How to Break Generational Trauma Without Rejecting Your Culture with John Wang

Ever notice how some patterns don’t feel like yours… they feel inherited?The people-pleasing. The overachieving. The quiet pressure to be “good” at the expense of what you actually feel.I’m joined by John Wang, author of Big Asian Energy, for an honest conversation about generational patterns (especially Asian ones), cultural conditioning, and the survival roles many of us learned to play. We unpack why self-abandonment is often praised as a virtue, how these patterns shape our relationships and self-worth, and what healing looks like without rejecting your culture or your past.If you’ve ever felt torn between honoring where you come from and loving who you’re becoming, this episode reminds you: you don’t have to choose one over the other. You get to be a pattern-breaker with compassion, clarity, and choice.Episode Resources📖 Read Big Asian Energy by John Wang – a powerful guide to breaking generational patterns while honoring your cultural roots🎙️ Listen to The Big Asian Energy Podcast for deeper conversations on identity, healing, and becoming a conscious pattern-breaker🌍 Explore John’s work at bigasianenergy.com for tools, talks, and community resourcesIn this episode, you’ll learn:✨ Why many Asian generational patterns were formed for survival, not failure✨ How cultural conditioning quietly shapes relationships, boundaries, and self-worth✨ The cost of staying loyal to roles you’ve outgrown✨ What it truly means to be a pattern-breaker without shame or rejection✨ How awareness creates choice, and choice creates freedomIf you’ve been asking yourself, “Why do I keep ending up here?” or “How do I change without betraying my family or my past?” this is your reminder that you can honor where you came from and still choose something new.Get Started Here✨ Take my new Heartbreak Quiz—discover the pattern your heart learned to stay safe in love.✨ Book a Relationship Clarity Call to uncover the emotional patterns shaping how you show up in love and life.Connect with Me🌐 www.sanaiyahgurnamal.com▶️ @sanaiyahgurnamal IG @sanaiyahgurnamal @projectlovingmyselfpodcastConnect with John Wang🌍 Website: https://www.bigasianenergy.com📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/johnwangofficial/🎵 TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@johnwangbae💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnwangofficial/🎙️ Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5M7T0HbKqNpJNuFRt3DUEH Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ever notice how big milestones don’t always make you want to pop champagne… they make you stare at the ceiling and think, “Wow. That was a lot.”Episode 250 is not a victory lap or a greatest-hits episode. It’s a pause. A real one. The kind where you look back at 250 conversations about love, healing, boundaries, self-worth, and becoming yourself and ask, “What actually worked… and what was I just tolerating?” Spoiler: self-love isn’t cute quotes or morning affirmations. It’s the unglamorous practice of choosing yourself when it would be easier not to.Instead of giving you another “do better this year” pep talk, this episode pulls together the patterns that kept showing up again and again across 250 honest conversations. Consider it your Self-Love Cheat Sheet not for perfection, but for real life. The messy, evolving, sometimes-what-even-is-this chapter you’re probably in right now.Episode Resources✨ PLM 250 Celebration | January 14 | Manila (BGC)A Start the Year in Your Power talk and guided meditation where we pause, reflect, release, and intentionally step into the version of you that’s ready for what’s next.👉 Register here✨ The Self-Love Cheat Sheet – a practical recap of the 7 truths that consistently show up across 250 conversations—so you can apply them in real life, not just reflect on them.In this episode, you’ll learn how to:✨ Why self-love quietly shapes every relationship you enter✨ What 250 conversations reveal about why love struggles when growth stops✨ The patterns that keep repeating when boundaries go unspoken✨ Why healing isn’t about fixing yourself, but reclaiming your power✨ What actually changes when you stop chasing and start choosing yourselfIf you’re starting the year wondering whether you’re behind, doing it wrong, or missing something important, this episode offers a steadier reframe: you’re not late, broken, or failing. You’re learning.Get Started Here✨ Book a Relationship Clarity Call to understand the self-love patterns shaping your relationships.✨ Take the Self-Love Scorecard to see where you’re growing and where you need more self-love boost.Connect with Me🌐 www.sanaiyahgurnamal.com▶️ @sanaiyahgurnamal IG @sanaiyahgurnamal @projectlovingmyselfpodcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ever notice how a new year arrives with a silent demand to be different?To fix something. To upgrade yourself. To become “better” without really checking in with where you actually are.This episode is a guided meditation created to help you pause, ground your body, and reconnect with the version of you that knows her worth without needing to prove it.Instead of forcing your new year's resolution, this meditation invites you to embody them. To meet the woman you’re becoming and realize she isn’t waiting in the distance — she’s already here.Episode Resources✨ join my free 3-hour Self-Love Roadmap workshop on January 10 to turn your inner clarity into a grounded, self-love–led plan for 2026 across the areas that shape your life.In this episode, you’ll learn how to:✨ Ground your nervous system and settle into your body✨ Release old roles, expectations, and versions of yourself you’ve outgrown✨ Connect with a more confident, self-trusting version of you✨ Anchor into a guiding word that sets the tone for the year ahead✨ Begin the year from presence, not pressureIf you’re tired of starting the year feeling behind, rushed, or disconnected from yourself,this meditation offers a quieter beginning — one rooted in your empowerment, not performance.Get Started Here✨ Book a Relationship Clarity Call to explore the emotional patterns shaping how you show up.✨ Take the Self-Love Scorecard to see where your energy may need more care and support.Connect with Me🌐 www.sanaiyahgurnamal.com▶️ @sanaiyahgurnamal IG @sanaiyahgurnamal @projectlovingmyselfpodcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When a very public “perfect couple” falls apart, it quietly shakes something in all of us.If they couldn’t make it… what does that say about love? About soulmates? About us?And during the Christmas season — when everything feels louder — the love stories, the breakups, the questions we don’t usually say out loud — those doubts tend to surface even more.This episode is a gentle but honest conversation about why love doesn’t always last — and why that doesn’t mean love isn’t real. It explores what happens after the spark fades and real life begins, and how relationships unravel when growth is avoided, not when love is absent.Episode Resources✨ Join me in my free 3-hour Self-Love Roadmap workshop on January 10 — a guided space to reflect on the relationship patterns this year revealed and turn that awareness into a grounded, self-love–led plan for 2026 in the 6 key areas of your life.In this episode, you’ll learn how to:✨ Understand why love can end even when it was real✨ Reframe breakups and growing apart without self-blame or cynicism✨ See relationships as growth contracts, not fairy tales✨ Recognize how avoiding inner work quietly erodes connection✨ Recommit to yourself so love has space to evolve instead of fractureIf you’ve found yourself wondering, “Is love even real anymore?”This episode offers a steadier truth: love is real — but it isn’t static. It’s a living practice that asks us to grow, not just feel.Get Started Here✨ Book a Relationship Clarity Call to explore the emotional patterns this season has revealed.✨ Take the Self-Love Scorecard tto see where you may be abandoning yourself inside love.Connect with Me🌐 www.sanaiyahgurnamal.com▶️ @sanaiyahgurnamal IG @sanaiyahgurnamal @projectlovingmyselfpodcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ever notice how life hands you a plan… and then immediately laughs and does the opposite?You asked for an elephant-sized breakthrough, and instead you got a hippopotamus-shaped detour. Cool. Love that for us.When things don’t show up the way you expected, it’s easy to think something’s gone wrong.But what if nothing’s wrong and life is just offering you a different lesson than the one you ordered?This week, I’m taking you with me to the African bush, where a simple phrase cracked me wide open:“What the bush gives, the bush gives.”Translation? You don’t control what appears. Your only job is to notice what’s in front of you… and trust that it showed up for a reason.Episode Resources✨ Download The Year-End Self-Reflection Journal to gently explore where you are, what this season has been teaching you, and what you’re ready to release as you move forward.In this episode, you’ll learn how to:✨ Trust the timing of your life instead of resisting it✨ Reframe detours, delays, and disappointments as meaningful guidance✨ Release the need to control outcomes and open yourself to what’s unfolding✨ Recognize what this season is truly asking you to learn✨ Stop chasing what you think you want and start honoring what’s actually hereIf you’ve ever wondered, “Why isn’t life giving me what I asked for?”This episode offers a softer, wiser question: “What if this is exactly what I need right now?”Get Started Here✨ Book a Relationship Clarity Call to understand the emotional patterns this season has revealed.✨ Take the Self-Love Scorecard to see where you may be resisting yourself instead of supporting yourself.Connect with Me🌐 www.sanaiyahgurnamal.com▶️ @sanaiyahgurnamal IG @sanaiyahgurnamal @projectlovingmyselfpodcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When your soul keeps nudging you to do something bigger with your life, who actually says, “Sure, let me blow up my whole comfort zone real quick?” No one. But sometimes life gets so uncomfortable that staying the same feels scarier than changing.What if choosing yourself doesn’t require a dramatic leap, just an honest moment of, “Okay Universe, fine… I’m ready.”And to make this whole conversation even juicier, I’m joined by someone who lived this shift from the inside out and made it hilarious in the process: Baus Rufo, comedian, content creator, and host of Dogshow Divas and Kaya Pa Ba podcast. He clawed his way out of burnout and into the most honest version of himself, and he’s here to tell you what happens when you stop playing it safe. Episode ResourcesDownload the Year-End Self-Reflection Journal Pages to get honest about where you are, what needs to shift, and who you’re becoming.In this episode, you’ll learn how to:Catch the body signals that scream “you’re out of alignment”, even if your life looks good on paperHeal the belief that you’re unsupported so you can finally start supporting yourself Befriend your inner critic instead of letting it run your life like a toxic micromanagerReclaim your creativity, even if you think you “lost it” somewhere between meetingsTake zero-pressure steps toward a life that feels more authentic, playful, and aliveTrust your timing instead of spiraling about being “too late” to start anything newIf you’ve ever thought, “Am I running out of time?”, this episode flips that fear into something much bolder: “I’m not too late. I’m just finally choosing what I want.” Get Started HereBook a Relationship Clarity Call to uncover the emotional patterns shaping your love life.Take the Self-Love Scorecard to to see where you may be putting yourself last.Connect with Me🌐 www.sanaiyahgurnamal.com▶️ @sanaiyahgurnamal IG @sanaiyahgurnamal @projectlovingmyselfpodcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When a year drags you through plot twists you never signed up for, who actually says, “Wow, what a blessing”? No one. But sometimes the moments we’d rather erase end up revealing truths we were finally ready to hear.So what if endings aren’t just for resolutions and champagne toasts… but also for releasing the heaviness, the pressure, and the stories you’ve quietly carried all year long? This week, we’re grounding into real reflection. The grown-up kind. The kind where you look back at your year, take a deep breath, and say, “Okay Universe, I survived that… but also, rude.”Episode Resources✨ Download The Year-End Self-Reflection Journal to help you end the year with clarity and compassion.In this episode, you’ll learn how to:✨ Look at your year with honesty and compassion instead of pressure✨ Recognize the lessons your highs and lows have been trying to teach you✨ Release old energy, old expectations, and old versions of yourself✨ Anchor into your truth and reconnect with who you’re becoming✨ Enter the new year not with forceful resolutions, but with clarity and peaceIf you’ve ever ended a year thinking, “What even was that?”, this episode helps you shift into something softer and wiser… “This is who I am now, and here’s what I choose moving forward.”Get Started Here✨ Book a Relationship Clarity Call to understand the emotional patterns this year brought up✨ Take the Self-Love Scorecard to see where you’ve been neglecting youConnect with Me🌐 www.sanaiyahgurnamal.com▶️ @sanaiyahgurnamal IG @sanaiyahgurnamal @projectlovingmyselfpodcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When life knocks you on your butt, who actually says “thank you”? No one. But sometimes the stuff we avoid the most ends up teaching us the best lessons.So what if gratitude isn’t just for the cute, calm moments… but also for the mess, the heartbreak, and the plot twists that make you wonder if the Universe is trolling you?This week, we’re talking about real gratitude. The grown-woman kind. The kind where you laugh, cry, roll your eyes, and say, “Okay Universe, I get it… kind of rude though.”Episode ResourcesBook a Relationship Clarity Call to uncover the deeper emotional imprint you’ve been carrying without realizing itTake the Self-Love Scorecard to reveal blind spots in how you’ve been caring for yourself — the ones you don’t even know you’re neglectingUse the Gratitude Prompts in this episode when you need grounding instead of a cliché pep talkIn this episode, you’ll learn how to:How to honor the moments that broke you without pretending you’re okayThe simple science behind why “thank you” calms your whole systemA five-minute practice that turns pain into perspectiveTiny gratitude rituals for tough daysWhat to say when you can’t even fake gratitude yetIf you’ve ever thought, “Why is this happening to me?”, this episode helps you shift into something stronger and a little sassier… “Why not me, and what is this here to teach me?”Connect with Me🌐 www.sanaiyahgurnamal.com▶️ @sanaiyahgurnamal IG @sanaiyahgurnamal@projectlovingmyselfpodcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ever ask yourself, “Why won’t my body let this go… even when I’m doing everything right?”Because a lot times, the weight we carry isn’t physical. It’s emotional.In this episode, we explore how unprocessed emotions get stored in the body, why they show up as physical weight or stubborn symptoms, and how your nervous system plays a bigger role in your health than any diet ever could.Episode Resources✨ Book a Relationship Clarity Call to uncover the emotional root of what your body has been holding.✨ Take the Self-Love Scorecard to see how deeply you’ve been caring for yourselfYou’ll learn:✨ The emotional patterns that keep your body in protection mode✨ Why willpower and “good habits” aren’t enough✨ How stress, grief, resentment, and unspoken feelings translate into physical weight✨ Simple ways to help your nervous system soften so your body can finally let go✨ Why compassion––not pressure––is the key to real releaseThis conversation is your reminder that your body isn’t working against you. It’s communicating with you. It’s asking to be heard before it can let anything go.Connect with Me🌐 www.sanaiyahgurnamal.com▶️ @sanaiyahgurnamal IG @sanaiyahgurnamal @projectlovingmyselfpodcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We're talking about the lies we tell—the tiny white ones, the polite ones, and the quiet ones we whisper to ourselves just to get through the day.Because every lie—no matter how small—costs you connection. With others. And with yourself.We’re unpacking why honesty feels so hard (especially in relationships), how to speak your truth without blowing things up, and why it might be the most freeing thing you ever do.Episode Resources✨ Take the Love Blocks Quiz so you can unlearn the patterns that keep you playing small.✨ Book a Relationship Clarity Call and uncover what your truth is really trying to tell you so you can stop pretending and start living fully.In this episode, you’ll learn how to:✨ Recognize the 4 core reasons we lie—and what each one is really protecting✨ Break free from the world’s most common lie ✨ Tell the truth in a way that heals, not harms✨ Use a simple honesty framework that builds trust instead of tension✨ Hear what your body is trying to tell you when you’re not being honest with yourselfIf you’ve ever felt like you’re living half-truths just to keep everyone else comfortable, this episode is your reminder: peace doesn’t come from being perfect—it comes from being real.Connect with Me🌐 www.sanaiyahgurnamal.com▶️ @sanaiyahgurnamal IG @sanaiyahgurnamal @projectlovingmyselfpodcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.