Get Merry

Grab a spritz (it's always spritz o'clock somewhere) and join us across an eight hour time difference, with Emma in Rome and Carla on the Gold Coast.

This week we wander through a 102-year-old wine festival, debate whether romantasy writing is "bad" (spoiler: we don't care, we love it), we chat about pesticides in Aussie produce, and share a proud moment about why MerryBody does not use before and after photos. Plus a very special guest appearance from Denny singing Five Little Ducks. HAHAH.

Content note: this episode includes discussion of domestic violence and eating disorders. Please look after yourself while listening.

In this episode:

• The Marino Grape Festival, 50 kinds of spritz and why the little towns outside Rome are our favourite
• Castel Gandolfo, souvenir shopping regrets and the Florence coin purse that disappeared
• Carla's week: weekends at Mum's, Leo's milestones and a new apartment on the way
• What it's like running our Yoga Teacher Training with a brand new cohort (week seven already!)
• Why meditation is where yoga philosophy actually starts to transform you
• Finishing Threshing Day, the hero's journey and why every great story shares the same bones (warning spoilers)
• Pesticides, BPA-free bottles and choosing glass and organic where we can
• Small business, AI and finding gratitude when the world feels heavy
• Our stance on before and afters, and the Instagram post that made us proud

Key takeaways:

• Knowing isn't doing. You can know every benefit of meditation, but nothing changes until you actually sit and breathe.
• Presence is the big lesson of yoga. Mess in the house and imperfect days matter far less than the moment you're in.
• Gratitude helps, and so does a walk. When things feel heavy, finding one thing to be thankful for (and getting outside) helps you move again.
• Your before is just as worthy as your after. The wins that matter most, like better sleep, less back pain and feeling calmer, can't be photographed.
• Values over trends. We've got things wrong before, but we'll always choose what feels right over what sells fastest.

Resources mentioned:

• Sagra dell'Uva (Marino Grape Festival), Castelli Romani, Italy
• Castel Gandolfo, Rocca di Papa and Lake Albano
• Villa Borghese and the Pantheon, Rome
• Aperol Spritz (invented 1919)
• Threshing Day by Rebecca Yarros, a collection of thirteen Empyrean stories, released 29 September 2026
• Fourth Wing, Iron Flame and Onyx Storm by Rebecca Yarros
• Twilight by Stephenie Meyer
• The Hero with a Thousand Faces by Joseph Campbell (the hero's journey, 1949)
• Carl Jung's archetypes
• Harry Potter, The Lord of the Rings and Throne of Glass (the giant spiders)
• Gossip Girl
• The Dirty Dozen list of high-pesticide produce
• Our MerryBody Instagram post: "Why you'll never see before and after photos from us"

Feel good in your body, without the before and afters

MerryBody is our yoga, Pilates and meditation app built on self-acceptance, not shame. Short classes that help you sleep better, feel stronger, ease back pain and actually want to move, even if it's just 10 minutes a day.

Start your free trial here: http://geni.us/merrybody

Or learn more: https://themerrymakersisters.com/merrybody-yoga-pilates/

Ready to go deeper? If this week's chat about meditation and philosophy lit something up in you, the School of MerryBody Yoga Teacher Trainings are for you. Fully online, Yoga Alliance approved, and full of the kind of connection you'll remember forever.

• 200 Hour Yoga Teacher Training: https://themerrymakersisters.com/online-yoga-teacher-training/
• Yin Yoga Teacher Training: https://themerrymakersisters.com/yin-yoga-teacher-training/

Always merrymaking,

Emma + Carla,

The Merrymaker Sisters

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Okay, this one goes everywhere. Actually... everywhere!

Emma's just back from a week in Puglia (and yes, she ate all the bocconotti), and Carla's had a five-day birthday fesitval on the Gold Coast. Even though she organised it herself... virgo dream, right?

So we start with pasta, figs and beach days… and then somehow end up in an existential crisis about social media, AI yoga teachers and all the bad news in the world. Then we swing right back to fictional dragons.

Basically, it's exactly what our coffee catch-ups sound like. Grab a coffee or a spritz and come sit with us. Or walk with us. Or drive with us!

Denny also makes a little surprise appearance at the end, CUTE!

Warning: we chat about sexual assault, violence against women and some heavy world news in this one, so please look after yourself while listening. If you need support in Australia, 1800RESPECT is there on 1800 737 732.

Oh, and a few little Fourth Wing spoilers too! If you have not read book 1, block your ears when we get to that part! haha.

What we chat about:

• Emma's Puglia must-eats: bocconotti for brekkie, orecchiette with cime di rapa, bombette, octopus panino and figs straight off the tree (maybe don't do that last one)
• The cutest towns: Martina Franca, Ostuni, Locorotondo, Monopoli, Lecce and Cisternino
• Why the late-night passeggiata is the most Italian thing ever
• Watching five groups doing photoshoots at lunch… and then scheduling our own reels like, what are we doing?!
• The AI yoga accounts taking over our feeds (so weird)
• Why we really want to bring back in-person events
• Speaking up about the hard stuff, and raising little boys who step in
• Carla's birthday week, newborn life and 2am squats while rocking Leo
• Emma's local chestnut festival and a bike ride on the Via Appia Antica
• Threshing Day is out!! Our fave stories so far (Xaden, obviously)

Our takeaways:

• Live it first, photograph it second. Take the pic, sure, then put the phone down.
• Real humans matter more than ever. Especially when half your feed is AI.
• If you're safe to speak up, speak up. Be the one who calls it out.
• The hard seasons pass. Dinnertime chaos won't last forever (and maybe it's the whole point anyway).

Stuff we mentioned:

• Bar Adua, Martina Franca (THE bocconotti)
• La Pasteria, Martina Franca (fresh pasta, so good)
• Threshing Day by Rebecca Yarros
• Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros
• Windy City series by Liz Tomforde
• Sherele Moody and Australian Femicide Watch: australianfemicidewatch.org
• 1800RESPECT: 1800 737 732

Come hang out with us in MerryBody

Like we said in this ep: if you need a bit of yoga or Pilates, a reminder that you're already amazing, or just a break from all the "fix yourself" stuff online, come join us! MerryBody is yoga, Pilates and meditation with real teachers and real bodies. No before-and-afters here, promise. Quick classes for busy days, longer flows when you've got time, and lots of positivity but also embracing reality.

And if you're loving this little series, please tell a friend. It really helps us so much.

Join us direct via the app store: http://geni.us/merrybody

Have a read: https://themerrymakersisters.com/merrybody-yoga-pilates/

Thinking about teaching? Our Yoga Alliance approved 200 Hour and Yin Yoga Teacher Trainings are open too: https://themerrymakersisters.com/online-yoga-teacher-training/

Thanks for tuning in, see you next week!

Emma + Carla

The Merrymaker Sisters

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sorelle Sessions #2 is here! Emma is in Rome, Carla is on the Gold Coast. We hit record on the chat we would have had anyway. No script, no plan, just sisters catching up. Grab a coffee (or a spritz) and enjoy!

In this episode:

• The full play-by-play of the Tuscan wedding menu, from the aperitivo to the never-ending courses to the cake.
• Why Emma wore her Year 12 formal dress (bought at 17, worn again at 38) and why it looked even better this time.
• The sisters' teenage hair eras, thanks to one very persuasive hairdresser in Canberra.
• Radicchio, breadcrumbs on baked veggies, and other Italian kitchen tricks worth stealing.
• Dance floor lifts, near misses by the pool, and the group chat wedding song.
• Carla on life with a toddler and a newborn.
• Sorelle Sessions Italian lessons, how to actually say Fiumicino, and the best pizza al taglio near the airport (called Sancho).
• For extended Europe stays, car lease option.
• Why Emma regrets not making the Puglian wedding bigger (but the 40th birthday party idea that might fix it).

Links mentioned:

• The Tuscan wedding food.
• The dress! Worn at 17 and 38.

Join us on the mat

Whether you're in Rome, on the Gold Coast, or somewhere in between, MerryBody is your home for Yoga, Pilates and meditation. Move in a way that feels good, with two sisters who get that life is busy and bodies change. Try it here: http://geni.us/merrybody

Ready to go deeper? The School of MerryBody Yoga Teacher Trainings are Yoga Alliance approved and fully online, so you can study from anywhere (even between courses at an Italian wedding). Choose from the 200 Hour, Yin Yoga or Yamas and Niyamas trainings.

• 200 Hour YTT: https://themerrymakersisters.com/online-yoga-teacher-training/
• Yin Yoga YTT: https://themerrymakersisters.com/yin-yoga-teacher-training/

Got questions for the next Sorelle Session? Send them our way. We'll be back in your ears next week!

Always merrymaking,

Emma + Carla 

The Merrymaker Sisters

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome to our very first episode of the Sorelle Sessions! I am (Emma) in Rome (well, Rocca di Papa, a town just outside of Rome), Carla is on the Gold Coast, and we thought, why not hit record on the catch ups we'd be having anyway? No plan, no script, just the two of us talking about what's really going on. Grab a coffee or a spritz, depending on your time zone.  

• Italy vs the Gold Coast: 11pm piazzas full of kids vs cafés closing at 2pm, and why Italians don't need a name for "the third place"
• The real cost of living comparison: €2 chicken Marylands, €7 pizza and €4 spritzes vs $22 spritzes and $26 margheritas back home.
• Why we chose to buy a little house in Italy instead of renovating in Australia.
• The ongoing cost of living crisis, small business closures and the hard part of being "in touch with reality" without being consumed by it.
• Parenting from Instagram: praising effort over "you're so smart," and the "you can walk or mummy carries you" trick that actually worked on Denny.
• Postpartum recovery done properly the second time: rest, the recovery pants Carla swears by, and why the "bounce back" pressure does more harm than good.
• Why we'll never sell MerryBody with before and after photos, even though it would probably make us more money
• Mum at 68 doing 2 to 3 classes a day and racing Denny down the flying fox. This is what MerryBody is for.

Emma's blog post on her pituitary gland tumour diagnosis, read it here!

The skincare Carla is loving (not sponsored): Froya Organics.

The film Emma watched on the plane: Hamnet

MerryBody snack size classes, the physio-approved sessions Carla is easing back in with: sign up to a 7 day trial!

Got a question for next week's Sorelle Session? Italy, small business, Gold Coast life, Yoga, Pilates, teacher training, anything. Send us an email or a DM and we'll add it to the list. And if you have a sister, send her this one. Apparently Harvard says it's good for you.

Join us inside MerryBody

Yoga, Pilates and meditation classes you can do at home, in your PJs, in 10 minutes or 60. No before and afters, no bounce back pressure, just movement that makes you feel good and keeps you strong enough to run down the flying fox at 68 *( you will get this reference when you listen!). Start your free trial here!!

Always merrymaking,

Emma + Carla

The Merrymaker Sisters

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This one's a wild ride (literally!). In this episode Carla shares her Leo James birth story for the very first time... and it could not be more different to her first birth with Denny.

What started as a calm morning of contractions at home turned into a very speedy, very dramatic dash to the hospital… and baby Leo arrived in the car, right out the front of the hospital, with an audience.

The hypnobirthing breathing, the birth affirmations, the M1 traffic drama, and the rip... and recovery that followed.

A reminder of just how amazing the female body is.  

(Please note: this episode includes detailed descriptions of childbirth and bodily fluids.)

In this episode:

• This birth was very different to the first birth with Denny
• Why she wanted to avoid an induction and go into spontaneous labour
• The tools that helped: the TENS machine, pranayama breathing, hypnobirthing and birth affirmations
• Recognising the "I don't want to do this anymore" transition moment
• The dramatic 13-minute drive, Gold Coast drivers and waters breaking in the car
• Leo's arrival in the car, a BBA (Baby Before Arrival!) — right outside the hospital
• The tear, the stitches and Carla's speedy recovery
• Why the second newborn bubble has felt so different (in the best way)

What a birth story! We'd love to hear your thoughts... come say hi over on Instagram or send us an email.

Ready to move, breathe and feel good in your body? Come join us inside the MerryBody app for yoga, Pilates and meditation you'll actually look forward to — start your free trial here: http://geni.us/merrybody.

Emma + Carla,

The Merrymaker Sisters

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Well, we're on a roll! With baby number two still keeping us waiting (any day now!), we've squeezed in another podcast, and this one goes everywhere (as usual haha). We start with the bump update and Carla's wild nose job saga (two surgeries, a skin graft from her bum, and a two-year swelling situation no surgeon ever warned her about).

It turns into a real conversation about why we've normalised changing our faces, and how a society so obsessed with "fixing" bodies got this far from self-acceptance.

Then we dive into Off Campus, th show everyone's talking about... and what it's teaching us about emotionally intelligent men, healthy relationships, and supportive friendships. We get into men's mental health, the pressure to "achieve" and s much more!

Heads up: we briefly touch on suicide and men's mental health in this episode. Please skip or come back to it if you need to. 

A few things we chat about:

• Plastic surgery is never "just" a procedure. Carla's story is a real reminder that surgery is major, healing can take years and the before-and-afters never tell the whole story.
• Our bodies are meant to change... bloating, puffiness, swelling, all of it. Recognising it as completely normal (periods, pregnancy, travel, being human) is so good for us.
• Off Campus is displaying emotional intelligence, its leading men celebrate the women in their lives, hold space for feelings and show us what supportive, healthy relationships can actually look like.
• Men's mental health matters... so many men were raised to bottle it all up, and creating safe spaces to feel and talk can literally save lives.
• Money won't buy happiness (but we keep having to relearn it!)... chasing achievement and external validation is part of life... but real happiness and wellbeing comes from within (as long as you have the essentials).

Stuff we mentioned:

• Off Campus — the hockey-romance series on Prime Video, based on Elle Kennedy's Off-Campus books (starting with The Deal)
• Coop on YouTube — the creator whose plastic surgery reaction videos kicked off the chat. He's so funny! Probably the coolest and most decent Gen Z guys we've seen online. Admittedly we don't follow many (haha).
• Emily in Paris — on Netflix
• A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas — our current Romantasy obsession (no spoilers… mostly haha)
• "Boys" — the upcoming book on raising boys we mention, will chat more about this soon.
• Episode 444 — Ozempic, Botox & binge eating
• Episode 443 — our Romantasy book recommendations

Before you go… 

Next time you're feeling puffy, premenstrual, or just plain over it, press play on a Yin Yoga class and feel the magic. That's exactly what MerryBody is for... Yoga, Pilates and meditation you can do anytime, anywhere, without the external pressure to look like anyone else but YOU. Start today! Find us in your a store over HERE!

Always merrymaking

Emma + Carla 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ever get that feeling that everyone else has it all figured out and you're somehow running late on your own life? In this episode we chat about that "I'm so behind" feeling... the milestones we think we should have hit by now, the comparison spiral, the endless should-be's and the ancient Yoga practice that helps us let it all go: Santosha, or contentment.

We chat about why fixing one thing only ever reveals the next thing to fix, why acceptance isn't toxic positivity (it's simply letting things be as they are), and how true contentment comes from the inside out, not the outside in.

We talk through money fears, relationship timelines, the "good life vs good day" reminder, and how shifting your energy, shifts your results. 

In this episode:

• Why the "I'm behind" feeling is so universal, and a little pointless once you really look at it
• Santosha (contentment + acceptance) and why it's a daily practice, not a one-and-done
• How acceptance isn't positivity, it's letting reality be as it is, so you can move through it with less suffering
• Releasing the "should-be's": milestones, money, relationship timelines and everyone's different path
• "Don't get so obsessed with a good life that you forget to give yourself a good day"
• How shifting your energy and mindset shifts your actions, and your results
• Why diving into Yoga philosophy ripples out into every corner of your life

Mentioned in this episode:

• Santosha — the second Niyama, contentment, from the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali
• The Daily Guide to the Yoga Sutras by Susan Fendler
• Eddie Stern's One Simple Thing
• Steve Jobs on connecting the dots looking backwards
• Byron Katie's "Is it true?" question
• Episode 444 — our binge eating, Ozempic + Botox chat
• Our earlier podcast episodes on the Yamas & Niyamas

Ready to go deeper?  If this episode lit something up in you, our School of MerryBody Yoga Teacher Trainings are where this philosophy really comes alive. Our next 200-Hour Training (fully online and Yoga Alliance accredited) begins 23 August 2026 and right now there's an early bird offer plus a 12-month payment plan to make it doable around real life, families and work.

Come learn the practices that changed everything for us: 200-Hour Teacher Training themerrymakersisters.com/online-yoga-teacher-training/

Got questions or wondering if it's for you? Reach out anytime, we love a chat. 

Always merrymaking,

Emma + Carla

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week we're getting real, honest and a little bit ranty. We share OUR opinions, they could be against yours, or maybe you resonate? 

We chat about how we got through our own binge eating (and for one of us, bulimia) all those years ago. We bring this topic up again because lately it feels like the world is swinging backwards. The body-acceptance era we lived through seems to be disappearing, ultra-thin is back "in" again, with Ozempic and Botox everywhere we look.

We share what actually helped us heal the binge eating: letting go of restriction, eating the pasta, moving our bodies from a place of acceptance instead of punishment, and slowly learning to trust ourselves again.

We chat about the pressure women feel, why a moving, expressive face is such a beautiful thing and how ageing is a privilege.

In this episode:

• Why we're revisiting binge eating now and why it matters more than ever
• How restriction fuelled our binge eating and the years it took to unwind it
• The magic of eating without guilt and trusting your body's natural rhythm
• Our honest thoughts on the Ozempic + Botox, and the pressure around it
• Why a moving, expressive face is beautiful... and why ageing is a privilege
• How our Yoga practice and self-acceptance, along with pasta made life so much better!

Mentioned in this episode:

• The Blue Zones, where some of the longest-living people enjoy olive oil, fresh bread and big plates of veggies. We chat more about them on episode 192 HERE.
• An older podcast episode on binge eating, episode 91 (worth a listen).

This episode is our personal story, not professional advice. If you're struggling with food, eating or body image, please reach out, in Australia, the Butterfly Foundation is there to help on 1800 33 4673.

So much of our healing came back to our MerryBody practice, Yoga, Pilates and meditation that's all about moving with acceptance, not punishment. If this episode made you think OH damn, I need a change, consider this your invitation. Join MerryBody and feel the difference for yourself, download the App now!

Always merrymaking,

Emma + Carla 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We're back, two episodes in a row (look at us go!), we're chatting all things reading: why fiction is its own kind of self-help, how a good book is the ultimate antidote to endless scrolling, and how we are in our romantasy genre era. We really didn't do this topic justice, just getting back into the groover of podcasting.

We get into reading as a presence practice (hello, kind of a meditation), why doing things just for the joy of it is so underrated. And a little tangent on why a business needs a whole lot more than money to feel successful. Plus, of course, all the books we've been reading.

Key takeaways:

• Fiction is self-help in disguise. Stories help us process emotions, build empathy, shift perspective and feel less alone, often more enjoyably than a stack of "become a better you" books ever could.
• Reading is the perfect scroll-stopper. When you're deep in a story, you're participating, not consuming, which is why a book leaves you restorative instead of drained like an Instagram-to-TikTok spiral.
• It's a beautiful presence practice. If silent meditation feels hard, reading a chapter before bed (phone in another room!) is single-focus, calming and great for sleep.
• Let go of needing an ROI on everything. You're allowed to read, paint, or learn purely for the joy of it. Not every activity has to "better" you or make money, and that includes how you approach learning.
• Don't knock the "cliché" books. Romance and romantasy aren't lesser reads. They're fun, human and absolutely worth reclaiming (and yes, Fourth Wing is worth the hype x 100000).

Resources & books mentioned:

• My Brilliant Friend series – Elena Ferrante
• Women Who Run With the Wolves – Clarissa Pinkola Estés
• Fourth Wing (The Empyrean series) – Rebecca Yarros
• A Court of Thorns and Roses (ACOTAR), Crescent City & Throne of Glass series – Sarah J. Maas
• The Seven Sisters series – Lucinda Riley
• Zodiac Academy series – Caroline Peckham & Susanne Valenti (I kind of put this down but it's actually so good!!)
• The Ascended, Riftborne & Duskbound – Greenwich & Lennox
• Mile High / The Windy City series – Liz Tomforde
• The Poisoned Daughter (standalone)
• Alphabet Weekends – Elizabeth Noble
• Confessions of a Shopaholic – Sophie Kinsella
• Off Campus (book-based series)
• Kayla Books – Canadian book reviewer on Instagram (good recommendations)
• Got a book rec for us? Get in touch, we'd love to hear from you!

Read for the joy of it. Move for the joy of it.

This whole episode is really about doing things for the sake of doing them, not because of what you'll get out of them. And this is kind of similar to our ethos with exercise too!

MerryBody is our Yoga, Pilates & Meditation app made for exactly this kind of joyful, no-pressure practice, short, feel-good classes with zero "fix yourself" energy. Roll out your mat and join us: merrybodystudio.com/ — or download straight from your app store: geni.us/merrybody

Dreaming of going deeper? The School of MerryBody Yoga Teacher Trainings are all about falling in love with the process, not just chasing the certificate (yes, you'll absolutely get certified, it's Yoga Alliance approved!. Our 200 Hour, Yin Yoga, and Yamas & Niyamas trainings are open now: 200 Hour YTT · Yin Yoga YTT

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We're back!! The last time we hit record was November 2025… and somehow it's now June 2026. Oops. But while the podcast went quiet, everything else got busy (in the best way).

Life and business update, we didn't get to everything... and far out did I (Emma) always say LIKE that much. Noted, and now working on this forevermore.

In this episode:

• Carla's about to have baby number two, any day now!
• Emma's has ittle house on a mountain in Italy
• We completely rebuilt and relaunched the MerryBody app, the one we've dreamed about for years!
• The tiny app features that have doubled our members' class finishes
• Why movement really is medicine
• A very Merrymaker tangent on community + staying grounded when the world feels a bit much

Right now we have all this exciting begin again energy. So good to be back. Let us know if you have any podcast topic ideas!

Have a play with the brand-new MerryBody app, if you've never tried MerryBody, head on over here and get your personalised 3 Day Class Plan: https://merrybodystudio.com/plan

If you loved this episode, share it with friends and family. Get in touch, we would love to hear from you, message us on our Facebook and Instagram accounts @themerrymakersisters.

Always merrymaking,

Emma + Carla

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.