THE VITAL SHIFT NEWSLETTER

 Notes for Living Well

Insights, stories, and practices for a fulfilling life

The Vital Shift Newsletter is a gentle invitation to pause, breathe, and reconnect with yourself. It’s a seasonal reading that offers inspiration and insight to fuel your clarity — supporting you as you navigate life’s shifts, both big and small.

Its release follows the natural rhythms of the seasons, inspired by the same wisdom that has guided my personal and professional path: intercultural and interdisciplinary studies, along with the Integrative Medicine approach. This perspective is grounded in a growing body of evidence developed over the past two decades, showing how modern neuroscience continues to confirm key insights long held by ancient healing traditions from both East and West—such as the teachings of Hippocrates and Ayurveda.

At the heart of my work are life transformational coaching practices and deep respect for Nature and the vital forces within the interconnected biosphere we all belong to. These natural cycles—what we call seasons—don’t just shape plants and animals; they affect our energy, emotions, and capacity for change. In coaching, I draw on these rhythms to help clients reconnect with themselves, clarify what matters most, and take aligned action—nurturing sustainable growth from the inside out.

In this spirit, each newsletter draws from The Vital Shift Roadmap (VSR)—my transformational coaching framework designed to support personal growth, expanded awareness, and values-aligned living.

The VSR is a guiding map that highlights eight interconnected dimensions of inner and outer life where being intentional and self-aware helps us navigate change, align with what truly matters, and lead with clarity— from exploring your inner dialogue, uncovering core beliefs, and examining daily habits, to clarifying your guiding mindset, connecting with heart-driven desires, assessing lifestyle alignment, building empowering boundaries, and cultivating meaningful connections with a clear vision.

Each seasonal edition highlights the dimensions most attuned to the energy of that time—offering reflections, prompts, and practical tools to support your renewal and forward movement.

OPENING SUMMER REFLECTIONS:  Action & Expansion – Stepping into Your Power

Summer arrived with a surge of energy—hot sunlit days, vibrant colors, and the boldness of nature turning golden and seedy in its full bloom. In this season of fire and vitality, we are reminded of our power—not only in what we do, but in who we are, and the potential that fuels who we are becoming.

In the Spring edition, we explored awakening and clarity—how a shift in mindset can help us tend to what’s emerging within. Now, as we move into summer, we build on that momentum by exploring how self-awareness and new perspective allow us to access a deeper power: the ability to know and evolve our mindset, to listen to the call of our heart’s desires, and to act with greater trust and intention.

Summer’s energy encourages expansion through intuition, truth, and courageous action. Just as nature blossoms, ripens, and seeds the future—so can we. When we recognize and own our power, we begin to live with peaceful confidence and flow.

For many in the Western world, summer offers a chance to break from routine. It’s a season that invites us to explore new places, perspectives, and ways of being—outwardly through travel, and inwardly through reading, reflection, and renewal.

I remember how this worked for me. In the summer of 2006, I felt weighed down by fatigue and emotional heaviness. Trusting the desire to explore a different way of life, I took a vacation at the Omega Center in St. Barth—a retreat for well-being, yoga, meditation, and deep conversation.

There, I discovered how much I love waking up early and practicing yoga by the beach. The stillness and clarity that came through meditation surprised me. I especially enjoyed a workshop on Emotional Intelligence with Daniel Goleman. That’s where I learned about emotional intelligence something that changed how I live: emotions are not obstacles—they’re messages from our biological intelligence about our internal state and the world around us. When we interpret those messages with presence and compassion—and let them go—we become healthier and more confident.

That trip became a turning point. The fatigue lifted. Life began to flow differently. I met dear friends, encountered transformative teachings, and awakened to self-awareness.

That summer opened a door of light—a path toward interdisciplinary and intercultural studies, exploring the intersection of Eastern and Western wisdom and realigning with what truly mattered to me.

Vital Shift Focus: Stepping into Your Power

Stepping into power doesn’t mean having all the answers. It means being present enough to notice your inner signals, and resilient enough to move forward even when things feel uncertain. This kind of power lives in your everyday choices—in how you direct your focus, care for your energy, and align your actions with what truly matters.

It might sound intuitive that our ability to decide and change depends on the power we hold within: our capacity to be present to self-direct and to stay aligned with our values and purpose. But it’s more complex—and trickier—than it looks.

Your inner power can express itself in active or passive ways, depending on how you manage your internal energy. Sometimes it flows naturally; other times it gets blocked, ignored, or handed over to others without us even realizing it. Over time, I’ve become more and more aware that a meaningful, healthy life depends on our ability to generate energy from within—to cultivate emotional resources, self-trust, and motivation, even during challenging seasons.

But how do we relate to this power?

It begins with the mindset we carry—the lens through which we interpret what’s happening around us and inside us. In spring, we reflected on how our beliefs and inner narratives shape our perceptions. In summer, we shift from observing to engaging—clarifying what matters most and beginning to act from that clarity.

A growth-oriented mindset is what allows us to trust our heart’s desires as intelligent signals—not distractions or indulgences, but guidance pointing toward vitality, creativity, and meaning. (We’ll explore mindset and heart desires further in the July and August editions.)

To step into your power, you don’t need to push harder. You need to become more available to what’s alive in you. That availability is cultivated through presence—by staying in a conscious relationship with your emotions, desires, body, and energy. It becomes more natural when we embrace self-care and see self-awareness as essential—not luxuries, but foundations.

Modern neuroscience confirms what ancient healing systems like Ayurveda have long taught: our mind, body, and spirit are deeply intertwined, to the point of being one. When we tend to them in an integrated way, we generate the clarity, resilience, and confidence we need to move forward—not to please others, but to honor our truth.

Now I invite you to ask yourself:
How much power do I give myself?
To deserve what I want, be respected, say no, and choose how to nurture myself?

Stepping into your power begins with this kind of attention—tender, present, and honest.

Food for Thought:  Inner Power

One of the most illuminating readings for me on inner power is Anatomy of the Spirit by Caroline Myss, a pioneer in medical intuition and the study of human consciousness published in 1996. In this famous, groundbreaking book, Myss explains how illness and healing are also energetic responses related to the way we experience power. She identifies two types of personal power:

• Active power draws on internal resources and is expressed through self-motivation, creativity, authenticity, and energetic presence.
• Passive power relies on external validation and often appears through manipulation, avoidance, or dependency.

Of course, life is a complex experience and most of us carry a mixture of both. But what matters is self-awareness—the ability to notice when we’re outsourcing our energy, and to consciously shift toward reclaiming it from within.

Inner power isn’t loud or forceful. It’s the steady, quiet confidence that arises from within and allows you to act with clarity—not to impress or please, but because it feels deeply right.

A Client’s Turning Point

Not long ago, a client had a breakthrough that beautifully captures what it means to begin stepping into one’s power. She had been navigating a season of change—full of decisions she finally had the freedom to make, but with that freedom came fear and overwhelm.

In her words:

“My new understanding during our session was recognizing how much fear I hold around newness and control. Specifically, now, when it feels like all decisions are finally in my hands. It’s both freeing and overwhelming. Also, I’m starting to see how leaning into truth, rather than fear, can guide me toward what I want.”

She began to recognize that the energy she once feared—the intensity of her emotions, her ambition, her longing—was not something to suppress, but something to work with:

“I recognize the power of my inner fire, not as something that consumes me, but as something I can consciously work with. It’s about learning how to channel that energy rather than be overwhelmed by it.”

These words reflect the heart of this season’s invitation: Power doesn’t always come with certainty. It often begins by listening, shifting, and allowing yourself to hold both the fear and the freedom—and to move anyway.

Closing Thought

Summer reminds us that the world is alive with motion, and so we are. A good life doesn’t come from figuring everything out. It comes from saying yes to what is alive in you now.

So, let these questions accompany you on your walks in nature, in your journaling, or during meaningful conversation:

• Where am I holding back?
• When, and doing what, do I feel most fully myself—ready to move forward with trust?

This summer, listen to your inner narrative. When challenges arise, instead of thinking “I’m going to reveal my weaknesses,” try asking: “What could I learn here?”

Let your challenges become fuel for expansion—not evidence of lack.

Step into Your Power with Support

If this season urges you to expand or realign—and you want to do so in a supported way—I warmly invite you to take the next step. In addition to my three- and six-month coaching packages, I’ve created two special offers for summer:

🔹 Mid-Year Check-In Clarity Session
A focused 90-minute session to pause and reflect on the trajectory your life is taking. Together, we’ll explore your current mindset, revisit your vision and priorities, and listen deeply to what truly matters to you now.

🔸 Summer Coaching Special
A vacation-friendly, short-term coaching package (3 sessions) to help you reconnect with your heart-driven desires and take clear, supported action—without overwhelming or overthinking.

🔆 Seasonal Workshop – The Vital Shift Roadmap
Join me for a free 90-minute live session to reconnect with your deeper purpose and discover how The Vital Shift Roadmap can guide your next phase of growth with clarity and confidence.

📩 Details and registration links will follow soon.

You don’t have to do it all alone.
This summer, let’s make space for what’s most alive in you—and I am here to help you.

Wishing you a radiant, courageous season ahead.

With Much Love & Encouragement,

Franca

 P.S Let's Stay Connected 

If something in the newsletter sparks a realization, a question, or a desire for deeper exploration, I’d love to hear from you. Sometimes, the proper conversation at the right time can bring the clarity you need to move forward. Your journey is yours alone, but you don’t have to walk it alone. Let’s connect!

📩 Send me a message at franca@francafoligatti.com 

📩 Book a Call