EPISODE 6: AN UNSHACKLED LIFE OF PURPOSE, HEALTH, AND JOY WITH KRISTA O-REILLY-DAVI-DIGUI

Today’s guest, Krista O’Reilly-Davi-Digui, is a mama of three, a writer, a Certified Holistic Nutritional Consultant™ & a Joyful Living Educator. She is also the creator of  A Life in Progress, where she shares stories from her own life to remind people that they are not alone in their struggles and that there is hope. Krista reminds us that we are ever-evolving beings and that learning to have patience, love, and compassion for ourselves as we stumble through life is profoundly valuable.

Today we discuss:

• The struggles  in her life that put her on the path of helping herself and others find purpose and joy.
• How important she feels it is to feel heard and to feel you have people to sit with you in your discomfort and pain.
• How loved ones often aren’t able to bear the weight of our pain.
• How blogging, writing articles, and coaching has helped her break free of a lifetime of fear.
• How her mission to lift as many other women up as she can as she journeys to freedom, wasn’t a choice, but rather something that flowed through her.
• Parenting as an ongoing learning experience.
• The importance of maintaining open communication with our children.
• How our children have a right to feel how they feel without triggering us and our ‘stuff.’
• How owning our flaws and repairing when we mess up can deepen our relationships.
• The power of loving our kids when they are hard to love.
• How she helps  women find their calling.
• Her health-coaching work.
• Learning to co-exist with feelings of discomfort and still doing the work you feel called to anyway.

I know you will absolutely LOVE today’s episode as much as I did. Let me me know what you think!

xo

EPISODE 5: OVERRIDING YOUR CONDITIONING THROUGH MINDFULNESS AND SELF-COMPASSION, WITH LAURIE COUSINS

Do you struggle with being present? Do you beat yourself up for perceived mistakes or imperfections? Do you subscribe to the myth that if you're hard on yourself you'll be more motivated? Today I talk with Laurie Cousins, mindfulness and self-compassion educator, about how she got into the field of mindfulness and self-compassion and how this path helped her heal from a history of addiction, disordered eating, and co-dependency. Now Laurie helps countless adults, children, and families use mindfulness and self-compassion to alleviate stress, cultivate well-being, and to connect in more meaningful ways to the people in their lives. In today's episode we talk about: 

• How she internalized painful childhood experiences and sought soothing in unhelpful ways: addiction and disordered eating. 
• How a 12 step program and being paralyzed from a rare virus that attacked her nervous system set her on a path of healing through mindfulness and self-compassion.
• How her mindfulness practice changed after having kids.
• How mindfulness can help you feel less bored and more engaged in your day to day life.
• The ABC's of mindfulness.
• Sharing mindfulness with your children.
• How mindfulness can help regulate your emotions.
• The importance of self-care and why we need to treat self-care like a learned skill set. 

You will love learning about Laurie's story, her work, and what she has to say about mindfulness and self-compassion. Check out her website: http://www.healingwithmindfulness.com/. Sit back, relax, and enjoy!

EPISODE 4: Following Your Creative Calling with Chloé Jo Davis, creator of GirlieGirl Army

Today on Embraced Podcast, we speak with Chloé Jo Davis, creator of GirlieGirl Army: “The Glamazon Guide to Conscious Living; a one-stop online resource for a ferociously progressive, urban-minded approach to cruelty-free living.” Chloé was working as a party promoter, influencer, and celebrity liaison to Farm Sanctuary when she had the idea to create a space for people who loved animals as much as she did. Chloé wanted this space to match  her ”hippy morals and drag queen aesthetic,” and let me tell you, she 100% succeeded.  In today’s episode, we talk about:

-How starting Girliegirl Army felt like the moment before you kiss someone (i.e. it wasn’t a choice)
-How being an influencer was a dream since childhood
-How her difficult relationship with her parents fueled her creativity and empowered her to follow her dreams.
-How motherhood has helped her learn to fully love and accept herself
-The mental visualization she uses to help her get rid of toxic self-criticism
-Her decision to use attachment parenting to raise her children
-What attachment parenting looks like in her daily life with her family
-How attachment parenting her children helped Chloé heal from her own childhood wounds
-Her upcoming events and projects
-What a day in her life is like (spoiler alert: it involves a lot of tushy wiping and meetings with powerful women)

Chloé is such a force and I felt so inspired talking to her. Check out her website: girliegirlarmy.com and enjoy today's episode!!

xo

EPISODE 3: Living a Life of Passion with Lucia Podlipny-Scuba Instructor and Free Spirit

Do you ever have those days where you fantasize about putting all of your belongings in storage and escaping to a tropical island? Today’s guest, Lucia Podlipny, did exactly that! After Lucia graduated from college, she struggled with the question of what she wanted to do with her life. She explored various career paths (i.e. bar/restaurant management and ultrasound technician work), but was left feeling stuck and uninspired. Lucia decided she wanted to LIVE her life rather than simply exist. Tune in to hear how a much needed vacation led to a complete shift in Lucia’s mindset and life path. Trust me, you will NOT want to miss this episode!

Today we talk about:

-How our friendship blossomed over Ben and Jerry’s
-Lucia’s work experience post college
-The vacation that inspired her to leave her life in New York City
-Getting certified as a scuba instructor
-The anxiety and panic she suffered from leading up to moving to Utila
-Her day-to-day life in Bonnaire
-Lucia’s message to anyone feeling bored and passionless in their life

Lucia is so open, honest, and real in this interview and I know you will love her just as much as I do. Thanks for listening, #Embracedtribe!

xo

EPISODE 2: Let’s Talk About Sex- Learning to Fully Love and Enjoy Your Sexuality with Author and Sexual Wellness Coach, Lauren Brim

Welcome to episode two of Embraced Podcast! Today we are talking to Lauren Brim, a mother, author, and sexual wellness coach. Lauren is passionate about helping women move through physical and psychological barriers to help them more fully enjoy and love their sexuality. She has two books out: The New Rules of Sex and The New American Family. She also blogs about sexual health, happiness, and motherhood, and has several courses aimed at sexual education, all of which you can find on her website, laurenbrim.com.

Lauren first became interested in the business of wellness after suffering from a spinal injury dancing with the Radio City Rockettes in 2004. She was forced to confront the emotions underlying her physical health, which completely shifted her outlook on her life. Lauren decided to specialize in women’s reproductive health, and through her training to be a midwife she realized that: 1) No one in the healthcare industry was taking the time to speak with women about their sexuality, and 2) Women were being given one-size-fits-all treatments that ignored the emotional aspects of their sexual health. From that point on, Lauren devoted herself to “[freeing] women from the old paradigm of sexuality and relationships and helping them discover who they truly were, what they needed, and the pleasure that was possible in their lives and bodies.”

I had so much fun talking to Lauren about the life experiences that lead her to becoming a sexual wellness coach and how she chose a nontraditional path to create her own family. In today's episode we discuss:

-Her experience as a dancer with the rockettes
-Her unexpected departure from a career as a midwife
-How she got into sexual coaching and how it affected her own sexuality.
-Her decision to have a baby with a friend
-The pros and cons of co-parenting with a friend
-Sex after giving birth
-Why women struggle with sexual desire and expressing their sexual needs

Hope you enjoy this episode as much as I did!

xo

EPISODE 1: HANGING WITH YOUR HOST, WHITNEY

Welcome to Embraced Podcast's first episode! I have been so excited for the release of Embraced and I can't believe the day is finally here. I was planning on doing the first episode flying solo, but then I thought it would be way more fun to have a good friend interview me since I'm usually more myself around friends (isn't that how all good friendships should be?). Today I chat with my girl, Annie Vovan, about:

• My background as a psychologist
• How my perspective shifted after having two kids
• My failed attempt at owning my own private practice
• My experience with postpartum anxiety and depression
• What lead to my decision to create Embraced Podcast
• How I maintain my sanity as a working mama
• How I'd spend $100, $1000, and $10,000 (my answer might surprise you...)  
• My feelings about Obama and Beyoncé 

I can't wait for my #embracedtribe to hear this first episode! Enjoy!