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. 

Links:


Work with Rande


Free Spirit Academy on Instagram

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.
 
 
 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. 
 
 

Links:


Work with Rande


Free Spirit Academy on Instagram

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. 

VEGANISM, RE-WILDING, & BIOHACKING, OH MY! VITALITY THROUGH EASE AND CONSISTENCY WITH MICHAEL PERRINE. 
 
Mike Perrine is more than just one of the many colon hydrotherapists I've spoken with on this podcast, he's also a detox and health counselor (in the most real, least fluffy sense of that title), founder of Vitality New York City which offers gravity colon hydrotherapy, cryotherapy, and nutrition coaching, and host of one of my favorite podcasts, EveryDay detox. 
 
In this episode, Mike beautifully lays out what constitutes a healthy food. There's a TON of confusion and information out there, ESPECIALLY when it comes to the word "detox" and his clear teaching style is so needed. 
 
Other topics that came up were... ...Thoughts on re-wilding and biohacking. ...Veganism - whether or not it's actually natural. ...Self-responsibility. ...Body confidence in world (and I just mean the health and cleansing world) that can be so hyperfocused on a particualr esthetic. ...And pursuing health with a sense of ease and excitement rather than force and pushing. 
 
I hope you enjoy this conversation. 
 

Links:

Vitality NYC

Everyday Detox Podcast

Everyday Detox Instagram 

Free Spirit Academy website.

Free Spirit Academy courses.

Free Spirit Academy Facebook group. 

Links:


Work with Rande


Free Spirit Academy on Instagram

BE MORE YOU, GIVE LESS F*CKS WITH SPIRITUAL LIFE AND BRAND COACH, JESS BLANCHE.

Something that I often see is that all good coaching is kinda the same. Whether we start out talking about binge eating or business, it's all going to come down to self-understanding, self-acceptance, self-love, and self-expression. And obviously we all have different histories and there will be different tools but it all often ends up being life coaching in a way. For example, last podcast when we talked to Tracy Brown, we talked about how taking off diet labels and really learning to listen to the body often makes us quite unique or, some might say, just weird. Like, it doesn't tend to lead you to eating like everyone else, if you're really exploring and listening, you'll often be the odd duck in the room - and you're totally alright with it because you're totally on your own path. Jess and I talked about that in this conversation in terms of rebellion. There is definitely an accepted way of "being a rebel" and plenty of people who want to claim the label and look that certain way. THEN there's just the fact that truly being yourself is going to be inherently rebellious because none of us are going to fit perfectly into any mold, category, or label.

I love Jess for so many reasons, and I think we mutually cringed our way through terms like "playing big" and "being authentic" because they're so overused and misunderstood but having followed and learned from Jess for the last couple of years, she really breathes new life into them. 

I love that she's a fellow but former yoga teacher, and infuses her teachings with her training in life coaching among many, many other fascinating experiences that we'll talk about. 

Among the topics we discussed:

...what it means to listen to intuition and what happens when your intuition doesn't lead you where you think it will. 

...trying to be accepted by other people because we don't accept ourselves. 

...fresh takes on phrases like being authentic, being a rebel, playing big, and all sorts of other good life-coachy things. 

I hope you love this conversation with Jess Blanche.

Links:
Jess's website
Jess's Instagram
Twitter: @thetruthigniter
Jess's Facebook Group
Free Spirit Academy website.
Free Spirit Academy courses.
Free Spirit Academy Facebook group. 

Links:


Work with Rande


Free Spirit Academy on Instagram

CREATING A SENSE OF SAFETY IN OUR BODIES WITH TRACY BROWN, RD
 
 Hello friends, welcome back! This is part two of season 1, episode 25 featuring Tracy that had so many cliffhangers I had to bring her back. I definitely suggest you go back and listen to that episode first to get filled in on Tracy's eating disorder and education background as well as to get caught up on all the amazing information she shared there.
 
 And today we wanted to dive into a bit of what it takes to create an experience of feeling safe in our bodies. So many of the things we do, whether it's constantly trying to stay on a rigid diet or overeating, binge eating, or compulsive eating - are super hard to address when we're in a constant state of stress and not feeling settled and safe in our bodies. And what's interesting too is that WE might think we feel FINE- we just feel like we like food too much. But as you'll hear us discuss, in cases like this, we often don't know what it's like to feel safe and good and AT HOME in our bodies.
 
 You won't hear this but part way through our interview Tracy had to pause and let me know she was actually in her car in the middle of a rainstorm and needed to get home and call me back. And I remember being so impressed at how centered and clear she had been that whole time (because I had no idea she was in the middle of a stressful situation) and how low-drama and simple it was to resolve. It really spoke to the work she's done in her own personal world.
 
 In this conversation you'll hear us talk about a Facebook group that we're admins in and if you're curious, it's the Intuitive Eating Support Group. We pulled a couple of questions from the folks over there into our conversation and I'll link that group if what we talk about today speaks to you.
 
 And if you're interested in more of my work, my private Facebook group is called Free Spirit Academy and I'm always in there answering personal questions, often through video, on topics like emotional eating, body image, self-love and pretty much anything you hear here on the podcast.
 
 I hope you enjoy this conversation with Tracy Brown:
 
 LINKS: 
 

Tracy Brown Website.

Free clarity call with Tracy.

Free Attuned Eating guide.

Stop Bashing Your Body Free Gift and Audio.
 
 

Non-Diet Counseling Skills.

Free Spirit Academy website.

Free Spirit Academy courses.

Free Spirit Academy Facebook group.  

Links:


Work with Rande


Free Spirit Academy on Instagram

RE-DEFINING "NORMAL" IN THE WELLNESS WORLD WITH COLON HYDROTHERAPIST, SUKI ZOE. 
 
 Yes it's true, we have the first of several colon hydrotherapists on the podcast today and this one is coming to us all the way from London! Now I think it's pretty safe to say that nobody grows up thinking that this is the job they'll have for a living. Of all the colonic pros I've talked to, it came as a surprise to them - but Suki's story was most surprising and I'll let her tell you about it herself. 
 
 In this conversation we bond over the fact that neither of us ever thought colon cleansing was anything but super cool and can kinda forget it might seem like a taboo subject to some..or many. 
 
 We talked about how bodies will respond differently on the colonic table depending on where the moon is at in it's cycle. 
 
 Our definition of a "hack" that isn't a bandaid or a shortcut. Holistic hacks. 
 
 We talked about both of our perspectives on intuitive eating and she had some really beautiful insights here. 
 
 I highly encourage you to check out Suki's blog The Colon Whisperer as she's a total nerd on all things holistic wellness and if you don't have time to do the research on something - she's probably done it for you. 
 
 I hope you enjoy this conversation. 
 

Links: 

 
 The Colon Whisperer Website

The Colon Whisperer Instagram

Free Spirit Academy website.

Free Spirit Academy courses.

Free Spirit Academy Facebook group.
 

YOUR INNER BINGE EATER IS ON YOUR SIDE WITH EATING PSYCHOLOGY AND BINGE EATING COACH, MELISSA RICCARDI.

It's been amazing to me since I graduated from the Institute for the Psychology of Eating what a huge variety of teachers and coaches I meet. Some who are amazing and some who's approaches I don't care for at all and each with their own focus whether it be on weight loss or intuitive eating or emotional eating but today's guest is someone who feels like a true sister in this eating psychology coach community - our perspectives are so similar but of course she has plenty to share that I don't and I'm thrilled to share her no-nonsense but super warm and loving approach to binge eating disorder with you here.

If you've listened to a few episodes, you'll know that I always tie things up with the question "what is your definition of a free spirit" and while I love Melissa's answer, we got to messaging about it later and she added this. She said me "A free spirit to me symbolizes going back to our child selves. Children are explorers, curious observers, wonderers. They have no judgements, they see everything through fresh eyes and are amazed by everything and anything. They are completely uninhibited, unafraid to speak their minds and are unphased by what other people are doing or saying about them. This is what it means to me to be a free spirit. Revisiting the place within us, the person we were as children before the world told us how to be."

In today's episode we talk about...

...What happens when you stop bulimic behaviors but are just left with binge eating.

...Why it doesn't help to count days "binge free" or keep starting to try startinv over.

...Why just HALTING the binge eating isn't the primary goal.

...Why we don't have a death wish out on our inner critics and what approach we take instead.

...How to balance analyzing and journaling on the healing journey with learning to just sit and feel feelings.

...Why intuitive eating is, as Melissa says, an "adult's game".

...And very practically, how to begin addressing overeating, compulsive eating, or binge eating.

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. 

Links:


Work with Rande


Free Spirit Academy on Instagram