Memoir Body, Healing Story with Janelle Hardy

It's episode #144 and I'm chatting with Celia McBride, a Canadian multi-disciplinary artist originally from the Yukon, now living in Port Hope. As a playwright, Celia's work was developed by numerous theatre companies in Canada (infinitheatre, Nightwood, Factory), and produced internationally by Red Kettle Theatre (Ireland) and Looking Glass Theatre (New York). She was commissioned by the Stratford Festival of Canada for the Studio Theatre's inaugural season, and Walk Right Up premiered there in 2002. From 2005-2011, Celia was the Co-Artistic Director of Sour Brides Theatre, touring her play So Many Doors (Playwrights Canada Press) across Canada. In 2015, she released a feature film, Last Stop for Miles, adapted from one of her first plays. Since 2014, Celia has been working as a spiritual director and providing spiritual care in long-term care homes. She published O My God: An Un-Becoming Journey, a memoir, in 2022. It was so lovely to connect with Celia, and I'm pretty sure you'll enjoy listening in. Website: celiamcbride.com

It's episode #143 and I'm chatting with Victoria Albina, Nurse Practitioner with a Master's Degree in Public Health. This was such a great conversation! Victoria is intelligent, deep, knowledgeable and wise.  We talked about how to identify when you're defaulting to perfectionism and people-pleasing, what the term 'somatics' means to her, what tipping points are like (the shift from thinking your feelings to feeling your feelings) and got into the fun stuff - all the 'nerditry and all the woo'. More about Victoria: she coaches codependent folks socialized as women to stop feeling anxious, exhausted and overwhelmed, so they can have better relationships with their partners, parents, and themselves. She does this because she knows this - she spent the first 30 years of her life stuck in codependent and perfectionist thinking. Being mean to herself, often without even realizing it. Demanding "perfection" from herself, not knowing that she was already perfect and worthy of love (just like you). Victoria is also a Master Certified Life Coach, and trained with The Life Coach School, the best boutique program in the country. She's a certified Breathwork Journey Meditation Facilitator, and she's experienced, having worked in health and wellness internationally as well as in the US, for 20 years. It was so lovely to connect with Victoria, and I'm pretty sure you'll enjoy listening in. Website:  Victoria Albina

It's episode #142 and I'm offering you a body-based writing prompt that sources from your nipples. We all have them! Take in the exploration, then set a timer and flow write for somewhere between 5 and 20 minutes. See what arises. Enjoy!  And, for more offerings like this, including my transformational, body-centric memoir-writing course, The Art of Personal Mythmaking, go to my website, janellehardy.com.

It's episode #141 and I'm telling you an Irish fairy tale, The Brewery of Eggshells. If this story resonates with you, I really encourage you to read and listen to a few different versions, and make the story your own. Then stick around after the story for some guidance on working with tales like this, and your personal stories, and then, to start your own personal mythmaking get started with my free on-demand workshop, Outline Your Memoir Using Fairy Tale and Myth as Your Guide.

It's episode #140 and I'm chatting with Nicole Breit, a writer and the founder of Spark Your Story, an online writing school. I met Nicole online when she reached out to connect over our shared love of writing, teaching writing, and the challenges and delights of marketing and teaching writing courses online, from Canada.   So, here's some more about Nicole. She's an award-winning essayist, poet, and writing instructor based on the traditional, unceded territory of the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh people in Gibsons, BC.   She holds a B.A. in English Literature (UVIC), graduating with distinction in 1996; a B.Ed. in 1999 (UBC); and a Certificate in Foundations of Narrative Therapy (2020).   Nicole's writing explores themes of grief and healing in lyric narratives about her identity as a queer femme, as well as varied experiences of personal loss.   Her work has been widely published in literary journals and anthologies including Brevity, Pithead Chapel, Event, Hippocampus, Room, The Fiddlehead, The Puritan, After the Art, The Sounds of Silence: Journeys Through Miscarriage,  and Swelling with Pride: Queer Conception and Adoption Stories.   In 2016 Nicole was the winner of the CNFC/carte blanche creative nonfiction award – the same year she won Room magazine's CNF prize for her essay, "An Atmospheric Pressure" (selected as a Notable by the editors of Best American Essays 2017).   Her online programs center on empowerment, helping authors develop tools to move past blocks and get their difficult stories on the page as they experiment with non-traditional and hybrid storytelling structures.   When she isn't coaching memoir writers in the Spark Your Story Lab, testing chocolate or watching This Is Us, she loves spending time at home with her wife and two kids.   It was so lovely to connect with Nicole, and I'm pretty sure you'll enjoy listening in.   Website:  Spark Your Story

It's episode #139 and I'm offering you a body-based writing prompt that sources from your hands.  Take in the exploration, then set a timer and flow write for somewhere between 5 and 20 minutes. See what arises. Enjoy!  And, for more offerings like this, including my transformational, body-centric memoir-writing course, The Art of Personal Mythmaking, go to my website, janellehardy.com.

 It's episode #138 and I'm telling you the fairy tale of The Juniper Tree, from the Grimm's Brother's collection.  Sit back and enjoy having a story told to you. Let your body and your soul soak up the essence of the story magic and medicine. Stick around after the story for some guidance on working with tales like this, and your personal stories, and then, to start your own personal mythmaking get started with my free on-demand workshop, Outline Your Memoir Using Fairy Tale and Myth as Your Guide.

Michelle Boyd, PhD, is the founder of InkWell Academic Writing Retreats, a transformative, retreat-based training program that teaches scholars to overcome their writing fears. I met Michelle through a personal introduction via Tara McMullin's small business What Works Network. Someone there thought I'd like Michelle and her work, and they were completely right. Michelle is a kindred spirit and does wonderful work in the world. I'm so delighted to share a conversation that traverses (and helps me heal) the world of academia and academic writing, making the switch to entrepreneurship and supporting aspiring writers. Michelle also shared a bit about her affirming experience at an HBCU (historically black university), which, for me as a white Canadian, was a new learning. So, before I give too much more of our conversation away, I'll share more about Michelle and her accomplishments, and then jump into our conversation. Michelle is an award-winning writer, a former tenured faculty member, and the founder of InkWell Academic Writing Retreats, where she specializes in helping stuck, scared scholars free themselves from fear and build a satisfying, sustainable writing practice. She has been leading scholarly writing retreats since she was a faculty member in 2012, when she co-founded and coached a dissertation writing retreat for graduate students studying race and ethnicity. Three years later, Michelle left academia and founded InkWell, and has since helped hundreds of scholars—from all ranks and a wide range of institutions and inter/disciplines—move past their anxieties, reconnect with their writing, and develop a calmer, more confident, more productive writing practice. Michelle has received many honors for her scholarly, nonfiction, and audio work. Her book Jim Crow Nostalgia: Reconstructing Race in Bronzeville was a Finalist for the 2006 SSHA President's Book Award and winner of the 2008 Race, Ethnicity and Politics Section Best Book Award from the American Political Science Association.  Her essay Backpack was a Finalist for the 2015 Columbia Journal Writing Contest. And along with co-producer Erica Meiners, she won the 2013 Lux/Lumina Multimedia Audio Essay Contest for their audio essay Reconstructions. In addition, ​Michelle is a self-described struggling writer whose success as a writer and scholar belies the challenges she faces throughout her career as an academic. Michelle knows what it's like to have no time to write, to procrastinate when there is time, and to struggle when the writing is going nowhere.  Better yet, she knows—from experience and research—that successful scholars write from the inside out: they turn inward to discover their own writing process. So they can find the calm and courage they need to stay connected to their writing.  Her book Becoming the Writer You Already Are is forthcoming with SAGE in 2022. It was so lovely to connect with Michelle, and I'm pretty sure you'll enjoy listening in. Website:  InkWell Academic Writing Retreats Book: Becoming the Writer You Already Are

It's episode #136 and I'm offering you a body-based writing prompt that sources from your eyes. There are so many directions I could take the prompt of eyes in. I can't do all of them in one prompt, so there may be another eye writing prompt at some point. Fun fun! Take in the exploration, then set a timer and flow write for somewhere between 5 and 20 minutes. See what arises. Enjoy!  And, for more offerings like this, including my transformational, body-centric memoir-writing course, The Art of Personal Mythmaking, go to my website, janellehardy.com.

It's episode #135 and I'm telling you another fairy tale that my Personal Mythmaking students often choose to work with. It's the tale of Beauty and the Beast, which has a long and complicated folkloric history.  And although there are tales of brides and animal grooms from all over the world, the first written version of Beauty and the Beast came from 1740, in French. La Belle et La Bête, by Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Gallon de Villeneuve. This version has become the standard version of the tale so many of us know.  And since it's one that's often chosen, I'm going to stick with this classic version, but if the story resonates with you, I really encourage you to read and listen to a few different versions, and make the story your own. Then stick around after the story for some guidance on working with tales like this, and your personal stories, and then, to start your own personal mythmaking go to my website at www.janellehardy.com to get started with my free on-demand workshop, Outline Your Memoir Using Fairy Tale and Myth as Your Guide.

Dr. Sara Cleto, from Atlanta, Georgia, and Dr. Brittany Warman, from Warrenton, Virginia, are award-winning folklorists, teachers, and writers.  As if that's not enough, they founded The Carterhaugh School of Folklore and the Fantastic in 2016, where they teach creative souls how to re-enchant their lives through folklore and fairy tales. Click, click, click. As usual, I found Sara and Brittany because I'm insatiably curious and am also deeply devoted to procrastination and avoidance of whatever I 'should' be doing by doing 'research' instead.  This 'research' looks like virtuous 'prep' for programs that are already set up. So, confession over, I simply enjoy exploring ideas and people out there in the world, and the internet makes it outrageously easy to waste time indulging in my curiosity. In this case, I'm grateful. Sara and Brittany are fellow story-lovers and kindred spirits, and as eclectically curious and entrepreneurial as me. Here's a little more about them and their school: They both earned their PhDs in English and Folklore from The Ohio State University in 2018 and their MAs from George Mason University in 2012, two of the best folklore programs in the US, and together they have a combined 26 years in higher education and over three dozen publications. In 2019, The Carterhaugh School of Folklore and the Fantastic received the Dorothy Howard Prize from the Folklore and Education Section of the American Folklore Society, an award that honors those who "us[e] folklore in educational settings in rich and meaningful ways […] both within and outside the classroom" - they praised Carterhaugh as "a folk school for the digital age." An online center for classes on topics like fairy tales, legends, and more, Carterhaugh is also a community of people who love the magic of folklore. Together, Sara and Brittany have authored over three dozen publications - non-fiction, fiction, and poetry - in such venues as Marvels & Tales: Journal of Fairy-Tale Studies, Gramarye, Uncanny Magazine, Enchanted Living, Mythic Delirium, and many more.  They're also devoted cat minions, gif masters, obsessed with chai, and 100% B.F.F.s of more than a decade. They love red lipstick, decadent Gothic novels, and totally crush "Total Eclipse of the Heart" at karaoke.  It was so lovely to connect with Sara and Brittany, and I'm pretty sure you'll enjoy listening in. Website: http://www.carterhaughschool.com Freebie: https://carterhaughschool.com/carterhaugh-folk-magic/ Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/carterhaughschool

In this brief episode, I offer you a body-based writing prompt that sources from your brain teeth. You know, that part of you that 'chews on words'. Take in the exploration, then set and timer and flow write for somewhere between 5 and 20 minutes. See what arises. Enjoy! And then, for more guidance on somatic body writing, personal transformation and memoir-writing, go to my website, janellehardy.com to get started.

I'm telling you a fairy tale, one that is often chosen by my Personal Mythmaking students. It's the tale of Red Riding Hood, from the Tales of the Brothers Grimm. And since it's one that's often chosen, I'm reading this classic version, but if the story resonates with you, I really encourage you to read and listen to a few different versions, and make the story your own. I had fond memories of watching this story come to life on the stage of my daughter's Grade 8 class. Each of her classmates stepped into their role, and my daughter relished the wildly wicked and lascivious version of the Wolf.  What a delight to watch, a young woman getting a chance to step into the theatrical shoes of a predator, a 'bad guy', rather than be the prey (although, of course, someone else was in the role of prey, of Little Red). Stick around after the story for some guidance on working with tales like this, and your personal stories, and then, to start your own personal mythmaking go to my website at www.janellehardy.com to get started with my free on-demand workshop, Outline Your Memoir Using Fairy Tale and Myth as Your Guide.

Molly Pennington, PhD, is a consulting astrologer and award-winning writer.  I'm truly excited to share this conversation with Molly because she is, hands down, one of the most incredible writers I know, and I can't wait for her to get her memoir published so I can read it and share it with as many people as possible.  She's also a phenomenal astrologer, deep thinker, and someone who delights in learning. In fact, Molly is also an alumni of my transformational memoir-writing course, The Art of Personal Mythmaking. She's taken it twice, and we talk some about her experiences in my course and how it's supported her memoir writing but also her healing path. But first, a little more about Molly. And, soak it up. It's her bio, written by herself, so although I'm reading it, it's all Molly's wordplay… Molly always wanted to be a writer and she suspects she was a real one long before she dared admit to it. As a child, she fell in love with books and reading. She wanted to know the true personality of every member of the alphabet and contemplate why and how a good pun could shimmer.  Eventually, she became a writer by trade, and brazenly enjoyed her skilled affront to all things literary as she composed zip-tinsel copy for products she could never care about while churning out listicles, sometimes for the more futile periodicals slumming in the back corners of the internet. She has worked in most of the ways a keyed-up logophile will: editor, essayist, joke writer, ghost writer, speech writer, copywriter, caption writer, content writer, in sum, as a Freelance Writer. "Freelance" does originate as an adjective (reliant on a pen = sword metaphor) to describe marauding soldiers-for-hire beholden to no one, except themselves. Pennington wields her "lance" with rowdy elegance and surefire handicraft on projects to which she is under contract as well as when she is free.  She is at work on her memoir, Mad River: Autopsy of Father/Daughter Love & Hate, that chronicles how she discovered her father's 38 page suicide diary that recounts a performance of death and confession—after which she's plunged into an odyssey where she uncovers the mysteries of the father she never knew and could never have imagined. A disturbing, illuminative, and finally, transformative process. She received a PhD in Critical and Cultural Studies from the University of Pittsburgh where she taught courses in English, Film, and Visual Culture for 13 years. She's won several writing awards (prestigious and obscure) and is eschewing here the convention of listing them out.) Recently, she experienced a fusion between her prior academic obsessions and her study of ancient astrology. Both interests in structural archetypes found a kindred alignment with her joy in articulating experience as lyrical and poetic.  She is a lifelong theorist around the ways we make meaning-- around the ways puns and similar word plays and metaphors, can shimmer. You can find her astrological chart consultations at Baroque Moon Astrology and her writing life at Molly Pennington. It was so lovely to connect with Molly, and I'm pretty sure you'll enjoy listening in. Writer site: www.mollypennington.com Astrology site: www.baroquemoonastrology.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/baroque_moon/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/baroque_moon

In this brief episode, I offer you a body-based writing prompt that sources from your hair. Take in the exploration, then set and timer and flow write for somewhere between 5 and 20 minutes. See what arises. Enjoy!

I'm telling you the tale of Iron Hans, from the Tales of the Brothers Grimm. Stick around after the story for some guidance on working with tales like this, and your personal stories, and then, to start your own personal mythmaking go to my website at www.janellehardy.com to get started with my free on-demand workshop, Outline Your Memoir Using Fairy Tale and Myth as Your Guide.

I'm chatting with Carina Bissett a writer, poet, and educator working primarily in the fields of dark fiction and fabulism. Her short fiction and poetry have been published in multiple journals and anthologies including Into the Forest, Upon a Twice Time, Bitter Distillations: An Anthology of Poisonous Tales, Arterial Bloom, Gorgon: Stories of Emergence, Weird Dream Society, Hath No Fury, and the HWA Poetry Showcase (Vol. V, VI, and VIII). She has also written stories set in shared worlds for RPGs at Green Ronin Publishing and Onyx Path Publishing. In addition to writing, she has edited several projects; the most recent is in the role as co-editor for Shadow Atlas: Dark Landscapes of the Americas. As an educator, Carina has taught at Pikes Peak Community College, Glendale Community College, and Arizona State University. She also participated in the Colorado Writing Project and works with educators to develop writing instruction in college and secondary school classrooms. She currently offers workshops focused on story generation at The Storied Imaginarium. Her fiction has been nominated for the Sundress Publications Best of the Net Award and was a finalist for the Ron L. Hubbard Writers of the Future Awards. Her poetry has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize and the Sundress Publications Best of the Net Award. In her editorial capacity, she's received recognition as a Finalist at the Colorado Book Awards 2022 (Anthology) and as a Finalist in the Fiction: Anthologies category of the 2022 International Book Awards. It was so lovely to connect with Carina, and I'm pretty sure you'll enjoy listening in. So here we go! 

In this brief episode, I offer you a body-based writing prompt that sources from your forearms. Take in the exploration, then set and timer and flow write for somewhere between 5 and 20 minutes. See what arises. Enjoy! For more offerings like this, go to my website, janellehardy.com.

It's episode #126 and I'm telling you a brief fable - the Russian story of The Scorpion and the Frog.  Sit back and enjoy having a story told to you. Let your body and your soul soak up the essence of the story magic and medicine. Stick around after the story for some guidance on working with tales like this, and your personal stories, and then, to start your own personal mythmaking go to my website at www.janellehardy.com to get started with my free on-demand workshop, Outline Your Memoir Using Fairy Tale and Myth as Your Guide.

It's episode #125 and I'm chatting with Heidi Parkes, quilter, artist and educator. The way I met Heidi is another delightful story of people following their interests through clicks until, eventually, the connection point happens.  In 2018, I was a guest on Amber Magnolia Hill's podcast, Medicine Stories. Heidi listened to our conversation, then looked me up and subscribed to my newsletter list. I had no idea.  She stayed on my newsletter list, and then, last year, just after I'd discovered a delightfully genuine quilter named Zak Foster on Instagram and started following him, I saw a post he shared about a collaboration he does with Heidi. So i clicked through and though, oooo, another neat textile artist. Then, I sent out a newsletter story about a program I offer called Blood Mending. The referrence to hand sewing and mending caught Heidi's attention and she replied to the e-mail to share her response. And then, we slowly became friends and collaborators. So of course, I want to have her on the podcast, because we're kindred spirits and more importantly, she does things that have to do with the themes of this podcast and my work – working with personal stories through art – in Heidi's case, quilts – and an interest in healing, the body and story. Here's a little more about her before we jump into the conversation… Before Heidi Parkes was born in Chicago, IL in 1982, her grandmother organized a collaborative family quilt to commemorate her birth.  This set the tone for a life centered on the handmade- raised in a home where sewing, mending, cooking, canning, woodworking, photography, ceramics, painting, and plasterwork were the norm. Now based in Milwaukee, her quilting and mending celebrate the hand, and her works tug at memories and shared experience.  Often using specific textiles, like an heirloom tablecloth, bed sheet, or cloth teabag, Heidi adds subtle meaning and material memory from the start.   Ever curious, she works with a variety of quilting techniques including visible hand piecing and knots, improvisation, patchwork, and applique.  Heidi pursues her passion for teaching by lecturing and leading workshops, and shares her creative process with thousands on Instagram. Heidi has exhibited in art and textile museums across the country and was an Artist in Residence at Milwaukee's Lake Park through the ARTservancy with Gallery 224 in fall 2020-21.   Additionally, Heidi lives a handmade lifestyle, sewing her own clothes, fermenting, eating from pottery she made a decade ago, and practicing hand yoga, which she shares with other creatives on her YouTube channel. It was so lovely to connect with Heidi, and I'm pretty sure you'll enjoy listening in. Website: www.heidiparkes.com

In this brief episode, I offer you a body-based writing prompt that sources from your tongue. Take in the exploration, then set and timer and flow write for somewhere between 5 and 20 minutes. See what arises. Enjoy! For more offerings like this, go to my website, janellehardy.com.

It's episode #123 and I'm telling you a German story collected by the Brothers Grimm - The 12 Dancing Princesses.  Also known as "The Worn-Out Dancing Shoes" and "The Shoes that were Danced to Pieces." Sit back and enjoy having a story told to you. Let your body and your soul soak up the essence of the story magic and medicine. Stick around after the story for some guidance on working with tales like this, and your personal stories, and then, to start your own personal mythmaking go to my website at www.janellehardy.com to get started with my free on-demand workshop, Outline Your Memoir Using Fairy Tale and Myth as Your Guide.

It's episode #122 and I'm chatting with Shawnrey Notto, the Sensual Intelligence and Embodiment guide, teaching and inspiring people to embody their joy, pleasure, and self-love. Oh gosh, how can I describe the ways I adore Shawnrey?  We first met in a women's leadership council, facilitated by the wonderful Nisha Moodley, and I was really moved by Shawnrey's combination of vivacious joyful selfhood alongside her tender, vulnerable side, and how much the two facets of her rely on the other - power, joy and a commitment to the senses and embodiment, inseparable from truthful honesty about life's challenges. She brings body, dance, healing and writing and movement sessions together in an alchemical combination, and I really appreciate the medicine that is Shawnrey. So, a little more about her before we dive into our conversation…  Shawnrey is the Author of Sensual Intelligence: The Lost IQ, which guides readers on how to "seduce themselves to joy and fall in love with their bodies."  #1 NYT Bestselling Author, Marci Shimoff, says about the book, "BEAUTIFUL! Shawnrey is a master at what she does. She is an exquisite embodiment of living in the sacred union of the masculine and feminine. Her teaching will change your life." Shawnrey is also the creator of the Sensual Intelligence Type Quiz. Shawnrey got her start as a dancer/choreographer. You can find music videos in which she was a dancer and/or choreographer on YouTube, as well as of her sensual poetry and dance. She has even performed original work for Justin Timberlake and Madonna, and was on America's Got Talent.  With 15+ years experience in dance, performance education, yoga, and intimacy coaching, Shawnrey has facilitated in world renowned Wellness Spas like Rancho La Puerta. She has had the honor of working one-on-one with leaders, and facilitating conferences and events where she "has a way of getting people out of their comfort zone and connecting...in a fun way."   Shawnrey absolutely loves fresh compost, especially when the dirt is alive with worms and heat, and her favorite activity is swinging on the playground when the kids aren't around. When she's not teaching or dancing, she is fighting the neighborhood cats for the best spots in the sun. It was so lovely to connect with Shawnrey, and I'm pretty sure you'll enjoy listening in. Website: www.shawnrey.com Book- Sensual Intelligence: The Lost IQ https://www.shawnrey.com/book Courses & Offerings: https://www.shawnrey.com/workwithme Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shawnreynotto/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ShawnreySQ

In this brief episode, I offer you a body-based writing prompt that sources from your ears. Take in the exploration, then set and timer and flow write for somewhere between 5 and 20 minutes. See what arises. Enjoy! For more offerings like this, go to my website, janellehardy.com.

It's episode #120 and I'm telling you a Norwegian story, The Giant Who Had No Heart in His Body. Sit back and enjoy having a story told to you. Let your body and your soul soak up the essence of the story magic and medicine. Stick around after the story for some guidance on working with tales like this, and your personal stories, and then, to start your own personal mythmaking go to my website at www.janellehardy.com to get started with my free on-demand workshop, Outline Your Memoir Using Fairy Tale and Myth as Your Guide.

It's episode #119 and I'm chatting with Gauri Raje, a storyteller, educator and workshop facilitator working with adolescents and adults from multilingual, multicultural and disadvantaged backgrounds. I first encountered Gauri when I signed up for the Anima Mundi School's Fairytale Kitchen series. Gauri is one of the two storytellers in that series, and one of 3 story interpreters, in that, after the story is told, she discusses it as a storyteller and anthropologist, alongside founder of the school, Jungian Analyst Faranak Mirjalili (who often co-tells with Gauri) and other special guests. How marvelous. I keep signing up for Fairytale Kitchen for their stellar storytelling skills alongside the wonderful nuanced discussions that arise after.  So, how could I not invite Gauri on to the podcast? We have a shared love of anthropology, and story, and, to be honest, we don't have enough opportunities to listen to stories from true storytellers.  You can trust that this conversation includes a story, told by Gauri, and a wonderful and wide-ranging discussion, including the reasons why Gauri decided to become a proper storyteller. But, first, a little more about her: Gauri is a first generation Asian migrant to the the British Isles. She has lived in various parts of the UK, before settling to Scotland 5 years ago.  She completed her PhD in Social Anthropology from the University of Warwick, studying narratives of hunger and displacement among an indigenous community in western India over 3 generations.  She has been apprenticed to storytelling from 2011, as a professional storyteller. She came to storytelling first as a listener, and then began her practice of storytelling through telling biographical stories.  It is only after many years that she has begun to tell myths and ancient tales. She is fascinated with myths and ancient tales in how they hold community memories and create a container. It was so lovely to connect with Gauri, and I'm pretty sure you'll enjoy listening in. LinkedIN: linkedin.com/in/gauri-raje-8726654 Silent Sounds: https://www.facebook.com/gaurirajestorytelling Fairytale Kitchen: www.animamundischool.org/fairytale-kitchen

In this brief episode, I offer you a body-based writing prompt that sources from your fingertips. Take in the exploration, then set and timer and flow write for somewhere between 5 and 20 minutes. See what arises. Enjoy! For more offerings like this, go to my website, janellehardy.com.

In this episode, I tell a Scottish tale. The Blacksmith's Wife of Yarrowfoot. Sit back and enjoy having a story told to you. Let your body and your soul soak up the essence of the story magic and medicine. After the story I share some memoir-writing and transformational healing prompts if you'd like to work with the story magic, apply it to your own life stories, and see where it takes you. To start your own personal mythmaking, and work with me, go to www.janellehardy.com and get started. I'm looking forward to connecting more deeply with you.

It's episode #116 and I'm chatting with Juno Kim, an IMTA-certified mindfulness teacher and emotional well-being coach who has a deep passion for well-being, psychology, sociology and philosophy.  I'm totally thrilled to say that Juno is a podcast guest I met in real life. This may not seem like something to get excited about, but for me, with so much of my work being online - both my teaching and my relationship building, it is indeed exciting!  In early 2021, I'd moved to Vancouver and joined a local co-working space with a wellness focus. It was a 20 minute walk from where i was subletting, and I got into a great daily groove with my walk to the space. It was also in the middle of the pandemic, so it wasn't busy. Everyone was pretty careful. And even with all of that, or maybe because of that, I started meeting some lovely people as refilled my coffee and water, and pulled out my lunch to eat at the common table. Juno is one of my favourite people to run into, and, because they also offer a weekly meditation session combined with soundbath in Werklab's wellness studio, I've had the great pleasure of being guided into a calmer melty state as well. So, before we jump into our conversation, a little more about Juno. Juno is largely known for their time as an in-demand chef, working with top brands and creatives to create unique and sensory dining experiences.  After going through consecutive burnouts, Juno took a step back in 2018 to embark on a healing journey that continues to this day.  Their journey touches into many different domains such as psychology, sociology, philosophy, entrepreneurship, ancient wisdom and social justice — this eclectic and interconnected mix informs Juno's approach to all things.  They're now an IMTA-certified mindfulness teacher and emotional well-being coach, and aim to provide offerings centred around mindfulness through embodiment. It was so lovely to connect with Juno, and I'm pretty sure you'll enjoy listening in. Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jun0k/

In this brief episode, I offer you a body-based writing prompt that sources from your guts. Take in the exploration, then set and timer and flow write for somewhere between 5 and 20 minutes. See what arises. Enjoy! For more offerings like this, go to my website, janellehardy.com.

In this episode, I tell a tale. The Frog King. Sit back and enjoy having a story told to you. Let your body and your soul soak up the essence of the story magic and medicine. After the story I share some memoir-writing and transformational healing prompts if you'd like to work with the story magic, apply it to your own life stories, and see where it takes you.

It's episode #113 and I'm chatting with Verónica Márquez, a researcher, somatic facilitator and the Founder of Between Us - a global community that explores and teaches how to turn sensitive topics and conversations into opportunities for growth and deeper connection.   I first met Vero in a women's leadership circle, and was really struck by her steady, gentle but determined nature. "What a marvelous woman!" I thought. And, I was a little envious - she was facilitating dinner parties with depth, with strangers, in a way that I'd often dreamed of starting, but hadn't had the courage to initiate.  So, I invited her to have a one-on-one friends conversation, and enjoyed it so much I invited her on the podcast.  Here's a little more about Vero and her work: Each month, Between Us explores a different theme through intimate gatherings worldwide. At the end of the month, all the facilitators share what they learned on that topic, and then write an article with the key insights. So far, they have facilitated close to 500 gatherings in almost 40 cities worldwide. They are currently writing their first book.  Verónica teaches "confident and compassionate" communication trainings and also facilitates conversations on highly sensitive topics such as abortion and politics – where she brings people with different views to truly listen to one another.  Prior to this work, Verónica spent over a decade working as a qualitative researcher where she traveled the world talking to people about all kinds of different topics - from understanding the financial needs of ultra high net-worth individuals in Singapore to uncovering what prevents diabetic patients in Toronto from taking their medication.   She holds an M.A. in Marketing Communications and is trained in executive coaching, neuro-linguistics programming, Gabor Maté's Compassionate Inquiry, Reiki, and meditation.  She is originally from Venezuela (3/4 European and 1/4 indigenous roots) and now lives in Miami with her two kids and English husband.  It was so lovely to connect with Verónica, and I'm pretty sure you'll enjoy listening in. Website: https://everythingbetweenus.com Learn our global insights from 500 gatherings across 37 complex topics: https://everythingbetweenus.com/journal Confident and Compassionate Communication - free monthly call sign up: https://betweenus.mykajabi.com/free-monthly-calls Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/everything_betweenus/

In this brief episode, I offer you a body-based writing prompt that sources from your scars. Take in the exploration, then set and timer and flow write for somewhere between 5 and 20 minutes. See what arises. Enjoy! For more offerings like this, go to my website, janellehardy.com.

In this episode, I tell a tale. A Baba Yaga tale. Sit back and enjoy having a story told to you. But if you haven't listened to part 1 - go to episode 108 and listen to that one first! Let your body and your soul soak up the essence of the story magic and medicine. After the story I share some memoir-writing and transformational healing prompts if you'd like to work with the story magic, apply it to your own life stories, and see where it takes you.

It's episode #110 and I'm chatting with memoirist Rebekah Taussig, a Kansas City writer and educator with her doctorate in Creative Nonfiction and Disability Studies.  I found Rebekah in my usual way, by clicking interesting links. One click led to another, and I landed on her marvelous Instagram account, Sitting Pretty. She'd just published her memoir of the same name, and had made a post about a sticker giveaway. I signed up and received some lovely stickers at my address in northern Canada, and then, a year later, walking into a bookstore, I saw her book on the shelf. I bought it, devoured it, and, on the off-change she might be interested in a podcast conversation, e-mailed to invite her on. Obviously, she said yes, and here we are! So, a little more about her… Rebekah lives with her fussy family of tenderhearted snugglers.  She's spent most of her life immersed in the world of writing and reading – as a student, teacher, and human – because she believes that the words we use and the stories we tell matter.  She grew up writing angsty poems in a fat notebook, songs on her guitar, and slip-stream fiction with protagonists who were always rebelling against the system.  What started as instinct evolved into an academic study and eventually became a way of seeing the world. She's always looking for the powerful connection between the cultural narratives we tell and the world we live in, from physical spaces and economic opportunities to social roles and interpersonal relationships. She earned a PhD in Creative Nonfiction and Disability Studies from the University of Kansas, and she writes personal essays that participate in the stories being told about disability.  She also runs an Instagram account, @sitting_pretty, where she regularly crafts "mini-memoirs" that explore what it means to live in my particular (disabled, female) body.  Her memoir in essays, Sitting Pretty: The View from My Ordinary Resilient Disabled Body is out now with HarperOne.  The book is born from the most personal place, swaddled in academic knowledge, and shaped by the voice she's been honing online for years. It provides a nuanced portrait of a body that looks and moves differently than most.  It was so lovely to connect with Rebekah, and I'm pretty sure you'll enjoy listening in. Website: www.rebekahtaussig.com Instagram: @sitting_pretty

In this brief episode, I offer you a body-based writing prompt that sources from the heart. Take in the exploration, then set and timer and flow write for somewhere between 5 and 20 minutes. See what arises. Enjoy! For more offerings like this, go to my website, janellehardy.com.

In this episode, I tell a tale. A Baba Yaga tale. Sit back and enjoy having a story told to you. Let your body and your soul soak up the essence of the story magic and medicine. After the story I share some memoir-writing and transformational healing prompts if you'd like to work with the story magic, apply it to your own life stories, and see where it takes you.

It's episode #107 and I'm chatting with coach Kendra Cunov, who has been studying, facilitating, and (most importantly) practicing Authentic Relating, Embodiment Practices & Deep Intimacy Work for over fifteen years, and has pioneered some of the most cutting edge relational work on the planet. I met Kendra in a leadership program, and was really struck by her ability to notice and ask about undercurrents in the conversations and stories. Plus, she's just an all around cool person. So I figured we'd have an excellent conversation, and here we are! Here's a little more about Kendra, in her own words: I was born at San Francisco Zen Center & spent the first 7 years of my life exploring the mountains & rivers of Tassajara Zen Mountain Center.  The connection that time gave me to Wilderness, and the experience of being surrounded by people who were consciously engaging their lives, have both had a profound & life-long impact on me. I spent most of my teenage summers living at Tassajara, and returned to live & practice there as an adult for several years. Another strong influence on my life was my mother. My mother is a strong woman, who raised me solo, while following her passion of becoming a teacher.  We didn't have a lot of money, but she created a rich life, full of beauty & experience.  I watched her make conscious choices that often went against the grain, in order to create the life she wanted for herself & for me.  From her, I learned fierce determination & that Joy has many paths. I left the monastery & moved to San Francisco in 1999, in pursuit of a practice as deep, but which *included* relationships with other people in a more direct way. This has continued to be my life's path & why I am so passionate about Intimacy, Expression & Authentic Relating. The experience of trailblazing & evolving the practice of Circling, and cultivating the AuthenticSF community has been life-changing.  Not always fun or easy.  A path that took everything I had & gave everything in return. As they say:  You can either choose to stop, or life will force you to stop. And when my marriage (to my business partner & best friend) fell apart when our son was 1 year old, I was forced to stop & let everything go to rediscover who I was, at my core. Today, I have two extraordinary children, who are far & away my greatest and most humbling teachers; my ex-husband & I are fantastic partners in co-parenting & have a better relationship than ever; I am truly Home:  living & loving with my partner (who is also my daughter's father), connected to Wilderness & tending Earth every day. I know who I am, and at the same time I am ever-changing & always evolving.  Some of my sharper edges have become smoother & I am quicker to laugh at my quirky self. It was so lovely to connect with Kendra, and I'm pretty sure you'll enjoy listening in to our conversation! Kendra's website: kendracunov.com

In this brief episode, I offer you a body-based writing prompt that sources from the feet. Take in the exploration, then set and timer and flow write for somewhere between 5 and 20 minutes. See what arises. Enjoy! For more offerings like this, go to my website, janellehardy.com.

In this episode, I tell a tale. A Selkie (seal woman) tale. Sit back and enjoy having a story told to you. Let your body and your soul soak up the essence of the story magic and medicine. After the story I share some memoir-writing and transformational healing prompts if you'd like to work with the story magic, apply it to your own life stories, and see where it takes you. To start your own personal mythmaking, and work with me, go to www.janellehardy.com and get started. I'm looking forward to connecting more deeply with you.

I'm chatting with Elisha Halpin a sacred life mentor and embodiment coach for visionaries, creatives, healers, and coaches. Elisha Halpin is of Scotch-Irish, African, and Cherokee descent. She was raised in Tennessee near the lands of her Cherokee and Appalachian ancestors. As a bridge Elisha was born as one who crosses the thresholds and integrates the Wisdom. Elisha is interested in swimming in deep waters of self-discovery, starts conversations in the middle, and is a sacred rebel at heart. She is a lover of liminal lands such as where the the sea meets the forest. She is also a lover of kitchen dance parties, her cat Xavier, and a good pen with sparkly ink .  Elisha is a sacred life mentor and embodiment coach for visionaries, creatives, healers, and coaches. As the Priestess behind the Leader, Elisha facilitates sacred leaders into the embodiment of their Soul's Essence allowing them to trust their power, create their sacred service to have an impact, and authentically express their truth. As a channel of Divine Feminine wisdom, Elisha's mission is a revolution of leadership through reclaiming our sacred nature and expanding our nervous system capacity.  Through Sacred Soul Somatics Elisha weaves her 20+ year career as a tenured professor of somatics and dance with Breathwork, Neurosculpting, Energy work, and transpersonal psychology for a whole system approach to healing and transformation. As a professor, Elisha was an embedded faculty member in the Arts and Design Research Incubator with her research into somatic interventions for trauma and stress. Elisha believes that our bodies are beautiful ruins, sites of pilgrimage, and carriers of the remembrances of time. This was deeply activated in her viscerally on her first trip to Ireland when she met the crumbling stones and began to move from within.  Elisha's work teaches that our lives are constantly in ruin, continually breaking down, turning over, and decomposing the past. It is in this breaking down that we become the sacred place of pilgrimage, of magic. This is what the sacred journey of Embodiment can teach us if we are willing. Website: www.elishahalpin.com

Listen in to Janelle Hardy, creator of transformational memoir-writing course, The Art of Personal Mythmaking as she describes what this podcast is all about. She'll be talking to published memoirists, people in the middle of writing their memoirs, storytellers and embodied healers.  She'll even toss in the occasional fairy tale and body-based writing prompt, to give your stories some unexpected sparks. These are honest conversations of depth are good medicine – they're the antidote to feeling alone with creative and healing challenges.

In this encore episode I'm sharing a conversation with Sebene Selassie because I loved our conversation, and so did my listeners back then – our conversation is one of the most listened episodes on this podcast to date. And, because what we talk about is so very timeless, and yet the ancient take Sebene chose is also so timely, I'm really excited to reintroduce you to Sebene Selassie, a Brooklyn-based teacher & writer who explores the themes of belonging and identity through meditation and spirituality. Sebene helps modern, multicultural spiritual seekers create transformation in their lives by teaching them how to make space for self–care, new practices, and liberating change. She's been studying Buddhism for over 28 years and for two decades she worked nationally and internationally for social change & social justice organizations. Her work took her everywhere from the Tenderloin in San Francisco to refugee camps in Guinea, West Africa. She mentors and coaches people from around the world (through the magic of the Interwebs), teaches classes and retreats regularly across the U.S., and is a meditation teacher on the Ten Percent Happier app. Her first book, Born to Belong, waas published by HarperOne in 2020.

In this encore episode I'm sharing a conversation with Roxanne Coble, a mixed media artist, illustrator, and maker of things in Los Angeles. She's known for her detailed art journaling which fuses mixed media and painted illustration. Inspired by all things macabre, completed pages embrace a balance of humor and dark emotional themes – all while exploring topical events that occur within her personal life. Her work has been featured on the cover of Art Journal Magazine and more recently as a guest artist on the PBS show Make It Artsy. I wanted to chat with Roxanne because her art is so alive with imagery and symbolism. I had a feeling she'd be bubbling over with thoughts and ideas, and I was right. We discussed the creepiness of fairy tales, girl gangs, visual symbolism and hands. Especially hands. If you're a creative curious person I know you'll enjoy this conversation.

In this encore episode I'm sharing a conversation with Alisha Sommer, a Bay Area Freelance Writer & Photographer. I first encountered Alisha online and so appreciated her aesthetic, specific and gentle presence that I got on her newsletter list and started following her on Instagram. Since then, I've featured her in an interview series of creative s based on the Proust questionnaire – link in show notes – and I've taken her Liberated Lines writing course. Alisha has a gift for holding sacred space, for deep listening, and for seeing the ordinary in extraordinary ways. In the past, she founded and edited a print literary journal (Blackberry: a magazine), published personal essays, creative nonfiction, and poetry for a variety of online and print publications, ghostwritten, and taught at Squam Art Workshops. Currently, you'll find her hosting creative gatherings in Sonoma, CA like the Fever Dreams Collective Retreat with Jennette Nielsen (on my wishlist), and facilitating the online writing workshop liberated lines with Robin Sandomirsky. It was so fun to connect more deeply with Alisha, and I'm pretty sure you'll enjoy listening in. For more like this, go to my website, janellehardy.com.

In this encore episode I'm sharing a conversation with Louise Hardy, a counsellor and art therapist. Also my mom! I wanted to have her on the podcast to discuss creativity and the power of resourcing ourselves in difficult times with the creative, in ways that are totally free as well as ways that may cost some money (for art materials and/or art therapy services.) Louise used the creative and a connection to beauty as a way of resourcing herself as a child growing up in poverty. Louise's work as a therapist evolved over the past three decades through social work after which she earned a Masters Degree in Counselling and an advanced diploma in Art Therapy from the Vancouver Art Therapy Institute. She's a Registered Canadian Art Therapist (RCAT) and a Certified Canadian Counsellor (CCC). These designations mean she is held to a high standard of professional and ethical conduct. Beyond the degrees she's explored body centred healing, Imago processes with couples, Diagnostic Drawing Series and Dissociation, Trauma and the Soul. In this podcast we talked a lot about being struck by beauty, colour, making your art your own, giving yourself permission to make, create and learn, and mentors that show up in unlikely places like public laundromats. We talked about learning technique, and being unfulfilled until you put your own vision into it, fiber arts, the time when new clothing was more fashionable than handmade, and making clothing out of curtains for her children (making do with what you have when what you have isn't money.) We also talked about my dad's cancer, and dealing with the raging energy in her hands during that time by creating wet feltings, what it is to be a caregiver to someone with cancer and how the creative can help you care for yourself. We also talked about the magic art show Louise created on an outdoor walking path, Swedish hardanger embroidery, knitting and reading bell hooks as a young mother in her 20s. We talked even more about how cooking as a creative practice came from being so hungry as a child, and how learning to cook well was a way of being able to give; to feed herself and others. MFK Fisher's stories of food in the great depression came up, and memories of being a child, until the age of 9, watching her mother cook for 8 children on a wood stove, doing that herself as a young mother in a cabin in the woods, and learning to be in a relationship with heat – tending the fire in a wood stove. We talked about studying social work, being elected as an MP (Member of Parliament) in her 30s, pursuing art therapy and counselling after losing the election, and enjoying the non-verbal aspects of art therapy – exploring symbol, metaphor psychotherapy, art and movement. Plus, Louise shares her best tips for creative resourcing by playing with what you've got around you – without spending a cent – you probably won't guess what these techniques are ,but they're accessible to anyone, no matter their circumstances, and they're techniques that have really shaped me, as my mom did them my whole childhood – without me ever realizing what she was up to! Listen to the episode to get the full delightful scoop! Louise has continued to advance her experience through work with First Nations communities and working with Seniors and Elders. Much of her focus is on the multi-generational transmission of trauma, complex grief and transitional states of change. We also talked about the shocks that stop us in our tracks – for Louise it was her son's diagnosis of kidney disease and wait for a kidney transplant – and then what brings us back to our creative selves. Louise asks herself often "what is burning brightly for me right now?" and then follows the answer. Essentially she's integrated life as a mother, caregiver to her mother and the death of her husband to cancer at 53 into a deeper understanding of the complexity, joy and struggles of all our lives. Louise is also an artist, and creates wild large-scale wet feltings (among many other mostly fiber arts related art.) She delights in the exploration of fiber arts and gender, and despite being criticized by male MPs for knitting in parliament, she never stopped, and holds a torch for all fiber arts, it's mixture of the practical and the feminine, and loves how fiber arts brings warmth and beauty and an engagement of the sense of touch to people.

In this encore episode I'm sharing a conversation with Gitanjali Hemp, a master energy healer from Santa Cruz County, California. Gitanjali works with clients and students to help them cultivate awareness of their subtle body and most sacred selves, increasing their capacity for meaningful contribution and fulfilling expression in their lives and work through a system she founded called Syntara System, a deeply integrative, evolutionary energy healing modality that awakens consciousness, inspiring sustainable change. She brings 20 years of study and training with healers and masters from some of the world's richest traditions and most cutting edge healing modalities. She has spent 18 years in active practice, both as a practitioner and teacher: leading retreats, workshops, 18 month professional trainings, virtual courses and facilitating ceremonies and women's groups. There is nothing Gitanjali loves more than helping people learn how to access and embody their unique brilliance and create their life and world from that place. I thoroughly enjoyed connecting with Gitanjali and hearing her perspectives, and I know you'll enjoy our ramble through the Indian tale Churning The Cosmic Sea   Things we chatted about in this episode: the story of Shiva and Shakti: Churning the Cosmic Sea On being raised in the US as a Catholic, growing up on western style bible based stories, having ancestors and family from India stories about Shiva and Shakti and those energies as external and internal aspects of our selves separating darkness and light, churning to create and separate, poison created from this churning, representing the suffering of the world Shiva taking the poison and swallowing it to save the world, Shakti holding Shiva around his throat, strangling her beloved in order to save him (Shiva becomes knows as the 'blue-throated one' because of this) how this story is shared in different ways – some parts of the story are only told by holders of lineage traditions, other versions of the story are more mundane version how the heroic act needs the tenderness, the support how Shakti is the saviour as well by stopping the poisoning and transmuting the poison how this story speaks to those of us who are healers, and how transmuting the poison depends on our connection to nourishment and nurturance and pleasure that remembering to weave nurturance and pleasure into our work in the world is so important – it's from there that we can reorganise our trauma and wounding and make a difference in the world how powerful the things are that we don't consider powerful how being nourishing/caretaking comes easier than being nourished how taking the time to ask for and receive nourishment is important and empowering nourishing for Gitanjali looks like taking baths, nature, taking walks, good food, the oceans, meditation, movement, yoga, dance, time with children, friends, family, playing and creating art how there are so many different faces of our aspects of our psyches, the feminine, and how the feminine embodies the dark goddess energies of knowing in a fierce way that sometimes intense direct action is needed and that it comes from the same level of compassion and presence as the nourishment, and knowing how to take that type of action how the forcefulness of birthing and labour reflects that ferocity relationship with creativity on believing we are all creative beings on developing an energy modality and how working with clients and teaching this is Gitanjali's creative endeavour in the world how her business flows and runs is a creative expression how giving birth and raising children taught her a lot about creativity the childbirth and mothering experience and how it shapes consciousness dancing, freeform movement and expression is creative visual arts and singing are some outlets for creative expression as well the creative work of teaching Syntara Systems – created through a long process of learning through dance, working with clients, seeking and learning from people in ashrams in India, and from Hopi, Navajo and Australian Aboriginal peoples, and learning to teach as a teacher of massage students, as an assistant at a Montessori school, by receiving transmissions from dreams, and developing her process of working with people and teaching what she knows through that process how direct experience and connection to things is as important as learning skills and techniques intellectually on having a doubting questioning mind, but also being able to follow the currents of energy the importance of hanging out in the ugly messy phase of the creative process relationship with body On loving her body and having a complex relationship with it on having a body that was very thin, then became really strong in 20s, then after having children it softened, then experiencing 2 children really close together, building a business, dealing with Lyme's Disease, experiencing a lot of stress, becoming depleted and now having a body that is heavier coming back to yoga and wrestling with an egoic notion of what she can and can't do, the experience of having admired women with soft bellies when she was younger, and now having the soft belly and learning to live it on knowing she wouldn't have the capacity to know and carry all that she is if she were still as thin as she was – the weightedness in her body and presence feels much more sustaining of all that she's doing

In this encore episode I'm sharing a conversation with Sylvia V. Linsteadt, a writer whose work—both fiction and non-fiction—is rooted in myth, ecology, feminism & bioregionalism, and is devoted to broadening our human stories to include the voices of the living land. She lives in the bishop pine forest on a peninsula called Point Reyes, which has at various times been an island in the Pacific, but which is currently attached to North America along a volatile fault line called the San Andreas, and on the Greek island of Crete, another land prone to earthquake and mystery. The story of how I came across Sylvia is one I share in our conversation, but it involved a series of synchronicities via facebook, delightful ones, that ended up with me signing up for a course she was teaching. We had an incredibly wide-ranging and lovely conversation, talking about living inside the questions, feeling stretched, the mind/body split, cerebral anxiety, the importance of grounding, the indigenous foodways, music ways and stories of Cretan people, metaphoric dismemberment, labyrinths, going into the underworld, descent and return, and being in the middle of writing a novel. Sylvia is the author of the middle grade ecological fantasy duology, The Stargold Chronicles (The Wild Folk and The Wild Folk Rising), published by Usborne in June 2018 and May 2019, the novel Tatterdemalion (Unbound, Spring 2017) with artist Rima Staines, and the short-story collection Our Lady of the Dark Country.  She is also a certified animal tracker. Her work currently finds itself knee-deep in the mythologies of a pre-Hellenic Mediterranean world, in the form of a historical novel set in Minoan Crete, currently in progress. For more about the creation of this novel you can follow along on her Patreon page.    

In this encore episode I'm sharing a conversation with Salma Darling, a conscious dance facilitator, dance movement psychotherapist, dharma and mindfulness teacher who lives flexibly between the UK and Marin County California. Salma's been facilitating conscious dance and meditation in a variety of contexts since 1998, using methods that are theoretically and practically informed by Insight (vipassana) buddhist meditation, western psychotherapeutic models and ecopsychology. While she was doing an MA in art and ecology she developed Wild Divine Dance as a mindful embodied awakening practice incorporating stillness and movement, indoors and in the wild. Much of her process was developed on beaches in Devon, Dorset and Cornwall, and on Dartmoor, UK. Her offerings are led by a number of substantial dance movement awareness trainings since 1997, my work with clients and students over 20 years, embodied engagement with the landscape and directing performance in nature. Her skills are offerings are also informed by around 2 years cumulative formal silent Theravadan buddhist retreats, dharma study, and her personal and ongoing journey in healing trauma and living fully and heartfully. Her current workshop programmes combine silent meditation and free dance movement expression inside and in the wild, a weekly dharma group in Brighton UK, and online one to one meditation, somatic enquiry and mentoring.   Things we chatted about in this episode: the Buddhist story of Angulimala finds it interesting how many Buddhist meditation teachings are shared through stories the story speak to the capacity we have to transform the capacity we have to find peace and ease and to awaken no matter what our history how we can inspire and support each other and teach each other through our own transformation how the Buddha, his presence, was an inspiration for the terrifying Angulimala to change how the Buddha encourages Angulimala to bear with the changes, and how much of an impact it can have to give someone the encouragement to keep going – that despite being attacked by other people, Angulimala kept going, he bore the fruits of his actions relationship with body having had a traumatic violent childhood, of having felt unwanted growing up in the 70s in Britain – experiencing a lot of racism therefore, took a vow of silence at the age of 10, her only way of control, body also froze, had extreme tension in the body, developed anorexia, had extreme anxiety and depression in early 20s had two overdoses, was hospitalized twice -was a calling to come back to her body started getting really into meditation and dance as a tool to come back to her body and return home started getting more clear in her mind as a result how her art teacher first taught her to meditate – a very strong impulse told her it was really important meditation has become a place to cultivate care, kindness and acceptance towards herself dance has helped her express and explore different aspects in herself, and how to be in relationship meditation and free dance as a pairing – they inform each other – bringing the practices that the Buddha taught to the dance – being present to movement and relationship – both are about connecting with the divine, all of life, consciousness being with a physical felt sense of her body is a really big part of her life having had chronic fatigue – really got into lying meditation – really surrendering to gravity and doing a scanning meditation cultivating joy, delighting in the uplifting qualities the body can bring – dance has taught her the exuberance of playing relationship with creativity the state of creativity is exuberance, joy, playfulness the wondering – what is the meaning of creativity? having trained as a fashion designer – creativity was a big part of her life in the conventional sense but then creativity got jammed, started to understand it as life moving and unfolding itself, that life itself is inherently creative has begun to experience herself as a participant in the creative and creativity how one thing leads to another and creativity is the process of tracking the following how recovering from chronic fatigue was a deep listening – of tracking the creative flow and being present in wild nature having a primordial impulse to participate with the land – to come back to the human animal and move with wild abandon through all kinds of different weathers the intimacy of being with the breath and the wind, hearing the ruffle of leaves and through this 'rewilding' she feels more spontaneous, more creative, more free to let life through her

In this encore episode I'm sharing a conversation with Grace Quantock, a counsellor, a registered member of the British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy, writer, coach, wellness provocateur, and healing trailblazer.  Grace is currently living – and thriving – with often debilitating illness and knows, firsthand, the emotional and physical rollercoaster that accompanies diagnosis and life struggles. Because of that, she's founded the Phoenix Fire Academy, Trailblazing Wellness and Healing Boxes, to help people live and thrive with debilitating illnesses. She lives in the valleys of Wales and loves reading, gardening and early mornings. She firmly believes that life is meant to be celebrated, and has made it her mission to help others do just that … joyfully and on their own terms. It is such a treat to share my conversation with her today – her storytelling and gentle, thoughtful nature shine through in our conversation. Enjoy our ramble through the Welsh fairy tale The Lady of the Lake and the Physicians of Myddfai. Things we chatted about in this episode: the Welsh fairytale The Lady of the Lake and the Physicians of Myddfai the Brecon Beacons mountain range The Welsh words for Gramma and Grampa the Welsh tradition of Bards on navigating the bounds of safety as a woman in relationships on being grounded and present in a landscape with ancient history on believing in ritual and daily magic on exploring the land and history of where you live on being a steward and guardian of the land you're living on on how people are hurt/judged for having what are called 'wrong' reactions relationship with creativity on having a creative practice and then going into the head and getting sick, letting go of creative work on doing The Artist's Way and the reading deprivation week how not reading led to space for writing doing intuitive painting, reclaiming creativity on not reading stuff on the internet on doing a digital detox (how reading about doing things is deceptive) following a 'create before consume' philosophy relationship with body it's a beautiful work in progress on how to come home to the body when it's a place of chronic pain learning how to read a finely tuned instrument/body how to be with body when the habit is to check out and dissociate how to make the body safe enough to stay in it how to go deeper into the body and have joy in it how Marion Woodman's writing inspires Grace to stay with the body and the process how medicalizing bodies makes the person feel like a diagnosis instead of a person