Bodyful Episode #20: Shea Rose on Fully Embodying Your Voice

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By Valerie Martin

Shea Rose (she/her) is one of those rare humans who is both incredibly multifaceted and genuinely DEEP in all of those facets— like a shimmering emerald that catches the light from every direction.

She is a musician, an activist, an educator, a healer— and she brings such richness into all of these capacities after having journeyed her own path from trauma to healing in ways deepened all aspects of her voice: inner voice, physical voice, and written voice.

In this conversation, Shea and I explore the power of the voice, how we can start to find our voice when it feels suppressed or small, and how we can use movement and sound to access our fullest and truest self expression.

If you’re a musician or creative of some kind, you’ll especially resonate with this one (no pun intended 🤓) but even folks who don’t strongly identify as creative will still find so much value and depth in Shea’s wisdom.

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

About Shea Rose (she/her)

Shea Rose is a multipassionate musician, activist, healer, and curator. Her music is influenced by soul, hip-hop, rock, and folk, and speaks to identity, self-acceptance, and transformation. She was a recipient of the prestigious Abe Olman Scholarship from the Songwriters Hall of Fame, has won a Boston Music Award and a SESAC National Performance Activity Award, and was a featured songwriter and performer on two Grammy Award-winning jazz albums.

Shea partners with local, national, and international organizations and has worked with over 30 community groups, charitable and nonprofit organizations in Boston and worldwide. Her collaborations include live and in-studio performances, event curation, and workshop facilitation.

Shea served as an AmeriCorps State and National program volunteer for three years and is the recipient of the Berklee College of Music, Walter W. Harp Liberal Arts Music and Society Award for her demonstration of outstanding achievement in research, civic engagement, and performance relating to music and society.

Shea also offers holistic healing and empowerment services including Embodied Voice coaching. Her work is rooted in an Afrocentric worldview, which values song as a functional tool for engaging in daily life and expression of the full range of our emotional and spiritual experiences. She also integrates yoga philosophy, asana (yoga postures), pranayama (breath control), and yogic sound into her healing work.

You can find out more about Shea and her offerings at shearose.com and on Instagram @shearose.

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Bodyful Episode #19: Laura Khoudari on Healing Trauma through Movement, One Rep at a Time

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By Valerie Martin

Each year, there are just a few books that make it onto my all-time favorites roster, and this year, one of those is called Lifting Heavy Things: Healing Trauma One Rep at a Time.

I highlighted damn-near half the book because there was so much that resonated personally and professionally. A few chapters in, I knew I wanted to try to get the author Laura Khoudari on the podcast.

Fortunately for me, she quickly responded and was down for it— after all, Bodyful is kind of a perfect fit for all the topics she wrote about in the book! And as a fellow Health at Every Size-aligned practitioner, Laura approaches fitness and training from a weight-neutral perspective (which, I don’t have to tell you, is unfortunately a rare thing in that industry).

This was such a rich conversation, and I can’t wait for y’all to hear it. Whether you’re a trauma survivor, work with trauma, love fitness, are repelled by working out— you’ll gain something from listening to this one.

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

About Laura Khoudari

A trauma practitioner, and certified personal trainer, Laura Khoudari is passionate about giving people the tools they need to heal from trauma and cultivate mental health and wellness. She is the author of the book Lifing Heavy Things: Healing Trauma One Rep at a Time. Her work has been widely recognized by the trauma and fitness community, and she has been featured on Buzzfeed, UpWorthy, Outside Online, Medium, Tonic, Nike, and Girls Gone Strong. She lives in New York City with her family and two cats.

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Bodyful Episode #17: Ben J. Munday on Breaking Through Barriers via the Body

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By Valerie Martin

The word “somatic” is very on-trend right now (…unless you’re the APA and you’ve surreptitiously withdrawn continuing education credits for all somatic-focused trainings because you’re a bunch of rigid, evidence-based-yet-evidence-denying buttheads)… oh, did I say that?

I digress. The science** is clear that somatic (AKA body-focused) approaches are effective for treating trauma, anxiety, depression, and more— and, outside of mental health issues, that working directly with the body (as opposed to just the mind) is beneficial for increasing a sense of confidence/self-efficacy and decreasing the buildup of daily stress that can lead to burnout. Among other benefits too abundant to list in this one paragraph!

The guest for this episode is Ben Munday, who went from growing up in a very masculine environment to being surrounded by powerful women in the fashion industry. When he decided he wanted to make a career shift to focus on coaching women in business, he experienced in his coach training how powerful working directly with the body could be, and knew he wanted to make somatic work core to both his own lifestyle and his approach with clients.

As you’ll hear quickly in our conversation, Ben is a smart, kind, and grounded person— and it was a pleasure talking with him about topics we’re both passionate about.

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

If you love the episode and decide to schedule a free consultation call with Ben, make sure to tell him Bodyful podcast sent you and he will give you a discount if you decide to book!

**It’s hard to point to just one research study or even literature review on this, because there are many different somatic modalities that all have to be studied independently; however, Bessel van der Kolk did an excellent job synthesizing a lot of the research (and decades of clinical work) in his continuously chart-topping book, The Body Keeps the Score.

About Ben J. Munday

Ben is a body-oriented coach supporting women in conscious impact businesses. He guides his clients to reconnect with the wisdom of the body to build confidence and trust, increase career fulfillment, tackle bold transitions and a variety of leadership and team challenges.

Heralding originally from the English countryside in a physical world of boys and men, through a career in the fashion industry Ben saw first-hand the experience of women working in corporate environments and the very real struggle within the masculine structures of hierarchy. He is passionate about raising up the empowerment of women and believes that many of the challenges we face as a global community need a new introduction of the feminine energy to rebalance our society for future prosperity for all.  

His work is rooted in body-oriented approaches blending movement, postural alignment and inner somatic exercises to bring ‘ah-ha’ moments through the body during sessions. Ben brings his personal interests of yoga, bodywork, running, travel, public speaking, conscious dance and meditation into his offerings to enrich his work.

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