The deepest adventures are not always the ones we plan. They are the ones that ask us to trust, to receive help, and to keep going even when the ground beneath us has shifted.

Jo Giese is an award winning journalist, lifelong hiker, and author whose life changed after a devastating accident and a medical outcome that told her she might never walk again. Instead of accepting that ending, Jo chose something else. She chose hope, grit, and community. She became the CEO of her own healing.

In this conversation, Jo shares her journey from a traumatic Achilles injury and multiple surgeries to learning how to walk again through determination, support, and deep connection to nature. We talk about the paradox of loss and becoming, the power of subtraction when certain voices no longer belong on the trail, and how waterfalls, movement, and meaning carried her forward.

This episode is for anyone navigating a hard diagnosis, a life altering setback, or a season where progress feels slower than expected.

What you will hear and feel in this conversation

• Why some people accept a grim diagnosis and others refuse to let it define them
• What it means to become the CEO of your own healing
• How choosing the right people can change the outcome
• The role of nature and adventure in recovery and resilience
• Why comparison leads to despair and presence restores hope

If you are rebuilding trust in your body, your path, or your future, let this conversation walk with you.

Links and Resources

• Jo Giese website https://jogiese.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/giesejo
• Books:
  • Book Never Sit If You Can Dance
  • Upcoming book You’ll Never Walk Alone available February 10

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...

Some episodes feel like a deep exhale. This one did that for me.

In this episode, I sit down with Rebecca Schlosser, a trauma informed breathwork facilitator, yoga teacher, and free spirited midlifer joining me from Albuquerque, New Mexico. What unfolds is not a tidy how to conversation. It is real. Messy. Funny. Honest. And deeply embodied.

We talk about what it means to be labeled too much and how that story shows up in midlife, relationships, creativity, money, and even how we decorate our homes. We explore how perfectionism freezes us, how comparison sneaks in quietly, and how breath becomes a way back to ourselves when life feels overwhelming or unfinished.

Rebecca guides us through a gentle breathwork practice you can do as you listen, inviting you to meet the parts of yourself you usually try to push away. Not to fix them. Just to notice them. To breathe with them. To let them belong.

This episode is about the paradox of slowing down in order to move forward. About trusting that the adventure is already happening, even when it looks imperfect or incomplete.

In this full episode, we explore

• The idea of too muchness and why it might actually be your gift
• How breathwork helps us meet insecurity instead of resisting it
• Perfectionism, comparison, and the nervous system
• Why small moments of presence can change everything
• Learning to live breath by breath instead of striving for certainty

As you listen, notice what you are being asked to meet rather than manage.

Links and Resources

• Free 15-minute live breathwork every Monday morning with Rebecca: 12441.myflodesk.com/soulmondayoptin
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rebeccahappybreaths/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rebecca.schlosser.5

Send us a text

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✨ Join My TEDx Spokane Journey!
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🔥 Special Offer: Healing Conversations
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✔️ 4 x 60-min Zoom sessions
✔️ 4 Voxer Days
All for $750 USD — save $250!

Seeking clarity, healing, or guidance? This sacred space is for you.
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...

This conversation felt like a deep exhale. A remembering. With Mary Ann Simonds, we explore what happens when we stop trying to control the moment and learn to be with it. Horses, wildlife, children, and humans all exist within the same field of awareness. When we soften our attention and shift from looking at to looking with, real connection becomes possible. This episode invites you back into the adventure that is already here, alive in your body, your relationships, and the natural world around you.

Mary Ann grew up loving horses in California and has spent more than four decades as a researcher, educator, coach, and pioneer in equine psychology and human animal interaction. Her work weaves science, consciousness, and lived experience to help humans and horses reduce stress, build trust, and thrive together. We explore social behavior, boundaries, safety, awareness, and what horses can teach us about leadership, regulation, and belonging.

• Why looking with nature reveals more than looking for answers
• What horses teach us about boundaries, safety, and social intelligence
• How presence and energy shape behavior in both humans and animals
• The parallels between equine psychology, child development, and healing
• Why awareness and relationship matter more than rigid training systems

Reflection for you
Where in your life are you pushing for answers instead of allowing connection? What might shift if you softened your focus and chose to be with the moment instead?

Links and resources mentioned

• Website: https://maryannsimonds.com/
• Book A Horse By Nature available on Amazon: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mary-ann-simonds-26697010/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/equinesbynature/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/maryann.simonds
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mary-ann-simonds-26697010/
• YouTube:

Send us a text

Support the show

✨ Join My TEDx Spokane Journey!
Get early updates, BTS moments, and reflections as I prep for TEDx Spokane.
👉 Subscribe here to follow the journey

🔥 Special Offer: Healing Conversations
Limited-time offer:
✔️ 4 x 60-min Zoom sessions
✔️ 4 Voxer Days
All for $750 USD — save $250!

Seeking clarity, healing, or guidance? This sacred space is for you.
✨ Spots are limited!
👉 Reserve Your Spot Now

🌟 Stay Connected & Support the Show
🌐 Website: theadventureparadox.com

Facebook: The Adventure Paradox
Instagram: @theadventureparadox
Email: theadventureparadox@gmail.com

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