Get INTUIT with Gila- a podcast about Intuitive Eating and Personal Growth.

Get Into It with Gila — Show Notes
Guest: Chana Leah Bleznick | Mom, Disability Law Advocate & Curvy Modest Fashion Creator

In this honest and deeply moving conversation, Gila sits down with Chana Leah Bleznick, a mom of three, disability law advocate, and curvy modest fashion influencer based in Arizona. What starts as a conversation about fashion ends up being about survival, selfhood, and what it actually means to take care of yourself.

Chana Leah's story is one of the most layered ones to come through this podcast yet.

What You'll Hear

• Growing up as a micro-preemie against all medical odds, in a home shaped by active addiction and intergenerational trauma
• What it looks like to be the "together" kid on the outside while quietly falling apart on the inside
• How childhood experiences quietly shaped her relationship with her body for decades, and what it took to finally connect those dots
• The mirror moment, literally, when she realized something had to change
• How Alanon, female friendship, and learning to show up for herself became the foundation of her healing
• Why she started posting on Instagram, and how reclaiming how she looks in the world became an unexpected act of recovery

A Quote Worth Sitting With

Chana Leah's closing words: mothering herself while mothering her boys is the thing her great-grandchildren will benefit from.

Find Chana Leah on Instagram: @chanaleahbleznick or search "your curvy modest friend"

Listen and Watch

Find this episode and all past episodes of Get Intuit with Gila on Spotify. Video episodes are also available on YouTube. Past episodes cover a breadth of topics from nutrition and eating disorders to self-mothering and beyond.

Check out all past episodes here: Get Intuit with Gila

Work With Gila

If this episode resonated and you are ready to heal your relationship with food and with yourself, Gila offers private, fully personalized support through the principles of intuitive eating. She takes the time to truly know you, then builds a plan of care around your life and history, not a generic program.

• A plan built entirely around your life and history
• Compassionate, judgment-free sessions at your pace

Book a free call here: gilaglassberg.com/book
Or reach out directly: [email protected]

Classes and Talks

Gila also offers live classes and talks on rejecting diet mentality, the power of positive self-talk, and creating your best self through self-care. Perfect for schools, organizations, and community groups.

• Engaging, practical sessions tailored to your audience
• Topics from intuitive eating to self-care
• Available in-person or virtually

Interested in booking Gila for your school, organization, or community group? Reach out at [email protected]

Coming Soon: Self Mothering

Gila is currently writing her book, Self Mothering. Stay tuned for updates, and reach out if you want to be the first to know when it launches.

Get Into It with Gila is hosted by Gila Glassberg, MS, RD, CDN, intuitive eating dietitian and counselor.

Get Into It with Gila: Rena Reiser on Focusing and the Body Mind Connection

Rena Reiser is a somatic practitioner in northern Israel who specializes in a method called focusing. Somatic just means "of the body." It's a catch all term covering everything from breathwork to dance to focusing.

Sixteen years ago Rena got mono and was told she'd be sick for six months. She'd already been dealing with migraines and back pain for years. Her husband kept pushing her to read Dr. Sarno's book. She thought it was quackery until being sick that long scared her enough to try it. Sarno's theory: repressed emotion creates real physical symptoms as a distraction from the emotional issue. She traced her fever to a conflict with a coworker, processed it, and her fever broke 24 hours later. She started using the same approach on her migraines and back pain. It worked.

For years she coached women on stress and food using tools she'd picked up along the way. She'd say "listen to your body" without a name for it. Then a client told her, "I didn't know you did focusing." She had no idea what that meant, and the method she'd used her whole career already had a name and a field behind it. She trained and got certified right away.

Focusing was researched in the 1950s by Eugene Gendlin, who studied thousands of hours of therapy sessions to figure out why some clients improved and others didn't. The answer wasn't the modality or the therapist. Successful clients would pause and notice something vague in their body, something unclear and hard to name, then search for odd, specific words to describe it, like "a lukewarm bubble." Once they found the right words, something in their body would settle. Those were the clients who got better.

That moment of matching words to a vague bodily sensation is the core of focusing. Many other somatic therapies grew out of this same research, but most stay purely in body sensation with no words. Focusing bridges sensation and language, connecting the right brain and left brain.

We talk through the 7 level Experiencing Scale, which measures how deeply someone is in touch with their body in a session, from talking about anything with zero emotion all the way to an ongoing relationship with felt senses as they arise. A skilled focuser's job is to notice where a client is and gently bring them one level deeper, never further than they can handle.

Rena shares what happened to her own interoceptive awareness after a recent stretch of war in northern Israel. Her signals shut down completely. She couldn't tell hunger, fullness, or exhaustion, and had to rebuild safety in her system before she could go deep again.

We get into why interoceptive awareness is foundational to intuitive eating but not enough on its own, why focusing is different from a quick "where do you feel that in your body," and why the vagueness and slowness are the whole point.

I also share a story from the book Strangers by Belle Boggs about a woman whose body still wanted to hold her ex husband's hand even though her mind hated him, and my own experience with the daily knot in my stomach during after school hours with my kids, even though I want to be there. This is what it looks like when the body hasn't caught up to what the mind already knows.

We also talk about whether ancient and indigenous cultures already knew this, and how Judaism's emphasis on ritual and bringing knowledge from the head into the heart might be doing the same work.

Books mentioned: Focusing by Eugene Gendlin, and The Power of Focusing by Ann Weiser Cornell. Rena is also writing her own book on focusing through a Torah lens.

Find Rena at RenaReiser.com.

I relate to Rena's work because I see this same gap in intuitive eating. I'm working to fill it by adding other modalities to my practice and writing about it in my upcoming book. If this resonates, reach out to book a free 20 minute consultation.

Reach me at 570-878-3642 or [email protected]

Guest: Hannah Schuster | Attorney, Mediator & Nonprofit Founder

In this raw and wide-ranging conversation, Gila sits down with Hannah Schuster, a Lawrence, NY-based attorney, mediator, and nonprofit founder, to talk about her lifelong relationship with food, her body, and herself.

What starts at the childhood dinner table ends up covering eating disorder treatment, divorce, breast cancer, and the unexpected moments that changed everything.

What You'll Hear

• Growing up between two extremes, a father who showed love through food and a mother with a highly controlled approach to eating, and how both shaped Hannah's earliest experiences
• The shame and secrecy around food that started young, and how restriction laid the groundwork for years of struggle
• Her mother's breast cancer diagnosis in ninth grade, and how crisis in the family shifted Hannah's relationship with food
• Inpatient treatment at Renfrew Pennsylvania, what helped, and what didn't
• Moving through seminary, a young marriage, and law school with an eating disorder that kept pace with every life change
• The two things that genuinely shifted her brain, ketamine infusion therapy and unexpectedly, her own breast cancer diagnosis and bilateral mastectomy last year
• What it felt like to finally eat freely, maybe for the first time

This is Part One. Part Two is coming, we had way too much more to say in the best possible way!

If anything in this episode resonated and you're struggling, the Alliance for Eating Disorders Helpline is available at 1-866-662-1235.

Get Into It with Gila is hosted by Gila Glassberg, MS, RD, CDN, intuitive eating dietitian and counselor.

If you'd like to learn more about me, visit my website @gilaglassberg.com. Follow me on Instagram @gila.glassberg.IntuitiveRD.

Last but not least, please subscribe and share this episode so more people can learn these important lessons!

In this episode of Get Into It with Gila, I sat down with therapist Suzy Charnas for a really deep and nuanced conversation about body image, motherhood, beauty, self-worth, and the messages girls absorb growing up. Susie shared her own personal experience struggling with body dysmorphia after growing up in a very small body and how that eventually led her to specialize in disordered eating and women’s mental health in her Brooklyn private practice. We spoke about how mothers influence the way their daughters see themselves, often without even realizing it, and how the way we speak about our own bodies becomes our children’s inner voice. One line Suzy said that really stayed with me was: “The way you speak to yourself is how your child will eventually speak to themselves.”We also got into the difference between body neutrality and body positivity, social media’s impact on teen girls, food and identity, autonomy around eating, and even the relationship between beauty, Judaism, and self-care. I especially appreciated Suzy’s perspective that beauty itself is not inherently shallow or bad, but that the real question is whether appearance is taking over your sense of self-worth. This conversation felt honest, validating, and incredibly important for parents, teens, clinicians, and honestly anyone trying to heal their relationship with food, body image, and themselves. Suzy works with teens, young women, and families in Brooklyn and also brings mental health education into schools and community settings. Reach out to Suzy at [email protected]. If you'd like to reach out to me, email me at [email protected]. Comments, questions and feedback are always welcome!

Thanks for being here and have a wonderful day!

In this episode of Get Into It with Gila, Gila Glassberg sits down with Sara Honikman, special education teacher, fitness instructor, mom of four, and emerging motivational voice, to explore her dynamic journey from preschool teaching to the fitness world.

Sara shares how stepping into group fitness transformed her confidence, identity, and career path. What began as a personal outlet quickly evolved into a passion for teaching movement, building community, and empowering women.

Together, Gila and Sara dive into:

• Career Evolution: Transitioning from preschool education to leading fitness classes and balancing multiple roles, including teaching and working at Brandeis
• Confidence & Growth: How fitness helped Sara develop self-trust, resilience, and a stronger voice
• Morning Routines & Balance: The reality of 5 AM workouts, sleep shifts, and fitting in personal time
• Exercise & Body Awareness: The importance of proper form, modifications, and pelvic floor health, especially for women postpartum
• Group Fitness Challenges: Navigating large classes while ensuring safety, engagement, and inclusivity
• Women & Movement in Orthodox Communities: Why access to sports and joyful movement matters and Sara’s vision for change
• Hidden Talents & Future Goals: From teaching workshops to exploring motivational speaking and writing a book
• Living with ADD: Managing time, energy, and creativity while embracing a high-functioning, multi-passionate life
• Creativity & Expression: Writing projects, DIY home improvement, and the power of trying new things

This conversation is an honest and inspiring look at what it means to evolve, take risks, and step into your strengths, even before you feel fully ready.

Sara Honikman:

Sara Honikman is a fitness instructor and special education teacher who is passionate about helping people grow—both physically and mentally. With a background in education and a love for movement, she brings energy, empathy, and intention into everything she does.

Sara believes that true strength is built not just in the body, but in the way we think, speak, and show up in our everyday lives.

You can reach out to Sara at [email protected] or on Instagram @sarahonikman.

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If you are ready to make peace with food, stop restricting and bingeing and work through your body trauma, book a free 20-minute consultation with me here: Scheduling.

Purchase my new ecookbook here: Cook With Gila - Downloadable Cookbook

Here is a quick guided meditation to help make your Pesach even a bit better than last.

Here is the link to the music I was playing in the background- it can be very relaxing!Soothe the Nervous System - Heal Your Vagus Nerve, Nerve Healing Binaural Beats - Nerve Regeneration

Here is the meditation I was talking about by Brian Weiss- Brian Weiss - Past-Life Regression Session [FULL] - [NO ADS] TikTok Video

Let me know what you think!!

Cook With Gila - Downloadable CookbookHere is my new E-cookbook with lots of easy, family friendly recipes and a bunch are- you guessed it- KOSHER FOR PESACH!

Use discount code PESACH18 for 18% off and from now until after Pesach, everything on my website is 18% off so go buy now!

Really, really truly- wishing you the most amazing Pesach of your life and may we all be zoche to celebrate together in יְרוּשָׁלַיִם!!

In this episode, I sit down with Caryn Gutman, an Internal Family Systems (IFS) therapist who works with clients in Cedarhurst and the Five Towns, both virtually and in person. We explore the fascinating overlap between therapy and nutrition work, and how compassionate, non-judgmental approaches can help people heal their relationships with food, body image, and themselves.

Caryn shares her journey into the therapy world, explaining how she discovered her passion for helping others at just seventeen years old. After considering careers in law and fashion design, she ultimately pursued therapy and trained in Internal Family Systems through IFS Israel. She also brings experience from working in domestic violence and foster care before specializing in IFS.

We talk about the core principles of Internal Family Systems Therapy, a model developed by Richard Schwartz, which views the mind as made up of different “parts.” Caryn explains how protective parts — like perfectionism, calorie counting, or rigid food rules — often develop to shield deeper emotional pain. Rather than fighting these parts, IFS invites curiosity, compassion, and understanding.

Our conversation also touches on Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) and how modern trauma therapies allow people to heal without needing to repeatedly verbalize or relive painful experiences. Caryn explains how healing can happen internally, with the therapist providing a witnessing presence that supports the process.

As a dietitian, I also reflect on the parallels between therapy and nutrition counseling. We discuss the importance of meeting clients where they are, avoiding black-and-white thinking around food and health, and recognizing when collaboration between therapists and dietitians can better support clients.

This episode highlights how powerful it can be when professionals approach healing with curiosity, humility, and compassion rather than judgment.

• What Internal Family Systems (IFS) therapy is and how it works

• The role of “protector parts” in behaviors like dieting or perfectionism

• Why trauma healing doesn’t always require retelling painful stories

• The overlap between therapy and intuitive eating work

• The importance of staying within professional scope and collaborating across fields

• How compassion and curiosity can transform the healing process

Caryn Gutman is an IFS therapist serving clients in Cedarhurst and the Five Towns area, offering both in-person and virtual therapy. She integrates Internal Family Systems and other trauma-informed approaches to help clients understand their internal world and move toward healing.

Caryn Guttman-Weber  is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor who worked in the mental health field for 13 years and in private practice for over 8 of them. She  has years of experience working with individuals, couples  and families across a variety of settings. Caryn utilizes a mixture of approaches in her practice including: IFS, Family Systems Therapy, and Attachment based therapy. She created a premarital counseling education program.  She also has experience facilitating  groups including parenting and adolescent groups. Caryn is very invested in helping pre-teens, adolescents and  adults with many issues they deal with such as: sudden changes in behavior, self-esteem , trauma, relational challenges and learning and appreciating all the parts of one’s self.  Caryn regularly attends trainings to continue her education while practicing , she  has trained at the IFS Israel institute and the Ackerman Institute for the Family. She is committed to helping individuals, families, and couples in the community face the many challenges that can arise. 

If you’re ready to stop dieting and finally feel peaceful around food, I’d love to support you.

You can learn about working with me one-on-one or download my free resources at gilaglassberg.com.

Everything is there to help you take the next step in healing your relationship with food.

In this powerful and timely conversation, I sit down with Intuitive Eating co-founder Evelyn Tribole to explore the return of diet culture in the GLP-1 era. We talk about weight cycling, the “euphoria” of weight loss, what isn’t being discussed about long-term use of these medications, and why dignity and informed consent matter more than ever.

We also dive into how to protect your energy when talking about Intuitive Eating, how to plant seeds without burning out, and why real change can begin at your own kitchen table.

If you’re navigating body image, food freedom, or feeling confused in today’s weight-loss-obsessed culture, this episode is for you.

Reach out to work with me at www.gilaglassberg.com. Email me at [email protected] or call to make an appointment at 570-878-3642.

Follow me on Instagram at gila.glassberg.intuitiveRD.

To connect with Evelyn Tribole and learn more about Intuitive Eating, visit www.intuitiveeating.org and follow her work there.

Follow on Instagram at evelyntribole.

With Gila Glassberg & Rivky Boyarsky

In this episode, Gila speaks with Rivky, a midwife and college educator, about women’s health, body image, and education in the Orthodox Jewish community. Rivky shares her professional journey and personal experiences with weight and body image, and how cultural and generational messages shape the way women and girls relate to their bodies.

They discuss the importance of practicing what we preach around health and body image, especially because children learn from parents’ behaviors more than words. Gila and Rivky emphasize the need for open, ongoing conversations about bodies, puberty, and healthy touch to reduce shame and confusion.

The conversation also explores weight stigma in medical settings and challenges the idea that weight is a reliable measure of health. Rivky highlights holistic and personalized approaches to well-being that focus on nourishment, movement, and self-care rather than punishment. She also shares her work in women’s GYN care, her concierge practice in Brooklyn, and her passion for creating puberty education resources to help prevent body shame and eating disorders.

Reach out to Rivky at [email protected] or 718-614-7480.

Reach out to me at [email protected] or 570-878-3642.

If you'd like to book an appointment, reach out here: Contact

Enjoy the episode and have a wonderful day!

Rachelle Heinemann (LMHC, LPC, CEDS) and Gila Glassberg talk Intuitive Eating in real life — what makes it hard, what helps, and how to move toward food freedom with more trust, flexibility, and self-compassion.

Reach out to Rachelle here:Brave on Purpose (workbook)WebsiteGroup Practice Website (Bergen Mental Health Group)  Podcast (Spotify) Newsletter 
Rachelle Heinemann, LMHC, LPC, CEDS

Book a session with me here: Contact