Free to Be Mindful Podcast | Helping Professional Moms Find Calm in a Busy World
The Free to Be Mindful Podcast with Licensed Therapist and Latina Mom Coach Vanessa De Jesus Guzman helps professional moms find calm in a busy world.
Each episode blends mindful living strategies, mental health insights, and REAL TALK - grounded in culture and inspired by everyday life - to help you stress less, live with intention, and feel more like yourself... without hours of meditation.
Tune in for practical tools and relatable heartfelt stories that help you slow down, recharge, and show up as your best self.
Episodes
311 episodes
When Your Calendar Is Full and You're Running on Empty
Some weeks the calendar wins. Last week Vanessa was up until 3am two nights in a row, not scrolling, actually working, and she woke up the next morning running on empty. In this episode she gets honest about the inherited...
What My Therapy Dog Taught Me About Receiving Support
The strongest woman in the room is often the last one to let support in. Not because no one's offering, but because managing has been her strategy for so long she doesn't always notice when something is available. This episode is about that cos...
What High-Performing Kids Need That Parents Often Miss
What if the loudest critic in your kid's life isn't in the bleachers... it's in their own head? Dr. Peter Economou, licensed psychologist, Zen teacher, and Olympic-level competitive swimmer, joined us for a conversation that's equal parts pract...
How to Take Credit for How Far You've Come
There's a word that sneaks into how so many high-achieving women describe themselves, and it's doing more damage than we realize. It's the word "just." Just a mom. Just changed careers. Just started something. And it costs us more than we know....
How to Trust Your Intuition and Live a More Fulfilled Life
Some of us have pushed that quiet inner voice so far down we've forgotten it was ever there. But what if intuition isn't something you're born with or without, what if it's something you can practice, develop, and lean into right now, in the mi...
Why the Wrong Voices Are Keeping You Stuck
There is a version of productivity that looks impressive on a spreadsheet and exhausts you before you even start. If you've ever downloaded a free resource, opened it, and immediately felt worse about your own life... this one is for you.
Building the Future of Latino Mental Health via the Futuro Fund
What does it look like when a community invests in its own future? In this special Podcasthon episode, Vanessa sits down with Dr. Angela Vargas - licensed psychologist and inaugural Futuro Fund board member - to share the story behind the Latin...
Stop Shrinking, Start Showing Up
You soften your opinions so no one feels uncomfortable. You deflect compliments before they can land. You say yes when you mean no - and then spend twenty minutes explaining the no you finally gave. This episode is about the quiet, everyday way...
Reclaim, Restore, and Rise This Women's History Month
WATCH THIS ON YOUTUBE TOO!You organize the panels. You write the statements. You celebrate every woman around you, and somewhere in the middle of all of it, you forget to let any of it land on you. This episode is not for the role you pl...
Positive Psychology - Real Science or Just Fluff?
Is positive psychology real science… or just another version of “just think positive” that ignores real stress?In this episode of the Free to Be Mindful Podcast, Vanessa De Jesus Guzman sits down with positive psychology expert Diane Lan...
The Hidden Loneliness of Being Highly Capable
Being the one who “has it handled” can look like strength from the outside, but it often comes with an invisible cost. In this episode of the Free to Be Mindful Podcast, Vanessa De Jesus Guzman explores why highly capable, high-functio...
Rebuilding Emotional Connections with Your Partner
Emotional connection in relationships often fades quietly - not because something is wrong, but because life gets full. Parenting, work stress, cultural expectations, and emotional fatigue can slowly replace curiosity, affection, and presence. ...
When Stress Becomes Your Normal Baseline
You finally slow down… but your body doesn’t.In this episode of the Free to Be Mindful Podcast, Vanessa De Jesus Guzman explores what happens when chronic stress becomes so familiar that it no longer feels like stress at all...
Love on the Spectrum Inspired App
In this episode of the Free to Be Mindful Podcast, Vanessa De Jesus Guzman sits down with Jamie Castano, LCSW, and Britt Moser, two of the co-founders of Synchrony, a first-of-its-kind social app designed to help neu...
The Invisible Leadership Moms Practice Every Day
In this episode of the Free to Be Mindful Podcast, Vanessa De Jesus Guzman explores the invisible leadership moms practice every day - at home, at work, and in the moments no one sees. Released on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, this conversation r...
Lifestyle Shifts Supporting Longevity and Well-Being
Lifestyle Shifts Supporting Longevity and WellbeingTaking care of your health can feel overwhelming, especially when so many approaches promise big results but don’t last. If you’ve ever wondered why healthy habits are hard to sus...
Letting Go of the New Year, New Me Pressures
The start of a new year often comes with quiet expectation... to do more, be more, and have everything figured out. For many moms, especially those balancing motherhood, work, and caregiving, that pressure doesn’t feel motivating. It feels heav...
Recovering From the Holidays | The Anti-Overwhelm Holiday Series
Recovering from the holidays can feel unexpectedly heavy for moms… even after schedules finally slow. In this final episode of 2025, and the culmination of the Anti-Overwhelm Holiday Series, Vanessa De Jesus Guzman, LPC, NCC reflects on what th...
Giving without Over Giving this Holiday | The Anti-Overwhelm Holiday Series
The final week of holiday shopping can feel overwhelming, especially for moms carrying the mental load of gifts, schedules, budgets, and expectations. In this episode of the Anti-Overwhelm Holiday Series, Licensed Therapist and Mom Coa...
When Holiday Joy Feels Out of Reach | The Anti-Overwhelm Holiday Series
The holidays are often portrayed as a season of joy, connection, and magic, but for many of us, they also bring emotional overwhelm, grief, stress, and the pressure to “stay cheerful” even when we don’t feel that way. In this episode of the Fre...
Helping Kids and Parents Stay Calm Through Holiday Overstimulation
The holidays promise magic, but for many families, they also bring sensory overload, unpredictable routines, big emotions, and the kind of meltdowns that can appear out of nowhere. And if we’re honest, parents aren’t far behind.In this e...
Navigating Family Triggers and Boundaries This Holiday Season | The Anti-Overwhelm Holiday Series
When the holidays roll around, many moms find themselves slipping back into old family roles before they even realize it’s happening. One step into a family gathering, one comment from a relative, one expectation placed on you, and suddenly you...
The Mom Guilt Holiday Sandwich | The Anti-Overwhelm Holiday Series
In this episode of the Free to Be Mindful Podcast, Vanessa De Jesus Guzman unpacks the guilt moms silently carry during the holiday season - especially the cultural guilt, emotional pressure, and endless “I shoulds” that make this time of year ...
The Myth of the Perfect Holiday Mom | The Anti-Overwhelm Holiday Series
Every scroll, every sparkle, every “perfect” photo tells us that holiday joy means having it all together. But what if the real magic of the season isn’t found in doing more, it’s found in being present?In this installm...
Why Moms ARE the Holiday Season | The Anti-Overwhelm Holiday Series
In this first episode of The Anti-Overwhelm Holiday Series, host Vanessa De Jesus Guzman, licensed therapist and mom coach, pulls back the tinsel to talk about the truth many won’t say out loud: moms don’t get a holiday season...