Free Spirit Academy Podcast

I was thinking recently of how many posts I almost held back because of how self-absorbed they sounded: • I've talked about how I once couldn't bear the thought of dying without having lost weight and lived in my “dream body”. • I've talked about how my whole world revolved around trying to fix and improve myself. • I've talked about the years of obsession with food, healing, and becoming my “best self”. It sometimes feels nauseating to show this part of my experience. But after years of work with clients, I know I far from alone in my experience. Trauma can make our worlds incredibly small. When life in our bodies is so continuously overwhelming, it's easy to pin all our hopes for a 'fix' on one thing. But as long as we're trying to fix what we perceive to be wrong with us, we're not listening. We're not present in the bodies we have now. Which again, if the bodies have now feel painful to inhabit, this is totally understandable. Often the first work I do with someone when we're talking about food struggles or a painful body image is just...gentle embodiment. Supporting them in feeling a little safer in their current body. There's a time for mirror work, even sometimes gentle affirmations, but if we're not IN our bodies, or if life feels like it's on hold until we're "fixed"...those tools have limited use. Whatever state your body takes, whatever transformations you go through, you deserve to feel safe and worthy of love where you are. LINKS:Reimagining the Body 30-Day Course (use the coupon code REIMAGINE2023 for 50% off in the month of November!)Work with RandeFree Spirit Academy on Instagram

You won't get very far in this episode without realizing the click-baitiness of the title.  The truth is, there was a time I wanted to keep all of my body shame and use it for fuel to "fix" my body and chaotic relationship to food. It never worked, and in this episode I'll talk about what did. Links:Work with Me Reimagining The Body course  (use the coupon code REIMAGINE2023 at checkout for 50% off in the month of November)

If you've spent any time in the somatic healing world, you're likely familiar with the concept of the body saying "no". I'll also often say that the body has a language that it speaks - sensation. emotion. pleasure and pain. Reactions and responses that say "no" and reactions and responses that say "yes". And it takes a lot of time and practice to understand that language.In today's episode I'll speak about feeling for the body's "yes" and the body's "no", and how it applies in several situations. Links:Work with RandeFree Spirit Academy on Instagram

What I wish I would have known when I was struggling and reading books about "mindful eating":- Slowing down isn't a tool to make you eat less. It's a tool to notice what's happening.- No amount of mindful eating is going to make eating less than you actually need serve you.- Mindful eating doesn't have to be precious. You can eat in front of your favorite show. You don't have to be deeply meditative about it...it's really just in the case of compulsive or binge eating that removing distractions can be a useful tool.- If you're absolutely desperate to change your body, attempts at mindful eating are probably still just going to be attempts at control.- Mindful eating isn't just about the "mind". It's an embodied experience. It's not about an idea of how much you SHOULD eat, it's about getting to know your actual body.- "Embodying a binge" really does mean "embodying a binge". What does a binge urge feel like in your body? What changes as you start to eat? What does the food actually taste like? What's it like to have this food take up space in your body? If shame comes up, what does THAT feel like? What's it like to breathe into it rather than let it spin stories in your head? What happens in your body if you don't immediately distract yourself after a binge? If you don't plan to starve yourself the next day? Can you get to know those feelings? Binge eating taught me so much. Rather, EMBODYING the experience that I'd been fighting with for 15+ years taught me so much.As it became safe to embody the entire experience of a binge, it started loosening it's hold.It also became safe to change things from the inside of that experience.I learned I could stop shaming myself and "starting over" when the binge was over.I learned I was actually capable of stopping somewhere in the middle rather than being all-or-nothing.Eventually I learned that a binge urge (the survival energy driving me to eat) wouldn't kill me if I didn't follow through. Or if I did so in a less checked-out way.Basically I learned that I was lovable and safe, even in a pattern that felt like the worst thing about me. ⁣⁣And creating that kind of safety opened up room for other hidden parts of me to come to the surface. Embodying the binge was just the beginning.⁣⁣P.S. I have a couple of spots for private clients and all clients get lifetime access to Free Spirit Academy courses (including Binge Freedom) DM me with questions, book a 15-minute call, or fill out the application through the link below ❤️Work with Me

Healing doesn't happen in a hurry. The hurry to be healed, integrated, enlightened, free, arrived...it's not as neat and tidy as a lot of self-help books or before-and-after photos might suggest. It's more like, the harder we try to fix things, the harder our nervous systems work to keep us where things are familiar. Whereas, if we can slow down with ourselves, right  in the behavior or with the part of us we hate or struggle with most, we can get to know it. There are often so many unknown steps in a healing process that we couldn't possibly plan them all out, let alone by a certain date. And often, the version of us that exists right here is the one most needing our acceptance and attention.In this episode, I talk about the desperation and hurry I felt to "fix" my binge and emotional eating. I'll also share about the parts of myself I'd have missed meeting if the "hurry" had worked.Links:Work with RandeFree Spirit Academy on Instagram

THE TOP 10 MISTAKES I'VE MADE ON MY HEALING JOURNEY:Honestly, I cringe a bit using the words "healing" OR "journey" because the internet is so oversaturated with wellness or spiritual teachers. I'm not interested in making "healing" my whole personality, but simultaneously I have always had this deep interest in why things hurt. What any kind of pain, emotional, mental, or physical, is saying. and coming from a background of religious and family trauma, being queer and undiagnosed neurodivergent, and all of the ways those pains spiraled out - into years of an eating disorder, self-harm, depression, anxiety, dissociation, and chronic health symptoms...I became fixated at some point on what it would take to feel free. So whether I like the term or not, I found myself on a "healing journey" that I would say began when I got fired from my door to door missionary job and started removing myself from my church and toxic family patterns. I was in the thick of struggling with food and my body and had sooooo much accumulated trauma that it was just my "normal"...but taking those steps felt incredible. In fact, something I wish I could have told myself at various points is that there's no "heaven". There's no one point where all the things on all the levels are healed and you live happily ever after. Simultaneously, you don't have to WAIT until all the things on all the levels are healed to feel better. Life, my body, my general state of being being better than they ever have been. As I thought back, I got to thinking about all the missteps and misunderstandings up until this point and I want to share them with you. Links:Work with RandeFree Spirit Academy on Instagram

This podcast is for you if you're feeling unsettled and unsafe right now.It's for you if being alone, or home all the time, or having your world turned inside-out makes you want to crawl out of your skin.It's for you if you're like a client of mine who told me this morning that she doesn't want to be stuck in her house with all that food.This episode is the first class from my 30-Day program Coming Home to Your Body. In the month of August you can use the coupon code COMINGHOME50 to get 50% off the course. We'll be talking about:...why you can be "perfect" with your  healthy lifestyle and still feel unwell....how to build resilience in challenging times....the struggle to be 'present', 'mindful', or 'in the flow' no matter how much you meditate or use spiritual and self-care practices....the desire to take care of your health while struggling with self-sabotage, compulsive behaviors, and repeating cycles and patterns like overeating but you don't know why....when you've talked about your issues and traumas in therapy and feel like you've processed your childhood, but still struggle with anxiety, depression, a constant feeling of frustration or other painful emotions that don't seem to match the present circumstances. ...you've tried to 'just relax' or maybe you KNOW some of the nervous system lingo and you take deep breaths to 'deactivate your parasympathetic nervous system'...and you still just feel like a mess....and how to ACTUALLY learn to FEEL, rather than thinking about our feelings, reacting to our feelings, or numbing our feelings.I hope this episode feels useful and supportive right now ❤️Links:Coming Home to Your Body (code COMINGHOME50 for 50% off)Work with RandeFree Spirit Academy on Instagram

The 15 minute audio you're about to hear is the introduction to my 30-day course Coming Home to Your Body. This is a course that all of my clients get when we start working together but it's also available on it's own or part of the Free Spirit Academy membership. This is easily my favorite course, addressing how the effects of trauma and stress can leave us feeling disconnected and trapped in our bodies. Learning about the autonomic nervous system, as tedious as it seemed on the surface, was huge in my own journey and I try to approach it in a way that's fun, hopeful, practical, relatable, and alongside simple but impactful tools that really make a difference over time. If this audio grabs your attention, there are links in the bio for more on this course. Links:Coming Home to Your Body 30-Day CourseFree Spirit Academy MembershipFree Spirit Academy on InstagramWork with Rande

Coming from a challenging childhood, dissociation became my "normal". As I left religion and pursued healing, the dissociation that was once completely disconnected from my body...went internal. Today we're looking at how attempts at embodiment and the pursuit of health can get sticky.Links:Free Spirit Academy on InstagramWork with Rande

I love a project. I love working towards something. I think that's pretty human. But for a long time my body was my project. I grew up in a holistic, seventh day adventist, vegetarian home. we used homeopathy and natural remedies and drank carrot juice and ate homemade bread. To this day I LOVE the taste of barley green powder because I have early memories of drinking it as something that would support my health. I wanted to know about all the supplements in the kitchen cupboard and what they would do for me. I wanted to be strong so I ate spinach straight out of the can. There was an early connection with the fact that what you eat has an impact on how you feel. Simultaneously alongside all this, my relationship with food was kinda weird...(Listen to this episode for more)

 So many folks I see, and this was me too, attach goodness and morality to their health. If something is wrong, they feel wrong. They will spin into stories about how they're creating their own disease or this is going to turn into something far worse. Can you make some space for the fact that not all of the contributing factors were in your hands? Your genetics,  adverse childhood experiences, your environment and day to day stressors that accumulate. There are areas where we have choice and can learn to be empowered...and there are factors we don't have control over. There are elements, like childhood trauma, that weren't our fault but that  as adults we have quite a large degree of choice in how we address the effects. Having a sense of humor, when possible, can bring some lightness to what can be a serious and heavy healing process. Life is very short. Literally no amount of it needs to be spent beating yourself up anymore. That time would be better spent taking care of that part of you that so automatically goes into shame. Then, just coming back to what you best know works for you. again and again and again. Links:Free Spirit Academy on InstagramWork with Rande

Today I'm talking about the ways that shame lived in my body and fed into the cycle of binge eating and disembodied practices with food. I'll also talk about making my body safe enough to finally feel the shamed parts of me so that they could be understood and come to a more whole and free place.Links:Free Spirit Academy on InstagramWork with Rande

For a huge chunk of my life, trauma had left me flat, numb, and unable to feel what was going on in my body. In today's episode I talk about the seemingly "normal" experiences that can lead to an overwhelmed nervous system, the symptoms or carrying stored survival energy, impulses, and emotions with us over a long period of time, and the symptoms that can occur as a result.Links:Free Spirit Academy on InstagramWork with Rande

After a bit of a hiatus, today I'm bringing back the podcast talking about what happened when trusty health practices were "taken" from me. In this solo episode you'll hear about:- The health challenges that turned my wold upside down.- The practices that had to change and what happened to me physically, mentally, and emotionally.- The surprises that came out of being forced to change the way I cared for myself.- How this has affected my life and work Links:Health Saga episode: https://www.buzzsprout.com/143037/11103472Free Spirit Academy on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/free_spirit_academy/Work with Rande: https://randemossclients.my.canva.site/rmwellness-mainpage

Today I'm speaking with Holistic Health and Root Cause Practitioner Sarah Hook. Sarah and I have been connected online since our early wellness blogging days when we were certain we had it all figured out. Some years ago Sarah was bit by a tick and developed severe Lyme disease, causing her to question what she knew about wellness. We talk about what it's like to need food restrictions after healing from an eating disorder as well as the ways in which we can get in our own way with our attempts at healing.I hope you enjoy and feel supported by this episode.Links:Sarah and The Healing Place on InstagramRande Moss WellnessFree Spirit Academy InstagramFree Spirit Academy CoursesThe Feeling Files Podcast

For the last year, I haven't been consistently present with my online work...and today you'll hear why. A cascade of events left me in a pretty low-functioning state until recently. Currently I'm a couple months out from a couple of minor surgeries and am feeling clearer and sturdier than I have in some time!I don't believe we need trauma to grow...but I've learned a lot. Things I would have likely learned anyways, but squished into a short and painful time frame. I'm grateful for the growth and grateful for the healing.Lastly, I'm *thisclose* to finishing my Somatic Experiencing Practitioner training and you'll be seeing my focus veer more and more in the direction of trauma, trauma integration, nervous system regulation, and embodiment. This feels very much in alignment with what Free Spirit Academy's always been about!Thanks so much for being here and thanks for listening. Links:Rande Moss WellnessFree Spirit Academy InstagramFree Spirit Academy CoursesThe Feeling Files Podcast

Free Spirit Academy's new and expanded intuitive eating program is being uploaded this month (February 2022)!FSA members get ALL courses for $25 a month (no minimum commitment) OR you can purchase the downloadable version of Liberated here. More options for working together:Eating Psychology CoachingSomatic Experiencing SessionsPrivate Breathwork Classes

In this solo episode, I'm talking about the idea of 'letting yourself go' and how that differs from the 'letting go of control' that needs to happen in order to make peace with food or integrate trauma. There's also a very special deal on the Free Spirit Academy program Binge Freedom, links below!Links:Binge Freedom (use coupon code DECEMBER50 for 50% off in the month of December 2021)Work with MeFree Spirit Academy on Instagram

Is it possible to take on a healing diet or a supportive protocol with a history of disordered eating?Is there a way to have a healthy, alive relationship with food that's also intentional? Is restriction 100% bad news in all cases?Today I'm sharing my personal experiences with chronic illness, having a background of disordered eating from a young age. I'm excited to share this with you and hope it brings you more peace and freedom in your relationship with food and your body!Links:Rande's WebsiteFree Spirit Academy InstagramFree Spirit Academy Courses

I want to start by saying that this episode is going to be worth a listen whether you're a person with ADHD or not!Sophie Tully is a Biomedical and Clinical Nutrition Scientist and Health Coach and she specialises in creating highly personalised health plans, tailored to unique goals, lifestyle and biology.She uses a range of evidence-based, safe and effective tools and techniques, including nutrigenomics, biomarker testing, coaching and detailed case history analysis Sophie goes above and beyond to unpack health concerns and work on the root cause.In this episode we talk about the link between neurodiversity, sensitivity, and chronic illness......what it was like to be diagnosed as adults....the role self-love plays in any diagnosis or journey....the modalities Sophie uses to support health challenges at their root and the role that medication plays....and lots more. It's a great chat, I'm very excited to share Sophie and her valuable skillset with you!Links:Sophie's WebsiteSophie's InstagramNatural Approaches to ADHD CourseRande's WebsiteFree Spirit Academy InstagramFree Spirit Academy Courses

In this episode, I'm sharing my OTHER 2021 diagnosis: ADHD. You'll hear me say right at the top that this has been such a good thing and a game-changer on my self-love path. All of the cliches and assumptions were what kept me from suspecting sooner and I hope to dispel some myths and offer a fresh perspective.I am currently unmedicated although I don't think that's the right choice for everyone. In part two (coming in a couple of weeks!) I'll be having a conversation with Sophie Tully of ADHD, Naturally, who will offer even more insights.Links:Rande Moss WellnessFree Spirit Academy InstagramFree Spirit Academy Courses

Today's episode is a sample of the Free Spirit Academy program, Body Love.I talk about why addressing a painful body image is integral to healing a disordered relationship with food, or taking on a healing protocol. Our bodies are home as well as incredible messengers - and by making peace with the body we have, we're much more easily able to hear it's messages. Links:Free Spirit Academy Membership Body Love CoursePrivate MentorshipFree Spirit Academy on Instagram

On today's episode I'm talking a bit about the autoimmune diagnoses I got earlier this year. This is a shorty ep but includes:...why it took me so long to see medical professionals and get tested....the wide range of feelings post-diagnosis....the pre-self-love I had to do before I had any answers....the promises I made myself once I had something concrete to work with....my thoughts on medication, etc....the complex journey that is illness and a disordered eating history. Links:Rande Moss WellnessFree Spirit Academy InstagramFree Spirit Academy Courses

Hello friends, today I'm talking to my friend Lena, an eating disorder recovery coach who also understands firsthand months of juice fasting, pure raw food diets, and even using diet to heal illness - complicated by her many years of disordered eating that didn't stop once she got into raw foods. Over the course of this conversation we make some simple connections about how and why her eating disorder developed but there could certainly be many more factors one could look at. - We'll discuss being raised in a religion that tells you if you're sick - there's something wrong with you or you're not praying hard enough.- The time Lena quit law school to move across the world and focus on detox work.  - the moment when she started realizing she was more interested in perfection than actual health - and  more.Links:Lena's website. Lena's InstagramFree Spirit Academy InstagramFree Spirit Academy courses

After well over a year, the Free Spirit Academy Podcast is BACK!I begin this episode with a health update of my own - and talk about the balance between maintaining a peaceful relationship with food and my body, while also supporting my body's very specific needs.That will lead us into a conversation with colon hydrotherapist and trauma-informed coach, Teresa Piela. Teresa is exceedingly familiar with chronic illness herself, and also knows well what it's like to do everything 'right' on a healing protocol and not feel any better. We talk about the importance of not only nourishing food but addressing nervous system trauma, painful beliefs, and tendencies towards perfectionism and orthorexia. I'm so thrilled to be back with you in this capacity - there is so much more to come!LINKS:Living Roots WellnessLiving Roots Wellness InstagramTeresa on TwitterTeresa on YouTubeFree Spirit AcademyFree Spirit Academy InstagramFree Spirit Academy Courses

After well over a year, the Free Spirit Academy Podcast is BACK!I begin this episode with a health update of my own - and talk about the balance between maintaining a peaceful relationship with food and my body, while also supporting my body's very specific needs.That will lead us into a conversation with colon hydrotherapist and trauma-informed coach, Teresa Piela. Teresa is exceedingly familiar with chronic illness herself, and also knows well what it's like to do everything 'right' on a healing protocol and not feel any better. We talk about the importance of not only nourishing food but addressing nervous system trauma, painful beliefs, and tendencies towards perfectionism and orthorexia. I'm so thrilled to be back with you in this capacity - there is so much more to come!

Here's what you can expect from today's episode:...how the anxiety of our current circumstances is TRIGGERING any anxiety already living within us....the question of whether or not we'll ever be going back to 'normal'. ...we'll talk about the pressure to always be growing, creating, being productive, and going to our max. ...the idea that the universe is saying one thing to all humans right now. ...working with the feeling that there's constantly not enough time. ...finding safety in uncertainty....the feeling that we wish someone would just fix this, the government etc. and the need for self-responsibility and self-parenting. ...astrology as a tool to make sense of what we're feeling....the idea that if something feels good to us, it will be easy to do and why it's not always. I hope you're staying safe and well and that you enjoy this episode with Marlena Torres.Marlena's WebsiteMarlena's InstagramFree Spirit AcademyFree Spirit Academy Courses

This podcast is for you if you're feeling unsettled and unsafe right now.It's for you if being alone, or home all the time, or having your world turned inside-out makes you want to crawl out of your skin.It's for you if you're like a client of mine who told me this morning that she doesn't want to be stuck in her house with all that food.I'm introducing my newest course called Coming Home to Your Body, but this podcast also stands alone.We'll be talking about:...why you can be "perfect" with your cleansing practices or healthy lifestyle and still feel unwell....how to build resilience in challenging times....the struggle to be 'present', 'mindful', or 'in the flow' no matter how much you meditate or use spiritual and self-care practices....the desire to take care of your health while struggling with self-sabotage, compulsive behaviors, and repeating cycles and patterns like overeating but you don't know why....when you've talked about your issues and traumas in therapy and feel like you've processed your childhood, but still struggle with anxiety, depression, a constant feeling of frustration or other painful emotions that don't seem to match the present circumstances. ...you've tried to 'just relax' or maybe you KNOW some of the nervous system lingo and you take deep breaths to 'deactivate your parasympathetic nervous system'...and you still just feel like a mess....and how to ACTUALLY learn to FEEL, rather than thinking about our feelings, reacting to our feelings, or numbing our feelings.I hope this episode feels useful and supportive right now ❤️Links:Free Spirit Academy Membership (Use coupon code COMINGHOME at checkout to take the price from $25/mo to $10/mo!)Private MentorshipFree Spirit Academy on Instagram

HEALING ANCESTRAL TRAUMA WITH INHERITED TRAUMA RESOLUTION COACH, LISA NAGELIn today's episode, you'll hear us talk about......The symptoms of inherited trauma: anxiety, secondary ptsd, depression, feeling like we can't get where we want to go, feeling trapped in repeating cycles, etc....Lisa's story of looking around at her family and seeing the shared patterns and emergency responses that were on autopilot and the revelation that we don't just have personal trauma but also inherited trauma. ...some of the science behind why and how trauma is passed down from generation to generation. ...the importance of creating space in our lives and how space can be really loud, especially at first, and that that's okay....the lineage of anger that hasn't been safe to express and how understanding that lineage can help us feel safe to own our anger now....and building capacity to not just feel anger and uncomfortable emotions, but also joy. I hope you enjoy this episode with Lisa Nagel. LINKS:Lisa's website.Free resources.Wild Sensitive Souls Instagram.Rande's website. Free Spirit Academy courses. Free Spirit Academy Instagram.

EXPLORING HUMAN POTENTIAL - GIL JACOBS UNEDITED!Hi friends. Before some of you get TOO excited (because I'm with you in that group of niche weirdos that thinks an interview with Gil Jacobs on the internet the single most exciting ever) I DID release this interview in the first year of the podcast. However, I was in a place at the time where I was very much catering to clients and an audience with a traditional intuitive eating view. And that view tends to look like like: eat whatever you want, whenever you want, and 'listen to your body' but if you put any sort of structure to your eating, you must be orthorexic, a part of diet culture, or have an eating disorder. So I was dancing between these worlds where my personal foray into intuitive eating had just helped me connect my intuition with the principles of intelligent cleansing that I'd used for so long - but I was a bit apprehensive to talk about it. I KNEW how strong the reaction would be so as a result, there were sections in this recording where Gil talks about dietary specifics and I cut them out and THIS is the unedited version. For the uninitiated, Gil Jacobs is a master colon hydrotherapist with more useful wisdom on the human body and potential than just about anyone else I've encountered. He is truly one of the people I'm most grateful for in the world and I'm thrilled to re-share my conversation with him.Free Spirit AcademyRande Moss Wellness

For all of the seeking we do......medical mediums....spiritual gurus....plant medicines. We often miss the most powerful medicine: the information our own bodies hold.2019 was like a massive plant medicine journey for me...sans plant medicine (so y'know, I'm going based on what I've heard).My body took me on the ride of my life - and while it wasn't easy, it was the most liberating year I've ever experienced. This was a year that confirmed for me something I've long felt suspicious of...that our bodies are trustworthy. That Life is trustworthy. We just need to learn the language they speak.In this episode I give you a magical snippet of an incredibly intense year.And I hope it leaves you with more trust in your own magic. Links:Rande Moss WellnessE-mail me directly: randegrace@gmail.comFree Spirit Academy CoursesStar Sisters book

Friends!! After a bit of a hiatus, the Free Spirit Academy Podcast is back and it feels SO good. I'll update you a bit in the intro to this episode, but here's a bit of what to expect today:I met Jen at my Level 1 Kundalini Yoga Teacher Training and my first thought was 'thank GOD, a real human'. While I met so many lovely humans, Jen didn't feel like she was trying to prove anything or sound a certain way, she was there for the practice and was simultaneously running her own studio and it was just very refreshing. In this episode you'll hear us talk about......Jens' practice of 25 years, how she got into it for the yoga butt and the healing and spirituality snuck up on her. ...online yoga teacher culture and the choice to present the full spectrum of what it means to be a human....growing up in a childhood where everything is 'fine' no matter what's happening or what anyone is feeling and how that impacts us....how we can use yoga as a practice that actually makes a difference in the quality of our life, rather than helping us escape from our life. ...how kundalini yoga helps us actually process trauma that's stored in the body. ...thoughts on 'cancel culture', and what we see as problems in the wellness and spirituality communities....the history of patriarchy and abuse in the yoga lineage and Jen's personal story of abuse by a well-known yoga teacher.And while this might sound intense, there's also a lot of laughter and a little musing on Paris Hilton too ;)Enjoy the episode!Links:Twist Yoga EdmondsJen's InstagramFree Spirit Academy websiteFree Spirit Academy coursesFree Spirit Academy Facebook groupWork with me

I met today's guest in my very first kundalini yoga teacher training and we've continued taking trainings from Guru Singh in Seattle for the last couple of years - and I wanted to have her on as a teacher but also as an example of someone who moved through serious addiction to drugs and alcohol and on the other side - is more real and more uniquely herself than she'd ever been before.In this conversation we talked about addictions, coping tools and distractions and how they work until they don't. And when it becomes obvious that these things aren't working the way they used to, it means we're ready to start seeing what's underneath those behaviors. Kalei herself is 15 years sober and she'll tell us her story about what it took to create a life that didn't need drugs and alcohol, how kundalini yoga came into the picture, and what she's doing now as a teacher and a creative, growing human being!I hope you enjoy this conversation with Kalei Myers, the Urban Yogi.Links:The Urban Yogi on FacebookThe Urban Yogi on InstagramFree Spirit Academy websiteFree Spirit Academy coursesFree Spirit Academy Facebook groupWork with me

THE DREAM UNDER THE DREAM BODY.This solo episode is going to be a taster of my most recent program in the Free Spirit Academy membership site. My new 40-day program Liberated is my take on what many call intuitive eating. If you've listened to this podcast for any length of time you'll know that I talk a LOT about eating intuitively, finding freedom around food, and freedom in our bodies...AND I've just never been satisfied with the general way I've seen intuitive eating going which, to me, isn't actually all that intuitive. Listen in to hear the first audio class of this 40-day program for FREE, as well as a bonus exercise from the course.To purchase the downloadable course: https://freespiritacademy.teachable.com/p/liberated/Free Spirit Academy Membership (which includes this program): https://freespiritacademy.teachable.com/p/free-spirit-academy

WHAT IT MEANS TO "BE LOVE" WITH REIKI PRACTITIONER, COLON HYDROTHERAPIST, AND OWNER OF LOVE BEING, ALEC STEURY.A few of the things you'll hear us talk about are... What it's like to start to shift from a solely logical, linear way of thinking and being to developing intuition and self trust.Putting our attention and letting our journey be lead by what feels interesting and inspiring to us.The health issues or ways of being human that we think of as "normal" that don't necessarily have to be. How gently, slowly, and intelligently cleansing the body has the potential to affect us emotionally and mentally.The potential for transformation in someone by just being with them where they're at. Diet dogma vs listening to the body.Shifting from "no pain no gain" to a much gentler "no discomfort no gain". I hope you enjoy this conversation with Alec Steury.Links:Love BeingLove Being FacebookFree Spirit Academy websiteFree Spirit Academy coursesFree Spirit Academy Facebook groupWork with me

DETACHING SELF-WORTH FROM YOUR FOOD CHOICES WITH EMOTIONAL EATING COACH, GEORGINA GORRINGE.In this week's conversation, you'll hear us talk about:...how the opposite of emotional eating isn't "normal" eating and how that may not necessarily be what we're looking for....the journey from mindless eating to more conscious eating with nutrition knowledge, to an EMBODIED practice of listening to what works....when we see foods as "good" or "bad" and they leave US feeling like WE are "good" or "bad" people or having a "good" or "bad" day....learning nutrition knowledge is fabulous AS LONG AS we're connecting with our own bodies and how we feel....the foundation that's NEEDED before we can dive into the heart of emotional eating....tools for feeling fulfilled when not emotionally eating leaves you feeling empty. ...finding what actually FEELS GOOD rather than just things that would make you lose weight. ...how to remove your self-worth from your body size. Links mentioned:UDOU Habit HackGeorgina's InstagramGeorgina's FacebookFree Spirit Academy websiteFree Spirit Academy coursesFree Spirit Academy Facebook groupWork with me

WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE A FREE SPIRIT?Today it's a solo episode where I talk about what it does and doesn't mean to be a "free spirit" and to cultivate more freedom in your life and body.Links mentioned:Kundalini warmupFeeling Breath PracticeWork with meFree Spirit Academy websiteFree Spirit Academy coursesFree Spirit Academy Facebook group

FEELING AT HOME IN YOUR BODY WHEREVER YOU ARE WITH CLINICAL NUTRITIONIST AND PRIVATE FLIGHT ATTENDANT, CHRISTINA PISTONE. Here are some of the gems you can look forward to in this conversation....we talk about the dangerous assumption that thinness equals health....how sometimes working LESS hard is what's needed to support your health and well being....realizing you might be thinking about food more than engaging with LIFE and how to use that as a cue to re-connect with yourself....feeling like once we've gotten the "perfect" body or diet plan we'll be fulfilled - and how very untrue that is....how scary it can be to move from a controlled diet plan to more of a gentle structure that lets us get in touch with our intuition - but how worthwhile it is....and what Christina does to cultivate a sense of home in her body wherever she goes in her many travels. I hope you enjoy this conversation with Christina Pistone.Links mentioned:Christina's InstagramChristina's YouTube ChannelChristina on FacebookAround the World In Healthy Ways BlogGil Jacobs episodeFree Spirit Academy websiteFree Spirit Academy coursesFree Spirit Academy Facebook groupWork with me

Before Free Spirit Academy was Free Spirit Academy I was trying to figure out how to transition from food blogging as a hobby to Eating Psychology Coaching as a career. And I'm pretty certain that if I hadn't worked with a coach I would have struggled a LOT longer than I did to create what I wanted to create. Coaching and mentorship is SO important in certain phases and I wanted to bring Ally on because she's not only a business coach - she has a background in ayurveda, and using sensual feminine embodiment practices to connect to our bodies so that our bodies can be GUIDES for us as we navigate our life and of course business if we have one.Here are some of the things you can look forward to in this conversation:...Ally and I talk about our unconventional takes on the "body positive" perspective and what we feel are some of the missing pieces....learning to love our bodies from the inside-out rather than starting on the outside and trying to force it. ...how to address the shame that can come up when we're learning to care for our bodies and explore pleasure....what to do when you don't know what feels good in your body or what foods would feel good to eat. ...tools for connecting with your body....creating a sense of safety around making mistakes....emotions not being bad or negative, just messengers that are sometimes painful....and we explore the way our emotions naturally fluctuate and how each part of our female cycle has a different kind of medicine.I hope you enjoy this conversation with Ally Canales.Links mentioned:Ally's InstagramFree Spirit Academy websiteFree Spirit Academy coursesFree Spirit Academy Facebook groupWork with me

MOTHERHOOD AS A SPIRITUAL PATH. In today's conversation, we'll talk about motherhood as a spiritual path but even if you're not a parent or even planning on being a parent (and if that's you, I'm right there with you) there's so much great stuff in here for you.Here are a few of the things you're in for:...Leslie talks about how carrying extra weight may have a divine reason and how we can feel into the body to see if it's at it's natural resting place - rather than using a number on a scale to make us crazy....We'll share stories on the clients who think they're coming to us for meal plans or quick tips - and how much deeper a wellness journey can go....The importance of assuming that the body is always RIGHT in whatever it does - and using that as a guide rather than beating ourselves up when things aren't going the way we think they should or we'd like them to. ...Why we crave intensely sweet, fatty, or salty things when we're stressed and the most powerful question to ask ourselves when we're in that situation....We'll talk about forms of nourishment that go way beyond only food....And we talk about what Leslie does best - helping women prepare for pregnancy, the myths about pre-conception, ways to take care of yourself with mindful eating and nutrition prior to getting pregnant.I hope you enjoy this conversation with Leslie Woodward.Links:Leslie's websiteLeslie's FacebookLeslie's InstagramLeslie's PinterestFree Spirit Academy websiteFree Spirit Academy coursesFree Spirit Academy Facebook group8 Steps to Balance your Hormones + Boost your Fertility

BODY LOVE: FROM RULES TO RELATIONSHIP WITH EXPERIENTIAL EATING EXPERT, BETH SUMMERS.In today's conversation we talked about when health becomes a value - and how that can be a beautiful thing in relationship and a destructive thing if it's disembodied.Beth will tell us the story of how experiential eating became such a prominent part of her work.We chat about the importance of the way we eat not defining who we are as people - and we dive into this from the perspective of kundalini yogis and seeing a lot of the same sort of thing - following the rules to be a good yogi rather than letting the practice wake you up to your own individuality.And we talk about what to do when you have a ton of nutritional knowledge and you don't want to scrap that but you ALSO want to start learning to listen to your body.I hope you enjoy this conversation with Beth Summers. Links:Beth's websiteBeth's bookBeth's InstagramBeth's YouTube ChannelFree Spirit Academy websiteFree Spirit Academy coursesFree Spirit Academy Facebook group

Welcome to episode 41 of the Free Spirit Academy Podcast with Artist and Intuitive, Lindsay King.Sometimes people's worlds are so unfathomable to me that it feels like magic. Lindsay is a beautiful intuitive human being and artist. In her words, she "paints the relationship between the subconscious and what is seen. In this conversation, we talk about......our shared history and Lindsay's experience of feeling like a fraud in religion....the importance of aligning with who you really are and using your voice - even if it means your not everybody's cup of tea....the body as an intelligent tool - this might have been my favorite part of the conversation because I'm always interested in how people describe their experience of listening to the body....Lindsay's take on the word "power" and how feeling grounded in her own power has lead her to the desire for more collaboration. ...and we'll talk about her fascinating work doing soul essence paintings.I hope you enjoy this conversation with Lindsay King.Links mentioned:Lindsay's websiteLindsay's Instagram Prints by Lindsay KingFree Spirit Academy websiteFree Spirit Academy coursesFree Spirit Academy Facebook group

Welcome to episode 40 of the Free Spirit Academy podcast with Holistic Health Coach and Wellness Lifestyle Consultant Meredith Wadsworth.I discovered Meredith's work while I was going down a rabbit hole with exercise. You'll hear more about this as we dive in but one slice of what Meredith does is fitness training for the method we'll talk about. But that really is just one piece. Her company The HYE Life (Honor Yourself Everyday) represents so much of what I love: a balance between intuition and intention, looking beyond the surface of food and body struggles, and truly holistic wellness that doesn't include punishing exercise or restrictive dieting. There are no cookie cutter approaches here.In this conversation we talked about......how her first career in fashion stopped lighting her up and what she did to turn her life in a direction that DID. ...we connect on having clients who think they are coming to talk to us about food and how it turns in to everything else....what messages food/body pain may be trying to offer us. ...the difference between introversion and enjoying alone time and ACTUALLY liking ourselves....how even though food and body isn't everything it IS important and what role it plays....how we can limit our perception of food as potential weight gain or how it will harm us rather than focusing on nourishment....and how working out is not to be fit for workouts but to be fit for how we want to live our lives. I hope you enjoy this conversation with Meredith Wadsworth.Links:The HYE Life InstagramThe HYE Life websiteThe HYE Method coachingThe HYE Life PodcastFree StressLess Daily ChecklistFree Spirit Academy websiteFree Spirit Academy coursesFree Spirit Academy Facebook group

For more background on Mel, check out episode 27, Your Inner Binge Eater is on Your Side where we dove deep on Mel's history and how to address a struggle with binge eating.Today we dive into something I once shrugged off and that's inner child work. This idea that so much of what I struggled with was rooted in childhood. And the reason I shrugged it off was because I looked at my childhood and while it had it's issues, it seemed kinda normal. At least compared to some of the horrific things many people endure in childhood. But as you'll hear Mel say in our conversation - just because a childhood was normal, doesn't mean it was healthy. We talk about how intuitive eating is the ability to tune into the body's wisdom - but how if we're disconnected from our emotions, noticing something as seemingly simple as hunger and fullness cues can be close to impossible. We talk about the way we disconnect from parts of ourselves as children and how if we don't RE-connect with those parts as adults - we'll see symptoms like binge eating, emotional eating, or restrictive dieting among many possibilities. We'll talk about the the needs we're attempting to get met with compulsive behavior and how things like creativity and authenticity and love ARE needs, not just luxuries. And we address how unexpressed emotions get stuck in the body and how if emotional eating is causing you pain - that's a SIGN that you're ready to hear what it has to say. I hope you enjoy this episode with Melissa Riccardi. Links:Melissa's Instagram.Melissa's Private Facebook Group Beyond the Binge.Melissa's Facebook Page.Free Spirit Academy website.Free Spirit Academy courses.Free Spirit Academy Facebook group.

HOLISTIC WELLNESS AFTER HEALING AN EATING DISORDER WITH MEGAN GILMORE, THE DETOXINISTA.At the top of this episode, Megan and I talk about the varying reactions people have when they hear "detoxinista".They either get really excited that this might be a specific guide to a rigid detox protocol.OR they turn they other way because they hear "detox" and it turns them off.However, Megan's approach is neither strict nor scary.In fact, when my clients are feeling steady with the emotional side of their relationship with food and are looking to gently upgrade the way they eat simply to FEEL better - The Detoxinista blog is often where I send them for simple, delicious, whole food recipes.In this conversation you'll hear us talk about......Megan's history and how she got into detox and wellness....her years struggling with binge eating disorder and how she found healing and clarity....how pregnancy shifted her perspective on food and her body and changed the course of her relationship with both....the part of healing binge eating we BOTH ignored at first. ...and the fun projects she's working on today.I hope you enjoy this conversation with Megan Gilmore.LINKS:Detoxinista website.Detoxinista Facebook.Detoxinista Pinterest.Detoxinista YouTube.

GETTING UNSTUCK AND FINDING NEW PERSPECTIVES WITH KUNDALINI YOGA TEACHER, KATIE SEDGWICK. So today we're talking to my friend Katie who we originally spoke with in episode 24 entitled The Eat to Feel Good Diet. She told us her story about cultivating self-love and the accidental weight loss that followed. We got a lot of great feedback and actually started this episode with a question from a listener that was brought on by that episode. Today you'll hear us dive into:...What to do when feeling like a fraud when it comes to learning to love our bodies. ...How body love is actually what's most natural to us....How kundalini yoga can help us see things from many perspectives instead of feeling stuck....Katie's thousand-day commitment to a particular kundalini meditation....and at one point she turns the tables on ME and asks me about my experience at my most recent kundalini level 2 teacher training on vitality and stress.I hope you enjoy this conversation with Katie Sedgwick.

ASTROLOGY AS A TOOL FOR HEALING WITH NUTRITIONIST AND ASTROLOGER, MARLENA TORRES.In this second episode with Marlena, you'll hear us talk about......Marlena's raw food romance gone wrong and how if she had understood what was going on for her astrologically, she might have had a different experience. ...Our connection as mutual Taurus's and how we spent a lot of time feeling like we didn't have a sense of value if we didn't feel beautiful - and the disappointment of putting so much effort into a healthy lifestyle and feeling like something was wrong with us because our bodies weren't what we thought they should be. ...What's going on in my chart right now, which will hopefully give you a good glimpse of what it's like to get a reading!...And we talk about a lot of the drama around astrology, fear around mercury retrograde and full moons with the overall conclusions that the planets aren't forcing you to do anything or controlling your life, but we will look at what sort of influence they DO have. I hope you enjoy this conversation with Marlena.LINKS:Marlena's website. Marlena's private Facebook group. Free Spirit Academy website. Free Spirit Academy courses. Free Spirit Academy Facebook group.

YOUR BODY ON YOUR SIDE (PART 2) WITH ALIYAH WASHINGTON. Hello friends, just a heads up if you didn't catch last week's episode, this is part two and I definitely suggest listening to part one first. We'll be diving in right where we left off and these are some of the topics we go into: ...The power of admitting when what we are believing might not be true, and how not having all the answers doesn't equal being in pain all the time. ...The difference between surrender and apathy. ...Imagining your ideal body (not to manifest it somehow magically) but to experience a feeling of worthiness with which to move forward from. ...The difference between listening to your body from a place of pain and fear vs a place of worthiness. ...A fresh perspective on what disease is. ...A fresh perspective on the state of humanity right now. ...A very refreshing perspective on cleanses and detox diets. ...And how binge eating isn't actually self-sabotage. I hope you enjoy the rest of this episode with Aliyah Washington. Links: Perception Trainers Website. Perception Trainers YouTube Channel. Aliyah Mystery School. Your Body is On Your Side Course.  Free Spirit Academy website. Free Spirit Academy courses. Free Spirit Academy Facebook group. 

YOUR BODY IS ON YOUR SIDE WITH ALIYAH WASHINGTON. If you've been listening since early on this year, you'll have heard Aliyah on episode 2, sharing her journey through anorexia and today we go much, much deeper. I actually split this episode into two parts as it got long but I didn't want to cut any of it. As I've merged topics like eating disorder recovery with potentially extreme lifestyles and practices like colon cleansing and juicing, I've worried that folks could take things to an extreme and I've tried to be very careful about how I've approached these subjects. One of the biggest things we talked about in this conversation was how disordered eating often begins in a simple desire to just FEEL BETTER when we're in so much pain and discomfort. And because we're in so much pain and discomfort, many of us tend to reach for the most extreme version of the most extreme thing whether it's long fasts or technically perfect diets but without context or transition or embodiment. And I see this happening in the world of exploring spirituality where there are so many trying to "crush our egos" or "overcome our shadows" or we're jumping into long meditation retreats or taking ayahuasca over and over again - and again, I think that some of this stuff is a natural reaction to wanting to be out of the pain that we're in. But truly, it's gentle steps - and becoming curious about and understanding of our ego or our shadow or our painful habits - that will really begin to shift our experience sustainably and allow us to grow rather than chasing our tails and constantly starting over. When I approached the idea of this interview I wanted to call it something like "how to be spiritual or how to cleanse without being crazy" - and I ultimately decided that as catchy as it was it was a little harsh - and I ended up calling it "your body is on your side" because Aliyah and I created a program with that same name. We created it with the idea that freedom is so much more than just being free to eat whatever you want or being a certain size or being comfortable at whatever that size is. We introduce the idea that your body is actually your best guide in navigating this human life and that there is so much beyond the surface of food and weight pain. This is a course you can take anytime at your own pace and I'll leave the link below as well as links to Aliyah's other offerings! You'll hear us talk about...  ...Holistically addressing mental, phyical, and spiritual health IN THE LONG RUN. ...Aliyah's history with anorexia that began with being a very sick child and wanting to feel better. ...How you think you should feel on any particular diet or healing regimen vs. what you're seeing in reality. ...How we can begin making everything in our world right including our emotions, our symptoms, and any way our body reacts. ...What's going on when we feel we're eating perfectly and not getting better or losing weight. And so much more, I hope you enjoy part 1 of this conversation with Aliyah Washington. Links: Perception Trainers Website. Perception Trainers YouTube Channel. Aliyah Mystery School. Your Body is On Your Side Course.  Free Spirit Academy website. Free Spirit Academy courses. Free Spirit Academy Facebook group. 

THE IMPORTANCE OF LOVING YOURSELF TO WELLNESS WITH IRIDOLOGIST AND THE HOST OF THE RAW FOOD FOOT SOLDIER PODCAST, CHRIS HALL. A few months back, Chris and I had a talk on his podcast and it had been lingering on the edge of my mind that I wanted to bring him over so when I saw on his Instagram stories that he was about to do a social media detox, I was intrigued and used it as an opportunity to extend an invitation. So here he is and I have to say, this episode contains one of my favorite things that has EVER happened in an interview, it brought me to tears, so hang out for the ENTIRE conversation to catch the ending. IN that episode, you'll hear us talk about: :::What it's like to start a podcast and put yourself out there to get your dream guests. :::His personal journey to sobriety and then a raw foods based approach to wellness. :::The benefits of TRANSITION rather than extremes when it comes to wellness. :::Learning to take care of ourselves in a way that's big picture, which isn't always what feels good in the moment. :::and finally, his experience with stepping away from social media. I hope you enjoy this conversation with Chris Hall. Links: The Raw Food Foot Soldier Podcast The Raw Food Foot Soldier on Instagram Puradyme products The Raw Food Foot Soldier PayPal link Free Spirit Academy website. Free Spirit Academy courses. Free Spirit Academy Facebook group. 

FOOD, FREEDOM, AND FEEDING FAMILY WITH WRITER AND PLANT-BASED RECIPE CREATOR, ASH FOSTER. In this episode we talked about... :::How we can try and get a sense of adventure and freedom and excitement through following a particular diet. :::How perfectionism can be addicting. :::Ash addressed how she dealt with extreme depression after the birth of her first child. :::How to handle being made fun of by family for food choices. :::How she balances firmness and flexibility as she feeds her family a whole foods, plant based diet. :::And following freedom and joy in food choices and in ALL choices as much as we're capable. Links: Ash Foster's Website. Ash Foster's Instagram. Free Spirit Academy website. Free Spirit Academy courses. Free Spirit Academy Facebook group.