Have you ever gone through something you never thought you would be able to come out of? Have you ever chosen a path in life and then realized you had been going in the wrong direction? If so, this episode is for you. I met Pernilla in our doctoral program at Pepperdine and loved her immediately. She is the kind of girl you know you want to be friends with right away: salt-of-the-earth, warm, open, and kind. Today Pernilla talks going through the motions of what she thought she was supposed to do with her life, and coming to the realization that she had gotten off course. Here are some highlights from the episode:

- Taking the traditional path: graduate school and marriage to the "perfect" guy
- Knowing she was on the wrong path but staying on it due to shame and guilt
- The moment she knew she needed out of her marriage
- Hitting rock bottom after her divorce and sustaining a spinal injury from horseback riding
- How she worked on rebuilding herself
- Tapping into spirituality through different modalities of healing
- Reaching a higher vibration
- Starting EquiPsy Performance by combining her love of horses and her background in psychology

Pernilla's story is heartbreaking and beautiful. She is so open and honest about how life broke her open and about putting the pieces back together. She also shares the message that trauma can lead to thriving and positive emotion, something people rarely talk about. I can't wait for you to hear this episode! Enjoy!

Casie Goshow (aka B-Girl 'Tynee') is an anomaly. At first glimpse she is a pretty, tiny (or I guess I should say Tynee), sweet-as-pie, bubbly girl. But I dare you to look her up on Youtube. Casie will full on take your breath away with the power with which she dances. She hits every move so hard and is fully committed in every moment. Not only is Casey a sweetheart and kick-ass hip-hop/breakdancer and choreographer, but she is also a dedicated teacher both locally and nationwide, traveling frequently to teach at dance conventions. Oh, and I can't forget to add entrepreneur to her title. Casie owns her own clothing line, Goshow Yourself, which she created in response to the bullying occurring around the country. Casie wanted a clothing line that would inspire people of all different backgrounds to have the courage and confidence to be themselves.

Today we talk about:

-Her background in gymnastics
-The injury that ended her career as a gymnast
-How she found break dancing
-Her experience as a Las Vegas Finalist on the FOX TV show “So You Think You Can Dance?"
-Her path to making a career of dance
-Meeting and falling in love with her, now, wife
-Coming out to her family
-How she is helping inspire young dancers with her clothing line, GoShow Yourself


This was SUCH a fun interview to do. Casie is so incredibly down to earth and authentic and her story is so inspiring. After you listen to this interview, go check her out on youtube. This girl can DANCE!!! I hope you enjoy the episode! Leave me comments on the Embraced Podcast Facebook page or through Instagram and let me know how you liked it!

xo

To me, finding a yoga teacher I like is similar to dating. I RARELY find a yoga teacher I am completely into, so when I found Patti Quintero I felt like I had hit the jackpot. Patti is a yoga/meditation teacher and founder of Uma Mother, which aims at connecting, inspiring, and empowering mothers through the rituals of yoga, meditation, and community. As a yoga teacher, she has the ability to simultaneously be deep and spiritual while also being super down to earth and not taking herself or the practice too seriously. I absolutely love this woman and know you will too, so tune in and enjoy hearing her story and her musings on life.

Today we talk about:

-Growing up in Bogota, Colombia
-Her life before yoga
-Meditation as the doorway into the world of yoga
-The moment she realized she wanted to be a yoga teacher
-How she became involved in working with pregnant women and teaching pre/postnatal yoga
-Her experience as a 'renegade doula' before being officially trained
-Stages of growing as a teacher
-Mindfulness and yoga as a way to increase intimacy with yourself
-How her kids have been her greatest teachers
-Rejecting perfection and learning to forgive yourself
-Music and nature as a healing force in her life
-Rejecting the title of ‘healer’

You can read more about Patti and her work on her website http://umamother.com/ and if you live in Los Angeles you can take classes with her at Yoga Works.

xoxo

Lily Meyers is a writer and poet whose poem, “Shrinking Women” won Best Love Poem at the 2013 College Unions Poetry Slam Invitational. Her performance of Shrinking Women went viral on youtube gaining over 5 million views. A few months ago I came across this video and was floored. First I cried because there was so much powerful truth in the poem, and her performance of it was breathtaking. Soon my tears gave way to curiosity, empowerment, and inspiration. Lily’s poem made me think about the ways in which I was raised and socialized as a girl and (now) woman and how my fulfillment of the “woman” role affects the amount of space I take up in my relationships and in the world in general. Lily combines her love of writing with her passions for feminism, self-love, and body confidence and she gives talks and readings at high schools, colleges, and organizations around the country. I could have talked to Lily forever about what it means to be a woman in our society, but even in the span of 30 minutes I learned so much about what it means to be woman in our society and about female empowerment.

Today we talked about:

- How she got into writing poetry.
- Where she got the idea for her poem Shrinking Women
- The experience of Shrinking Women going viral and the effect it had on her family, particularly her relationship with her mother
- What it was like to write her first book, This Impossible Light
- Why she feels drawn to Tarot, and how Tarot is connected to feminist spirituality
- How she is working on empowering herself as a woman in her day-to-day life
- Her next book, a young adult novel

This enlightening conversation will make you think about the ways in which you fulfill the prescribed “woman” role in your everyday interactions, and the ways in which you can empower yourself to step outside that role. I hope you enjoy listening to this enlightening conversation!

xo

Today is a super special episode to me because I am interviewing one of my best friends, Annie Vovan. Annie was my first mama friend when I had my daughter and since that time we have been through so much together. Annie is one of the most inspiring women I know. She is a full-time mom raising two beautiful children, works as a photographer empowering women by showcasing mamas and girl bosses, she created @avenuemama: an Instagram platform to create a community for mothers, and she manages to be very active in giving back through charities. I seriously don’t know how she does it, and I worship the ground she walks on.

Today we talk about:

-Growing up the youngest of 7 children in an immigrant family
-Working as a pharmacist before fully throwing herself into photography
-Getting married in her late 30’s and being a mom of “advanced maternal age”
-Redefining her life and career in her late 30’s
-Her decision to leave pharmacy to pursue photography
-Why she focuses on mamas and girl bosses in her photos
-Where she got the idea for Avenue Mama
-Experiencing multiple traumatic losses in her life and how she has been able to push through
-The importance of self-care, and her personal self-care practices


You will be so inspired by this rockstar mama. Her perseverance in the face of adversity is so empowering. If you are a mama and are looking for a supportive, funny, loving community check out @avenuemama. And if you want to see what Annie is up to in her everyday life you can follow her at @annievovan . You can also check out her beautiful photography on her website: http://www.annievovan.com/.

I was seriously so excited when today’s guest agreed to be on the podcast. Kristen Kish is the second female chef to win the prestigious Top Chef competition (season 10), and has worked as the chef de cuisine in two of Barbara Lynch’s restaurants. Kristen recently wrote her first book, Kristen Kish Cooking: Recipes and Techniques, which combines recipes, cooking techniques, and kristen’s story woven throughout. Kristen was so down to earth, thoughtful, honest, and inspiring.

We talked about:

-Being adopted by a white family and growing up in Michigan
-How she spent many years from adolescence to early adulthood trying to be someone she wasn’t
-The role perfectionism played in her trying to be someone she wasn’t
-Trying to numb herself from the pain of hiding who she really was
-Her coming out experience with her family
-Learning to be her authentic self
-Using perfectionism to grow as a chef
-How she got into cooking and how she found herself on Top Chef
-Her unintentional coming out experience while on Top Chef
-How she managed the anxiety and stress of Top Chef
-Her experience of being in the public eye after Top Chef aired
-Coming up with the concept for her new book
-The power of kindness

Kristen is such a genuine light in this world. She has such a good perspective on life and I absolutely loved her message about authenticity and kindness. Tune in to hear Kristen’s story and make sure to check out her book, Kristen Kish Cooking: Recipes and Techniques!

xo

The time has finally come! The women that inspired me to start my podcast are actually guests on Embraced. Back in October, I was driving to work listening to my favorite podcast, Almost 30 (a health and wellness podcast about the transition between your 20's and 30's…and any age really), when I got the crazy idea that I wanted to reach a larger audience with my ideas about female empowerment through the platform of a podcast. I had learned so much from hearing the guests on Almost 30, and Krista and Lindsey made me feel like I was just hanging with my girls, having a glass of wine, discussing anything and everything. These beautiful, hilarious, down-to-earth women have created something truly special, which is evident in the fact that they have 20,000 followers on Instagram, they've created a large community of dedicated followers (mostly women) in their secret Facebook group, who support one another by being vulnerable and sharing their life struggles and successes, and they were on track to have a million downloads by the end of the year (I wouldn't be at all surprised if they surpassed this by now). They are so supportive of their community and they reject the idea that women have to be catty or in competition with one another. I had SOOOO much fun doing this episode and could have talked to these ladies forever (slash I was fangirling pretty hard and want to be their best friend).

On today's episode we talked about...

- What Krista and Lindsey were doing before starting Almost 30
- Our thoughts on Los Angeles (where they currently live) vs. New York (they both lived in NYC before the podcast)
- Where they got the idea to start Almost 30, and how the podcast has evolved over time
- How they knew they had hit it big, and what it has been like to be in the public eye
- How they were able to create such a warm and supportive community
- How planning events and meet-ups strengthens the Almost 30 community
- Why it is so important to them to be authentic and real
- Their future plans for Almost 30 (hint: it will be MUCH more than a podcast)


I am SO SO pumped about this episode and can't wait for you to hear it!! If you haven't listened to Almost 30 Podcast yet, DO IT! Trust me, you won't regret it.

xo

Links:

Almost 30 on iTunes - https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/almost-30-real-talks-on-health-wellness-spirituality/id1148183612?mt=2
Almost 30 website - https://www.almost30podcast.com/
Almost 30 Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/almost30podcast/
Krista's blog - http://www.hundredblog.com/
Krista's Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/hundredblog/
Lindsey's website - http://www.lindseysimcik.com/
Lindsey's Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/lindseysimcik/

I met today’s guest when I attended her workshop at La Maida Institute. She exudes positive, peaceful energy and she taught about Ayurveda in a way that was totally fascinating and relatable! Anjali Deva is a NAMA-certified Ayurvedic practitioner and yoga teacher in Los Angeles. She is also the director of culture at La Maida Institute, where she helps plan workshops and events centered on holistic wellness and resilience. I had so much fun talking to Anjali about how she got into Ayurveda and how she helps herself and others find balance through this ancient practice.

Today we talk about:

-Her family lineage of ayurvedic practice
-The health problems she experienced that lead her to ayurveda
-Dropping out of college and enrolling in Ayurveda school
-How she got involved with La Maida Institute
-How La Maida Institute was born, and what it has been like working with this holistic group
-How Ayurveda has affected her health, her relationships, and her life in general
-Ayurveda as a way to bringing mindful awareness to your entire life
-How Ayurveda came to be
-The three different doshas (energies/compositions): Vata, Pitta, and Kapha
-Going in and out of different doshas and using Ayurvedic practices to regain balance
-How she personally maintains balance in a profession that requires a lot of emotional energy
-The importance of nature and sleep to mental health
-Her upcoming courses in mindful eating

If you are interested in learning more about Ayurveda, you can check Anjali’s website for upcoming events and courses at https://www.rootedrasa.com/. I hope you enjoy today’s episode! And don’t forget to subscribe, rate, and review!

xo

We talked about:

– The role growing up in nature played in
– How the trauma from her mother’s tragic death formed who she is today.
– The second trauma that shook her family to the core.
– Numbing out to avoid the pain of her mother’s death.
– Why she HATED yoga when she first tried it.
– What it was like to finally make the decision to follow a path as a yoga teacher.
– Falling in love with Los Angeles and making the impulsive decision to move there.
– Why she thinks yoga and travel go hand in hand.
– Connecting to her mother by travelling to Israel.
– How her business, The Nashama Project, was born.
– Coaching/mentoring other women who want to launch their passion projects.
– Using intuition to find your people.
– Honing in on her ‘chosen family’
– How her period of darkness allowed her to truly understand her mother’s death.
– How being surrounded by amazing women gave her faith that there was someone out there for her.
– Meeting her boyfriend and how she knew immediately he was her person.

Tune in to be inspired by this incredible woman and her story. Trust me, you won’t regret it!

xo

This may be one of my favorite episodes to date. Today’s guest is the beautiful fashion stylist, Melissa Chataigne. After successfully transitioning from a corporate career in healthcare marketing, Melissa was finally doing what she loved: working as celebrity stylist. Then, her younger sister tragically committed suicide and her life was forever changed. With this loss and her disillusionment with Hollywood’s constant pressure to remain unnaturally thin, Melissa committed her life and career to helping people of all sizes dress with confidence and live full, authentic lives. Her blog, Chataigne Style, aims to inspire the everyday career-minded woman with her advice in fashion, beauty, travel, wedding tips, and body confidence.

Today we talk about:

- How she got into fashion and styling.

- How she had to break barriers, as the daughter of Haitian immigrants, to take a non-traditional path of entrepreneurship.

- How her “side hustle” became her paycheck job.

- How feeling disconnected to herself and to her calling made her realize she needed to shift course.

- The experience that made her “wake up,” listen to her gut, and shift the course of her work.

- Going back to a corporate job after her sister’s tragic death, and how it lead her to create Chataigne Style.

- How her sister inspires her every day to love and serve others.

- Her decision to go against cultural norms to speak openly about her sister’s death and the beautiful human she was.

- Coming to a fork in the road of her life where she had to choose between darkness and light.

- Her desire to celebrate her sister’s life versus feeling lost in her grief.

- How Instagram puts immense pressure (on girls and women in particular) to be perfect by inundating them with perfected images.

- Her mother’s recent diagnosis of stage 4 cancer, and how she’s coping.

- Her meditation practice.

- Staying “small” in times of tragedy.

- How she feels strong and how she helps other women tap into their strength.

- Re-programing limiting beliefs.

Check Melissa out at https://www.melissachataigne.com/ to read her blog and see how she empowers women through fashion and styling!

xo