How to Get Unstuck and Move Forward: A Conversation About Inner Alignment

Have you ever felt stuck, even while doing everything you’re “supposed” to do?

You’re showing up. You’re putting in the effort. You’re trying the strategies. But deep down, something still isn’t landing. The results aren’t what you expected. You’re tired, a little overwhelmed, and asking yourself, “Why isn’t this working?”

That’s exactly the kind of conversation we had on a recent episode of The Amanda Kaufman Show. And I cannot wait for you to hear it.

I sat down with Candice Van Dertholen, a holistic practitioner and founder of the Warrior Within Healing Movement. Her work is all about helping people reconnect with themselves, especially during major transitions. If you’ve been curious about energy work, if you’ve felt blocked, or even if you’re just exhausted from trying so hard without getting anywhere, this conversation is going to give you a lot to think about.

When More Effort Doesn’t Equal Progress

Candice works with a lot of entrepreneurs and high achievers. These are people who are smart, driven, and not afraid to work hard. But so many of them come to her feeling completely stuck.

They’ve invested in coaching. They’ve tried new strategies. They’ve taken the courses and shown up with consistency. And still, they’re not seeing the growth they thought would come.

The issue is rarely a lack of skill or knowledge. It often comes down to something much deeper: inner alignment.

Many people aren’t actually aligned with what they truly want. Or they’re subconsciously afraid of the success they say they’re chasing. That fear often stems from past experiences, especially burnout. Whether it happened in a corporate job or a previous season of business, that memory lingers in the nervous system. It creates a kind of internal resistance that makes moving forward feel impossible.

We say we want the success, but deep down we’re also scared of what happens if we actually get it. Can we hold it? Will we lose it? Will we burn out again? That inner tug-of-war slows everything down.

The Truth About Inner Work

One of the most powerful moments in our conversation was when we explored why inner work is often the thing we avoid, even when we know it matters.

Doing inner work means slowing down long enough to actually feel what’s going on beneath the surface. And sometimes, what we find there isn’t pretty. We bump into shame, guilt, grief, or memories that we haven’t processed. It can feel heavy, overwhelming, or just uncomfortable.

That discomfort is what keeps many people stuck in cycles of busyness. We tell ourselves we’re being productive, when really, we’re avoiding the quiet that might reveal something deeper.

But here’s what I know from both personal experience and years of coaching: real transformation only happens when we’re willing to be honest with ourselves. When we can sit with the truth of how we feel and what we need. That’s where clarity lives.

Grounded Spirituality, Not Escapism

What I love about Candice’s approach is that it’s grounded. It’s not about escaping into the clouds or bypassing real-life challenges. It’s about being fully present with your life and learning to walk with it, not run from it.

Grounded spirituality means finding safety within yourself. It means recognizing that you don’t have to be ruled by fear, old stories, or emotional patterns that don’t serve you anymore.

Candice sees energy work as a way to support this process. And not in a way that feels out of reach or overly mystical. Everything around us is energy. The food we eat. The air we breathe. The people we interact with. The environment we move through every day. All of it influences how we feel and function.

When you start to look at your recurring patterns through that lens, things begin to make more sense. You realize that the problem isn’t you. It’s not your work ethic. It’s the fact that your energy is out of alignment with your desires. And once you shift that, the momentum returns.

Realignment Is Part of Growth

Another truth we explored is that growth isn’t something you do once. It’s ongoing. Just like your goals change, your alignment needs to be recalibrated along the way.

This has been true in my own life. There have been seasons when what used to work suddenly didn’t. Not because I was doing anything wrong, but because I had grown past it. And in those moments, I had to stop and realign. I had to get quiet, listen inward, and find the next version of what alignment looked like for me.

This is something many entrepreneurs overlook. They try to scale what’s no longer aligned. And it feels harder than it should. Because it is.

You Don’t Have to Believe in Crystals for This to Work

If you’re someone who’s new to energy work or even skeptical of it, I get it. I used to be too. I liked data, logic, and tangible results. I wanted proof.

But here’s what I’ve learned: you don’t have to “believe” in energy work in order to benefit from it. You just have to be open to the possibility that your body, your emotions, and your energy are all connected. And when something feels off, there’s often more going on than meets the eye.

Sometimes, even just having a way to name what you’re feeling is a breakthrough. Language is powerful. And so many people don’t have the words to describe what’s really going on inside them. Energy work can help create that language.

Choosing the Right Support

We also talked about how important it is to work with people who empower you, not create dependency. A good practitioner doesn’t want you to rely on them forever. They want to guide you back to your own wisdom.

Candice shared that most of her clients work with her for a set period of time and then continue on their own with tools and insights that last. That’s what true support looks like.

This applies to coaches, mentors, therapists, and anyone else you choose to bring into your growth journey. You deserve to work with people who honor your autonomy and cheer you on as you grow.

Moving Forward Starts With Coming Home to Yourself

If you’ve been feeling stuck, spinning your wheels, or just disconnected from your own spark, I hope this gives you permission to pause and look inward.

You don’t need to work harder. You don’t need to force something that’s not aligned. You just need to reconnect with yourself. The real you. The one beneath the expectations, the labels, and the noise.

This episode of The Amanda Kaufman Show is a beautiful starting point for that. I hope you’ll listen, reflect, and begin your next step from a place of deeper alignment.

Because moving forward doesn’t always mean doing more. Sometimes, it simply means coming home.

Chapters List

00:00 Welcome + Meet Candice

01:22 How Energy Work Began

05:43 Understanding Inner Alignment

09:58 Exploring Energy Work as a Skeptic

18:47 Choosing the Right Practitioner

Full Transcript

Candice Van Dertholen (00:00)

when we're doing inner work or inner alignment work, sometimes we don't like the answers we find. And that can be the challenge,

Amanda Kaufman (00:26)

Well, hey, hey, welcome to the Amanda Kaufman show. And this week we're going to dive into some energy. And I'm pumped for this because Candice Vanderthalen is a holistic practitioner and she's the founder of the Warrior Within Healing Movement. And she's dedicated to helping others reconnect with themselves during life's most pivotal transitions. And whether she's supporting someone's

brand new to energy work. This is something she's very good at, which I'm excited about. Or if it's just an entrepreneur feeling really stuck in their business, and I know I've been there a time or two myself as well, Candice's work always begins with the same foundation. And this is where she and I really, really are singing from the same song sheet, even if we are sharing different tunes, one could say. It all starts with this inner alignment.

Candice, welcome to the show. I'm so excited that you're here.

Candice Van Dertholen (01:24)

my gosh, thank you so much. That was a beautiful welcome in. So thank you. I appreciate it.

Amanda Kaufman (01:29)

My absolute pleasure. So Candice, energy work, Reiki, healing, crystals. Like these are things that you've invited into your life, you know, maybe more lately, I guess you could say. What led you to energy work in the first place?

Candice Van Dertholen (01:47)

Yeah. So one of the things that led me into energy work was that I kept finding these roadblocks and I would get so far on my healing journey. just a backstory, I am somebody who has a lived experience of very deep depression. So it started really young in my childhood. so, sorry about that.

Over the years, okay, so it started in my childhood and over the years, I just never really got the adequate care or help or support. And so I think it was about six years ago that I first really opened up to energy work and that's where it all began.

As my throat closes, they're...

Amanda Kaufman (02:28)

Well, and

good for you for con- Yeah, I was gonna say. Are you okay? Do you need a break?

Candice Van Dertholen (02:35)

No, I'm good. I'm good.

Amanda Kaufman (02:36)

Okay, amazing. Yeah. And I mean, thank you so much for speaking to it as well. You know, thinking about throat, throat, throat closing and things like that. It's, it's hard sometimes to speak about, you know, reiki and alternative therapies. But I think that it's, it's also incredibly courageous because for people like yourself and for many of the people that you've helped, it really can be that alternative that unlocks a lot.

When you're working with somebody through more of these energetic modalities, what do they say about that experience? Does it work for everybody? Does it always work? That's one question that I would have.

Candice Van Dertholen (03:17)

Yeah, so what's really beautiful about working with so many people who are new to energy work is that I'm really thorough in explaining what to expect in a session. And a lot of the people that are coming in are right in the middle of a transition period in their life. They've more than likely been serving others and they're really depleted. And they're searching for what's next. What am I here to do? And really like, I just want to feel better.

And so I have many different outcomes, but the primary ones are that they feel lighter, they feel more focused, and they have a better sense of clarity because a lot of the work that I do is very foundational. So I think it's really important to explain that the way that I practice is called grounded spirituality. So many people come to spiritual experiences.

not necessarily knowing that they're trying to escape this embodiment. They're just up here in the clouds, like really seeking spiritual, because it feels great. It really does. But if we can learn how to feel safe within our own body, then we can ground in, work through these layers of experience. And then when we go to connect in, we're not running from our lives, we're walking with it. And so a lot of my work is to help people feel safe, feel supported.

and really come back into knowing who they are as the essence of who they are, not their identity, not their labels, not their work, but who am I as a soul? so clients are often experiencing, again, just this big sense of clarity and ease. And we're working through finding the cycles and patterns that have repeated in various areas of their life. And so it's like this.

aha moment that they feel and they feel such validation and relief and it's just a way in which they can truly truly honor themselves for the first time.

Amanda Kaufman (05:15)

It's so beautiful and I love that to walk with your life. Like that's so beautiful. you know, something I've said for a long time is, that, you know, it helps to have your head in the clouds so that you can vision and so that you can, you know, access your spirituality and you can access that flow state and release judgment and all of those beautiful things. And

also having your boots on the ground. So I think that's so interesting that we have sort of a similar way of saying that. How would one, how would a person know that the issue is inner alignment? You know, I work with so many coaches, so many different practitioners over the years. Sometimes it doesn't seem like, and I don't know if you have a different take on this, but sometimes it doesn't really seem like there's a

an openness to exploring alignment from an inner perspective. And even for people that are trained in it, like sometimes, sometimes it really feels like there's this hard shell of protection, you know, how would one discover or uncover that the issue is more of an inner alignment versus, say, flaws or lack of capability or insecurities? Like, how do we know that it's an alignment issue?

Candice Van Dertholen (06:08)

Mmm.

⁓

Yeah, well, you're asking something that's really been on the forefront of my mind lately, which is when we're doing inner work or inner alignment work, sometimes we don't like the answers we find. And that can be the challenge,

whether it is a personal thing, so we might not like who we are, or we have things that we've experienced in our life that make us feel shame, guilt and sorrow or...

You know, and so when we're doing this inner work, it is about peering into the full self, which can be scary. It can be intimidating. It can feel heavy sometimes. And that's what prevents a lot of people from doing it because it then means that I have to do something more or different, which shouldn't really necessarily feel,

It shouldn't make us feel away, but it does because we're like we were hard working we do all the things but we're like, you know, I don't feel like I need to work on anything else like it should just be coming by now and it's like but the but the the foundational elements are there's always a little bit of clearing that we can do to really open up your capacity to have even greater, you know life experiences circumstances in your business and it work with a lot of

entrepreneurs who are like stuck in their business where they're not seeing growth. And a lot of the times it's because they're not aligned with what they want to do, or they're really scared of the success that that business could bring. And that could be, you know, connected with past burnout that they experienced in their corporate life or past burnout that they experienced over here. And so they're, they're creating an energetic resistance.

that is out of alignment. And so that's why this work is so important because we think we want all this success and we do, but then we're also afraid that we're going to lose it. What if we can't handle it? Can we duplicate it? And so we create this natural resistance that then makes us feel stuck. So.

Amanda Kaufman (08:33)

Yes, absolutely, absolutely. You know, I think a lot about my own experience of building this business, for example. I've been doing coaching of some former fashion for well over a decade and as an entrepreneur for over eight years. And one of the growth points that has shown up a few times has been this inner alignment, because what people don't necessarily appreciate, I think, sometimes is growth.

is continuous, right? So you can serve and you can sell from where you stand, right? Like from right now, like you're good enough. You're great. You're amazing. You're divine. You're wonderful. and as you continue to grow your capabilities and as you continue to grow your associations and your status and all of these different things, what used to fit you like a glove doesn't always continue to fit.

And you're so right, like there's, I hear a lot of entrepreneurs talk about fear of success or a fear of, you know, this imposter syndrome or things like that. And those are different labels for what I think you do a beautiful job of just the wrapper of it's a resistance. It's an energetic resistance. So for somebody who's not familiar with reiki or energy work,

or crystals. I know for me when I was starting on this journey, I was like, that's all woo woo, right? But you're a very pragmatic and grounded person who still practices like these things. And I have had a little more exposure and education on these things later. But so someone who's maybe new to the idea of Reiki or energy work, and maybe they really value science and they really value certain.

and all of these kinds of things. What would you tell that person if they were still energy curious?

Candice Van Dertholen (10:23)

Yeah, I love it. Because a lot of the, like I said, a lot of the clients I work with are right there. They're very curious and they're still leaning into all the practicality of life, which is totally beautiful. I'm the same way. I love the science bridges spirituality in that combination because scientists have been studying this energy work, metaphysics, all of it for decades, if not centuries, because they're trying to explain

Ancient wisdom and tradition. So there are several doctors and books out there that I can definitely recommend there as a starting point if you're curious because it's all been studied and we're finally starting to see more doctors feel comfortable to open up about the studies that they've done. I know that Diary of a CEO had a neuroscientist on his podcast recently who was communicating with her deceased husband.

and she wanted to prove it from a scientific standpoint that it is possible to do so. And that's just the curiosity that we have. But to go back to the basics of what energy work is and how we can really look at it from a different lens of perspective is that we carry energy throughout our entire body. Our food is energy, our air is energy, our water, all the elements in our environment, so sound.

everything has energy. And the way that we look at it is that we're always resonating at a certain frequency. And those frequencies are usually dictated by our experiences. So whatever we've gone through in our lifetime really accumulates to how we energetically have our signature. And so we tend to call in different patterns and cycles. So meaning,

If you had a certain childhood experience, you might replicate that in your home environment. So you might also replicate that in your relationships or even your career. And so it's really important to find the root of the cycle and patterns that aren't aligned because sometimes they're very aligned and we, we celebrate those and sometimes they're just not serving us and or we've outgrown them. And so when we think of energy,

we're really just co-creating in our environment with our energy signature. And I look at it through the energy centers, which are the chakras, and each one lays a stair-step foundation for what their, I'm not going to say their purposes, but like when you start understanding the root of each one, you can really understand, why do I have this fear of public speaking? Or why can't I fully see my vision? Or why do I feel

unsafe whenever I'm going in to have this conversation because at the foundation of it is that you might not have that full firm belief in yourself because you might not know yourself. so energy work is there to help support and guide as you start to uncover these layers of your experiences or what you feel about yourself, what you feel about the world. And it's just a one aspect of how you can live a better life.

Amanda Kaufman (13:23)

I think one of the things that I've come to appreciate about energy work that again like a former version of myself would be like science, know, and I would use the science to kind of deflect the conversation that really matters which is We're all people we're living a life. We are pursuing goals and we are being held back by any number of things as we are achieving those goals and you know, I'm always reminded, you know the the

Struggle is guaranteed, but success is not guaranteed. And a tool that can help you to activate your success is still gonna be really powerful. And whether you believe in energy and energy frequencies or any of that, I've personally found is somewhat immaterial because what that kind of work can do is it can give you language.

to focus your attention and focus where you're paying attention to things. And that on its own is already huge. know, everybody these days, and we could use the word energy if we want to, I like to get more specific, like beyond energy, I like to say like it's your emotional experience. It's how you're feeling and start to like really describe those things. I think a lot of people really lack language and they lack

Focus or a focused way to walk through how do I actually feel? What do I? Really want what are my perceptions around the obstacles of life the struggles and So, you know my point of view is I'm like if it works And it gives you that language and it gives you that necessary breakthrough then

Okay, and crystals are pretty also, right? Like, so there's, there's a lot there. And you can believe in the the energetics and the fields and all of that kind of thing. But I'm just gonna, I'm gonna say for the skeptic, like, it still works, right? In the way that a lot of a lot of things work that we can't fully explain why it works, right? And that's okay. ⁓ So go ahead.

Candice Van Dertholen (15:20)

Yeah. Well, and it's like, um, when you think about, you know, sorry,

well, I going to say, like, we think about wifi and everybody's usually using that as an example because it exists. We can't necessarily see it and we definitely can't always explain it unless you're into that field. Right. Um, and so there's things like that or air, like we can't necessarily see air, but we can feel it. We can experience it.

And so those are the kind of things to think about when you're considering this work. it can be as esoteric as you want it to be, or it can be very simple, like how I practice in that, yes, I love all the wooing. Don't get me wrong, it's great. But I'm not the person that's going to say, hey, we need to go sage your whole house right now, because it's not accessible to like 98 % of people out there.

Amanda Kaufman (15:52)

Exactly.

Candice Van Dertholen (16:14)

Yeah, it'll work great wonders, but only if you truly believe in the potential and possibility anyway. And again, these are tools, like you said, to help guide our system forward. And when it's in alignment for you, then it really does these amazing, I mean, these experiences can truly create ripple effects in all areas of your life. And I've seen it in so many different ways.

Amanda Kaufman (16:22)

Mm-hmm.

Absolutely. I'll never forget. had a coach that I hired very early in my entrepreneurial journey. And no kidding, she had me like lay down on the floor and do energy work. And I was just like unprepared. Like I did not know what we were gonna be doing. And it actually ended up being like so good for me in so many ways. Trusting a new process, trusting a new person. And the conversations that were revealed.

Candice Van Dertholen (16:51)

NUH

Amanda Kaufman (17:03)

vis-a-vis the methodology that she was going through were incredibly powerful things that I realized that I had had so much practice in suppressing how I felt about things or suppressing what my true thoughts were and also suppressing my own curiosity of what could I be open to potentially. And when I say my creativity was so unlocked and that creativity

there, you know, led me to exploring relationships I never would have explored, to trying new ways of moving. And, you know, we were about to go live with today and you were so complimentary of my lipstick. And so much of that, it's like the former version of me that did not have access to energetic modalities or an open mindedness around the exploration. And look, I'll be honest, I still haven't made up my mind about a lot of things, but the thing is, you don't have to.

You don't have to and your life can end up being so much better. like learning to express myself and choose the bright reds or the pinks and to try and change and shift a lot of things. I do love data and I like science and I like all of those things, but I want everybody to know like, Hey, crystals have played a role, right? And, I'm not, I'm not one of those people that's going to sit there and say like, like I've got a stone right here. Right.

I'm not going to sit here and say like this rock magically, you know, gave me everything. But under this is actually a rock I got from a energy coaching certification, by the way. And it's it's a symbol. It's the problem and it's the solution on two sides of it. So just having that reminder around me is is also super powerful. So it's just like for anybody who's listening, I really I think sometimes when we're in the energetic world, it can be like

Who can I trust? Who can I not trust? And I wanna actually ask you that, Candice, how do you know that you're working with somebody that is legit like yourself? Like what are some of the things that a well-intended, well-meaning, and well-worthy investment energy practitioner might present at?

Candice Van Dertholen (19:12)

Yeah, so I think that it's the energy that they put out into the world, really. And it is something that when you're choosing a practitioner, you do want to resonate with their message and their method and how they approach things. Because again, every practitioner is a little bit different and what they're aligned with is also different. And so well-intended practitioners are never going to make you dependent on them.

Like I am not servicing you as a client if I am not guiding you into your own journey. Because if we only create codependency, how are we helping support the collective energy any different than any of the systems that don't work? And so I think that a well-intended practitioner will be a guide and a mentor and somebody that's there to help you support and activate the journey. But never, ever should you feel that you can't

go on with life without them in it. Meaning, I again, most of my clients see me for like, I think six to eight sessions, and then we might check in down the line, because we're really moving through so much in that time period, that then they can take it forward for themselves, because I'm really big on education. As somebody who went through a lived experience of having like my whole autonomy stripped for me,

it's really important as a practitioner that I don't do the same to someone else. And so I'd say that's one of the key things. The other thing is they should also be always working on themselves. Like I am never done with my journey and that I get excited now. So there's a difference in the beginning. It can be a little bit challenging in that you're kind of going through the murky stuff and like trying to figure out all the things, but then you start to get inquisitive because you're like, I'm really curious. Like,

Amanda Kaufman (20:42)

Mm.

Candice Van Dertholen (21:03)

I was like kind of in a tiffy about this, what is going on with me and like what's the deeper layer? And so it's kind of gets to be this fun experimental, I guess you could say moment in your life. And a practitioner is usually going to have another practitioner in their life. I see a practitioner once a month outside of my own energy work that I do for myself because I'm very intentional that.

I wanna know, I wanna make sure that I am a clear vessel because I am literally supporting the energy of others. So I would say those would be key elements is like you should never feel like you can't go between sessions or maybe in the beginning you're a little bit, it's a little bit different, but again, like you should never have to feel dependent on that person to get you further along in your journey.

Amanda Kaufman (21:48)

Mm-hmm.

Yeah, I appreciate that about your approach too, is like you are so educationally focused on, and really it's about the power that the person has that you're working with, and them accessing that for themselves. And dear listener, she just gave a crazy good rundown that you can apply to really anybody that you work with. It's this trust.

but also keeping your power with you so that you're making a great decision. And a great practitioner is going to be cool with a no, and they're gonna be cool with a heck yes. And those are the kinds of people you wanna be in relationship with anyway. So that's super, super cool. Candice, what is the best way for people to get to know you a little better and keep up with what you're building next?

Candice Van Dertholen (22:20)

Sorry.

Bye.

Yeah, so you can find me on Instagram. It's Candace underscore Elizabeth dot co. I love to primarily in my stories these days because I think that the interaction is more fun and lively. So that is where you can most easily access me.

Amanda Kaufman (22:53)

I'm excited to follow you there. And hey, listener, all of her links are also in the show notes wherever you happen to be listening or watching this episode. Candice, thank you so much for a candid and awesome conversation about energy and healing and everything. This was a truly unique episode and I really appreciate you being here.

Candice Van Dertholen (23:13)

Yeah, thank you so much for inviting me and I wish everyone listening well and thank you so much for being open.

Amanda Kaufman (23:20)

I love it. So good. And listener, if you love this, if you want to share this conversation about Reiki and crystals and energy work and the choice to pursue that as an alternative, feel free to grab the link to this episode and share it with three of your friends. Just text it to them or email it to them or DM it to them or heck, use it to carry your pigeon, but make sure you get it in the hands of someone who needed to hear this today.

And before you go, make sure you smash that subscribe button because if you've made it all the way to this point in the episode, you're probably gonna love the next one. So grab that, hit that link wherever you happen to be listening. And then finally, if you've listened a couple of times and you actually really love the show, the way that you can help us the most is to leave a positive review however you happen to be listening. So it could be a comment in the YouTube, it could be a beautiful review in Apple or Spotify.

But however you do that, thank you so, so much because it helps people to make the decision to spend time with us on the show. I'll be back with another episode very soon, but until then, make sure that you do what matters.