Welcome to THE TRUE NORTH COLLECTIVE℠ PODCAST: SEASON 3! With co-hosts Rachel Bellotti (she/her) and Jenell Riesner (she/her), this is a gathering of un-sugar-coated conversations celebrating the untold stories of everyday people fearlessly finding and living their true north.
In our own search to discover and live from our TRUE NORTH, we continue to meet many interesting, courageous people from all walks of life, doing all sorts of amazing things to live life in their own unique way. Stories from all over the world. Stories with heart. Stories with grit. Stories with plot twists. Stories going untold - until now. This season, we celebrate these untold stories of everyday people who are fearlessly living their true north and inspiring each of us to do the same.
Today, we continue our conversation about our relationship with our bodies with the lovely Judy Dejno (she/her), Partner at THRIVE - a human development company, Mindset coach, and insightfully rad human. If you haven’t listened to PART 1 (episode 21) yet, we highly recommend that you listen to that first, then come back to this conversation. The first part is a co-led workshop to reconnect you to your body’s authentic TRUE NORTH and it is nice to be able to tap into your own insights before hearing what ours are because at the end of the day, your TRUTH, INSIGHTS, and WISDOM is way more important for YOU than our reality. And it’s more fun to see where your truth intersects and diverges from ours when you have taken the time to sit with yourself first. This episode speaks candidly about the relationship that we each have with our bodies through the lens of a small cross-section of ages - someone in their 20s, someone in their 30s, and someone in their 50s. This conversation truly just scratches the surface, and it’s a really great start to a larger dialogue around building a more intimate relationship with our bodies.
*note: this episode includes explicit language appropriate for those ages 16+
**note: episode recorded on May 2, 2021
RESOURCES MENTIONED:
- #amplifymelanatedvoices @sonyareneetaylor
- #amplifymelanatedvoices @thebodyisnotanapology
- #amplifymelanatedvoices @iamchrissyking
- #amplifymelanatedvoices @kendramorous
- Music from: https://www.jukedeck.com/
3 KEY TAKEAWAYS:
- We tend to always focus on what we might lose, but what if we asked ourselves what we might gain? There is a pretty substantial energetic difference between these two questions that can be posed around how we look at a situation - and how we view the world, honestly. When we only pay attention to what we will lose, it can elicit all sorts of uncomfortable emotions, which can sometimes create a block or confusion around how to move forward or that there could be something beneficial in taking the step in front of us. If we could take a minute to pose the question, “what do we have to gain from this?”, it forces us to open up new doors and see possibility and disrupt our fear-based programming and start to maybe act. Even if it’s only in small steps. Those count too!
- Can you allow your body to change over time in response to your growth and your life without trying to force it to maintain or go back to where it was in the past? In life, sometimes things happen that stop us from ever being able to go back to the way it was before. And what if our bodies were the same? What if we aren’t meant to go back to the way our bodies were when we were 16, 23, 30, 50, 75…? When we are so focused on where we’ve been and trying to stay there (in life + in our bodies) we stop ourselves from being able to experience love and radical acceptance right now in this form today and at each stage of life that we are in. Otherwise we miss it all, always striving for something that is an illusion and not real and not here.
- Pay attention to your beauty training wheels - make-up, clothes, fillers, anything that you use to make yourself feel “beautiful” and “acceptable”. Those things in and of themselves aren’t bad at all and there is no right or wrong way to be you! And, it’s an important reminder to notice for yourself when those training wheels might become crutches. Notice when those training wheels become barriers, blocking you from yourself. Notice when those training wheels become the only things that allow you to feel good about yourself. When this happens, we create a gap between us and our genuine self-worth. Where can you practice taking off the training wheels and allow yourself to be truly seen for who you are? And then add on all the extras you want to expand the love that is already there with or without it.
TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES:
- [1:00] Mug obsessions
- [7:00] Update on Covid realities
- [19:00] What is there to gain from this?
- [26:00] Discernment
- [27:30] AD: Join us on June 13th @10:30am CST for a live workshop via Zoom called RECONNECTING TO YOUR TRUE NORTH, a 90-min movement + reflection workshop to connect you to your true north. Sign up here!
- [30:00] Welcome back, Judy!
- [32:00] Becoming aware of externally sourced perceptions + curating your body
- [36:00] When self-care becomes self-shame
- [40:00] Giving yourself permission to be your age + love yourself here
- [43:00] Being mindful about how you talk about your body with others
- [46:00] Recognize your beauty training wheels
- [52:00] Beauty privilege
- [56:00] Being in relationship with self + your body
- [1:00:30] Trusting in your body’s intelligence
- [1:05:30] How do you live your TRUE NORTH in your body?
- [1:07:00] Connect with Judy + THRIVE via thrivehdc.com or email Judy at judy@thrivehdc.com