Your body is not being dramatic. It might be being brilliant.

I sit down with Cindy Castley, speaker, trainer, and creator of the Electromagnetic Body Desensitization Technique (EBDT), to talk about the hidden patterns our bodies carry and why symptoms often have a purpose. Cindy shares her lived experience of severe allergic reactions that began in her teens, years of functioning in survival mode, and the startling realization that what looked like random illness was actually a patterned protective response tied to stress and trauma.

We get practical and specific about trauma integration and nervous system regulation. Cindy breaks down the difference between releasing emotions and integrating safety, why “I am safe” can be more than a comforting phrase, and how restoration reconnects us with the truth that the body can return to homeostasis. We also explore her framework of the six frequencies of human regulation: spiritual, energetic, mental, emotional, physical, and behavioral, and why treating any one layer in isolation can leave the deeper pattern untouched.

Cindy explains what makes EBDT different from many mind-body healing approaches: we start with today’s symptom pattern, identify what it is trying to protect us from, and then trace it back to the moment the body first coded that experience as unsafe. Along the way, we talk about triggers as useful data, the “purposeful pause,” and gentle first steps for anyone who feels disconnected from their body or overwhelmed by chronic stress, anxiety, insomnia, or persistent physical symptoms.

If this conversation sparks recognition, share it with someone who needs a new way to understand their body, and subscribe so you do not miss what is next. If you found it helpful, leave a review and tell us what pattern you are starting to notice.

Body Awareness Survey here

A free space to begin understanding what your body is communicating through patterns, symptoms, and stress—so you can restore balance from the inside out. If you want to keep exploring this conversation, you can also listen to The Underlying Answers Podcast, where we go deeper into how the body communicates and how to work with it in everyday life.

Cindy's website

Let me know what you’d like to hear more about on the show

Support the show

I’m Carol Clegg, your host, an accountability coach and curious conversationalist inviting guests from a wide range of backgrounds to share insights on how they live, think, and navigate change.

If you enjoy reflection, fresh perspectives, and honest dialogue, this space is for you.

If you’d like to experience this work in community, I host a complimentary monthly Accountability Circle  a supportive space to pause, gain clarity, and choose a gentle next step forward. More info at https://carolclegg.com/accountabilitycircle

For those ready for deeper, more consistent support, I also offer a 90-day Accountability Package, designed to help you move from scattered ideas to steady, sustainable momentum.

You can learn more at carolclegg.com

Let’s connect on LinkedIn and Instagram, or join my LinkedIn Group Flourish: A Community for Women Business Owners

As the day comes to a close, I invite you to slow down, take a gentle breath, and allow yourself to simply be.

In this first Stories for Unwinding – A Gentle Story Before Sleep, we begin with a few mindful moments to help your body soften and your mind become a little quieter. Through slow breathing and a simple Positive Intelligence® sensory exercise, you'll gently shift your attention away from the busyness of the day and into the present moment.

From there, I'll guide you along a peaceful path beside the ocean at sunset. Feel the sea breeze, listen to the rhythm of the waves, and let your imagination carry you to a place where there is nowhere to be and nothing left to solve tonight.

Before we say goodnight, you'll be invited to reflect on one small moment from your day that brought peace, joy, or even the faintest smile. Together, we'll pause to celebrate the quiet gifts that are so easily overlooked and end the day with gratitude, kindness, and self-compassion.

Whether you're looking to unwind after a busy day, calm an overactive mind, or simply create a gentle evening ritual, I hope these moments help you find a little more ease before sleep.

Thank you for spending this time with me. May you rest well, and may tomorrow arrive gently.

Let me know what you’d like to hear more about on the show

Support the show

I’m Carol Clegg, your host, an accountability coach and curious conversationalist inviting guests from a wide range of backgrounds to share insights on how they live, think, and navigate change.

If you enjoy reflection, fresh perspectives, and honest dialogue, this space is for you.

If you’d like to experience this work in community, I host a complimentary monthly Accountability Circle  a supportive space to pause, gain clarity, and choose a gentle next step forward. More info at https://carolclegg.com/accountabilitycircle

For those ready for deeper, more consistent support, I also offer a 90-day Accountability Package, designed to help you move from scattered ideas to steady, sustainable momentum.

You can learn more at carolclegg.com

Let’s connect on LinkedIn and Instagram, or join my LinkedIn Group Flourish: A Community for Women Business Owners

Confidence rarely arrives as a lightning bolt. More often, it shows up after you take one small, slightly uncomfortable step and realize you’re still standing.

I’m joined by Belinda Coker, an Australian hiker, writer, and educator who helps women in midlife rebuild confidence through practical adventure and responsible travel. Belinda opens up about the moment she looked in the mirror, didn’t like who she’d become, and chose movement as her way out.

 We talk about why “action before confidence” isn’t a motivational slogan, it’s a trainable process that reshapes self trust through real experiences, from early day hikes to longer solo multi day walks.

We also get into the emotional side of hiking: how time in nature can calm the nervous system, loosen negative thought loops, and create the kind of mental clarity that’s hard to access in familiar routines. Belinda shares what people assume about solo adventures, what’s actually true about safety and fear, and how midlife transitions like an empty nest can become a fresh beginning instead of an ending.

Then we shift into a practical lifestyle tool that pairs freedom with stability: house sitting. Belinda explains why it’s ideal for slow travel, saving money on accommodation, staying in safer neighborhoods, and getting real cultural immersion by living where locals live. She also offers resources for getting started, including her free hiking safety guide “Hike It Right” and a discount code for her house sitting fundamentals course. (HSTRAVEL)

Connect with Belinda here

House Sitting Course here

If this conversation sparks something in you, share it with a friend, subscribe, and leave a review so more people can find it. What’s one small “first step outside” you’ll take this week?

Let me know what you’d like to hear more about on the show

Support the show

I’m Carol Clegg, your host, an accountability coach and curious conversationalist inviting guests from a wide range of backgrounds to share insights on how they live, think, and navigate change.

If you enjoy reflection, fresh perspectives, and honest dialogue, this space is for you.

If you’d like to experience this work in community, I host a complimentary monthly Accountability Circle  a supportive space to pause, gain clarity, and choose a gentle next step forward. More info at https://carolclegg.com/accountabilitycircle

For those ready for deeper, more consistent support, I also offer a 90-day Accountability Package, designed to help you move from scattered ideas to steady, sustainable momentum.

You can learn more at carolclegg.com

Let’s connect on LinkedIn and Instagram, or join my LinkedIn Group Flourish: A Community for Women Business Owners

What Your Symptoms May Be Trying to Tell You. What if your symptoms are not your body failing you, but your body trying to get your attention?

In this episode of Connect Inspire Create, I’m joined by Beth Mielbrecht for a thoughtful conversation about women’s health, body trust, and learning to listen to the signals our bodies are sending.

So many women are told that everything looks normal, even when they still feel tired, anxious, achy, inflamed, or simply not like themselves. Beth invites us to look at symptoms differently. Not as something to fight, but as communication we can learn from.

We explore how practical health habits and energetic healing can work together, including bioenergetic testing, food-first support, sleep, movement, emotional stress, and the importance of noticing patterns before pushing through.

This conversation is an invitation to slow down, get curious, and begin rebuilding trust with your body one small step at a time.

If you’ve been feeling off and wondering what your body is trying to tell you, this episode will give you a gentle place to begin.

 https://yourhealthwithbeth.com/quiz

Your body has been sending signals. This 60-second quiz identifies your body's priority healing area and delivers Beth's personalized insights by private podcast and email — no guessing, just precise next steps.

Connect with Beth

https://www.yourhealthwithbeth.com/

https://www.instagram.com/yourhealthwithbeth/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/bethmielbrecht/

https://www.youtube.com/@yourhealthwithbeth

Let me know what you’d like to hear more about on the show

Support the show

I’m Carol Clegg, your host, an accountability coach and curious conversationalist inviting guests from a wide range of backgrounds to share insights on how they live, think, and navigate change.

If you enjoy reflection, fresh perspectives, and honest dialogue, this space is for you.

If you’d like to experience this work in community, I host a complimentary monthly Accountability Circle  a supportive space to pause, gain clarity, and choose a gentle next step forward. More info at https://carolclegg.com/accountabilitycircle

For those ready for deeper, more consistent support, I also offer a 90-day Accountability Package, designed to help you move from scattered ideas to steady, sustainable momentum.

You can learn more at carolclegg.com

Let’s connect on LinkedIn and Instagram, or join my LinkedIn Group Flourish: A Community for Women Business Owners

Mindset Matters: Sometimes You Need to Step Away to Move Forward

After a quiet month away from the microphone, I'm sharing a personal update from Portugal and what this season of slowing down has taught me about grief, restoration, and trusting ourselves one step at a time.

Sometimes the bravest thing we can do isn't to keep pushing forward. It's to pause.

In this episode I reflect on:

• Why I intentionally stepped away from the podcast for a few weeks
• A memorable horse-riding adventure through Portugal's beautiful Alentejo region
• What solo travel continues to teach me about confidence and self-trust
• The surprising gift of putting my phone away and simply noticing the world around me
• How movement, presence, and small moments of courage can gently support healing

Grief hasn't disappeared, but it is slowly changing. I'm discovering that joy and sadness can exist together, and that healing often happens in ordinary moments like sharing a meal, watching the sunset alone, cantering along a wide open beautiful beach, or simply sitting quietly with yourself.

If you've been navigating loss, change, or a season of rebuilding, I hope this conversation reminds you that there is no perfect timeline. Sometimes stepping away isn't falling behind or letting go, it can be what allows us to return with a little more strength, clarity, and peace.

Thank you for being here. I'm grateful you're listening.

Let me know what you’d like to hear more about on the show

Support the show

I’m Carol Clegg, your host, an accountability coach and curious conversationalist inviting guests from a wide range of backgrounds to share insights on how they live, think, and navigate change.

If you enjoy reflection, fresh perspectives, and honest dialogue, this space is for you.

If you’d like to experience this work in community, I host a complimentary monthly Accountability Circle  a supportive space to pause, gain clarity, and choose a gentle next step forward. More info at https://carolclegg.com/accountabilitycircle

For those ready for deeper, more consistent support, I also offer a 90-day Accountability Package, designed to help you move from scattered ideas to steady, sustainable momentum.

You can learn more at carolclegg.com

Let’s connect on LinkedIn and Instagram, or join my LinkedIn Group Flourish: A Community for Women Business Owners

Your podcast can be heartfelt and still be strategic.  I’m joined by Jordan Blair, a podcast producer at Buzzsprout and co-host of BuzzCast, to unpack the real-world basics that separate podcasts that fade out from podcasts that grow. We start with something deceptively simple: your “why.” Jordan shares how clarity of purpose shapes everything from topic choices to guest selection to podcast marketing, and why listeners only return when they know exactly what they’ll get every time they press play.

From there, we get practical about podcast audio quality and listener experience. Jordan explains why “good enough” audio is mostly about removing distractions, and how modern tools can help indie creators sound polished without a studio. Then we move into the part most creators underestimate: engagement. We talk parasocial relationships, how to turn listeners into superfans, and how features like Buzzsprout Fan Mail can make it easy for people to reach you with feedback, questions, and even voice messages you can use in future episodes.

We also cover consistency without burnout, including giving yourself permission to take a break, how to communicate it clearly, and how Dynamic Content can place a timely announcement across your back catalog and remove it later. Finally, Jordan breaks down podcast monetization without the pressure, why listener support can beat ads, and how sponsorships can create stress if you’re not careful. If you’re starting a podcast, restarting after a slump, or trying to make your show sustainable, you’ll leave with concrete next steps.

Link to Buzzsprout's official podcast about podcasting!

Subscribe to Connect Inspire Create for more grounded creator conversations, share this with a podcaster friend, and if it helps you, leave a quick review so more indie creators can find it.

Let me know what you’d like to hear more about on the show

Support the show

I’m Carol Clegg, your host, an accountability coach and curious conversationalist inviting guests from a wide range of backgrounds to share insights on how they live, think, and navigate change.

If you enjoy reflection, fresh perspectives, and honest dialogue, this space is for you.

If you’d like to experience this work in community, I host a complimentary monthly Accountability Circle  a supportive space to pause, gain clarity, and choose a gentle next step forward. More info at https://carolclegg.com/accountabilitycircle

For those ready for deeper, more consistent support, I also offer a 90-day Accountability Package, designed to help you move from scattered ideas to steady, sustainable momentum.

You can learn more at carolclegg.com

Let’s connect on LinkedIn and Instagram, or join my LinkedIn Group Flourish: A Community for Women Business Owners

Perfectionism has a sneaky way of turning a perfectly good life into a project you can never finish. I sit down with author, fiber artist, and motivational speaker Lorie Kleiner Eckhert to talk about reinvention, resilience, and the moment you decide that “good enough” is not failure, it’s freedom. Lorie’s newest book, Chai On Life (a playful nod to “chai,” the Hebrew word for life), becomes our jumping-off point for how to move through big transitions with more self-trust and less self-criticism.

We get practical and personal: why many of us wait decades to give ourselves permission to do what makes us happy, what divorce and midlife singlehood taught Lorie about independence, and how a complicated “perfect” chicken soup recipe captures the problem with overthinking everything. Lorie also shares how quilts became her visual storytelling tool on stages from PTAs to Procter & Gamble, and why returning to simpler, more durable creativity helped her come back to herself.

If you’re feeling stuck, Lorie offers a clear two-step reinvention plan: keep your healthy daily routine even when you’re hurting, then take one tiny step a day toward your new life and write it down in an accountability log. We also normalize therapy and counseling as ongoing emotional support, not a last resort, and we end with a favorite idea: being “flawsome” and giving yourself credit for the brave next step.

Subscribe for more conversations on personal growth, mental fitness, creativity, and navigating life transitions, then share this with a friend who needs a little lift and leave a review so more people can find us. What’s one tiny step you’ll take today?

Connect with Lorie HERE

Her newest book, Chai on Life, is available at Amazon and anywhere quality books are sold. 

Let me know what you’d like to hear more about on the show

Support the show

I’m Carol Clegg, your host, an accountability coach and curious conversationalist inviting guests from a wide range of backgrounds to share insights on how they live, think, and navigate change.

If you enjoy reflection, fresh perspectives, and honest dialogue, this space is for you.

If you’d like to experience this work in community, I host a complimentary monthly Accountability Circle  a supportive space to pause, gain clarity, and choose a gentle next step forward. More info at https://carolclegg.com/accountabilitycircle

For those ready for deeper, more consistent support, I also offer a 90-day Accountability Package, designed to help you move from scattered ideas to steady, sustainable momentum.

You can learn more at carolclegg.com

Let’s connect on LinkedIn and Instagram, or join my LinkedIn Group Flourish: A Community for Women Business Owners

Midlife gets labeled as “the beginning of the end,” but that story falls apart the moment you meet women who are building businesses at 80, traveling solo, starting podcasts, or simply reclaiming their strength after a hard season. I sit down with Heike Yates, midlife fitness expert, Pilates teacher, and author of Pursue Your Spark, to talk about why midlife is better understood as an upward turning point and how women can rebuild energy and confidence without extremes, shame, or the exhausting pressure to “start over.”

We dig into the mindset shift that changes everything: the idea that you must “let go of the old you” to become “the new you.” Heike pushes back, and I love her take because it honors every chapter you’ve lived. We talk about identity, roles, and what it means to integrate your experiences instead of discarding them. Her onion metaphor lands hard: peeling back layers can bring tears and grief, but it also reveals what’s true underneath and what you want next.

Heike shares the real story behind her book, including a caregiver client who finally returns from a break saying, “I feel like myself again,” not as a throwback to youth, but as a return to her power right now. From there, we walk through Heike’s SPARK framework (Scan, Plan, Take Action, Overcome Roadblocks, Keep Momentum) and why it works for midlife health goals, menopause seasons, career changes, and any moment where you feel stuck. We close with practical guidance on exercise consistency when you’re already exhausted: clear your plate, protect your energy, and let movement support healing instead of becoming another demand.

If you know a woman who needs a gentler path to midlife fitness and real momentum we invite you to share this conversation.

Connect with Heike - website

Read Pursue Your Spark here

Let me know what you’d like to hear more about on the show

Support the show

I’m Carol Clegg, your host, an accountability coach and curious conversationalist inviting guests from a wide range of backgrounds to share insights on how they live, think, and navigate change.

If you enjoy reflection, fresh perspectives, and honest dialogue, this space is for you.

If you’d like to experience this work in community, I host a complimentary monthly Accountability Circle  a supportive space to pause, gain clarity, and choose a gentle next step forward. More info at https://carolclegg.com/accountabilitycircle

For those ready for deeper, more consistent support, I also offer a 90-day Accountability Package, designed to help you move from scattered ideas to steady, sustainable momentum.

You can learn more at carolclegg.com

Let’s connect on LinkedIn and Instagram, or join my LinkedIn Group Flourish: A Community for Women Business Owners

What if aging isn’t a slow closing of doors, but an expansion into a wider life? That’s the heart of this conversation with entrepreneur and longtime podcast host Ande Lyons, creator of Don’t Be Caged By Your Age and an outspoken advocate for thriving after 65.

We talk about how identity shifts as we get older, how internalized ageism quietly narrows our choices, and why “aging out loud” can be a form of leadership. This is positive aging without denial: we name the hard realities, then choose agency, purpose, and visibility anyway.

If you’re searching for healthy aging, reinvention after retirement, and motivation to start something new later in life, the throughline is simple: staying fully alive is a decision you can practice.

If this conversation helps you rethink what’s possible in your next season, subscribe, share it with a friend, and leave a review so more people can find it and feel less alone.

Where to find Ande

Website: https://www.dontbecagedbyyourage.com/

https://www.instagram.com/newenglandpodcastersgroup/

LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/andelyons/

Let me know what you’d like to hear more about on the show

Support the show

I’m Carol Clegg, your host, an accountability coach and curious conversationalist inviting guests from a wide range of backgrounds to share insights on how they live, think, and navigate change.

If you enjoy reflection, fresh perspectives, and honest dialogue, this space is for you.

If you’d like to experience this work in community, I host a complimentary monthly Accountability Circle  a supportive space to pause, gain clarity, and choose a gentle next step forward. More info at https://carolclegg.com/accountabilitycircle

For those ready for deeper, more consistent support, I also offer a 90-day Accountability Package, designed to help you move from scattered ideas to steady, sustainable momentum.

You can learn more at carolclegg.com

Let’s connect on LinkedIn and Instagram, or join my LinkedIn Group Flourish: A Community for Women Business Owners

We slow down for a short Mindset Matters pause and reflect on why feeling stuck doesn’t mean we need to start over.

 I share how staying in the process, taking breaks without quitting, and meeting grief with honesty helps us keep moving forward with more ease.  

• bringing back short “bits and bites” style segments between longer guest interviews  

• exploring why “new plan” thinking can create extra pressure  

• practicing a gentler kind of discipline that leaves room for imperfect days  

• staying consistent through seasons of stepping back and returning  

• shifting the show’s focus to match life now, including widowhood and long-term grief  

• carrying one question into the week to build awareness before change  

Let me know what you’d like to hear more about on the show

Support the show

I’m Carol Clegg, your host, an accountability coach and curious conversationalist inviting guests from a wide range of backgrounds to share insights on how they live, think, and navigate change.

If you enjoy reflection, fresh perspectives, and honest dialogue, this space is for you.

If you’d like to experience this work in community, I host a complimentary monthly Accountability Circle  a supportive space to pause, gain clarity, and choose a gentle next step forward. More info at https://carolclegg.com/accountabilitycircle

For those ready for deeper, more consistent support, I also offer a 90-day Accountability Package, designed to help you move from scattered ideas to steady, sustainable momentum.

You can learn more at carolclegg.com

Let’s connect on LinkedIn and Instagram, or join my LinkedIn Group Flourish: A Community for Women Business Owners