In episode #169, host Michelle Wong shares her experience with herbal apprenticeship training so far, especially her relationship with the plant, Stinging Nettle.

Michelle tells the story of how she got schooled by Nettle, before training even officially started, as well as communicating with plants and why it's important.

Mentioned in this episode:

1) New Menopausal Years by Susun S. Weed

2) Online Breathwork Group: "Breathwork for Rootedness" on Wed April 22nd, 2026 at 7pm PT. Join us to honor and celebrate Earth Day!

All details + registration HERE.

Enjoy listening!

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Host: Michelle Wong, #BreathworkGuide, #CourageCatalyst #SpaceHolder is an initiator, visionary, and author of Set Your Own Sail: Fire Your Alarm Clock and Awaken to What's Possible. She mentors women to be in full relationship with themselves, unapologetically. She uniquely blends breathwork, Human Design, plant wisdom, intuition + self-care, and feminine leadership practices.

Download your free: ⁠"I Am Supported" meditation HERE⁠.

Let's Stay Connected!

- Email updates: http://eepurl.com/dLB9qU

- Substack: https://substack.com/@michellewongxo

In this episode, Michelle, a novice backpacker, shares her backpacking adventures on the Bogachiel Trail in the Olympic Peninsula with her partner (who is a very experienced hiker and backpacker).

This 30mile backpacking trip was supposed to be nice, relaxing, mostly easeful downhill along the Bogachiel River.

But it turned out to be an unexpected, grueling, trip laden with challenges.

Tune in as Michelle tells the story, and how to not always trust reviews.

Some photos from the trip are in Michelle's substack - view it here: https://michellewongxo.substack.com/publish/post/191932449

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Host: Michelle Wong, #BreathworkGuide, #CourageCatalyst #SpaceHolder is an initiator, visionary, and author of Set Your Own Sail: Fire Your Alarm Clock and Awaken to What's Possible. She mentors women to be in full relationship with themselves, unapologetically. She uniquely blends breathwork, Human Design, intuition + self-care, and feminine leadership practices.

Download your free: ⁠"I Am Supported" meditation HERE⁠.

Let's Stay Connected!

- Email updates: http://eepurl.com/dLB9qU

- Substack: https://substack.com/@michellewongxo

In this episode, Vanessa Couto shares her unexpected journey with romance novels and how they helped her with grief and burnout.

We discussed the different layers of healing that this often dismissed genre brings to our own lives and the potential of healing the collective.

Discover the different sub-genres of romance novels and what's compelling with each of them beyond the plot.

You'll leave this episode wanting to pick up a romance novel of your own and experience healing with pleasure beyond the plot.

Some recommended romance books:

1) Emily Henry's Book Lovers

2) S E Wendel's Halfing

3) Callie Hart's Quicksilver

Follow Vanessa:

1) Website: vanessacouto.com

2) IG: @vanessacouto.stories

3) Substack: https://vanessacouto.substack.com/

About Vanessa:

Vanessa Couto guides people through life's thresholds using depth psychology, archetypal astrology, and the wisdom of story. A Professional Certified Coach (PCC) with an MA in Counseling Psychology from Pacifica Graduate Institute, she draws on decades of studying how myth and psyche illuminate transformation.

Through her podcast Romancing the Threshold and her writing on liminality, she explores how we navigate life's passages with curiosity rather than certainty. Her practice emerged from her own journey through multiple thresholds and years of dedicated study in archetypal frameworks. Recently, she's discovered romance novels as unexpected medicine—finding in these dismissed stories precise maps for desire and sovereignty. She hosts For Your Pleasure, a book club excavating romance's archetypal patterns, and is launching intensive programs using the romance arc as transformational curriculum.

Based in Portland, Oregon, Vanessa works with clients navigating their own crossings—those sensing something essential wants to emerge. Her approach honors both the psychological depth and cosmic timing of transformation, meeting each threshold as sacred passage rather than problem to solve. Her own understanding continues to deepen through lived experience, which means she meets clients as a fellow traveler, not someone claiming to have mapped every territory.

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About the host:

Michelle Wong, #BreathworkGuide, #CourageCatalyst #SpaceHolder is an initiator, visionary, and author of Set Your Own Sail: Fire Your Alarm Clock and Awaken to What's Possible. She mentors women to be unapologetically in full relationship with themselves. She uniquely blends breathwork, Human Design, intuition, self-care, and feminine leadership practices in her work with clients.

Download your free: ⁠"I Am Supported" meditation HERE⁠.

Let's Stay Connected!

- Email updates: http://eepurl.com/dLB9qU

- Substack: https://substack.com/@michellewongxo