FreeBody Podcast

Today's season 3 finale episode is a recap of Paton's egg retrieval surgery (while sick), post-op, recovery, and reflection. She gets news about how many mature eggs were frozen, how long recovery should take, and she shares what this experience has meant to her and what she's learned about herself and her body. Thank you for all your support and lovely messages! Please subscribe, share, rate, and review! Feel free to reach out on our instagram @freebodypodcast with any thoughts and questions. We'll be back soon. Until next time... be well.

Wake up sick. Check. See regular fertility doctor and get another egg update. Check. Cry at acupuncture appointment. Check. Give yourself two brand new trigger shots late at night. Check check. Almost to the end of this journey! On this last night of administering shots, Paton gives an update and answers your questions from instagram @freebodypodcast, where you can check out the accompanying vlogs for these episodes. Finale episode next week. Thanks for being here and for all your support. Please subscribe, rate, review, and share!

Three more nights until egg retrieval day. This episode is all over the place-- trigger warning: Paton talks about the number of eggs the doctor that morning told her to expect. She also goes into an impromptu film review segment. High highs and low lows. She also answers some questions from the community on our instagram @freebodypodcast. Follow over there to watch the vlogs that accompany these podcasts. Thanks for tuning in. Don't forget to subscribe, rate, and review!

Today, Paton answers your questions about the cost of egg freezing, shares an update from her doctor on Day 9, and finally discovers her mistake! If you have any questions, tidbits, or comments you want on this podcast, please follow us on instagram @freebodypodcast and send a DM. Please be sure to subscribe, rate, and review!

Today we get an update on the estimated schedule for extraction day, Paton makes another mathematical error, and it's Thanksgiving! Paton also answers your questions about how the extraction process works before getting into Day 8. If you have questions, thoughts, or insights, please follow us on instagram @freebodypodcast and send a DM. We'd love to hear from you. Last fall, Paton decided to freeze her eggs. While embarking on this process quietly and alone, she filmed her experience while administering her shots as a record for herself and her future family. Now months later, during Women's History Month, she's decided to release this footage publicly in the hopes that it reaches other folks navigating fertility treatments who may be looking for more resources and support. This topic tends to be kept very private as it is not only a physically arduous undertaking but an intensely emotional one as well. In sharing her fertility body story, Paton invites us all to own our vulnerability as the strength that it is while shedding a light on fertility and gynecological healthcare. You can find her videos on instagram @freebodypodcast, released in tandem with each episode. Please subscribe, share, and review!

Today Paton answers questions from the @freebodypodcast community on instagram, and two VIP guests show up during the evening round of shots! If you have questions, thoughts, or insights, please follow us on instagram and send a DM. Last fall, Paton decided to freeze her eggs. While embarking on this process quietly and alone, she filmed her experience while administering her shots as a record for herself and her future family. Now months later, during Women's History Month, she's decided to release this footage publicly in the hopes that it reaches other folks navigating fertility treatments who may be looking for more resources and support. This topic tends to be kept very private as it is not only a physically arduous undertaking but an intensely emotional one as well. In sharing her fertility body story, Paton invites us all to own our vulnerability as the strength that it is while shedding a light on fertility and gynecological healthcare. You can find her videos on instagram @freebodypodcast, released in tandem with each episode. Please subscribe, share, and review!

Today Paton answers some questions she received from the @freebodypodcast community on instagram, and a VIP guest shows up during Day 6! If you have questions, thoughts, or insights, please follow us on instagram and send a DM. Last fall, Paton decided to freeze her eggs. While embarking on this process quietly and alone, she filmed her experience while administering her shots as a record for herself and her future family. Now months later, during Women's History Month, she's decided to release this footage publicly in the hopes that it reaches other folks navigating fertility treatments who may be looking for more resources and support. This topic tends to be kept very private as it is not only a physically arduous undertaking but an intensely emotional one as well. In sharing her fertility body story, Paton invites us all to own our vulnerability as the strength that it is while shedding a light on fertility and gynecological healthcare. You can find her videos on instagram @freebodypodcast, released in tandem with each episode. Please subscribe, share, and review!

Today Paton answers some questions she received from the @freebodypodcast community on instagram. If you have questions, thoughts, or insights, please follow us on instagram and send a DM. Last fall, Paton decided to freeze her eggs. While embarking on this process quietly and alone, she filmed her experience while administering her shots as a record for herself and her future family. Now months later, during Women's History Month, she's decided to release this footage publicly in the hopes that it reaches other folks navigating fertility treatments who may be looking for more resources and support. This topic tends to be kept very private as it is not only a physically arduous undertaking but an intensely emotional one as well. In sharing her fertility body story, Paton invites us all to own our vulnerability as the strength that it is while shedding a light on fertility and gynecological healthcare. You can find her videos on instagram @freebodypodcast, released in tandem with each episode. Please subscribe, share, and review!

On today's episode, Paton answers a couple questions she received from @freebodypodcast on instagram, before jumping into Days 3 & 4. If you have questions, thoughts, insight, please follow us on instagram and reach out! Last fall, Paton decided to freeze her eggs. While embarking on this process quietly and alone, she filmed her experience while administering her shots as a record for herself and her future family. Now months later, during Women's History Month, she's decided to release this footage publicly in the hopes that it reaches other folks navigating fertility treatments who may be looking for more resources and support. This topic tends to be kept very private as it is not only a physically arduous undertaking but an intensely emotional one as well. In sharing her fertility body story, Paton invites us all to own our vulnerability as the strength that it is while shedding a light on fertility and gynecological healthcare. You can find her videos on instagram @freebodypodcast, released in tandem with each episode. Please subscribe, share, and review!

Last fall, Paton decided to freeze her eggs. While embarking on this process quietly and alone, she filmed her experience while administering her shots as a record for herself and her future family. Now months later, during Women's History Month, she's decided to release this footage publicly in the hopes that it reaches other folks navigating fertility treatments who may be looking for more resources and support. This topic tends to be kept very private as it is not only a physically arduous undertaking but an intensely emotional one as well. In sharing her fertility body story, Paton invites us all to own our vulnerability as the strength that it is while shedding a light on fertility and gynecological healthcare. You can find her videos on instagram @freebodypodcast, released in tandem with each episode. Please subscribe, share, and review!

Last fall, Paton decided to freeze her eggs. While embarking on this process quietly and alone, she filmed her experience while administering her shots as a record for herself and her future family. Now months later, during Women's History Month, she's decided to release this footage publicly in the hopes that it reaches other folks navigating fertility treatments who may be looking for more resources and support. This topic tends to be kept very private as it is not only a physically arduous undertaking but an intensely emotional one as well. In sharing her fertility body story, Paton invites us all to own our vulnerability as the strength that it is while shedding a light on fertility and gynecological healthcare. You can find her videos on instagram @freebodypodcast, released in tandem with each episode. Please subscribe, share, and review!

During a trip through Europe (Spain, France, Italy) and Iceland, Paton asked people she met along the way (folks from Germany, Bangladesh, England, and more) the same question she asks every guest who comes on the podcast: "what is an early body memory you have that holds significance to you, and why?" While reflecting on the complexities of the Thanksgiving holiday this week, she decided now would be a good time to share these vulnerable and powerful stories that remind us all what to be thankful for: our bodies and all their challenges, lessons, and gifts for our growth. This episode was edited on ancestral Lenape land, the homeland of the Lenape people who were violently displaced by European colonialist settlers over hundreds of years. Colonialization is ongoing, and mindfulness and acknowledgment is only a piece of what work can and needs to be done. Last week the Supreme Court heard the oral arguments of the Haaland v. Brackeen court case which seeks to declare ICWA, the Indian Child Welfare Act unconstitutional. The decision will not be made public until sometime in summer of 2023. You can still take action to support and serve native children and their families by spreading awareness, listening to the audio of the oral arguments from the hearing, signing the Protect ICWA Petition and more. Go follow @protecticwa on instagram for more ways to help. #protectICWA You can hear audio of the Supreme Court hearing for Haaland v. Brackeen here: https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/audio/2022/21-376

Today Paton speaks with her friend and fellow classmate Noah Gaynor, NY based actor and writer. This incredible conversation touches on body image, plant medicine, unhealthy relationships to exercise, acting, transcendental meditation, floating therapy, healing "ah-ha!" moments, and all those times Paton dragged him to hot yoga before a 14 hour day at Juilliard. Follow Noah on instagram @_noahgaynor_ IG: @freebodypodcast More Sources and Resources: Cannabis is Medicine by Dr. Bonni Goldstein "White Ferality" by Resmaa Menakem Medical News Today article about the Endocannabinoid System

Today's episode is the third in our bonus episode series regarding reproductive justice. We're sharing women's healthcare experiences as we face a world without the federal protection of abortion rights. Last week I met with my dear friend and fellow actress, Marinda Anderson, who back in 2020 shared her fertility journey of getting her eggs frozen in a daily series on her instagram account @marindaanderson. If you're curious you should definitely check the videos out, they're still up. In our talk today, we look at Marinda's personal experience through the lens of today's America and how the overturning of Roe v Wade could be affecting fertility treatments all over the country. Sources and Resources: Forbes Health article: Will A Roe V. Wade Overturn Impact Fertility Treatments? “Roe v. Wade being overturned could see IVF banned in at least 30 states” on Newsweek. Ask for Jane and Roe v. Wade V. God on the VOX podcast Politico article: NY passes strengthened gun laws in wake of SCOTUS ruling

Today's guest is Dr. Miyabe Shields, a Ph.D cannabis research scientist as well as daily user and advocate for accessible cannabis education. They are a co-host of the podcast Smoke N' Science where they and Dr. Riley Kirk, PhD explain the facts and their own experiences in using cannabis as medication. Today Miyabe and l talk about the benefits of cannabis use for some of the neurodivergent community, the importance of the endocannabinoid system, the need for destigmatization, and the benefits and similarities there may be between cannabis and our other plant medicine friend, magic mushrooms aka psilocybin. Follow Dr. Miyabe Shields on instagram and TikTok @miyabephd Follow us on instagram @freebodypodcast Credits: Clip from Johann Hari's TedTalk explaining "Rat Park" experiment in "Everything You Think You Know About Addiction Is Wrong." Roe V Wade resource recs: The Ezra Klein Show: "The Dobbs Decision Isn't Just About Abortion. It's About Power," and "The Ethics of Abortion."

Today you'll hear Kristie Larson's body story and her journey to becoming a personal trainer as well as a fitness and intuitive eating coach in NYC. She is the founder of The Feel Good Bunch, an online community of women who are super into fitness and super not into diet culture. We connect on our mutual love for fitness, processing trauma, and Jim Carrey, and we also go into intuitive eating, how exercise can help change certain societal narratives, and how life changing it is to consistently listen to your body's signals. She is hilarious, grounded, a very impressive teacher, and has packed a TON of wisdom into one episode. Find more about Kristie on her website www.kristielarson.com and on tiktok and IG @kristielarson_ Please subscribe, rate, and review and follow us on instagram @freebodypodcast

Theatre director Shana Gozansky and Paton have a conversation about the roles of actors and directors, and how they can help make theatre a more equitable, diverse, and ultimately, healing community for all bodies. By all of us accepting ourselves for who we are, shadows and all, we create a world where we can accept *others* too, and live from faith instead of fear. How does all that relate to the entertainment industry and studying the arts? Long story short: Theatre needs therapy. As do we all.  Shana's IG: @shaygo Freebody IG: @freebodypodcast

Beth Fairchild is an artist, activist, and yogi living with stage IV metastatic breast cancer. Beth and Paton were introduced through We Go High, a cannabis justice initiative in North Carolina that does incredible work (find them @wegohighnc on instagram). Today Beth talks about her advocacy for breast cancer patients and medical marijuana use, how her relationship to cannabis has evolved, and how getting her cancer diagnosis changed her relationship to her body and herself. Please subscribe, rate, and review! For more about Beth and her work: bethfairchild.com Check out wegohigh.info and IG: @wegohighnc Follow us on instagram @freebodypodcast

This is the second episode of our current bonus series about women's healthcare and abortion rights. Today's guest is Amy Dannenmueller, an actress and activist born in Wisconsin and forged in the fires of New York City. She shares her personal experiences with Planned Parenthood and the life saving care she received there, as well as her work as a volunteer escort at abortion clinics in the New York Area. Please subscribe. IG: @freebodypodcast Check back here later today for resource links!

In today's interview, high-functioning anxiety coach, Nicole Pond, talks about living with an undiagnosed illness for most of her life. It wasn't until she was 30 and studying medical biology that she was diagnosed with PMDD, premenstrual dysphoric disorder. She explains how her symptoms from PMDD and her own childhood trauma were connected and had caused her chronic depression and anxiety from a very young age. As her fascination of the body on a physical and psychological level grew, Nicole illustrates how this led to her cultivating more emotional freedom in her body. Nicole and Paton also talk about various acting techniques and Paton's theory that the somatics of creating art can be either transformative or destructive; it's all in the approach and guidance. Nicole's IG: @iamnicolepond website: nicolepond.com Please subscribe, rate, and review! Stay in touch on IG: @freebodypodcast

Today's guest is Carrah Stamatakis, a professional singer and mother of two living in Los Angeles. Carrah's two pregnancies and her subsequent recovery from the first stages of pelvic organ prolapse (aka POP) has given her a unique perspective on abortion rights and how stripping people in this country of this right also strips away their agency over their own lives and very survival. And that a corpse would have more rights to its body than a breathing woman does. If you're someone who has not experienced pregnancy, her body story will be *quite* informative, and if you have experienced pregnancy, then hopefully this ends up being cathartic for you. We laugh a lot as we talk about the intimate details of Carrah's experience, but just as a heads up, there are some graphic body moments described in this episode.  Additional resources regarding the potential reversal of Roe V. Wade and the likely implications it would have on IVF and maternal mortality, as well as more info about POP from Carrah are listed below: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/27/opinion/abortion-laws-miscarriage.html https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/death-pregnant-woman-ignites-debate-about-abortion-ban-poland-2021-11-05/ https://www.axios.com/2022/05/04/roe-wade-reversal-implications https://www.pelvicorganprolapsesupport.org/pelvic-organ-prolapse-help-and-hope https://www.acog.org/womens-health/experts-and-stories/the-latest/5-things-i-wish-all-women-knew-about-pelvic-organ-prolapse Subscribe and follow us on instagram @freebodypodcast

Today, trauma informed wellness coach Amanda Balarezo talks about how she discovered the nourishing systems of nutrition, somatic experiencing, and co-regulation that she practices with her clients and her children to heal their bodies. Diagnosed with Lyme, OCD, anxiety, and living with what she later discovered was PANDAS (Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorders Associated with Strep Infections) and more, Amanda thought she'd always be living a life of managing symptoms. And after witnessing her own mother's life of chronic illness and disease, she knew she had to make significant changes in order to have a different fate. Today she is symptom free. This is how she got there. Subscribe, rate, and review for more body stories! Follow us on IG @freebodypodcast

Today's guest, Erica Hornthal, AKA The Therapist Who Moves You, is a board-certified dance/movement therapist and licensed clinical professional counselor. She's the founder and CEO of Chicago Dance Therapy and creator of the Dance Therapy Advocates Summit. She talks about how her relationship to dance and movement evolved from her childhood experience (where her skill and execution triggered perfectionism) into her adulthood where dance and movement is now an embodiment practice. She helps her clients to get to the root of their emotions, process them, and become more attuned to themselves and their body's needs through movement. Erica talks about about how our minds can gaslight our bodies— how in society we are often conditioned to ignore our body's cues and seek to control our body instead of getting curious about what our bodily sensations mean and how what they have to tell us is not only at the core of healing, but also a vital experience in allowing ourselves to be fully human.

In today's episode I talk with Bryan Blackwell, fitness trainer and partner at Kaeos Fitness in New Jersey, and fellow podcast host of Live in the Kitchen with Hibachi. What true health looks like for each person is nuanced and Bryan is a wonderful guide in helping his clients figure out what works for them, what makes them feel good, and what creates a sustainable, judgement free, and healthy lifestyle. Bryan talks about his experience with surviving childhood epilepsy, how spirituality and body attunement has helped him heal, and what this looks like as his business, physical journey, and life continues to grow and expand. Bryan's IG: @kaeosblackwell and Bryan's Podcast: Live in the Kitchen with Hibachi Please subscribe, rate, and review! And follow our IG: @freebodypodcast to stay in touch!

Today's guest, Hannah Stinson, is a divine healer, spiritual leader and green witch who helps women heal trauma and energy blockages. We speak a lot about trauma in this episode; Hannah describes disassociating in childhood as a result of experiencing sexual abuse, and how through art, yoga, and spirituality, she was able to find her way back into her body again. As she walks us through living with endometriosis and her emergency liver resection surgery, she explains how she believes her chronic illness was caused by childhood trauma, her recovery, and how everyone in the world needs to read "When the Body Says No" by Dr. Gabor Maté. (This podcast agrees.) Hannah has walked through fire and come out like sunshine. I swear, this woman sparkles and you will certainly feel her magic and resilience as you experience this episode. CW: sexual abuse, addiction, medical trauma.

Last week we dropped part one of somatic healer and therapist Yarrow Bucan's body story, and today, part two will pick up right where we left off. There is a reason I split this episode up into two parts— there's a lot to digest here. Today will be a crash course in the healing modalities that have helped Yarrow herself and led her to create the methods she uses directly with her clients today. We talk about polyvagal theory and what cultivating inner safety looks like when it comes to the body. Yarrow also talks about spiritual bypassing and how life changing processing her childhood trauma and reparenting herself has been— when we bypass that work, our body creates dis-ease (disease) from all the emotional stress that is still stored in the body. Clearly this episode is a doozy, it's genius, it's what could change the whole world into a more compassionate and connected place, and it all starts with cultivating inner safety so your body, soul, and mind can feel safe to be free. The body knows! So grab something cozy to sip perhaps, sit back, and get ready to have your mind blown. Please subscribe, share, and review and follow us on instagram @freebodypodcast Find out more about Yarrow and what she's offering on instagram @healwithyarrow or her website yarrowbucans.com

Yarrow Bucans is an alchemical healer, a trained clinical therapist, and a yogi. Today is only part one of our interview, covering the chapters and relationships in Yarrow's body story that lead up to the realization that her purpose in this world is to help people heal. We talk about when she found God on the dance floor of a rave, addiction, maladaptive coping mechanisms, attachment wounds, and how she was able to extract and heal her symptoms of OCD and anxiety. Part two of Yarrow interview will drop in the next week or so, where we will dive more into somatic techniques and healing from a central nervous system perspective. Subscribe now to make sure you get it when it drops! Please share, review, and connect with us on instagram @freebodypodcast For more info on Yarrow follow her instagram @healwithyarrow or check out her website yarrowbucans.com Wisdom of Trauma trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=70HNmSsJvVU

As a thank you for continuing to tune in to this pod, I thought I'd change it up a bit this week and offer a 20 minute yoga nidra meditation for you to use at your leisure. Get comfortable, grab a blanket, and get ready to relax and rejuvenate as we head into December! Enjoy. Please subscribe, rate, and review to keep this podcast going! You can also reach out to us if you have any questions about yoga nidra on instagram @freebodypodcast.

Content warning: Eating Disorders. Today's guest is my sister, Victoria Lamas, who grew up in Beverly Hills and currently works as an artist and model in LA. She very generously shares in detail her years long battle with an eating disorder, all the way from restricting as early at age 12 to bulimia by age 18. We delve into what happened psychologically, how she came clean with our sisters, and how during her recovery, she found modeling with a body positive agency has had a huge impact on her healing. Follow Vicky on instagram @victorialamas and see her art at viabyv.com Please subscribe, rate, and review! Follow us on instagram @freebodypodcast

In this episode powerhouse composer and performer Molly Joyce shares her body story. Today she talks about having an impaired left hand and how her relationship to her disability has shaped and defined her as a musical artist ever since she was seven years old. She'll guide you through her journey towards not only claiming her disability as a part of her identity, but also seeing her disability as possibility rather than limitation. Her works have been commissioned and performed by ensembles including the Vermont, New World, New York Youth, Pittsburgh, Albany, and Milwaukee Symphony Orchestras, as well as the New Juilliard, Decoda, and Contemporaneous ensembles. Check out more at her website: mollyjoyce.com. *An excerpt from Joyce's piece “Form and Flee” is played in this episode. Please subscribe, rate, and review! Follow us on instagram @freebodypodcast

My guest this week, Andrea Ciannavei, is not only an incredible playwright, she's a phenomenal TV and film writer for shows like FX's Mayans MC, and The Path on Hulu, as well as a teacher, and an activist. Today she'll talk about being put on a diet as a kid, navigating sexism and fat phobia in the 80s and 90s, the blending of fitness and activism, her journey toward eventually getting gastric bypass surgery, and that time she climbed up a mountain in Hawaii and had to make her escape down the Stairway to Heaven. *This episode contains strong language. **Esquire article mentioned: "Politics Could Determine Your Level of Fitness" by Ryan Bort This week only, Andrea is generously offering a 15% discount for my listeners for her upcoming class at the end of January. To sign up, go to www.andreaciannavei.com, check out her offerings and send her a email (make sure to mention that you're coming from the FreeBody Podcast)!

Lee Edward Colston II is an actor, teacher, and writer from Philly. Most recently his writing for season 4 of Fargo has received critical acclaim, and his beautiful play, The First Deep Breath, opened to rave reviews in Chicago almost exactly a year ago. Today, we talk about trauma and how it lives in the body, about Lee's work as a Corrections Officer and the body language of lying, as well as lessons learned while navigating racist institutions. You can learn more about Lee by following his instagram @thatsmrcolston2u. For updates about this podcast, follow us on instagram @freebodypodcast!

Born to Polish parents in Detroit, Maja Wampuszyc made the move to New York to pursue acting with $500 in her pocket and a push from Uta Hagen herself. Now an actor and a yoga instructor, she talks about navigating the pros and cons of being an outsider, comments from clients at yoga studios, the commercialization of yoga, healing alone during the pandemic, and how witnessing her father's passing changed how she viewed her own body and it's purpose. In today's episode Maja guides us through the evolution of her body dysmorphia and how she's finally decided to make friends with it. CW: eating disorders. You can check out Maja's website at www.majawampuszyc.com and DM her on her facebook HERE for a yoga class! Follow us on instagram @freebodypodcast and please subscribe, rate, and review!

In today's episode, actress and creator Stacy Lynn Gould talks about finding mental release at the gym, the dangers of wearing Capezio shoes (#AMDA), undoing stigmas, marathon running, and breaking free of society and her family's ideas of what success and health look like. She does an amazing job of taking the listener through her determination and anxiety as a child, all the way through to her growth as an adult where she's realized that we might always be in the middle of sorting through and desensitizing the stigmas we put on ourselves. We just can't give up. You can find more info about Stacy's work at www.stacylynngould.com. Please subscribe, rate, and review! You can reach out to us on instagram @freebodypodcast

Los Angeles based and British-born musician and author Joe Dexter, talks about working as a punk rock musician** with Cystic Fibrosis, as well as body image as a performer, the keto diet, tattoos, and that time he caught the Swine Flu on tour. Check out Joe's instagram @thejoedexter, his band @orange_band, and his twitch at twitch.tv/joe_dexter. He's also just released his first children's book As Long As You're Loved, which you can find on ETSY. Please subscribe, rate, and review! For more info on this podcast, you can follow us @freebodypodcast on instagram! **A clip from Orange's first single "No Rest for the Weekend" is played in this episode

In today's episode, extraordinary singer-songwriter Heather Mae shares her body story. She is an award winning musician and a mental health advocate. We talk about being bullied, the evolution of the beauty industry, the stigma of vocal surgery, body liberation, and much more. Check out Heather's Big Loud Love Club on her Patreon at patreon.com/heathermae and find her on instagram @heathermaemusic or her website heathermae.net. For more info on this podcast, you can follow us @freebodypodcast on instagram!

Filmmaker and powerlifter Javian Le comes on FreeBody to tell his body story. We cover a lot of ground in this one, discussing things like fitness verses creativity, the fight or flight instinct, harassment and hate crimes, and much more. CW: brief mentions of sexual assault and hate crimes. You can follow Javian's powerlifting instagram @let_them_eat_whey and check out his latest short film on nobudge.com . If you'd like to hear more body stories please subscribe, rate, and review! For more info, follow us on instagram @freebodypodcast!

In this episode Katy Copeland shares her body story; we talk about dance moms, the pressure to be thin, 90's workout tapes, and breaking out of old patterns to give yourself the space to grow. Katy is a choreographer, performer, and fitness instructor in New York City. CW: Eating disorders and swearing. You can follow Katy on instagram @katycopes and check out her choreography reel on YouTube.  If you'd like to hear more body stories please subscribe, rate, and review! For more info, follow us on instagram @freebodypodcast!

In this episode, Chyla Anderson chats with me about growing up as the "tall kid," finding community in CrossFit, and how "we all belong outdoors and outdoors, we all belong." Visit Chyla's website: outdoorismapparel.com and follow her instagram @outdoorism. If you'd like to hear more body stories or have one you'd like to share, please subscribe and follow us on instagram @freebodypodcast!

In a frank and open conversation about identity, independence, and priorities, Alva Gardner talks about navigating life with CP (cerebral palsy). We follow her body journey through her childhood and the decision to not have surgery, her transition into college at UC Berkeley, and her specific challenges during the covid-19 pandemic. Full disclosure: a couple of "f-bombs" are dropped.  To learn more about Alva you can visit her website at the4-3perspective.com and follow her instagram @alvas_view_from_down_here. If you'd like to hear more body stories or have one you'd like to share, please follow us on instagram @freebodypodcast and subscribe!

Chelsea Lee Williams is an actor and singer working on Broadway in NYC. While transitioning shows, and soon after dealing with Broadway's shut down due to the pandemic, she dealt with working through severe pain caused by fibroids. In this episode, she shares her body story starting with her childhood in football-loving-Miami and her physical training at various arts conservatories (including The Juilliard School for drama), all the way through her recovery from fibroid surgery today. You can find Chelsea on instagram @chelsea_in_hd or her website www.chelsealeewilliams.com. If you want to hear more body stories please subscribe and share! You can also follow us on instagram: @freebodypodcast

Today's guest, Sam Given, is an incredible singer, actor, and fitness instructor in New York City. We dive into conversations about body image, finding community and balance through yoga and exercise, and battling the external pressures of the performing arts industry. CW: eating disorders. You can find Sam on insta @samgivensing and at his website www.samgiven.com. If you want to hear more body stories please subscribe and follow us on instagram @FreeBodyPodcast !

Welcome to FreeBody Podcast, the podcast for every body. My name's Paton, I'm an actor and fitness instructor in New York City and I'll be chatting with folks from all walks of life about their unique physical journeys as they strive toward freedom and joy. New Episodes dropping every Monday starting this October! Please subscribe, share, and follow us on instagram @freebodypodcast