Free Spirit Academy Podcast

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 experien...

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...

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...

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 adulthood The ways those wounds can...

I’m bringing back an episode from 2023 that still feels deeply true: “Healing Doesn’t Happen in a Hurry.” This conversation is about the messy, nonlinear process of healing binge, emotional, and compulsive eating, and how the push to “get there faster” often keeps us stuck. If you’ve ever felt desperate to fix yourself or rush your healing, this episode is a reminder to slow down. To meet the vers...

Living with Complex PTSD can feel overwhelming, and it’s easy to get lost in the idea that healing requires us to “fix everything” about ourselves. In this episode, I share six of the most supportive tools I’ve used in working with my own CPTSD, not as a protocol, but as a collection of practices, insights, and shifts that have helped me come home to myself and support my clients.  Together, we’ll...

Sometimes what we need most isn’t more information, but a moment of care. This week I’m sharing one of the practices from my new mini-course Rituals for a Free Spirit. It’s short, simple, and grounding - something you can turn to anytime stress is high or your energy is low. If you enjoy this practice, you’ll find the full course linked in the show notes. It’s a collection of bite-sized rituals to...

In this episode, I share a personal look at how Complex PTSD has shown up in my life — from disordered eating and chronic pain, to a critical inner voice, self-harm urges, and long stretches of isolation. We’ll also talk about what Complex PTSD actually is , how it’s different from PTSD, and why understanding our adaptations is so powerful. Because what looks like being “messed up” or “weak” is of...

In this episode, I share: Why I never thought of myself as “anxious” (even while binge eating and coping every day) How survival states and unprocessed feelings drive patterns we can’t willpower our way out of A short guided practice to gently expand your capacity to feel without overwhelm 🌿 If this practice resonates, check out my new mini-course Rituals for a Free Spirit - bite-sized tools to h...

Thirteen years ago, I did a three-month juice fast. I thought it would be my big transformation...that if I could just “fix” my body, I’d finally feel both free, and deeply connected. Instead, it taught me a very different lesson: the danger of oversimplifying complex pain and treating ourselves like projects to perfect. In this episode, I share: Why fasting felt easier than learning to eat in a w...

This is one of my favorite solo episodes, and I wanted to bring it back for anyone who missed it the first time—or anyone who needs a reminder that feeling disconnected or “numb” is often a sign of a nervous system doing its best to protect you. In this episode, I share a bit of my own story of living for years feeling flat and disconnected, why that happens, and what it can look like to slowly co...

We often hear about healing the nervous system, finding calm through breathwork, or shifting into a regulated state. But what about when those practices don’t seem to work - when they don’t bring peace, and sometimes even highlight what isn’t working in our lives? In this episode, I talk about: Why calming tools can’t fix situations that aren’t right for us How regulation can reveal where change i...

In this solo episode, I’m sharing some of my own story: like years of rigid routines, juice fasts, and trying to follow every “right” ritual to become someone who finally felt free, healed, and whole.  But what I found was that all the "being good" didn’t actually leave me feeling at home in myself. You'll hear me talk about:  - How "self-improvement" can sometimes be a su...

If you’ve been listening for any length of time, you know I believe that food struggles are never just about food.  They’re often symptoms of something deeper - like trying to feel some sense of control after trauma or long-term stress, trying to survive in a culture that profits off us hating our bodies, or simply trying to make living inside ourselves bearable. This episode touches on: - My 15+...

If you’ve ever felt the lingering impact of religious trauma - especially from high-control, fear-based systems - this episode is for you. I’m sharing from my personal experience growing up in the Seventh-Day Adventist church, and exploring seven common factors that can create deep disconnection from your body, your needs, and your sense of self. This episode touches on:  • Why trauma isn’t just a...

Today I have something a little different for you. Last year, I went to my 20th high school reunion. I attended a Seventh-day Adventist boarding school, and going back felt like stepping into another lifetime. If I’d thought about religious trauma before that experience, I’ve been thinking about it a lot more since. You’ll hear me talk about that today, but what’s different is that this episode is...

THE TOP 10 MISTAKES I’VE MADE ON MY HEALING JOURNEY: Honestly, I cringe a bit using the words "healing" OR "journey" because the internet is so oversaturated with wellness or spiritual teachers. I'm not interested in making "healing" my whole personality, but simultaneously I have always had this deep interest in why things hurt. What any kind of pain, emotional,...

I love a project . I love working towards something. I think that's pretty human. But for a long time my body was my project . I grew up in a holistic, Seventh-Day Adventist, vegetarian home. we used homeopathy and natural remedies and drank carrot juice and ate homemade bread. To this day I LOVE the taste of barley green powder because I have early memories of drinking it as something that w...

Today I'm talking about the ways that shame lived in my body and fed into the cycle of binge eating and disembodied practices with food. I'll also talk about making my body safe enough to finally feel the shamed parts of me so that they could be understood and come to a more whole and free place.   Links: Work with Rande Free Spirit Academy on Instagram

Today I'm speaking with Holistic Health and Root Cause Practitioner Sarah Hook. Sarah and I have been connected online since our early wellness blogging days when we were certain we had it all figured out. Some years ago Sarah was bit by a tick and developed severe Lyme disease, causing her to question what she knew about wellness. We talk about what it's like to need food restrictions a...

Is it possible to take on a healing diet or a supportive protocol with a history of disordered eating? Is there a way to have a healthy, alive relationship with food that's also intentional?  Is restriction 100% bad news in all cases? Today I'm sharing my personal experiences with chronic illness, having a background of disordered eating from a young age. I'm excited to share this w...

On today's episode I'm talking a bit about the autoimmune diagnoses I got earlier this year. This is a shorty ep but includes: ...why it took me so long to see medical professionals and get tested. ...the wide range of feelings post-diagnosis. ...the pre-self-love I had to do before I had any answers. ...the promises I made myself once I had something concrete to work with. ...my thought...

Hello friends, today I'm talking to my friend Lena, an eating disorder recovery coach who also understands firsthand months of juice fasting, pure raw food diets, and even using diet to heal illness - complicated by her many years of disordered eating that didn't stop once she got into raw foods. Throughout this conversation, we make some simple connections about how and why her eating d...

After well over a year, the Free Spirit Academy Podcast is BACK! I begin this episode with a health update of my own - and talk about the balance between maintaining a peaceful relationship with food and my body, while also supporting my body's very specific needs. That will lead us into a conversation with colon hydrotherapist and trauma-informed coach, Theresa Piela. Theresa is exceedingly...

Here's what you can expect from today's episode: ...how the anxiety of our current circumstances can trigger any anxiety already living within us. ...the question of whether or not we'll ever be going back to 'normal'.  ...we'll talk about the pressure to always be growing, creating, being productive, and going to our max.  ...the idea that the universe is saying one...