Your Odyssey Podcast

Tara Alexandra & Karen Novy
  • 5.0 (6)
  • Self-Improvement
  • Updated Weekly

Welcome to Your Odyssey—the podcast where soul meets story and growth gets personal. Each episode is an invitation to come home to yourself—beyond the noise, the roles, and the shoulds. Hosted by Tara and Karen, Your Odyssey explores the real, raw, and redemptive parts of the human experience. From identity and healing to joy and self-trust, we’re holding space for honest conversations that meet you where you are—and gently call you forward. Whether you’re just beginning or already becoming, you belong here. This is your odyssey. Let’s walk it together.

  1. 12h ago

    How Do You Know What You Know?

    Have you ever known something before you could explain how you knew it? And how do you tell the difference between intuition, perspective, fear, and a story you've already decided is true? This week, Tara and Karen are joined by Cytel Schults, founder of Soul Sound, for a conversation about self-knowledge, authentic expression, spirituality, and the practices that help us hear ourselves more clearly. Cytel shares how she went from a loud, expressive little girl to someone who learned to make herself smaller, and what it took to begin reclaiming her voice. Together, they explore the difference between being authentic and simply saying whatever you want, why our perspective isn't necessarily proof, and what can change when we move from needing to be right to wanting to be true. Cytel also shares how she experiences intuition in her body, how she uses astrology as a tool for self-understanding without letting it define her, and how her relationship with God became inseparable from that work. Along the way, the conversation moves through confirmation bias, journaling, the unexpected places inner knowing shows up, and the weaknesses that may actually be powerful parts of ourselves we haven't claimed yet. In this episode, we explore: How we learn to minimize our voice and perform versions of ourselves The difference between intuition and perspective Why “your perspective isn’t proof” How to build a track record of recognizing your own inner knowing What it can mean to honor and be obedient to yourself How Cytel holds faith, God, and astrology together Why our perceived weaknesses may be strengths we haven't claimed yet Simple practices for reconnecting with yourself Because knowing yourself isn't about having every answer. Sometimes it begins by paying attention, staying curious about what you notice, and learning to recognize what is truly yours. Follow us on Instagram! Music:   Opening/Interlude/Outro: Love Is Waiting Featured Song: "Dancing on the Waves" - Bethel Music Playlists: Spotify - Volume 2 YouTube Music - Volume 2 Chapters (00:00:03) - Welcome and Episode Introduction(00:01:31) - Meet Cytel (And Hide Your Birth Info 😂)(00:04:52) - When Did We Learn to Make Ourselves Smaller?(00:09:47) - Who Told You to Turn Down Your Volume?(00:11:36) - What Happens When You Stop Performing?(00:16:29) - Are You Honoring Yourself?(00:20:07) - Whose Definition of Truth Are You Living By?(00:24:30) - Is That Intuition or Just Your Perspective?(00:28:17) - Learning to Recognize Your Own Knowing(00:31:02) - Where Faith and Astrology Meet(00:35:51) - What If Your Weakness Is an Unclaimed Strength?(00:38:21) - Pour Your Heart Out (Then Burn It, Maybe)(00:42:37) - The Song That Changed Our Plans(00:44:47) - When Do You Feel Most Connected to Yourself?

  2. Sep 22

    What Are You Making It Mean?

    You sent the text. They haven't responded. And before you've even checked the time, your brain has written an entire screenplay about what their silence means. Sound familiar? This week, Tara and Karen are exploring the space between what happens and what we decide it means, and how quickly a thought can become a story, an emotion, and eventually something we treat as fact. They unpack the thoughts we inherit, the assumptions we make when we don't have all the information, and the difference between reacting from the story in our heads and creating enough space to choose our response. But there's another side to “thoughts aren't facts”: sometimes the thought is accurate. The goal isn't to distrust yourself or dismiss every uncomfortable thought. It's to get curious enough to examine what's there without automatically giving it authority. Along the way, Tara and Karen talk about emotional triggers, self-trust, the stories they tend to make up, and one simple language shift that can create a little distance between you and your assumptions. In this episode, we explore: How quickly our brains turn incomplete information into a story What changes when we examine a thought instead of automatically believing it How to ask whether a thought is yours, inherited, or shaped by outside expectations The simple shift from “She's mad at me” to “I'm telling myself she's mad at me” Why the pause between thought and reaction creates room for choice You can have a thought without giving it authority. And sometimes, the most powerful thing you can create is a pause. Follow us on Instagram! Music:   Opening/Interlude/Outro: Love Is Waiting Featured Song: "New Soul" - Yael Naim Playlists: Spotify - Volume 2 YouTube Music - Volume 2 Chapters (00:01:05) - Your Brain Wrote a Whole Screenplay(00:03:19) - When a Thought Becomes “Truth”(00:05:25) - Wait...Is That Thought Even Yours?(00:07:36) - Same Event. Different Story.(00:10:31) - What Are You Telling Yourself?(00:12:47) - The Space Where You Get to Choose(00:13:41) - But What If the Thought Is True?(00:16:39) - Not Every Thought Needs a Full Investigation(00:18:32) - Stay Curious About the Story(00:21:04) - What Does Your Brain Make Up?(00:23:01) - You Don't Have to Ride the Ride(00:25:09) - The Power of the Pause

  3. Sep 15

    When Self-Care Looks Like Making the Appointment

    Sometimes self-care looks like rest, a massage, or doing something that feels good. And sometimes? It looks like making the appointment. This week, Tara and Karen are talking about the less glamorous side of physical self-care: preventive care, movement, body awareness, and learning to care for the body you're actually living in. Starting with Karen's recent colonoscopy (yes, we're going there ), the conversation moves from medical screenings and the difference between preventive and reactive care to changing relationships with body image, prioritizing our own health after years of caring for everyone else, and choosing movement that supports the lives we want to keep living. They also make room for an important reality: caring for your health isn't simply a matter of personal responsibility. Access, cost, healthcare deserts, and systemic barriers can affect whether people are able to receive the care they need. Because your body isn't another self-improvement project. It's your home. In this episode, we explore: Why preventive healthcare deserves a place in our definition of self-care Moving from reactive care toward an ongoing relationship with your body How our reasons for exercising and caring for our bodies can change as we age What happens when we stop managing everyone else's health while putting our own last Why caring for your body doesn't mean treating it like another self-improvement project This episode is for you if you've been meaning to make the appointment, want to rethink what “taking care of yourself” really means, or simply want to feel more connected to the body carrying you through this one wild life. Follow us on Instagram! Music:   Opening/Interlude/Outro: Love Is Waiting Featured Song: "Move Your Feet" - Junior Senior Playlists: Spotify - Volume 2 YouTube Music - Volume 2 Chapters (00:00:03) - Intro(00:00:53) - When Self-Care Looks Like a Colonoscopy(00:05:17) - The Self-Care Nobody Puts on Instagram(00:08:04) - Your Body Is Doing More Than You Know(00:10:07) - From Shrinking Our Bodies to Caring for Them(00:12:43) - Letting go of the scale, embracing the body(00:13:50) - When Everyone Else’s Health Comes First(00:15:46) - Why Do We Wait Until Something’s Wrong?(00:18:07) - When Care Isn’t Equally Accessible(00:20:14) - Move Because You Want to Keep Living(00:21:59) - Are You in Conversation With Your Body?(00:26:31) - Start With One Act of Care(00:28:08) - Move Your Feet + A Wellness Win(00:32:19) - Your Body Isn’t a Project. It’s Your Home.

  4. Sep 8

    What Are You Really Trying to Say? How to Communicate What You Need

    Have you ever been halfway through an argument and realized the thing you’re arguing about isn’t actually the thing you’re arguing about? Sometimes “Why don’t you ever help me?” really means, “I’m overwhelmed, and I don’t want to carry this alone.” Sometimes defensiveness is protecting something much more vulnerable underneath. And sometimes “I’m fine” means…well, pretty much the opposite. In this episode, Tara and Karen explore what happens when we stop at the story we’re telling ourselves instead of getting curious about what’s underneath it. Tara shares a four-step practice for moving from what happened to what you’re actually feeling and needing, while Karen explores why that shift from the external to the internal can open the door to deeper self-awareness. They also talk about the vulnerability of asking for help, expecting the people we love to read our minds, recognizing what our bodies are telling us before our words catch up, and what happened when Tara practiced asking Karen directly for what she needed that very morning. Because saying the truer thing doesn’t guarantee you’ll get exactly what you want. But spoiler alert: you may actually get what you need. In this episode, we explore: Why the thing you're arguing about may not actually be the thing How your body can signal when your words don't match what you're really feeling A four-step practice for getting underneath your reactions Why moving from the story to the feeling can be the hardest—and most revealing—step What can happen when you stop expecting mind readers and actually ask for what you need This episode is for you if you’ve ever said “I’m fine” when you weren’t, expected someone to know what you needed without saying it, or realized your reaction was covering something much more vulnerable underneath. Follow us on Instagram! Music:   Opening/Interlude/Outro: Love Is Waiting Featured Song: "Honest" - Kyndal Inskeep Playlists: Spotify - Volume 2 YouTube Music - Volume 2 Chapters (00:00:03) - The OVODA Podcast(00:00:53) - The Unhinged Odyssey: How to Talk to My Love(00:05:03) - The Power of Saying I'm Fine(00:09:35) - How to Love Yourself: The 4 Questions(00:13:41) - Reflecting on Creativity(00:14:39) - Why Is It So Easy to Point Out Where Someone Else Did Something(00:19:45) - Honorary Song: Honest by Kendall Inskeep(00:23:16) - What Do You Need to Say to Someone?(00:26:04) - Yo Podcast

  5. Sep 1

    What Happens When We Stop Filtering Ourselves?

    What happens when an episode about filtering becomes completely unfiltered? Tara and Karen started with a plan for this conversation. Then a penny-farthing rolled by, the plan went out the window, and what unfolded was the honest, unexpected dialogue they needed most. In this candid, joyful, and delightfully off-script episode, they explore the different versions of ourselves we create for different spaces, the protective walls we build, and what’s possible when the person we show the world starts to reflect the person we truly are inside. From “work Tara” and Karen’s discovery that authenticity can be light, playful, and even silly, to workplace expectations, childhood clarity, and the freedom of belonging to yourself, this conversation invites you to notice where you might still be editing yourself to fit the room. Because authenticity doesn’t mean showing up the same way everywhere; it means you don’t have to shrink or smooth out your edges just to belong. If you’re tired of managing different versions of yourself and ready for your inside and outside to finally feel like a match, this episode is for you. Follow us on Instagram! Music:   Opening/Interlude/Outro: Love Is Waiting Featured Song: "Freedom" - George Michael Playlists: Spotify - Volume 2 YouTube Music - Volume 2 Chapters (00:00:03) - The Odyssey: Episode 1(00:00:53) - September 1, 2017: Unhinged(00:04:58) - A Penny Farthing(00:08:35) - Living in the Moment(00:11:30) - The Perfect Purple Paint For My Bathroom(00:14:15) - The Power of Reading(00:17:08) - Penny Farthing and Creativity(00:20:25) - George Michael's "Freedom"(00:23:08) - When Do You Feel Most Free To Be Fully Yourself?(00:28:07) - George Michael on Leisure(00:29:07) - September 1st: Explorers

  6. Aug 25

    Choose Happiness, Choose You: Creating a Life That Feels Like Yours

    What becomes possible when you stop settling for a life that doesn't feel like yours? For Lorraine Toth, choosing herself has meant letting go of what no longer fits, embracing new challenges, and discovering just how capable—and joyful—she truly is. In this episode, Tara and Karen sit down with Lorraine, host of the Choose a Happy Day podcast, for a candid conversation about happiness, alignment, independence, and the bold choices that have helped her build a life she’s genuinely excited to live. Lorraine shares what shifted when she stopped pouring energy into things that weren’t aligned, why she believes happiness is a choice, and how challenging herself transformed “I need someone” into the much more powerful “I want someone.” Together, they explore what it means to make room for joy, refuse to settle, and build a life from the inside out. As we close our month of Joyful Reclamation, this conversation is an invitation to look beyond simply returning to yourself, and ask: What becomes possible when you start living from that place? This episode is for you if: You're wondering what life could look like if you made more room for what lights you up. You're learning the difference between wanting something and believing you need it. You're ready to challenge yourself beyond the version of you you've always known. You want more joy, freedom, and possibility in the life you're already living. Because returning to yourself isn't the end of the journey; it's the beginning of a life that truly feels like yours. Follow us on Instagram! Music:   Opening/Interlude/Outro: Love Is Waiting Featured Song: "Home Again" - Michael Kiwanuka Playlists: Spotify - Volume 2 YouTube Music - Volume 2 Chapters (00:00:03) - The Odyssey: Returning to Yourself(00:01:26) - Lorraine Toth At The Joy Tribe(00:03:31) - What Happened When You Choose Your Life(00:07:39) - A Voice in the Elevator(00:08:59) - Lorraine on Her Return to Self(00:13:58) - Choose Yourself(00:17:30) - What Surprises You Most About This Version of Yourself(00:19:16) - The Joy of Journaling(00:20:37) - The Art of Out Of Alignment(00:25:45) - What Advice Would You Have For Old Lorraine?(00:30:48) - Choosing the Right Things to Eat(00:32:19) - Karen on Perimenopause and Her Life(00:34:32) - Lorraine's Last Words(00:37:32) - Michael Kiwanuka(00:38:43) - What Has Become Possible Because You Stopped Living Against Yourself?(00:41:48) - Recover or Discover

  7. Aug 18

    [From the Archives] Rest Is Not a Luxury — It’s Liberation

    What if rest isn't something you have to earn? So many of us have learned to rest only after the work is finished, everyone else's needs have been met, and we've finally done "enough." But the work is rarely finished. And somewhere in all that doing, we can lose touch with ourselves. As part of our August theme, Joyful Reclamation, we're returning to a conversation from the Your Odyssey archives that feels especially worth revisiting: Rest Is Not a Luxury—It's Liberation. In this episode, Tara and Karen explore what happens when we stop treating rest as a reward and begin seeing it as an essential part of being human. They talk about the stories we've inherited around productivity and worth, why slowing down can feel surprisingly uncomfortable, and how rest creates space for clarity, creativity, connection, and renewal. You'll hear about: Why rest can feel difficult even when we know we need it The connection between rest, productivity, and self-worth What it means to rest before you reach depletion Why rest can look like boundaries, silence, joy, play, or simply doing less Small ways to create more room for rest in everyday life Because returning to yourself also means making space to replenish yourself. You don't have to wait until everything is done. You're allowed to rest now. Follow us on Instagram! Music:   Opening/Interlude/Outro: Love Is Waiting by Karen Novy Featured Song: "Sunrise" - Norah Jones Playlists: Spotify YouTube Music Chapters (00:00:03) - Your Odyssey Podcast(00:00:53) - Tara: Resting(00:01:33) - How to Rest(00:02:27) - Does Rest Make You Lazy?(00:06:36) - Rest as the Foundation of Creativity(00:08:53) - What If I Could Just Rest?(00:13:00) - You're Allowed to Rest(00:13:42) - Nora Jones' Sunrise Song(00:15:07) - How to Sit Still and Relax(00:16:04) - Reclaiming Rest

  8. Aug 11

    Forget Balance: Find the Rhythm That Fits Your Life

    What if the struggle to find perfect balance isn’t a sign you’re failing, but a sign that life was never meant to be balanced in the first place? Nature never stands still. Morning turns to evening, tides ebb and flow, seasons come and go. Even our heartbeat depends on a rhythm of contraction and release. In this episode, we’re releasing the pressure to keep every part of life perfectly balanced. Instead, we’ll explore the idea of rhythm, how tuning into the natural ebb and flow can bring more ease, resilience, and self-compassion. We’ll talk about why chasing balance can leave us feeling inadequate, how different seasons of life require different things, and what it looks like to create rhythms that genuinely support you right now. Maybe the real question isn't, "How do I balance everything?" but, "What does this season need from me, and what rhythm will help me thrive?" This episode is for you if: You're exhausted from trying to give everything equal attention. Your routines don't seem to fit this season of your life. You're craving more ease, flexibility, and breathing room. You're ready to stop chasing perfect balance and discover a rhythm that feels right for you. Follow us on Instagram! Music:   Opening/Interlude/Outro: Love Is Waiting Featured Song: "Follow the Sun" - Xavier Rudd Playlists: Spotify - Volume 2 YouTube Music - Volume 2 Chapters (00:00:03) - The Ode to Personal Growth(00:00:37) - How to Live a Life in Balance(00:05:36) - Tara on Her Fall and Summer Seasons(00:09:00) - The Beauty of Fall, Winter, Summer(00:12:42) - What rhythms in your life have become, like, non-neg(00:18:03) - What is feeling to come through?(00:18:15) - On Writing Your 'Magnum Opus'(00:19:48) - Follow The Sun(00:22:54) - "Whatever the Season Is, It's For Everyone"(00:23:54) - The Season of Rest & Restoration

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Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
6 Ratings

About

Welcome to Your Odyssey—the podcast where soul meets story and growth gets personal. Each episode is an invitation to come home to yourself—beyond the noise, the roles, and the shoulds. Hosted by Tara and Karen, Your Odyssey explores the real, raw, and redemptive parts of the human experience. From identity and healing to joy and self-trust, we’re holding space for honest conversations that meet you where you are—and gently call you forward. Whether you’re just beginning or already becoming, you belong here. This is your odyssey. Let’s walk it together.

Information

  • Creator
    Tara Alexandra & Karen Novy
  • Years Active
    2024 - 2026
  • Episodes
    100
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2025 1023 Media
  • Show Website
    Your Odyssey Podcast