Most of us have spent years trying to shrink ourselves, and rarely stopped to wonder whether our bodies actually wanted that.

Melanie Richards is the founder of Happy Tree yoga, and the force behind Fuck Skinny, a movement based in reclaiming joy, health, and identity from a culture obsessed with thinness. In this conversation, we talk about what disordered eating really looks like, how clean eating in the name of health and wellness can cause just as much harm, and the quiet devastation of living in a society that tells you that you are not good enough unless you meet its unrealistic beauty standards.

But mostly, we talk about what it means to finally learn to love yourself at any size.

This is a conversation for EveryBody. Literally.

Please note that this is a sensitive topic in which we discuss eating disorders and the devastating potential consequences. Listener discretion is advised.

Melanie's online series starting Monday, April 13: https://onlinecourses.happytreeyoga.com/spring-awakenings

Melanie's website: https://happytreeyoga.com/

Melanie's facebook https://www.facebook.com/melanie.richards.10

The Anti Diet https://christyharrison.com/book-anti-diet-intuitive-eating-christy-harrison

Health at every size: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Health_at_Every_Size

Cindy's website: www.becoached.ca

Beca is a nurse practitioner, yoga teacher, and author of The Third Option, a memoir centered on the final year of her marriage and its unexpected unraveling.

In this thoughtful conversation, Beca and Cindy explore the lessons she learned, the accountability she found in examining her role, and the power of narrative that led her to her liberation.

It's about so much more than the ending of a 17 year relationship. It's about what's on the other side of the choices we are afraid to make.

What makes her perspective compelling is that it's not the typical post-divorce narrative; she's honest, grounded, and surprisingly full of light.

This episode speaks to anyone standing at a crossroads in their relationships, of any kind, and wondering what freedom might look like on the other side of surrender, and what happens when we take responsibility for our own life and happiness instead of leaving it in someone else's hands.

https://atmospherepress.com/books/the-third-option-by-beca-salmon/

Cindy's website; https://www.becoached.ca/

After 22 years in a corporate leadership career, Cindy Schwartz faced the question many people quietly ask themselves: Is this really the life I want?

She made the bold decision to leave the identity she had built and step into something far more uncertain, but far more aligned.

Joined by her dear friends Hilary and Jenn, Cindy shares the honest story behind that leap, unpacking the deeply personal path that brought her here: from childhood loneliness, to becoming the responsible one, to finally surrendering to a more creative and intentional life as a coach and podcast host.

This is the origin story behind the mic.

Book referenced: https://untetheredsoul.com/

Cindy's website: www.becoached.ca