How to Keep Going When You’re Running on Fumes with Alina Calinescu

Episode 17: How to Keep Going When You’re Running on Fumes

with Alina Calinescu, C-IAYT, E-RYT500, Ayurvedic Health Counselor

In this episode, I sit down with the brilliant and joy-soaked Alina Calinescu to talk about burnout, joy reclamation, and what it really takes to rebuild your energy from the ground up. From her engineering past to her current work as a yoga therapist and Ayurvedic counselor, Alina walks us through her path of curiosity, depletion, grief, and healing—and how she finally found her way back to herself through the rituals of Ayurveda, walking meditation, and music.

Whether you're overworked, joy-deficient, or feeling like your spark is flickering, this conversation is a balm. And a bit of a kick in the butt, too.

🎧 Subscribe, rate, and review if this resonates. It means the world and helps get this healing into more hands.

Connect with Alina:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alivebyalina

LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/alinacalinescu/

Website: alivebyalina.com

Work with Veronica or learn more: veronicawolffcasey.com

⏱️ Chapters

00:00 – “I didn’t know who I was anymore”

02:20 – From engineer to yogi: Alina’s origin story

04:26 – Burnout, fitness, and opening door #2

05:32 – A skeptical start with Ayurveda

07:45 – Neti pot miracles & deviated septums

09:58 – Discovering Mona Warner & studying with Dr. Anusha

12:51 – Insomnia, shift work, and running on fumes

17:41 – Sleep scores and gut healing

19:44 – Why hot yoga worked for Alina

21:42 – Ayurveda makes sense

23:22 – “I wish I had found this sooner”

25:59 – Alina’s non-negotiables: walking, rest, and rhythm

29:12 – Losing touch with joy

31:35 – The lie of “doing more”

33:11 – Rediscovering music as medicine

38:21 – Making room for play again

40:25 – Grief, depletion, and pacing the comeback

41:06 – Alina’s advice for beginners

46:01 – Joy as immune medicine

48:14 – Nature: the universal prescription

49:02 – How to work with Alina + new chant album

50:57 – Favorite season + what food is teaching her

54:48 – Final reflections