Ep. 24 | How to Embrace Change and Navigate Life's Seasons

On today's installment of The Prolific Hub Podcast, I'm embracing the solo flight to guide you through the power of seasonal transformation, both around us and within.

The conversation doesn't end with the closing of this episode; it's just the beginning. I've got some invigorating news about our podcast's evolution, and it's all about deepening our connection. As I steer the ship alone, we'll be intertwining more seasonal wisdom, inviting inspiring guests, and eagerly awaiting your own tales of change and growth. Let's foster a community where our shared experiences ripple out, fostering a space of support and inspiration. So, wrap your fingers around a warm mug, settle into your sanctuary, and let's explore the shifts that shape our lives.

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Theme Music:
She No Dull Beat by Nana Kwabena
Festivities in Belize by RAGE Productions

Chapters

• 1:31 Navigating Seasons of Change
• 18:33 Podcast Updates and Community Engagement

Transcript

Aliya Cheyanne: 1:31

Hey y'all, welcome back to the Prolific Hub podcast. I'm your girl, aaliyah Cheyenne, and this is a solo episode today. Thank y'all for tuning in and bearing with us, because this is a little bit later than planned, but still glad to be here. Super funny In our last episode our first guest ever on the podcast, donnie P, asked if we get nervous before we record and I was like no, and usually that's because I'm with my co-host or we have a guest or something. But when it is me by myself, I definitely do get nervous. So bear with me. I'm drinking some hot tea, so I'm going to try to be mindful of the slurping and everything else, unless you guys want ASMR. In that case I can slurp, but otherwise I'll try to be mindful. I wanted to start the episode off a little bit differently today. I definitely have had to do some breath work throughout the course of today just to kind of center myself, regulate my nervous system, so I wanted to kick off the episode with box breathing. So if you don't know what that is, it's a breathing exercise or breathwork exercise that helps to regulate your nervous system, helps to activate, I think, your parasympathetic nervous system, if I'm saying that correctly and just helps with moments of anxiousness or just a moment of calm, quiet meditation to yourself. So what it is is you take a deep breath in for four, you hold it for four counts. You exhale for four counts. You hold it for four counts. You exhale for four counts, you hold it again for four counts, and you can do that on your own if and when you need it and lean on that tool whenever you need it. And if you're not interested in doing it right now for this episode with me, you can definitely skip a minute or two ahead. But for those of you who are down to do it and down to try it, let's go. Let's do a couple of sets of box breaths. So take a deep breath in for four, hold, exhale for four. Deep breath in for four, hold for four, exhale for four. Hold for four. Deep breath in for four, hold for four, exhale for four, hold for four. I don't know about you, but I needed that. So I hope if you joined you feel a little bit more grounded and take a sip of my tea and let's jump in.

Aliya Cheyanne: 4:28

So this episode is all about navigating seasons of change. We are quite literally in a new month. The spring equinox wasn't too long ago. It's officially a new quarter, a new season. Nature is starting to come back to life, which is really beautiful. Back to life which is really beautiful. And if humanity operated by I don't know nature instead of man-made timing, gregorian calendars, religious calendars, whatever we would also be in sync with nature, our new year wouldn't start like in the dead of winter In January. It would start with spring.

Aliya Cheyanne: 5:25

So for a lot of people, they start to come more alive during this time of year. It's spring, summer is right around the corner and a lot of people may be feeling a little bit more awake and energized around just life and things in a way that they weren't during the winter. So for those of you who are treating this time of year, this month, as your new year, happy new year. It's also eclipse season, and I'm not an astrology expert at all. I do like astrology, but I'm not an expert at all. But a lot of the astrology pages I follow talk a lot about how the eclipse season is not something to fear. This is a purging season. It's a time for clearing things out of your life and making space for what is aligned and what is meant to be there. So I hope that, quite literally, this change in season is good and serves you well, and I hope you're looking forward to the new season. I know I am excited for consistently warm weather, lots more sunshine and just a break from the cold. And the lot of ways A lot of things in my personal life have and are changing, and that's okay. I think I'm in a place where I'm welcoming and embracing the change and doing my best to find the silver lining and the I don't know, I guess positive changes that are on the horizon. I've gained a new perspective on changes in my life that have happened recently as well. It's very funny.

Aliya Cheyanne: 7:44

I was out with my grandmother today and I was telling her, you know, reflecting on the fact that in my previous job um, obviously I was very unhappy, but I would often regularly talk about how much time I felt like the job was stealing from me. I would spend so much time and energy doing that job and I often felt like I didn't have time or energy for quality time with her. It was just like wake up, work, eat, hang out a little bed, do it again, and moving into a space as a creative and more in a freelancing consulting space where I have more flexibility and control over my schedule. It's also, in a way, like answering a prayer and a desire, because I used to always say in therapy that I wanted more time and space to spend time with the people that matter to me, like my grandma, and having more freedom over my time has allowed for that. So just kind of reflecting on the present moment and recognizing in what ways the present moment is an answer to prayer, I think is really important.

Aliya Cheyanne: 9:13

I'm navigating changes in my personal life at home, which is really interesting because I don't know how many of you out there know about the pattern or use it, but it's an app that I do like. Of course there are a lot of people who feel like there are other ones that are better. Some people use CoStar, some people use Time Passage, like all kinds of different apps. I do like the pattern, I'm not going to lie. It just simplifies a lot of things for me. But I also got a professional astrological reading, I want to say, last November, and it was an annual forecast, so it shared more about the transits coming up in my chart for 2024 throughout the year, and then another one that was like attraction factor, just more about my personality, what I attract, what is attractive to me, what I like, what is good about me, what is not, um, what pulls people in, what repels people, like all of that.

Aliya Cheyanne: 10:25

And in my pattern and also in my professional astrological reading, something that came up was just a lot of changes at home, um, and it's very interesting to now be in that moment, that part of my pattern and that part of that professional astrological reading, where that is happening. So holding space for changes like that, but also not just home in a physical sense, like in the space of where I live, but also thinking about home in terms of being present in my body and what that means. And I do feel like there are some changes and things happening with me physically, mentally and emotionally that are coming to pass now in a way that I'm trying to be mindful of and aware of and recognize just in terms of what I desire from myself. Just in terms of what I desire from myself, who I desire to surround myself with, like what my needs are, how to have those needs be met, what I can do for myself versus what I need help with, and all sorts of different things coming up. So this is a season of change and transformation in more ways than one, Not just the literal season and the time of year, but just a lot going on at home and in my life and in my body that I'm trying to be present to and ride the waves to. So there's a bit of that too, and yeah, I mean one quite literal change.

Aliya Cheyanne: 12:25

One fun change that's going to be happening is, for anyone who knows me personally, y'all know I've been all over the place with my hair In a previous iteration of this podcast, like I had locks, and I had locks that I started during the pandemic, after having braids for a long time, after growing my hair out because I cut it several times, like cut the locks off, growing it out again a little bit. So one fun change that's coming up for me is I'm getting braids because I miss them and I want to give my hair a break. I'm just being in it very roughly every day to get some sort of little twisty look with my mini fro and yeah, I miss braids, I like having them. So that'll be fun to do, especially in an episode where I spoke about PCOS awareness month polycystic ovarian syndrome awareness month and how a symptom of that is hair thinning and hair loss, and definitely experienced the thinning and a little bit of loss which is part of what drove me to cut my locks previously, because I felt like it was hyper visible with them and I didn't feel like the weight and the tension as they grew longer and heavier was helping the situation. I've tried many, many different things to assist it, many, many different things to assist it, like natural hair oils all kinds, nutrafol I don't know if you guys have ever heard of that for hair thinning, and even prenatal vitamins. I have no desire for that to be my experience now, potentially ever, but there are just more vitamins and prenatal vitamins than many others and I thought that would help and nothing is really helping to fill it in. But what I do know is using the little sponge that I use on my little afro to twist it up is just not good either, and I need to give my hair and where it's thinning a break from that. So that's one change that's coming up that I'm looking forward to. That's kind of fun.

Aliya Cheyanne: 16:08

So, yeah, other changes in this season are rediscovering my interests and my hobbies. I have some that I have not been consistent with. I've taken pole dancing classes in the past just wasn't consistent with that, fell off and I have a strong desire to start that up again off and I have a strong desire to start that up again. Those Pilates reformer classes are really, really expensive, but I feel like I want to treat myself every now and then to trying that too. And, yeah, I restarted a gym membership. I haven't actually been able to make it work to go to the two little classes like yoga classes that I want to go to, because I'm always slow to sign up and it's always full by the time I do sign up and the wait list is like the Hunger Games. So it's been a struggle, but I do, you know, want to make it to like a gentle yoga class that my local YMCA offers and hopefully at some point get back into swimming.

Aliya Cheyanne: 17:25

Prior to the pandemic in 2019, I had taken swim lessons at a local gym nearby because I did not know how to swim prior to that and I wanted to, and I feel more confident as a swimmer than I did then, obviously because I didn't know how at all, but I'm still not as confident as I would like to be and I was just telling Tasia the other day that, like I, you know, I can backstroke fine, I can butterfly for short distances, but my front stroke is horrendous. If I had to front stroke to survive I would not like. Something in my brain just doesn't do the front stroke right. So I would like to get better at that. So, I think, just rediscovering passions and interests while I have time and space to do so, I definitely want to focus on that. So that is another season of change thing that's happening.

Aliya Cheyanne: 18:33

So I will keep you guys posted on that and I would also love to hear what some of your interests and hobbies are. So if you want to share that with us, you know, in a review for the pod, that would be great. If you want to email us at podcast at theprolifichubcom, let us know what some of your interests and hobbies are. If you have tips or ideas or recommendations or just things that you enjoy, we'd love to hear that. So if you want to share with us, that'd be cool. And yeah, I think the other thing.

Aliya Cheyanne: 19:10

Well, first let me take a sip of my tea. Sorry, it's a good tea. Well, first let me take a sip of my tea. Sorry, it's a good tea. It's mixed with many things, but the primary ingredient is spearmint and it's a hormone balancing tea that helps people who have PCOS, endometriosis and all kinds of other reproductive health issues. So it has become my favorite thing. I put some honey in it and I usually will also put some flavored sea moss from the company that I like, called Nebula Naturals, in it, and it's just a sweet treat all the time. So I love this tea. I love this tea.

Aliya Cheyanne: 20:01

But anyway, some other changes that are coming up are more changes to this podcast. We're very young to be navigating all of the changes that we have been, but yeah, it happens and that is also going to be something that comes up for us. So I think we'll still probably be seasonal in terms of capacity and bandwidth for episodes, but definitely still interested in having more guests. We have some lined up already that I'm really excited to record those and share those when they're ready. That'll be really fun and good for our audience. I'm excited about that. But our format and our structure is changing once again. I think and I've heard and witnessed this on other podcasts as well. I think you know, in terms of just bandwidth and interest and desire and all of those things like it fluctuates and it varies.

Aliya Cheyanne: 21:04

Podcasting is definitely an interest of mine, a passion project of mine, something that I like to do, something that I enjoy listening to. I'm always listening to pods. So I'm excited to continue this journey, um, in a new way and continue to have guests. But in terms of hosts, it will likely continue to be me. If previous hosts drop in as guests in the future, that, of course, will be super fun and awesome and great for our audience, who has been with us since the beginning. But in terms of just keeping the train moving and keeping this project going, it will be me. I guess, and I'm nervous about that. There's a part of me that's sad about that, but I'm also really excited. I keep saying sorry, guys, but yeah, that's part of the process.

Aliya Cheyanne: 22:10

You know this is our third season and um from the beginning, in terms of just scheduling and interests and topics and structure and everything like that it's been a challenge at different times and I think we had big goals and ideas and hopes for the pod as a collective that have just changed over time, like priorities change and everyone has different interests and different practices and different skills and different passion projects and different talents and forms of art and forms of connecting with people. So, just riding the waves of that is how we ended up here and, yeah, I'm excited to keep it going. I'm excited to keep introducing our listeners to really dope people who are charting their own paths, who have a lot of wisdom to share, who are inspiring and just really diving into more evergreen content. Um, I think it's it's always cool to kind of stay on top of, like, current events and pop culture and stuff, but I think in doses, I definitely didn't want to build a pod that primarily centered that. Um, I would love to be in a place and to create long form content that's more evergreen, more inspirational, that's more timeless, and that's just kind of the place that we're in right now. So I'm excited to keep it going.

Aliya Cheyanne: 24:01

I hope you will continue to be excited to tune in and to listen and to support the podcast and continue to share it with your networks and, yeah, follow along the journey. So, a little bit of that. I'm definitely in my era of coming home to myself and stepping into myself more and my purpose and my interests, and this is a part of that process. So I'm excited to share that with you all as listeners and, yeah, I hope you'll enjoy the ride too, and I'm interested in hearing more about how you're navigating a season of change, how you're navigating a season of change. If there's something that you're experiencing now that's a big change for you that you want to share, reach out and let me know. Let me know on social, let me know over email. You can find the Prolific Hub on Instagram and TikTok for now more platforms coming and you can also email us at podcast at the prolific hubcom. So I would love to hear about what season of change you're navigating and what that looks like for you, and maybe you'll get a shout out on the next episode, on the next episode.

Aliya Cheyanne: 25:34

So, yeah, with that guys, one thing that's not changing is wanting to build community. We've spoken about that several times in the past and several times in the past and that's unwavering. If you're here, if you're listening, if you're sharing this intimate time with me, like with us, with this podcast, that means a lot and I consider you part of my community and I'm interested in connecting. So, yeah, we want to continue to build community, whatever that looks like. I hope we get to a place where there can be events in the future and other fun things, but for now, I'm really excited to build a more intimate community and I think that will be a really beautiful thing and also leaning on my community for help.

Aliya Cheyanne: 26:20

I was listening to a podcast called Buzzcast and Buzzcast is part of Buzzsprout's massive portfolio of podcast support. Buzzsprout is the platform that we host our podcast through and I love listening to Buzzcast because they break down new things happening in the podcasting world and explain things and answer questions and give a lot of valuable insight about how to improve your show and make it better and I'm always trying to improve the show and make it better. And one thing they were talking about in a recent episode is leaning on your community for help, and that is something I want to open the doors to. It came up on another podcast recently not just another sex podcast with Samaya. She mentioned, you know, telling the universe that she's open to receive and things that she desires, showing up in different ways and talking about, you know, just bartering system and using bartering to get the services and everything else that she needs. So I am really excited to open that window up too.

Aliya Cheyanne: 27:53

I would love to barter with people in my community in a way guests that we have on the show are doing that. They're lending their time and their energy to speak to this audience and to connect with me and connect with the audience, which is great. And yeah, a lot of work goes into podcasting. It's not just showing up to speak on a mic. There's a lot of work that goes in on the back end. There's pre-production, there's post-production, there's editing, there's creating clips. There are all these things that go into it, and right now I am doing that as a team of one all me. So I definitely would love to connect with folks in the audience who have the tools, the skills, the time, the energy to support and make the show better.

Aliya Cheyanne: 28:42

So, even if that's just sending in tips about things you want to hear or ways that you can help, I would love to open that up to the community, not in a place where I have a team or where I'm outsourcing work for the show. We tried that in a previous season, but obviously that gets expensive. So right now, we're doing everything in-house and, yeah, it can be a lot of work. So there may be times, like this episode, where the episode is kind of short. So, yeah, so that's where I'm at and, yeah, I just want to continue to hold space and build space here for creatives, for path charters, for entrepreneurs, for people who are just out here on their grind, like trying to make a difference and an impact in the world by following their passions, because that's the place that I'm in.

Aliya Cheyanne: 29:46

So thank y'all for tuning in, thank you for supporting the podcast If you made it this far, thank you for making it this far, listening to me ramble for half an hour, but I appreciate you very much. Thank you for listening. If you would like to show your support in a way that's free, share a post on our Instagram or TikTok, share a reel with your audience, leave us a review, let us know what you think, send an email in at podcast at theprolifichugcom. A lot, and if you are in a position where you might be able to offer even more support than that, I would love to connect and talk more about that at the same email address. And, yeah, I look forward to many great episodes to come and I thank y'all for tuning into this one and I will catch you on the next episode. Bye, guys.