boobs, bods & brains

This week Laurel and Sam sit back and have an honest and raw conversation about intimate partner violence and domestic assaults, as well as violence against women.  While all of us know that this is an issue that remains pervasive in the world we live in, it is not something we talk about often enough. This week marks the 34th anniversary of the Montreal Massacre at l’Ecole Polytechnique. 14 women...

As the holiday season approaches, so does the avalanche of emotions that we tend to assign to these events. Many of us circle important dates on our calendars. Dates we want to make sure we never forget. While always important, sometimes those dates hold a lot of sadness, worry and regret for us. Today we have the opportunity to speak with Grief Recovery Specialist, Kirsten Frey about how to navig...

As people who have identified themselves as being female all of their lives, it can be taxing and trying to put on a brave face. From childhood, we are talked at and programmed to believe that being happy is not something we should expect or strive to achieve.  Today we have the opportunity to speak with Brenda Jasmin about being happy, the “Psychology of Happiness,” and how it is truly okay for u...

At this time of year it is not difficult to find people who will tell you that the darkening days and minimal exposure to sunlight has them feeling, fatigued, unmotivated, and often depressed.  Sure, we know the holidays are coming, but the lack of sunshine and feeling chilled to the bone can often leave a person struggling to navigate their own emotions, not to mention helping their children figu...

Doesn’t it feel like everywhere you turn these days you are hearing your peers talk about burnout? We are extending ourselves so far that we struggle to enforce the boundaries we know we need to put into place. Couple that with owning your own business,  raising children, having a partner, maintaining a home (not to mention the “sandwich generation”) and you have a recipe for disaster.  **these ar...

The longest days and weeks of our lives always surround having to wait for news that we know may change the course of our lives.  Today we have the opportunity to speak with Milka Vujnovic about her journey through detection, biopsy, diagnosis, surgery, and recovery from breast cancer. Milka talks about how and why she made the decisions that she did about her own journey. She also goes on to talk...

When you first receive a breast cancer diagnosis, you will likely be left to wonder where to turn to feel like you are able to get answers to the questions you didn’t even know you had. Today we have the opportunity to speak with, and learn from Barb Daize of BodyMed Boutique in Burlington, ON. She tells us why she started this business and how it has grown and evolved over time. She also highligh...

One of the most beneficial post–surgical and post-treatment therapies for those who have been diagnosed with breast cancer is lymphpatic drainage and decongestive therapy.  Today we speak with Taffina Marley; a physiotherapist at Movement Solutions in Waterdown Ontario. She speaks with us about the role she plays, not only for breast cancer survivors, although that is an area of specialty for her,...

Unless you’ve been told that you have the dreaded “C” word, you really can’t understand what it’s like to walk that path.  As we launch season three we open with a month of conversations about breast cancer, specifically breast cancer treatment and breast cancer awareness.  We welcome today a very special guest to the show, Sam’s wife, Brenda McCoy, a breast cancer survivor. Brenda talks with us a...

We have had a truly marvellous second season, and that is primarily a result of the combination of our incredible guests and fantastic listeners.  In today’s episode, Laurel and Sam spend time talking about some of the types of conversations that have greeted your Monday mornings this year, as well as hopes and dreams of guests we would love to be able to speak with some day.  As we wrap on season...

We talk about trauma a lot.  This is a fairly new phenomenon in the world. Up until the last 10 to 15 years we have really been mostly instructed to keep our trauma to ourselves and not to think about processing it so we can move forward.  Today we have the opportunity to speak with and learn from Lara Stewart Panko. They are a Registered Social Worker, and they do a significant amount of work wit...

Have you ever had that experience where you walk into a space and smell something familiar that just teleports you back in time?  Do you have an aversion to some scents and you don’t even understand why you have an aversion to them?  Aromatherapy has been around for millennia, and how each of us responds to different scents and fragrances is as unique as each one of us as humans.  Today we have th...

Every one of us has a preference as to how our personal space is presented both to ourselves and to the world around us.  Some people prefer to have photographs and knickknacks, reminders and mementos of the people and places that feed our memories and our souls.  Other people like clean lines, and everything out of sight to feel a sense of clear headedness.  Both approaches are completely right f...

Do you remember that time when you were little and you pictured yourself being the CEO of your own organization? You pictured what the environment would look like and who the staff would be.  What is it about becoming a business owner or entrepreneur that appeals to some, and not to others? And is there a difference between the two?  Today we are excited to be speaking with Jenn Hudder, who is a b...

Becoming a parent and going through the process of pregnancy, labour, birth and postpartum can be one of the most amazing and exhilarating times in someone’s life. It can also be a time when there are more questions than it feels that there are answers. Knowing that your care provider will take the time to sit with you and answer your questions and let you make decisions about your own care is a g...

Supporting individuals and families through the fertility, pregnancy, birth and postpartum period is not an easy task. Finding someone who can truly walk alongside you with education in all of those areas without having to spend time finding separate doctors and care providers is no minor task either.  Today we’re talking with Debbie Fazio who is one of the co-creators of Mohawk College’s PNSW pro...

Our world is finally turning a corner and understanding that those who identify as women truly can have it all. Today we’re speaking with professor, researcher, coach, educator, parent, spouse, and so much more Daisy.  Daisy talks to us about finding a way to honour our passions, respect our needs and accomplish our goals. It’s a matter of knowing your own limitations, and listening to what your b...

While approximately only 25% of podcast hosts identify as female, the percentage of women who listen to podcasts and consume the information shared significantly higher than that.  Over the course of the last 18 months, Laurel and I have had the opportunity to speak with many women who own their own businesses, and to welcome guests who provide information and skills to help you, our listeners, li...

From the time we are born, young women and girls are taught to downplay and minimize the feelings that we have from the traumas that we have experienced. We don’t let ourselves think about the reality that these traumas stay with us for the rest of our lives, even if they don’t manifest in the most obvious way.  How we feel them is really unique and individual to everyone of us. We may experience...

What if we started when our children were young? What if we taught them about all of the things that their bodies can do? We tend to be more inclined to do this for children who are assigned male at birth, but for their peers who will have cycles administrate we tend to assign shame and guilt.  Today we are speaking with Michelle Kapler TCM, acupuncturist, reproductive medicine, practitioner, and...

You know that feeling when you hear a song that you haven’t heard before and all of the memories come flooding back?  You feel that familiar tempo and pace your breathing to the beat of a time previously forgotten? Today we are speaking with Music Therapist Adrienne Pringle about how music therapy is used from the incredibly young all of the way to the amazingly aged. It is a technique utilized al...

It isn’t uncommon to hear people talk in whispers about chakras. what IS uncommon is for those same people to take the time to talk about WHAT the chakras are and how we can work with them to encourage our physical and emotional bodies to feel well, process emotions or heal. Today we are speaking with Heidi Martin of Heidi Martin Wellness Inc., about being open to using our chakras, using social m...

No matter how much we may plan for or yearn for to become a parent, the moment we get the call or pee on the stick and are dreams begin to move toward being a reality, the nerves crank up. How will we do this? Can I physically do it? How will I know what to expect? Who is going to be there, by my side with the answers to these questions? How can I have the best, happiest and healthiest journey pos...

When you are buried in the mountain of grief that surrounds you and your entire existence with the loss of a child, it is virtually impossible to believe that you will ever see a light again. It is the greatest fear any parent ever has. It is the greatest fear any expectant parent ever has. Today we are speaking with Nicole Fraser of the podcast From Heaven and Hope. Nicole lost her first child in...

Sue has a face that most of us have seen before, literally. She spent over a decade and a half working as a professional, international model. Today she spends time speaking with us about the fashion world and how it has changed over the years. Sue also details for us the journey she embarked upon following her battle with Covid-19. She made the decision to become the healthiest and most well vers...