Advertise on podcast: Next Level Greatness - Holistic Wellness & Success Podcast

What happens when you’re the woman everyone depends on, the one who gets things done, solves problems, and carries enormous responsibility, but you’re running on empty? In this episode of Next Level Greatness, I’m joined by my client Laura Lukefahr, a school director who has spent years making a difference in the lives of children and families. Laura loved her work. But behind her success, she was exhausted, overwhelmed, and carrying the weight of everyone else’s needs. She was working long days, crashing on the couch every evening, and spending her weekends recovering just to do it all over again. Until one day, she walked into her office, closed the door, and started crying. Something had to change. Today, Laura describes herself as a “relaxed powerhouse.” And what makes her story so powerful is that her responsibilities didn’t magically disappear. What changed was how she related to herself, her work, and the people around her. In this candid conversation, we explore: * Why being highly capable can become a pattern of taking responsibility for everything and everyone. * Why setting boundaries isn’t always enough when the deeper pattern hasn’t changed. * How Laura went from constant exhaustion to feeling peaceful, energized, and present in her everyday life. * What happened when she stopped solving everyone’s problems and began trusting others to find their own solutions. * How the work we did together inside The Reclamation helped her reconnect with herself and recognize what she truly wanted next. * Why having a circle of powerful, self-aware women who genuinely champion one another can be so transformative. Laura’s story is a reminder that you don’t have to stop being ambitious, capable, or deeply committed to what matters to you in order to feel fully alive. You can be a powerhouse without burning yourself out. Join The Reclamation — January 2027 If you’re an accomplished woman who knows she’s ready for more, but you’re tired of the patterns that keep you overfunctioning, pushing past your limits, or putting yourself last, I’d love to invite you into The Reclamation. This is an intimate, five-month experience where we work with the patterns shaping how you live, lead, and relate to yourself and others. Our next group begins in January 2027, and enrollment is now open. Learn more about The Reclamation: https://www.barbiekalev.com/the-reclamation Connect with Laura Lukefahr Laura is a passionate educator and school director in Orlando, Florida, with extensive experience supporting children whose learning needs don’t fit traditional educational models, including children with ADHD, dyslexia, autism, anxiety, and giftedness. If you’re a parent looking for guidance on educational options or support for your child with special learning needs, you’re welcome to reach out to Laura about consulting. Laura Lukefahr — Educational Consulting for children with special needs. Email Laura directly at [email protected]. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit barbiekalev.substack.com

You can be a confident, accomplished woman who makes difficult decisions, speaks up at work, and knows exactly what she wants. Yet when it comes to your marriage, you find yourself holding back. Maybe you don’t express what you really want. Maybe you avoid difficult conversations. Or maybe you’ve become so accustomed to putting your husband’s preferences first that you barely notice you’re doing it. And even when you recognize the pattern and decide you’re going to change it, you find yourself doing the same thing again. Why is it that you can know something intellectually and still struggle to do something differently? In this episode of Next Level Greatness, I explore how implicit learning and conditioned physiological responses can influence the way you show up in your marriage. I also share a personal experience from my own marriage, what happens in the body when we try to speak up, and how working with these responses can help us begin to change deeply ingrained patterns. Because sometimes the very thing we’re doing to preserve connection is contributing to the disconnection we’re feeling. Mentioned in this episode Read the companion article: You’re a Badass at Work. So Why Can’t You Speak Up at Home? Join The Reclamation: Enrollment is open for January 2027. This intimate, five-month coaching experience is for women who are ready to move beyond understanding their patterns and begin changing how they live. https://www.barbiekalev.com/the-reclamation This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit barbiekalev.substack.com

Plopping yourself on the couch to “rest” isn’t the same thing as restoring. It doesn’t actually recharge you. We often think we’re recharging when we collapse on the couch, scroll, watch Netflix, or simply stop doing. And while that may give us a break, it doesn’t necessarily replenish us. In this episode of Next Level Greatness, I’m inviting you out of the cognitive treadmill and into your body for a guided practice in cellular breathing. Think of it like your phone: putting it down stops you from draining the battery, but plugging it in is what actually recharges it. This practice is an invitation to experience that difference in your own body. I’ll guide you through slowing down, noticing your breath without trying to control it, and imagining the exchange of oxygen and energy happening throughout your body—an experience of receiving rather than doing. This yummy practice is an opportunity to come back into relationship with your body and experience restoration from the inside out. And if this kind of work speaks to you, this is the kind of work we practice inside SOMA. SOMA is my space for men and women who want to understand themselves more deeply, build greater capacity, and experience change not only through insight, but through the body. You can learn more about SOMA here: https://barbiekalev.lovable.app Know Yourself. Be Fully You. Feel Fully Alive. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit barbiekalev.substack.com

You decide you’re going to respond differently. One day, you do. The next time, the old reaction is back. Why does that happen when you genuinely want to change? In this episode, I explore the difference between making a decision and changing a familiar pattern. I share what happened when I returned to publishing after a five-month sabbatical: I had chosen a new way to work, yet I could feel an old response return in my body. I’ll leave you with three questions to bring to a pattern in your own life: What has this response done for you? How do you know in your body that it’s beginning? And what support would help you try something different? If you’d like support with this work, you can explore the ways to work with me here: Work With Me. Thanks for reading Barbie's Substack! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit barbiekalev.substack.com

What happens when you’ve got energy and excitement about something great in your life—but your body feels intensely activated and on edge? After making a decision I had wanted to make for years, I felt an enormous amount of energy become available to carry out the project. I was excited, motivated, organizing everything in sight, and taking action. But that energy also began affecting my presence, my relationships, and my ability to remain connected to the life happening around me. In this episode, I explore how even positive experiences can activate the nervous system, why ambition and excitement aren’t the problem, and how we can work with all that energy without losing ourselves inside of it. Capacity isn’t only our ability to be with what’s difficult. It’s also our ability to hold excitement, desire, ambition, and aliveness, all without losing our presence. Enjoy and I would love to hear from you. Barbie Explore my work: Website Explore SOMA, a practical, ongoing space to learn how to work with your body and nervous system in everyday life. “Ambition is not a problem. Energy is not a problem.” This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit barbiekalev.substack.com

After five months away from all social media, I’m back—and in many ways, I’m a beginner again. In this episode, I share what learning to paint with watercolor has been teaching me about starting over after you’ve already been highly competent and successful, the slow road to mastery, and why play may be far more important than we realize. Play isn’t just about having fun, especially if we are serious about who we’re here to be in this lifetime. What if every imperfect circle, ugly leaf, and mistake is giving our bodies an experience of getting something wrong and discovering that nothing bad happens. What if learning to play again can help us feel safe enough to begin again and eventually, to gain mastery without the grind? In this episode: * What it feels like to become a beginner after years of being highly competent * Why mastery requires us to go through the process of starting at the beginning * The science of play, pleasure, and learning * How repetition and mistakes create new experiences of safety in the body * What painting taught me about starting over in business and in life Follow me on Substack: https://substack.com/@barbiekalev Learn more about my work: https://barbiekalev.lovable.app I can’t wait to hear your thoughts and how integrating play into your life is shifting things for you. Barbie This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit barbiekalev.substack.com

After five months away from all social media, I’m back—and in many ways, I’m a beginner again. In this episode, I share what learning to paint with watercolor has been teaching me about starting over after you’ve already been highly competent and successful, the slow road to mastery, and why play may be far more important than we realize. Play isn’t just about having fun, especially if we are serious about who we’re here to be in this lifetime. What if every imperfect circle, ugly leaf, and mistake is giving our bodies an experience of getting something wrong and discovering that nothing bad happens. What if learning to play again can help us feel safe enough to begin again and eventually, to gain mastery without the grind? In this episode: * What it feels like to become a beginner after years of being highly competent * Why mastery requires us to go through the process of starting at the beginning * The science of play, pleasure, and learning * How repetition and mistakes create new experiences of safety in the body * What painting taught me about starting over in business and in life Follow me on Substack: https://substack.com/@barbiekalev Learn more about my work: https://barbiekalev.lovable.app I can’t wait to hear your thoughts and how integrating play into your life is shifting things for you. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit barbiekalev.substack.com

On the summer solstice the host uses nature — magnolias, seasons, and the caterpillar’s transformation — as a metaphor to explore letting go, honoring your natural rhythms, and accepting change. She reflects on resisting identity shifts, aging, and the pressure to stay productive, and shares a personal breakthrough about allowing dissolution before rebirth. She describes stepping back from social media, embracing somatic practices and a sabbatical to reset her nervous system, and invites listeners to consider where they’re holding on and what needs to be tended or released to allow new growth. — Monthly Somatic Membership focus on Rest and Restoration: SOMA https://www.barbiekalev.com/offers/2nGuoSY2/checkout — Stay connected: https://www.barbiekalev.com/miracle-5 You'll receive a free 5-minute miracle practice and be automatically added to my mailing list.   This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit barbiekalev.substack.com

Barbie shares raw, honest reflections on the hard, messy middle of major life transitions — from exiting a high-powered career at Beachbody to embracing somatics and a new professional identity. Using the caterpillar-to-butterfly chrysalis as a metaphor, she explains how parts of us dissolve and remain as the blueprint for what’s next. She also reveals why she’s stepping away from social media-driven growth and the pursuit of another empire, choosing presence, alignment, and meaningful impact instead. This episode is for historically high-achieving humans navigating change and wanting to come home to themselves.   — Monthly Somatic Membership | $77: SOMA — Stay connected: https://www.barbiekalev.com/miracle-5  You'll receive a free 5-minute miracle practice and be automatically added to my mailing list. The next cohort for The Reclamation mastermind begins in the Fall. Message me [email protected] to learn more.  This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit barbiekalev.substack.com

In this episode Barbie explains what ‘capacity’ means using a clear cup metaphor and nervous-system language, showing how stress accumulates and leads to snapping or internalized dis-ease when it’s not released. She shares real-life examples (a hairspray reaction, her dog’s vet visit) and describes how somatic and nervous-system practices open pathways to release stress, increase daily rest, and expand your ability to cope.   — Monthly Somatic Membership focus on Rest and Restoration | $77: SOMA — Stay connected: https://www.barbiekalev.com/miracle-5 You'll receive a free 5-minute miracle practice and be automatically added to my mailing list.   This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit barbiekalev.substack.com

In this episode of Next Level Greatness, the host explores why people in long-term relationships can feel emotionally numb and disconnected, and how somatic and nervous system work can help them reconnect with their bodies and their partners. The episode shares a case study of a client who regained feeling, intimacy, and capacity through gentle somatic practices, and offers a 30-day challenge and resources for listeners who want to begin thawing their protective armor and restoring emotional connection.   connection. — Stay connected: https://www.barbiekalev.com/miracle-5 You'll receive a free 5-minute miracle practice and be automatically added to my mailing list. — June “Set Yourself Free” Somatic Challenge | $77: SOMA   This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit barbiekalev.substack.com

This episode explains how most of us live in our heads instead of our bodies and why that leads to stuck stress. Through personal stories and client examples, Barbie demonstrates the somatic practice of feeling sensations, completing the stress cycle, and safely releasing stored emotion so energy can move and heal. Listeners learn practical ways to tune into the heart, solar plexus, and belly, express what the body needs (even through sounds or small movements), and take action from embodied knowing rather than overthinking. The episode also includes invitations to somatic programs and sessions for continued practice.   Stay connected: https://www.barbiekalev.com/miracle-5 You'll receive a free 5-minute miracle practice and be automatically added to my mailing list.   “Set Yourself Free” Somatic Challenge | $77: SOMA      This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit barbiekalev.substack.com

In this episode the host shares her journey from academia and network marketing to becoming a somatic and embodiment practitioner, and how she experiments with new ways of creating and marketing while learning to listen to her body. She discusses a recent social media challenge, the choice to honor bodily signals over forced productivity, options for adapting content creation, and invitations to try free soma experiences to nurture the nervous system and find alignment in work and life.   Free Soma Workshop: here  Soma monthly membership: here  This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit barbiekalev.substack.com

Host Barbie returns after a long hiatus to share her reinvention following a 17-year career at Beachbody. She explains how she moved into somatics and nervous system regulation, helping high-performing people become more embodied and less stuck in survival mode. Barbie also opens up about the messy process of marketing this new work, her hesitation to share personal material, and why she’s bringing listeners along as she figures it out and comes back to long-form conversation.   Learn about SOMA, my monthly somatic and nervous system regulation membership.  Let's connect on IG here  Connect on Facebook here  This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit barbiekalev.substack.com

I recorded this at 5am and was whispering to not wake up my hubby.  I didn’t want to die. I was sitting in the yard, unable to enjoy even the simplest pleasures:  watching my dogs play, seeing the sun shine. That wasn’t a life. I didn’t want to die. I just knew that what I was doing was barely existing. When you’re constantly dizzy and chronically fatigued, 24 hours in a day feels never-ending. Over and over again for almost two years… i had the thought that if it weren’t for our dogs, my husband, my mother, and even the people who love, respect, and look up to me , I’d be okay with not being here. (I wasn’t suicidal, I just didn’t want to suffer this way.) Living with chronic illness and having my life diminished so greatly took me to some dark places. They say when you get to rock bottom, the only way is up. My north star has always been: no matter what, I’m going to live a joyful life.  So I got to work, a different kind of work.  At the end of 2021, I made a decision to do whatever it takes to reclaim myself. What had gotten me to this state was something I now see in so many successful women: overriding the body’s signals for rest and a different approach to life that doesnt require powering through.  Even though I was running a seven-figure business, and on the outside it looked like I had the perfect life, there were certain behaviors that, over time, led to my body saying: no more. 🐍 I would jump straight into work after waking up. 🐍 I’d get so focused that I worked into the late evening despite my husband’s comments.  🐍I was working out and eating well because it was literally my career & lifestyle, but I wasn’t taking care of my inner landscape. (Many confuse a fit body with true holistic health) 🐍 I was working with people & in friendships who drained me. 🐍 I was saying yes to too many beautiful requests to contribute. I wanted to be of service. I was capable. But too many yeses led to my detriment. 🐍 Back-to-back Zoom calls. 🐍 Loosey-goosey boundaries. The list of how I unknowingly self-abandoned is longggg.  When I decided to heal abd reclaim my life, like with everything else, I went all in. Colonics. Functional medicine supplements. Hyperbaric chamber therapy. All sorts of gadgets and devices. Tens and tens of $$$.  They all helped a little, but I still wasn’t getting to the root cause. My nervous system had become so dysregulated that it was wreaking havoc in my body. That was the missing link. I was outsourcing my healing, thinking the devices or supplements would fix it, without changing my behavior, my beliefs, or how I was showing up in my life. Working with my body — specifically my nervous system — gave me breathing room. It opened space. It lifted the brain fog and dizziness I had been carrying for years. But that was only part of the equation. Because you only work on your nervous system and keep the same overworking, overdoing, over-people-pleasing, over-saying-yes patterns, you will stay in a vicious cycle of Band-Aid solutions. Intuitively, I knew I had to change my way of being. And I did. Today, I have energy to spare. My brain is clear, crystal clear. The vertigo is completely gone. My love of life is back. 🎉 At 51, this as a new era of wisdom and joy unleashed.  My mission is to guide other women who, through no fault of their own, have been married to the grind and the hustle, whose bodies are starting to say no, or have already made a big declaration of “we cannot do this anymore.” This is why I created The Reclamation. If you’ve been ignoring your body for much of your life… If you’ve been overriding its signals for rest… If you’ve been over-giving, over-functioning, overworking and you’ve built a very successful life that looks great on paper… You don’t come out of that unscathed. The Reclamation mastermind, a 6-month experience, is about truly reclaiming your vitality, your voice, and your inner light. I walk with you as you go out in the laboratory of life, becoming the updated, vibrant versiok of you.  It’s not just for women experiencing chronic illness or burnout. You don’t have to wait until you hit that point. We start February 10. Doors are open. 7.2k for 6 months in an intimate container of up to 10 women.  By July, you’ll be feeling alive, vibrant, and shining the light that you were always meant to shine. DM for details and incredibly juicy BONUS not listed on website.  ♥️Barbie  The Reclamation Mastermind: https://www.barbiekalev.com/reclamation This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit barbiekalev.substack.com