Next Level Greatness - Holistic Wellness & Success Podcast

Hosted by Dr. Barbie Kalev - Holistic Success & Embodiment Coach

Business Entrepreneurship Religion Spirituality

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Episodes

100

Latest episode

Jun 2026

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About the show

Discover the missing link between ambition and well-being. Join Dr. Barbie Kalev, who has generated 8 figures in her entrepreneurial journey, as she shares the wisdom that transformed her own path from burnout to balanced success. Are you a high-achieving woman who’s tired of sacrificing your health and values for your goals? After experiencing life-altering vertigo, unexplainable pain, and burnout despite ”having it all,” Dr. Kalev developed a revolutionary approach to honoring ambition without compromising well-being. Each week, you’ll explore: • Body Wisdom: Connect with your physical intelligence to process stress, boost productivity, and rediscover your authentic desires • Success Redefined: Increase your impact through aligned action rather than exhaustion • Holistic Wellbeing: Integrate emotional balance, mental clarity, physical vitality, and spiritual alignment Unlike traditional business or wellness content, this podcast bridges the gap between body-mind connection and business success—created specifically for ambitious, purpose-driven women. What makes this show unique? Dr. Kalev brings you unfiltered, off-the-cuff conversations that follow her natural thought process. No heavy editing or scripted perfection—just authentic wisdom and insights as they naturally unfold. Subscribe now for practical, actionable strategies to increase your results, impact, joy, and health. Your body and business deserve alignment. New episodes every week.

Listen to episodes

60 recent

September 27, 202617 min

Why You Still React the Same Way Even When You Know Better

You decide you’re going to respond differently. One day, you do. The next time, the old reaction is back. Why does that happen when you genuinely want to change? In this episode, I explore the difference between making a decision and changing a familiar pattern. I share what happened when I returned to publishing after a five-month sabbatical: I had chosen a new way to work, yet I could feel an old response return in my body. I’ll leave you with three questions to bring to a pattern in your own life: What has this response done for you? How do you know in your body that it’s beginning? And what support would help you try something different? If you’d like support with this work, you can explore the ways to work with me here: Work With Me . Thanks for reading Barbie's Substack! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit barbiekalev.substack.com

September 20, 202621 min

When Too Much “Good Energy” Throws You Off Balance

What happens when you’ve got energy and excitement about something great in your life—but your body feels intensely activated and on edge? After making a decision I had wanted to make for years, I felt an enormous amount of energy become available to carry out the project. I was excited, motivated, organizing everything in sight, and taking action. But that energy also began affecting my presence, my relationships, and my ability to remain connected to the life happening around me. In this episode, I explore how even positive experiences can activate the nervous system, why ambition and excitement aren’t the problem, and how we can work with all that energy without losing ourselves inside of it. Capacity isn’t only our ability to be with what’s difficult. It’s also our ability to hold excitement, desire, ambition, and aliveness, all without losing our presence. Enjoy and I would love to hear from you. Barbie Explore my work: Website Explore SOMA , a practical, ongoing space to learn how to work with your body and nervous system in everyday life. “Ambition is not a problem. Energy is not a problem.” This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit barbiekalev.substack.com

September 13, 202623 min

The Art of Being A Beginner - A Video Reflection

After five months away from all social media, I’m back—and in many ways, I’m a beginner again. In this episode, I share what learning to paint with watercolor has been teaching me about starting over after you’ve already been highly competent and successful, the slow road to mastery, and why play may be far more important than we realize. Play isn’t just about having fun, especially if we are serious about who we’re here to be in this lifetime. What if every imperfect circle, ugly leaf, and mistake is giving our bodies an experience of getting something wrong and discovering that nothing bad happens. What if learning to play again can help us feel safe enough to begin again and eventually, to gain mastery without the grind? In this episode: * What it feels like to become a beginner after years of being highly competent * Why mastery requires us to go through the process of starting at the beginning * The science of play, pleasure, and learning * How repetition and mistakes create new experiences of safety in the body * What painting taught me about starting over in business and in life Follow me on Substack: https://substack.com/@barbiekalev Learn more about my work: https://barbiekalev.lovable.app I can’t wait to hear your thoughts and how integrating play into your life is shifting things for you. Barbie This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit barbiekalev.substack.com

September 13, 202630 min

When You Have to Be a Beginner Again

After five months away from all social media, I’m back—and in many ways, I’m a beginner again. In this episode, I share what learning to paint with watercolor has been teaching me about starting over after you’ve already been highly competent and successful, the slow road to mastery, and why play may be far more important than we realize. Play isn’t just about having fun, especially if we are serious about who we’re here to be in this lifetime. What if every imperfect circle, ugly leaf, and mistake is giving our bodies an experience of getting something wrong and discovering that nothing bad happens. What if learning to play again can help us feel safe enough to begin again and eventually, to gain mastery without the grind? In this episode: * What it feels like to become a beginner after years of being highly competent * Why mastery requires us to go through the process of starting at the beginning * The science of play, pleasure, and learning * How repetition and mistakes create new experiences of safety in the body * What painting taught me about starting over in business and in life Follow me on Substack: https://substack.com/@barbiekalev Learn more about my work: https://barbiekalev.lovable.app I can’t wait to hear your thoughts and how integrating play into your life is shifting things for you. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit barbiekalev.substack.com

June 21, 202624 min

#131: Don't Force Your Path: Honor Your Season

On the summer solstice the host uses nature — magnolias, seasons, and the caterpillar’s transformation — as a metaphor to explore letting go, honoring your natural rhythms, and accepting change. She reflects on resisting identity shifts, aging, and the pressure to stay productive, and shares a personal breakthrough about allowing dissolution before rebirth. She describes stepping back from social media, embracing somatic practices and a sabbatical to reset her nervous system, and invites listeners to consider where they’re holding on and what needs to be tended or released to allow new growth. — Monthly Somatic Membership focus on Rest and Restoration: SOMA https://www.barbiekalev.com/offers/2nGuoSY2/checkout — Stay connected: https://www.barbiekalev.com/miracle-5 You'll receive a free 5-minute miracle practice and be automatically added to my mailing list. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit barbiekalev.substack.com

June 10, 202629 min

#130: The Ugly, Beautiful Truth About Life Transitions

Barbie shares raw, honest reflections on the hard, messy middle of major life transitions — from exiting a high-powered career at Beachbody to embracing somatics and a new professional identity. Using the caterpillar-to-butterfly chrysalis as a metaphor, she explains how parts of us dissolve and remain as the blueprint for what’s next. She also reveals why she’s stepping away from social media-driven growth and the pursuit of another empire, choosing presence, alignment, and meaningful impact instead. This episode is for historically high-achieving humans navigating change and wanting to come home to themselves. — Monthly Somatic Membership | $77: SOMA — Stay connected: https://www.barbiekalev.com/miracle-5 You'll receive a free 5-minute miracle practice and be automatically added to my mailing list. The next cohort for The Reclamation mastermind begins in the Fall. Message me barbiekalev@gmail.com to learn more. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit barbiekalev.substack.com

June 2, 202618 min

#129: Can't even catch your breath. How to create more room to breathe & increase productivity.

In this episode Barbie explains what ‘capacity’ means using a clear cup metaphor and nervous-system language, showing how stress accumulates and leads to snapping or internalized dis-ease when it’s not released. She shares real-life examples (a hairspray reaction, her dog’s vet visit) and describes how somatic and nervous-system practices open pathways to release stress, increase daily rest, and expand your ability to cope. — Monthly Somatic Membership focus on Rest and Restoration | $77: SOMA — Stay connected: https://www.barbiekalev.com/miracle-5 You'll receive a free 5-minute miracle practice and be automatically added to my mailing list. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit barbiekalev.substack.com

May 22, 202612 min

#128: When Love Feels Numb: Thawing Your Heart with Somatic Practice

In this episode of Next Level Greatness, the host explores why people in long-term relationships can feel emotionally numb and disconnected, and how somatic and nervous system work can help them reconnect with their bodies and their partners. The episode shares a case study of a client who regained feeling, intimacy, and capacity through gentle somatic practices, and offers a 30-day challenge and resources for listeners who want to begin thawing their protective armor and restoring emotional connection. connection. — Stay connected: https://www.barbiekalev.com/miracle-5 You'll receive a free 5-minute miracle practice and be automatically added to my mailing list. — June “Set Yourself Free” Somatic Challenge | $77: SOMA This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit barbiekalev.substack.com

May 18, 202628 min

#127: Less Thinking, Start Feeling: Complete Your Stress Cycle

This episode explains how most of us live in our heads instead of our bodies and why that leads to stuck stress. Through personal stories and client examples, Barbie demonstrates the somatic practice of feeling sensations, completing the stress cycle, and safely releasing stored emotion so energy can move and heal. Listeners learn practical ways to tune into the heart, solar plexus, and belly, express what the body needs (even through sounds or small movements), and take action from embodied knowing rather than overthinking. The episode also includes invitations to somatic programs and sessions for continued practice. Stay connected: https://www.barbiekalev.com/miracle-5 You'll receive a free 5-minute miracle practice and be automatically added to my mailing list. “Set Yourself Free” Somatic Challenge | $77: SOMA This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit barbiekalev.substack.com

May 11, 202620 min

#126: Listen to Your Body: Why Saying No Can Be Your Best Strategy

In this episode the host shares her journey from academia and network marketing to becoming a somatic and embodiment practitioner, and how she experiments with new ways of creating and marketing while learning to listen to her body. She discusses a recent social media challenge, the choice to honor bodily signals over forced productivity, options for adapting content creation, and invitations to try free soma experiences to nurture the nervous system and find alignment in work and life. Free Soma Workshop: here Soma monthly membership: here This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit barbiekalev.substack.com