Episode Details

What happens when the life that looks successful on the outside no longer feels alive on the inside?

In this episode of Thought Atlas, I sit down with Madeline Eames, a psychotherapist, yoga teacher, breathwork coach, and author based in Western Canada. Madeline has worked for more than 30 years as a psychotherapist, with a particular focus on trauma and chronic pain.

Her own experience of burnout during the beginning of COVID forced her to slow down and examine the patterns that had been quietly running her life. She began questioning the expectations she had carried for years—the pressure to meet other people’s needs, keep the peace, be productive, say yes, and live up to the identity of the “good girl.”

That unraveling eventually became the foundation for her book, Resurrect the Magdalene Tower.

In this conversation, we explore:

• Why burnout can be about more than simply working too much• The “good girl” codes Madeline believes many women learn early in life• How people-pleasing, self-silencing, and constantly meeting expectations can become unconscious patterns• Why we can mistake our patterns for our personalities• Why learning to say no can bring up fear, shame, and guilt• What happens when we stop automatically prioritizing everyone else’s needs• How cultural conditioning and personal trauma can interact• Why Madeline believes healing requires more than intellectual understanding• Her perspective on somatic work, breathwork, emotions, and the body• What “aliveness” means to her• Why she believes we can begin reclaiming ourselves by noticing where we feel small, tight, afraid, or unable to express ourselves• The symbolism of Mary Magdalene in her work• Her interpretation of the Gospel of Mary and the seven powers she associates with freedom and liberation• Why she connects the seven deadly sins with parts of women that she believes have been suppressed or judged• The relationship between anger, boundaries, desire, envy, rest, and self-worth• Why she became interested in what she describes as a lost lineage of “Tower priestesses”• How these ideas led to her course, Breaking the Feminine Codes• Why society often rewards productivity more visibly than a meaningful life• The danger of achieving more while becoming increasingly disconnected from yourself• Why Madeline believes loosening your grip can create space for something new• How following what genuinely lights you up can become a path toward greater aliveness• Why she believes you don’t have to completely change your life overnight• And the small first step she recommends for anyone who feels they have been living according to expectations that no longer fit

Madeline’s advice is simple:

Take one thing for yourself.

It could be a walk in nature, a few minutes of writing, or simply taking five deep breaths before getting out of bed.

Don’t wait for permission.

And her final question for all of us is:

What makes you feel alive?

Connect with Madeline

🌐 Website: https://mindfullivingnow.com/

📱 Facebook & Instagram: Madeline Eames

▶️ YouTube: Woman Fully Alive

📧 Madeline also invites listeners to sign up for her email list through her website. She says subscribers will receive an invitation to her private offline community, the Tower Salon, where she plans to hold events and the book launch.

📖 Resurrect the Magdalene Tower

Madeline says the book is scheduled for release on August 4. The transcript does not specify the year, so I have not added one.

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