Free Spirit Academy Podcast

Best of: Navigating Symptoms and Flares without Shame

 So many folks I see, and this was me too, attach goodness and morality to their health. If something is wrong, they feel wrong. They will spin into stories about how they're creating their own disease or this is going to turn into something far worse. Can you make some space for the fact that not all of the contributing factors were in your hands? Your genetics,  adverse childhood experiences, your environment and day to day stressors that accumulate. There are areas where we have choice and can learn to be empowered...and there are factors we don't have control over. There are elements, like childhood trauma, that weren't our fault but that  as adults we have quite a large degree of choice in how we address the effects. Having a sense of humor, when possible, can bring some lightness to what can be a serious and heavy healing process. Life is very short. Literally no amount of it needs to be spent beating yourself up anymore. That time would be better spent taking care of that part of you that so automatically goes into shame. Then, just coming back to what you best know works for you. again and again and again. Links:Free Spirit Academy on InstagramWork with Rande

What it's like to say "I trust myself" (with food and beyond)

What does it actually mean to trust yourself, especially after years of trying to control every part of your life, your body, or your impulses?In this episode, I share how years of shame, "self-improvement", and control kept me trapped in cycles of compulsion and self-judgment - and what it was like to finally build trust with myself.Through personal story, trauma-informed insight, and a surprising experiment called Rat Park, this episode explores why compulsive urges aren’t failures or moral flaws - they’re messages. And when we start to listen with curiosity instead of control, trust becomes possible. In This Episode, You’ll Hear:Why compulsive behaviors aren’t about willpower or weaknessHow childhood disconnection, shame, and unmet needs shape our coping patternsThe surprising science of Rat Park - and what it reveals about safety and connectionHow I learned to shift from control to curiosityWhat self-trust looks like in real life Links:Work with RandeFree Spirit Academy on Instagram

What’s Really Under the Urge to Binge: A Curious Approach to Healing Binge Eating

For years, I thought the urges to binge eat were THE problem...the thing standing between me and finally being okay. But what I eventually learned is that those urges were never the enemy. They were messengers.In this episode, I share what happened when I stopped trying to make my binge urges go away, and started listening to them instead.You'll hear me talk about:Why compulsive urges are communication, not failureThe nervous system roots of binge and numbing patternsHow curiosity and self-compassion can begin to shift everythingThe first step to finding freedom that isn’t built on controlIf you’ve ever wondered why you keep doing the thing you don’t want to do - this episode is for you.🌿 Mentioned in this episode: → My upcoming mini course, What’s Under the Urge - coming soon to Free Spirit AcademyJoin the mailing list to hear when it's announced.Links:Work with RandeFree Spirit Academy on Instagram

The relief of letting yourself be misunderstood.

In this episode, I’m exploring what happens in our bodies when we feel misunderstood - that familiar urgency to explain ourselves, prove our intentions, or make sure we're still seen as “good” or “respectable.”Through the lens of somatic awareness and my experience in burlesque, I talk about:How old wounds of being unseen or misunderstood can resurface in adulthoodThe ways those wounds can spill out as overexplaining, people-pleasing, or numbingWhy “being gotten” once felt like safety, and the importance of learning to build that safety on the inside.What it means to stay connected to our bodies, even when others don't understand us.This episode is an invitation - to both you and me - to create enough safety in our inner world that being misunderstood doesn’t have to pull us away from ourselves.Links:Work with RandeFree Spirit Academy on Instagram

Best of: Healing Doesn't Happen in a Hurry (the truth about emotional, compulsive, and binge eating)

Healing doesn't happen in a hurry. The hurry to be healed, integrated, enlightened, free, arrived...it's not as neat and tidy as a lot of self-help books or before-and-after photos might suggest. It's more like, the harder we try to fix things, the harder our nervous systems work to keep us where things are familiar. Whereas, if we can slow down with ourselves, right  in the behavior or with the part of us we hate or struggle with most, we can get to know it. There are often so many unknown steps in a healing process that we couldn't possibly plan them all out, let alone by a certain date. And often, the version of us that exists right here is the one most needing our acceptance and attention.In this episode, I talk about the desperation and hurry I felt to "fix" my binge and emotional eating. I'll also share about the parts of myself I'd have missed meeting if the "hurry" had worked.Links:Work with RandeFree Spirit Academy on Instagram