Dear body, I'm listening

"We are the experts in our well-being and our own bodies, and it's important for us to advocate for ourselves. We're not defined by our past. Our past is gone. It's in the past, and the beliefs we formed about ourselves based on what we've been told by other people or experienced in the past aren't necessarily true." —Ann Diment Some seasons of life push us past our limits, and the body keeps scor...

"The holiday is around the corner, and what do you want for Christmas? All I really care about is I just want you to get healthy. I just want your body to stop causing you so much pain, and I want you to be excited about the clothes that you're wearing and the way that your body looks and feels, and to feel like you're back in the driver's seat of your life. And if I can give that to her, that's m...

"Trauma doesn't just live in your memories, your fascia, or your nervous system. It can also reshape your immune system, especially when no one helped you feel safe. That doesn't mean it's your fault, and that doesn't mean your body isn't on your side. It means that your body has been on your side this whole time, trying to protect you the only way it knew how." —Donna Piper Some days your body th...

"It's a balance between getting information and trusting experts. It's really important that as a patient, you have to be your own advocate." —Robert Kane When it comes to our body, uncertainty can be the hardest symptom to treat. Worry sets in when answers are fuzzy, and bouncing between specialists leaves us more confused than before. The real question is: how can we know what's happening inside...

  "The body's intelligent. We just have to show up. I equate it to a dance where the body leads and I follow." —Peter Stuart   You can run from nagging pain, but it keeps showing up in new ways—wrecking sleep, fouling up moods, and shutting down energy. The worst part? Real answers are rare, and the world keeps telling you to just "push through" or "try harder." Maybe it's not about willpower at a...

"Push your life to be the life that you want and not accept that it's just the way it is. Every choice that you make should be toward loving the life that you have." —Heather Nelson     Connection isn't just a feel-good extra. It's a lifeline when the world feels heavy and invisible battles make us want to shut down. Isolation, overwhelm, and invisible struggles don't need to be our whole story; e...

"Pace first, safety builds capacity." —Donna Piper   There's a kind of tired that sleep can't fix, a crash that feels invisible to everyone but you. You push, you pace, you try to "do all the right things," yet your body still calls a timeout. Maybe it's not weakness or lack of willpower. Maybe your body's simply working harder than anyone realizes. In this episode, Donna unpacks a revolutionary s...

  "Trust your instinct… Our bodies sound an alarm bell that something isn't right, and we ignore it for years. Don't ignore it. Don't accept the bare minimum answer.  Just because your labs are normal does not mean that your body is functioning optimally." —Hiba Hamati   Going to doctor after doctor, trying every tip, and still wondering why your pain and swelling never make sense. You know there'...

  "Your body is not the enemy—the world's impossible standards are. And every time you name that truth out loud, you don't just free yourself, you also free someone else." —Donna Piper    Some lies are so loud they start to sound like truth—like the idea that confidence waits on the other side of weight loss. And the hardest part? The shame of not being skinny can at times feel heavier than our ow...

  "If trauma rewrote the wiring one way, that means safety relationship and somatic practices can rewrite it the other way— it is the long game; there is no quick fix." —Donna Piper Sometimes you do everything right, but your body keeps sending SOS signals no one else can see. Doubt creeps in—is this real, or is something deeper going on? You're not alone; your body's story matters, and what you f...

  "I'm not my bills. I'm not my debt. I am worthy of care." —Donna Piper   Being sick isn't just exhausting—it's expensive in ways nobody warns you about. The stress of medical bills, insurance denials, and endless receipts can weigh just as heavily as the symptoms themselves. If you're tired of feeling like your wallet is as worn out as your body, you're not alone. In this episode, Donna opens up...

"Moving is medicine. There's something with moving that you don't need to know why or how, or how it relates to your emotions or trauma. And just like how trauma rewrites pain, it is also the opposite when you feel safe, embodied, and in a compassionate relationship with yourself, you can rewrite your story for safety." —Donna Piper   Sometimes pain isn't just in your head—it's woven deep into you...

  "No one's handing out a gold star for the most depleted woman in the room… Rest now, rest every day, build that in. The rest is the healing aspect." —Donna Piper   Tired of feeling great one day, then totally wiped out the next? Maybe it's not about trying harder but about finding a pace that actually works for you.    Donna's been there—pushing through, crashing hard, and wondering what she was...

  "You're not overreacting, you're healing in a system that was never built for your complexity— that makes you a damn warrior… Let's normalize naming the pain without being entangled in labels of being traumatized." —Donna Piper   When your body says something's wrong but the doctor's office says you're fine, it cuts deeper than you think. The pain of being dismissed, misdiagnosed, or told "it's...

  "If you are going through a struggle with lymphedema, lipedema, or anything related to your lymphatic system, don't be afraid to do your own research and be your own advocate." —Tina Shin   What if the most important system in your body is also the least understood—even by your own doctor? This episode of Dear Body, I'm Listening dives into the hidden world of the lymphatic system and why it mat...

  "It starts with you. What do you want to get found for? What do you want to open your schedule and see, and what projects do you want to be working on?" —Brittany Herzberg   Feeling invisible online or too tired to keep up with the hustle? You're not alone—building a business shouldn't mean burning out or hiding your real self. There's a smarter way to get seen, make an impact, and still have en...

  "The pain I carry is real, and I no longer have to carry it in silence." —Donna Piper   How do you explain pain that no one can see? Lipedema isn't "just extra weight"—it's burning thighs, unexplained bruises, stabbing aches, and heaviness so dense it changes how you move through the world. This is the reality behind the polite smiles and quiet endurance. With unflinching honesty, Donna gives la...

"You have to give your body the time to repair between sessions and respect from a cellular perspective how much energy they can effectively produce on any given day." —Dr. Melissa Koehl   Why does exercise leave you in more pain—even when you're doing 'everything right'?  If you're hypermobile, traditional fitness advice might be sabotaging your body instead of healing it. The truth? Bendy bodies...

  "If you have felt left out of wellness culture, it's not because you've failed; it's because it was never built for you in the first place. No matter what we look like, what our experiences are, what we're dealing with, we are all worthy of care. Healing is not a branding opportunity, and it is a birthright." —Donna Piper    Ever felt like wellness advice wasn't written for your body—or your lif...

  "Shame lives in the body, but so does compassion." —Donna Piper   If shame could be seen, would you finally believe it's not your fault? So many of us carry invisible burdens—chronic symptoms, exhaustion, and the silent weight of feeling misunderstood or blamed for what we can't control. The real struggle isn't just in our bodies, but in the stories we tell ourselves when healing doesn't look th...

  "It's not all about obesity, it's not all about weight. It is about giving your body the nutrients it needs to be healthy." —Leslyn Keith   Forget calories-in-calories-out. If you're eating "clean" but still battling swelling, fatigue, or pain, the problem isn't your willpower—it's how your food fuels (or strangles) your lymphatics.  Carbs don't just go to our hips—they clog our body's drainage...

  "Remember, your symptoms aren't just physical, and your healing won't be either. Listen to your body, it's been whispering the truth all along." —Donna Piper   Your body changes overnight—sudden weight gain, relentless pain, and doctors who dismiss it as "just aging." What if it's not? Donna shares her shocking journey from unexplained swelling and crushing fatigue to life-changing diagnoses: li...

"Compression might not be cute by mainstream standards... but compression is healing. And healing is hot." —Donna Piper   What if compression gear could be your secret weapon against chronic pain and swelling— while making you feel confident, not constrained?  This week, Donna reveals how symptoms like swelling and pain were once dismissed as "normal" struggles, and how compression has become a li...

  "If you call yourself lazy or out of shape, you really are not. You're an Olympic-level competitor, because your body is doing so much more than everyone else." —Donna Piper    Modern medicine often misses this critical truth: flexibility can be a disability. Hypermobility forces your body to burn energy just to maintain basic stability.  For Donna Piper, 'flexibility' wasn't a gift—it was a hid...

"Rest is medicine, and I even wear a monitor now to track how much energy I'm truly using. Even if I think I'm taking it easy, it shows me that I might be expending too much energy, and I'm able to take rest breaks purposely so I don't feel guilty about resting." —Donna Piper   They called it burnout. They called it depression. They were wrong. Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME), also known as Chronic...