Chris Kenworthy
Beyond the basement
Join Chris for unscripted reflections on the wild, tender and playful experience of being human. Each episode is like an intimate voice-note to you, with lively insight from the edge of discovery. People say you’ll recognise yourself in these adventures and encounters. And hear clarity, perspective and truth - with deep appreciation for life’s messy magic as it’s really lived through your body. Chris Kenworthy is an improviser, facilitator and embodiment coach. Find me at chriskenworthy.co.uk or @chriskenworthy on Instagram and LinkedIn. chriskenworthy.substack.com
Author
Chris Kenworthy
Category
Podcast website
Latest episode
Jul 9, 2026
Where to listen?
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Episodes
Make it up as you go along 09.07.2026 17:48
In this episode, I explore our relationship with uncertainty, not knowing, and what it really means to move through life like a grown-up when, underneath it all, we’re all still making it up as we go along. Starting with an important life lesson about bullsh*t, I reflect on the strange truth that confidence often isn’t about having the answers - it’s about how we carry ourselves while we look for...
When I said NO to the Alps 01.07.2026 33:47
On holiday in Austria, I found myself unexpectedly face-to-face with a familiar lesson: choosing self-trust over self-abandonment. In this episode, I share what happened while rock climbing a via ferrata route in the Alps - the moment when the fun stopped feeling fun and started feeling wrong, and why tuning in and turning back became a quiet but meaningful act of listening to oneself. I explore t...
Let yourself be misunderstood 18.06.2026 50:10
In this episode, I’m exploring why certain kinds of conflict feel especially painful for perfectionists - especially when someone projects something onto you that doesn’t feel true. I look at what happens when another person’s fear, history or trauma gets laid at your door, and why that can hit so hard if you’re already wired to question yourself, defend yourself, and try to make everything fair,...
You’ll be OK - healthy masculine presence in a chaotic world 16.06.2026 59:16
I’m back from my first men’s retreat in Sweden - a deep, embodied exploration of masculinity, sensitivity, self-leadership, and love. I share what struck me most: that healthy masculinity is about grounded presence and love. It’s steadiness in uncertainty. It’s the capacity to hold tension, to protect what matters, to stay open-hearted, and to bring clarity and care to yourself and others. I explo...
Holding things lightly 08.06.2026 27:56
When I’m under pressure, I tend to contract. I want to get things right, map everything out, stay in control and avoid mistakes. I take things seriously. But improvisation keeps reminding me that life often feels lighter (or less costly) another way - through play, experimentation, small offers, and seeing what comes back. Fresh out of an improv intensive in London, join me for an exploration the...
The practice of being with yourself & what happens next 02.06.2026 43:05
After months of rebuilding structure and steadiness in my life, I find myself on a new exploration: what does it really mean to be with my experience, rather than fix it, analyse it, distract from it, or turn it into a story - now I feel safe enough to truly feel it? In this episode, I explore the feminine quality of “being with” - the soft, receptive, relational capacity to stay present with feel...
Single in middle-age: Truth, grief & freedom 26.05.2026 35:42
Come along for an improvised exploration of this strange, unexpected chapter of life: the grief of not being where I once expected to be, the freedom (and loneliness) of living outside the conventional script, and the quiet reality of building an unconventional life while many people around me are immersed in marriage, children, careers and family life. We’ll talk about the emotional texture of th...
Being with yourself (+ not running away) 19.05.2026 40:08
After months of building safety, structure and steadiness in my life, I’ve found myself in a new inquiry: what does it really mean to be with my experience, rather than fix it, analyse it, distract from it or turn it into a story? In this episode, I explore the feminine quality of “being with” - the soft, receptive, relational capacity to stay present with feelings as they move through us. Not bec...
When boring is exactly what you need to make life exciting again 12.05.2026 21:16
After a turbulent season of life, I’ve found myself saying something surprising: Life is boring right now - and that’s a good thing. In this episode, I explore the connection between safety, trust, rhythm and the capacity to receive more of the good things in life. I share what I’m learning about nervous system healing, why unpredictability can keep us stuck in survival mode, and how a slower, ste...
No means no - why boundaries begin with yourself 05.05.2026 31:29
In this episode, I explore a side of boundaries (what’s a yes or no in life) that doesn’t get talked about enough: the boundaries we set with ourselves. We often think of boundaries as something we use with other people - saying no, protecting our energy, asserting ourselves, eliminating toxicity or challenging behaviour. But what I’m discovering is that if I can’t hold a boundary with myself, it’...
What if the thing you resist is the medicine? 30.04.2026 21:28
Sometimes the very thing that brings you to life is the first thing to fall away when life gets challenging. In this episode, I explore why people drift away from the things they love - like improv, play, creativity, connection - just when they may need them most. I unpack the story that says you have to be in the ‘right mood’ before you’re allowed to show up, and why that might not be true. This...
Laughter is the best medicine 27.04.2026 28:37
Confusion is a form of suffering - that horrible state where nothing quite makes sense, nothing resolves, and the mind keeps looping in search of clarity and certainty that may never come. Can you relate? That’s been my experience of late. But then I found an unexpected ally… These reflections came to me in the bath, of all places, when I noticed myself once again circling an old, unresolved situa...
Joy is wealth 22.04.2026 30:50
In this episode, I explore joy - not as a fleeting high or a lucky accident, but as a state. A way of being you in the world. A way of meeting life. The spark for this reflection was a message from my friend Tom, who said: joy is wealth. That landed deeply. Because after a long winter of grief, withdrawal, heartbreak and recovery, I’m beginning to notice what happens when my focus starts to move o...
When self-care, compassion & love don’t work 13.04.2026 33:48
I’ve recently had a difficult but important realisation about emotional healing: sometimes softness isn’t what helps. Self-compassion, inner child work and emotional attunement are wonderful things, but I began to notice something unsettling - that soothing my big feelings in a gentle, maternal way was making them bigger, not calmer. Instead of helping the storm pass, it seemed to reinforce helple...
The beat beneath it all - rhythm in your life 03.04.2026 25:02
Back at my favourite tree in Leeds after a hard winter of with grief, change and travel, I’d like to introduce you to a new inner figure in my life: a rhythmic, embodied, non-verbal part of the psyche that has something to teach us about moving with life’s natural tempo. Sparked by a dream about drums, rhythm and an instinctive masculine presence, this episode explores what it might mean to be hel...
“I don’t care” (and you’re not bad for saying that) 13.02.2026 19:54
What if not caring is actually healthy? In this episode I explore the difference between caring (attention, effort, emotional labour) and blessing (love from afar, well-wishing, release). If you’re a sensitive, perfectionistic, empathetic type who ends up feeling on behalf of other people, this is an invitation to draw a clearer boundary around your ‘kingdom’ - to reclaim that which is yours (and...
Healthy ambition, hope, success & failure 08.01.2026 37:33
It’s the first episode of 2026 - and no, this isn’t a pep talk about New Year’s resolutions, grit, or “becoming your best self” by February. If anything, I’m here to make the case that January is the worst time to set goals. It’s still winter. Nature is resting. So maybe you should be too. Instead, I want to explore something adjacent: ambition. A friend told me recently, “I’m not ambitious.” And...
Conscious Solitude: a lost art, in winter 02.01.2026 36:04
Loneliness isn’t the same as being alone. And solitude isn’t a necessary evil - it’s a skill. This is a winter postcard about choosing yourself, slowly, on purpose. This episode is a postcard from midwinter - a love letter from the quieter edge of life. I’m exploring the difference between loneliness, being alone, and solitude… and why those aren’t the same thing. I talk about those “lonely storie...
The kingdom of you: boundaries, dignity and saying “no” 09.12.2025 42:23
Join me beneath a silver birch tree in my local park as I explore the messy, empowering, and deeply embodied world of boundaries. This episode dives into the lived experience of saying yes and no - where you end, where others begin, and how asserting your edges becomes an act of dignity, humility, and self-leadership. I share recent stories from my life and my improv practice, including a difficul...
The tyranny of taking life (and yourself) too seriously 02.12.2025 44:22
In this episode, we explore the tyranny of taking life too seriously - that joyless, over-responsible, heavily burdened state that achievers, perfectionists, caretakers, people-pleasers and “grown-up good boys and girls” know all too well. From the trenches of self-improvement fatigue, I look at how seriousness becomes a self-reinforcing way of being in the world - one that mistakes control for sa...
The Fool’s way into your inner world 02.12.2025 43:11
Come with me on a two-day immersion in fooling - a raw, theatrical, embodied practice that invites you to meet the many parts of yourself with innocence, curiosity, and play. Part archetype, part inner-world explorer, the Fool becomes a guide into your psyche: revealing sleepy parts, terrified parts, sexy snake-bodied parts, collapsed melodrama parts, cautious parts, joyful parts - every fragment...
Come home to yourself: the quiet (lost) art of self-attunement & soothing 25.11.2025 46:17
Unsettled and alone in hotel room somewhere in Derbyshire, mid-improv retreat, I explore the messy, human art of self-soothing- learning to find safety, connection, and calm within ourselves. This episode weaves together attachment theory, perfectionism, embodiment, and nervous system theory as I reflect on how people like us (anxiously attached) show up in relationship with ourselves and others,...
Self, other & the space between us 18.11.2025 40:28
Come for a walk with me, exploring the nature of self and other - what it means to be sovereign, an individual in relationship with other individuals. I record this reflection in a time of loss and transition. Expect theory and tenderness: from Enneagram, instincts and attachment theory, to the longing for union, the ache of separation, and the bittersweet truth that we come in alone and leave alo...
How to tell you’re struggling 11.11.2025 41:05
I’m not doing so well, and I want to talk about that. In this croaky reflection, I explore what it means to know when you’re struggling. Not just intellectually, but through bodily signals you might recognise. Like the tight jaw, restless legs, sleepless nights, looping thoughts, the quiet slide from responsibility into martyrdom. Through the lens of perfectionism, I map how easily “doing our best...
The inconvenient truth of who you really are(n’t) 04.11.2025 46:17
Sorry, but you probably aren’t who (or how) you think you are. In this episode, I explore the inconvenient truth about identity - that there’s often a gap between who you take yourself to be and how other people experience us. Drawing from my embodiment coaching training, I share stories about receiving confronting feedback (and unexpected compliments), and how these moments can fundamentally shak...
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