Happy start to season 5 of the podcast!!

It’s fucking hard to believe we’re already 5 seasons in — can you believe it?

And we are kicking things off with a deep dive into an area of my personal self and my identity that I have yet to share publicly. It is something that has felt a long time coming and I’m so excited and ready to share about this part of myself.

So yeah, I’m coming out. Again. Big time.

As always, on this podcast, we tackle taboo subjects that aren’t spoken to very often. And we’re going in that space this season, DEEP. And I ask that you come in, as always, with an open heart and mind. Create space in yourself to learn and be curious. This is how we grow beyond our wildest dreams, my loves. Let’s do the damn thing.

Things I cover in today’s episode:

How the podcast is evolving as we head into this new season

My fear in sharing this aspect of myself with you all

What it means to live as my fullest unapologetic, fuck yes self

Navigating rejection for being who you are (by others and by your own self!)

Ownership and toxic programming in relationships

Ethical non monogamy, polyamory, self discovery and beyond!

100 episodes.

Just saying that out loud feels surreal. 100 episodes ago, I launched this podcast with a dream — a dream to cultivate a space for real, honest and candid conversations around all sorts of topics. I didn’t know where it was going to go. But I knew that the conversations I was having around taboo or TMI subjects behind closed doors with my friends and fellow entrepreneurs were ones that needed to be shared publicly.

When we leave things unsaid or don’t talk about things in the open, shame around that subject develops. And if there’s anything that I strive for with all of the work that I do is to embolden everyone I teach and come across to revel in their uniqueness and release anything holding them back not allowing them to live their f*ck yes life.

And I do it alongside of them. Alongside of you. Because coming home to yourself is lifelong work — and the deepest and most important work a human can do, in my opinion.

Owning my queerness has been a huge part of my coming home story. A year ago, almost to the date, I came out publicly on the podcast as bisexual. And today, as we close out season 4, I am deeply honored to be joined by eight queer humans that I deeply admire, respect and love to celebrate Pride and the LGBTQ+ community.

This podcast takes a format unlike any episode I’ve ever done. And I can’t wait for you to listen. To absorb these stories. To hear yourself in their voices (no matter how you identify sexually). And to help me celebrate 100 episodes.

You ready? Let’s go.

This weeks episode, I have the deep privilege of having someone near and dear to me from my past on the podcast — my ex boyfriend Wesley.

When the Black Lives Matter protests began getting amplified all across the United States and the world these last few weeks, I knew that I wanted to facilitate a conversation around this on the podcast. But I also knew that I needed to listen to what the black activists and friends in my life were saying around how I could use my platform for good.

I learned a few things:

1) It’s not my role to educate around the topics of racism and oppression in the world (This was a le duh thing for me — but also I’ve been seeing a lot of white people, especially people in the influencer/spiritual world really using this time as a way to capitalize and teach and bring in their white saviorism, and it has sickened me to watch)

2) It’s also NOT okay to be quiet. I wanted to say something. I have a lot to say. And, in the past, I had stopped myself from speaking up or standing up because I thought that it was inappropriate to do so because I am a white person. I’ve learned that being quiet is simply another way of being a part of the problem. And I won’t be quiet any longer.

3) I also am deeply aware that black people, on the whole, are TIRED of doing the emotional labor and fighting the fight right now.

Through my self exploration, education and processing around everything going on, when I thought about how I wanted to tackle this on the podcast, I knew where I needed to go. My relationship with Wesley was a deep, loving and incredibly impactful relationship in my life. He was my first love. And yet, in our three years together, we never discussed the fact that he was black and I was white. We didn’t talk about our differing experiences as a result of race.

Today, we deep dive into all of that and so much more. This conversation is incredibly potent, loving, and it’s something that I know each and every single one of you will be able to hear yourself in, in some way. I hope this emboldens you to start a conversation with the people in your lives. Let’s keep moving the needle forward, you badasses.

On this bonus episode, I’m bringing back one of the most downloaded episodes of the podcast to highlight an incredibly potent and powerful conversation with activist, educator and facilitator, Andréa Ranae.

Andréa Ranae is a vision-led facilitator and coach who believes that together, we rise. She is deeply committed to doing her part in cultivating a world that works for everyone and does so by placing her work at the intersections of personal growth, social justice and conscious business.

We may have recorded this in November 2018, but the state of the world is the same now as it was then (and for many many years before when it comes to racism in this country).

Things we discuss in today’s episode:

The pitfalls of personal development

How to be a true activist

Where to start when it comes to making change

Oppression — especially when it comes to racism, ageism, transphobia, sexism etc

A profound way to look at privilege

Cultural individualism

White privilege

Creating space to have emotion about the state of the world

Adrienne, also known as the Yoni Nutritionist is a Certified Nutritional Practitioner, Yoga Teacher and Health Coach with a passion for women’s sexual health and wellness. She has struggled with her own vaginal health issues for most of her life - from chronic yeast infections to HPV, from a genital herpes diagnosis at 21 to a severe candida overgrowth in her mid-30's. And she has been able to holistically manage these issues through diet, nutrition and wellness practices.

Her own personal sexual health journey and passion for women's health and wellness has inspired her to ditch the corporate life to become a Certified Nutritional Practitioner. In her work, she helps women who are struggling with their own sexual health issues, heal their bodies, and their vaginal and sexual health from the inside out, just like I healed her own!

Things we discuss in todays episode:

Adrienne’s journey navigating yeast infections, UTIs and all sorts of bacterial infections

Getting diagnosed with HPV and HSV2 at the age of 21

How nutrition is directly linked to vaginal health

What the f*ck is Candida and the symptoms attached to it

My personal journey with eczema, hormonal imbalances, chronic UTIs and how I’ve never gotten to the root of it

The facts around herpes and HPV

How your traumas can impact your health in more ways than you think

What you can do now to support your vaginal and sexual health

The limitations of sex education, how intentional diets can actually heal, listening to our bodies as our biggest teachers and beyond

To round up the month of May and this wild time we’re living in, I wanted to have a candid conversation around this concept that we keep throwing around in society right now as “the new normal”.

“When will life get back to normal?”

“What is normal now?”

What is our world going to look like post COVID? What are WE going to look like? Feel like?

The term new normal is one that might be new to your world — but to mine, it’s permeated through it like a rip tide. I’ve always heard the phrase “new normal” so much in the cancer community. And while I have never personally had cancer, being a woman with BRCA and someone impacted by breast and ovarian cancer genetically, I have connected with so many womxn in the community who are fighting cancer as we speak or are in remission.

I knew I wanted to tackle this on the podcast — especially as many places start to ease up their boundaries around what is or is not safe to do, and I couldn’t have had a better person to have this conversation with than Allison Moran — a dear friend of mine in the breast cancer community and badass human that I am so thrilled to introduce you to.

I’ve never outright talked about shame on the podcast. The things we’re ashamed of — those are always the scariest things to talk about, right?

This may be the most in my feels episode I’ve ever pressed publish on in almost 100 episodes. Which scares the mother f*cking shirt out of me. Which is exactly why I knew I needed to share it. So come as you are, bring a cup of tea or head out on a walk, and join me in the feels. Meet me in the mess. And let’s have a conversation about shame.

I poo-poo’d meditation for the longest time. It was something I didn’t get. I was incredibly intimidated by it. It felt so foreign to me. And the idea of having a meditation practice was (and sometimes still is), something I feel so resistant to.

And if there’s anything I’ve learned, it’s that where we face resistance, is where we need to place our energy and time because THAT is where the massive growth and transformation takes place. And I couldn’t have imagined a more amazing human to bring on the podcast to deep dive into the magic that is all things meditation & breathwork.

MB is a certified breathwork facilitator, meditation guide and holistic wellness coach based in Metro Detroit. She helps you clear through feelings of stress and anxiety using your breath and body to realign you with your highest, most vibrant self. 

Things we talk about in today’s episode:

Her journey from working in ad sales and living a life of burnout to the world of breathwork and meditation

What meditation really is — it’s probably not what you think, love.

How mindfulness and stillness is the path to healing

The discomfort of slowing down

Why these modalities are more important than ever amidst this time

Facing the “feelings explosion” with intention

Finding new ways to express ourselves in quarantine, her Corgi Cooper, supportive feminine practices and beyond

As a worldwide community, when we recorded this, almost 17 million people have experienced a layoff in their jobs as a result of this pandemic. A number which BLEW MY F*CKING MIND and which is wildly unprecedented in the history of the working world.

I never thought I’d have a career strategist on the podcast. We all have jobs so how is that taboo at all? And yet isn’t that the VERY reason it is? We face so many job hardships, and in many ways, our jobs often reflect a big piece of our identities or our daily stressors, and we never f*cking talk about it.

So, today, on the podcast, we’re doing just that. And doing it with the only person I could have imagined having on around this topic, the brilliant and soulful Emily Eliza Moyer.

Emily Eliza Moyer is an Intuitive Career Strategist who teaches unhappy professional women how to heal old wounds, uncover their purpose, and craft strategic career plans so they can build careers they absolutely love.  She shares her transformative approach via 1:1 and group coaching, free workshops and educational content featured on instagram, LinkedIn and through media outlets such as NBC News, Forbes, and The Muse.

Things we talk about in today’s episode:

How our careers define our lives, for better or worse

What the f*ck to do when we are laid off

Work trauma, and how work struggles can impact our mental health and sense of self

How entrepreneurship/non traditional work spaces aren’t necessarily the answer

How the hell to find your purpose

The key to knowing how to make decisions with career, life etc.

What the economy is showing around “job security” and how to cultivate security in your life

Actionable tools to support yourself in this wild time, fear of failure, unemployment, hilarious jobs we’ve had, ridiculous sex stories and beyond

COMING HOME TO OURSELVES ISN’T ABOUT LEARNING SOMETHING NEW OR BECOMING LIKE THEM BECAUSE THEY SEEM TO HAVE IT ALL TOGETHER. IT’S ABOUT STEPPING OUT OF THE CAGE WE’VE BUILT TO KEEP US SMALL AND “ACCEPTABLE” AND UNLEASHING OUR UNAPOLOGETIC SELVES.

In the past few years, I’ve dove off the deep end to radical inner work that has allowed me to break down the boxes I had spent so much of my life living inside (boxes that slowly built around me without me even fucking realizing it because THAT’S WHAT HAPPENS.)

It’s been a journey of unbecoming. Of liberation. Of unapologetically showing up as my true self, facing fear head on and shedding the layers of what was never mine to begin with.

Today’s episode, we deep dive into what that can look like, and how you can use this time to amplify your sense of self instead of lose it.