Taking Up Space with Cassie Krajewski

Making Space for All Bodies with Size Inclusive Yoga with Christy Calahan

Today we talk with registered yoga teacher, Christy Calahan who specializes in educating yoga teachers on plus size inclusivity in their classes and in studios. Yoga can be a way that many folks on their embodiment journeys learn to inhabit their bodies differently and more fully, but there are a lot of body hierarchies in Westernized yoga culture, so I really appreciate all of the work Christy is doing to shift perspectives to make yoga truly more accessible and inclusive for all bodies. 
Guest Bio: 
Christy Calahan is an E-RYT 500 and a yoga educator (YACEP) who specializes in educating yoga teachers on plus size inclusivity in their classes and in studios.
With a teaching journey that began in 2010, Christy spent the majority of her career as a straight-sized yoga instructor. However, a few years ago, she experienced an injury that resulted in a rapid weight gain that had her transition into a larger body.
Navigating the transition of her practice and teaching to her newly plus-size body wasn’t intuitive for Christy. She questioned whether yoga was still feasible for bigger bodied people and contemplated giving up her practice altogether.
Determined to find a solution, Christy embarked on a path of self-discovery, characterized by trial and error, tears, trauma work, frustration, and lots of practice. Through this personal journey, she developed techniques, theories, and methods that are both trauma-sensitive and highly effective.
Drawing from her extensive experience of teaching herself and others, Christy is dedicated to making the yoga community more accessible to individuals with larger bodies. This commitment is the cornerstone of her life's work.
 
In this episode of Taking Up Space, we discussed: 
Christy’s body story and how it impacted her yoga practice and current work as a size inclusive educator
Her frustration with how yoga studios and teacher’s exclusionary culture for size diversity
Christy’s priorities as a size inclusive yoga teacher and her activism through educating other yoga teachers about the importance of size inclusivity
Christy’s issue with the phrase “All bodies are welcome” 
How Christy prioritizes choice and agency in her yoga teaching vs compliance and command
Some of Christy’s practice recommendations for all those in fitness spaces to authentically create space for larger bodied and disabled bodied folks
 
Connect with Christy: 
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sizeinclusiveyoga/
Website: https://sizeinclusiveyoga.offeringtree.com/
 
Free Offerings to Get You Started
Come Home to Yourself Guide - https://www.inneratlastherapy.com/resources
 
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https://www.inneratlastherapy.com/shop
 
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Subscribe, rate and leave a Review for the podcast to help us spread our message of body liberation for all!
 
Connect with Cassie:
Website: inneratlastherapy.com
Read our Blog https://www.inneratlastherapy.com/blog
Schedule a Consultation https://www.inneratlastherapy.com/get-in-touch
Cassie on IG https://www.instagram.com/inneratlastherapy/
Cassie on TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@inneratlastherapy

When Our Partners and Families are Fatphobic: Experiencing Weight Stigma from the People We Love with Becky Belinsky LMFT

Guest Bio
Dr. Becky Belinsky is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist in California who specializes in working with clients who struggle with eating disorders and any type of food and/or body image related issues. Her approach is size inclusive and fat positive, and she is passionate about exploring the societal and relational factors that contribute to eating disorders and disordered eating. She has conducted research around the intersection of weight stigma, eating disorders, and family relationships, and is also a Certified Intuitive Eating Counselor. In addition to her work around eating disorders, Becky provides psychotherapy for adults, couples, and families around the issues of anxiety and relational challenges.
 
Overview: 
Becky Belinsky is on the show today to talk about her incredible dissertation research: Relationships Harm, Relationships Heal: Exploring Larger Bodied People's Experiences of Weight Stigma and Eating Disorders in the Context of Family Relationships. This study explored the intersection of weight stigma, eating disorders, and family/intimate partner relationships, which sought to understand the intersection of weight stigma, eating disorder development and recovery, and specifically the experience of receiving stigma from family and partners. Our discussion sheds light on the importance of working directly with and combatting weight stigma at the family system and societal levels in order to create more significant and meaningful change for people struggling with eating-related distress, and particularly for people in larger bodies.
 
In this episode of Taking Up Space, we discussed: 
Define internalized and externalized weight stigma
How experiences of weight stigma in our friends and family hurt eating disorder recovery 
How attachment theory and our drive to connect and belong influences our relationships
Boundary setting with those who are antifat, including family and partners
 
Resources Mentioned
Relationships Harm, Relationships Heal: Exploring Larger Bodied People's Experiences of W s Experiences of Weight Stigma and Eating Disorder Stigma and Eating Disorders in the Context of Family Relationships  
Website: www.beckybelinsky.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Dr.BeckyBelinskyLMFT
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/beckybelinskytherapy/
Free Offerings to get You Started
Come Home to Your Self guide https://www.inneratlastherapy.com/resources
 
Get my Taking Up Space Workbook
https://www.inneratlastherapy.com/shop
 
Join Our Community
https://www.inneratlastherapy.com/
 
Subscribe and leave a Review!
 
Connect with Cassie:
inneratlastherapy.com
Read our Blog https://www.inneratlastherapy.com/blog
Schedule a Consultation https://www.inneratlastherapy.com/get-in-touch
Cassie on IG https://www.instagram.com/inneratlastherapy/
Cassie on TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@inneratlastherapy
 

Intergenerational Trauma and Intergenerational Healing in Eating Disorders with Sam Dylan Finch

Today’s conversation we’re talking with Sam Dylan Finch about his story and its intersection with intergenerational trauma. Sam Dylan Finch is a writer, content strategist, and daydreamer leveraging the power of digital media to inspire hope and challenge stigma. Sam is a recognized and trusted voice within mental health media, having reached millions of readers worldwide after his first of many viral articles back in 2014.
Since then, his unique combination of lived experience and authenticity, alongside his journalistic expertise, has led to memorable, culture-shifting moments across the web.
His work has not only shifted attitudes around LGBTQ+ identity and neurodivergence, but has brought compassionate and necessary depth to many stigmatized conversations and 
 
In this episode of Taking Up Space, we discussed: 
We define what intergenerational trauma and how it’s relevant to the development of eating disorders
Sam’s body story as he’s telling and understanding it today, specifically looking at the development of the eating disorder as a symptom of intergenerational trauma
Exploration of Sam’s family immigration and its involvement in Sam’s development of an eating disorder
We discuss how white folks are divorced from their ancestral and cultural stories and the impact that this has on 
The difference that it made to have a therapist who encouraged Sam to look at his ancestral and family history as a part of his story
Sam’s experience of intellectualizing collective liberation work vs. embodying collective liberation
How Sam once thought that he was “too autistic” for parts work until he tried the Safe and Protocol which made parts work a more embodied experience
Sam’s definition of what it means to take up space to not abandon himself and stay present in the pain and joy in our world
 
Resources Mentioned
Website: https://samdylanfinch.com/
Sam’s Blog: https://letsqueerthingsup.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/samdylanfinch/?hl=en
Sam’s Blog “Why I’m Not Fighting My Eating Disorder Anymore”: https://helloalma.com/blog/not-fighting-eating-disorder/
More of Sam’s writing: https://helloalma.com/blog/authors/sam-dylan-finch/
 
Free Offerings to get You Started
Come Home to Your Self guide https://www.inneratlastherapy.com/resources
 
Get my Taking Up Space Workbook
https://www.inneratlastherapy.com/shop
 
Join Our Community
https://www.inneratlastherapy.com/
 
Subscribe and leave a Review!
 
Connect with Cassie:
inneratlastherapy.com
Read our Blog https://www.inneratlastherapy.com/blog
Schedule a Consultation https://www.inneratlastherapy.com/get-in-touch
Cassie on IG https://www.instagram.com/inneratlastherapy/
Cassie on TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@inneratlastherapy

Dismantling Internalized Ageism with Body Liberation with Deb Benfield RD

Overview
Deb invites you to blaze a liberating new path to a respectful, nurturing relationship with your aging body.  She has helped hundreds of women heal their relationship with food, eating, and their bodies in her more than 35-year career as a Registered Dietitian/Nutritionist and Registered Yoga Teacher specializing in preventing and treating disordered eating. Now in her 60s, she focuses her research, training, passion, clinical, and lived experience on the intersection of pro-aging and body liberation. 
Her work is rooted in helping you: Shift your relationship with your body from your life’s project to your life partner; Nourish your body in midlife and beyond to support growing older in alignment with your values; Recognize internalized ageism and end it; Untangle from diet/wellness culture mess, and See midlife and beyond as a time of Emergence and Authenticity. Deb centers accessible practices so you can apply principles to your daily life and experience true transformation. Deb is also a lover of rivers, words, and her kids and grandkids.  She is currently envisioning life as a semi-nomad.
In this episode of Taking Up Space, we discussed: 
Why women in particular can have such a hard time with aging and a changing body
Youthfulness, sexiness, thinness, and the pressure to maintain the body you have as you age
Body changes are normal and protective as we age, but someone women continue to feel as though its a personal failure or inadequacy
The key challenges that people face in embracing aging with vitality while navigating societal pressures and expectations around appearance and wellness
Practical strategies or practices that individuals can incorporate into their daily lives to promote vitality and well-being as they age
Read the Episode Transcript here.
Connect with Deb and her work:
Website: https://www.debrabenfield.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/agingbodyliberation/ 
Deb offers 1:1 coaching, small group coaching, a membership community, and professional consultation.  
Deb also founded Body in Mind Nutrition, a group practice of big-hearted and highly skilled Registered Dietitians specializing in weight-neutral care and treating eating disorders. 
Free Offerings to Get You Started
Come Home to Yourself Guide - https://www.inneratlastherapy.com/resources
 
Get my Taking Up Space Workbook
https://www.inneratlastherapy.com/shop
 
Join Our Community!
https://www.inneratlastherapy.com
 
Subscribe and leave a Review!
 
Connect with Cassie:
inneratlastherapy.com
Read our Blog https://www.inneratlastherapy.com/blog
Schedule a Consultation https://www.inneratlastherapy.com/get-in-touch
Cassie on IG https://www.instagram.com/inneratlastherapy/
Cassie on TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@inneratlastherapy

Allowing Yourself to Be Seen: Reclaiming Your Body Image through Photography with Lindley Ashline

Episode Overview
Lindley Ashline creates photographs that celebrate the unique beauty of bodies that fall outside conventional "beauty" standards. She fights weight stigma by giving plus-size people a safe place to explore how their bodies look on camera and by increasing the representation of big bodies in photography, advertising, fine art and the world at large. Lindley is also the creator of Body Liberation Stock (body-positive stock images for commercial use) and the Body Love Shop (a curated resource for body-friendly products and artwork). Find Lindley's work and get her free weekly Body Liberation Guide at http://bit.ly/bodyliberationguide.
 
In this episode of Taking Up Space, we discussed: 
Lindley’s story going from corporate America to fat activist
How photography can be a way to reclaim one’s body image
How she creates visibility and representation
The emotional process that can be a part of body liberation photography
The racist roots of “flattering photos”
The importance of connecting with body liberation and fat positive community
Read the episode transcript here. 
Resources Mentioned
Free weekly Body Liberation Guide http://bit.ly/bodyliberationguide
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bodyliberationwithlindley/
Website: https://bodyliberationphotos.com/links/ 
SEEN Coaching: https://bodyliberationphotos.com/seen/ 
Body Liberation Blanket Fort: https://bodyliberationphotos.com/the-body-liberation-blanket-fort/ 
Free Offerings to Get You Started
Come Home to Yourself Guide - https://www.inneratlastherapy.com/resources
 
Get my Taking Up Space Workbook
https://www.inneratlastherapy.com/shop
 
Join Our Community (Footer)
https://www.inneratlastherapy.com
 
Subscribe and leave a Review!
 
Connect with Cassie:
inneratlastherapy.com
Read our Blog https://www.inneratlastherapy.com/blog
Schedule a Consultation https://www.inneratlastherapy.com/get-in-touch
Cassie on IG https://www.instagram.com/inneratlastherapy/
Cassie on TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@inneratlastherapy

Raising Kids Without Diet Culture with Oona Hanson

Guest Bio
Oona Hanson is an educator and parent coach who is passionate about helping parents raise kids who have a healthy relationship with food and their body. She works with parents who are navigating diet culture and anti-fat bias, including those who have a child in treatment for an eating disorder. Oona holds a Master's Degree in Educational Psychology and a Master's Degree in English. Her work has been featured widely, including on CNN, USA Today, Good Morning America, People, and Parents Magazine. She is a mother of two and lives in Los Angeles.
 
Overview: 
In this episode, we delve deep into the realm of parenting without the influence of diet culture with special guest Oona Hanson, a renowned parent coach and advocate for fat positivity. Drawing from her extensive experience and expertise, Oona shares invaluable insights and practical tips on fostering a healthy relationship with food and body in children and teenagers. Throughout the episode, Oona offers tangible strategies for parents to navigate conversations around food, body image, and weight with their children. From promoting intuitive eating to cultivating a positive body image, listeners gain actionable advice on how to create a nurturing environment that prioritizes health and well-being over societal ideals of thinness.
 
In this episode of Taking Up Space, we discussed: 
How to start conversations with our kids about diet culture, bodies, and size
How parents can recognize and address their own biases and attitudes toward food and body image, especially when these may inadvertently affect their children?
What the research actually says about kids in larger bodies and the consequences to their health
How we can help our kids develop resilience with the toxic messages from diet culture and anti-fat bias
The pressure on parents, specifically mothers, around their kid’s body size
How parents and caregivers can model positive self-image and self-care practices for their children, even if they themselves struggle with body image issues or disordered eating
 
Resources Mentioned
Website: https://www.oonahanson.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/oona_hanson/
Parenting Without Diet Culture Substack: https://oonahanson.substack.com/
The Myth of the Childhood Obesity Epidemic https://virginiasolesmith.substack.com/p/the-myth-of-the-childhood-obesity?utm_source=profile&utm_medium=reader2 
 
Free Offerings to Get You Started
Come Home to Yourself Guide - https://www.inneratlastherapy.com/resources
 
Get my Taking Up Space Workbook
https://www.inneratlastherapy.com/shop
 
Join Our Community (Footer)
https://www.inneratlastherapy.com
 
Subscribe and leave a Review!
 
Connect with Cassie:
inneratlastherapy.com
Read our Blog https://www.inneratlastherapy.com/blog
Schedule a Consultation https://www.inneratlastherapy.com/get-in-touch
Cassie on IG https://www.instagram.com/inneratlastherapy/
Cassie on TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@inneratlastherapy

What Does It Mean to Take Up Space?

Overview: 
In this inaugural episode of "Taking Up Space," host Cassie Krajewski invites you to join her on a journey of embodiment, healing, and body liberation. Throughout this episode, Cassie candidly shares aspects of her own body story and how it has shaped her passion for this work. From struggles with body image to moments of empowerment, she opens up about the journey of resisting smallness (in all its forms) and the lessons she garnered from her teachers along the way in how our body liberation is bound to one another. Through heartfelt conversations and empowering insights, "Taking Up Space" sets the stage for a transformative exploration of your own body story.
In this episode of Taking Up Space, we discussed: 
Introducing you to the origins and hope of the show
Defining what it means to be “taking up space”
Aspects of Cassie’s body story and lived experience
How body liberation ignited a passion for this work
Exploration of what’s to come in the podcast ahead
 
Free Offerings to get You Started
Getting to Know a Part - Free IFS-Informed Activity
Come Home to Your Self guide
Embodiment Resourcing Script
 
Get my Taking Up Space Workbook
https://www.inneratlastherapy.com/shop
 
Join Our Community (Footer)
https://www.inneratlastherapy.com/
 
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Connect with Cassie:
inneratlastherapy.com
Read our Blog https://www.inneratlastherapy.com/blog
Schedule a Consultation https://www.inneratlastherapy.com/get-in-touch
Cassie on IG https://www.instagram.com/inneratlastherapy/
Cassie on TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@inneratlastherapy

Coming NEXT WEEK!! The Taking Up Space Podcast with Cassie Krajewski

The anticipation is building and we cannot wait to share this podcast with the world! Coming soon, Wednesday May 15th, 2024 we will the first 4 episodes available to watch/listen to! See you all in a few days!!
Sneak peek from the intro transcript:
Welcome to "Taking Up Space," the podcast where we’ll explore what it means to inhabit our bodies fully, without shame or apology, and pursue body liberation. I’m Cassie Krajewski, your host and co-conspirator. This podcast is for the women and marginalized folks who have been living in a world that is invested in shrinking their voices and experiences, those who receive the message of you’re too much and yet not enough simultaneously.My intention is to explore what it truly means for us to unapologetically reclaim our bodies, our inner knowing, and our lives. Through personal stories, expert interviews, and candid discussions with guests, we'll unpack the systemic barriers and societal norms that constrain us. In the process, we’ll learn to embody the fullness of ourselves with confidence and authenticity. Join me as we reclaim our right to take up space physically, emotionally, relationally, and intellectually as an act of resistance and liberation.I hope you tune in to embark on this journey together.