Welcome to Aligned to Rise, the podcast for ambitious women who are ready to reclaim their vitality, align with their true power, and rise into the life they were meant to live.
Hosted by functional nutritionist and performance coach Alyssa Chavez, this show blends the science of gut and hormone health with the soul of mindset work, nervous system healing, and emotional release. Whether you’re navigating endometriosis, period pain, fatigue, or digestive drama—or you’re just craving deeper clarity and confidence in your body and purpose—you’ll find the support you need right here.
Each week, you’ll hear raw conversations, expert insights, and practical tools that help you:
Understand what’s really going on in your body
Rewire limiting beliefs and emotional patterns
Nourish yourself on every level—physically, emotionally, and energetically
Step fully into the bold, aligned woman you know you’re meant to be
This is your space to grow, to heal, and to rise!
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In this episode, I sat down with somatic psychotherapist and nervous system coach Tracy Whitton, author of 365 Days of Nervous System Care, to explore one of the most overlooked root causes of hormonal imbalance, chronic illness, and emotional dysregulation: your nervous system. With over 25 years of experience working with thousands of bodies, Tracy shares the patterns she sees most in the women she works with, and what we can actually do about them.
What You'll Learn in This Episode
What the nervous system actually is, and why it matters for your hormones, digestion, and emotional health
Why your body can't prioritize sex hormones when it's stuck in a stress response, and how this connects to menstrual issues, endometriosis, and fertility challenges
Why safety is the foundation of all nervous system repair, and what safety actually means (hint: it's not about removing discomfort)
How to stop thinking your body is failing you, and what to tell yourself instead
Disclaimer: This podcast is for educational purposes only. This may not be the best fit for you and your personal situation. It shall not be construed as medical advice. The information and education provided here is not intended or implied to supplement or replace professional medical treatment, advice, and/or diagnosis. Always check with your own physician or medical professional before trying or implementing any information read here.
In this episode, we're digging into four common myths in the endo world that sound helpful but can actually keep your nervous system stuck in fight-or-flight mode, making healing harder, not easier. If you've been doing everything "right" and still feel tense, inflamed, or reactive, this episode is for you.
What We Cover:
We start by breaking down what survival mode actually looks like: hypervigilance around food and symptoms, constant symptom tracking, fear of flare-ups, feeling like your body is the enemy, and muscle guarding. We also explore how chronic sympathetic nervous system activation contributes to pain, inflammation, and even fertility struggles.
Then we tackle the four big myths:
Myth #1: If you just eat clean enough, your endo will calm down.
Myth #2: More discipline equals better results.
Myth #3: Pain means something is wrong right now.
Myth #4: You have to push through to stay strong.
We wrap up with practical, actionable ways to start moving out of survival mode: eating with less fear and more gratitude, calming your nervous system when symptoms arise, building restorative habits, gentle consistency over perfectionism, and leaning on a support system rather than isolating.
Painful periods are common, but they’re not normal. In this episode, I break down what’s actually happening in your body when your period hurts and why pain is a signal, not something to simply override.
You’ll learn how inflammation, hormones, gut health, blood sugar, toxins, and even your nervous system all play a role in period pain, and how understanding these root causes opens the door to real, lasting relief.
Whether you deal with cramps, PMS, endometriosis, or fibroids, this episode will help you see your body in a new way and give you hope that things can change.
This week is our final episode of the infertility awareness series. I am excited to talk with Deidre Bloomquist. She is a functional nutritionist, and her specialty is reversing infertility through restoring health by reducing toxicity. In today’s episode we dive into how toxicity impacts the body and fertility.
In today’s episode, you’ll hear:
-Endocrine disruptors like phthalates and fragrances impact hormones, which affects fertility.
-Toxins are everywhere, especially in products with fragrances, which are in many everyday products people use.
-Your gut health matters for fertility because it impacts your hormones, and when there are imbalances, like dysbiosis, it stresses out your body, which can impact your hormones too; toxins like pesticides, heavy metals, mold, and even emotional stressors can cause gut imbalances.
-In early conception, the thyroid is important in cellular replication, and if the thyroid is not functioning optimally it might cause fertility issues; heavy metals like aluminum and mercury, along with mold, can throw your thyroid off balance.
-A lot of times people think that their symptoms are completely normal, when it can be traced back to toxins that you were exposed to in utero; learning how to manage how many toxins you come into contact with will ultimately impact the health of your child.
-Unexplained infertility is definitely explainable, and what it really means is doctors don’t really know why you are unable to get pregnant; by digging deeper into the root causes of your symptoms, you are given a pathway to make the changes you need in order to get pregnant.
Navigating Fertility and Endometriosis with Acupuncture w/ Allison Locke
In today’s episode, we continue our Infertility Awareness series by diving into the world of Traditional Chinese Medicine with Allison Locke, an Acupuncturist and integrative health practitioner. Allison, who is also an endo warrior, offers valuable insights into how TCM can provide an alternative approach to addressing infertility and endometriosis.
In this episode, you’ll hear:
-Acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine values balance and living in accordance with nature, and it is more than just putting needles in your body.
-How in TCM there is a very different diagnostic process; one illness can have different imbalances in the body like blood and qi stagnation, leading to different patterns that might show up as infertility.
-Acupuncture works wonders for relaxing the nervous system from a Western standpoint, but from a TCM lens, conditions like endometriosis often involve stagnation, poor circulation of qi and blood, and deficiency; TCM can pinpoint the root cause and tailor treatments accordingly.
-How in TCM, tackling infertility is all about focusing on healthy blood circulation, and whether you're aiming for a natural pregnancy or going through IVF or IUI, the approach remains consistent; research shows that combining IVF with TCM increases the chances of success by around 30%.
-The functional approach can be blended and used with TCM to help achieve the best quality of life.
-Acupuncture is not as scary as it sounds, it helps take your body out of the fight or flight mode, the needles are as thin as a strand of hair, it is a very safe practice, and it is a very relaxing experience.
Navigating Mental Health With Infertility w/ Jessica Sorensen
Today’s episode is the second of this month-long series about infertility awareness. I'm thrilled to have Jessica Sorensen, a reproductive and perinatal therapist, joining us to delve into the mental health aspect of this journey. Jessica, having endometriosis herself, brings firsthand insight into what this journey entails. Both Jessica and I strongly believe in taking care of our whole selves through mind, body, and spirit.
In this episode, you’ll hear:
-How infertility can be physically and emotionally taxing for women as they navigate challenges like grief, anxiety, depression, relationship strains, managing endometriosis, and questions of identity and self-worth.
-That it is so easy to overlook your mental health during this journey because you're always given the next steps immediately, leaving little time to process and grieve what you've been through.
-Reproductive trauma includes any distressing event related to infertility, pregnancy, birth, or postpartum experiences.
-When you're experiencing anxiety, brain fog, and other symptoms, remember to give yourself grace; your nervous system is processing the trauma you've endured.
-Ways to support yourself when dealing with these challenging experiences: seek professional help, join a support group, communicate openly with your medical team, set boundaries, and confide in trusted individuals.
-Grief is very personal and it isn’t linear, and you don’t need to just get over it; allow yourself the time and space to process and acknowledge your feelings.
A Journey Through Infertility: Loss, Healing, and Hope
Welcome back to the Endo Belly Girl Podcast! This month, in honor of National Infertility Awareness Week, we're diving deep into a series of discussions about infertility and our personal journeys with it. If this topic hits close to home and feels overwhelming for you, it's totally okay to take a breather and join us again in May when I'll be covering different topics.
For the first episode in this series, I wanted to open up about my own fertility journey. My hope is that sharing my story will offer you comfort, validation, and the understanding that this journey is ongoing and full of hope.
In this episode, you’ll hear:
-I'm not perfect, and I'm still on this healing journey too; I've made progress and I'm not the same person I was when I began.
-My journey of when I stopped birth control to start a family, and the symptoms I experienced due to my endometriosis.
-My experience with IVF, including how it took a toll on me mentally and physically, and the lessons I took away from it.
-What I experienced after having a miscarriage, and realizing that I needed to take a step back and focus on my own health.
-The lessons I have learned along the way such as dealing with the grief I experienced from my failed embryo transfer and miscarriage, the body dysmorphia that I experienced after my miscarriage, and that boundaries and communication are important during this phase of my life.
Welcome back to the Endo Belly Girl Podcast! In today’s episode I talk with my dear friend, Lindsay Little, about my favorite topic: gut health. Lindsay is a holistic nutritionist who helps women with embarrassing digestive issues. We're total nerds when it comes to gut health, and I thought it'd be super beneficial to bring Lindsay on board to get another expert perspective.
In this episode, you’ll hear:
-The difference between what is common with digestion, and what is normal; just because it is common does not mean that it is normal.
-How a lot of the symptoms we experience start with the gut, and how our gut health affects every other system in the body.
-Bowel regularity and motility, and the differences between slow and fast motility.
-The root cause of bowel irregularity, such as dysbiosis and leaky gut, and how leaky gut occurs in the body.
-How the Standard American Diet, stress, and medications such as birth control contribute to the causes of dysbiosis, leaky gut, and how the gut microbiome behaves.
-Hormone production relies on nutrients like healthy fats, but diet culture often misleads us into cutting them out.
-You are on what you absorb, so if the body is not absorbing the needed nutrients, the body cannot function properly especially for hormone production.
The Hidden Costs of Birth Control w/ Crystal Felice
In today’s episode I'm thrilled to be joined by Crystal Felice, a former Pharmacist who's now a functional practitioner. Today, we're delving into a crucial topic: birth control. So many of us are introduced to the pill at a young age as a solution to our hormonal issues, and we aren’t told what it is actually doing to our bodies. We both feel very passionate that we should be educated about the medication we use daily.
In this episode, you’ll hear:
-Birth control isn't a hormone replacement—it's designed to prevent pregnancy by halting your regular cycle, and your period while on the pill is a pill-induced bleed, not a natural cycle.
-The difference between bioidentical hormones versus synthetic hormones, and how that affects your body.
-The side effects, like depleting your body of nutrients, and this can lead to other issues, such as depression and anxiety, often resulting in the need for additional medications.
-How birth control is often prescribed to address problems like acne or period pain, but it's more of a quick fix than a long-term solution; when you stop taking it, those issues tend to come right back.
-Ways to support your body when you are on and getting off birth control, and how quitting cold turkey is not the best way to go about it; you need to focus on supporting your detox pathways, nurturing your gut, and replenishing your nutrients.
-Women deserve to understand the effects of birth control before starting it, and informed consent is essential for the medications we take.
-It's important to include your partner in decisions about birth control; whether you're stopping or continuing, keep them informed about what's happening in your body.
Unlocking the Power of Functional Blood Chemistry for Endo
In this week’s episode, I'm delving into an exciting addition to my nutrition practice: functional blood chemistry. Functional testing is a powerful tool for uncovering potential imbalances in the body, especially when it comes to understanding symptoms like those associated with endometriosis.
By combining functional blood chemistry with dietary interventions, I can pinpoint specific issues and tailor my approach to each client's needs. This testing provides a deeper understanding of the body's inner workings, and enables my clients to make more informed decisions about their health and well-being.
In this episode you’ll hear:
-What functional testing is vs conventional testing: at the doctor's office they typically use conventional testing, but functional testing offers a lot more data.
-Optimal ranges vs conventional ranges: optimal ranges give you a better idea of how much of a nutrient your body really needs to thrive, rather than to the bare minimum you need to survive.
-Functional approach vs conventional: with functional work, it's all about diving into the data and letting it guide our decisions; whereas, when you see a doctor, they're mainly focused on diagnosing your condition based on symptoms and tests.
-What you can learn from a functional test and how that applies to endometriosis.
-Functional blood tests give you a comprehensive view of your thyroid health, unlike typical doctor's tests that usually only cover two markers.
Functional blood chemistry is crucial for addressing endometriosis effectively. Join me for a free live webinar on Thursday, March 21st at 4pm PST, where I'll dive into the wealth of information it provides. Attending live ensures you'll get all your questions answered and maximize the benefits.
Additionally, I'll be introducing the Thrive with Endo Starter Package, a more accessible and affordable program. Applications open the same day as the webinar, but only for a few days. Check out the links below for more details!
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Disclaimer: This podcast is for educational purposes only. This may not be the best fit for you and your personal situation. It shall not be construed as medical advice. The information and education provided here is not intended or implied to supplement or replace professional medical treatment, advice, and/or diagnosis. Always check with your own physician or medical professional before trying or implementing any information read here.
Disclaimer: This podcast is for educational purposes only. This may not be the best fit for you and your personal situation. It shall not be construed as medical advice. The information and education provided here is not intended or implied to supplement or replace professional medical treatment, advice, and/or diagnosis. Always check with your own physician or medical professional before trying or implementing any information read here.
-When IUI or IVF doesn't work typically it's because the body doesn’t feel safe, and it is trying to keep you safe; doing functional work can help and prepare your body for those procedures or to get pregnant naturally.
To reduce toxicity and support fertility, start with your water source. Invest in a good quality filter. Look at things around your home and see what has fragrances, and buy things new in a better quality when you run out of that product. Make changes slowly, and remember perfection is not the goal. Prioritize daily use items for immediate improvement.
Disclaimer: This podcast is for educational purposes only. This may not be the best fit for you and your personal situation. It shall not be construed as medical advice. The information and education provided here is not intended or implied to supplement or replace professional medical treatment, advice, and/or diagnosis. Always check with your own physician or medical professional before trying or implementing any information read here.
If you are interested in TCM and acupuncture, but lacking access or seeking initial steps, focusing on foundational health pillars like diet, exercise, stress management, and sleep is a great starting place. The temperature of your food can affect how your body functions, and syncing sleep with natural light cycles, can positively impact overall health. TCM encourages living in harmony with nature, so making lifestyle adjustments in line with this philosophy is a great way to begin integrating TCM into your daily routine.
Disclaimer: This podcast is for educational purposes only. This may not be the best fit for you and your personal situation. It shall not be construed as medical advice. The information and education provided here is not intended or implied to supplement or replace professional medical treatment, advice, and/or diagnosis. Always check with your own physician or medical professional before trying or implementing any information read here.
-Your well-being as a table with four legs: stress, movement, sleep, and nutrition, and just like building a table, focus on one leg at a time to strengthen your overall health gradually; start with small steps and work your way up.
Remember, this journey is multifaceted. Whether you're in crisis or not, it's okay to seek support, whether it's for nutrition or mental health. Give yourself permission to process your experiences and know that there's a supportive community of women who understand what you're going through. You're not alone.
Disclaimer: This podcast is for educational purposes only. This may not be the best fit for you and your personal situation. It shall not be construed as medical advice. The information and education provided here is not intended or implied to supplement or replace professional medical treatment, advice, and/or diagnosis. Always check with your own physician or medical professional before trying or implementing any information read here.
-The profound gratitude I've developed for my body and the journey of learning to love and accept it for all its complexities.
And remember, if you're going through a similar journey and feel like you have no one to turn to, know that you're not alone. You don't have to be my client to reach out and connect. I'm here to offer support and lend an ear whenever you need it. Your listenership means the world to me, and I'm deeply grateful for the opportunity to connect and help in any way I can.
Email Alyssa: alyssa@wholewomanwellness.net
Subscribe to the Aligned to Rise Podcast: Apple | Spotify
Disclaimer: This podcast is for educational purposes only. This may not be the best fit for you and your personal situation. It shall not be construed as medical advice. The information and education provided here is not intended or implied to supplement or replace professional medical treatment, advice, and/or diagnosis. Always check with your own physician or medical professional before trying or implementing any information read here.
-Eating healthy nutrient dense foods is necessary for blood sugar regulation, and regulating all the hormones in your body.
-How constipation can lead to an accumulation of excess estrogen, along with heavy metals and toxins, because the body struggles to eliminate them effectively.
-How the gut is the gatekeeper of hormones, and when there is damage to the gut it is unable to produce hormones and neurotransmitters that are necessary for your body.
-How good and bad bacteria in your gut help regulate estrogen levels.
Remember, you don't have to overwhelm yourself with information overload. Start small, keep it simple, and focus on building sustainable habits that'll last a lifetime. Healing isn't always a straight line, but every step forward is progress towards better health.
Disclaimer: This podcast is for educational purposes only. This may not be the best fit for you and your personal situation. It shall not be construed as medical advice. The information and education provided here is not intended or implied to supplement or replace professional medical treatment, advice, and/or diagnosis. Always check with your own physician or medical professional before trying or implementing any information read here.
Education about birth control is key for women to feel confident discussing their symptoms with their doctors and advocating for themselves. Remember, there's no one-size-fits-all solution when it comes to your health. It's all about informed consent!
Disclaimer: This podcast is for educational purposes only. This may not be the best fit for you and your personal situation. It shall not be construed as medical advice. The information and education provided here is not intended or implied to supplement or replace professional medical treatment, advice, and/or diagnosis. Always check with your own physician or medical professional before trying or implementing any information read here.
Disclaimer: This podcast is for educational purposes only. This may not be the best fit for you and your personal situation. It shall not be construed as medical advice. The information and education provided here is not intended or implied to supplement or replace professional medical treatment, advice, and/or diagnosis. Always check with your own physician or medical professional before trying or implementing any information read here.
