Latest / Healing Her Story with Riva Jean-Paul / **BONUS EPISODE** Birthday Reflections & the Rebirth of “Reclamation”

Transcript

**BONUS EPISODE** Birthday Reflections & the Rebirth of “Reclamation” · Healing Her Story with Riva Jean-Paul

• 1:38
  SPEAKER_00: Hello and welcome to today's episode of the Healing Her Story Podcast.
• 1:45
  SPEAKER_00: Today I am popping in for a quick bonus episode to share some birthday reflections.
• 1:51
  SPEAKER_00: On October 18th, I'll be turning 36.
• 1:55
  SPEAKER_00: And though I know I'm still what many would consider young, I found what they say about wine to be true.
• 2:02
  SPEAKER_00: Life truly has become sweeter, fuller, and more fulfilling with each passing year.
• 2:08
  SPEAKER_00: And I know that's because of the work that I've done.
• 2:12
  SPEAKER_00: I think back to my own dark night of the soul.
• 2:15
  SPEAKER_00: That day I found myself curled up in a ball on the floor, wondering if or when I'd ever feel better.
• 2:22
  SPEAKER_00: I felt broken.
• 2:23
  SPEAKER_00: I was hooked on Adderall, waking up each day in despair, feeling terribly off, yet fueled by this deep inner knowing that something had to change.
• 2:36
  SPEAKER_00: Forced to slow down, I finally confronted the deeper issues driving my relentless pace, unresolved trauma, emotional neglect, addiction, and self-destructive patterns.
• 2:50
  SPEAKER_00: Recognizing the need for real change, I sought support from a mental health professional.
• 2:56
  SPEAKER_00: For the first time, I found myself sitting in a psychologist's office.
• 3:00
  SPEAKER_00: I had stopped taking Adderall and was learning to set boundaries, and yet something about that experience didn't feel quite right.
• 3:09
  SPEAKER_00: When the psychologist dismissed my deepest wounds as being quote unquote too sensitive, I knew that was not the support I needed.
• 3:19
  SPEAKER_00: No, it was not.
• 3:20
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you, ma'am.
• 3:22
  SPEAKER_00: And that experience really shaped me as a practitioner.
• 3:26
  SPEAKER_00: I began seeking guidance from mentors and coaches and eventually discovered revelation breathwork.
• 3:33
  SPEAKER_00: At first, I did not understand it, and yet something in me knew to keep showing up to those weekly classes on Zoom during the pandemic.
• 3:43
  SPEAKER_00: Over time, breathwork became the key to unraveling my past and meeting myself beyond achievements, expectations, and societal pressures.
• 3:53
  SPEAKER_00: Soon after I became a certified breathwork facilitator, sharing the very practice that had transformed me.
• 4:00
  SPEAKER_00: Through the journey, I realized that true healing requires compassion, curiosity, and softness.
• 4:07
  SPEAKER_00: An approach very different from the logical masculine methods I once relied on and honestly, that still so many of us rely on.
• 4:16
  SPEAKER_00: The process was simple and yet not easy.
• 4:21
  SPEAKER_00: And yet something as accessible as the breath held the power to unlock deep healing and spiritual connection.
• 4:29
  SPEAKER_00: As I continued to heal and support others, I felt called toward trauma-informed care, deepening my understanding of the body and the nervous system.
• 4:39
  SPEAKER_00: I've come to understand that healing cannot be forced.
• 4:42
  SPEAKER_00: It unfolds in its own time, in its own way.
• 4:47
  SPEAKER_00: We cannot outthink our biology without addressing the nervous system.
• 4:53
  SPEAKER_00: Healing remains difficult if not impossible.
• 4:57
  SPEAKER_00: And through it all, I reconnected with my creativity in a way that felt more alive and purposeful than I had ever experienced.
• 5:06
  SPEAKER_00: This past year has truly been the year my inner artist has come alive.
• 5:11
  SPEAKER_00: And I know it's because all the pain, grief, and fear that once lived in my body has been shaken loose.
• 5:17
  SPEAKER_00: And now their yearning to be expressed through song, dance, painting, drawing, and the art of living itself.
• 5:25
  SPEAKER_00: This year will always be the year I came back to my creative expression.
• 5:29
  SPEAKER_00: And today I'm celebrating a huge milestone in that journey.
• 5:34
  SPEAKER_00: Today, I just released Reclamation Reborn, a new and refined version of the intro song on this podcast that I released exactly one year ago.
• 5:46
  SPEAKER_00: It feels like this really shows my growth as an artist.
• 5:51
  SPEAKER_00: This was my first time working with a producer, a colleague and now friend I met here in Sacramento.
• 5:57
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm so grateful for how he came into my life and for the role he's played in helping me bring this song to life.
• 6:04
  SPEAKER_00: We're also working on more music together, and I cannot wait to share what's next.
• 6:10
  SPEAKER_00: So today I invite you to listen.
• 6:13
  SPEAKER_00: Not just to hear, but to truly listen with every cell in your body.
• 6:20
  SPEAKER_00: If you're able to, maybe finding a place of stillness, maybe lying down on your back, placing your hands on your womb, and allowing the vibration of the song to reach the deepest layers of your inner healing intelligence.
• 6:34
  SPEAKER_00: I invite you to share it with a sister, a friend, and let it ripple out into the collective consciousness that is shifting and awakening so much right now.
• 6:45
  SPEAKER_00: May this song continue to amplify the feminine frequency within us all, bringing more balance, harmony, and beauty to our patriarchal world.
• 6:56
  SPEAKER_00: This is my greatest birthday wish this year.
• 6:59
  SPEAKER_00: You can find the link for Reclamation Reborn in the show notes.