Free Spirit Academy Podcast

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:


Work with Rande


Free Spirit Academy on Instagram

What does it actually mean to trust yourself, especially after years of trying to control every part of your life, your body, or your impulses?

In this episode, I share how years of shame, "self-improvement", and control kept me trapped in cycles of compulsion and self-judgment - and what it was like to finally build trust with myself.

Through personal story, trauma-informed insight, and a surprising experiment called Rat Park, this episode explores why compulsive urges aren’t failures or moral flaws - they’re messages. And when we start to listen with curiosity instead of control, trust becomes possible.

 In This Episode, You’ll Hear:

• Why compulsive behaviors aren’t about willpower or weakness
• How childhood disconnection, shame, and unmet needs shape our coping patterns
• The surprising science of Rat Park - and what it reveals about safety and connection
• How I learned to shift from control to curiosity
• What self-trust looks like in real life 

Links:


Work with Rande


Free Spirit Academy on Instagram

For years, I thought the urges to binge eat were THE problem...the thing standing between me and finally being okay. But what I eventually learned is that those urges were never the enemy. They were messengers.

In this episode, I share what happened when I stopped trying to make my binge urges go away, and started listening to them instead.

You'll hear me talk about:

• Why compulsive urges are communication, not failure
• The nervous system roots of binge and numbing patterns
• How curiosity and self-compassion can begin to shift everything
• The first step to finding freedom that isn’t built on control

If you’ve ever wondered why you keep doing the thing you don’t want to do - this episode is for you.

🌿 Mentioned in this episode: → My upcoming mini course, What’s Under the Urge - coming soon to Free Spirit Academy

Join the mailing list to hear when it's announced.

Links:


Work with Rande


Free Spirit Academy on Instagram

In this episode, I’m exploring what happens in our bodies when we feel misunderstood - that familiar urgency to explain ourselves, prove our intentions, or make sure we're still seen as “good” or “respectable.”

Through the lens of somatic awareness and my experience in burlesque, I talk about:

• How old wounds of being unseen or misunderstood can resurface in adulthood
• The ways those wounds can spill out as overexplaining, people-pleasing, or numbing
• Why “being gotten” once felt like safety, and the importance of learning to build that safety on the inside.
• What it means to stay connected to our bodies, even when others don't understand us.

This episode is an invitation - to both you and me - to create enough safety in our inner world that being misunderstood doesn’t have to pull us away from ourselves.

Links:


Work with Rande


Free Spirit Academy on Instagram

I’m bringing back an episode from 2023 that still feels deeply true: “Healing Doesn’t Happen in a Hurry.”

This conversation is about the messy, nonlinear process of healing binge, emotional, and compulsive eating, and how the push to “get there faster” often keeps us stuck.

If you’ve ever felt desperate to fix yourself or rush your healing, this episode is a reminder to slow down. To meet the version of you that exists right here, right now, because that’s the part that most needs your attention and care.

Links:


Work with Rande


Free Spirit Academy on Instagram

Living with Complex PTSD can feel overwhelming, and it’s easy to get lost in the idea that healing requires us to “fix everything” about ourselves.

In this episode, I share six of the most supportive tools I’ve used in working with my own CPTSD, not as a protocol, but as a collection of practices, insights, and shifts that have helped me come home to myself and support my clients. 

Together, we’ll explore:

• Why developing a gentle inner parent changes everything.
• What happened when I stopped fighting my body.
• Simple ways to orient to safety and beauty in the world around you.
• The role of somatic tracking in understanding past vs. present.
• How to tell the difference between trauma responses and inherent traits.
• The books and teachings that shaped my healing journey.

You’ll also hear about the external steps I had to take: leaving the religion I grew up in, coming out of the closet, and stepping back from certain relationships, and why nervous system regulation alone isn’t enough if our environment is unsafe.

This isn’t about doing everything at once. It’s about the next step. 

Resources:

Complex PTSD: From Surviving to Thriving

The Drama of the Gifted Child: The Search for the True Self

Waking the Tiger: Healing Trauma: The Innate Capacity to Transform Overwhelming Experiences

Links:


Work with Rande


Free Spirit Academy on Instagram

Sometimes what we need most isn’t more information, but a moment of care. This week I’m sharing one of the practices from my new mini-course Rituals for a Free Spirit. It’s short, simple, and grounding - something you can turn to anytime stress is high or your energy is low.

If you enjoy this practice, you’ll find the full course linked in the show notes. It’s a collection of bite-sized rituals to help you pause, regulate, and return to yourself.

Rituals for a Free Spirit Mini-Course

Links:


Work with Rande


Free Spirit Academy on Instagram

In this episode, I share a personal look at how Complex PTSD has shown up in my life — from disordered eating and chronic pain, to a critical inner voice, self-harm urges, and long stretches of isolation.

We’ll also talk about what Complex PTSD actually is, how it’s different from PTSD, and why understanding our adaptations is so powerful. Because what looks like being “messed up” or “weak” is often just our body’s best attempt to help us survive.

If you’ve ever struggled with shame, overwhelm, or feeling broken — my hope is that you’ll see yourself with more compassion, and know you’re not alone.

Toward the end, I’ll share how life feels for me now after years of intentional healing work — more regulated, more connected, and honestly, often delighted to be alive.

In this episode, I cover:

• What Complex PTSD is (and how it differs from PTSD).
• How chronic stress can shape identity, motivation, and self-acceptance.
• The ways C-PTSD showed up in my own life: disordered eating, shutdown, inner criticism, pain, self-harm, and isolation.
• Why adaptations are not weaknesses, but survival strategies.
• What’s different for me today after years of healing.

Resources & Links:

• Explore Rituals for a Free Spirit - a $19 mini-course with bite-sized practices to help you find relief and regulation, even when life feels overwhelming. 
• Complex PTSD by Pete Walker
• The Complex PTSD Workbook by Arielle Schwartz

Links:


Work with Rande


Free Spirit Academy on Instagram

In this episode, I share:

• Why I never thought of myself as “anxious” (even while binge eating and coping every day)
• How survival states and unprocessed feelings drive patterns we can’t willpower our way out of
• A short guided practice to gently expand your capacity to feel without overwhelm

🌿 If this practice resonates, check out my new mini-course Rituals for a Free Spirit - bite-sized tools to help you find safety, clarity, and connection in everyday life. 

Links:


Work with Rande


Free Spirit Academy on Instagram

Thirteen years ago, I did a three-month juice fast. I thought it would be my big transformation...that if I could just “fix” my body, I’d finally feel both free, and deeply connected. Instead, it taught me a very different lesson: the danger of oversimplifying complex pain and treating ourselves like projects to perfect.

In this episode, I share:

• Why fasting felt easier than learning to eat in a way that felt sane and sustainable
• How I misunderstood my numbness, binge eating, and “food addiction” as moral failings rather than trauma responses
• The surprising truth I learned about healing: it’s not about purifying or transcending yourself...it’s about listening, understanding, and including all of who you are
• How I moved away from extremes and began building safety and compassion for my whole self

This month, I’m also releasing Rituals for a Free Spirit: a mini-course with simple, grounding practices for sensitive humans. It’s designed to help support you in moments of anxiety and overwhelm without adding another overwhelming to-do or trying to “fix” yourself. 

Sign up for my weekly email letter in the show notes to get the launch announcement (and a free ritual to try right away!).

If you’ve ever chased transformation but found yourself exhausted and disconnected, I hope this episode reminds you: You are not a project to fix. You are already here, already whole, already worthy of care.

🔗 Links & Resources

• Join my weekly email letter + get a free ritual
  
  

Links:


Work with Rande


Free Spirit Academy on Instagram