Melanie Branch and Brianna Lenhardt discussing motherhood burnout, manifestation, and nervous system regulation on the Trailblazers Rising podcast

Episode 037: Breaking the Motherhood Burnout Cycle and Becoming a Manifesting Queen with Brianna Lenhardt

April 23, 2025•6 min read

Listen, I am so excited to share this conversation with you because it's exactly what so many of us need to hear. I sat down with Brianna Lenhardt, founder of Rise Academy and mom of almost three, and we went deep into something that hits close to home for way too many women: losing yourself in motherhood and finding your way back.

This episode is raw, real, and ridiculously validating. If you've ever felt like you disappeared under the weight of everyone else's needs, you're going to want to hear what Brianna has to say about nervous system regulation, EFT tapping, and why your emotional wellness is the foundation of everything you're trying to manifest.

The Moment Everything Changed

Here's what I love about Brianna's story - her awakening didn't happen in some dramatic movie scene. It happened on a family vacation when her sister-in-law simply asked, "Are you okay?"

Brianna was eight weeks pregnant with her second child, and she found herself sobbing on her sister-in-law's shoulder for 45 minutes. That's when she realized she had been putting everybody's needs before her own for so long that she'd completely lost herself.

I can relate to this so deeply. My own turning point was also on vacation - sleeping through the entire trip because I was so burned out from taking care of everyone else that the only joy I could find was lying in bed while everyone went off to do things without me.

The Kyle Richards Reality Check

You know how I feel about learning from the Real Housewives, and Kyle Richards from Beverly Hills has been giving us a masterclass in what happens when you dedicate yourself to motherhood and wifedom for decades. When her marriage fell apart and her kids grew up, she said something that should wake us all up: "Who am I if I'm not a wife and a mom?"

If I see a bio that says "wife to so-and-so and mom to so-and-so," I'm totally turned off. I don't give a fuck about those people. I want to know about YOU. Identifying yourself based on your role to others is a killer.

The Number One Predictor of Your Child's Success

This completely changed my perspective on motherhood: the number one predictor of a child's success as an adult isn't a happy marriage between their parents or how much time you spent with them. It's the level and degree of fulfillment and happiness in their mother.

Your kids need to see you unapologetically going after your goals. They need to see you as a living embodiment of your highest self, not just someone who tells them to follow their dreams while you sacrifice yours.

The Four Pillars of Wellness That Actually Matter

Brianna teaches manifestation through four pillars of wellness, and here's what excited me most - she starts with emotional wellness first. Most people get this completely wrong.

The four pillars are:

Emotional wellness - your limiting beliefs, subconscious reprogramming, your relationship with yourself
Physical wellness - actually taking care of your body from a place of love, not hate
Spiritual wellness - your relationship with source, God, divine, whatever you call it
Social wellness - the relationships and opportunities you attract

If your mind isn't right with yourself, if you don't have a good relationship with your needs and boundaries, how can you expect the other pillars to be strong?

Why Your Wardrobe is a Manifestation Mirror

I was just talking about this on my live - if you're going into your bedroom and your closet is a clusterfuck with stuff you haven't worn in forever or things that don't make you feel like a baddie, that's a reflection of what you have going on up here in your head.

Everything you see in your 3D reality is a manifestation of your highest self. If you want a new car, show me how you're treating the car you have right now. Show me how clean it is, what the oil level is, whether you're riding around on empty all the time.

Getting Your Nervous System Used to Better

You're exactly where you are right now based on what you thought you deserved a few years ago. To speed up manifestation, you have to get your nervous system accustomed to better.

One thing I did that killed multiple birds with one stone was start walking through the most expensive part of my neighborhood every single day. I'm friends with a Golden Retriever named Butter whose family lives in one of the biggest houses, and it took me six months to a year to feel like I fit in. Now when I walk through there, I am that girl. I feel like I belong.

Brianna recommends going into designer stores you wouldn't normally associate yourself with, walking through car dealerships, driving through wealthy neighborhoods. You don't have to buy anything - you just need to get emotionally okay with that environment.

EFT Tapping: The Game-Changer I Finally Understand

I'll be honest - EFT tapping always sounded annoying to me. But Brianna explained it in a way that actually makes sense. It combines subconscious reprogramming with ancient acupuncture meridian points.

You tap on specific points while addressing what you want to release AND what you want to draw in. Brianna uses it with her six-year-old during meltdowns and says they go from a level 20 out of 10 to a level 1 in just a couple of rounds.

The tapping points are: karate chop, eyebrow, side of the eye, under the eye, under your nose, under your chin, collarbone, and armpit. It's actually stimulating because you have to focus on what you're saying and how you want to phrase it.

Breaking Generational Patterns

Learning about epigenetics made manifestation make more sense to me because I could take all the pressure off of "this was my fault" and understand that my grandma, great-grandma, and all these women I never knew were never afforded the ability to self-explore and self-actualize.

The more hyper-independent you are now, the more neglect you experienced as a child. That's how you measure it - because you didn't experience what not having neglect was like.

It's my responsibility to break these cycles and start something new for my lineage. And that means becoming a living embodiment of my highest self so my kids can see what's possible.

The Real Work Starts With You

If you're ready to stop losing yourself in motherhood and start manifesting from alignment instead of hustle, Brianna's approach through Rise Academy focuses on that crucial emotional wellness foundation first. Because you can't pour from an empty cup, and your children deserve to see you fulfilled, not just self-sacrificing.

Ready to dive deeper into manifestation and mindset work? Join my newsletter at mindsetmelanie.com/newsletter where I share the strategies that are actually moving the needle in my life and business.