How to Regenerate From Ashes: A Fire Cycle for the Soul

What if burnout wasn’t the end — but the beginning of something sacred? 

In this episode of The FitZen Project, Rachel explores the Life Fire Cycle: from the chaos of wildfire, to the stillness of embers, to the renewal of seeds, growth, and forest. Through science and soul, she unpacks how fire clears, fertilizes, and regenerates — both in nature and in our lives. 

You’ll learn: 

• How to recognize your “fire stage” — wildfire, embers, controlled flame, or sacred fire
• Why the ashes matter — the hidden nutrients of burnout and breakdown
• How to trust renewal — seeing seeds crack open when life feels scorched
• How to tend your energy like a forest — sustainable, balanced, and deeply rooted

This is more than a lesson in ecology — it’s an invitation to reframe your burnout as a natural cycle of release and regeneration. By the end, you’ll see that every fire carries the potential for sacred work.

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Transcript

SPEAKER_00: 0:00

Hi, hey, hey, welcome back to the fits and project. And today it's just going to be me. It's just me, Rachel, that's going to be with you. And I really am kind of passionate about this topic that I want to bring to light today. And it's about fire. It is something that's been coming up and been brought up in my life over and over and over again, the past, I don't know, two or three weeks. And it really landed and really hit in my inner circle and my inner family circle about a week ago. So let's be honest with that one. But anyway, where I want to just kind of acknowledge is the word fire. I mean, if you think about it, we often have, well, we have actually seen many, many, many wildfires, especially over the course of my life in the past 38 years or so. And we always see more and more and as our time goes. And you can blame it on many, many, many things. But the real thing is, is I feel like Mother Nature always knows best, like she always knows what's going on. Because after the aftermath and after everything, which I'm not saying, I'm not saying lightly at all, this is strictly just about the fire piece, not necessarily the aftermath of people's people losing their homes and their lives. So I just want to clear the air on that. But this is mainly about the fire and what it can mean as a symbol and how mother nature knows, like when everything is burnt and it looks like there's nothing left, there's ashes and these ashes and these embers are the remains. And when we can apply that to our life, There are things that can rejuvenate and regenerate from the fires that either blaze in us emotionally, or we can even see it physically and tangibly across like soil and how it relates to science and real earth like things that are going on. So I don't want to get into this and tell you take a little walk through the cycle of fire and how it is so relatable and how it does actually change and move and groove with our life. So it's almost as if nature knows something that we often forget, how the fire is not always the end. And the fire is just part of the cycle of renewal. life was completely on fire. And it was almost as if there was nothing I could do about it. Like I watched one of my best friends with at work and she experienced her last days at work by choice and by growth. And I'm not mad at it whatsoever. I'm just like, Oh, I'm so sad for myself because like, who else am I going to like share my crazy stories with, you know? But it was because of her fire and her burnouts. that got her into her space and this is her story and not mine so I'm not going to tell her story but because she's one of my best friends it's like I got to see that and witness it all like first hand and how that fire cycle moved through a team and moved through her moved through us as our relationship. And even with family matters, you know, one of my family members in particular started this massive fire and perhaps it was out of the embers left behind from a death in the family. Perhaps it just needed to be reignited and just burned to the ground. And that's exactly what got to happen. Other family members and I were here picking up the pieces and like, wow, what do we do? Where are we going? Like, I can't believe that just happened. I'm just like, so... stunned and paralyzed in the aftermath of all of that that just happened right before my eyes and like there's other ways that fires move through whether it be a family relationship whether it be a co-worker whether it be and again another physical form of actually like controlled fires. I just went on a hike yesterday with my family up into the pinnacles of Brea, Kentucky, and they have new signage for how they have had controlled fires. And I took a picture because I'm like, wow, this topic just keeps coming to me all the time. Every time I turn around, like this topic is here. And it's, if I don't pay attention, I'm going to miss it. And as I just said or said just a minute ago like all these things going in my life where it feels like everything is on fire the those little ashes those things that are still kind of embered those are my lessons and those are the things that I get to review and and I'll get to see regenerate green growth, little sprouts. As a matter of fact, after this week went through and I accepted the emotional hardships on every level from work to life, home, all of the things, I woke up this morning and even a little bit yesterday morning with this new sense of life, like this new renewal. And I don't know exactly what it was. Maybe it wasn't getting to be with my time in nature maybe it was teaching this amazing yoga class where we out of the blue I was like I've got to be outside I'm burnt out that's a thing y'all like like even yoga teachers like we were just like I wanted to call in so bad on Friday I wanted to call in to my work from home corporate job and be like I just can't make it into the office today like Like literally, I just didn't want to get out of the bed. I was just kind of like moving through sludge. And it was. It was almost like moving through like molden, hardened lava. And... I just didn't want to go. I didn't want to do anything. I didn't want to show up. I didn't want to do anything. And then on that same Friday, like I had to teach in the morning in person. And I was just like, what if I just called in and told them that I'm puking or I'm really sick or something? Yeah. I don't know. And then my son comes in my room and he's like, mommy, you want to do dinosaur yoga? And honest to God, I never thought dinosaur yoga was going to be like my saving grace to getting out of bed on any given day of the week. But it just so happened that it was on Friday with this sweet little voice and this sweet little person who, when I wanted to give up on myself and my day for the day, he was like, But you can do it. you can do it. And he started playing these musical instruments that I have. And he was like, you need some joy. And I'm like, I do need joy. I don't know why, but I do need joy. So he started playing some music for me. And it was really cool. And I got up and went to yoga. My boss understood like my problems. And thank goodness, because like, I did get to talk to her a little bit the day before. And it was just, Again, a big heavy load. So thank you for taking that on. Got a good boss. And I went to this yoga class. on Friday and I got there and I was like, man, this is, I'm feeling claustrophobic. I cried like my entire drive there. It took, it takes me like 22 minutes to get there. And I cried nearly the entire time just because I'm overflow of exhaustion, of burnout, of, of Replaying this family dynamic. bullshit really that I was dealt a week ago. And then trying to figure out like what or how am I going to make my project survive? What am I going to do? What are my next steps? And also understanding that I have a really good team I can lean into. And I do. So just a few very heavy things going on. And I take my yoga class and I'm like, look, I need to be outside. I cannot be contained in these four walls. I don't even know what I'm going to teach to, but I need you all to come outside. And all of them did, except for two, which God bless them. They have allergies and, you know, Kentucky's full of it. So, you know, you didn't get to play with us. And I'm sorry, but I needed to go outside. And everyone else met me where I was. And I'm so thankful for that. Because that was a yoga class that came to me. that i didn't even know i needed and that's kind of how i feel about teaching yoga is i do that and i don't even know that as much as i give to my students me being there in the lesson in the message is giving to me as well and i'm so freaking grateful that they show up every single week and listen to either one of my problems or listen to one of my lessons or they listen to one of my joys and they celebrate with me in all of them like every single one of my students it's phenomenal and they're like the most magical class I've ever gotten a privilege to teach so anyway when we were teaching or we were flowing in that class outside it was one of the most beautiful mornings it was 75 degrees it was sunny aka my perfect recipe for a perfect day and I talked through foundations and how foundations can shift and how you can continue to grow tall but if you don't like you you know like really just take care of that foundation if you don't check in with the foundation every once in a while you're going to get cracked so deep Your shit's gonna tumble down. And that may or may not have been exactly what happened in my family. It may or may not have been exactly what happened in my job with my bestie and, you know, her leadership, which we don't have the same. It could have been different. It was, it may have been, you know, and that comes back into this fire cycle, like that burnout, that ash, that stuff that we're left with. with after the big burn and after the big sprawl and after the boom, I just can't take it anymore. Burn it all down. We're going to burn it all down. Catastrophe. You know, those are the things that come out of that. But at the same time, let it burn. Because the burn, it clears away the old, the overgrown, the dead brush that clogs the forest floors, the things that become suffocating. Like, I let it go. And how much that and how hard of a lesson that was for me, it actually landed with me when I taught my yoga class on Friday. And then therefore on Saturday and then again on Sunday, I had this like spark of growth, this renewed energy. Even my fiance was like, you seem like you're in a better place overnight. And I'm like, yeah. craziest thing I think I am. And I am. And I had to move through the chaos. I had to move through that energy. I had to feel it from my head to my toes. And it felt destructive. It felt unbearable. It felt like I couldn't breathe at times. As a matter of fact, I had this like thing in my throat for a And I just couldn't clear it. I mean, I was hissing around the house. I was like, I was like doing some mountain lion growls and bullshit. I was just like doing with my own. Thank goodness. I had like seven days from August 21st to like now before I started my soulful September sunrise, that I just could do yoga by myself and it not be recorded just so I could get some of this out of my body. And I was I was going on walk after walk through town, just like making sure I was getting 2,000 steps a day and I was still feeling just dead inside from all of it. All of it just got me. It was a bit unbearable, but it was exactly what I needed to release. And it was exactly the moment I needed where everything needed to fall apart so I could just shatter the shit on the floor and And now I get left with the ashes. And what's really cool about ashes is that a lot of times they are fertilizer, right? Like if you really think about it, they're full of nutrients and minerals like potassium, calcium, phosphorus. Like the actual minerals of ashes are basically what we would put into soil for new plants to thrive and grow, right? And like man-made soil. You know, as a matter of fact, I use coffee grounds for a lot of my vegetable plants in my home and those have the same types of minerals in it, right? But we have to go through these burns so that we can find these ashy spaces, these lessons, these things that were stripped down to our core, the essentials of life, then the seasons of emptiness so that we can look around. And those lessons are our experience so that that clarity can come through. After someone decides to destroy everything you thought you knew about them and your family, and you get that wisdom with the ashes to slow down, to analyze, to see, to go back into your timelines. Well, this isn't new behavior, right? Wow, this has been here all along. Interesting. Interesting. Those quiet, humble gifts. The richest gifts of the fire. Oh, I actually been going to this church and went for a couple Sundays and I like it. One of the things in the seasons that they're in right now is talking about the treasures, treasures of life. And I think this was what he said was their theme of the summer. And I really like the word treasures. I like the word treasure box. And I like looking at the treasure box within ourselves and finding the treasure troves within us so that we can then like basically grow from that. And I'm speaking in terms of creativity, of unlocking our passions, of what are our purposes, What are we here for? Like the things that I like to coach through and to people. That's what I like doing. Like that is my passion. You want to sign up for a coaching session? Let's get it because I can do that. Like that's what I love to thrive into. So he in the church, he's talking about these treasures and these gifts throughout the Bible and all and all of these things and how, you know, don't miss it. Don't miss it. One of his lessons this week was part of the children, like how they are our treasure and they're our gifts to the world. Don't miss it. Don't miss out on these opportunities to give them love, to give them life, to see them and help them grow, right? And that is their thing. That was the thing. And I love that that is part of the circle of fire, like within the ashes, finding the rich gifts, the treasures within. After it's all said and done, the lessons to move forward through. That quiet space. That forceful time to slow it down. Like how lucky are we that we even get that? that we get the fertilizer, this like mother nature as she knows what she's doing. She knows what she's doing. And then with that, and with that fertilizer, and with that able of slowing down and looking at that, we get to invite in this potential, the seeds, the seeds we sow, and like how we can like grow within that. You know, within fire in particular, Like some plants actually need fire to release their seeds. Like they need the heat to crack them open and they have like these protective shells on them. And without the heat to crack them open, they would never be able to receive any of the rain or the sun. So they need the heat, they need the fire, or they would remain locked for forever. And this is kind of true for people and the soul. And I mean, let's say about it. I mean, without our worlds coming to crash down or feel so heavy or burdened or rocked, like straight up rocked in your world, we would never see your potential on the other side. Why would you? Why do you? Why would you feel like you would need to, I don't know, fix something that ain't broke? But you see that crisis, that's what gets to push us. It finds our voice. That heartbreak reveals to us what we truly need in love, that exhaustion from our work. That's what we need to be able to find our worthiness and what our boundaries are so we can continue to then grow, right? And those seeds, only fire can do that to them, right? And we need that in our life. We need it as much as we resist it. Because let's be real, fire hurts. It's painful. Touch a stove if you don't believe me. My son even knows that. It hurts. But you have to learn from things. You have to have these hardships in life. This fire. And then from that, from those seeds and that potential, you get to create this growth, this renewal set. And oh my God, how beautiful can that get? Like first, you know, when you're looking at the meadows and maybe they've been burned and you're looking at them and their ashes and then they're, oh, they're getting a little bit of grass and they're getting a little bit of green. But it is the grasses that grow first and then the wildflowers and the shrubs and then eventually the trees. And that's not what happens overnight. It takes weeks, months, years for landscapes to transform, but you had to start somewhere out with the old and with the new. Those are the things like we hear it all the time. Begin again. We hear it all the time. Like it's not overnight success. It's over time success. And then you allow that landscape to transform. What looked dead gets to become alive again. And when we begin to feel that energy return, like Josh saying, oh, wow, you look different. You must feel better. Yeah. I got a little spark of joy. That's what happened. I feel better. I got a little creative spark. And I'm riding the spark and I'm riding it up so the joy can show up in small and a little bit of surprising ways. You know, like we go to our hike yesterday and now see the sign like I could have missed it. Ever since I've been going to this church that I was telling you about, and it's been two weeks, I don't even know if it's going to be a thing, but I'm giving it a shot because, like, why not? Not mad at it. So I'm going to go at least one more time, see how I like it. But ever since I've been going, I've been seeing these black swallowtail butterflies. everywhere and I went into this artisan museum and there was one in a frame 8x10 with a matte thing on it and it was the most beautiful picture and I bought it and ever since I bought it I've been seeing it everywhere and it just feels magical to me And they're everywhere right now. And I don't know if that's because where attention goes, energy flows, because of course it is. And why not? You know, you want a brand new car, you know exactly what kind of car you want. And now all of a sudden you see that car everywhere you look and you're on the road, but you never saw it before. That's how this black swallowtail butterfly is showing up in my life. But it's like that little spark of joy that I've been noticing. And I'm so glad I got the chance to notice it in an insect, in a butterfly, a black one even, like a swallowtail even. And With that, I'm just happy I didn't miss it. Because with this growth as well, I'm creating new habits, new boundaries, new relationship dynamic for the family member that wanted to burn it all down. And I'm okay with that. Let's have a different relationship. I'm 100% cool. Let's have a different career shift. You know what? My bestie is doing great things. We needed the career shift in our team. And if we didn't need it, it wouldn't happen. So we have to be firm believers we needed it. And I am. We're going to have a new career shift. And that's just the way it is. And we're all going to get this opportunity within ourselves, wherever we are, within our career, within our family, within ourselves, to find this sturdiness, more aligned, more authentic way to go about shit. And I'm so excited I'm here for it. Because renewal, it doesn't erase what came before, but it grows out of it. And that's the whole purpose, is to have this growth and this chance to continue to evolve. And I almost missed it. But I'm so glad that I had a little bit of dinosaur yoga to keep me going and having this balance. So like, yes, of course we need the growth. But do know with the growth, weeds will come in too. And that is a thing. That's a thing that just will happen. That's just things in how nature happens. And no matter what, eventually A thriving forest will emerge again. Tall trees, diverse plants, animals will return. A balanced ecosystem full of light and shade, life and rest will return. And then that is the stage our own fire becomes sustainable. We have this balance. We're no longer a wildfire, but we're this like sacred flame. And we stay in this sacred space because now we can see. We've grown. We've been able to see. We've We can pull the weeds when they come. We know what our boundaries are. We know what our new conversations are, our new cycles of relationships are. We know where and where we came from. And that's it. And we can carry both that memory of the burn and the beauty of this renewal. And we live with this rhythm instead of this chaos. And we get to hold the space for others because we're tending to our energy. And that's the field of balance. And that's how it comes in, even with work, even with relationships, even with your own self dynamic. And that's what I learned over the past week. That's what I learned with this new fire phase. And it's really funny because like the fire phase in my life has zero to do with the new Virgo energies that we're in in our actual solar system per se. But sometimes it doesn't hit like that. specifically right on with whatever solar eclipse and new moon we're in. Sometimes they're called wildfires for a reason. They're the wild cards of life. It's thrown at you. It's unexpected. It's Not land. It's not like you set up a meeting with yourself so you could burn shit down. No, these things, they just happen. They happen. So for real, like the question is for all of us is like, where are we? Where are you in the fire cycle right now? Like, are you caught up in the wildfire just trying to hold it all together? Or are you like sitting in the ashes just like tired? Wondering what's left. Are you noticing? Like those lessons. Are you noticing what's there, what's left to pick up from it all? Can you feel the seeds crack open even for potential stirring and allowing that light in, you know? Seeing the fresh growth sprout around you or in you, within you, or tending a forest. Like a life that's balanced, thriving, and deeply rooted. Like where are you in your fire cycle right now? Fire and nature and life, it's not just destruction. It's really not. It's a release. It's a renewal. It's that sacred transformation. And the invitation for me this week, and I hope the invitation for you as you feel this and it moves through you, is to trust the cycle. Because even in the ashes, the life is preparing to begin again. Trust the cycle. Trust the process. And when we are allowing ourselves to be in that, show up for ourselves in that trust, all of a sudden you wake up and you've got this like new, renewed sense. This new energy. And you can just like let go. And you lean into trust. And that's where it's at. I'm actually going to be posting a blog more about this and more in depth, probably on my new sub stack. So if you're interested in following me over there on sub stack, I might have one subscriber. I'd love to have at least five by the end of next week. But you know what? Goals are goals and who gives a shit. But I am over there and it is on the Fitz and project. So I'll put that link in the show notes per usual. And guess what, guys? I am now an affiliate. of Kathy Heller, which I'm pretty sure I mentioned that in my last episode with Mike Tomes. And if you didn't get a chance to go hear him in his story, please check it out. He was phenomenal in our interview last week. And I was so proud to be able to share that. And I was so deeply honored to get the front row seat of listening to his story. One for the ages. I really just genuinely loved it. I know you will too. And also, have you ever heard of Lotus and Luna? I am an affiliate for them right now, which is super cool. You can use the code FITZEN, F-I-T-Z-E-N, at checkout to get 20% off. So they sell harem pants and the robes. which I really, really love. They also sell some really cool like majestic bracelets and necklaces and they just make you feel good. And they're fully women owned and the material is phenomenal. So I can't speak more about them, about more how much I love them. You're just going to have to go check it out yourself. And yeah, drop me a review. Give me some stars if this felt great to you. If this is the fire you needed to maybe spark your own creation, your own energies and your day. But either way, you know, I love you. I mean it. And I'll see you guys next week. I got a really special guest coming on next week. And I'm so excited. I'm always excited because I love you guys. I'm excited to share you all. I'm excited to share with you. And I really love the people that I get to bring on to this podcast. And by you giving me reviews And by you giving me five stars and sharing, it's allowing me to bring on more and more people that I feel of interest. So, all right. Love you again. This time, meet it again. And this time, I'm really signing out. See ya.