Squats & Séances

Something big changed between recording season two and sitting down to close it out. When I hit record for this behind-the-scenes season finale of Squats and Séances, I’m not trying to tie life up in a bow. I’m telling the truth about transition: the kind that rearranges your identity, your work, your relationships, and what you believe about spirit, energy, and the messy middle between “what was”...

A corporate career in Alzheimer’s care, a highway crash that stole her ability to work and walk, and a “brand name” that eventually became her legal identity. That’s just the starting line of our conversation with Jennifer Pilates, a globally known Pilates rehabilitative specialist and intuitive medium who’s built a career around true mind body spirit transformation. We talk about what it really m...

Sex is one of the only places where we can’t fake being present for long, and that’s exactly why it can transform us. I’m joined by Emma Galland, founder of Tantric Awakenings, to talk about tantra as a full-body path of self-realization and why sexuality is not a “side topic,” but a powerful life force tied to confidence, vitality, healing, and how we show up in relationship. We get practical and...

Doctors told Dr. Jonathan Locus Jr. he’d be on medication for life and on paper his career was thriving, but internally he was spiraling. That collision of success, depression, and a terrifying diagnosis sends him in the opposite direction of quick fixes: deep research into holistic healing, meditation, and the mind body spirit connection. What follows is one of the most intense stories we’ve host...

In this week's episode we take a detour from the spiritual realm and dive deep into the physiology of medical aesthetics.  Our discussion with Jody Work, RN and founder of Beauty Lounge Med Spa will cover an overview of the field and recommendations for treatments.  We discuss commonly misunderstood industry options, even who should seek treatment and who should not.  The answers may surprise...

What happens when a wildland firefighter, pushed to the edge by grief and burnout, discovers that changing the mind can change the body? We sit down with visionary healer and entrepreneur Thomas Wurm to unpack a life that veered from helicopter calls and heat lines into a precise, lineage-backed approach to deep healing. His story begins with a near-death moment at fifteen and accelerates through...

What happens when the life that once looked perfect begins to quietly undo you? We sit down with writer and movement-builder Lisa Babincsak to explore Apapacho—an ancient Nahuatl concept meaning to embrace from the soul—and why tenderness, presence, and coherence might be the most advanced form of intelligence we have. From career heights to seismic collapse, a move to Mexico, and writing that bec...

What if the fastest way forward is first to sit still? Our conversation with spiritual coach and master healer Cheryl Stelte begins with a startling beachside vision and unfolds into a practical blueprint for transforming stuck energy into real momentum. Cheryl shares how low, steady breathing below the navel can surface subconscious material, why building safety in the root chakra is the keystone...

Welcome to Season Two of The Squats & Séances Podcast.  The guided meditations shared over the break were unanimously well received.  What better way to kick off a brand new season than with the master of meditation himself, davidji! On that note, what if grit isn’t about grinding harder, but about leaning fully into the moment without clinging to outcomes? That one shift frames an eye-opening...

Resolutions pile up; intentions land softly. We open the year with a calming, guided meditation designed to help you set one clear, heartfelt intention and actually feel it take root. Instead of hustling into dozens of goals, we slow down together, breathe with intention, and ground in until your nervous system settles and the mind grows quiet enough to listen. Send us Fan Mail HELP contribute to...

When life demands armor, choosing softness can feel radical. We guide a calm, precise journey that starts with breath, then travels head to toe using brief, controlled muscle tension followed by full release. That simple rhythm—tighten on the inhale, soften on the exhale—teaches the nervous system what safety feels like and shows the mind how to return to the present without force. If this practic...

The mind loves to sprint while the body asks to slow down. We bridge that gap with a concise, soothing practice built around a two-word mantra and steady breathwork, designed to help you return to the only place you can actually live in—this present moment. If this meditation helped you reset, follow the show, share it with a friend who needs a pause, and leave a quick review to help others find t...

If the holidays have you overwhelmed, stressed, and screaming silently inside - your not a grinch, you just need a breath.  Try this quick mindfulness practice to reset your nervous system so you can be fully present for those magical holiday moments.  Send us Fan Mail HELP contribute to this growing community.  Email topic ideas, suggestions for interviews, and feedback to venessa@squatsandseance...

Drop in for a quick 5 minute guided mindfulness moment to slow that monkey mind and reconnect to your body.  You'll feel amazing after this, we promise!  Send us Fan Mail HELP contribute to this growing community.  Email topic ideas, suggestions for interviews, and feedback to venessa@squatsandseances.com . FIND new episodes of Squats & Séances on all major podcast platforms and the vlogc...

A single session set a bold challenge: make your voice available and your people will find you. That moment sparked a season of conversations and a growing community of spiritually gritty, physically resilient listeners who show up with curiosity and courage. To close out season one, we sit down with Priestess Yeshe Meryemana Matthews Robles—teacher, pilgrimage leader, and longtime student of myst...

What if three minutes could change your day—and then your life? We welcome Unplug founder Suze Yalof Schwartz to trace the surprising journey from high-speed fashion editor to architect of a global, modern meditation movement. Suze shares the exact three-minute breathing exercise that snapped her out of panic, the moment she realized meditation needed a makeover, and how “simplify, simplify… simpl...

We sit down with Laura Hoorweg—international intuitive coach, spiritual counselor, and psychic medium—to map how awe becomes practice, and how practice becomes healing that lasts. Laura shares how a three-decade career in high-pressure media unraveled within months of her partner’s passing, sending her on a healing circuit through Brazil, the Peruvian jungle, and into therapeutic yoga.  We get pra...

What happens when a hot-room yoga leader and a strength-obsessed coach decide to tackle a doubles HYROX together? We share the plan, the missteps, and the gritty mindset it takes to run eight 1Ks while grinding through sled pushes, sandbag lunges, and wall balls—without wrecking our bodies or our schedules. Kate Giampapa of Journey Yoga Retreats brings two decades of teaching, heat adaptation, and...

A judge’s mercy changed a life—and set off a movement. Angie Manson, CEO of Elevate Addiction Services, joins us to share how she went from a teenage spiral and a near 10-year sentence to leading an award-winning rehab that rejects limiting labels and builds recovery on agency, community, and the simple power of breath and sweat. We go deep on why language shapes identity, how mindfulness and nerv...

Pat Barber brings two decades of CrossFit wisdom to this candid, wide-ranging conversation that delves into the mechanics of movement mastery and the art of coaching development. As a six-time CrossFit Games competitor and Level 4 coach who's mentored countless fitness professionals, Pat offers refreshingly honest insights that bridge technical expertise with psychological wisdom. The discuss...

Two women wade into the inky darkness of the Pacific Ocean, stripped bare under a moonless sky. It's a ritual they've established—where anxiety transforms into calm, where something is left behind in the sea, and something new is taken back to shore. This is where our conversation with Pam Rivers begins. Pam, a seasoned therapist and transformation guide with over 35 years of experience,...

Your perception of reality literally creates your reality. This profound truth sits at the heart of our exploration into mindfulness—not just as a trendy wellness buzzword, but as a scientifically-backed practice that can transform your physiological experience of stress. The human body wasn't designed for the constant state of vigilance we find ourselves in today. What happens when this syst...

What happens when cutting-edge neurosurgery meets ancient yogic wisdom? Dr. Ciara Harraher bridges these worlds with remarkable insight and grace. As a Stanford neurosurgeon and 30-year yoga practitioner, Dr. Harraher offers a unique perspective on the mind-body connection that few can match.  The conversation weaves between her groundbreaking work as a neurosurgeon treating brain tumors, spine in...

Ready to uncover the biggest nutrition myth that's keeping you from achieving your health goals? Prepare to have your assumptions challenged as we dive deep into the truth about carbohydrates and sugar in this eye-opening episode. As a dual-certified nutritionist with years of research experience, I've personally tested countless nutrition protocols and observed a troubling trend: most p...

The gap between fitness and medicine has long been a chasm filled with misunderstanding and missed opportunities. In this groundbreaking conversation with Michele Mootz, we explore how MetFix—Greg Glassman's newest venture alongside medical journalist Emily Kaplan—is bridging this divide with a revolutionary approach to health, nutrition, and exercise. Mootz reveals how MetFix represents &quo...