Portraits By Paula Mac

About Portraits By Paula Mac

Have you ever wished you could be a fly on the wall, listening in as people truly get to know each other? That’s what Portraits by Paula Mac is all about. We go beyond the exterior—the roles we play, the careers we chase, the cultures we carry. All of that shapes us, yes, but I’m curious about who we are when it’s all stripped away. Each episode is a conversation that brings out the whole picture: what we show the world, what we’d rather hide, and the subtle truths in between. Through these personal stories of struggle, success, & insights, we search for what really makes us feel fulfilled.

Publisher

Paula Muzikante - MacNeill

Category

society & culture

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

19 Mar 2025

Latest episode

10 Feb 2026

Latest episodes

24 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   10 Feb 2026

   Wellness As a Strategy for Success: Building Sustainable Businesses From the Inside Out

   What if “wellness” was not a trend, but a skill you can build to feel safe in your body, lead better, and live with more clarity?In this episode of Portraits by Paula, Paula sits down with Soniyaa Kiran Punjabi, Founder of Dubai-based holistic wellness center Illuminations, and a hypnotherapist and holistic coach, to explore what it really means to blend spirituality with business in a grounded way.Soniyaa shares the personal turning points that shaped her path, from growing up between cultures to experiencing early loss that sparked deeper questions about purpose, impermanence, and healing. She takes us behind the scenes of building one of Dubai’s earliest structured wellbeing platforms, at a time when mindfulness, meditation, and holistic therapy were barely part of the conversation.Together, they unpack nervous system safety, why so many high-functioning people live in survival mode even when life looks “fine,” and how real growth often begins when we stop forcing and start learning receptivity. Soniyaa also shares a simple, evidence-based practice you can do in minutes to regulate your nervous system and shift how you show up in your day.A grounded conversation for anyone navigating ambition, burnout, healing, and the desire to live with more presence.We talk about:• Building a wellness business in Dubai before it was mainstream• Loss, grief, and the awakening that changed everything• What “holistic” actually means in practice• Nervous system regulation and why safety is the root issue• Why people stay attached to chaos and stress patterns• Spirituality that is practical and applicable to daily life• Wellness in high-performance cultures like Dubai• Receptivity vs productivity and finding balance• A simple heart-brain coherence practice you can try todayChapters00:00 Introduction01:10 Who Soniyaa is and what she built with Illuminations03:00 Why she started Illumination Wellbeing and the early Dubai wellness landscape07:10 Growing up between cultures and early spiritual influence09:20 Loss, impermanence, and the shift into deeper questions11:30 Hypnosis, the subconscious, and the beginning of her healing path18:20 From organizing events to building a structured wellness center23:00 Training practitioners and how the platform evolved25:10 Choosing modalities, credibility, and staying grounded29:00 Wellness culture, social media, and the post-COVID shift35:00 Failure, reflection, and how her approach to business changed43:00 Paula’s personal story with Illuminations47:40 The root of most issues: safety, trauma, and the nervous system54:10 A simple heart-brain coherence practice for morning and night59:00 Why receptivity matters and living with more awarenessFollow usSpotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4V4M4RyDqN8Jb5v3kK9yCzYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@portraitsbypaulaInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/podcastportraits_/TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@portraits_podcastFollow Paulahttps://www.linkedin.com/in/paula-muzikante-macneill-4867403a/Follow our guestSoniyaa Kiran Punjabihttps://www.instagram.com/soniyaakiran/

2. 

   14 Jan 2026

   The Hidden Impact of Fabrics on Your Skin and Nervous System

   Host Paula Muzikante Macneill interviews Tengku Chanela Janiah, founder of Rodeo Park, about the impact of fabrics on the skin and nervous system, exploring natural versus synthetic fibers and their effects on overall well-being.

3. 

   31 Dec 2025

   Your Life in Numbers: What 2026 Awakens in All of Us

   Host Paula Muzikante Mac interviews Astro Numerologist Monica Gupta, who reveals how numerology and astrology impact identity, timing, and life direction, especially regarding the upcoming universal Year One in 2026.

Who has been a guest on Portraits By Paula Mac

Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.

• Tengku Chanela Janiah
• Monica Gupta
• Dr Haneen Jarrar
• Chantale Ishac
• Maria Leonard Yahyeyan

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

YouTube views

4,657,709,572

Score snapshot 15 Sept 2025

Spotify

5.0 / 5

8 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 48 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

47

Social presence

0

YouTube

93

Engagement

32

Contact Portraits By Paula Mac

Guest appearances

Does not typically book guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.