The Vibrant Mom Podcast

Cara Maiolo, LPC
  • 5.0 (8)
  • Mental Health
  • Updated Weekly

The Vibrant Mom Podcast is for midlife moms who are ready to stop pushing through and start feeling truly vibrant in their emotions, their body, and their life. Hosted by Cara Maiolo, Licensed Professional Counselor and Women's Health Specialist, each episode delivers expert guidance, real conversations, and practical tools to help you develop the inner skill, aligned action, and support you need to thrive in this season. Topics include emotional wellness, perimenopause, midlife health, identity evolution, stress, motherhood, and the beautiful complexity of becoming your most vibrant self. This is your free front row seat to the work we do together.

  1. 15h ago

    The Emotion Nobody Names at Back to School (and Every Other Kiddo Transition)

    Every mom I talk to this week has a different feeling about back to school, and it can even shift day to day for the same woman. Underneath the relief and the nostalgia is something most of us have never actually named, and once you do, the guilt around the mixed feelings in transitions with our kids starts to loosen. In this episode I walk through what's really going on underneath both feelings, why neither one is wrong, and how to find your own focus for the season ahead instead of getting stuck choosing a side. Key Takeaways: What ambivalence actually means, and why wanting two things at once isn't confusion, it's a real and legitimate emotional experience Why guilt shows up as a secondary emotion when we don't know how to relate to ambivalence skillfully Why back to school (and every kiddo transition) stirs this up so intensely Why back to school (and every kiddo transition) stirs this up so intensely A reflective practice for deciding what you want your focus to be on within yourself this fall, alongside the growth in store for your kiddos This episode is for the mom who's tired of picking a side between relief and nostalgia and just wants to feel both, without the guilt and with a little more guidance. Ready to go deeper? Explore the Vibrant Mom Collective at caramaiolo.com.

  2. 6d ago

    Inside My Medicine Cabinet: What's Actually Worth it for Midlife Ladies

    For most of my life, I took no daily vitamins or supplements. I've always been lukewarm when it comes to pills and I've never liked the idea of taking "a lot of things." But over the last five years in perimenopause, that's changed. Everything in my medicine cabinet now serves a real purpose, and I can feel the difference. In this episode, I open up my actual cabinet: my hormone replacement routine, the supplements I rely on for mood, sleep, cognition, and energy, and the two I consistently see make the biggest difference for the women I work with. I talk honestly about HRT, and discuss some of the early signs of perimenopause to help you discern your own next steps. In this episode: What changed my mind about supplements after years of taking none What's actually in my cabinet, and why, and my routine The two supplements I see move the needle most for the women I work with How to know when it's time to bring HRT into the conversation with your provider Ready for more expert guidance and a vibrant group of women to grow with this year? Explore the Vibrant Mom Collective at caramaiolo.com This is my favorite directory for a well-trained perimenopause clinician: https://www.heatherhirschdirectory.com/

  3. Aug 5

    How Perimenopause Changed Our Marriage: A Conversation With My Husband

    We like to joke that our marriage has changed twice so far. The first time was after the birth of our son. The second was when we hit our 40s and perimenopause joined the party. In this episode, Brent joins me for an open, honest, and often funny conversation about the two changes that have shaken up our marriage most: brain fog and sleep. We talk about what it's actually like for both of us when I lose my train of thought mid-sentence, and the (very large) body pillow that now lives between us in bed after over a decade of being snuggle sleepers. This isn't a relationship how-to. It's a real look at what this season has done to a 20+ year marriage, and the ongoing work of staying connected through it. Key Takeaways: What brain fog actually looks like day to day, and what Brent noticed from the outside before it had a name The full story behind the body pillow, including Brent's honest take on losing his job as the heat source How becoming parents once asked the same growth of our marriage that perimenopause is asking now What's actually helped us stay a team through the friction, communication, naming needs out loud, and not taking the hard moments personally This episode is for any couple in a season where one partner is changing and the relationship is having to change with them. Ready to go deeper? Explore the Vibrant Mom Collective at www.caramaiolo.com

  4. Jul 30

    Building Strength Emotionally and Physically: A New Way to Think About Movement

    You already know movement helps you feel better. Clearer, more settled, more like yourself. But there's a layer of that benefit you’ve likely never learned to use on purpose: bringing your emotional world into your workout instead of letting it fade into the background. In this episode, you'll learn: Why your workout could be one of the most powerful emotional integration practices you have, and how tapping into that makes you more likely to actually show up for it Two specific ways to bring your inner world into a workout with intention. One before you start moving, one in the middle of the hardest part How the physical experience of building strength, space and endurance can become living proof that you're capable of the emotional growth you're working through too You'll walk away with a new way to think about your next workout. Not as one more thing to check off your list, but as a place where your whole self, body and inner world, gets to show up and be supported, together. For more support building your emotional capacity in midlife, grab the free Vibrant Mom Toolkit and explore mentoring programs at www.caramaiolo.com

  5. Jul 24

    Is Stress Increasing? Take This on Your Lunch Break

    You've trained yourself to believe rest comes after everything is done, but in real life, nothing is ever fully done. The to-do list regenerates. The inbox refills. The finish line you've been waiting for doesn't exist, and you've been paying the price the whole time. In this episode, I'm walking you through the signs that stress is building in your mind and body, why strategic rest in the middle of the mess isn't indulgent, it's the art of midlife stress management. Then I’ll guide you through a real ten-minute lunch break relaxation practice you can take today, wherever you are. Key Takeaways: A few honest signs to watch for when stress is gradually building, before it becomes overwhelm A new way to think about rest, not as something you earn, but something you take A ten-minute guided practice you can use on your lunch break, in your car, or anywhere you have ten quiet minutes A tool for checking in with yourself in the middle of a full day, not just at the end of it Grab my free toolkit for more support with real, doable midlife stress management resources at www.caramaiolo.com

  6. Jul 17

    The One Place You Forget to Look When You're Running on Empty

    When you're depleted or unsettled, where do you actually go? For most of us, it's outward. The scroll. The audiobook the second the car door shuts. More Netflix than we meant to watch. Waiting until Friday's lunch with a friend to finally deal with what's been sitting in our chest since Tuesday. None of that means you're doing anything wrong. It means most of us were never taught what to do with our inner world in real time. In this episode, you'll learn about self-friendship: not self-care, not a bubble bath, not a solo weekend away, but the ongoing daily practice of showing up for yourself the way you show up for the people you love most. You'll walk away with an understanding of why we reach outward, what the gap between meaningful connection actually costs us, and the 24-hour rule, one simple commitment that changes your relationship with yourself without adding another thing to your list. Key Takeaways: Reaching outward when you're depleted makes complete sense, and self-friendship is the skill that fills the gap without replacing your need for others. Self-friendship is not self-care. It's the daily practice of getting curious about what you're feeling and listening to what you actually need, without waiting for someone else to be available first. The 24-hour rule: don't let 24 hours go by without meaningfully attending to your inner world in whatever way is available to you right now. Ready to go deeper? Cara works with midlife moms inside The Vibrant Mom Collective: an online program and group mentoring community for women ready for emotional wellbeing and vibrant midlife health. Learn more at www.caramaiolo.com

  7. Jul 8

    The Midlife Mom's Stress Source Nobody Names (And the Skill That Changes Everything)

    Most midlife moms are managing stress by looking outward — at the schedule, the relationships, the never-ending list of demands. And that makes sense, because many situational stressors ARE out there. But there's a hidden one that rarely gets named: the emotional experience itself. As humans, we're having emotional experiences all day long, and most of us were never taught how to fully digest and metabolize them. So they pile up. That backlog can start to show up as perfectionism, irritability, people-pleasing, low energy, and a dozen other things we mistake for personality traits. In this episode, we discuss what's actually happening and learn the comprehensive skill set that changes everything about how you move through your days. Key Takeaways: Why the emotional experience itself becomes the hidden, ongoing stressor (not just the circumstances around it) The two reasons the backlog builds and why it erodes resilience over time What it actually looks like to metabolize an emotional experience, and why this is a learnable skill Ready to go deeper? Cara works with midlife moms inside The Vibrant Mom Collective: an online program and group mentoring community for women ready for emotional wellbeing and vibrant midlife health. Learn more at www.caramaiolo.com

  8. Jun 30

    The Midlife Mom’s Summer Review: How to Find Your New Windows and Schedule Yourself In

    When the excitement of SUMMER starts to fade and things start to feel “off”. The rhythm that held everything together is gone, the predictable pockets of time have vanished, and the mental load of managing a new schedule with camps and kids at home has arrived. Also, there’s a growing desire to really savor the specialness of the season and not let it pass by too quickly. In this episode, I'm talking about why summer doesn't have to just “happen to you” and offering a practical proactive strategy for designing the season with the same intention you bring to everything else. Key Takeaways: Learning how to elevate yourself and your priorities into a shifting schedule Managing the expectations of Summer and how to slow down enough to savor it and really experience it The Summer Quarterly Review: a four-step guide for finding the new windows of time and opportunity summer creates, getting realistic with priorities, and scheduling your own wellbeing into the family calendar This episode is for the mom who wants to savor the experience of Summer but doesn’t want to leave herself behind either. The camps are on the calendar. The vacations are on the calendar. It's time to put yourself on there too (and it’s NOT too late). Ready for vibrant health and emotional wellbeing as a midlife mom? Explore The Vibrant Mom Programs and FREE Toolkit at caramaiolo.com.

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5
out of 5
8 Ratings

About

The Vibrant Mom Podcast is for midlife moms who are ready to stop pushing through and start feeling truly vibrant in their emotions, their body, and their life. Hosted by Cara Maiolo, Licensed Professional Counselor and Women's Health Specialist, each episode delivers expert guidance, real conversations, and practical tools to help you develop the inner skill, aligned action, and support you need to thrive in this season. Topics include emotional wellness, perimenopause, midlife health, identity evolution, stress, motherhood, and the beautiful complexity of becoming your most vibrant self. This is your free front row seat to the work we do together.

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