The Invisible Factors Driving Your Health Are in Your Home with Ben Parens, Founder of Nestwell

Rock Bottom Is Where the Best Things Are Built

This week Annie and Marissa are back together for a solo episode — and it’s one of their most personal yet. They kick things off with the story of how Shift came together on New Year’s Eve, the angel numbers that have followed them since, and what it actually looks and feels like when you start trusting signs from the universe. From there the conversation goes deep. They get into what it means to come home to yourself — not as a concept but as a lived, daily practice — and share the parallel journeys they were both on this past fall that led them here. Annie opens up about leaving venture capital and going through the hardest breakup of her life at the same time. Marissa shares what it was like to be at her lowest point in college, betrayed by her closest friend, and how she slowly relearned how to trust. What comes out of both of their stories is the same truth: the return to self is not a solo journey. It happens in relationship — with friends who see you, with experiences that crack you open, with the moments you finally let yourself be fully seen and discover you are still loved. Marissa talks about what it took to stop wearing the mask. Annie talks about how the hustle itself was a form of protection — and what happened when she finally put it down. They close with the most tangible, practical section of the episode: what to actually do when you feel stuck, lost, and disconnected from yourself. Annie shares the exercise she did two days after her breakup — a list she called “healing” that guided her back home. Marissa shares how journaling became the thing that moved the fear through her body and made this podcast possible. And they leave you with one of the best lines of the episode: never trust an inside thought. Go outside first. What you’ll hear in this episode: The New Year’s Eve walk where Shift was born — and the angel numbers that haven’t stopped since. What signs from the universe actually look like and how to start noticing them. How Annie processed leaving a seven year career and her hardest breakup at the same time. Marissa’s college rockbottom, a friend breakup that hit harder than any romantic one, and how she slowly rebuilt trust. Why the hustle, the overworking, and the performing were all forms of protection — and what life feels like when you put them down. The fear of being seen — and what happened when both of them finally let themselves be. How relationships become mirrors that walk us back home to ourselves. Annie’s healing list — the exercise she created two days after her breakup that you can do today. Why journaling moves fear through the body in a way that logic alone never can. The one thing to do when a dark thought won’t leave you alone. Get full access to Shift Into Alignment at shiftintoalignment.substack.com/subscribe [https://shiftintoalignment.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]

Is Wellness Making Women More Anxious?

This week on In Alignment, we’re joined by holistic nutritionist and somatic practitioner Madison Miller for a conversation that challenges so much of what women have been taught about healing. What if the symptoms you’ve been trying to fix — anxiety, gut issues, chronic inflammation, skin flare-ups, jaw tension, even exhaustion — are not random, but signals? Madison shares why so many women are stuck in cycles of over-optimizing, over-supplementing, and over-controlling their health, while missing a deeper root: chronic stress physiology, emotional suppression, and disconnection from the body. We talk about the ways “wellness culture” can sometimes become another form of dissociation, how symptoms can act as messengers rather than problems to silence, and why true healing may have less to do with adding more protocols and more to do with rebuilding self-trust. This is a conversation about moving from perfectionism to embodiment, from discipline rooted in fear to devotion rooted in self-love. We explore: * How unprocessed emotions can show up as physical symptoms * The connection between nervous system dysregulation, inflammation, gut issues and hormone symptoms * Why doing everything “right” can still leave women feeling unwell * The difference between optimization and embodiment * How perfectionism and wellness culture can fuel the very symptoms they promise to fix * Why symptoms may be sacred messengers, not betrayals * Somatics, EFT tapping and simple ways to begin reconnecting with your body * The role of community in healing and why healing was never meant to be done alone * Reframing discipline as devotion * Why simplifying, not adding more, may be one of the most healing things you can do If you’ve ever felt frustrated that you’re doing all the “right” things and still don’t feel well, this episode will feel like a deep exhale. Where to find Madison? Website [https://bodylovebymadison.com/about] Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/bodylovebymadison] Get full access to Shift Into Alignment at shiftintoalignment.substack.com/subscribe [https://shiftintoalignment.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]

Amanda Wahlstedt, Founder of Roots to Leaves: The Hormone Conversation Every Woman Deserves to Have

Amanda Wahlstedt is a registered dietitian, functional health practitioner, and founder of Roots to Leaves — a private practice working exclusively with women on hormonal health, fertility, and whole-body wellness. Her own experience coming off the pill after a decade and being met with no real answers is what sent her on the path to building the practice she wished had existed. In this episode, Annie and Marissa sit down with Amanda for one of the most honest, practical conversations they've had on women's hormonal health. They talk about how the birth control pill impacts your body and why you can't see the full picture until you're off it, the connection between chronic stress and reproductive hormones, and why nervous system support is so much more than a wellness trend. Amanda also shares the question she comes back to with every client — is this action coming from love or from fear — and why the energy behind a health habit matters just as much as the habit itself. They also get into endocrine disruptors, what they are, where they’re hiding in your daily life, and the three buckets to prioritize first without overhauling everything overnight. Plus a conversation on tampons, what wellness actually means to Amanda right now, and the healing ritual she swears by that has nothing to do with supplements or protocols. This conversation is not about doing more or optimizing harder. It is about finally understanding your body — and learning to work with it instead of against it. Where to Find Amanda: Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/roots_to_leaves/] Substack [https://rootstoleaves.substack.com/?utm_campaign=profile_chips] Website [https://rootstoleaves.com] Get full access to Shift Into Alignment at shiftintoalignment.substack.com/subscribe [https://shiftintoalignment.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]

The Invisible Factors Driving Your Health Are in Your Home with Ben Parens, Founder of Nestwell

This week on In Alignment, we’re joined by Ben Perens, founder of Nestwell, who is building in one of the most overlooked categories in wellness. His core belief is simple but hard to ignore: the air you breathe, the water you drink, and the environment you live in every day are doing far more to your health than most of the things you’re spending money on. We get into what’s actually inside our homes, from VOCs and gas stoves to water quality, lighting, and microplastics, and why these inputs quietly shape everything from sleep and focus to long-term disease risk. Ben breaks down the idea of “high-leverage health” and why so many of us are focused on optimizing the last 10% while ignoring the foundation. We also talk about greenwashing, how to think about “clean” products, and why the current wellness industry has largely missed this entire category. The most important part: this doesn’t have to be overwhelming or expensive. We talk through the small, practical shifts that actually move the needle, what to prioritize first, and how to think about your home as a system that either supports your health or slowly works against it. Where to find Ben? Nestwell [https://www.gonestwell.com] Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/go.nestwell/] https://www.instagram.com/go.nestwell/ Get full access to Shift Into Alignment at shiftintoalignment.substack.com/subscribe [https://shiftintoalignment.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]

The Fear of Being Seen and How to Build Radical Confidence

This week on In Alignment, Annie and Marissa sit down for a raw, honest solo conversation unpacking one of the most misunderstood concepts in personal growth: confidence. What it actually is, where it comes from, and how to build deep inner self confidence. At the core of this conversation is something deeper: the fear of being seen. We get real about the truth behind “putting yourself out there.” It’s not natural, it’s not comfortable, and it’s not about having some inherent confidence gene. It’s about the willingness to be seen, even when it feels vulnerable, uncertain, and uncomfortable. From leaving careers and relationships to rebuilding identity from scratch, we walk through the moments that forced us to confront who we were underneath everything we had built to feel safe. We talk about people-pleasing, performing versions of ourselves to be chosen, and the quiet ways we hide in order to avoid rejection. This conversation dives into the uncomfortable but necessary reality that confidence is not something you build first. It is what emerges when you stop hiding. We also break down: * How the fear of being seen and judged keeps you stuck * The difference between being chosen and actually being known * How relationships mirror the parts of ourselves we avoid * The role of grief, transition, and uncertainty in building self-trust * How to reconnect with yourself when you feel completely lost * Why joy is one of the most powerful guides back to who you are * The mindset shift that makes it never “too late” to start over If you are navigating a transition, questioning your identity, or craving the confidence to take a leap, this episode will show you that what you are really looking for is not confidence — it is the courage to be seen as you are. Get full access to Shift Into Alignment at shiftintoalignment.substack.com/subscribe [https://shiftintoalignment.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]