and what makes a transformational coaching retreat different from a regular wellness trip
• The magic of being in a room with women who are walking the same path as you
• Jelena's experience co-hosting the Align Retreat with me in 2023 — and why the friendships formed there are still going strong
• Following your breadcrumbs and trusting the nudges that lead you somewhere new
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✨ Ready to change your environment? The Turning Retreat is your invitation.

Everything we talked about in this episode: the power of new environments, the incubator effect of retreats, the transformation that happens when you're surrounded by women doing this work , that is exactly what I've designed the Turning Retreat to be.

October 4–10, 2026 | Koh Samui, Thailand

A week inside one of the most stunning wellness resorts on the island, nestled in the jungle and minutes from where I actually live. We're going to go deep - somatic work, a transformational coaching program written by me, a cacao ceremony, a floating sound bath, and breathwork and energy healing with our incredible guest facilitator Kady Gummerson

We have a beautiful group of women already booked in, and there are still spots left.

If something in this episode is pulling you toward it, that's not an accident. It's divine timing!

For more information: see the retreat details ⁠https://www.turning30coach.com/turningretreat2026⁠

Book a retreat consult call with me: https://calendar.app.google/TZ2xSbfuqoaBDr6k7

Connect with Jelena:

Find her previous episodes linked below: including the very first one we recorded together that broke my download records.

And if you're a facilitator, spaceholder, yoga teacher, or therapist, go check out her Step Up programme and her breathwork teacher training (next in-person cohort in Ibiza, September).

https://www.andalso.space/breathworkteachertraining

Introducing my brand new free workshop, Quit Dating: How to Find Love in Your 30s by Quitting Dating. 🎥 Watch it here for free before July 2nd.

If dating apps have started to feel sticky, draining, or like they're just not working no matter how much effort you put in, this episode (and the workshop) will explain why "trying harder" is rarely the answer, and what to do instead.

In this episode:

• Why I believe dating isn't actually a numbers game — and why cookie-cutter 2026 dating advice misses the point
• The Kabbalah concept behind why effort alone doesn't bring love closer
• The real story of quitting the apps the week before my 35th birthday — and meeting my husband three months later

• An invitation to stop forcing what's depleting you and start refilling your own cup instead

☀️ Join the Summer of You challenge inside Turning — starting July 6th. Eight weeks of daily journal prompts, weekly pep talks from me, and a 24/7 community of women doing the work alongside you. You'll declare your skill to master, your experience to have, your connection to focus on, your boundary to set, and your daily habit to stick to. Doors close again July 6th.

THE TURNING RETREAT 2026: KOH SAMUI, THAILAND

If this episode resonates with you, I want you to know about something very special...

This October, I'm hosting a 7-day immersive coaching and wellness retreat for women in their 30s at Absolute Sanctuary in Koh Samui, Thailand. October 4-10.

Daily coaching, breathwork, yoga, a floating sound bath ceremony, Thai cooking, and a closing beach ceremony at sunset. All meals, accommodation, and airport transfers included.

This is the kind of portal-opening, soul-level work we talk about in this episode, but in person, surrounded by 16 incredible women.

5 spots are already filled. Early bird pricing ends soon - these are the final days to book at the special rate.

Only 11 spots remaining.

Book your spot now: https://www.turning30coach.com/turningretreat2026

ABOUT THE EPISODE:

I recorded this episode while on a solo trip in Vietnam. I was cycling through the rice paddy fields in Hoi An when it hit me: how did this moment become available to me? How did I create a life where this was even possible?

And that's what I want to talk about today. The portal of possibility, and how to open it so you can stop living the life you were taught to want and start living the life you actually desire.

What we cover:

• Why most of us are manifesting from the wrong place. We're manifesting from inside a small box of social conditioning, timelines, and expectations that were never ours to begin with.

• The portal of possibility. What it is, how I first opened it in my own life, and how you can too.

• The difference between what you want and what you've been taught to want. This is deeper than it sounds, and it's often the reason manifestation doesn't work.

• Why it doesn't need to make logical sense. Your soul didn't come here to live out the path laid out by those who came before you.

• The vessel concept from Kabbalah. When your vessel is shaped by fear and conditioning, you attract experiences that match that, not what you actually want.

• How to know what you really want. It starts with asking: when do you feel most like yourself? What lights you up? When was the last time things felt in flow?

• Following the breadcrumbs. Your future self is constantly pulling you in the direction you're meant to go. The nudges aren't random. Listen to them.

This episode is for you if...

You're in the messy middle and not sure what you want next

The path laid out for you feels boring, uninspiring, or just... not right

There are things you want but you're afraid you can't have them

You've been feeling stuck, funky, or like things aren't flowing

You're ready to make a bold decision but need a nudge

CONNECT WITH EMMA

Instagram: @turning30coach

Join the Turning Community waitlist

Book the Turning Retreat: https://www.turning30coach.com/turningretreat2026