As we turn the page to the New Year, I find it valuable to spend some time reflecting. I like to consider the good, the bad, the fun times and the challenges that each year brings.

In the podcast this week, I share some of these reflections and I hope you will be inspired to take your own look back.

Here are some of the highlights, challenges and lessons from 2023:

• My community grew by 700%. That means I get to help more people on their AF journey.
• We got a puppy!
• I was diagnosed with an autoimmune condition mid-summer
• While addressing one health challenge, I have the opportunity to discover new ways to support my overall health.
• Connection continues to be the number one thing my audience and community are seeking
• It's never too late to make new friends!

and more in the episode and the shownotes!

Show Notes Here

Your invitation to '24 for 24' HERE

BONUS EPISODE!

This is a podcast I recorded for The Results without Restriction health podcast. My friend Laurie Mallon wanted to talk about Dry January. Here are some of the highlights

• How not to fall into the Jan. 31 - Feb. 1 trap
• The importance of community
• Why setting an intention is the first step
• Redefining success

Plus, I share my top 3 tips to embrace this Dry January.

My favorite community to spend January with? The Live Alcohol Experiment by This Naked Mind. Join by January 1st

Full Show Notes HERE

Much of this alcohol-free journey involves figuring out how to make it easier for us. After all, if becoming and staying aFree is completely miserable, will we really achieve lasting change? For many of us, the connection between food and alcohol is deeply embedded.

Dr. Brooke Scheller has the answer and the book to help you do just that. "How to Eat to Change How You Drink" lays out the nuts and bolts of using nutrition as an inside track to not only drink less (or not at all) but to feel your best while cutting back. 

Dr. Brooke first appeared on the podcast in May 2022 where we talked about alcohol and nutrition. In this episode we go deeper, touching on:

• The holistic approach to sobriety
• Why supplements alone don't work
• The 'every day' effect of drinking alcohol
• And more...

Full Show Notes HERE

There's still time to join '24 for 24' a FREE community event to create your 2024 with fun and intention! Register HERE

The more I learn about the mind-body connection, the more I want to know about harnessing the power of bodywork to better serve my clients.

This is where my friend and fellow coach Brandi Babb comes in. She is currently a somatic experience therapist in training. This means she is in tune with how and where the body stores trauma and stress, and how releasing these trauma and stress responses, through bodywork, can help us toward peace and wholeness. 

The most common and straightforward form of somatic therapy is known as somatic experience therapy. In this therapy, patients discuss their problems as in other forms of mental wellness therapy. Rather than just talk about them, somatic therapists guide patients to focus on their underlying physical sensations. From there, the mind-body exercises may include breath work, meditation, visualization, massage, grounding, dance, and/or sensation awareness work.

In this episode of the podcast, Brandi shares her personal journey with somatic therapy and the methodology she is learning through the work of Dr. Peter Levine.

We talked about:

• Who might benefit from this therapy?
• Nervous System Regulation 
• Understanding the 'freeze state'
• How alcohol shows up as a 'state changer'
• Noticing our own bodily responses
• Self-regulation and self-resourcing: expanding capacity
• Her personal journey with an eating disorder
• The brain, safety and emotional regulation

Show Notes HERE

I wanted to take some time today to introduce myself, or re-introduce myself to all of you. As my business has evolved, I realize there are many of you who have jumped into the middle of my story while some of you have been here from the very beginning.

It struck me, as I was thinking about this, that we all have a 'sober evolution'. Just as we evolve throughout our lives, we grow as aFree humans. And, being an entrepreneur in this space, my business has its own 'evolution'. For some coaches and business owners in this sober space,  they offer one thing. For me, I love to create new offers, try new things and think of new and creative ways to connect with all of you!

This episodes highlights some of the evolutions in my life and business since becoming aFree. I think it's fair to say that everything has changed. While I used to be wary of change, now I love the freedom to become more authentically me! 

I believe living alcohol-free allows each of us to evolve and to continue to evolve as we embrace the possibilites of being fully alive!

Show Notes Here

Connect with Teri Here

Here come the holidays, ready or not!!

On the podcast today I share a few tips from my original "Navigating the Holidays Sober" guide. Tune in and then grab your copy of the guide.

Some tips include:

• Make your own plans: consider going late and leaving early. You may choose to stay in a hotel vs. with family. You are in charge - and you deserve to protect your energy (and your sobriety).
• Escape Hatch: ideas to remove yourself if things become hard to handle. And, what to do to come back into your body.
• Manage your thoughts: this is key to creating a flow and ease to any event. Reminder: ask for what you want, not what you don't want. Where our attention goes, energy flows.

Each of us will be in a different place this year. Honor your place. You might be just navigating the first few days without alcohol and using some willpower to get through; honor this. You might be a few months in and feeling solid, but the stress and familiarity of the holidays might hit a little hard - honor that.

Wherever you are, don't beat yourself up if you have a drinking thought. Your brain is likely trying to protect you by offering what used to be a balm. And, it's a relief to remember that 'thinking is not drinking'. Know that you are practicing how to navigate the holidays without booze. It will be easier each time you do it but the first time is likely not pretty. That's okay.

Your free Holiday Survival Guide HERE

Show Notes HERE

Sometimes, everything falls apart. We can be fraying at the edges for a long time, using alcohol as the 'duct tape' to hold everything together and one day, it's not enough.

My guest on the podcast today, Allison Barber, shares her story, which includes a debilitating injury, a crumbling marriage and a rocky relationship happening all at once. To find her way out, Allison chose one brave step. From this place, she began the work of healing from 'the inside out'. And today, she shares her message with others who are struggling with taking that first step toward healing.

Highlights from this episode:

• When your world gets smaller
• Our value is not tied to our struggles or our choices
• The freedom of choosing NOT to drink
• To stop drinking entirely was never the goal
• The decision to take 100% responsibility for self
• The pain of conflicting values
• Letting go of control
• No better time than midlife to stop drinking

Show Notes Here Stop Drinking Now HERE

Free month of book club HERE

Would you like to be 'better than before'? I think for many of us this is the appeal  of an alcohol-free life; we want our circumstances to improve. 

Today, I share the work of Gretchen Rubin who wrote the book, Better Than Before. This book is about habits but most importantly it's about knowing oneself better than before. Rubin makes a convincing point that in order to establish habits that last, we must build habits that are based on who we are now. I agree - when we try to adopt the habits of someone else, we often find it difficult. If we start with self-knowledge we are much more likely to succeed in creating lasting change. 

In the podcast today, I share the Habit Manifesto that Rubin created and also offer real life examples of where these principles can help us create an alcohol-free life, and do it with more ease!

THANK YOU! This is gratitude season and I want to share how grateful I am for all of you and your support. As a gift, you are invited to join The Sober Edge Book Club (women only) for free for the month of December. 

Show Notes

Book Club Offer and Code

I caught up with my friend and fellow coach Megan Webb on the podcast this week. We talked about her ‘Festival of Fifty’ as she celebrated her milestone birthday with friends and family. Megan shares how awkward she would have felt in the past having the attention focused on her and how amazed she was at enjoying Karaoke without a cocktail in hand. Megan also shares her excitement to be entering midlife knowing that she can now create a beautiful second act!

Megan also shared her very real struggle with speaking in public and how she used to use alcohol to overcome this phobia. Megan is honest about the level of anxiety she used to feel, and how the alcohol she thought was helping her get through it was actually creating more anxiety. Megan is passionate about helping women leave alcohol behind so they can speak their own truth. 

With her coaching business and her new podcast “Not drinking today” Megan is helping women everywhere learn that no alcohol is required!

Show Notes HERE

When Amber Graziano stopped drinking she didn’t know anyone who didn’t drink. But, she did know she liked to run and that other runners might be non-drinkers, or other non-drinkers might want to try running. So she decided to start a sober running group.

On the podcast, Amber shares that the first 5 people who joined her Facebook group included her mom and best friend but gradually, through word of mouth, the group began to grow and today there are over 2000 members.

A powerful part of our after-alcohol journey is channeling our energy into new areas that help us grow - physically, emotionally, spiritually and mentally. Amber believes that running and the Recovery Road Runners group helps with all of that, while also offering a recovery community. 

Amber shares the gifts she has found by running in recovery, including: more confidence, letting go of excuses, and the mantra “one mile at a time”.

In addition to an in-person running group, a Facebook community, RRR also offers a non-profit foundation, coaching and retreats. 

Sign up for The Sober Summit: Holiday Edition HERE

Full Show Notes HERE