What if healing isn’t a single turning point—but a slow returning to yourself, moment by moment, breath by breath?

And what if awakening doesn’t descend in a flash of light, but reveals itself through the body’s whispers, the memories you finally stop running from, and the conversations you’re brave enough to start?

In this deeply intimate episode of ILA Radio, host Laura Alyn sits down with Samantha Mandel—producer, creator, and co-host of Skirts Up—to explore how illness, intuition, and creativity reshaped her sense of identity. Samantha shares how functional seizures disrupted her life, how silence became its own teacher, and how the process of making a podcast with her best friend became a portal: a way to speak her truth, reclaim her agency, and meet herself anew.

Together, they trace the slow choreography of becoming—the way trauma unwinds when witnessed, the way spirituality sneaks in through the cracks, and the way the body sometimes knows long before the mind can name it.

Samantha reflects on RTT training, on choosing self-respect over survival mode, and on the quiet faith required to let your inner voice—not fear—set the rhythm.

Her journey invites a question many of us avoid: what if the breakdowns aren’t detours, but openings? What if every symptom, frustration, and pause is an invitation back into alignment?

If you’ve ever felt lost inside your own life, unsure which part of you to trust, this conversation reframes the tension—not as a fracture, but as a reunion.

Tune in and discover how softness, honesty, and intuitive listening can become acts of revolution.

For more on Samantha:

https://www.sweetsoulandwellness.com/

https://www.theskirtsupshow.com/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/samantha-mandell-0b4b282b2/

LISTEN HERE

JOURNAL PROMPTS

These prompts invite you to slow down, notice the patterns shaping your life, and explore how intuition and healing are unfolding for you. Take whatever resonates and begin where you feel called.

1. Pattern Recognition
What recurring emotional, relational, or situational patterns have shown up in your life this year? Which of them feel like invitations rather than obstacles?

2. Listening to Inner Signals
Samantha described moments when an inner voice or sensation told her what to do. When was the last time your intuition spoke clearly? How did it communicate—thought, feeling, body response, or coincidence?

3. Healing Through Story
Podcasting helped Samantha integrate her experiences through narrative. If you were to record a 20-minute episode about a moment that reshaped you, what story would you tell and why?

4. Shifts in Identity
Samantha said she feels like “a whole new me.” In what ways are you currently evolving? What parts of your identity are being shed, and which new parts are emerging?

5. Trust and Control
This episode explored surrendering rigid structures to trust deeper guidance. Where in your life are you still relying on control or precision? What might open if you experimented with trust instead?

ABOUT THE HOST

Laura Alyn is an educator, intuitive PhD researcher, astrologer, spiritual practitioner, and founder of the ILA Institute. She blends spiritual insight with academic curiosity to build new pathways of knowing—for individuals and for the future of education. To learn more about her, click on her below or click here.

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