The Awakening Spaces Podcast - Conscious Construction for a Healthy Home

Ashley Spanovich

Awakening Spaces explores the profound connection between our physical environments and our inner consciousness. We guide homeowners, designers, and wellness seekers beyond simply discussing "toxin-free" building methods to examine who we actually become on our "toxin-free" journey. In this podcast we’re not only talking about windows, walls, and wiring. Through expert interviews, case studies, and actionable guidance, we will explore how mindful design choices affect our relationships, stress levels, and overall well-being. Drawing from my background in design, building biology, and building science I guide listeners through both the practical and philosophical aspects of creating homes that elevate our health and consciousness. Each week, you’ll receive grounded guidance and actionable tips to help you eliminate the stress and overwhelm of finding, renovating, building, or maintaining your healthy home—so that you can create a space that truly supports who you are becoming. Just by tuning in, you’re already stepping into what it means to be an Awakened Homeowner. Together, we’re building a new way forward—one conscious choice at a time.

  1. Episode 33: What Actually Happens During an EMF Assessment

    5D AGO

    Episode 33: What Actually Happens During an EMF Assessment

    Send us a text with your questions, thoughts, and/or a love note regarding the podcast episode to help us know what to create more of! In this solo episode of Awakening Spaces, Ashley walks you through exactly what a professional EMF assessment looks like from the moment she pulls up to a property to the moment she hands over her findings. She covers why consumer-grade meters miss huge portions of the frequency spectrum, what parallel neutral current is and why it is one of the most common and fixable sources of elevated magnetic fields in homes, how to interpret a nine-point bed map, and why the bedroom is always the highest priority room in any assessment. Ashley also talks about electro-hypersensitivity, the precautionary principle that guides building biology practice, why there is no longer a control group for EMF health research, and what the process looks like when you are building new versus assessing an existing home. If you have ever wondered what you are actually getting when you hire someone to assess your home for EMFs, or why professional assessments cost what they do, this episode answers all of it. THINGS MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE: Building Biology Institute professional directory for electromagnetic radiation specialistsAshley can refer trusted colleagues across the United States, contact: hello@awakeningspaces.comSafe and Sound Pro 2: https://safelivingtechnologies.com/products/safe-and-sound-pro-ii-rf-meter.html discount code: AS5 CONNECT WITH ASHLEY Instagram | Tiktok | Youtube | Website Ashley helps you renovate and build healthier homes to prevent future health issues from arising from your environment. Whether you’re searching for a new home, assessing concerns with your current one, or embarking on a renovation or new build, Awakening Spaces can guide you every step of the way. Ashley brings her background in Building Biology and Building Science and years of hands-on experience helping families build and renovate homes to prevent mold, chemical exposure, and EMFs in their living spaces. If you’re looking to build or renovate a new home, Ashley has courses to empower and one on one offerings to guide you through the whole process so you can avoid costly mistakes and enjoy the process again! Curious about how we can help with your project? Explore our offerings here. SHOW YOUR SUPPORT If you found this episode valuable, share it with a friend and leave us a rating/review! Thank you for listening ✨

    34 min
  2. Episode 32: Feng Shui, Geopathic Stress, and Sacred Land Science with Valentina Cereda

    APR 23

    Episode 32: Feng Shui, Geopathic Stress, and Sacred Land Science with Valentina Cereda

    Send us a text with your questions, thoughts, and/or a love note regarding the podcast episode to help us know what to create more of! In this episode of Awakening Spaces, Ashley and Valentina walk through what classical Feng Shui actually is and how it differs from the watered-down Western version, how a Feng Shui site assessment works in practice, what geopathic stress is and how to know if you might have it, and the practical shifts anyone can make right now in their home. They also talk about the baby monitor that was keeping a two-year-old awake since birth, the client whose bedroom was so affected by geopathic stress that both a dowsing session and an independent bioresonance doctor reached the same conclusion without comparing notes, and why EMF is the issue Valentina finds in virtually every single home she visits. If you have ever felt like something was off in your space but could not put your finger on it, this episode was made for you. THINGS MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE: Feng Shui Guide by Valentina CeredaVirtual consultations: available for home and office Feng Shui assessments CONNECT WITH ASHLEY Instagram | Tiktok | Youtube | Website Ashley helps you renovate and build healthier homes to prevent future health issues from arising from your environment. Whether you’re searching for a new home, assessing concerns with your current one, or embarking on a renovation or new build, Awakening Spaces can guide you every step of the way. Ashley brings her background in Building Biology and Building Science and years of hands-on experience helping families build and renovate homes to prevent mold, chemical exposure, and EMFs in their living spaces. If you’re looking to build or renovate a new home, Ashley has courses to empower and one on one offerings to guide you through the whole process so you can avoid costly mistakes and enjoy the process again! Curious about how we can help with your project? Explore our offerings here. CONNECT WITH GUEST Instagram | Website Valentina Cereda is a Health and Well-being architect, Building Biologist, EMF specialist, Feng Shui consultant, Land Energy Dowser, Sacred Geometrist, vice-chair of the Wellness Architecture and Design Initiative at the Global Wellness Institute, Professor at Marangoni University, teaching interior design for health. As she started her career as an architect, she realized that conventional design and construction practices are degenerative as they work against nature and health. This led her to travel the world to study different sciences and ancient practices that would support her healing design studio Energy & Space to become more conscious, healthy, respectful and connected to the Earth healing energies, to help her clients create spaces where architecture and design become the first medicine. SHOW YOUR SUPPORT If you found this episode valuable, share it with a friend and leave us a rating/review! Thank you for listening ✨

    46 min
  3. Episode 31: ICF Construction, Toxic-Free Materials, and the Spiritual Side of Healthy Building with Brian Johnson

    APR 16

    Episode 31: ICF Construction, Toxic-Free Materials, and the Spiritual Side of Healthy Building with Brian Johnson

    Send us a text with your questions, thoughts, and/or a love note regarding the podcast episode to help us know what to create more of! In this episode of Awakening Spaces, Ashley and Brian go deep on insulated concrete form construction, the real difference between foam ICF and wood composite ICCF, where each system fails and how to prevent it, what the VOC and fire performance data actually shows, and how to spec these walls for the healthiest possible outcome. They also workshop live project scenarios, talk through interior finishes, EMF performance of mass wall construction, and the vision behind The Element, Brian's 20-home healthy community development in Arizona. This one is dense, practical, and genuinely one of the best conversations available on this topic anywhere. If you are building new or trying to understand your material options, start here. This conversation wasn’t intended to be the best ICF resource you didn’t know you needed, but it did and I’m not mad about it!! 🙂 Whether you are building new or just trying to understand your options, this episode is for you. THINGS MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE: Home Building & Design with SENERGY360SENERGY360 ServicesCONNECT WITH ASHLEY Instagram | Tiktok | Youtube | Website Ashley helps you renovate and build healthier homes to prevent future health issues from arising from your environment. Whether you’re searching for a new home, assessing concerns with your current one, or embarking on a renovation or new build, Awakening Spaces can guide you every step of the way. Ashley brings her background in Building Biology and Building Science and years of hands-on experience helping families build and renovate homes to prevent mold, chemical exposure, and EMFs in their living spaces. If you’re looking to build or renovate a new home, Ashley has courses to empower and one on one offerings to guide you through the whole process so you can avoid costly mistakes and enjoy the process again! Curious about how we can help with your project? Explore our offerings here. CONNECT WITH GUEST Instagram | Facebook | Website Brian Johnson is a general contractor, building biologist, and human optimization specialist and the founder of Senergy360. He bridges two worlds that rarely meet: advanced building science and high performance living. Drawing from decades of experience in construction, athletic performance, and environmental health, Brian designs homes as integrated living systems engineered to support circadian rhythm, clean air, pure water, low-toxicity materials, and EMF-conscious design from the foundation up. His mission is straightforward: build homes that actively make people healthier. Through Senergy360, Brian guides homeowners, architects, and contractors in implementing evidence-based strategies across air quality, ventilation, water purification, lighting, and materials selection. He is also the builder behind The Element, a 20-home healthy community development in Arizona, and the founder of the Healthy Building Alliance, a national platform connecting healthy home experts and consumers. Find him at senergy360.com, healthybuildingalliance.org, and

    1h 7m
  4. Episode 30: How our Environment Impacts Fertility and the Sacred Science of Birth with Nikko Kennedy

    APR 9

    Episode 30: How our Environment Impacts Fertility and the Sacred Science of Birth with Nikko Kennedy

    Send us a text with your questions, thoughts, and/or a love note regarding the podcast episode to help us know what to create more of! In this episode of Awakening Spaces Podcast, Ashley and Nikko walk through the full arc of the conception and birth journey through the lens of quantum biology and circadian science. They talk about why melatonin is so much more than a sleep hormone, how your light environment directly impacts implantation and placental development, what the first trimester is actually asking of you, and how to set up your birth environment whether you are at home or in a hospital to support your body's natural physiology. They also talk about things you will not find in most pregnancy books: calling in the soul of your child, what pregnancy dreams are really telling you, how the 40-day lying-in period is backed by biology, and why the long exhale is the most important skill you can practice before labor begins. If you are trying to conceive, currently pregnant, postpartum, or simply a woman who wants to understand how her environment is shaping her biology, this episode was made for you. THINGS MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE: Morning Sickness Guide by Nikko KennedyCustom circadian and quantum biology programs CONNECT WITH ASHLEY Instagram | Tiktok | Youtube | Website Ashley helps you renovate and build healthier homes to prevent future health issues from arising from your environment. Whether you’re searching for a new home, assessing concerns with your current one, or embarking on a renovation or new build, Awakening Spaces can guide you every step of the way. Ashley brings her background in Building Biology and Building Science and years of hands-on experience helping families build and renovate homes to prevent mold, chemical exposure, and EMFs in their living spaces. If you’re looking to build or renovate a new home, Ashley has courses to empower and one on one offerings to guide you through the whole process so you can avoid costly mistakes and enjoy the process again! Curious about how we can help with your project? Explore our offerings here. CONNECT WITH GUEST Instagram | Website Nikko is the Director of Research at the Institute of Applied Quantum Biology, and the creator of the bestselling Substack publication Brighter Day, Darker Nights. She is a certified doula and quantum biology practitioner working to integrate awareness of circadian and quantum biology into everyday life so that we can all be healthier and happier. Nikko lives in beautiful Southern Oregon with her husband and their 5 children. SHOW YOUR SUPPORT If you found this episode valuable, share it with a friend and leave us a rating/review! Thank you for listening ✨

    1h 6m
  5. Episode 29: How Your Environment is Impacting Your Fat Loss Goals with Amanda Carneiro

    APR 2

    Episode 29: How Your Environment is Impacting Your Fat Loss Goals with Amanda Carneiro

    Send us a text with your questions, thoughts, and/or a love note regarding the podcast episode to help us know what to create more of! In this episode of the Awakening Spaces Podcast, Ashley and Amanda talk about how your morning light routine is either setting up or sabotaging your cortisol and melatonin all day long, why eating outside actually improves the way you metabolize carbohydrates, what a realistic two-meal-a-day approach looks like, and why community might be the most underrated health intervention of all. They also get into EMFs, Faraday bags (and why Ashley has measured enough of them to have strong opinions), how negative self-talk creates a cascade that impacts everything from sleep to social life, and why the whole point of optimizing your health is to actually enjoy your life, not opt out of it. If you have ever felt like health has become another stressor rather than a source of energy and joy, this episode is for you. THINGS MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE: Amanda’s 90-Day Private Coaching ProgramAmanda’s Courses, Ebooks & Free GuidesAmanda’s High-Protein Pancake & Waffle Mix CONNECT WITH ASHLEY Instagram | Tiktok | Youtube | Website Ashley helps you renovate and build healthier homes to prevent future health issues from arising from your environment. Whether you’re searching for a new home, assessing concerns with your current one, or embarking on a renovation or new build, Awakening Spaces can guide you every step of the way. Ashley brings her background in Building Biology and Building Science and years of hands-on experience helping families build and renovate homes to prevent mold, chemical exposure, and EMFs in their living spaces. If you’re looking to build or renovate a new home, Ashley has courses to empower and one on one offerings to guide you through the whole process so you can avoid costly mistakes and enjoy the process again! Curious about how we can help with your project? Explore our offerings here. CONNECT WITH GUEST Instagram | Website Amanda Carneiro is a Functional Nutritional Therapy Practitioner, Master Restorative Wellness Practitioner, and Certified Personal Trainer who helps women lose fat, heal their gut, and balance their hormones so they can feel confident in their bodies and stop struggling for good. Her path into functional nutrition started in Los Angeles, where a personal training career slowly evolved into a deep passion for whole-body health after navigating her own health crisis involving SIBO, Candida, thyroid dysfunction, and years of disordered eating. She has tried all the diets. She knows what it feels like to want to throw in the towel, and she built her entire practice on what actually works on the other side of that. Today Amanda works with women through one-on-one coaching, self-guided fat loss and gut health courses, and her Protein Bakes recipe guide. She is also the founder of Solea, a high protein pancake and waffle mix launching soon. Find her at rawfitnessandnutrition.com and on Instagram at @rawfitnessandnutrition. SHOW YOUR SUPPORT If you found this episode valu

    46 min
  6. Episode 28: Hot Humid Climates, Your Building Envelope, and Building Lessons Learned with Architect Derek Klepac, AIA

    MAR 26

    Episode 28: Hot Humid Climates, Your Building Envelope, and Building Lessons Learned with Architect Derek Klepac, AIA

    Send us a text with your questions, thoughts, and/or a love note regarding the podcast episode to help us know what to create more of! Building a home in a hot, humid climate is one of the most technically demanding challenges in residential construction. In this episode, Ashley sits down with Derek Klepac, licensed architect and certified Passive House consultant based in Dallas, Texas, to talk through what it actually takes to build a home that performs in conditions like these. From envelope modeling tools that predict mold risk inside wall assemblies to the reality of oversized HVAC systems quietly wrecking homes from the inside out, Derek brings a level of rigor and curiosity to residential building that is rare, and genuinely necessary. This conversation covers the building failures Derek sees most often, why the mechanical system needs to be engineered during the design phase rather than figured out during framing, and what homeowners and builders alike can do to ask better questions before it costs them. Derek and Ashley also reflect on a project they worked on together, one where painted brick, blocked weep holes, and a poorly detailed roof assembly added up to a very expensive lesson in why the envelope is always your first line of defense. If you are planning a custom build, evaluating a contractor, or simply trying to understand why your home is not performing the way it should, this episode will give you the clarity and vocabulary to move forward with more confidence. THINGS MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE: The appraiser document listing high-performance home attributes above codeTravis Jones’ episode of the Awakening Spaces Podcast CONNECT WITH ASHLEY Instagram | Tiktok | Youtube | Website Ashley helps you renovate and build healthier homes to prevent future health issues from arising from your environment. Whether you’re searching for a new home, assessing concerns with your current one, or embarking on a renovation or new build, Awakening Spaces can guide you every step of the way. Ashley brings her background in Building Biology and Building Science and years of hands-on experience helping families build and renovate homes to prevent mold, chemical exposure, and EMFs in their living spaces. If you’re looking to build or renovate a new home, Ashley has courses to empower and one on one offerings to guide you through the whole process so you can avoid costly mistakes and enjoy the process again! Curious about how we can help with your project? Explore our offerings here. CONNECT WITH GUEST Instagram | Facebook | Website Derek’s path into architecture began on job sites with his father and grandfather, where he learned that creating space is as much about craftsmanship as vision. That foundation carried him through his studies in Texas and time in Italy, deepening his understanding of timeless design. Now Managing Partner at A. Michael Architecture, Derek blends technical precision with a deep respect for craft, guiding projects with both practicality and intention. His work is rooted in collaboration, care, and a focus on the details that make a house feel like home. SHOW YOUR SUPPORT If you found this episode valuable, share it with a f

    50 min
  7. Episode 27: What to Know Before Anyone Touches Your Roof with Travis Jones

    MAR 19

    Episode 27: What to Know Before Anyone Touches Your Roof with Travis Jones

    Send us a text with your questions, thoughts, and/or a love note regarding the podcast episode to help us know what to create more of! Most homeowners never think about their roof until something goes wrong. And by then, the damage has already traveled far past the shingles. In this episode, Ashley sits down with Travis, a Dallas-Fort Worth roofing contractor and building diagnostician who went from music pastor to roofing sales to full-on building science evangelist, and has been quietly pioneering a more honest, more thorough approach to home performance along the way. Travis brings a rare level of honesty to the trades, openly sharing what he got wrong in the solar industry and what led him into the world of building science, diagnostics, and the Fortified Roof program. What began as curiosity became a deeper conviction: the roof and attic are central to a home’s durability, comfort, and health, yet often overlooked. In this conversation, Travis and Ashley explore everything from shingle types to the importance of air sealing, why it often matters more than insulation, and what homeowners should expect when buying an existing home, including budgeting for remediation. They also discuss the value of working with contractors who test rather than guess, and close with a more personal reflection on uncertainty, curiosity, and the surprising wisdom of lowering expectations. THINGS MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE: IBHSNRCANTRCABPICorbett Lunsford / Home Performance education resourcesAllison Bailes' bookNikki Krueger episode of The Awakening Spaces PodcastHumid Climate Conference (Austin) CONNECT WITH ASHLEY Instagram | Tiktok | Youtube | Website Ashley helps you renovate and build healthier homes to prevent future health issues from arising from your environment. Whether you’re searching for a new home, assessing concerns with your current one, or embarking on a renovation or new build, Awakening Spaces can guide you every step of the way. Ashley brings her background in Building Biology and Building Science and years of hands-on experience helping families build and renovate homes to prevent mold, chemical exposure, and EMFs in their living spaces. If you’re looking to build or renovate a new home, Ashley has courses to empower and one on one offerings to guide you through the whole process so you can avoid costly mistakes and enjoy the process again! Curious about how we can help with your project? Explore our offerings here. CONNECT WITH GUEST Instagram | Website Travis Jones is the owner of Smart Roof & Home Performance in Dallas, where he integrates roofing and building science to help homeowners better understand how their homes function. Guided by the questions “why does a home behave the way it does?” and “how can we do this better?”, his work is rooted in curiosity and thoughtful decision-making. His philosophy, “Start with better,” reflects a commitment to doing no harm and only taking on projects that truly serve both the ho

    1h 6m
  8. Episode 26: Building a Home is a TEAM Sport

    MAR 5

    Episode 26: Building a Home is a TEAM Sport

    Send us a text with your questions, thoughts, and/or a love note regarding the podcast episode to help us know what to create more of! In this episode, Ashley shares her biggest takeaways from the Colorado Building Science Symposium, the International Builder Show, and other industry gatherings she’s attended this year. What keeps surfacing again and again? Building and renovating a home is a team sport and when we forget that, projects suffer. Ashley unpacks why leaning entirely on your builder is a setup for misalignment, how vague words like “healthy” can derail your vision, and why early planning around air sealing, insulation, and mechanical systems matters more than most homeowners realize. She also explores a powerful truth: whether you intend to or not, you are practicing building science every time you change your home. This episode is for homeowners who want a healthier, more resilient home and who are ready to take responsibility for defining what health truly means to them. If you’re building, renovating, or even just questioning how your home works, this conversation will help you think more strategically, collaborate more intentionally, and advocate for yourself with clarity. THINGS MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE: Conscious Construction Container CONNECT WITH ASHLEY Instagram | Tiktok | Youtube | Website Ashley helps you renovate and build healthier homes to prevent future health issues from arising from your environment. Whether you’re searching for a new home, assessing concerns with your current one, or embarking on a renovation or new build, Awakening Spaces can guide you every step of the way. Ashley brings her background in Building Biology and Building Science and years of hands-on experience helping families build and renovate homes to prevent mold, chemical exposure, and EMFs in their living spaces. If you’re looking to build or renovate a new home, Ashley has courses to empower and one on one offerings to guide you through the whole process so you can avoid costly mistakes and enjoy the process again! Curious about how we can help with your project? Explore our offerings here. SHOW YOUR SUPPORT If you found this episode valuable, share it with a friend and leave us a rating/review! Thank you for listening ✨

    21 min
5
out of 5
33 Ratings

About

Awakening Spaces explores the profound connection between our physical environments and our inner consciousness. We guide homeowners, designers, and wellness seekers beyond simply discussing "toxin-free" building methods to examine who we actually become on our "toxin-free" journey. In this podcast we’re not only talking about windows, walls, and wiring. Through expert interviews, case studies, and actionable guidance, we will explore how mindful design choices affect our relationships, stress levels, and overall well-being. Drawing from my background in design, building biology, and building science I guide listeners through both the practical and philosophical aspects of creating homes that elevate our health and consciousness. Each week, you’ll receive grounded guidance and actionable tips to help you eliminate the stress and overwhelm of finding, renovating, building, or maintaining your healthy home—so that you can create a space that truly supports who you are becoming. Just by tuning in, you’re already stepping into what it means to be an Awakened Homeowner. Together, we’re building a new way forward—one conscious choice at a time.

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