The Rainbo Podcast

• The Mystical Anatomy of Your Nervous System: Spirit, Breath and Biology with Tonya Papanikolov

  In this solo teaching, Tonya shares a powerful and poetic exploration of the nervous system—not just as physiology, but as the sacred bridge between spirit and biology. Drawing from ancient traditions and modern science, she traces the nervous system’s origin at conception, its energetic mapping through the chakras, and its role in breath, intuition, and life force. This episode weaves together embryology, mysticism, and somatic intelligence to offer a new way of seeing your body—as an antenna of light, a temple of consciousness, and a technology for vitality, magnetism, and healing.Topics Covered:The nervous system as a spiritual interface between matter and consciousnessPolyvagal theory and the three states of survival: safe, fight/flight, and freezeEmbryology and the zinc spark of light at the moment of conceptionChakras as psychosomatic portals linked to nerve plexuses and glandsAncient practices to regulate, energize, and awaken the nervous systemKundalini, breathwork, and the microcosmic orbit as tools for energetic sovereigntyConnect with Tonya:Follow Tonya on Instagram: @tonyapapanikoloveSign up for Tonya’s NewsletterRainbo.com@rainbomushroomsInstructions to Win a Bundle of Rainbo Products - Leave us Ratings and Reviews: (Or watch the video instructions here) Go to Spotify and search “The Rainbo Podcast” Follow the Show and Rate the Show on Spotify, and take a screenshot Go to Apple Podcasts Search “The Rainbo Podcast” Scroll down past a few episodes until you get to the “Write a Review” section Write your review and screenshot before you hit Submit, as Apple’s system can take a while to publish Send the Spotify screenshot and Apple review screenshot to [email protected] Be sure to go back to Apple Podcasts and hit submit on your review We’ll pull a winner at the end of the month once we verify that your ratings/review went through to win a bundle of tinctures! We’ll contact you if you win so you can select your bundle of choice Check out all our bundles at https://rainbo.com/pages/bundles. Thanks and good luck!

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• How to Cry: MJ Renshaw on Emotions, Grief, and the Body’s Wisdom

  In this deeply moving episode, Tonya reconnects with returning guest and somatic guide MJ Renshaw for a heart-expanding conversation on emotions, grief, creativity, and the sacred art of crying. MJ shares the inspiration behind her new book, How to Cry, offering personal stories and research-backed insight into how emotional release opens the door to healing, intimacy, and freedom. Together, they explore how trauma lives in the body, the role of generational patterns, and why allowing ourselves to feel the full spectrum of emotions—rage, guilt, jealousy, grief—can transform our lives from the inside out.Topics Covered:MJ’s journey writing How to Cry and redefining emotional expressionThe physiology and potency of different types of tearsCrying as a sacred, somatic, and even spiritual practiceHow trauma is stored in the body across generationsWhy emotional suppression impacts physical health and relationshipsParenting with emotional intelligence and reparenting your inner worldGuest Info:Instagram: @beingmethodbreathworkJoin the waitlist for MJ’s upcoming book, How to Cry: beingmethod.myflodesk.com/howtocryConnect with Tonya:Follow Tonya on Instagram: @tonyapapanikoloveSign up for Tonya’s NewsletterRainbo.com@rainbomushroomsInstructions to Win a Bundle of Rainbo Products - Leave us Ratings and Reviews: (Or watch the video instructions here) Go to Spotify and search “The Rainbo Podcast” Follow the Show and Rate the Show on Spotify, and take a screenshot Go to Apple Podcasts Search “The Rainbo Podcast” Scroll down past a few episodes until you get to the “Write a Review” section Write your review and screenshot before you hit Submit, as Apple’s system can take a while to publish Send the Spotify screenshot and Apple review screenshot to [email protected] Be sure to go back to Apple Podcasts and hit submit on your review We’ll pull a winner at the end of the month once we verify that your ratings/review went through to win a bundle of tinctures! We’ll contact you if you win so you can select your bundle of choice Check out all our bundles at https://rainbo.com/pages/bundles. Thanks and good luck!

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• Letting Go to Grow: Jesse Israel on Endings, Identity Shifts & Embodied Leadership

  In this heart-opening episode, Tonya is joined by Jesse Israel, founder of The Big Quiet and leadership coach, for a deep dive into emotional mastery, somatic healing, and redefining success from the inside out. Jesse shares his journey from music industry burnout to guiding mass meditations with Oprah—and the powerful lessons he’s learned about navigating endings, identity shifts, and trusting what’s unfolding. Together, they explore the new wave of wellness that goes beyond mindfulness, the somatic practices that release stuck emotions, and why vulnerability and authenticity are the new markers of true leadership. This is an invitation to soften, unlearn, and expand into the next version of you.Topics Covered:Jesse’s journey from MGMT’s record label to mass meditations & Oprah toursHow somatic healing and emotional release deepened his leadershipThe shift from "Wellness 1.0" (mindfulness) to "Wellness 2.0" (deep emotional work)The identity grief that comes with ending a successful chapterPractices for managing anger, anxiety, and triggers in real-timeTech boundaries and phone habits that protect creativity & presenceWhy vulnerability (from the scar, not the wound) builds authentic connectionGuest Info:Instagram: instagram.com/jesseisraelLinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/jesseisrael/Website: jesseisrael.comConnect with Tonya:Follow Tonya on Instagram: @tonyapapanikoloveSign up for Tonya’s NewsletterRainbo.com@rainbomushroomsResources:The Big QuietOpal AppInstructions to Win a Bundle of Rainbo Products - Leave us Ratings and Reviews: (Or watch the video instructions here) Go to Spotify and search “The Rainbo Podcast” Follow the Show and Rate the Show on Spotify, and take a screenshot Go to Apple Podcasts Search “The Rainbo Podcast” Scroll down past a few episodes until you get to the “Write a Review” section Write your review and screenshot before you hit Submit, as Apple’s system can take a while to publish Send the Spotify screenshot and Apple review screenshot to [email protected] Be sure to go back to Apple Podcasts and hit submit on your review We’ll pull a winner at the end of the month once we verify that your ratings/review went through to win a bundle of tinctures! We’ll contact you if you win so you can select your bundle of choice Check out all our bundles at https://rainbo.com/pages/bundles. Thanks and good luck!

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• Why You’re More Creative Than You Think (and How to Reclaim It) with James McCrae of Words Are Vibrations

  In this poetic and expansive episode, Tonya sits down with writer, meme philosopher, and creative guide James McCrae to explore the relationship between creativity, healing, and the unseen forces that shape our lives. From his early days as a teenage poet in Minnesota to going viral through memes that blend mysticism and modernity, James shares the winding path that led him from advertising boardrooms to open mic nights in Austin. Together, they talk about why so many people feel disconnected from their creative energy, how to reclaim it as a spiritual practice, and how ideas often find us when we’re finally willing to surrender. This conversation is a love letter to the inner artist and a reminder that your creativity is not only welcome - it’s medicine.Topics Covered:The origins of James’s creativity and how poetry shaped his inner worldLeaving the fast-paced world of advertising to reconnect with artistic purposeThe power of memes as modern-day myth and healing modalityHow creativity, like emotion, needs to move through the body firstWays to overcome fear of being seen and redefine authenticityWhy everyone is creative—and how we’ve been conditioned to forgetThe role of mysticism, spirituality, and mushrooms in James’s creative processGuest Info:Instagram: @wordsarevibrationsWebsite: jamesmccrae.comBooks:Sh#t Your Ego SaysHow to Laugh in Ironic Amusement During Your Existential CrisisThe Art of YouResources:‘Howl’ by Allen Ginsberg https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/49303/howlConnect with Tonya:Follow Tonya on Instagram: @tonyapapanikoloveSign up for Tonya’s NewsletterRainbo.com@rainbomushroomsInstructions to Win a Bundle of Rainbo Products - Leave us Ratings and Reviews: (Or watch the video instructions here) Go to Spotify and search “The Rainbo Podcast” Follow the Show and Rate the Show on Spotify, and take a screenshot Go to Apple Podcasts Search “The Rainbo Podcast” Scroll down past a few episodes until you get to the “Write a Review” section Write your review and screenshot before you hit Submit, as Apple’s system can take a while to publish Send the Spotify screenshot and Apple review screenshot to [email protected] Be sure to go back to Apple Podcasts and hit submit on your review We’ll pull a winner at the end of the month once we verify that your ratings/review went through to win a bundle of tinctures! We’ll contact you if you win so you can select your bundle of choice Check out all our bundles at https://rainbo.com/pages/bundles. Thanks and good luck!

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• A Field Guide to the Unseen: Exploring Energy, Spirit, and the Science of Sensitivity with Tonya

  Tonya recounts a night in Japan that transformed from a peaceful evening into an unforgettable—and initiatory experience. In this solo episode, she shares a “haunting” and transformative experience at the base of Mount Fuji that took her from fear to remembrance. What seems like a ghost story unravelled into a deep energetic initiation - one that reminded her of the power of sensitivity, the intelligence of the land, and the reality of unseen forces. Through her personal story, Tonya reflects on how sensitivity can be a gift rather than a flaw and why fear is often the very thing that fuels darkness.Weaving together spirituality, science, consciousness studies, and animist worldviews, Tonya explores what it means to be a highly sensitive person in a world that doesn't always understand subtle perception. She offers frameworks to make sense of psychic experiences, shares lessons on how to protect your energy, and reminds us that we are never truly alone in the mystery. This episode is an invitation to trust your knowing, honor the wisdom of the land, and reconnect with the light that lives within us all.Topics Covered:Tonya’s spiritual and energetic encounter in a haunted Japanese forestLearning to trust your sensitivity as a superpower, not a flawHow fear feeds darkness—and how light can reclaim our powerNeurodivergence and heightened perception: why “too much” might actually be a giftThe reality of psychic phenomena (or “psi”) - from clairvoyance to mediumshipAnimist worldviews and the sacred intelligence of landHonoring ritual, intention, and prayer as energetic technologiesResources Mentioned:Rupert Sheldrake – British biologist and author known for his theory of morphic resonanceDean Radin – Parapsychologist and author exploring psychic phenomena and consciousnessFrontiers in Psychology (2023 Study) – Research mentioned exploring neurodivergence and heightened perceptionhttps://psycnet.apa.org/record/2018-24699-001Connect with Tonya:Follow Tonya on Instagram: @tonyapapanikoloveSign up for Tonya’s NewsletterLearn about the Ethereal Reset RInstructions to Win a Bundle of Rainbo Products - Leave us Ratings and Reviews: (Or watch the video instructions here) Go to Spotify and search “The Rainbo Podcast” Follow the Show and Rate the Show on Spotify, and take a screenshot Go to Apple Podcasts Search “The Rainbo Podcast” Scroll down past a few episodes until you get to the “Write a Review” section Write your review and screenshot before you hit Submit, as Apple’s system can take a while to publish Send the Spotify screenshot and Apple review screenshot to [email protected] Be sure to go back to Apple Podcasts and hit submit on your review We’ll pull a winner at the end of the month once we verify that your ratings/review went through to win a bundle of tinctures! We’ll contact you if you win so you can select your bundle of choice Check out all our bundles at https://rainbo.com/pages/bundles. Thanks and good luck!

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