The Alissa Alter Show

Picture this: Your dream comes true, you've been chosen to stand center stage for the dance recital. You know all the steps, your costume fits great, you are the shortest kid in class, and now you are exactly where you were born to be. Center stage. After the teacher writes down the formation for next week when inevitably half the class forgets their spots – not you, of course. You turn to your friends and they cross their arms and turn their backs. They're mad at you for being placed center stage. Has this ever happened to you? A situation where your success cost you love? It may not have been your dance recital, but most of us have experienced something similar. Women have been conditioned to compete against each other in every area of life and all it's doing is hurting us. Keeping us down. Keeping us separated from each other because they know we are stronger together. Let's leave fear behind, stop being scared to shine, and start being strong together. Learn more about Alissa, what she does, and why she does it over at www.alissa-alter.com and follow her on IG @alissaalter. Her first book Unstuck: From Understudy To The Study Of Your Undercarriage is available on Amazon Kindle and the Kindle app.

Lindsey Vestal is the founder of The Functional Pelvis, the first in-home pelvic health practice in New York City run by an Occupational Therapist.

She has helped thousands of people overcome chronic pelvic health challenges like incontinence and pelvic pain. Her goal is to empower women and men to listen to the wisdom of their own bodies—without resorting to invasive surgeries or prescription drugs—so they can heal and get back to enjoying life again.

SHE TAKES A DIFFERENT APPROACH FROM OTHER PELVIC HEALTH EXPERTS.

She considers the whole person, not just outward physical symptoms.

She doesn't believe kegels are a one-stop shop for every pelvic floor dysfunction.

And Alissa feels the same way.

To receive Lindsey's refreshing newsletter about all things core and pelvic floor, go here. Learn more about Alissa, what she does, and why she does it at www.alissa-alter.com and follow her on IG @alissaalter.

As much as we will try to be the generation that does it perfectly, we are all going to f*ck up our kids somehow. I know I'm dedicated to doing it differently than my parents did, but I'm not denying it will happen.

And today's podcast guest Susanna Merrick, founder of Aura Wear, agrees. In this episode she shares about her upbringing as the only girl of six children raised in a culty household with a mother who ruled with an iron fist. And now as Susanna approaches motherhood herself, she's bringing herself and her inner child a ton of compassion and healing with color. We all have a mother wound and as mothers we are going to wound others.

Susanna is a highly sought after Intuitive Energy Reader, Stylist and Spiritual Coach. Aura Wear is a method and brand that focuses on self-expression through color, fashion, and wellness. Her work has been featured in Goop, Elle Magazine, Well and Good, and Vanity Fair. Susanna's mission is to empower those to take the reigns of their self-expression through their personal style and spiritual practices.

Follow her on IG @aurawearnyc and visit her website www.aurawearnyc.com to learn more about her work and offerings. Make sure to listen to the end of the episode where she shares about a special offer.

Learn more about Alissa, what she does, and why she does it? Visit www.alissa-alter.com and follow her on IG @alissaalter

We've been playing this pandemic game of life for a while now. And I feel numb inside. I'm hungover and I'm pissed. I'm tired of having the same conversations on repeat. I'm tired of assessing risk. I'm numb from numbing and wondering WTf do we do next? Where do we go from here? In this episode I talk about how all of this relates to my relationship with alcohol and how we are on a break right now and what I'm doing to counteract feeling dead inside. Hint: It has something to do with things that make me feel ALIVE! It's rough out there so let's get together and feel alright. Click here to check out the shownotes and follow Alissa on IG @alissaalter. Want to learn more about Alissa, what she does, and why she does it? Visit www.alissa-alter.com

This keeps coming up and we can't talk about it enough; why do we so often wait until motherhood to find and own our worth? I mean, we know why (hint: all of the systems in place to keep women small and quiet) and still, it is our work now to create new systems for the next generation. And what does that require? It required us to opt out of garbage, reparent ourselves, and own our f*cking worth. Warning: I say at least TWO very smart things in this episode. Ryanne, our guest, says more than two smart things. Today's guest Ryanne Glasper is very special to me. I first met Ryanne when I hurt back in 2013. She then treated me for whatever injuries I got from whatever show I was in and she was the first person I told out loud that I was going to be filing for divorce. She's since moved out of NYC which breaks my heart, but I worked with her virtually to recover from my birth injury physically and emotionally. Learn more about Ryanne at Ryannetanae.com and check out the show notes to learn more about her and her amazing work. Want to learn more about me , what I do, and why I do it? Go to www.alissa-alter.com and follow me on IG @alissaalter Alright, let's do this!

I was 16 the first time I had a teacher talk about transitions. The way that we connect movements, steps, positions are what make dancing dancing and not classroom exercises. The dancing happens in the transitions. In this episode I share a few words of wisdom from my beloved ballet teacher Kat Wildish including, "Transitions are expensive." They're expensive because to have the control, musicality, sensitivity, and awareness to make them seamless takes years of training. Time, discipline, blood, sweat, and tears. And she's so freaking right. Our breath naturally transitions easily from inhale to exhale. Day transitions to night. We've transitioned from 2021 to 2022. So let's dance our way into this new year. One breath at a time. To learn more about Alissa, what she does, and why she does it, visit www.alissa-alter.com. Want to support Alissa's work? Subscribe and share this podcast! Follow me on IG @alissaalter and join my email list.

Anyone else get married feeling like check! Did it! Now that that's taken care of, can we carry on? A real air of "my work here is done"?

I know I did.

In hindsight, I see that is exactly how I entered into my first marriage. We had built the house, moved in, and then never took care of it. Ignored cracks in the walls, peeling paint, a leaking roof, water in the basement, etc. You get the picture.

Today we talk to Paula Espinosa Valarezo about how she and her husband are both actively engaged in building an EPIC partnership, how they do it, and how they approached becoming parents with this in mind. By keeping THEIR partnership central to the equation.

Paula Espinosa Valarezo (She/Her) is the mom of a one-and-a-half-year-old amazing baby girl. She is a Copywriter and Brand Strategist at Serious. Business by day, and short story writer by night (her favorite character to write is her own mom). Paula is a Women Deliver Young Leader, Positive Discipline coach in-training, and proud team member of PSTPRTM. She is passionate about conscious parenting, empathy driven-partnerships, equal co-parenting, and making marriage feel like home. Paula is an Ecuadorian living and mothering in beautiful Munich, Germany. Follow her on IG @paulaespinosavalarezo.

Learn more about Alissa, what she does, and why she does it over at www.alissa-alter.com.

I love feedback. I love seeing and hearing how I show up in the world. Because I can't see myself. I know what's going on inside me, but have no clue what that looks like in action. In my writing class I told a story about my fears and anxieties before my second wedding and how the stress led to an eye injury that's hilarious. I thought that was the part of the story that was special. But after sharing in class, it was reflected back to me that the part of the story that was compelling wasn't the black eye (you'll have to listen to learn more), but the self doubts I had about marrying Jeremy. No doubts in Jeremy. Lots of doubt in myself. Because I'd been married before and made a whole slew of mistakes. How could I be sure I wasn't messing up again? How could I be sure Jeremy really loved me and wouldn't abandon me? How could I be sure that my trauma and baggage wouldn't pollute this? Us? Him? Through the feedback I got to "hear" my story in a new way. I now understand my experience and myself in a deeper way. Because something I thought was unremarkable turned out to be quite remarkable. So I wonder...what else am I missing? Anyway, the episode is really good and listen to the end because I have a BIG ANNOUNCEMENT! Learn more about me, what I do, and why I do it at www.alissa-alter.com and follow on IG @alissaalter

We've got our first DAD on the show! Andy Kingman and I talk about the effects of becoming parents on marriage, friendships, and gender roles. I've known Andy since college so having this open conversation felt so good and so safe. He and his wife Amy (one of my best friends) were together for ~10 years before having their daughter.

Andy shares on how the relationship capital they had built over that time gave them a bit of a cushion to support their postpartum experience. We come from a similar perspective of wanting to change internalized, perceived, and assumed gender roles for our children. And we do this by being curious ourselves and building up relationship capital with our children too.

Make sure to listen until the end when Andy blows my mind. And check out the shownotes here. Learn more about Alissa at www.alissa-alter.com and follow her on IG @alissaalter.