In this episode of The Empowered Adoptee Podcast, we explore how collective trauma is impacting us on both an adoptee level and a human level. With so much uncertainty and constant information coming at us, it’s understandable if you’re feeling anxious, numb, overwhelmed, or disconnected.

We talk about how our nervous systems were never meant to be in a constant state of alert, and how this moment is inviting us to slow down, reconnect, and come back into the present. Through a gentle and empowering lens, we share why gathering in community, resting without guilt, limiting digital overwhelm, and updating old beliefs around safety are essential acts of care.

This episode is an invitation to offer yourself compassion, to remember you’re not alone, and to reconnect with what truly supports healing, regulation, and freedom especially in times like these.

If you are looking for support or tools for connection and regulation check these out:

1. Vagal Nerve Awakening

• Ear Massage: Gently massaging the vagus nerve branch in the ear to signal safety to the brain.
• The "Basic Exercise" (Stanley Rosenberg): Lying down or sitting up, interlocking fingers behind the head, and moving only the eyes to the far right, then far left, until a sigh, yawn, or swallow occurs.
• https://www.youtube.com/@BrainEducationTV/videos

2. The Power of Flow: Qi Gong & Tai Chi

• "Shaking the Tree" (Qi Gong): A simple, accessible practice of bouncing gently on the heels and shaking the arms to "discharge" stagnant stress energy.
• Tai Chi Opening Breath: Slow, circular arm movements coordinated with deep inhalations to ground the energy into the lower abdomen (Dantian).
• https://www.youtube.com/@BrainEducationTV/search?query=qi%20gong

3. Targeted Release: EFT Tapping

• The "Overwhelmed to Empowered": Focus on tapping points (brow, side of eye, under nose, collarbone) while acknowledging the "heaviness" of the world and choosing to feel safe in the body.
• https://www.youtube.com/@BrainEducationTV/search?query=eft%20tapping

4. The Anchor: Somatic Breathwork

• The "Sigh of Relief": A double inhale through the nose followed by a long, audible "Aaah" exhale through the mouth.
• Box Breathing: A 4-4-4-4 count to bring the prefrontal cortex back online when feeling "victimized" by external stressors.
• https://insighttimer.com/adamcarbary/guided-meditations/10-min-somatic-breathwork-daily-practice

Reclaim Your Peace Workshop 1/24, 12pm - 2pm EST

Join us for a powerful online workshop specifically designed for anyone experiencing fear and the physical state of carrying the weight of the world's collective trauma in your nervous system. This unique event combines the transformative power of Somatic Breathwork™ with the accessible grounding technique of EFT Tapping to help you gently shed layers of stress and trauma and step into your personal power.

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/reclaim-your-peace-with-somatic-breathwor

We would love to connect with you and hear from you! Please send us a text and share your story 💜

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What happens when we stop trying to "fix" ourselves and start allowing healing to happen? In this powerful episode, we sit down with Kyla Mitsunaga, a business and life mindset magician and subconscious mind expert, to explore the profound world of Family Constellations and collective healing.

Kyla shares her vulnerable journey from deep depression in 2016 to discovering over 25 alternative healing modalities. We dive into how she uses Theta Healing®, Integrative Hypnosis, and her trademarked Mitsunaga Method™ to help BIPOC and adoptee communities in the Bay Area (and globally) navigate the complexities of identity and intergenerational trauma. Whether you are deep in your healing journey or just beginning to look for the "light," this conversation offers a roadmap for transformation that begins in the subconscious.

In This Episode, We Discuss:

• The Power of Family Constellations: Understanding how we carry the stories and traumas of those who came before us.
• Healing Without a Map: Learning to hold space for healing even when you don’t know how it will happen.
• The Mitsunaga Method™: How Kyla’s years of experience working in personal growth and healing around the globe transformed into this method used to help her clients heal at the deepest levels (Mitsunaga means "everlasting light" in Japanese.
• Support Systems: The role of "emotional support friends" and building a conscious community.
• BIPOC & Adoptee Visibility: Kyla’s specific work in the Bay Area and how she creates safe spaces for these unique lived experiences.
• Global Perspectives on Happiness: Insights from a Forbes Coach and TED speaker who has taught and coached in over 16 countries.

About Kyla Mitsunaga

Kyla Mitsunaga is a subconscious mind expert, author, and award-winning educator. After a successful career teaching at Harvard and in Korea, a personal health crisis led her to master 25+ healing modalities. She is the author of WITH vs AT and On Growing: Thoughts from the Field, and was named one of the "Top 51 Most Fabulous Global Happiness Leaders" by the World HRD Congress. Through her Mitsunaga Method™, she helps clients find and embody their inner light regardless of life's darkness.

When not coaching or running retreats, you can find Kyla swimming, cooking (without processed sugar and salt), writing, finding the best eats around town, drinking matcha lattes, and mulling over women’s rights.

Kyla has delivered workshops in 16 countries, traveled to 51 countries and calls 5 countries “home.”

Kyla would LOVE to connect WITH you here: www.kylamitsunaga.com

We would love to connect with you and hear from you! Please send us a text and share your story 💜

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In this episode of The Empowered Adoptee Podcast, we dive into Mel Robbins’ Let Them Theory and explore how this simple yet radical mindset shift can be deeply liberating for adoptees.

As adoptees, many of us grew up hyper-aware of other people’s emotions, expectations, and needs. We learned early how to adapt, people-please, stay quiet, or shape-shift in order to feel safe, loved, or accepted. Over time, this can leave us disconnected from ourselves, our boundaries, and our truth.

The Let Them Theory offers a powerful reframe:
👉 Let them think what they think.
👉 Let them feel what they feel.
👉 Let them do what they’re going to do.

And then, we choose ourselves.

In this episode, we share personally from our own adoptee journeys and unpack how “letting them” has helped us:

• Release the pressure to be understood, approved of, or validated
• Step out of fear, obligation, and guilt (F.O.G.)
• Build healthier boundaries without shame
• Practice deeper self-acceptance and self-trust
• Reclaim our energy for healing, rest, and joy

We also explore how Let Them doesn’t mean bypassing emotions or disconnecting - it means allowing others to have their experience without abandoning ourselves in the process.

This conversation is especially meaningful for adoptees navigating:

• Complicated family dynamics
• People-pleasing patterns
• Feeling responsible for others’ emotions
• The desire to be “good,” grateful, or easy

At its core, this episode is an invitation to soften, to come home to yourself, and to remember that your needs, boundaries, and truth matter.

✨ You don’t need permission to live your life.
✨ You don’t need to explain your healing.
✨ You are allowed to choose peace.

If this episode resonates, we invite you to listen with curiosity and compassion and maybe ask yourself:
Where in my life am I ready to let them… and choose me instead?

Your story matters. If you’d like to connect or share your adoptee journey, we’d be honored to hear from you.

Email us at: hello@theempoweredadoptee.com

We would love to connect with you and hear from you! Please send us a text and share your story 💜

Support the show