The Cycle Breakers Podcast

In this conversation, Rachael sits down with Dra. Rocío Rosales Meza, a Mexicana/Chicana seer, medicine woman in the Q'ero Inca lineage, and former Counseling Psychology PhD and professor whose life took a profound turn from academia to ancestral healing.
She shares the life-altering moment that shifted her from a tenured academic career into ancestral medicine, and how chronic illness, loss, and surrender became the doorway to her true purpose. 
What unfolds in this episode is not just a story of personal transformation, but a powerful reflection on the systems we are taught to trust, and the cost of staying disconnected from our bodies, our spirit, and the Earth.
If you are navigating your own awakening, questioning the systems you were taught to trust, or feeling the pull toward something deeper this conversation will stay with you.

In this episode, we explore:
🕊️ The breaking point that led Doctora Rocío from academia to ancestral medicine 🕊️ What "decolonial shadow work" actually looks like in daily life 🕊️ The concept of colonial collusion and how it shapes modern living 🕊️ Reclaiming ancestral wisdom while living in a modern world 🕊️ The difference between transactional healing and relational, embodied practice

LINKS
Dra. Rocio Rosales Meza's Instagram
Dra. Rocio Rosales Meza's Website
Dra. Rocio Rosales Meza's Healer's Journey
Dra. Rocio Rosales Meza's Newsletter Sign up  
Rachael's Website
Rachael's Instagram
Rachael's LinkedIn
The Cycle Breakers YouTube
The Freedom Method™️ Certification (Spring 2026 cohort enrolling)
Indigenous Employee Empowerment Program

In this powerful conversation, Rachael sits down with Susan Aglukark - renowned Inuk Canadian singer-songwriter, Juno Award winner, and Officer of the Order of Canada - whose music has shaped the landscape of Indigenous storytelling in this country.
Best known for her iconic 1995 hit O Siem, Susan became the first Inuk performer to reach the Top 10 in Canada. But beyond her accolades - including the Governor General's Performing Arts Award for Lifetime Artistic Achievement and the Allan Waters Humanitarian Award - this conversation centers on the woman behind the music.
Together, they explore how her career unfolded unexpectedly, the loneliness and lack of belonging that shaped her early life, and the deeper layers of healing, identity, and responsibility that came with becoming a voice for so many. Drawing from her memoir Kihiani, Susan shares what it means to move from survival into self-discovery, and how creativity became a pathway back to herself.
In this episode we explore: 
How Susan Aglukark's music career unfolded unexpectedly and what guided her path, including the impact of O Siem
The impact of trauma, loneliness, and not belonging and how it lived in her body
The shift from survival mode into intentional healing and self-awareness
Writing, journaling, and creativity as tools for processing, expression, and release
Confidence vs. arrogance and staying grounded while navigating visibility and responsibility
Rediscovering joy through art, and what it means to return to yourself
LINKS
Susan's Website
Arctic Rose Foundation Website
Kihiani: A Memoir of Healing
Susan's Instagram
Rachael's Website
Rachael's Instagram
Rachael's LinkedIn
The Cycle Breakers YouTube
The Freedom Method™️ Certification
Private Mentorship for Indigenous Leaders 
Indigenous Employee Empowerment Program 
Podcast Studio: Jilani Place
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In this solo episode, I share a deeply personal & vulnerable reflection on my journey with humility - from navigating many a ego death / rock bottoms in the past few years & being repeatedly humbled in ways that reshaped how I lead, live, and relate to myself. This is an honest conversation about what it actually means to walk in integrity, let go of needing to prove yourself, and lead in a good way.
In this episode, I cover:
🧡 Being initiated into the Seven Sacred Teachings and why humility challenged me most
🧡 The ego, survival patterns, and blindspots I couldn't see before
🧡 The breakdowns that forced me to face myself and let go of the mask
🧡 What humility really is (and releasing the need to prove or perform)
🧡 Leading from honesty, groundedness, and connection to Creator
LINKS
Rachael's Website
Rachael's Instagram
Rachael's LinkedIn
The Cycle Breakers YouTube
The Freedom Method™️ Certification
Private Mentorship for Indigenous Leaders 
Indigenous Employee Empowerment Program 
Podcast Studio: Jilani Place

In this episode, I'm joined by Asha Frost - an Indigenous Medicine Woman, and the international best-selling author of You are the Medicine, The Sacred Medicine Oracle, and The Animal Elders Oracle. She has guided thousands of people through profound and lasting transformation as a healer, homeopath and ceremonial guide and has become a prominent speaker in the field of Indigenous healing, garnering recognition on both local and international platforms.
Asha holds membership at Chippewas of Nawash First Nation and is a mama of two boys with whom she walks gently upon the earth. She loves sharing her Medicine in powerful ways through ceremonies, teachings, and speaking events. Through this work, she loves seeing people reclaim their roots, find their healing wisdom, and rise into their power.
This conversation dives into boundaries as self-respect, the pressure placed on Indigenous women to carry more than is theirs, and how reconnecting with ancestors can guide purpose, clarity, and grounded leadership.

In this episode, we discuss:
Honouring the void space through a decolonized, Indigenous lens

Navigating "inner winter" and cycles of rest, pause, and becoming

The expectations placed on Indigenous women and the impact on well-being

Boundaries as an act of self-respect, not disconnection

Wisdom for women who struggle to take up space and be seen

Connecting with ancestors as guides for purpose and direction

 
LINKS
Asha's Website
Asha's Instagram
You Are The Medicine: Book
Rachael's Website
Rachael's Instagram
Rachael's LinkedIn
The Cycle Breakers YouTube
The Freedom Method™️ Certification
Private Mentorship for Indigenous Leaders 
Indigenous Employee Empowerment Program 
Podcast Studio: Jilani Place

In this deeply intimate conversation, Rachael sits down with Patricia June Vickers - teacher, artist, psychotherapist, and spiritual director - to explore healing from childhood trauma through the lens of neurofeedback, relational repair, and embodied wisdom.
Patricia shares personal reflections on early trauma and dissociative amnesia, reframing it as a protective intelligence of the nervous system. Together, they unpack how trauma imprints in the brain, how shame forms in two distinct ways, and why healing requires more than insight - it requires safety, repair, and relationship.
Rooted in Northwest Coast Feast Hall teachings, Buddhist wisdom, and the teachings of Christ, this conversation bridges neuroscience and spirituality, offering a grounded, compassionate look at what it truly means to remember ourselves back into wholeness.

In this episode, we explore:
How childhood trauma organizes the brain and how neurofeedback supports neurological healing

Dissociative amnesia as an intelligent survival response, not a pathology

The two dimensions of shame and how they shape identity, self-worth, and belonging

What it means to invite repair as a pathway to real, lasting transformation

Why community and relational connection are essential for trauma healing


LINKS
Patricia's Website
Raven's Calling Website
Book: Singing to the Darkness
Bessel van der Kolk: 3 Ways Trauma Changes the Brain
Rachael's Website
Rachael's Instagram
Rachael's LinkedIn
The Cycle Breakers YouTube
The Freedom Method™️ Certification
Private Mentorship for Indigenous Leaders 
Indigenous Employee Empowerment Program 
Podcast Studio: Jilani Place