Why a Richmond shaman retreat heals burnout when productivity hacks fail

Freeze, Fear, and Fake Fixes

Before I discovered the Quantum Medicine Wheel, I was deep in the kind of burnout that most women don’t talk about publicly.

For me, burnout wasn’t just stress or exhaustion—it was nervous system freeze. Like… I couldn’t do anything. Even the smallest tasks felt impossible. I could barely take care of myself. Feeding my dogs and preventing poop on the carpet was the gold standard. Everything else? I didn’t have it in me to care.

My mind ran wild with worst-case scenarios.

Will an axe murdering be waiting in my car when I come out of the store? Doubtful.

Will someone drive into the front of my house? Not with 2 cars parked out front, plus a curb, plus steps.

Will my ex-husband come back to haunt me? Uhhhh, no. He's busy with his own messy drama-filled life.

Worry ruled everything. I was always in fear—of failing again, of not doing enough, of not being enough. I would obsess over imaginary disasters that weren’t even real possibilities. And then I’d crash for days. Over and over again.

Productivity Hacks Don’t Heal Nervous Systems

I tried all the “fixes.” Time blocking. The 5 AM club. Pomodoro timers. Motivational YouTube binges. Sometimes I’d even white-knuckle it through a “head down, blinders on” sprint… only to crash and burn for three days afterward.

Occasionally, one would work for a little while, but then I’d always end up back in freeze. Back in the cycle. Back in the apathy. It was like my body kept saying, “I can’t do this anymore,” and I kept responding, “Shut up. We’ve got work to do.”

What the Medicine Wheel Taught Me About Time, Trust, and Truth

The Quantum Medicine Wheel changed everything for me.

It taught me that time is a made-up construct—an agreement between humans, not a Universal truth. The real rhythms are the moon, the sun, the planets, the seasons. Those are what my soul responds to.

So I decided to stop forcing myself into systems that weren’t designed for sensitive, soul-led women. I started listening to my body. I started supporting my emotions instead of bulldozing them. I stopped asking, “How can I be more productive?” and started asking, “What does my system need in order to feel safe?”

I learned how to trust my intuition, for real. Not the trendy, watered-down version. The kind that shows up and says, “Rest. Wait. Choose again.”

My Life Now? Peaceful, Profitable, and Sacredly Slow

Since integrating the Wheel, here’s what changed:

• I haven’t had a panic attack in more than eight years

• I’m off antidepressants, anxiety meds, and mood stabilizers

• I no longer obsess over worst-case scenarios

• I feel like I have more time, because I’m no longer wasting it forcing what isn’t aligned

• My 4-hour workdays are more productive than my old 8-hour corporate ones

• I’ve created a monthly CEO week for rest, backend strategy, and inspired creation

• My income has increase, and stabilized

And the best part? My joy returned. My life returned.

Productivity Hacks Didn’t Set Me Free, The Wheel Did

Our world doesn’t teach us how to heal. It teaches us to push through. To carry a Santa sack of unresolved pain. All the bullying, betrayal, grief, shame, and how to drag it into every business decision, relationship, and burnout cycle we enter.

Shamanic wisdom teaches us to put the damn sack down. (Which remind of this scene from a great Christmas movie! Jingle All The Way with Arnold Schwarznegger)

This is me when I see someone carrying around their trauma like a santa sack they can't let go of. LOL

It's meant to make you laugh and realize how true it is.

We can stop blaming others for pushing our buttons. We can stop shaming ourselves for having buttons. We can remove the buttons altogether.

When you’re in burnout, your body is screaming “I can’t do this anymore!” And instead of resting, we double down. We try another funnel. Another planner. Another hack.

It’s not your fault. You just weren’t taught the path back home to who you truly are, deep at your core.

Spiritual Retreats in Richmond: This Is the Real Work

This is why I lead Richmond shaman retreats for spiritual women, entrepreneurs, and high-capacity healers. Because the real medicine isn’t in doing more all the time, it’s in remembering who you are without all the noise and the bullshit.

When you’ve tried everything… When you feel like your soul is whispering “there’s another way…” When your nervous system is begging for something real…

Then come sit in this sacred shamanic circle. We’ll listen. We’ll heal. And we’ll let the fairies of the Universe do some of the heavy lifting.

Join the Next Retreat

Your body knows the truth. Are you ready to honor that truth?

Learn more about my Richmond shaman retreat and reclaim the part of you that never needed fixing in the first place.