I’m Liza McMahon
When your world is shifting and the relationships you’ve built your life around are demanding more than you have — this is where you find your ground.
The hard work of becoming who you actually are starts here.
Is This You
You have spent years being the person others lean on. The capable one. The one who sees what needs to happen and makes it happen. And somewhere in the middle of all of that — you lost the thread back to yourself.
Maybe your children have left and the house is quieter than you expected. Maybe you are caring for a parent and running on empty. Maybe the career that defined you no longer fits. Maybe all three at once.
You are not falling apart. You are standing at a threshold. And this is exactly the work for that moment.
Does This Sound Familiar?
- I often feel responsible for managing other people’s emotions as well as my own.
- I find it hard to ask for help without feeling guilty or like I’m burdening someone.
- I know something needs to change but I’m not sure what — or where to start.
- I’m navigating a major life shift and feeling unsteady about who I am in it.
If you answered yes to any of these — you’re in the right place.
Coaching
This is one-on-one work. We look honestly at the patterns driving your reactions — the over-functioning, the people-pleasing, the exhausting belief that if you just tried harder everything would work. And we build something better: a pause, a breath, a moment of choice.
Individual and small group coaching available.
Workshops
Workshops are immersive, experiential, and designed for women who are ready to do more than learn — they’re ready to feel it, name it, and begin to shift it. Each workshop draws on TED*, HeartMath®, and somatic approaches to create real, lasting change.
Retreats
Retreats offer extended time and space to go deeper. One to three days of focused work for women who are ready to step away from the demands of daily life and invest fully in their own becoming.
E-Courses
Self-paced learning combined with live facilitated sessions — for women who want flexibility without losing the human connection that makes this work real. Coming summer 2026.
The Work
There is a moment when the pattern you’ve relied on for years stops working — or starts working against you. The over-functioning. The certainty. The exhausting belief that if you just tried harder, everything would finally fall into place.
Our work begins there. Together we look honestly at the behaviors and beliefs that have kept you stuck — and build something better: a pause, a breath, a moment of choice — so you can step forward as who you actually are.
What Changes?
- You recognize your patterns before they run you
- You pause before reacting — and choose differently
- Your relationships become less charged and more honest
- You stop managing your life and start living it
Upcoming Events
Held While Holding
A Workshop for Caregivers
For women navigating the emotional weight of caring for aging parents — designed to help you stay grounded, connected, and resourced without losing yourself in the process. Contact us to learn more about upcoming dates.
Strengthening Bonds: A Mother-Daughter Journey
A Transformative Retreat for Deeper Connection & Understanding
Join us for an enriching 4-hour mother-daughter retreat* designed to deepen relationships, enhance communication, and foster mutual understanding. Through guided exercises, meaningful storytelling, and interactive discussions, you’ll gain tools to strengthen your bond and navigate challenges together.
Build Personal Resilience™ Mentoring Program
Strengthen your ability to manage stress, enhance well-being, and sustain resilience with our 4-session mentoring program based on HeartMath® techniques.
Each 60-minute session includes guided techniques like Heart-Focused Breathing™, Quick Coherence®, and Heart Lock-In®, plus practical exercises to integrate into daily life.
Who Am I?
My mentor stopped me mid-sentence once and said, “Just because you can solve the problem doesn’t mean it is yours to solve.”
I didn’t have a response. Which, if you know me, is saying something.
I had spent decades being the person who rushed in. As a nurse, a teacher, a mother, a colleague — when something was wrong, I moved. I assessed, I managed, I fixed. I was good at it. Fast. Reliable. The person you called when things fell apart.
What I never stopped to ask was: what do you actually need right now? How do you want to handle this?
I skipped that part entirely. I just took over.
Recognizing that pattern — the speed of it, the automaticity of it, and eventually the cost of it — is what sent me looking for better tools. Not better ways to help faster, but better ways to pause. To ask. To stay present without taking over.
That search led me to the frameworks I now build my work around: the Empowerment Dynamic, HeartMath, Theatre of the Oppressed. Tools that don’t just change behavior — they change the moment before the behavior, when choice is still possible.
I’m Liza McMahon, founder of Liza McMahon Consulting LLC, based in Simsbury, Connecticut. I’m a registered nurse with over thirty years of experience, and I hold master’s degrees in Nursing and Theatre Education. I’m a certified TED* Coach, 3 Vital Questions® Trainer, HeartMath® Mentor, and Theatre of the Oppressed facilitator. I’ve taught at the University of Hartford, presented at national conferences, and spent years developing workshops and retreats for people navigating the hard middle of life’s transitions.
But what I really do is this: I help people see the patterns driving their reactions — and find their way back to choice.
That shows up differently depending on who’s in the room. Sometimes it’s a caregiver who has lost herself inside someone else’s needs. Sometimes it’s a professional who keeps hitting the same wall in relationships at work. Sometimes it’s a mother and daughter who love each other and can’t stop reenacting the same argument.
The through line is always the same. A pattern that developed for good reasons, running on autopilot long past its usefulness. And a person who is ready — even if they’re not sure how — to do something different.
I’m not a guide who found an easy path. I got lost too. I still do. What I know how to do now is recognize the terrain — and walk alongside someone else who’s finding their way through it.
If something here sounds familiar, you’re probably in the right place.
Testimonials
–Chinazo
–Alanis
“Happiness is the journey to the goal, not the achievement.”
–Cheneal
Ready to Find Your Ground?
If something on this page resonated — that recognition is worth paying attention to. Reach out and let's talk.