Stand Up Break Free

Melanie is a rockstar. She blends yoga, feminism, punk rock, academia, and activism in an incredibly profound and accessible way. "Empowerment for renegades, new thought leaders, new executive leaders, next-level entrepreneurs, paradigm shifters, or anyone who knows walking in their greatness is for the greater good" is what it says on the home page of Melanie Klein's website.  I love it. Yes. All of that.  She shows up in the world as a yogi, coach, speaker, professor, and person with so much grounded wisdom and she shares incredible insights in this conversation.  Connect with Melanie here: http://www.melaniecklein.com/ Check out more on the Yoga and Body Image Coalition here: http://www.yogaandbodyimage.org/ Find all of her books here: http://www.melaniecklein.com/writing.html Connect with me, Katie Ashley, here: www.katieashley.org   

Chris Dodson performs anywhere from 4-6 nights a week, often multiple gigs a night, in the Charleston area. He has been writing and recording original music since 2002. His song catalogue is mind blowing and the diversity of his musical projects is incredibly inspiring.  Interestingly, given that he plays so many gigs and has so many bands and duets, he would prefer to write songs for other artists and musicians as a non-performer and just perform as an entertainer. He's currently building a vast collection of songs and is headed to Nashville to pursue songwriting.  Listen to his music and find out where he's playing here: http://chrisdodsonmusic.com/ Listen to his album here: https://soundcloud.com/user-696193764 Follow him on social media here: https://www.facebook.com/chrisdodsonmusic Thank you for listening! You can connect with me, Katie Ashley, at www.katieashley.org and on Instagram and www.Instagram.com/katieashleylove   

Can Dharma and Tranta mix? How do we heal from trauma and how do we best help others to do so?  What's it like to leave home and travel the world? How does one even begin?  Does a serious spiritual practice have to have such a focus on suffering or can we lean into joy and pleasure more fully?  In this episode Shelby Leigh shares about all of this and so much more. I could have kept talking to her for many more hours.  To connect with Shelby please visit: http://shelby-leigh.com/ To connect with me, Katie Ashley, please visit: www.katieashley.org  Enjoy the show!     

This is the sex & money conversation that we all need to hear. Jillian is a rockstar and I LOVED talking with her.  This podcast is for you if you're interested in exploring your relationship to sex, money, pleasure, relationships (especially between mother & child or child & mother) the practice of receiving, inviting and accept support - and how accepting support is different than being dependent - worthiness, making big changes in your life, healing deep wounds, connecting the dots in your own life and healing process...and so much more.  Jillian is a wellspring of knowledge and shares so much goodness in this episode.  To learn more about Jillian and her work, please visit: https://www.jillian-anderson.com/ You can also find her on Instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/jillianaanderson/ You can find me, Katie Ashley, here: http://www.katieashley.org/ and on Instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/katieashleylove/  

Clutter can feel so heavy and daunting and overwhelming. It can literally be in the way of our personal development and our over all wellbeing. I've personally, had enough. And, I'm getting help!  Next week we're taking on the art room in our home with the expert guidance of Amy Kay, clutter coach and founder of de-cluttered.  I am beyond stoked to do this project and to share Amy's wisdom with all of you. Get a sneak peak into what we're up to and get some expert tips and tricks that you can apply to your own home! This is the "before" interview and we'll be sharing another conversation once our home is de-cluttered!  Learn more about Amy here: https://www.de-cluttered.com/ Find her on Instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/de_cluttered/

A light topic today. Really though, it's not heavy. It's more of an investigation of ideas and a sharing of some really wise teachings by Jack Kornfield and others.  If you're feeling a bunch of old stuff lately - this episode is for you. It's also for you if you tend to "over spiritualize" your practice.  We explore ideas that I've been turned on to and ideas that came to me in my own moments of big change and little change...when I've been tuned in.  The blog that I mention can be found here: http://www.katieashley.org/stuck-in-a-riptide-going-against-the-stream/ You can find the book that I reference here: https://www.amazon.com/After-Ecstasy-Laundry-Heart-Spiritual/dp/0553378295

Modern Science is proving the benefit of this ancient practice. It's one of my favorites. It's one I teach often. It's one that we can all use more of. You can find more, freely offered, meditation practices at www.katieashley.org/meditation  Interesting Facts about the practice of Loving Kindness Meditation: 1. In a landmark study, Barbara Frederickson and her colleagues ( Fredrickson, Cohn, Coffey, Pek, & Finkel, 2008) found that practicing 7 weeks of loving-kindness meditation increased love, joy, contentment, gratitude, pride, hope, interest, amusement, and awe. The results of these positive emotions included many benefits such as increased mindfulness, purpose in life, social support, and decreased illness symptoms, which, in turn, predicted increased life satisfaction and reduced depressive symptoms. 2. A study by Shahar et al (2014) found that Loving Kindness Meditation was effective for self-critical individuals in reducing self-criticism and depressive symptoms, and improving self-compassion and

A funny story from 3am and a life lesson that took me over five years to learn. I hope that after listening to this you can put the lesson into practice in about five seconds.  This episode is sponsored by a new event that I'm hosting with my dear friend Susannah Dellinger. It's called Mindfulness + Makeup + Mimosas. If you're in Charleston - come and bring friends!  Here is the link for tickets and more info: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/mindfulness-make-up-mimosas-tickets-46190745764?aff=es2

This episode has been a long time coming AND it's right on time. Today, we're exploring what it means to live life on purpose and what happens when we get "there."  Here's the link to the yoga class that I mention in this episode: http://www.katieashley.org/love/ Here's the link to my book, Living Life On Purpose, if you'd like to read the story that I mentioned: https://www.amazon.com/Living-Life-Purpose-Katie-Ashley/dp/1517492777/ref=sr_1_1_twi_pap_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1526563877&sr=8-1&keywords=katie+ashley+living+life+on+purpose  

Andrea Owen helps high achieving women let go of the big 5 default behaviors: Perfectionism, Control, Isolation/Avoiding, People Pleasing, Numbing Out, and all of the ways that we contribute to believing that we're not good enough through our own sh!tty self-talk.  She's the author of 52 Ways To Live a Kick-Ass Life and How To Stop Feeling Like Shit and the host of one of my favorite podcasts, Your Kickass Life.  Her new group program, Raise Hell, is coming soon (aka now) and you'll want to stick around to the end of our conversation to hear some special info about that. It's going to be a game-changer.  You can find Andrea at www.yourkickasslife.com

Have you ever wanted a friend that was super funny and grounded...but not too serious..but serious enough when it's important to be...and spiritual...but not holier than thou about it...and really truly nice...but also a little snarky...and 100% themselves in a way that seems super refreshing and inspires you to be so as well?  Basically, a unicorn friend? Steven just may be that person. He's a rockstar.  Listen to this episode and see/hear for yourself! 

Cortney is one of the people that I look to as "proof that it's possible" on at least a weekly basis.  She's an internationally sought after and respected yoga teacher, mentor and coach that lives a life of alignment and adventure in her homebase of Charleston, SC and all around the world. (She just got back from Jamaica and is leaving for Hawaii in a few days.) She inspires over 20K people globally through her Instagram account, and has been featured on the cutting edge fitness app Cody App. Cortney’s background in yoga, the healing arts, and diverse movement practices, fuel her personal practice and desire to share and explore soulful movement. In this episode we share a funny story of our first adventure together and then Cortney share's with us exactly how she's crafted her path into the life and career that is her current reality and how we can use the same tools to create - and take - a beautiful path of our own.  You can connect with Cortney here: http://www.cortneyostrosky.com/ and you can find me at 

In this episode I'm talking with Alyssa Kuzins, the creator of The Journal Deck, a 52 card deck where journal prompts meet oracle cards for a truly unique self care experience + ritual to add to your toolkit. For Self Care, Clarity, and Personal Growth. Alyssa is an ecstatic woman in the midst of adventure, exploration, gratitude, and staying open as she gets the abundance that she's asked for.  In this conversation she shares some amazing stories - mind blowing, heart breaking, heart expanding, and all around inspiring. If you're looking for some soul healing and aligned living, listen to this episode and connect with Alyssa. 

Jessica Rueger is a powerful spark-starter for transformation in her own life and in the lives of others. I've long been fascinated with her ability to find growth and inspiration in her relationships and life circumstances and how transparent she is about her personal and spiritual evolution. 

Moira Kucaba has experienced the polar opposite of freedom and she has walked into the fear that she needed to face to create true freedom for herself in so many ways.  The ripple effect of Moira creating massive change in her own life and leading by example is breath taking. As the founder of team Together Rising Moira has touched the lives of countless men and women whom she challenges to step up into their best selves and best lives as she guides them to live life by design. As a result, they experience more freedom and the ripple effect compounds further.  When I asked Moira to be a guest on Stand Up Break Free I wasn't expecting our conversation to change my life in such a huge way...but it did. This conversation included some huge light bulb moments for me that stuck with me long after we ended our call.  I won't say too much more now, because I want you to listen yourself and perhaps have your own lightbulb moments.  Please stick around until the end of the episode because I have something special and

Bailey Koch is rather magical. Her ability to lean into the flow of what's coming her way and hold her options up against the light of her own desires and knowledge of herself is inspiring and seems to be one of her super powers.   After growing up with freeze dried hippy parents on Folly Beach, SC and traveling all over Europe on mother/daughter adventures, Bailey went to NYU to study musical theatre. While there, she followed the flow of passion, curiosity, opportunity and deep self-understanding and found her self working in non-musical theatre and film.  She then moved across the country and is working in film casting after having the most serendipitous experiences as a result of her ability to simply ask questions and be open to answers and opportunities.  In this conversation Bailey and I talk about asking for help, connection, isolation in the age of information, the beautiful benefits of vulnerability, activism, and how to find ideal mentors in life and work.       

Carley Schweet is a mindfulness based lifecoach that helps recovering people pleasers build boundaries with soul.  In this episode we talk about her journey from working in the NYC fashion industry to having a panic attack in the bathroom at work to figuring out how to feel and follow her intuition to living in Seattle living in a way that she absolutely loves doing soulful work in the world.  Carley shares some amazing stories and offers a way of actually feeling our intuition in a really simple and individualized way.  Carley's website: http://carleyschweet.com/ Carley's book: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0692855726/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=carleyschweet-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=0692855726&linkId=cb70b6624cb62043e3fcdc4032be2b4e

Can we be both wild and holy? Can we forge our own spiritual path and go back to our roots? Can we be spiritual without being religious? What does spiritual even mean and what does it feel like to shift our thoughts and beliefs around spirituality? In today’s episode I’m talking with Megan Hale about these concepts and so much more. Megan Hale is the host of the new podcast, Wild and Holy Radio. Wild and Holy Radio is for spiritual seekers who want a fulfilling life instead of just a full one.  They crave wholeness and expression, authenticity and vulnerability, healing and transformation, and embracing who they are while expanding into their best selves. Wild and Holy Radio is a conversation for those who are tired of living in the black and white of right or wrong and are ready to embrace paradox and dichotomies. Gone are the days that you must follow the rules in order to be holy.  God was never playing that game. Gone are the days you have to hustle for your worthiness.  You’ve been deserving all along. G

Most people I’ve met, have at one time or another, bemoaned the feeling of “overwhelm” and feeling pulled in a million directions to juggle all the plates and to do #allthethings in their work lives, school lives, family lives, and personal lives. Shauna Vanbogart is not into it. She’s in her sweet spot. And, she’s an expert at guiding others who have drifted away from theirs back on point. Especially business owners that feel like they’ve lost that lovin’ feeling for their business and are really mystified and frustrated to be feeling that way because they began their businesses with such passion, belief, and good intentions. If you’re feeling disconnected, distracted, and over cluttered in your mental and physical space – this episode is for you. You can connect with Shauna here: https://shaunavanbogart.com/and on Instagram at http://www.instagram.com/shaunavanbogart You can find me at http://www.katieashley.org/and on Instagram at http://www.instagram.com/katieashleylove

Once upon a time (about five years ago) I was just getting my feet wet as a business owner, blogger, and advocate for change in our relationships to ourselves – body, mind, and spirit. At that time, I was starting to share my story and the teachings that I’d found the most helpful. Part of my story was my story of recovery from an eating disorder. I believed, because I’d lived into it, that full recovery was possible. I still believe that and I’m still living it. Confidingly, not everyone believes in the potential of full recovery which is one of the many reasons that I am passionate about giving a platform to those who do believe that full recovery is possible and are dedicated to sharing their knowledge and experience with others. It is my absolute honor to share this conversation with Jane Mattingly with you today. This conversation is important for, not just those in recovery, but for anyone with a body. Or anyone that knows anyone with a body…so everyone. Everyone can benefit from learning how to better