The Women Disrupted Podcast

Fast vs slow fashion. Do you know the difference?

Fast fashion = a large amount of cheap poor quality clothing produced at a large rate, on the backs of black and brown folks, in order to keep us consuming and feeding our capitalist society.

Slow fashion = smaller amounts of clothing produced at a smaller rate. It respects human rights and better for the environment and is better quality so that it lasts longer and can be reused.

Today, I bring on Courtney Figler from The Kindness Closet to discuss fast and slow fashion and why we, as a society should start to embrace slower, more sustainable fashion.

Courtney is a Social Worker by day and a vintage and preloved clothing slinger by night. Courtney has been intrigued by and involved in political and activist circles for 10+ years, with a particular interest in modern day slavery (in its various forms).

It has been a long-time goal of Courtney’s to operate a social enterprise that would provide education and employment to those with barriers, and in early 2021, she launched the Kindness Closet – a size inclusive online shop selling preloved clothing for accessible and affordable prices. The Kindness Closet is currently in fundraising mode, with educational workshops and other community initiatives launching in the coming months.

In this episode, we talk about the nuances and complexity of moving away from fast fashion and all the different ways we can make change together.

Let's take a hard look at our privilege and how consuming fast fashion can lead to the suffering of others.

As a woman, have you ever been dismissed by a doctor on your pain, medical concerns or symptoms?

I have heard numerous stories of women being dismissed or brushed off on their medical concerns. Some have been even refused to be physically examined or to do any further testing.

In today's episode, I bring on Jeniffer Fougere to share her story and the long lasting repercussion of neglectful and unfair treatment/ dismissal by an OB.

Jennifer got news of abnormalities and a hard mass during an exam. They ended up being fibroids though she didn’t learn much besides that she had them and that they grow in the uterus… every few months she ago to the office to essentially watch them grow but her doctor never laid out a treatment plan…

This prevented her from getting pregnant at the young age of 29-33 and was eventually told the only treatment was a hysterectomy.

Jennifer didn't accept this news and fought for herself. Tune in to hear what she did so that you can be inspired to be your own advocate.

Are our doctors as up to date in their knowledge in up to date treatments and procedures to best advise or treat you? How are they held responsible for lack of care? These are all good questions to ask.

In this episode, I bring on my co-founder of The Real Diet Story Project, Roni Davis. It's an audio recording of an Instagram Live Roni and I did on our Real Diet Story Projects Instagram page (that we co-founded together). The Real Diet story's mission is to dismantle diet culture and its long term harmful affects in our society, by sharing REAL stories.

On today's episode, we are focusing on navigating our body changes - in our wardrobe.

Maybe your body has changed coming out of the pandemic...

Maybe you avoid dressing rooms or your closet like the plague...

Maybe the clothes you want to wear no longer fit...

Maybe clothes in general triggers shame, guilt or frustration...

Then this episode is for you.

In this episode, I share 5 ways to prepare yourself when trying on clothes for a more positive and gentler experience.

“We are not made for outside consumption, were actually made for our own consumption and then we share that to the outside world... to who we choose to.” ~ Serena

So...I hired a sex coach. I've been having sex for decades and it took me this long to finally dive deeper into intimacy, my own pleasure and desire. It does NOT mean that I am broken, that I don't like sex, that my sex life is broken or that my relationship with my husband is broken.

I grew up in a time where sex was not talked about. I did not grow up in a sex positive community or culture and it has impacted me on a deep level. I know that I am not alone.

So today, I bring on my sex coach Serena Haines to talk about how to foster a deeper intimacy with ourselves.

On todays episode, I bring on Jaclyn Reinhart, musician, friend and past client. Today, we are doing a cross over episode, as this will also be airing on Jaclyn's podcast.

After styling Jaclyn for her new upcoming album cover, I bring her on to share about what I call her "radical acceptance journey".

She shares about what she learned from working with me (a Style Coach) and how she was shocked by how much her self-expression (through her clothes) was connected with her past and beliefs.

Jaclyn shares how she was able to move past some limiting beliefs about her body and wardrobe so that she could authentically express herself with more confidence.

Jaclyn also shares about her struggles of pursuing her career, co-parenting and realizing she had surrounded herself with toxic people and a toxic environment.

Jaclyn shares what lead up to deciding to put herself first and to start treating herself with love and kindness. Once big change she made in her life, was deciding to give up drinking alcohol and smoking.

We also talk about the universal struggle of finding the healthy mix of getting external validation while not NEEDING it. Plus having a healthy amount internal validation, but not to the point of  adding to too much internal pressure.

PLUS! Jaclyn shares about her exciting news on her upcoming new music album.

In this episode, I bring on my best friend and past podcast guest (S1 Ep:3) who is also named Amanda back onto the podcast to drink some gin with me and to me  20 personal questions!

I did not know the questions ahead of time.

Before we dive into the questions, my guest Amanda and I do a deep dive into her new found joy in Tiktok and how she found a community of people (the "new coming out" lesbians community) that she can relate to. It's helped her to learn more about the community and herself as a late coming out lesbian.

Then we dive into the 20 questions.

I share what I've learned about being a wife, my biggest fears, my biggest lesson as a parent and then we BOTH share what we have learned about raising neurodivergent kids.

This is a fun one!

In today's episode, I'm introducing a new series that you will be see throughout Season 2 where I share inspirational women and their lessons in life.

So, to kick off this series, I bring on a friend Cassandra Blackmore, who is running for City Council in Fredericton, NB. However, I first met her when she wanted to start her own Wardrobe Consulting business.

Cassandra worked in wardrobe consulting for awhile, but followed her passion to become the Executive Director of Fredricton's Community Kitchens (making and giving food to people who need it). PLUS taking her undergrad in Political Science.

All at the age of 27!!

She's got a lot on her plate and has a lot to share about lessons she's learned on her way to this point...

I wanted to bring on Cassandra because she is a POWERHOUSE and part of the next generation that is going to make big changes in the world and I needed her voice to be heard.

In today's episode:

• Cassandra shares about how working a lot of solo careers, she got more in touch with what she REALLY desired to do. Her desire led her to volunteer with the Fredericton Community Kitchens where she, rather quickly, became the Executive Director.
• She describes her lessons learned when she had to figure out how to continue delivering food to people who need it during the pandemic shortly after obtaining her directorial position.
• She shares the many life lessons that shaped how she maintained a successful leadership position.
• She also shares the positive and negatives of being completely homeschooled in her youth...

In today's episode:

• We talk about our struggles, as women, to be able to enjoy sex in a way that serves ourselves.
• We talk about how sex was introduced to us while we were young and about the complexities and unique experienced women go through in having/ giving "the talk".
• Sofia explains to us the different sex archetypes and how they can tap into aspects of your personality/self to allow for a more fulfilling sex life and to feeling more sexy in your day to day life.
• We discuss the difficulty in finding the time and even finding the ability/energy to have a fulfilling sex life as we get older, have kids or have been married for a significant amount of time .
• We also chat about how genetics and conditioning affect how we interact with sex, as well as how that affects people with vaginas in the patriarchy society we live in.

To kick off season 2 of the WDP, I thought I would share more of my WHY behind wanting to make this podcast.

In this ep:

I share my original concept and what really prompted me to start this podcast.

Why I like to make others uncomfortable and challenge the status quo...and I why I want you to too.

And then what to expect from Season 2...

In honour of Eating Disorder Awareness Week, I'm dedicating 2 bonus episodes on the podcast to 2 amazing women who are sharing their stories of recovery and empowerment.

Trigger Warning: Mention of eating disorders.

In Bonus ep 2, I bring on my friend Roni Davis, founder of Cognitive Eating Academy.

Roni Davis is a former award-winning personal trainer and nutrition and wellness coach, as well as a nationally qualified champion figure athlete. She also spent almost 3 decades struggling with weight, food, negative body (and self) image, really mean self-talk and even binge eating, bulimia, clinical depression and an anxiety disorder.

Drawing on her decades-long healing journey combined with over a decade of professional knowledge, education and experience she created Cognitive Eating. It's a simple to follow step-by-step system that allows her to take others through the process of uncovering and changing the thought and behavior patterns that cause weight and food struggles.

She guides her clients to a greater understanding of themselves and their own needs. Her clients develop deeper connections to themselves and more balanced & present ways of living so they can improve their overall health and well-being in ways that are grounded in connection & self-trust - self-compassion and love.

In honour of Eating Disorder Awareness Week, I'm dedicating 2 bonus episodes on the podcast to 2 amazing women who are sharing their stories of recovery and empowerment.

Trigger Warning: Brief mention of sexual assault (but no explicit details shared) and eating disorders.

In Bonus ep 1, I bring on my past client and friend Cheryl Botas, to share her story of growing up with body dysmorphia and bulimia that was driven by low self-esteem, anxiety and trauma.

She shares her battle and RECOVERY.

We also discuss how our culture often revolves around the fetishization of bodies, health and diets, which directly impacts the collective unconscious. This opens us up to disordered eating, which can then trigger a full blown eating disorder.

We talk about how the media back when we were kids negatively impacted our views on not only what we should value, but also how we define our worth as a person. It was heavily based around appearance and how much we weighed.  Despite what we're told, we still all grow up in a world that validates our insecurities by affirming often times unmeetable beauty standards...

Tune in to hear how Cheryl not only overcame her eating disorder, but also how she continues to fight to accept and love herself every damn day.

In this BONUS episode, I brings on a friend and one of the very few people I have ever called a "hero" in my life. I bring on Tiffany Agnew to talk about the most impactful events in her life and how she turned loss into an opportunity to take life-affirming and life-changing action.

We talk about the cool story on how we first met and tried to set up a "playdate" with our teenage sons.

Tiffany shares how  discovering the Self Help book 'The Secret' through Oprah and a chance encounter with a stranger started her self-help journey.

Tiffany shares about her struggles in childhood and how experiencing the loss of her son, Braeden, kickstarted her to finally leave her fear behind and take action on living a "braver" life.

First, I want to thank EVERYONE who was a guest or who have listened to Season 1 of The Women Disrupted Podcast. You have helped me make a 3 year dream come true. I appreciate ALL of your support from the bottom of my heart.

In today's episode, I am ending it like I started it, with just me and my microphone. This is me unedited and unfiltered.

After reflecting over the past year, I  will be sharing my WHY behind the podcast. It's not exactly what and where I want it to be, but I will be patient and keep working towards my vision. Nothing happens over night and very little can even happen in a year. I hope you stick around to see it evolve.

In the finale episode, I am sharing my progress on what I set out to do from episodes 1 and 2. Did it turn out how I was hoping or expecting? Tune in to find out.

I am also sharing my 2 biggest takeaways of 2020 (in business and personally). There is a spoiler for a Season 2 in this section.... it's pretty juicy.

Then finally, I am sharing what I am hoping for in 2021. How can we predict the unpredictable?

See you next year and stay tuned for Season 2 coming in 2021!!

In today's episode:

I bring on Sarah McIntyre to talk about what it's like living with ADHD in her every day life, as well as, what its like to be diagnosed later in life with ADHD.

We touch on her experience with the trial and error nature of trying different medications

Sarah shares common traits to look for, as well as, some lesser-known ones...

We talk a lot about our shared experience of being in a long term relationship where one partner has ADHD and the challenges that can come along with that.

We also discuss about at what point does ADHD become not "neurodivergent" and its more about people functioning differently and the world needs to change to better understand them instead of making them feel as though they need to medicate to work around everyone else.

We talk about how differently people with ADHD can experience the world and how to distance the conversation from being just hyperactivity or "lack of focus". Also, and how the hyper focus aspect, that many neurotypical people don't know have or understand can actually be a superpower.

Sarah wanted to share these two links with you!

In today's episode:

I bring on Elisabeth Almerini on to talk about all things death, dying, and funerals. Why? Because Elisabeth is an end of life doula. She is someone who accompanies you or helps you and your family in your final weeks or days of life.

We get to learn about the ins and outs of what her unique career path means for her patients. We touch on what actually happens to our bodies within our last days of living, as well as normalizing talking about death.

Elisabeth shares about the death cafe that she runs. It is where people go and talk about death explicitly to help normalize it to reduce fear surrounding the mystery of death.

We also talk about some more modern "greener" ways of being buried.

Elisabeth shares her unique experience being with people as they die and the beauty one can find within it.

In today's episode:

I bring on my friend, Laura, who runs Laura Gatien & Associates Counselling Services. Laura does a great deal for her local community, including weekly free counselling services. Laura's goal is to bring more awareness to the importance of normalizing proactive mental health care and removing barriers so that all have access to mental health services.

We discuss why there's a difference in the way we care about our physical health care versus our mental health care and how we can help change this. Not only within ourselves, but in the healthcare system.

We also talk about how outside factors that can have an impact on our mental health or pre-existing disorders, such as social media. We also dive into common barriers that present themselves around addressing trauma.

We also cover the underlying stress of experiencing a global pandemic and how we can support ourselves.

In today's episode:

I bring on my guest Harriette Schumacher, an Executive & Leadership Coach to talk about how women can have more FIRECE conversations in the workforce in order to become better leaders.

Harriette helps women redefine what leadership means for them, so that they will thrive more in the workforce environment that was never designed for them to thrive.

We discuss how we live in a culture of 'niceness" and how this leads to inauthentic communications and relationships in the workforce, which can then also spill over to our personal lives.

So many are afraid of having conversations that may seem like it creates "conflict". Conflict doesn't have to be "bad". Harriette shares strategies on how we can have more open, honest and FIERCE conversations in the workforce and in our lives.

Let's build stronger relationships that honours our boundaries and help us to become better leaders. Women need to have more seats at the table and let's start by shattering the belief that we have to sacrifice our ideas and voice in order to be seen as "nice".

Find Harriette:

In today's episode:

I bring on an interesting guest to talk about something that hasn't been discussed on the show all that much before. In the context of the US election and the recent provincial election in my province, I bring on Brianna Faulkner, who has been in Canadian politics since the age of 19. She's the chair of the code of conduct committee for a political party In Nova Scotia (we are keeping the discussion non-partisan).

Brianna gives us a MASSIVE insight into the inner workings of provincial politics and how being a woman in politics REALLY is.

Brianna's goal is to ensure a safe and survival environment for everyone to participate in politics equally (YES!!!)

We talk about how one gets into politics as a volunteer or as a career if they wish to and we dive deeper into what the political sphere means for women.

We focus on redefining what it means to be a woman in politics and we talk about how in the past many women, including myself, were made to believe it was better to become more like a "man" in order to be taken seriously, which only does more to further stigmatize and delegitimize things that make up women fundamentally.

We also touch on the question of how fair the system is, if the same parties always have more money.

I have seen an influx of stories in the news lately regarding the discrimination against how womxn dress in the professional environment. Womxn are getting hate mail or fired from jobs, when there is truly nothing wrong with how they chose to dress their bodies. I feel that this is a reflection about how much society still sexualizes and objectifies womxn's bodies, especially in comparison to men.

Most dress codes target womxn or girls with their strict guidelines on the size of a strap or the hemline of a bottom. Girls are being sent home form school. Womxn being fired or harassed because what they wear has been deemed too "distracting"...but distracting to who? What is this communicating to girls or womxn? Is this belief perpetuating the cycle of sexualization of womxn's bodies?

I do believe that we, as a society, need to let go of some old school thinking and be more open and accepting to how people want to express their individuality. Jobs are changing. Gender identity is changing. Womxn are taking back and owning their bodies. They are tired having to hide their bodies to keep other comfortable.

However, I recognize that when we are shifting views on what is "appropriate attire", there is a lot of grey areas, so I wanted to dive into this topic deeper. I am fortunate to have a guest on who fought the dress codes in her child's school and is passionate about this very topic. Tune in to hear what happened with my guest Caroline Arsenault.

In today's episode:

I bring on my friend, Carolyn Campbell, who first introduced me to the positive body image movement and she shares about her own journey to wanting to become more body neutral. Body neutral means focusing more on what our body can do, rather then what it looks like. It means the way we feel about ourselves has NOTHING to do with what we look like.

Carolyn shares what it is like to live in a larger body and also what it was like to lose weight. What she had to do and feel to get there and then realize it did not bring her the happiness she was expecting...

Carolyn talks about what it is like to be a single mom and raise a daughter to unapologetically love herself. She loves that her young daughter is her biggest teacher when it comes to self-acceptance and self-love.

We also touch on some reasons why it's damaging to even comment on people's bodies, whether it's positive or not. Body neutrality is not a goal or destination, it is a journey, not of your body, but of your happiness and understanding of what makes you happy.

Anyone else feel like they are trying their hardest to fit their life around their job, instead fitting your job around your life? Why is this so backwards?! We only have one life and it should not be defined by how productive we are or how many hours or years we work.

I used to think that my worth was based on how much money I made, how many hours I worked or how productive I was. I mean I can understand it, working a typical 9-5, 40 hours a week has been the norm since the Industrial Revolution.

But times are changing...AGAIN. There is a cultural shift that has become even more apparent during the pandemic. It has come to light that we CAN work from home, we CAN work flexible hours, we CABN be just as productive by working LESS. There is so much research to support that we are generally productive for a total of 4 hours a day...so why do we keep holding on to the 8 hour day? Why are we pushing that extra 4 hours? Just because it ;s the way it has been done?

I call BS to doing something "just because".

If you can relate and want to disrupt the 40 hour work week, then listen to today's episode!

In today's episode:

As a Psych major, I have always loved diving into what makes others and myself 'tick". Understanding the "why" behind our thoughts, beliefs and behaviours deeply fascinates me. Yup...I am always the annoying one that asks "WHY?!", even to myself. Constantly.

I am a pretty self aware person who is constantly self analyzing and sometimes I found myself judging my emotions, feelings and behaviours. I thought I needed to be a "better person" or that there was something wrong with the way I was. I am not saying I didn't love myself, but I thought there were parts of myself that was "wrong" because I am assertive, not afraid of conflict and I spoke my mind. A lot. I didn't think these were qualities that made me a "nice" person.

Then, I came across "Human Design".

Not heard of it? That's okay...this is was today's episode it about.

My behaviour analyzing brain was fascinated by a system that could help be better understand how I was built and how to best respond to the world. Human Design shows you where and how to access your body’s consciousness as a decision-making tool, and ultimately, how to live as your true self. It offers a map that indicates how you are unique as a person, and guides you in living in a manner that is in sync with who you are.

In today's episode:

"If your mom guilt doesn't allow you to write a love letter to yourself, then write it to your child, and in writing it to your child you'll be able to see these words and phrases that really pop-out where you know that that's what's really vital to you to teach to your kids or just generally have in your life" - Nikki

In today's episode:

Have you ever gone to the punished your body through work outs in order to "pay" for something you ate?

Does the number on a scale determines your happiness or mood?

Have you ever thought of moving your body from a place of love, respect or just for the joy of it?

Want to know how to move your body in a way that is kind to it?

Ditch the guilt trips to the gym and listen to today's episode!

In today's episode:

• On today's episode, Amanda and her friend Maria Trecartin, a personal wellness coach. They dive deeper into disrupting the 'shoulds' in your life in order to break down fear-driven goals and convert them into desire driven goals for feelings of fulfillment.
• Maria shares about her a group called 'strive inside' that helps women to move their body in a way that doesn't make you hate yourself in order to change yourself.
• Amanda and Maria talk about the shame women often feel around their striving for fitness and how it comes from a place of a desperate desire to lose weight until it delves into pure obsession with numbers.
• They also talk about how the expectation for what is a healthy body is determined by businesses who want you to feel shame in order to make a profit
• Maria also gives some insider tips on how to organize your goals so that you don't get overwhelmed.
• Enjoy today's important discussion!
  

When I say the word "fat" or if you hear someone call someone fat, how does that make you feel? Does it make you feel uncomfortable? Are you offended?

If so, then is it because your definition of fat is bad?

Why....

When did you decide fat was an insult? Fat does not have to mean "bad". Fat is just a descriptor word like tall, short, thin, curvy, angular... words can have power, but only in the meaning you give them.

In today's episode:

"We need to have a strong pelvic floor to orgasm. We use and contract our pelvic floor to help with our sensation during sex and to help us orgasm, so having that pelvic floor strength is really important." - Stephanie Brown

Do you know what a pelvic floor is? Did you know you have one? I didn't up until a few years ago! Which literally blows my mind. Why wasn't this covered in biology or sex ed?? Did my mother know she had one??

After I had my son at 21, I jumped on the trampoline for the first time...it did not go well. Anyone know what happened? Well...take a listen to today's episode!

In today's episode:

• Amanda brings on her  friend and physiotherapist, Stephanie Brown! Stephanie is not just any physiotherapist, she is a pelvic floor physiotherapist.
• How many people heard that and had no idea what that means? The pelvic floor is a collection of muscles and ligaments that stretch between the female pubic bone and tail bone, and it plays a large role in general vaginal health.
• Stephanie helps us understand what this body part does for us and how our pelvic floor needs to be addressed, because it's heavily neglected in our society's general lack of focus on women's bodies and our health.
• She shares the most common reasons WHY you might want to see a pelvic floor physiotherapist and how they can help from painful sex, incontinence, to peeing when you sneeze.
• If you're looking for stronger orgasms as well, paying attention to your pelvic floor health can help...

Do you find yourself saying things like... "I should be more... I should do this more... I should do this less"? 

In today's episode:

"It is so important, I think, to name the inner voice.  Mine is named Lennie, he's kind of a jerk, but also, Lennie needs support" - Elise B 

Amanda brings on her friend and Vocal Warrior, Elise Besler. Elise is a Voice Teacher and Voice Empowerment Coach based in Halifax NS Canada. She has an extensive performing career as a singer songwriter, and is the creator and founder of her Voice and Voice Empowerment training facility, Nusong Studio. Elise believes in the power of the human voice to heal and create change. She works with Singers and Public Speakers to help them gain skill and confidence and overturn limiting beliefs to own their voices and rock the mic!

In today's episode, they discuss:

• How to identify, name and manage that every present "inner critic". They discuss what is the purpose of the inner critic and how to handle it when it invades your thoughts or actions.
• Elise shares about how she treats her "inner voice" in a way that you might not  expect!
• They talk about how to use our voice to say yes or no to the things we want to ACTUALLY say yes or no to...in an honest and authentic way.
• Elise discusses the importance of making sure the boundaries you set around yourself are yours and not those of your inner voice. You get to control of what you let in and out.
• Are you afraid of conflict? Then listen as they both dive a bit into how to have non-violent communication during disagreements in a way that benefits both people, even if you’re insanely angry. This is very timely when wanting to use our voices to call out racial injustice. To practice this skill, she recommends a book called "Nonviolent Communication: A Language of Life by Marshal Rosenberg.
• And again, in what seems to be tradition, the topic of vaginas comes up yet again through ow they can help us project emotion though sounds!
  

In today's episode:

• Amanda and her guest, Robin, a pleasure and confidence coach talk about sex!
• They talk on how our sexuality and sensuality affects our bodies individually because sensuality is our connection with our own body.
• Robin's goal is to help people feel more present and fulfilled in their lives through acts and feelings of sensuality. She gives advice on how to get rid of the disillusionment that many women feel from their sexual side of themselves, whether it be from stress, unrealistic beauty standards, or sexual trauma.
• The two also talk about how western society enforces the idea that people don’t deserve pleasure unless they earn it and how it can negatively affects people's ability to get in touch with themselves or have fulfilling sex.
• Robin explains how group nude retreats help many women, like herself, lose stigmas when it comes to their own bodies and shows us how meditation and presence practices, even masturbation, are important in getting grounded in your body, rather than meditating for the purpose of transcending your body.
• She gives her experience with these retreats and gives a ton of insight into her practices with tantric yoga... Also, if you want to hear about pussy breathing, stick around…

In today's episode:

In today's episode:

• Amanda brings on her friend, registered dietician and emotional eating coach Laura Buckley, to talk about body image yet again!
• They dive deep into the ways diet programs trick you into constantly feeling like you need to use them to be healthy and happy.
• Laura explains why eating healthy is actually a lot easier than we think. 
• They explore how we’ve all been tricked into thinking we need to follow the eating habits of others and how we were taught to stop listening to the cravings our body instinctually provides.
• Laura explains the importance of learning to trust your own body, gain balance over our emotions and practice presence in order to help our body naturally want and need food without punishing ourselves for not sticking to some random strict diet regiment.

In today's episode:

• Amanda brings on her friend, Heather, to talk about her experience and  struggles with her own body image.
• They talk about how for too long we’ve been conditioned that in order to be happy or to show up fully as ourselves, then we have to change our appearance first.
• They talk about the additional difficulty women have because they have been conditioned and trained to focus on exterior factors, like the size of their body, the state of their skin, how much hair they have on their body, the colour of their hair, etc...
• They discuss coping strategies that can be used to help those who're struggling with their weight or body and how body love may never be the goal.

In today's episode:

• Amanda brings her "Inner Wisdom/Meditation" coach, Dhavita Filek, on to discuss how practicing "presence" has been life changing for her in every way.
• Amanda shares her personal experiences with the everyday, long-lasting positive benefits of practicing presence and how it takes "living in the moment" to a whole new level. It has helped her to better listen to her instincts, body, and intuition.
• Amanda shares how she is implementing this practice with her daughter in order for her (daughter) to better trust her own feelings and have them guide her.
• They talk about how connecting to your body, feelings and senses can help you trust your decisions without overthinking every possibility. This is especially important for women, as grounding oneself is often harder to do because society has put so much unneeded pressure to be or live up to impossible standards.  Women can often get lost in a future-focused mindset without stopping to think about what they truly want and need.
• This is one of Amanda's favourite episodes, so please give it a listen!

In today's episode:

• Amanda brings on Harley, a non-binary college student, to discuss modern gender identity.
• They discuss how gender is considered different from sex and some important terminology that can help gender non-conforming people identify themselves.
• Harley gives their story of discovering themself, who they are and shares how to help non-binary people or people who use they/them pronouns feel included.
• They discuss why it's so important to ask people their pronouns and why it's important to understand some basic terminology when it comes to gender identity.
• Enjoy this very important episode!

In today's episode:

• Amanda dives deep into what a single breathwork session did for her mental health when dealing with a personal issue that had previously disconnected her from feeling any emotions.
• She brings on Jolene Dentremont, a breathwork coach, to discuss what breathwork entails and how she uses her skills to teach others about the importance of taking time to connect with their body in order to aid their mental health.
• The two share stories of the almost psychedelic effects it can have on you while you go through the process and how powerful the energy is in a room full of people during a session.
• Jolene also goes into detail in regards to a time that doing breathwork actually helped her heal from a physical injury.

Find Jolene Here:

“Whatever color of skin you have, you need to stand with the Black Lives Matter movement.” 

In today's episode:

• Amanda brings her friend, Melissa, on to discuss her personal experience with being a minority as an Indian woman.
• Melissa discusses the colorism and the obsession with whiteness and having fair skin in her culture as well as her experience living in Canada as an Indian/ Asian woman.
• They discuss the importance of speaking up against white supremacy and standing with black people during the current protests and the Black Lives Matter movement.
• Melissa also gives some extremely interesting insight into why she urges minorities to speak up even when they have struggled with oppression themselves.

**Trigger warning: This episode shares sensitive information that may be difficult for some listeners**

Brandy Williams is a Registered Dietitian and fitness instructor who joined Beautycounter because they are going above and beyond when it comes to safety, performance and education in the personal care industry. When she faced her 6th miscarriage, she started to do research and looks for the "why". This lead her on a mission to push for greater federal regulation of the ingredients used in cosmetics and personal care products.

In this episode:

• Brandy Williams shares her personal story of disruption by going through multiple miscarriages and shares the truth about how they affected her emotionally and physically.
• Brandy and Amanda discuss how the medical system and education system often fails women in preparing them for not just miscarriages, but their health in general, which can lead to shame.
• Brandy discuss why it’s important for women AND men to communicate about their trauma.
• Brandy shares the benefits she's had with dealing with loss when it happens instead of pushing it aside and discusses how therapy can help despite how hard it may be to attend counselling.
• Brandy shares how her experience led her to learn how our environment and hormones can affect women's mental/ physical health. Proper education and restrictions need to be implemented on chemicals to make sure that people aren't doing long term damage to their bodies by using everyday products.

After a divorce, today’s guest Amanda Bennett tells the story of her personal disruption that changed her life for the better and allowed her to learn more about herself and about relationships.

In this episode:

• Amanda shares that shortly after getting a divorce with her husband, she realized that she was more interested in loving a person, rather then their gender.
• What it was like coming out to her loved ones and son.
• What it's like being in a relationship with someone of the same gender and how it compares to being in one with a man or someone of the opposite gender.
• Amanda and Amanda discuss how chaos in life can lead to epiphanies about aspects of you you never know about yourself and how things like your sexuality, who you love, and labels don’t and shouldn’t box you in or be what defines you.
• The two also get frank about what it was like having sex with a woman for the first time.

In this episode:

• Amanda elaborates on the disruption in her life she introduced in the previous episode and discusses how organizing her core values helped her ground herself in what she needs to do to be satisfied with herself again; in her personal life, and in her personal styling business.
• She explains how a focus on external achievements doesn't necessarily equate to feelings of success.  Feelings of fulfillment and happy is completely an internal process.
• She discusses the importance of keeping her established core values in mind in everything she does. Connecting to our values lives inside our bodies, rather than overthinking everything or allowing our minds or societal standards to guide our actions and feelings.
• Keeping these values allows her to be comfortable in speaking her mind and allow her to teach other women to do the same for themselves.

In the very first episode of Amanda Hanson’s ‘Women Disrupted Podcast’, she gives a candid, in-depth glimpse into her life and how her son leaving for college has triggered a shift in herself and the changes she is making to her life going forward.

In this episodes you will hear:

• How these "crises" are normal, healthy, and can kickstart a positive change, or as she would puts it, a positive disruption in our own lives and in the lives of others.
• That discomfort and chaos usually means growth and expansion. As humans, we never stop growing, whether we are coming of age, 30, 40, or on the cusp of retiring.
• The importance of removing our filters that we put on our voice, our personality, or on our opinions to make others feel more comfortable. We need to remove those filters so that we can truly "be" who we are on the inside.