Episode SummaryIn this episode, I’m exploring why linear growth is one of the most persistent and misleading myths shaping how we plan, work, and care for ourselves in today's modern world. This conversation aligns with where we are collectively right now in mid-winter, a seasonal threshold where the pressure to push forward often clashes with what our bodies and energy systems are actually asking for.

I’m joined by Dr. Molly Sandeep, whose work in the body and Traditional Chinese Medicine offers a grounded, lived perspective on cycles within cycles. Together, we explore personal seasons, external seasons, and what happens when those rhythms are slightly out of sync. We invite you to embody growth as a cyclical process rather than a straight line so that you can feel how that distinction changes the way you make decisions.

Your body already knows your timing, and learning to listen to it reduces pressure, clarifies direction, and creates space for innovation to emerge naturally.

In this episode, you’ll hear about:

• How linear growth is a modern construct rather than a natural rhythm

• How personal seasons and collective seasons can overlap or diverge

• The five-season framework from Traditional Chinese Medicine and its elements

• Mid-winter as a window of clarity

• Innovation employed as adaptation rather than constant output as is often the case through a Western lens

• Listening first, then effort, as a body-led approach to planning and healing

• The mountain summit and in-between space as a metaphor for seasonal thresholds

Key takeaways:

• Growth happens in cycles, even when culture expects consistency

• Feeling out of sync can be an invitation to return to your own timing

• Reflection is not a pause from progress, it is part of it

• Mid-winter supports surveying, clarifying, and gathering insight

• Reducing pressure creates more sustainable and aligned momentum

Call to ActionNotice where you are feeling pressure to move linearly right now. Ask yourself what your body or energy is actually asking for instead.LinksCharting Your Course System

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Dr. Molly Sandeep and Aluma Wellness Studio

In Person Workshop in Chicago Feb 7, 2026