Bodyful Episode #25: Dacy Gillespie on Finding a Style that Fits YOU and YOUR Body

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By Valerie Martin

As a surprise to literally no one, the style & fashion industry is not typically kind to diverse bodies. 🙄

And today’s guest Dacy Gillespie is one of the few personal stylists working hard to change that.

With an approach to styling that prioritizes inclusivity of all sizes, shapes, and abilities and aligns with the principles of Health at Every Size (HAES), Dacy is a tremendous gift to her industry and to each person fortunate enough to work with her as a client.

I am so glad that this is the final episode of Bodyful, because it’s a topic that I’d not covered on any previous episode, and one that is SO important and lacking in mainstream discourse. As Dacy emphasizes in the conversation, finding a style that’s right for YOUR body doesn’t mean identifying what OTHER People find “flattering” for your body type— it’s all about exploring and identifying what FEELS good and makes you feel good about yourself when you wear it.

🎧 To listen to the episode, stream from the podcast player below, or visit this link to find the episode in your favorite podcast player. There will not be additional new episodes of Bodyful, but the existing episodes will continue to live on in Valerie’s main podcast feed (which is now Bad B*tch Therapist podcast).

About Dacy Gillespie (she/her)

Dacy Gillespie intuitively guides her clients to discover what they feel best in. She helps them let go of the external messages they’ve been given about what they should wear and get to the heart of what’s making them uncomfortable about their clothes. Through their work building a functional wardrobe, Dacy’s clients make a mindset shift from thinking they need to wear what’s flattering to unapologetically taking up space in the world.

After a lifetime of jobs in high-stress careers that didn’t suit her highly-sensitive, introverted personality, Dacy started mindful closet in 2013 in an attempt to create a more emotionally sustainable lifestyle. She has two boys, ages 4 and 8, and a husband she adores who is well aware of her mental load.

To learn more or contact Dacy, visit her website at www.mindfulcloset.com or connect with her on Instagram @mindfulcloset.

Stuff Mentioned + Additional Resources:

Creatures of Change Episode #6: Caitlin Faas on Rewriting Stories Personally and Professionally

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By Valerie Martin

The Creatures of Change podcast ended up being way more meta for me than I’d planned…

After recording a season of 6 episodes with incredible guests, I landed on clarity about MY next big change professionally— which means hanging up my hat with this iteration of podcasting to make room for the next thing.

But these episodes will live on as a mini-season within my main podcast feed, because the conversations were incredibly inspirational and instructive examples of embracing change— perhaps none more than the guest for the final episode, Dr. Caitlin Faas.

Caitlin has basically rebuilt her life in the last 3 years. Some of those changes were chosen and planned, but other life-altering ones unfolded completely unexpectedly, bringing down the house-of-cards identity that we so often build around our roles. I am incredibly inspired by Caitlin’s resiliency, adaptability, vulnerability, and humility through her process of change, and honored to call her a friend.

🎧 To listen to the episode, stream from the podcast player below, or visit this link to find the episode in your favorite podcast player. There will not be additional new episodes of Creatures of Change, but the existing episodes will live on in Valerie’s main podcast feed (which is now Bad B*tch Therapist podcast).

About Caitlin

Caitlin Faas, Ph.D. is a certified master life coach instructor who helps experts get out of the hamster wheel for good. Common issues include: overeating, overdrinking, and overworking. She was a tenured psychology professor and department chair before leaving to be a full-time entrepreneur. Dr. Faas has worked with thousands of professionals every year who were once addicted to running in the hamster wheel of endless expectations. She is also the author of Unstuck: Three-step system to help high achievers move from stress to flow. Dr. Faas delivers easy-to-follow advice about “growing up, showing up, and cleaning up” your life and explains the data-backed scientific roots of your stress from emotional, social, economic, academic, and mindfulness perspectives,

Additional Links + Resources

✨ In Tennessee and looking for therapy? Check out The Gaia Center.

✨ Get the monthly Gaia Center newsletter with exclusive content & tips from our therapists

✨ Learn about coaching, speaking, and other stuff Val is up to

Bodyful Episode #24: Mary Reynolds Thompson on the Powerful Archetypes of the Wild Soul Woman

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By Valerie Martin

Every now and then you come across a writer whose words and ideas just hit you bone-deep.

For me, most of them have been people whose words make me feel more intimately connected with the world around me: Mary Oliver, Robin Wall-Kimmerer, Richard Powers, Bill Plotkin— and most recently, Mary Reynolds Thompson.

When I started digging into Mary’s work in preparation for this conversation, I felt that rare but familiar deep resonance. In her latest book, A Wild Soul Woman, she explores five landscape-based archetypes she’s written about previously, this time specifically in the context of how they show up in womens’ lives.

In this episode, we explore about everything from burnout and addiction recovery to defining what it means to move through the arc of the human experience in your own “shero’s journey.”

🎧 To listen to the episode, stream from the podcast player below, or visit this link to find the episode in your favorite podcast player. There will not be additional new episodes of Bodyful, but the existing episodes will live on in Valerie’s main podcast feed (which is now Bad B*tch Therapist podcast).

About Mary Reynolds Thompson (she/her)

Mary is an award-winning author, internationally recognized speaker, and a facilitator of poetry therapy. A pioneer in the spiritual ecology movement, her focus is on the transformative power of landscape archetypes and nature metaphors to reveal our true purpose and right relationship with the planet.

Author of A Wild Soul Woman and Reclaiming the Wild Soul, a 2015 Nautilus Award-winner, Mary’s writings have also appeared in numerous other publications and anthologies. Through her books, courses, and talks, she reaches creatives, change-makers, and seekers who long to awaken to their most courageous and Earth-connected selves and have the impact they desire.

To learn more or contact Mary, visit maryreynoldsthompson.com and follow her on Instagram @wildsoulwriter.

Stuff Mentioned + Additional Resources:

Creatures of Change Episode #5: Melanie Reese on Expanding Perspectives with Religion, Healing Chronic Illness, and More

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By Valerie Martin

You never know when an old acquaintance will chance to cross your path again.

In this case, Melanie Reese— a therapist I worked down the hall from for over a year— saw the news about this podcast and reached out about being a guest. In this ~40 minute conversation, we connected on a deeper level than we ever did during that whole year.

It was a joy to hear Melanie share some of the growth and healing she’s experienced personally throughout the pandemic, and how that continued evolution has allowed her to support her clients in new and deeper ways.

In this episode, Melanie and I talk about the the huge business leap she took just prior to the pandemic (spoiler alert, it involved OFFICE SPACE 💀😂) and what she learned weathering that challenge, the process of shedding her Christian identity (and the difficulties that arose in some family relationships), and how her own experience of living with chronic pain and illnesses has continued to evolve along with her spirituality, impacting the way she approaches her client work as well.

🎧 To listen to the episode, stream from the podcast player below, or visit this link to find the episode in your favorite podcast player. There will not be additional new episodes of Creatures of Change, but the existing episodes will live on in Valerie’s main podcast feed (which is now Bad B*tch Therapist podcast).

About Melanie

Melanie Reese is a board-certified, psychotherapist and owner of Trauma Therapy of Nashville, LLC, a private practice specializing in holistic trauma healing. She is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, Certified Clinical Trauma Professional and Certified Brainspotting Practitioner. Melanie and her team of therapists specialize in the treatment of trauma, women’s issues, relationships and chronic pain & illness. Melanie’s education and professional background in both the mind and body gives her a unique and effective approach to therapy with clients. She works heavily from a neuroexperiential perspective, using modalities such as Brainspotting, EMDR, mindfulness, somatics and body movement. As an AAMFT Approved Supervisor, Melanie also helps guide clinicians in their development as skilled therapists and individuals.

Additional Links + Resources

Did you love this episode? Please leave a review, tell a friend, and subscribe to Creatures of Change for a new episode every 2 weeks!

✨ Creatures of Change episode archives and show notes

✨ Watch the video version of the podcast on my YouTube channel (click subscribe! 💜)

✨ Want to be a guest or know someone who should be? If you or someone you know has an interesting and inspiring story about change, or want to be considered for coaching with Val on a future episode, reach out to creaturesofchangepodcast@gmail.com, or direct potential guests to our submission form at bit.ly/creaturesofchangeguest.

✨ Sister podcast Bodyful

✨ In Tennessee and looking for therapy? Check out The Gaia Center.

✨ Get the monthly Gaia Center newsletter with exclusive content & tips from our therapists

✨ Learn about coaching, speaking, and other stuff Val is up to


Click Here for More About Creatures of Change

Bodyful Episode #23: Cleveland Hughes on Trauma-Informed Boxing to Heal and Find Your Power

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By Valerie Martin

As a person who’s never been into sports, the thought of walking into a boxing ring is more than a little intimidating— but that’s exactly what I did yesterday with the support of trauma-informed boxing coach Cleveland Hughes.

Not 10 minutes prior, I called it a “boxing rink” 🤡 😂 — so suffice to say, I don’t know much about boxing. But even with just a few minutes of instruction, it was so clear to me how useful these skills could be, not only to develop physical strength, but also sharp mental awareness, bodyfulness, and perseverance.

In this conversation, Cleveland and I talk about his journey to boxing, and his decision to gain further education to become one of the world’s first trauma-informed boxing instructors through his signature program, Healing Mitts. We also commiserated about some of the ways the fitness industry can be inherently harmful, especially for trauma survivors, when leaders do NOT have a fundamental awareness of trauma.

🎧 To listen to the episode, stream from the podcast player below, or visit this link to find the episode in your favorite podcast player. There will not be additional new episodes of Bodyful, but the existing episodes will live on in Valerie’s main podcast feed (which is now Bad B*tch Therapist podcast).=

About Cleveland Hughes (he/his)

Cleveland Hughes is a boxing coach and the developer of the Healing Mitts Intentional Boxing Training System. In 2009, a therapist suggested to Cleveland that he try boxing to help him cope with my anxiety and depression. He noticed the life lessons he was learning in therapy also applied to boxing. Through deep inner work, he gained the skills necessary to fight back against his mental health issues and trauma. He knew that he wanted to help people heal through the sport of boxing.

With 15 years of experience coaching boxing, and additional education on trauma-informed best practices, Cleveland developed Healing Mitts to help empower people struggling with mental health issues. He is proud to be a trauma-informed boxing coach and a mental health advocate.He currently offers group and private coaching in-person in Miami and Nashville (soon fully relocating to Nashville), as well as coaching online.

You can learn more about Healing Mitts at healingmittsboxing.com (a work in progress, more coming there soon!) and book a virtual or in-person session with Cleveland at the website or through DM on Instagram @clevelandh.boxing, where he shares tips and resources on boxing and mental health.

Stuff Mentioned + Additional Resources:

Creatures of Change Episode #4: Jenny Blake on Navigating Pivots & Creating More Free Time

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By Valerie Martin

I found Jenny Blake online way back in 2015— I don’t recall exactly how, but probably after hearing her on someone else’s podcast.

I resonated immediately with her message, her love of systems, and unique ideas about personal and professional growth. I followed everything she’s created since— her podcasts, different iterations of her online communities, and her two books, Pivot and Free Time.

I am honored to call Jenny not just a mentor, but a friend (a friendtor!) — and I continue to be inspired by her all the time. If you are navigating a career transition, Pivot — the book and the podcast — are a must. And if you’re an entrepreneur, Free Time (the book and the podcast) is a goldmine of strategies for making your business and life run more smoothly so you can reclaim more of your most precious asset: your time.

I hope you love this conversation with Jenny Blake— and if you do, make sure to check out the show notes for the link to my 2019 interview with her on my previous podcast, and where you can join her online community!

🎧 To listen to the episode, stream from the podcast player below, or search & subscribe to Creatures of Change on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

About Jenny

Jenny Blake is an award-winning author, podcaster, and keynote speaker who loves helping people move from friction to flow through smarter systems, powered by Delightfully Tiny Teams. Her third book, Free Time: Lose The Busywork, Love Your Business (Ideapress, March 2022) will free your mind, time, and team for more of your best work. Jenny’s previous book, Pivot: The Only Move That Matters Is Your Next One (Portfolio/Penguin Random House, 2016), won the Axiom award for best business book in the careers category.

Celebrating over a decade of running her own business after five years at Google, Jenny now licenses her content to clients like Google and CHANEL. She hosts two podcasts with over one million downloads combined: Free Time for Heart-Based Business owners, and Pivot with Jenny Blake to help others navigate change.

After working at a Silicon Valley startup, then at Google for five years in coaching and career development, Jenny moved to New York City in 2011 to launch her own business. She loves yoga and buys too many books. Jenny lives in Manhattan with her husband and angel-in-fur-coat German shepherd. Learn more and take the Free Time quiz at ItsFreeTime.com.

Additional Links + Resources

In addition to all the links in Jenny’s bio above that you should definitely check out—

  • Listen to her 2019 interview on my previous podcast, “What’s the F***ing Point?”

  • If you listen and know you need more Jenny in your life, join me in her BFF community!

  • One Stone Creative - the podcast production co Jenny uses that I mention in the intro (run by a fellow BFF member!)

  • Never tried Peloton? Use this link to try the app free for 60 days! (yoga, barre, strength, outdoor walking/running tracks— all kinds of no/low-equipement stuff aside in addition to their treadmill & bike classes)

Did you love this episode? Please leave a review, tell a friend, and subscribe to Creatures of Change for a new episode every 2 weeks!

✨ Creatures of Change episode archives and show notes

✨ Watch the video version of the podcast on my YouTube channel (click subscribe! 💜)

✨ Want to be a guest or know someone who should be? If you or someone you know has an interesting and inspiring story about change, or want to be considered for coaching with Val on a future episode, reach out to creaturesofchangepodcast@gmail.com, or direct potential guests to our submission form at bit.ly/creaturesofchangeguest.

✨ Sister podcast Bodyful

✨ In Tennessee and looking for therapy? Check out The Gaia Center.

✨ Get the monthly Gaia Center newsletter with exclusive content & tips from our therapists

✨ Learn about coaching, speaking, and other stuff Val is up to


Click Here for More About Creatures of Change