Bodyful Episode #22: Jasmin Cage on the Power of the Subconscious

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By Valerie Martin

In 2018, I went to a hypnotherapy training near Seattle. It was not your traditional therapy training— there were maybe about 30 of us staying at essentially a large cabin in the woods for about 6 days, sharing a room with 3 random strangers.

One of my roommates, Jasmin Cage, happened to be from Memphis, just a couple hours down the road from me in Nashville— and we hit it off instantly. Both yoga teachers, both vegan (for the animals and other reasons), both Enneagram 7 squirrel-brains. 😝

I’d always regretted not staying in touch with Jasmin after the training… one of those things where, after a few months had passe, I felt like I’d missed the window. Wouldn’t it be “weird” to reach out a year, 2 years later? Would she even remember me? But 4 years after that training, this August, Jasmin popped into my inbox with the gift of reconnecting AND reminding me an important lesson that avoiding doing something based mostly in worrying about what other people might think is just plain SILLY.

In this conversation, Jasmin and I shared our candid thoughts on hypnosis/hypnotherapy, the yoga world, and got into a nuanced discussion of drinking culture, sobriety (including her new project Sobrietree), and… well, we had so much to cover that we’re planning to do a part 2, coming soon!

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 Jasmin (she/her)

Jasmin Cage is a Memphis, Tennessee-based fine artist and RYT-200 (soon to be 500) yoga instructor. She is a Certified Peer Recovery Specialist, Heart-Centered Hypnotherapist, and a Certified Y12SR practitioner (Yoga of 12 Step Recovery). Jasmin currently teaches yoga, breathwork, and meditative practices at Lakeside Behavioral Health Systems- a network of inpatient psychiatric facilities in west Tennessee. She recently launched Sobrietree, a project incorporating yoga, art, and spoken word.

You can find out more about Jasmin and her work at jasmincageart.com and on Instagram @sobrietree.

Stuff Mentioned + Additional Resources:

Bodyful Episode #21 (Solo): What does Trauma-Informed & Culturally Humble Yoga Look Like?

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By Valerie Martin

I recently had a student in a yoga class ask me “what exactly is trauma-informed yoga?” For the long answer, see the research paper I wrote back in 2016— but for a shorter answer, I created this solo episode that’s relevant for students and teachers alike.

Also, the subject of cultural humility (vs cultural appropriation) in yoga has become so intertwined for me with trauma-informed principles, because they’re both about HONORING: honoring the autonomy of each student, and honoring the wider purpose of yoga and its lineage. So we’re talking both subjects in this episode.

As per usual in my solo episodes, I’m talking off the cuff while walking outside, so this lil 30-minute episode is far from comprehensive. But if you have questions, feel free to leave a comment here, send me a DM, or email me— I’d love to hear what resonates, what your experience with these subjects is, and as always, anything else you’d like to hear me talk about on the pod. And hopefully some of the resources below will be helpful to dig in further!

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.

Resources for Trauma-Informed + Culturally Humble Yoga


Additional Links + Resources

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

✨ Bodyful episode archives and show notes

✨ Sister podcast Creatures of Change

✨ 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

Creatures of Change Episode #3: Rosa Castano on Leaving the Family Business to Forge Her Own Path

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By Valerie Martin

Rosa Castano Creatures of Change Podcast

When I first met Rosa Castano in 2019, she was kicking ass and taking names in the tourism industry— which is BIG business here in Nashville. Fast forward 3 years and 1 pandemic later, and she’s now a mom and CEO of her own business offering wellness coaching/education services to businesses and individuals.

Rosa is one of those dynamic people whose personality and gifts far exceed anything I could say in writing. In this conversation, we explore not only her own personal career pivots, but also what she has learned from embracing changes, big and small. Rosa truly walks her talk, and was a joy to sit down with for this conversation. I hope you love it!

🎧 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 Rosa

Rosa Castano spent more than five years as a seasoned expert in the Tourism & Hospitality field, leading sales campaigns across the country for two of the largest tourist industries in the Nashville, TN market. Like many others in the space, Castano was forced to pivot to a new path after the COVID-19 global pandemic put a halt to her tourism career. The shift allowed Castano to take the time to re-evaluate her career aspirations, landing her with an industry she has long been passionate about: the wellness industry. Throughout her years working successful careers in the tourism and corporate sectors, Castano knew wellness would always be a priority for her life.

Outside of work, she completed a 200HR Yoga Teacher training in 2019. With this certification, Castano began to lead yoga classes for her former employers’ wellness programs. Since the pandemic, Castano completed an additional certification adding a 200HR Meditation Teacher training. With the full time focus on wellness, Castano is trailblazing ahead with her business where she offers Workplace Well-Being both in the Corporate Setting and for Individual One-on-Ones.

Follow Rosa on IG @wellbeingwithrosa

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

Creatures of Change Episode #2: Ray Holloman on the Liberation of Change, from Gender to Work from Home

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By Valerie Martin

Ray Holloman (often at his most hilarious in tandem with his wife Alicia) is one of those people whose facebook posts cause you to actually cackle.

He’s witty, kind, silly, freakishly productive, obsessed with dinosaurs— and until 6 years ago, was living in a body that didn’t feel like his own.

In this episode of Creatures of Change, Ray shares about how transitioning his gender not only resulted in feeling more at-home in himself than he’s ever felt, but also equipped him to embrace all kinds of other changes, including leaving a company he’d been with for 12 years.

We also talk about balancing change with routine, because the comfort zone is NOT an inherently bad place to hang out. Also, for real, read Ray’s bio below… the man is HELLA impressive. I hope you enjoy listening as much as I enjoyed having the conversation!

🎧 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 Ray

Ray Holloman is a Black, transgender man that lives in the south. His unique identity gives him the ability to see multiple sides of marginalized communities. Ray currently works doing Disaster Recovery for a large tech company. Ray has a Bachelor of Business Administration from Belmont University, and Masters degrees from Lipscomb University and Tennessee Tech University. Ray is married, with 4-ish dogs, 20-ish chickens and 9-ish quail.

Ray has worked with groups including the Tennessee Transgender Political Coalition, Trans Empowerment Project, Nashville Technology Council, and other various nonprofits. He currently chairs the New Leaders Council Pride Caucus Transgender education subcommittee, is on the Vanderbilt University Medical Center LGBTQ+ Advisory Board, and chairs the Tennessee Department of Health HIV Prevention Transgender Task Force. Ray enjoys sharing his story to educate the public about transgender and queer people. In his limited spare time, he enjoys farmstrong, quilting and cooking.

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

Creatures of Change Episode #1: The Story of My Life in 10 Changes

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By Valerie Martin

Valerie Martin Creatures of Change podcast

Welp, not to make it ~aLL aBoUt Me~ 😝 but for the first episode of Creatures of Change, I thought it would be fun to talk about some of the changes I’ve made or experienced throughout my 36 years so far.

Once I finished outlining the 10 changes I wanted to touch on, I realized that in many ways, I sort of accidentally told the story of my life (in 30 minutes— buckle the F up! 😂).

That’s pretty cool to think about: my intention was to talk about changes, and it turns out that those changes were all the moments that were either pivotal in getting me to where I am today, and/or are a big part of my daily life now. This insight just reaffirms my excitement about exploring change with a variety of guests on future episodes.

🎧 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.

More About Creatures of Change

We’ve all said it at some point: “ I’m just a creature of habit.” And sure, there’s a lot to say for consistency and routine. But what about that other saying, “the only constant in life is change”? Maybe we’re creatures of change, too…

Creatures of Change explores the concept and practice of change from a variety of perspectives: stories of folks who’ve made huge changes in the trajectory of their lives, others who have made small but lasting and impactful changes in their day-to-day lives, and— we’ll also just nerd out about the science of human behavior, and how we can get better at executing the small changes, and embracing the big ones.

Oh, and if you’re looking to make a change in your life and want some guidance and support to set yourself up well for it? We’ll also do episodes featuring coaching with podcast host Valerie Maritn, who happens to be both a therapist and self-development supergeek.

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

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.

Links + Additional Resources: