Truth Over Performance: When Oprah Starts Calling, You Know You’re Doing Something Right

The Twin Flame Relationship You're Really Messing Up: The One Between Your Brain and Your Body

We spend years optimizing everything on the outside while ghosting the one relationship running underneath all of it. This episode kicks off July on The Raw Onion: the relationship between your brain and your body, the one most of us were never taught to notice, let alone tend to. We get into: * The vagus nerve and why most of its signals travel from body to brain, not the other way around * The three nervous system states behind Dr. Stephen Porges' polyvagal theory * How stress patterns get passed down through generations without a single shared experience * Why the high achiever who undercharges or overdelivers might be running on inherited wiring rather than a confidence problem In this episode, you will learn: * Why your body registers the truth of a room, a person, or a meeting before your conscious mind catches up * The three nervous system states (green, yellow, red) and how to notice which one you're running on most days * How epigenetics allows a stress response to travel from one generation to the next * Why familiar does not always mean safe, and how that shapes who and what we keep choosing * What it actually takes to start listening to a body you've been overriding for years 🎙️ HOSTS: Stephanie Ohannesian, founder of Triage Coaching and Consulting, and Yoshie Barnett, Crossroads Coach at Lotus Flower Journeys ⏱️ CHAPTERS: 0:00 Welcome to July's series: The Relationship You Can’t Ghost 5:12 The brain and body as a two-way conversation 6:39 The vagus nerve and the 80/20 signal split 9:16 Polyvagal theory and the three nervous system states 11:10 Why so many of us live permanently in yellow 15:56 Epigenetics and inherited stress 20:09 The professional whose body panics before logic can step in 21:27 The entrepreneur who can't stop undercharging 23:49 A simple way to start listening again 25:27 What's ahead this July 🔗 CONNECT WITH THE RAW ONION: Website: The Raw Onion [https://www.therawonionpodcast.com/] Email: hello@therawonionpodcast.com [hello@therawonionpodcast.com] Subscribe to our YouTube channel [https://www.youtube.com/@TheRawOnionPodcast] Follow us on Substack [https://therawonion.substack.com/] Follow us on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/therawonionpodcast] 🔗 CONNECT WITH STEPHANIE: Website: Triage Balanced Life [https://triagebalancedlife.com/] Let's Talk: Free 30-min call [https://scheduler.zoom.us/stephanie-ohannesian/30-mins-discovery-zoom] 🔗 CONNECT WITH YOSHIE: Website: Lotus Flower Journeys [https://www.lotusflowerjourneys.com/] Let's Connect: Free clarity call [https://www.lotusflowerjourneys.com/contact/] #BrainBodyConnection #NervousSystemRegulation #InheritedStress

Permission to be Seen: How Turning Your Business into Your Stage, Is the Ultimate Coming of Age

We talk about voice like it's a soft skill. It isn't. It's wired into the nervous system, and for a lot of women, being seen has never felt safe. Marta Spirk is a strategic speaking advisor, TEDx speaker, bestselling author, and professional singer who helps women entrepreneurs use speaking, storytelling, and visibility as tools for authority and business growth. She came on The Raw Onion to talk about what actually happens in the body when a woman tries to take up more space, and why "confidence" was never the real problem. We get into: * The neuroscience behind why women hesitate before self-promotion * The difference between confidence and self-trust * Why the voice is the only instrument controlled by both the voluntary and autonomic nervous systems * The signature talk versus the elevator pitch * Why repetition, not talent, is what actually builds the kind of presence people trust In this episode, you will learn: * Why women show higher amygdala activation around visibility, and why that's conditioning, not biology * The difference between chasing confidence and building self-trust * How the body gives away a dysregulated nervous system before a word is spoken * How cultural upbringing shapes a woman's relationship with being seen * Why repetition, not waiting to feel ready, is the actual bridge to feeling safe 🎙️ GUEST: Marta Spirk, Strategic Speaking Advisor, TEDx Speaker, Bestselling Author of The Empowered Woman: The Ultimate Roadmap to Business Success [https://a.co/d/04Ni1i5H], Professional Singer, Host of The Empowered Woman podcast ⏱️ CHAPTERS: 0:00 Meet Marta Spirk 3:44 Growing up loud 5:38 Becoming trilingual 8:21 Women and visibility 12:18 The amygdala and self-promotion 15:02 Confidence versus self-trust 16:52 The signature talk 20:19 The inner critic 23:30 Vulnerability in groups 30:43 Knowing your own content 37:23 The body and language 39:47 Discomfort and the real pain point 44:33 Cultural conditioning and saying no 52:35 Repetition and safety 59:10 Where to find Marta 🔗 CONNECT WITH MARTA SPIRK: Website: MartaSpirk.com [https://www.martaspirk.com/] Book: The Empowered Woman: The Ultimate Roadmap to Business Success [https://a.co/d/04ujc3lI] Podcast: The Empowered Woman [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-empowered-woman-storytelling-women-empowerment/id1404493563] LinkedIn: Marta Spirk [https://www.linkedin.com/in/marta-spirk/] Facebook: Marta Spirk [https://www.facebook.com/spirkmarta/] Instagram: MartaSpirk [https://www.instagram.com/MartaSpirk/] 🔗 CONNECT WITH THE RAW ONION: therawonionpodcast.com [https://www.therawonionpodcast.com/] 🔗 CONNECT WITH STEPHANIE: triagebalancedlife.com [http://triagebalancedlife.com] 🔗 CONNECT WITH YOSHIE: lotusflowerjourneys.com [https://www.lotusflowerjourneys.com/] #PermissionToBeSeen #MulticulturalVoices #SelfTrustOverConfidence

Truth Over Performance: When Oprah Starts Calling, You Know You’re Doing Something Right

You've worked twice as hard to get half the credit. You sat in rooms where no one looked like you, no one led like you, and no one understood what it cost you to show up. And you did it anyway. Adyna K. Pressley is a global women's leadership architect, award-winning author, keynote speaker, founder of Queens Royale, and host of the Pressley on Purpose podcast. With more than 30 years of corporate leadership experience, she built her life's work on one truth: leading from truth, not performance. We get into: * What it felt like to be the only Black woman in executive leadership * Why performing eventually became physically unsustainable * The moment she chose to speak up knowing it might cost her everything * The science underneath why generational elevation happens in the body first * What it sounds like when Oprah gives you eight minutes she only promised you two In this episode, you will learn: * Why the brain learns that performing is safe and authenticity is risky * How exhaustion signals that two versions of you are running in opposite directions * Why speaking from truth does not mean starting over 🎙️ GUEST: Adyna K. Pressley, Global Women's Leadership Architect | Founder, AKP Inventions and Queen's Royale | Author, Rise Into You: Reclaiming Power, Love, Life and Legacy | Host, Presley on Purpose Podcast ⏱️ CHAPTERS: 0:00 Meet Adyna K. Pressley 5:08 Who were you before the title? 7:40 The only Black woman in the room 9:03 When he performed as a teammate 13:40 The system is the problem, not the woman 17:43 Hospitalized. Burned out. Done. 21:07 How she stayed grounded in the chaos 27:32 Never changed who she was, not once 33:17 "If he gets this job, I quit." 40:00 Generational elevation starts in the body 43:39 The science behind what she was already doing 48:22 Queens Royale: identity you can wear 59:43 A solo train ride and a book was born 1:01:52 How she ended up on Oprah 1:06:43 Adyna's closing message 🔗 CONNECT WITH ADYNA K. PRESSLEY: Book: Rise Into You [https://www.amazon.com/Rise-Into-You-Reclaiming-Legacy/dp/B0FMFTJZBQ] Website: adynakpressley.com [https://www.adynakpressley.com/] Queens Royale: queens-royale.com [https://www.queens-royale.com/] LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube: Adyna K Pressley Podcast: Pressley on Purpose [https://podcasts.apple.com/sn/podcast/pressley-on-purpose/id1892472547] 🔗 CONNECT WITH THE RAW ONION: Substack: therawonion.substack.com [http://therawonion.substack.com] IG: @therawonionpodcast Contact: hello@therawonionpodcast.com [hello@therawonionpodcast.com] Work with Stephanie: Free fit call [https://tidycal.com/sohannesian] Work with Yoshie: Free clarity call [https://www.lotusflowerjourneys.com/contact/] #AuthenticLeadership #TruthOverPerformance #WomenAcrossCultures

Alchemizing the American Dream: The New Metric of Success

Reece Soltani was at the top of the table at a billion-dollar organization doing serious work for refugees on a global scale. And she still felt like she couldn't make a dent in it. "So why am I here?" That question changed everything. She did everything right. Master's degree. Fortune 500 consulting. Billion-dollar nonprofit. But she felt very unhappy and purposeless in a way she couldn't fully explain. So she left. "I want to build something with my hands and feel it and literally be able to see what I just made." And that became Chachi's. This one goes into the places most career conversations never touch. The hollowness behind the highlight reel. The cost of impact you can never see. And the quiet courage it takes to start over. In this episode, you will learn: * Why achieving everything you were supposed to want can still leave you feeling empty * How unfinished stress cycles quietly fuel burnout from the inside * What it really costs to stay in a life that fits on paper but not in your body * Why walking away from security can be an act of honor, not betrayal * How connection and community become the unexpected bottom line in business * Why a little productive delusion might be exactly what your next chapter needs 🎙️ GUEST: Reece Soltani is the founder of Chachi's, a Los Angeles sandwich shop building toward franchise expansion and retail. Prior to Chachi's, she spent nearly a decade as a consultant and strategic advisor to Fortune 500 companies and executive teams before burning out and making a hard pivot into entrepreneurship. ⏱️ CHAPTERS: 0:00 Introduction 2:10 Meet Reece Soltani 3:37 What Success Was Supposed to Look Like 8:40 Living Inside the Picture-Perfect Life 9:50 The Feeling of Never Making a Dent 16:29 Stress Cycles and the Dopamine Connection 18:27 Wanting Something Tangible 21:15 Making the Leap 26:55 The People Who Made Chachi's Possible 28:21 The Line Out the Door on Day One 30:53 Universal Act of Care 36:28 Building a People-First Business 38:00 Heart, Soul, and the Loneliness Epidemic 39:27 Two Sides of the Same American Dream Coin 43:04 Building With a Village 46:09 Productive Delusion 50:30 Step One and Cutting Through the Noise 54:00 A Word For the Family Who Worries 56:14 Where to Find Reece Soltani and Chachi's 🔗 Connect with Reece Website: www.eatchachis.com [http://www.eatchachis.com] Instagram: @eatchachis [https://www.instagram.com/eatchachis/] 🔗 CONNECT WITH STEPHANIE: Website: Triage Coaching and Consulting [https://triagebalancedlife.com/] Free fit call: tidycal.com/sohannesian [https://tidycal.com/sohannesian] 🔗 CONNECT WITH YOSHIE: Website: Lotus Flower Journeys [https://www.lotusflowerjourneys.com/] Free clarity call [https://www.lotusflowerjourneys.com/contact/] 🔗 The Raw Onion: Website: The Raw Onion [http://therawonionpodcast.com/] Email: hello@therawonionpodcast.com [hello@therawonionpodcast.com] #WomenInBusiness #PeopleFirstBusiness #MultiCulturalWomen

Forced Off The Wheel… When Life Takes A Turn, Is When It’s Time To Bet On Yourself

The pressure to keep performing can make you forget who you are. In this episode, Renee Coover joins The Raw Onion to talk about what happens when career success, motherhood, and self-worth collide, and what it looks like to choose yourself before your body forces the issue. Renee shares her journey from high-stakes legal work to a more aligned life, including the moment she realized that burnout was not just emotional, it was physical. We talk about career transitions, the illusion of safety, self-advocacy, and the courage it takes to rebuild after everything you thought defined you starts to fall away. This conversation is for anyone who has ever questioned whether the path they are on still fits. If you have been pushing through exhaustion, doubting your next step, or wondering how to trust your inner voice again, Renee’s story offers both honesty and hope. We get into: * Career transitions and self-identity. * Overcoming fear and self-doubt. * The importance of self-advocacy and boundaries. * Building confidence and resilience. * The role of support systems and community. In this episode, you will learn: * Why burnout can show up in the body before it shows up in your decisions. * How to tell when success no longer feels sustainable. * Why a “power pause” can become a turning point. * How yoga and meditation helped Renee reconnect with herself. * What it means to bet on yourself and build something new. 🎙️ GUEST: Renee Coover is the founder of Engage Law, a fractional outside general counsel who helps growing businesses navigate employment, regulatory, and operational matters with clarity and practical guidance. ⏱️ CHAPTERS: 00:00 Introduction 05:13 Renee's Story: From Big Law to Yoga Instructor 11:07 Listening to the Body and Making Decisions 19:52 Recognizing Opportunities in Life's Moments 25:06 Embracing Change and Taking Risks 37:20 Overcoming Fear of Risk and Embracing Change 47:22 Armoring Up for Yourself 55:28 Advocating for Yourself in the Workplace 01:05:52 Finding Your True Identity 🔗 CONNECT WITH RENEE: LinkedIn: Renee Coover [https://www.linkedin.com/in/renee-coover/] YouTube: Engage Law [https://www.youtube.com/@EngageLaw] TED Talk: Taking Back Your Pregnancy Rights [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jrrvggy2ozc] Website: EngageLaw [https://www.engagelawchicago.com/] 🔗 CONNECT WITH STEPHANIE: Website: Triage Coaching and Consulting [https://triagebalancedlife.com/] Free fit call: https://tidycal.com/sohannesian [https://tidycal.com/sohannesian] 🔗 CONNECT WITH YOSHIE: Website: Lotus Flower Journeys [https://www.lotusflowerjourneys.com/] Free clarity call [https://www.lotusflowerjourneys.com/contact/] 🔗 The Raw Onion: Website: The Raw Onion [http://therawonionpodcast.com/] Email: hello@therawonionpodcast.com [hello@therawonionpodcast.com] #WomenInBusiness #PowerPause #CareerGrowth