Your Body Knows

Kayla A. Greaves has spent more than a decade working at the intersection of beauty, media, identity, and culture—as a journalist, model, beauty editor, host, speaker, consultant, and product creator. She’s the former Executive Beauty Editor at InStyle, with bylines in Vogue, ELLE, and Allure, and has appeared as a beauty expert on HBO’s The Beauty of Blackness and Netflix’s The Black Beauty Effect.

But our conversation goes beyond beauty.

We talk about what the beauty industry teaches women about their bodies, and what it takes to unlearn some of it. Kayla shares how being a Black woman has shaped her relationship to beauty, visibility, and being seen, and why she’s increasingly interested in a question that ambitious women don’t always ask themselves: What actually feels good?

We also get into achievement, identity, career pivots, becoming a multi-hyphenate, and her work around More Pleasure—and why pleasure can be about so much more than what we typically associate with the word.

It’s a conversation about letting go of constant self-improvement and getting curious about what it means to actually feel at home in your body, your career, and your life.

Connect with Kayla:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kaylaagreaves/?hl=en
• Substack: https://morepleasure.substack.com/

Connect with me:

• Join Gathered: https://www.shanettamcdonald.com/gathered
• Book your exploratory call: https://calendly.com/shanetta-mcdonald/15min?back=1
• Work with me: https://www.shanettamcdonald.com/coaching 
• Newsletter sign-up: https://shanetta.substack.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/iamshanettamcdonald/

Feeling like your life has gotten a little too full? In this episode, I’m talking about the art of editing your life and taking an honest look at what’s taking up your time, energy, and attention and deciding what still belongs.

I talk about letting go of commitments you’ve outgrown, making more room for relationships that actually feel good, and getting a little more intentional about what gets access to your brain.

I’ll also share why I created Gathered, a new community for women who happen to be mothers, and why I think creating more meaningful connection is part of editing your life, too.

Connect with me:

• Join Gathered: https://www.shanettamcdonald.com/gathered
• Book your exploratory call: https://calendly.com/shanetta-mcdonald/15min?back=1
• Work with me: https://www.shanettamcdonald.com/coaching 
• Newsletter sign-up: https://shanetta.substack.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/iamshanettamcdonald/

What if caring for your hair could be a form of caring for yourself?

In this conversation, I’m joined by trichologist Bridgette Hill to talk about hair as a form of embodiment and what our relationship with our hair can reveal about our relationship with our bodies.

We talk about the ways hair can connect us to identity, self-perception, and the experience of being in our bodies. Bridgette also shares what it has meant to inhabit a “new body” after the loss of her husband, and how grief can change the way we relate to ourselves.

We also get practical about hair care: how slowing down, paying attention, and tending to our hair can become a ritual of self-care rather than another thing on our to-do list.

It’s a conversation about hair, grief, identity, and the many ways we learn to care for ourselves through our bodies.

Connect with me:

• Book your exploratory call: https://calendly.com/shanetta-mcdonald/15min?back=1
• Work with me: https://www.shanettamcdonald.com/coaching 
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/iamshanettamcdonald/
• Newsletter sign-up: https://shanetta.substack.com/

What happens when you realize you're no longer the person you used to be, but you aren't entirely sure who you're becoming?

As I approach 41, I've been thinking a lot about transition and the strange space between old versions of ourselves and whatever comes next. In this episode, I'm talking about the grief that can come with outgrowing parts of your life, why missing who you used to be doesn't necessarily mean you want to go back, and what I'm learning about letting go of the need to have everything figured out.

Because maybe the goal isn't to know exactly what's next. Maybe it's learning to trust yourself enough to move through the uncertainty.

Connect with me:

• Book your exploratory call: https://calendly.com/shanetta-mcdonald/15min?back=1
• Work with me: https://www.shanettamcdonald.com/coaching 
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/iamshanettamcdonald/
• Newsletter sign-up: https://shanetta.substack.com/

In this episode host, Shanetta McDonald sits down with writer, creator, cultural critic, and novelist Danielle Prescod to talk about beauty, identity, ambition, and what happens when we stop treating our bodies like problems to solve.

Danielle has spent more than 15 years working in fashion and beauty, and her writing has explored the ways race, representation, and cultural expectations shape how we see ourselves. In her memoir Token Black Girl, she writes candidly about her relationship with her body, disordered eating, perfectionism, and the pressure to become more acceptable. Now, with her debut novel The Rules of Fortune, she’s entering a new chapter of her creative life.

We talk about what her body was communicating before she was ready to listen, redefining success beyond achievement and perfection, navigating industries and spaces that weren’t necessarily built with you in mind, and what it means to trust yourself through major transitions. Danielle also shares what fiction has allowed her to explore that memoir couldn’t—and what it looks like to finally feel at home in your body.

Be sure to subscribe, leave a review, and share this episode with a friend! It helps more women discover the show, and helps us build this community together.

Connect with me:

• Book your exploratory call: https://calendly.com/shanetta-mcdonald/15min?back=1
• Work with me: https://www.shanettamcdonald.com/coaching 
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/iamshanettamcdonald/
• Newsletter sign-up: https://shanetta.substack.com/

After a brief hiatus, Your Body Knows is back, and so am I!

In this relaunch episode, I'm sharing what has changed in my work, why I renamed the podcast, and what I've been hearing over and over again from women on coaching calls.

Women are telling me they're overwhelmed, exhausted, disconnected from themselves, and wondering why the life they've worked so hard to build doesn't feel sustainable anymore. We'll unpack what's really happening beneath the surface, why more productivity isn't the answer, and how nervous system regulation, self-trust, and intentional life design can help you create a life that actually feels manageable.

I'll also share more about my coaching approach, the different ways we can work together, and give you a sneak peek at some incredible guests coming up this season.

In this episode, we cover:

• Why I renamed the podcast Your Body Knows
• What I'm seeing with women in coaching right now
• The hidden causes of burnout and overwhelm
• Why self-trust matters more than self-improvement
• How I help women break old patterns and create lasting change
• What's coming up this season

If you enjoyed this episode, subscribe, leave a review, and share it with a friend. It helps more women discover the show, and helps us build this community together.

Connect with me:

• Book your exploratory call: https://calendly.com/shanetta-mcdonald/15min?back=1
• Work with me: https://www.shanettamcdonald.com/coaching 
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/iamshanettamcdonald/
• Newsletter sign-up: https://shanetta.substack.com/

In this episode, I’m joined by writer, creator, and guide Melanie Santos for a conversation about embodiment, intention, and what it really means to come home to yourself.

We talk about Melanie’s journey from disconnection and navigating mental health struggles in silence to building a body of work rooted in presence, integration, and everyday healing. And together, we explore the tension between spirituality and real life, the pressure to perform wellness instead of live it, and how identity, culture, motherhood, grief, and transformation shape the way we access ourselves.

This conversation is an invitation to slow down, reconnect, and consider what it looks like for your life to become the work.

Connect with me:

• Book your Clarity Call: https://www.shanettamcdonald.com/somatic-coaching
• Resources: https://www.shanettamcdonald.com/free 
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/iamshanettamcdonald/
• Newsletter sign-up: https://shanetta.substack.com/

This week, I’m unpacking the “work harder and you’ll succeed” narrative and why it keeps missing the mark.

I break down the real reason this messaging doesn’t land for so many women, especially Black women and mothers. Spoiler, we aren't lacking ambition or discipline. But we are lacking acknowledgment around capacity.

I explore what capacity actually means, how your nervous system impacts your ability to follow through, and why one-size-fits-all success advice often leads to burnout, shame, and self-doubt. I also share practical ways to start working with your capacity instead of constantly overriding it.

This Sunday, May 3rd in LA, I'm also Gathered: Sunday In The Park a free event for moms where we slow down, regulate the nervous system, and intentionally enter the week ahead together. RSVP here.

Connect with me:

• Resources: https://www.shanettamcdonald.com/free 
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/iamshanettamcdonald/
• Newsletter sign-up: https://shanetta.substack.com/

In this episode, I’m sharing a bit about the season I’m currently in and how it’s reflecting the same patterns I’m seeing with my clients.

I also talk about the truth behind feeling “stuck,” why you probably already know what you want, and what actually gets in the way of going after it.

Lastly, I'm opening up a few 1:1 coaching spots, beginning in April. Apply here.

Connect with me:

• Resources: https://www.shanettamcdonald.com/free 
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/iamshanettamcdonald/
• Newsletter sign-up: https://shanetta.substack.com/

For National Eating Disorder Awareness Week (NEDA), we’re going beyond awareness and into accountability.

Today’s guest, Akiera Holloway-Gilbert, is a national speaker, mental health leader, and CEO of Project HEAL, the leading U.S. organization dedicated to equitable mental healthcare for people struggling with eating disorders. Under her leadership, Project HEAL has delivered millions of dollars in services, including free treatment placement for individuals who otherwise would not have access to care. Her work has been recognized by outlets like Forbes, Fortune, TIME, NBC, Refinery29, CNN, Yahoo, and The Washington Post.

Before stepping into her current role, Akiera founded Body Reborn to support BIPOC communities navigating mental health challenges. She also serves as a Board Member of the Eating Disorders Coalition, advancing federal mental health legislation and fighting for systemic change.

In our convo, we talk about what it means to lead in close proximity to suffering.
How access to care is shaped by race, class, and policy. The emotional weight of advocating for change in systems that resist it. And how to hold rigor and humanity at the same time.

This episode is about justice, who gets to be seen and what real healing requires, both individually and collectively.

I’m also introducing No More Sunday Scaries, a free weekly space where we slow down, regulate the nervous system, and intentionally enter the week ahead together.

Sign-up {HERE}

Connect with me:

• Resources: https://www.shanettamcdonald.com/free 
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/iamshanettamcdonald/
• Newsletter sign-up: https://shanetta.substack.com/