Balanced Wellness with Donna

05/04/2026

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We spend decades carrying invisible loads, filling our hearts with the anxieties, opinions, and unhealed reactions of everyone we love. Society often praises this relentless people-pleasing as loyalty, tricking us into believing that managing other people's chaos is our ultimate duty. But this is a crushing, unnatural weight that slowly extinguishes our own light and leaves us completely depleted.

The Buddha’s teachings in the Bhāra Sutta directly address this exact suffering, speaking to the profound spiritual liberation of finally laying down the heavy burden. The most exhausting weights we carry are rarely physical; they are the deep attachments (Upādāna) we form when we try to control the uncontrollable. Attempting to manage the inner landscape and life choices of another human being is an impossible task that only drains your vital energy. Letting go of their narrative is never an act of abandonment; it is a fiercely respectful acknowledgment that they must walk their own journey.

True spiritual courage lies in recognizing exactly what actually belongs to you. Channel your precious energy into Samma-Vayama (Right Effort)—the active, daily practice of nurturing your own integrity, fiercely enforcing your boundaries, and walking your path with unwavering dignity. You are entirely allowed to let others carry their own emotional weather. Put down the heavy expectations that were never yours to hold, and step into the profound, quiet relief of simply being true to yourself.

04/21/2026

Energy is subtle, but it’s incredibly powerful. ✨

Have you ever noticed how the people you spend time with shape your thoughts, your mood, and your overall sense of peace? When someone is constantly battling inner conflict, their chaos can quietly spill over into your own space.

Here’s a gentle reminder for today: Protecting your peace isn't selfish. It is responsible. Your happiness is not a luxury, and your mental health is absolutely non-negotiable. 🛑

Remember that you can deeply care for others without absorbing their turmoil. Give yourself permission to set firm boundaries, choose calm environments, and prioritize your rest and clarity. 🌿

Ultimately, the quality of your life depends entirely on the energy you allow to stay. Choose wisely. 💛

04/12/2026

Several times this week I’ve said these same words in Reiki client sessions… here’s another reminder…

04/04/2026

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03/20/2026

There are certain people who come into your life at just the right time and gently change your path… 💫

Lorin is one of those people for me. Over a dozen years ago, she was instrumental in my journey into the healing and wellness world, and I’ll always be grateful for the guidance she has shared.

She’ll be offering a beautiful upcoming event at Zeng Natural Healing.
✨ Kundalini Yoga, Meditation, Sound healing, and Breathwork—a truly powerful combination.

This is a wonderful opportunity to reconnect, reset, and renew.

03/11/2026

Some of my clients have been asking when Arta will be offering another sound bath. She will be sharing her immersive sound healing at this beautiful Nourishing & Bloom retreat day hosted by Jess. It looks like it will be a wonderful day of amazing offerings, relaxation, and connection.

03/08/2026

Life does not wait for perfect feelings.

If you keep waiting until everything feels right, you may keep postponing your life.
Healing does not always come first.

Sometimes you move forward while still feeling sad, anxious, or uncertain.
And through living, something inside you slowly begins to heal.

Take the walk.
Start the journey.
Try the new thing.

You don’t need a perfect mind to live a meaningful life.

Often, the courage to keep living is exactly what brings the healing you were waiting for. 🌿

03/05/2026

Clarity is the theme of the day today in client sessions...I just saw this and it hit 🎯

02/17/2026

🔥 YEAR OF THE FIRE HORSE 🔥

Tomorrow we step out of the shedding energy of the Snake and into movement, courage and forward momentum. The Fire Horse does not wait. It pushes you to live louder, love braver and stop holding yourself back from the life you know you deserve.

If the past months felt heavy, emotional or slow, that was preparation. You were releasing old skins, old attachments and old versions of yourself. Now the energy shifts from reflection to action.

This new cycle is about confidence, independence and passion. Some relationships will accelerate, some will fall away, and some truths will finally come to the surface. Follow what feels alive again inside you.

Type 🔥 if you are ready to leave the past behind and ride into this new chapter with strength.

02/14/2026

So interesting!

Long before chocolates and roses, Valentine’s Day had a far darker beginning. The holiday traces back to Saint Valentine, a Roman priest who lived in the 3rd century under Emperor Claudius II.

According to legend, Claudius believed single men made better soldiers and banned young men from marrying. Valentine defied the order and secretly performed weddings for couples in love. When his actions were discovered, he was arrested and eventually executed on February 14, around 269 AD.

Another story claims that while imprisoned, Valentine befriended — and possibly healed — the jailer’s blind daughter. Before his death, he allegedly signed a letter to her “from your Valentine,” a phrase that may have inspired the modern tradition of love notes.
Over time, the Church honored him as a martyr. Later, medieval poets connected the date with romance and courtly love.

Eventually, the legend transformed into the celebration we know today. So behind every red rose lies a story of rebellion, sacrifice, and a love that refused to bow to power.

02/13/2026

Some may love who you are, some may not...When you stop curating an image and start honoring your truth, life becomes lighter. Some people will feel seen by your honesty, others may feel unsettled by it—but neither reaction defines you.

The sun doesn’t dim itself to please the night, and the moon doesn’t apologize for its phases. They simply exist in balance, just like you.

Remain untouched by opinions, projections, or expectations.

Be real. Be whole. Be unbothered. 🌗
Because when you are rooted in who you are, nothing outside of you has the power to shake it.

01/01/2026

26 Manifesto Rules for the Year.
1. Stare fear in the face. So often fear stops us. Instead live fearless - knowing when to stop and when to move and when to be brave.

2. Invest in your friends. Good friends listen and show up. Do the same. Friendship is give and take and give and take. Friends are the ultimate gift.

3. No excuses. You must take care of yourself: heart, body and soul. There is no excuse for forgetting you. Your family needs you to love you with the same tenacity that you love them.

4. Guilt doesn't need to dictate choices. Don't let guilt stop you from taking care of yourself. Guilt keeps one stuck.

5. Read real books again. Watch a mini-series. Start jogging. Do something that is not work, not chores, but simply that makes you happy.

6. Love your body. Your aging body. Yes, that. And stop lamenting the wrinkles, but embrace them as another year lived.

7. Don't short-change yourself. You are amazing.

8. Listen more, judge less. Comparison is the death of contentment. Instead of judging, be happy for others.

9. Slow down. Hold hands more. Say "yes" to one more book. Let them get the gum in the check out line. Just be present.

10. Create margin in your life. That space in-between the busy and the crazy where you can just breathe again.

11. Don't be afraid of "no" and trying. The worst that can happen is that you brush off and try again.

12. Be proud of yourself. Like really nitty gritty proud - of all the showing up and trying and giving and little things you do that matter so greatly.

13. Give to others. Maybe it's not money or time, but sometimes it can be grace extended.

14. Be straightforward with your words.

15. Love well. Love without fear. Love unconditionally. Love others. Love yourself.

16. Forgive. Grudges destroy, forgiving brings freedom. And if you’re not at a place of forgiving, it’s okay. It’s your timeline, not what others “think” is right.

17. Fall seven times, stand up eight. Don't lament the falling - celebrate the standing.

18. Learn from your experiences and mistakes. They don’t need to define. Sometimes those spaces of experience make us real and in the real spaces we forge connection.

19. Take risks. The biggest risk for me in life is the risk of not trying.

20. Mindset, mindset, mindset. What one thinks truly is what one believes, what one becomes.

21. Be adaptable. Life can change in an instant.

22. Love others deeply. For who they are, for their courage, for their story. Kindness and love are priceless.

23. Be a learner, but don’t let learning stop you from taking action. You have to start. Try. The only way to walk (or run) a thousand miles is to complete mile one. So be brave. Start.

24. Do the work. Whether it’s the mental work to change patterns or the active work to change things - talking and doing are some different. So don’t be afraid of hard work, put in the effort. Talking about change and working for change are completely different.

25. Step into YOUR story and fuel YOUR soul. Live unapologetically yourself. This is your time, now.

26. There is a duality to life. Hard and soft, hustle and peace, grit and grace, stength and flexibility, etc… lean into both. Life is not one or the other, rather is this beautiful place of needing both.

Begin. 🙌

~Rachel


PS: I originally wrote these at the end of 2019 and have been adding on with new lessons learned.

original words by Rachel Marie Martin of Finding Joyo