For the Season 3 finale of What’s The Tea with Sarah E, we’re going somewhere we haven’t gone before.

My guest is Laura Agresta — Registered Nurse, psychotherapist, Reiki Master and founder of Healing With Love — and, fun fact, the woman responsible for my very first Reiki experience! And yes... I had questions. 😂

Laura spent more than a decade working across healthcare — including prenatal and postpartum care, NICU, mental health and palliative care — before reaching a point where the limitations of the system no longer aligned with how she believed people needed to be supported. Eventually, she bet on herself and began building a practice that brings together psychotherapy, Reiki, somatic work, Brainspotting and more.

In this conversation, we get curious about the space between understanding what happened to us and actually healing from it.

We spill the tea on:

• What the hell Reiki actually is — including Laura’s brilliant “it’s like Wi-Fi” explanation
• How trauma and stress can show up in the body even when our brains think we’ve “dealt with it”
• Somatic healing, Brainspotting and why talking isn’t always enough
• Laura’s journey from nurse to entrepreneur — and why she walked away from a secure career
• The stigma around energy work and navigating the “woo-woo” factor
• What it really means to hold space for someone instead of trying to “fix” them
• And, of course, we unpack my first Reiki session with Laura — including the anger, physical sensations and eventual deep calm and clarity I experienced.

Laura also offers an important reminder: Reiki isn’t a magic wand or one-size-fits-all answer. Different modalities work for different people, and the training, ethics and fit of the practitioner matter. Whether you’re fully into energy work, Reiki-curious, or sitting there thinking “Sarah, girl, this sounds woo-woo” - this episode is for you.

Come curious. I certainly did!

🎙️ Season 3, Episode 10 — Beyond the Woo-Woo: Laura Agresta on Reiki, Trauma & What the Body Remembers is streaming now on What’s The Tea with Sarah E.

Connect with Laura: Find Laura and learn more about psychotherapy, Reiki, somatic work, Brainspotting and her services through Healing With Love at healingwithlovetherapy.ca or find her on Instagram @healingwithlovetherapy. You can also connect with Laura by e-mail at healingwithlovebylaura@gmail.com

That’s today’s tea! If you loved this conversation, don’t forget to rate, review, and share the show with a friend.

Join the Tea Party! New episodes drop every second Tuesday, so hit that subscribe button on your favorite podcast app. And for the latest episodes, behind-the-scenes clips, and even more bold conversations, follow me on Instagram at @sara_ernest.

A Reminder - The views and opinions expressed by guests on What’s the Tea with Sarah E are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of the host. This podcast is a platform for diverse voices, stories, and perspectives - sometimes unpolished, always unapologetic.

Until next time, keep stirring the pot.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On Season 3, Episode 9 of What’s The Tea with Sarah E, I’m sitting down with Sasha Page - entrepreneur, mom, community champion and the force behind Hollow Valley Spirits.

Sasha’s story is about a whole lot more than cocktails.

We talk about how a former fitness leader with zero beverage-industry experience found herself building a Canadian spirits brand from the ground up - learning as she went, hearing plenty of “no’s,” competing against major brands and discovering that her greatest business advantage might just be her ability to connect with people.

In this raw, funny and deeply vulnerable conversation, we spill the tea on:

• Building a business when you have no idea what you’re doing
• Betting on yourself and learning through the mistakes
• Why relationships have become Sasha’s entrepreneurial superpower
• Building a business with your partner - and surviving it 😂
• Competing with massive brands without massive marketing budgets
• Why Sasha says YES to community, charity and giving back
• Motherhood, boundaries and refusing to apologize for how she parents
• The parts of entrepreneurship nobody sees behind the finished product

Sasha opens up about her difficult journey to motherhood, including IVF, multiple pregnancy losses and a traumatic childbirth experience that nearly took her life. We talk about the realities of infertility women too often whisper about, what motherhood changed in her, and why she’s officially done apologizing for the choices that feel right for her and her son.

We’re spilling the tea on betting on yourself, building a business with your partner, rejection, relationships, community over competition, giving back, motherhood, boundaries and what happens when life teaches you to stop giving a damn about everyone else’s expectations.

Because sometimes the path you never planned becomes the one that changes everything. Grab a Hollow Valley cocktail and hit play. This one gets real. 🍹🔥

Connect with Sasha: Follow Hollow Valley Spirits on Instagram @hollow_valley_spirits and Facebook to follow the journey, discover where to find the cocktails and connect directly with Sasha. Learn more at hollowvalleyspirits.com

That’s today’s tea! If you loved this conversation, don’t forget to rate, review, and share the show with a friend.

Join the Tea Party! New episodes drop every second Tuesday, so hit that subscribe button on your favorite podcast app. And for the latest episodes, behind-the-scenes clips, and even more bold conversations, follow me on Instagram at @sara_ernest.

A Reminder - The views and opinions expressed by guests on What’s the Tea with Sarah E are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of the host. This podcast is a platform for diverse voices, stories, and perspectives - sometimes unpolished, always unapologetic.

Until next time, keep stirring the pot.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On Season 3, Episode 8 of What’s The Tea with Sarah E, I sit down with my friend Cindy Chang - two-time founder, CEO of Evolve Consulting Co. and Dabbl’, host of Fearless Entrepreneurs, wife, mom, and a woman determined to rethink the future of work.

Cindy immigrated to Canada from Taiwan at five years old, growing up in an entrepreneurial family and learning early what hard work, resilience, and ambition looked like. She was also the talkative, outgoing little girl who didn’t fit the mould others expected of her - and that experience helped shape the unapologetic woman she is today.

After more than 20 years in talent and recruitment, Cindy built a successful corporate career—but becoming a mother changed everything. She found herself apologizing for having a child while trying to remain the ambitious businesswoman she had always been. When she was laid off in 2023, she finally made the mental shift from side-hustling entrepreneur to fully betting on herself.

In this raw, funny, and unapologetic conversation, we spill the tea on:

• Growing up as an immigrant and how Cindy’s parents shaped her ambition
• Being labelled “too much” and learning not to shrink herself
• The reality of entrepreneurship—fear, failed deals, cash flow, and difficult clients
• Why Cindy refuses to work with people who give her “the ick”
• Motherhood, ambition, and why women should stop apologizing for wanting both
• Whether women really can “have it all”—and why Cindy believes we can, if we define what all means
• Her fear of failure, fierce work ethic, and the intensity she sees as both a strength and a challenge

Then we get into the future of work.

Cindy gives us a front-row view of today’s employment market: layoffs, post-COVID over-hiring, an oversupply of talent, and a workplace culture that still too often forces people into outdated models.

She calls out the power imbalance between employers and employees, even describing modern hiring as an “abusive relationship” when fear, baggage, and control drive the process instead of alignment and humanity.

That frustration is exactly why she built Dabbl’—to connect experienced professionals, especially moms who have left corporate careers, with companies looking for flexible talent and meaningful support.

Because flexible work isn’t just a women’s issue.

It’s a human issue.

And maybe the answer isn’t eliminating the 9-to-5. Maybe it’s finally giving people other fucking options. Season 3, Episode 8 — Fuck the Box is streaming now on What’s The Tea with Sarah E.

Learn more at evolveconsultingco.com and dabble.ca, or connect with Cindy on Instagram and LinkedIn at @evolve_consulting_co. She says her DMs are always open!

That’s today’s tea! If you loved this conversation, don’t forget to rate, review, and share the show with a friend.

Join the Tea Party! New episodes drop every second Tuesday, so hit that subscribe button on your favorite podcast app. And for the latest episodes, behind-the-scenes clips, and even more bold conversations, follow me on Instagram at @sara_ernest.

A Reminder - The views and opinions expressed by guests on What’s the Tea with Sarah E are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of the host. This podcast is a platform for diverse voices, stories, and perspectives - sometimes unpolished, always unapologetic.

Until next time, keep stirring the pot.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.