Inner Alchemy with Ashley Logan

With Every Baby, a Mother Is Born with Sarah Cassidy

“Nobody told me my life would come back to me.” So many of us—if we’re being honest—moved through those early months of new motherhood wondering if who we used to be was just… gone. Buried under the feeding schedules and the sleep deprivation and the particular kind of loneliness that shows up even in a room full of people who love you. Sarah Cassidy is the author of Swaddled: Sage Stories to Wrap Mothers in Love, a book that collects the true stories of 12 women navigating the profound, and profoundly under-supported, transition into motherhood. When I met her, I felt instant connection and recognition—and at ease. Because she was actually telling the truth about what it means to become a mother…and she had the courage to write it down. What I love most about Sarah is that she’s a type-A, prepare-for-everything kind of woman who was still completely blindsided by new motherhood. She read the books. She organized everything. And then her son arrived and she felt like she’d disappeared. And no one warned her that it was going to happen! So she decided to be the voice who names that sacred, brutal and beautiful in-between space of unbecoming of who you were before motherhood, and becoming all that you are. This conversation is for every mother who has ever whispered, or screamed into a pillow, “I don’t feel like myself,” and every woman who is about to. In this episode we explore: * Why “with every baby, a new mother is born,” and why we prepare for everything except that * The liminal space between unbecoming and becoming, and why that disorientation is not a sign that something is wrong * How a single honest exchange from another mother can land differently than all the advice in the world * What Sarah actually experienced in those early feeding hours, and the formula bottle she hid in the wastebasket * The three core messages woven through Swaddled: you are not alone, you are already the perfect mother for your baby, and your life will come back to you * Why telling the truth about motherhood—the hard, raw, messy truth—is the very thing that rebuilds the village * How the commercialization of motherhood has hijacked the real initiation, and what it would look like to dismantle it There’s something in this conversation that I think will crack something open for you, whether you’re in the thick of new motherhood right now, decades past it, or somewhere in between. Your body remembers, your wisdom counts, and when you speak the truth of your experience, you might just become someone else’s lifeline. Connect with Sarah Cassidy: * Sarah’s Book: Swaddled [https://www.amazon.com/Swaddled-Sage-Stories-Wrap-Mothers/dp/B0FFTJ4H1Z] * Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/swaddled.by.sarah/ [https://www.instagram.com/swaddled.by.sarah/] * Website: https://www.swaddledbysarah.com/ [https://www.swaddledbysarah.com/] * Join the Swaddled Community: https://www.swaddledbysarah.com/community [https://www.swaddledbysarah.com/community] Connect with me, Ashley Logan: * Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ashleydlogan [https://www.instagram.com/ashleydlogan] * Website: https://ashleydlogan.com [https://ashleydlogan.com] * Substack: https://substack.com/@ashleydlogan [https://substack.com/@ashleydlogan] Get full access to Inner Alchemy at ashleydlogan.substack.com/subscribe [https://ashleydlogan.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]

Navigating Divorce & Finding Yourself on the Other Side with Allison Kahler

Divorce touches almost half of all marriages, and yet almost everyone who goes through it feels completely alone. That paradox is exactly what Allison Kahler set out to change. Allison is an Executive Coach and Founder of The D Tales Podcast - a podcast dedicated to sharing real divorce stories and expert insights for anyone contemplating a split, navigating the process, or rebuilding life on the other side. Before she ever hit record, she spent years in management consulting, then interviewed over 50 people anonymously about their own experiences with divorce. What kept surfacing across all of it: the hardest part isn’t the legal process. It’s everything that happens before and after. I got to know Allison over recent months and felt an immediate kinship. She was also gracious enough to have me on The D Tales Podcast (link in the show notes - go listen here [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-d-tales-podcast/id1202161216]!), and this conversation picks up where that one left off. We went deep on what it actually feels like to sit inside a marriage that isn’t working - the years of quiet questioning before a single word gets said out loud, the shame that makes people white-knuckle through it alone, and the well-meaning things friends say that land all wrong. Allison is also a self-proclaimed data nerd, so she shares what the research and data keep showing: that life on the other side is almost always better than people could imagine. . Whether this episode finds you in the middle of a hard season in your relationship, supporting someone you love through one, or simply trying to understand an experience that’s far more common than we talk about - this conversation is an honest one. In This Episode We Explore: * Why the contemplation phase - not the legal process - is the hardest part for most people navigating divorce * The three things well-meaning friends say that don’t help, and what actually does * What the data and the stories both keep showing about life on the other side of divorce * The difference between solitude and loneliness, and why you can feel more alone inside a marriage than living on your own * How nervous system regulation (or the lack of it) shapes the decisions we make in our most pivotal moments * What rebuilding actually looks like: new cities, new careers, new relationships with yourself Connect with Allison Kahler: * The D Tales Podcast: https://www.thedtalespodcast.com/ [https://www.thedtalespodcast.com/] * Instagram (The D Tales Podcast): https://www.instagram.com/thedtalespodcast [https://www.instagram.com/thedtalespodcast] * Instagram (Personal): https://www.instagram.com/allisonjkahler [https://www.instagram.com/allisonjkahler] * LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/allisonkahler/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/allisonkahler/] * Linktree: https://linktr.ee/thedtalespodcast [https://linktr.ee/thedtalespodcast] * Website: https://www.allisonkahler.com/ [https://www.allisonkahler.com/] Connect with me, Ashley Logan:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ashleydlogan [https://www.instagram.com/ashleydlogan] Website: https://ashleydlogan.com [https://ashleydlogan.com]Substack: https://substack.com/@ashleydlogan [https://substack.com/@ashleydlogan] Get full access to Inner Alchemy at ashleydlogan.substack.com/subscribe [https://ashleydlogan.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]

What a Retreat Can Do That a Vacation Never Will

There’s a version of me from 2022 that I think about a lot. Three kids at home. Thirty people on payroll. Two months out from my second miscarriage I hadn’t had a single hour to grieve because I was always moving from one thing to the next, always overscheduled, always the person holding everything together. And then I saw an announcement for a retreat in Tulum from a person I’d been following for years, and something inside of me just said yes before I could think my way out of it. I showed up puffy. That’s the only word for it. Burnt out in my body in a way that was visible on my face. That weekend I did breathwork for the first time and felt something crack open. I did a sound bath and learned how to actually meditate. I did something called gateless writing—I’d been a writer my whole life but I’d never written from that place before. I went into a Temazcal with a shaman and sweated my ass off and then swam naked in the ocean at sunset. And the grief I’d been carrying finally moved. I came home, recharged, connected to myself and was clear about what my life needed to look like. And some of the women from that retreat are still some of the closest people in my life. They’ve been guests on this show. We still cheer each other on. What made all of this possible was the retreat container. A shared experience under a shared set of values, where a skilled facilitator sets clear expectations. Since then, retreats and weekend workshops have become non-negotiable for me. I have a high appetite for learning and growth and connecting with people who are living differently than I am. And I’ve learned that we have a tendency to get insular—to forget how much is out there, how many people there are who can add color and texture to our lives if we say yes to being in the room with them. Which brings me to why I recorded this episode: I’m hosting two retreats this year and I am so excited about both of them. The first is The Restore Retreat, September 25–27 in Potosi, Wisconsin. It’s located in a stunning mansion on 175 acres overlooking the Mississippi River—old-growth forest, hiking trails, a pond, an indoor pool with a jacuzzi. Incredible food prepared for you. Breathwork and sound bath. Real free time. And a whole range of accommodations from private suites with balconies and jacuzzi tubs down to bunk rooms, so there’s a way in at different price points. It’s about three hours from Chicago. Think of it as a girls’ weekend where you don’t have to make a single decision—you just get to be there. Learn more about the Restore Retreat here. [https://www.ashleydlogan.com/restore-retreat-2026] The second is Ignite, January 28–February 1 in Sayulita, Mexico. This retreat is all-in—private bungalow with a balcony, airport transportation, a chef for every meal, horseback riding on the beach, salsa dancing, restorative yoga and breathwork, and real unstructured time that belongs to you. You fly into Puerto Vallarta and from that moment, you don’t have to think about a single detail. Learn more about the Ignite Retreat here. [https://www.ashleydlogan.com/sayulita-2027] In This Episode We Explore: * What a retreat container actually is, and why the structure makes it feel so safe to finally let your guard down * The difference between a vacation and a retreat, and why one restores you while the other just exhausts you somewhere new * My first retreat experience in Tulum—the grief I carried in, the clarity I came home with, and the women I’m still close with today * Why getting outside your insular bubble is one of the most underrated things you can do for your growth * What happens when you give yourself permission to set down your load for a few days—to your body, your nervous system, and yes, apparently, sometimes your fertility If not these retreats, I hope this episode inspires you to say yes to something for you this year. That solo trip, that class, that weekend that scares you just a little. You can trust yourself. The people in your life will survive without you for a few days. They might even be better for it. And so will you. Connect with me, Ashley Logan:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ashleydlogan [https://www.instagram.com/ashleydlogan]Website: https://ashleydlogan.com [https://ashleydlogan.com]Substack: https://substack.com/@ashleydlogan [https://substack.com/@ashleydlogan] Get full access to Inner Alchemy at ashleydlogan.substack.com/subscribe [https://ashleydlogan.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]

Spaciousness Is How We Change the World

There is so much happening in the world right now, and so much to be devastated about. How can you stay grounded when the world around you seems to be falling apart every time you open your phone? It starts with creating spaciousness. I can’t emphasize enough how hard it is for someone who is burned out, depleted, over-scheduled to show up for the people right there in their community who are in need. It’s very hard to make a meal for someone who’s just had a baby when you have kids in sports until 9 p.m. It’s hard to make that phone call when you are absolutely tapped out. It’s hard to even have that level of awareness of when someone needs an extra moment of your time when you have to run from one thing to the next. I’m so guilty of this. I am an entrepreneur with so much to accomplish in each and every single day. And I’m also a mother of three little kids. And I also have a huge desire to show up for the people in my community. That’s where it starts. Truly, the biggest difference you can make is right there in your own life, in your own community, and in how you show up. So that’s what we’re talking about today. Finding ways to actually create that spaciousness, to create more capacity–so that you can really show up in a way that can make an impact. In This Episode We Explore: * How many of us have said yes—in the last week, month, year—to doing something we didn’t want to do, and how those “should” statements drain your life force * Why it’s okay to say no, and how to shift to “I’d love to help and I can do this” when no feels too hard * Your breath—inhale, hold, exhale—and how just a second to breathe settles your nervous system as you transition from one activity to the next * Why starting your day by reaching for your phone is a great way to just mess with your nervous system, and the one app setting Ashley never bypasses * Moving your body to move stuck energy, because that stuck energy can create frustration, disconnect, and we are all energetic beings processing emotions every single minute * Those moments of spaciousness in between transition—pulling into the driveway, sitting in your car—and why you don’t need to feel guilty about the moments you take for yourself When we take care of ourselves and our bodies in even the most small, basic ways, it creates more space, more capacity. Suddenly you have time to make dinner for the neighbor, to talk on the phone with a friend who’s going through something, or to notice when someone needs an extra moment of connection without having to run to the next thing. Women are the culture centers of our families and our communities. We are the ones who organize, we are the ones who create dinners and run the social calendars. And when we have the spaciousness to show up and connect, that is how we change communities. That is how we bring more good, more love, more affection into the world. And that is what the world is needing so much right now. Change starts within us. It starts within you. Connect with me, Ashley Logan:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ashleydlogan [https://www.instagram.com/ashleydlogan] Website: https://ashleydlogan.com [https://ashleydlogan.com]Substack: https://substack.com/@ashleydlogan [https://substack.com/@ashleydlogan] Get full access to Inner Alchemy at ashleydlogan.substack.com/subscribe [https://ashleydlogan.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]

Reclaiming Your Body After Shame, Trauma, and Disconnection with Chiara Mecozzi

There’s something to be said about being a woman today - the weight that we carry and how that shows up in our body, in our lived experiences. But it’s healing that weight that is a whole different conversation. And that’s exactly what we’re talking about in today’s episode. I’m joined by Chiara Mecozzi - an Argentine-American visual artist and creator of Fuerza Cruda, a body of work exploring women’s relationships with their bodies and the internal dialogue that shapes how we see ourselves. Chiara and I met because a friend of mine, Stephanie Redlenner (go listen to her episode if you haven’t yet), shared her work with me. I saw this beautiful Argentinian woman moving, painting, and creating these raw, powerful reflections of the female body, and I was instantly drawn in. After following her for about a year, I reached out, took a cab ride to Brooklyn, New York, showed up at her brownstone… and got naked. Literally (although, maybe not in that exact order). But the reason I went was simple: I wanted to love my body. I wanted to feel connected to my body. What unfolded was a healing experience. It felt like liberation. Chiara created this sacred space for me to truly feel safe in my own body… and from that place, feel empowered in it. But this conversation is about so much more than that experience. In this episode, we go deep into what it actually looks like to come back into your body after years of disconnection, shame, and conditioning. Chiara shares her journey from abuse, self-abandonment, and external validation… to using art as a tool for healing, rewiring, and radical self-love. What started as photographing her own body through discomfort and grief became a full-body reclamation, and now, a movement helping women do the same. This episode is about remembering that you have a choice, learning to feel safe in your body again, and what becomes possible when you stop shaming… and start choosing yourself. We also explore: * How shame and conditioning disconnect us from our bodies * The “pick me” pattern and why it runs so deep * Art, photography, and creative expression as tools for healing * What it actually feels like to be seen without judgment * The difference between discomfort and misalignment * Why safety in your body changes everything - your relationships, your boundaries, your life And maybe most importantly… what it feels like to say, “this is me,” and mean it. I hope you enjoy this episode as much as I enjoyed the conversation with Chiari! If this resonates with you, please reach out to us. We’d love to hear from you. Connect with Chiari Mecozzi:Instagram: @chiaramecozziEmail: art@chiaramecozzi.com Website: www.chiaramecozzi.com [http://www.chiaramecozzi.com]Substack: art@chiaramecozzi Connect with me, Ashley Logan:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ashleydlogan [https://www.instagram.com/ashleydlogan] Website: https://ashleydlogan.com [https://ashleydlogan.com]Substack: https://substack.com/@ashleydlogan [https://substack.com/@ashleydlogan] Get full access to Inner Alchemy at ashleydlogan.substack.com/subscribe [https://ashleydlogan.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]