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Why can you understand your patterns completely and still feel them happening in your body? In this solo episode, Ailey responds to listener questions about the space between what we know intellectually and what the body has learned through experience. She explores why understanding where a pattern comes from does not necessarily stop the stomach from dropping or the body from bracing when something feels unsafe. Ailey considers how our bodies learn through repetition and relationship, often long before we have language for what is happening. She reflects on what can happen when we repeatedly override internal signals and why reconnecting with the body may require something different from simply understanding ourselves better. The conversation also turns toward pleasure and the surprising difficulty some of us experience staying present when something feels good. Rather than treating disconnection as another problem to overcome, Ailey invites us to become curious about what the body may be protecting us from and to practise staying with sensation in ways that feel manageable. Ultimately, this episode offers a gentler understanding of why healing does not always follow what we know. Sometimes the body needs time to experience something different before it can begin to believe something different. In this episode: 2:40 Listener Questions And What’s Next8:44 Beauty Standards Stored As Reflex14:10 Untangling Inherited Body Disgust18:34 Relearning Hunger After Dieting21:48 Building Real Space To Slow Down25:53 Why Talk Therapy Isn’t Enough29:18 When Pleasure Triggers Numbness33:34 Making Embodiment Last In Life40:17 Final Invites And Closing GroundingLearn more about Ailey Jolie: Find: WebsiteFollow: InstagramExplore: SubstackExperience: Insight TimerSign up: InBodyMethodEmail: [email protected] follow along with the In This Body podcast: Follow: InstagramFind: WebsiteEmail: [email protected]

What if the place you feel pain is not the only place asking for your attention? In this episode, Ailey sits down with somatic sexologist and pelvic care specialist Serena Gold to explore what becomes possible when we begin seeing the body as an interconnected whole. Together, they consider how pain and numbness can carry information that is easy to miss when symptoms are treated in isolation. Serena shares the fascinating relationship between the jaw and pelvis, offering a different way to understand tension and the patterns our bodies hold over time. The conversation invites us to become curious about what the body may be communicating before immediately trying to make a sensation disappear. They also explore the role of scar tissue in healing, including the places where sensation may feel absent altogether. Serena offers a powerful reframe: numbness itself is a sensation. Rather than seeing disconnection as evidence that the body has stopped communicating, it can become another place from which we begin listening. Ultimately, Ailey and Serena invite us to approach the body with greater curiosity, recognizing that healing may begin not by focusing more closely on one part, but by noticing the relationships that have been there all along. In this episode: 2:57 Defining Embodiment As Home8:41 Pain, Safety, And The Psoas10:02 Why Jaw Mirrors Pelvis18:58 Botox, Relief, And Disconnection24:06 Head Carriage And Vagus Regulation29:28 Scar Tissue Changes The Whole System35:51 Internal Scars And Skilled Support49:39 Slow Devotion And Real Integration58:52 Where To Begin With Self Touch1:03:23 Serena’s Offers And Closing ReflectionsYou can read the full transcript here. Learn more about Ailey Jolie: Find: WebsiteFollow: InstagramExplore: SubstackExperience: Insight TimerSign up: InBodyMethodEmail: [email protected] follow along with the In This Body podcast: Follow: InstagramFind: WebsiteEmail: [email protected]

What does it mean to feel at home in your body when the world around you does not feel equally safe? In this episode, Ailey sits down with Dr. Krystal Redman, a self-published author, and a speaker throughout sexual and reproductive justice, and health justice movement(s), as well as in the public health sector, to explore embodiment beyond the individual. Together, they consider bodily autonomy as something shaped not only by our relationship with ourselves, but by the conditions that determine who gets to feel safe and free within their own body. Dr. Redman shares how their understanding of care has been shaped by both their work in public health and their own lived experience. They reflect on the premature birth of their son while they were leading maternal and child health initiatives designed to prevent the very outcome their family was experiencing. That experience revealed the distance that can exist between what systems understand about health and what people actually need. The conversation turns toward community as an essential part of healing. Dr. Redman invites us to consider what becomes possible when care is something we create together rather than something we are expected to achieve alone. Ailey and Dr. Redman ultimately explore a vision of embodiment that makes room for joy. Rather than treating freedom as an individual destination, they ask what it could mean to build the conditions that allow more of us to feel safe enough to fully inhabit our lives. In this episode: 3:30 Content Note And Gentle Care5:26 Bodily Autonomy Needs Community10:08 Care Beyond Capitalism16:03 How To Find And Build Community27:14 Pleasure Beyond Sex And Shame34:20 Weathering And Oppression In The Body41:57 Joy At The Centre Of Liberation44:36 Closing Reflections And How To SupportYou can read the full transcript here. Learn more about Ailey Jolie: Find: WebsiteFollow: InstagramExplore: SubstackExperience: Insight TimerSign up: InBodyMethodEmail: [email protected] follow along with the In This Body podcast: Follow: InstagramFind: WebsiteEmail: [email protected]

What happens when thinking becomes the place you go to avoid feeling? In this episode, Ailey Jolie sits down with clinical life coach and former therapist Mollie Birney to explore embodiment as the practice of being present with ourselves rather than constantly trying to manage our experience. Together, they consider how overthinking and control can become ways of creating safety, even when they ultimately keep us disconnected from the body. Drawing from her own recovery and clinical work, Mollie shares what it means to change our relationship with the inner voice that tells us how we should behave. Rather than waiting for that voice to disappear, she explores the possibility of loosening its authority and making room for what we actually feel. The conversation also examines the difference between thinking about an emotion and allowing ourselves to experience it. Mollie offers a simple but powerful perspective: thoughts can give us somewhere to stay, while feelings can show us where to go. Ailey and Mollie ultimately return to what it means to live with greater authenticity, finding the courage to trust your own voice without reshaping yourself to be more acceptable to others. Please note that this episode includes discussion of eating disorder recovery. We encourage you to take care of yourself and listen in whatever way feels supportive. In this episode: 4:14 Presence As The Core Of Embodiment8:16 Patriarchy, Recovery, And The Inner Voice13:34 Isolation, Grief, And Outgrowing Safety21:53 Coaching Versus Therapy And Fit26:52 Psychodynamic Training And Nervous Systems32:02 Free Fall And Feeling Versus Thinking38:58 Resonance, Voice, And Taking Up Space47:49 Reflections, Clarifications, And Next StepsYou can read the full transcript here. Learn more about Ailey Jolie: Find: WebsiteFollow: InstagramExplore: SubstackExperience: Insight TimerSign up: InBodyMethodEmail: [email protected] follow along with the In This Body podcast: Follow: InstagramFind: WebsiteEmail: [email protected]

What if the voices we instinctively trust have less to do with wisdom and more to do with what our bodies have been taught to recognize as authority? In this solo episode, Ailey explores how cultural conditioning can quietly shape whose knowledge we trust and whose confidence makes us uncomfortable. Drawing from what she has been noticing while writing her book, she considers how these patterns can live beneath our conscious beliefs and influence the way we respond to women in positions of authority. Ailey reflects on the difference between confidence and safety, questioning why women are so often expected to prove their expertise while navigating the discomfort that can come with fully claiming it. She also turns toward the women whose work has profoundly shaped modern approaches to trauma and embodiment, despite their names not always receiving the same recognition as the ideas they helped establish. Rather than approaching these biases as something to judge or intellectualize, Ailey invites us to notice them in the body. What happens when a woman speaks with certainty? What shifts when the same message comes from a man? This conversation is an invitation to become more discerning about whose wisdom we receive, while creating more freedom for women to take up space within their own work. In this episode: 4:07 The Question Of Female Authority16:44 Confidence Is Not The Issue22:22 Naming The Female Elders We Miss33:22 Neuroception And Somatic Misogyny37:20 Family Conditioning And Inherited Safety39:29 Ageism And Women As Threat44:06 A Body Based Practice For Change47:03 Ways To Go Deeper TogetherLearn more about Ailey Jolie: Find: WebsiteFollow: InstagramExplore: SubstackExperience: Insight TimerSign up: InBodyMethodEmail: [email protected] follow along with the In This Body podcast: Follow: InstagramFind: WebsiteEmail: [email protected]

What happens when you learn to read everyone else before you learn to read yourself? In this episode, Ailey sits down with registered clinical counsellor and yoga therapist, Heidi Stokes, to explore how the nervous system shapes our experience of safety. Together, they look at how easily we can become focused on reading the room while losing touch with what is happening inside our own bodies. Heidi shares how patterns like people pleasing can develop as ways of staying connected and protected. The conversation explores what it takes to turn our attention inward again, especially when insight has not been enough to create meaningful change. Ailey and Heidi also discuss why trauma healing requires patience and why feeling safe with another person can be an important part of learning to feel safe within ourselves. Rather than pushing the body toward change, they consider what becomes possible when healing moves at a pace the nervous system can actually hold. If you have ever struggled to know what you feel or found yourself paying more attention to everyone else than to yourself, this conversation offers a gentler way back to your body. In this episode: 3:25 What Being In Your Body Means6:00 Women Trained To Leave The Body11:27 Somatic Therapy Versus Talk Therapy22:16 What Yoga Therapy Looks Like27:24 Trauma Disclosure And Building Safety35:37 The Harm Of Going Too Fast40:57 Co-Regulation Before Self-Regulation48:59 Self-Regulation As A Gentle Choice57:16 When Talk Therapy Is Not Shifting1:00:00 Closing Invitation To Rest And ValidateYou can read the full transcript here. Learn more about Ailey Jolie: Find: WebsiteFollow: InstagramExplore: SubstackExperience: Insight TimerSign up: InBodyMethodEmail: [email protected] follow along with the In This Body podcast: Follow: InstagramFind: WebsiteEmail: [email protected]

When does wellness become another way of trying to fix yourself? In this episode, Ailey sits down with Amanda White, licensed professional counsellor and author of Not Drinking Tonight, to explore how the pursuit of wellness can quietly pull us further away from our bodies. Together, they question the promise that the right routine or enough self improvement will eventually create a version of ourselves who no longer struggles. Amanda shares how her own recovery shaped the way she understands avoidance and our desire to escape uncomfortable experiences. The conversation considers what changes when we stop treating discomfort as evidence that something is wrong and begin developing the capacity to stay present with what we feel. Ailey and Amanda also reflect on the difference between protecting ourselves and avoiding life. Rather than searching for the perfect boundary or healing practice, they explore a more flexible way of relating to ourselves that leaves room for uncertainty and the full range of being human. If you have ever felt exhausted by the pressure to optimise yourself, this conversation offers another possibility: a life built around greater capacity rather than greater control. In this epsiode: 4:30 Learning Safety In The Body9:29 Wellness Culture And Optimisation Illusions13:03 Therapy Speak Boundaries And Armour26:13 Recovery Eating Disorders And Substance Use35:05 12-Step What Helps What Limits49:34 Practising Friction In Daily Life1:00:45 Building Discomfort Tolerance That Lasts1:05:17 Closing Reflections And Ways To JoinYou can read the full transcript here. Learn more about Ailey Jolie: Find: WebsiteFollow: InstagramExplore: SubstackExperience: Insight TimerSign up: InBodyMethodEmail: [email protected] follow along with the In This Body podcast: Follow: InstagramFind: WebsiteEmail: [email protected]

How do you know when to trust what your body is telling you? In part two of this conversation, Ailey welcomes back Carissa Schumacher, a neuroscience trained forensic psychic medium and sacred ceremony facilitator, to explore the relationship between intuition, embodiment, and self trust. Together, they examine how we can reconnect with our inner knowing without losing our grounding. Carissa shares her perspective on the different ways intuition can be experienced and why sensitivity is both a gift and a responsibility. The conversation explores how to distinguish intuition from fear, why boundaries are essential for those who feel deeply, and how our nervous system shapes the way we interpret what we experience. Ailey and Carissa also reflect on healing as a process of integration rather than elimination. They discuss shadow work, shame, and the importance of developing a relationship with every part of ourselves instead of trying to push difficult experiences away. If you have ever questioned your intuition or wondered how to trust yourself more deeply, this conversation offers a thoughtful and grounded place to continue the journey. In this episode: 5:21 Dreams Visions And The Seer Path10:58 Feelers Knowers And Psychic Clairs16:01 The Price Of Gifts And Surrender26:14 Sleep Science And Mental Health Nuance43:31 Integration Over Eradication52:02 Interoception Boundaries And Closing InvitationsYou can read the full transcript here. Learn more about Ailey Jolie: Find: WebsiteFollow: InstagramExplore: SubstackExperience: Insight TimerSign up: InBodyMethodEmail: [email protected] follow along with the In This Body podcast: Follow: InstagramFind: WebsiteEmail: [email protected]

What helps us move through life's biggest transitions without losing ourselves? In this episode, Ailey sits down with Carissa Schumacher, a neuroscience trained forensic psychic medium and sacred ceremony facilitator, to explore what it means to navigate change with the body, rather than simply endure it. Together, they reflect on why major life transitions can leave a lasting imprint and how healing becomes possible when we are witnessed through them. Carissa shares how her own experiences with illness, sensitivity, and trauma shaped her understanding of embodiment. The conversation explores the relationship between the physical and the spiritual, offering a grounded perspective on what it means to care for both without losing sight of either. At the heart of the episode is the role of ritual and community. Ailey and Carissa consider what happens when life's thresholds go unnamed, and why grief, loss, and transformation are often easier to carry when they are acknowledged rather than endured alone. If you are moving through change or searching for a deeper way to understand life's transitions, this conversation offers a thoughtful place to begin. In this episode: 2:26 Meet Carissa Schumacher5:44 A Gentle Content Note6:20 Hope, Essence, And Stewardship17:11 Childhood Sight Of Spirit23:07 Building Boundaries With Intuition27:49 First Period Without A Rite36:11 Why Rites Of Passage Heal41:53 Everyday Thresholds You Might Miss51:12 Purification, Grief, And Channel Work1:01:08 Liminality, Language, And Listener Next StepsYou can read the full transcript here. Learn more about Ailey Jolie: Find: WebsiteFollow: InstagramExplore: SubstackExperience: Insight TimerSign up: InBodyMethodEmail: [email protected] follow along with the In This Body podcast: Follow: InstagramFind: WebsiteEmail: [email protected]

What happens when shame becomes the way you experience your body? In this episode, Ailey sits down with psychedelic somatic therapist Christian Snuffer to explore how shame can shape our relationship with ourselves long before we have words for it. Together, they reflect on what it means to lose touch with the body and why healing often begins with simply noticing what has been there all along. Drawing from his work in somatic therapy and psychedelic assisted psychotherapy, Christian shares how we can begin rebuilding trust in our inner experience. The conversation also explores what it means to reconnect with intuition after years of self doubt, and how staying present can become the foundation for lasting change. Rather than searching for a quick transformation, Ailey and Christian consider healing as a gradual return to ourselves. They reflect on the quiet work of integration and the possibility of becoming more open to love, connection, and life itself. If you have ever wondered what it feels like to come home to yourself after shame, this conversation offers a thoughtful and compassionate place to begin. In this episode: 5:25 What Being Embodied Means10:10 Intuition And Psycho Spiritual Openness17:35 Leaving Mormonism And Meeting Shame20:46 How Shame Lives In The Body25:22 PSIP And Readiness For Psychedelics38:34 Ketamine As Resourcing Not Escape45:21 Integration That Changes Real Life56:02 Closing Reflections And Ways To ContinueYou can read the full transcript here. A note: Ailey shares this conversation not as a recommendation but as information. Psychedelics carry real risks, psychological, physical, legal, and aren’t appropriate for everyone. If this is a path you’re interested in, please approach it with care, do your research, and seek appropriate support. This isn’t medical advice or advocating for psychedelic usage. These substances remain illegal in most countries; this is just one perspective in a much larger conversation. Learn more about Ailey Jolie: Find: WebsiteFollow: InstagramExplore: SubstackExperience: Insight TimerSign up: InBodyMethodEmail: [email protected] follow along with the In This Body podcast: Follow: InstagramFind: WebsiteEmail: [email protected]

What if your body has been telling the truth all along? In this episode, Ailey sits down with Dr. Stephanie Minchin, clinical psychologist and yoga therapist, to explore what becomes possible when psychology and yoga are brought together as one integrated approach to healing. Together, they examine why insight alone is not always enough, and how the body often holds the missing piece. Stephanie shares how yoga therapy supports people in rebuilding a relationship with themselves through curiosity, nervous system awareness, and gentle embodiment. The conversation explores why healing cannot be rushed, how trauma can reveal itself without words, and what it means to create enough safety for lasting change to unfold. Ailey and Stephanie also discuss the role of Internal Family Systems, offering simple ways to connect with different parts of ourselves through breath, touch, and felt experience rather than relying on the thinking mind alone. If you have ever felt like you understand your patterns but still struggle to feel different, this conversation offers a compassionate and embodied path forward. In this episode: 4:43 Why Yoga And Psychology Belong Together11:13 What A Yoga Therapy Session Looks Like18:13 When Talk Therapy Hits A Wall31:13 Big T Trauma Versus Attachment Wounds41:43 Bringing Internal Family Systems Onto The Mat49:13 Breathwork And Interoception PracticesYou can read the full transcript here. Learn more about Ailey Jolie: Find: WebsiteFollow: InstagramExplore: SubstackExperience: Insight TimerSign up: InBodyMethodEmail: [email protected] follow along with the In This Body podcast: Follow: InstagramFind: WebsiteEmail: [email protected]

Can a global beauty brand create meaningful change for body image? In this episode, Ailey sits down with Phillippa Diedrichs, PhD, a Professor of Psychology and leading body image researcher at the Centre for Appearance Research, to explore the complex relationship between science, social impact, and the beauty industry. Together, they examine what it means to create evidence based body confidence programs while working alongside global brands, and why discernment matters more than simple answers. Drawing on more than two decades of research, Phillippa shares what truly supports a healthier relationship with the body, challenging common assumptions while offering practical strategies that are grounded in evidence rather than trends. The conversation also turns to the personal cost of purpose driven work, exploring burnout through the lens of the nervous system and why disconnection from the body can be a deeply protective response. Rather than striving for body confidence, Ailey and Phillippa invite a gentler approach rooted in curiosity, compassion, and learning to relate to the body in new ways. If you are looking for a more thoughtful perspective on body image and what genuine change can look like, this conversation offers both practical insight and hope. In this episode: 0:00 Welcome And Why Body Image Matters4:25 Working With Big Brands For Change9:22 Holding Corporate Tension With Discernment14:55 Strategic Science And Social Impact18:15 Burnout As A Body-Level No22:32 Coming Back To The Senses25:54 Protective Strategies For Body Image30:17 Tools, Training And Closing ReflectionsYou can read the full transcript here. Learn more about Ailey Jolie: Find: WebsiteFollow: InstagramExplore: SubstackExperience: Insight TimerSign up: InBodyMethodEmail: [email protected] follow along with the In This Body podcast: Follow: InstagramFind: WebsiteEmail: [email protected]

What is your face communicating beyond what you see in the mirror? In this episode, Ailey sits down with Shelly Marshall, founder of Beauty Shamans and Skin Within Studio, to explore the relationship between beauty, embodiment, and the nervous system. After years working as an aesthetician, registered nurse, and nurse injector, Shelly shares why she ultimately chose to step away from injectables. Together, they unpack how Botox and fillers may influence more than appearance, discussing facial movement, lymphatic flow, inflammation, and the role our expressions play in connection and co regulation. The conversation also explores the growing pressure on women to maintain a youthful appearance and what can be lost when beauty becomes disconnected from the body's natural intelligence. Rather than focusing on quick fixes, Ailey and Shelly offer gentle alternatives that support the face and nervous system, including facial massage, gua sha, fascia care, and lymphatic drainage. If you have ever questioned your relationship with beauty or wondered how cosmetic treatments may influence your connection to yourself and others, this conversation offers a thoughtful and empowering perspective. In this episode: 0:00 Welcome And Why Faces Matter8:14 From Aesthetician To Registered Nurse18:45 Botox And Autoimmune Concerns27:28 Facial Mimicry And Co-Regulation32:31 Fillers Explained And Hidden Risks42:45 Beauty As A Class Signifier48:20 Lymph As The Body’s Caretaker52:32 Nightly Rituals Using Touch And SoundYou can read the full transcript here. Learn more about Ailey Jolie: Find: WebsiteFollow: InstagramExplore: SubstackExperience: Insight TimerSign up: InBodyMethodEmail: [email protected] follow along with the In This Body podcast: Follow: InstagramFind: WebsiteEmail: [email protected]

What happens when being "good" comes at the cost of being yourself? In this episode, Ailey sits down with Sara Hirsh Bordo, author of Autoimmunity and the Good Girls, to explore the connection between people pleasing, self abandonment, and chronic illness. Together, they examine how perfectionism, self silencing, and the pressure to keep others comfortable can become long term strategies for survival. Drawing from Sara's personal story and the experiences of thousands of women living with autoimmune disease, the conversation explores how early conditioning shapes our relationship with our bodies, our needs, and our sense of worth. They also discuss the importance of moving beyond trauma comparisons and creating space for every person's experience to be honored. Ailey and Sara examine the relationship between chronic stress, inflammation, and autoimmune disease while emphasizing that illness is never a personal failure. Instead, they explore how self advocacy, nervous system awareness, and learning to disappoint others can become powerful steps toward healing. If you have ever struggled to put yourself first or felt disconnected from your own needs, this conversation offers a compassionate invitation to begin coming home to yourself. In this episode: 2:26 Pausing Solo Episodes For Health5:08 What Being In Your Body Means10:54 Performing For Approval And Safety18:58 Trauma Comparisons And Patriarchal Scripts30:02 Receiving Care As A Nervous System Skill37:15 What Changes When You Assert Yourself43:38 Storytelling, Expression, And Identity Crisis52:06 Science, No Blame, And Next StepsYou can read the full transcript here. Learn more about Ailey Jolie: Find: WebsiteFollow: InstagramExplore: SubstackExperience: Insight TimerSign up: InBodyMethodEmail: [email protected] follow along with the In This Body podcast: Follow: InstagramFind: WebsiteEmail: [email protected]

What is your voice communicating before you say a single word? In this episode, Ailey sits down with Jordan Dann, a psychoanalysis informed somatic practitioner and relationship therapist, to explore the connection between voice, embodiment, and nervous system regulation. Together, they examine how breath, tone, tension, and resonance shape the way we connect, communicate, and respond to one another. Drawing from her background in theatre and voice work, Jordan explains how the body influences self expression and why the voice can reveal patterns of protection long before we are aware of them. The conversation also explores relationship dynamics, including why conflict can escalate so quickly and how nervous systems interact beneath the surface of everyday conversations. Ailey and Jordan discuss rupture and repair, the physiology of feeling threatened, and the moments that help the body return to safety and connection. They also reflect on therapy culture, validation, and how different healing approaches can support us at different stages of growth. If you want a deeper understanding of communication, relationships, and what your body may already be expressing, this conversation offers a thoughtful place to begin. In this episode: 3:59 Defining What Being Embodied Means6:54 From Theatre Training To Trauma Work12:45 Linklater Voice And Releasing Tension20:43 How Tone Shapes Safety In Couples29:01 Rupture And Repair As Body Events45:43 Choosing The Right Therapy Season47:42 Polyvagal Voice Cues And Responsibility51:40 Where To Go Next And How To SupportYou can read the full transcript here. Learn more about Ailey Jolie: Find: WebsiteFollow: InstagramExplore: SubstackExperience: Insight TimerSign up: InBodyMethodEmail: [email protected] follow along with the In This Body podcast: Follow: InstagramFind: WebsiteEmail: [email protected]