Ep. #37 Princess & Pirate with Rachael MacFarlane

This is a special, stand alone episode with my friend, voice actor and new author Rachael MacFarlane. Not only do I think Rachael is one of the smartest people I know, I also really believe in the message of her new children’s book Eleanor Wyatt: Princess and Pirate.

You've probably heard Rachael MacFarlane speak at some point in her 20 year acting career. She's given voice to characters from Johnny Bravo, Tom & Jerry, Fancy Nancy, Family Guy, and she has played Hayley Smith on American Dad since 2005. 

Now Rachael has written a children's book titled Eleanor Wyatt, Princess and Pirate. In this episode of Smartest Person in the Room, Laura talks with Rachael about her career, her new book, parenting in L.A., and why the message of Eleanor Wyatt is so important. 

You can buy Eleanor Wyatt Princess and Pirate at any bookstore or at PrincessandPiratebook.com

Things we mentioned in this episode:

Seth MacFarlane

Gone Girl

I Am Jazz

Two books that have made great impressions on Rachael’s life:

The Call of the Wild by Jack London

The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon

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Ep. #36 Laura's favorite books of 2018 (so far)

On today's episode, Laura is the smartest person in the room because she is the ONLY person in the room. That's right, it's a first for this podcast: a solo show! A few logistical obstacles got in the way of recording with a guest, so it's just Laura telling you about the best books she's read so far in 2018. 

Here's the list of every book she mentions, but not every book was a grand slam. You'll just have to listen to the episode to find out which books she's endorsing and which ones she's simply noting.

For reference, here's a list of Laura's Favorite Books of All Time

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BOOKS!

The Universe Has Your Back by Gabrielle Bernstein

The Evangelicals by Frances Fitzgerald

EDUCATED by Tara Westover (Laura's current favorite memoir of 2018)

The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls

The Sound of Gravel by Ruth Wariner (Laura's favorite book of 2016)

An American Marriage by Tayari Jones (Laura's current novel of 2018)

You Think It, I'll Say It by Curtis Sittenfeld

Prep by Curtis Sittenfeld

American Wife by Curtis Sittenfeld 

So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo (Laura's must-read of 2018)

You Are A Badass at Making Money by Jen Sincero

You Are A Badass by Jen Sincero

The Big Leap by Gary Hendricks

The Jess Lively podcast

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

Salvage the Bones by Jesmyn Ward

Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward

I'll Be Gone in the Dark by Michelle McNamara 

Loving What Is by Byron Katie

The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz

Intuitive Eating by Evelyn Trebold and Elyse Resch

Brain on Fire by Susannah Cahalan 

Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate

Maybe in Another Life by Taylor Jenkins Reid

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Force of Nature by Jane Harper

The Dry by Jane Harper 

The Likeness by Tana French

The Book of Essie by Meghan Maclean Weir

Book of the Month Club

The Nix by Nathan Hill

I Thought It Was Just Me by Brene Brown

Visible Empire by Hannah Pittard

Love & Ruin by Paula McClain

Circe by Madeline Miller

Wedding Toasts I'll Never Give by Ada Calhoun

Thanks for listening to Smartest Person in the Room! 

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BIAS series: Wrap Up and Q&A

This is the final episode in the BIAS series. We're sharing our thoughts on creating and releasing this series, and answering some of the questions we've received over the last few weeks.

We're also making an announcement about the future of this conversation in this space, since of course this work doesn't stop here. Please check out our ever-evolving resource page here. 

Thanks for joining us for the BIAS series of Smartest Person in the Room. 

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Ep. #35 Bias series: Marriage burst the bubble

Over the past several episodes, we’ve mentioned several times that my friend and co-host for this series Yasmin is married to a white man. Yasmin has talked about how being part of an interracial marriage has given her a unique perspective on the dynamics of race in our culture, and I couldn’t think of a better way to conclude our series on bias than by asking her husband Jason to sit down and talk with us about his perspectives on the reality of racial bias in our country.

Jason and Yasmin’s relationship began in the sort of meet-cute way that most fans of romantic comedies could only ever dream about happening in real life. They laugh about how a mutual friend tricked them into dating each other, and they both acknowledge that with each of them being fresh from difficult relationships that ended painfully, their earliest days of dating were so hopeful and happy that the differences in their racial and cultural backgrounds didn’t cause much of a problem. As their relationship moved toward marriage, however, Jason realized that much of his life had existed in a white bubble and that it was only when he stepped outside of that bubble that he could even begin to understand the very real issues of racial bias that most of white culture chooses to ignore.

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Ep. #34 Bias series: Stop saying 'Down There'

This episode is different from any episode of Smartest Person in the Room that I’ve ever recorded. Months ago, when Yasmin and I were planning this series, I mentioned that though I’ve lived in Los Angeles for 17 years now, I’ve hardly ever been to the historically black neighborhoods of South LA. And so, Yasmin decided to take me on a little field trip in our own city.

What you’ll hear in this episode is our recorded conversation as Yasmin drove me along Crenshaw Boulevard, a major vein that runs through South LA. As we pass by churches and schools and neighborhoods where Yasmin grew up, we found ourselves revisiting some of the major points in our ongoing conversation about race in our country, things like lack of access to healthy food in urban neighborhoods and whether or not the way South LA is represented in culture is an accurate view of this part of our city. 

We mention:

In Los Angeles, it's South Central No More

Why is it now called South LA instead of South Central?

The LA Riots (often referred to as the Rodney King riots) and the attack on Reginald Denny

Leimert Park

Harold & Belles

Eater LA

Fresh & Meaty

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Ep. #33 Bias series: Wow, there's a whole other side of you.

This episode was entirely unplanned. We sat down to work on something else, but I had already hit record and the mic was on. With Yasmin's permission, we're sharing this vulnerable story, and our conversation that came out of it. 

In the beginning, we reference a blog post by author Luvvie Ajayi titled "The Weary Weaponizing of White Women's Tears." Click through to read it and understand our comments in context.

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Ep. #32 BIAS series: Pop Culture Perspectives

The first three episodes in this series covered a range of heavier angles on the topic of bias. For this show, we wanted to go a bit lighter and look at our differing perspectives on certain pop culture phenomenons. In our real life book club, Yasmin and I often realize that we read and understand stories from a different lens, even beyond our individual preferences. It’s clear that growing up in contrasting areas of the country and, of course, with differing skin color, affects how we see everything from music to movies to the Great American novel. 

We discuss:

Beyonce 

Lemonade

Halle Berry winning the Oscar for Monster's Ball

GOOD HAIR documentary by Chris Rock

Black Panther

Get Out

Jennifer Lopez

Scandal and Olivia Pope

To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee

Monster by Walter Dean Myers

I read from these articles:

What It Means To Be Unapologetically Black (CNN)

Hey White People: LEMONADE Isn't For Us (GenTwenty)

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Ep. #31 Bias series: Identity Matters

This episode is all about racial identity, and how it matters. 

I'm speaking with my friends Jason & Yvonne Lee, actors and producers, and the co-founders of The Lagralane Group, a finance and project development company that has been involved in bringing the most fascinating stories to the stage and screen, including the recent Academy Award winning documentary Icarus. See their portfolio here. 

I met Jason & Yvonne through our children, and in our very first conversation we ended up talking for hours about Jason's story of being a black man adopted and raised by a white family. He and his wife Yvonne have really interesting things to say about racial identity, and why it matters. 

There are so many layers to this conversation. Make sure you listen all the way until the end. 

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Ep. #30 Bias series: Well-meaning White People

In this episode, you'll hear the conversation Yasmin and I had with her good friend and former colleague Melissa Kaplan.

Melissa Kaplan has been involved in the Los Angeles charter school movement since 2003, most recently serving as the Head of Schools before becoming Deputy Superintendent of Education at Bright Star Schools. Previously, Melissa was the Chief Academic Officer at ICEF Public Schools, where she was responsible for managing the academic program at 14 schools serving 4,500 students in grades K-12, coordinating and delivering professional development for more than 150 teachers and administrators, and ensuring the alignment of the curriculum with college readiness standards. Melissa has served in a variety of leadership roles including district and site administration, demonstration teacher, and teacher coach. She has also worked extensively as a consultant assisting districts and CMOs nationally in curriculum development and system building, especially in the area of reading and writing across the curriculum. Before joining the charter school movement, Melissa taught English in Palos Verdes Unified School District and Oley Valley School District in Pennsylvania.  She holds a BA in Education and Theater from DeSales University and a Masters of Education from UCLA.

When Yasmin told me she wanted for us to sit down with Melissa, a friend and former colleague, I was prepared to have a conversation about systemic racism in education, but the conversation that unfolded became much more personal than that. Melissa tells the story of how she was inspired to take her life experiences of growing up poor with an addict for a father and struggling with a learning disorder to the classroom where she believed she could help her students overcome their challenges the way she had been able to: through hard work and education. It was in the classroom and the mostly black and brown community where she was teaching, however, that she experienced an unexpected awakening to the realities of race in our country that, as a white woman, she had been unprepared to encounter.

This is just one woman's story and one conversation in a vastly complex topic. There is so much to be said around disparities in education and opportunity. As always, we encourage you to seek out further understanding on this and any topic. Click here for our personal resource page. 

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Ep. #29 Bias series: When a Black Person Says It's About Race

This is the beginning of a new series on this show, where we’re trying something a little different by making public a few real conversations that I had with my friend Yasmin Dunn about inherent racial bias. Yasmin and I have been having these discussions privately - or with our close friends in book club - for years now, and we thought that bringing these honest exchanges forward might be helpful for an audience who wants to learn more and ask more about race reconciliation.

That said, Yasmin and I are not perfect people and this is not a perfect conversation. We want to stress that neither of us claim to speak for the entirety of our respective races and in these episodes you’ll hear as speaking as friends do: candidly, with a slight shorthand, and with knowledge that the other is bringing only the best intentions. 

We want this series to be a launching point for YOU to start having your own conversations. So while feedback to me and Yasmin directly about our words is inevitable, we really want to point people inward or towards their own community. At the end of the series we’re going to talk more specifically about how to do this in your own life. 

In lieu of show notes for this episode, we’ve created a blog post with book, podcast, movie and documentary suggestions that can serve as a resource on this topic. We’ll add to this as the series goes on. 

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Bias series recommended resources

Throughout this series, we'll be updating this list of resources that will help educate and hopefully bring along this wider conversation about race in America. 

To get us started, co-host for this series Yasmin Dunn recommends these books:

Laura recommends these resources:

New Series: BIAS: a black & white conversation between friends

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Ep. #28: Books & Reading 2017, part II

We enjoyed the Summer Reading book episode so much that we're back with an end-of-the-year book chat. My real life book club friend Yasmin Dunn is the guest today and we're talking about the very best of what we've read in 2017. 

Books we discuss:

FICTION

The Power by Naomi Alderman

The Golden House by Salman Rushdie

Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Since We Fell by Dennis LeHane

Dreamland Burning by Jennifer Latham

My Name is Lucy Barton by Elizabeth Strout

Anything is Possible by Elizabeth Strout 

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

The 7 Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid 

Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward

NON-FICTION

You Are A Badass by Jen Sincero

Tools of Titans by Tim Ferriss

We Need to Talk: How to Have Conversations that Matter by Celeste Headlee

Real Love: The Art of Mindful Connection by Sharon Salzberg

The Fact of a Body by Alexandria Marzano-Lesnevich

After the Eclipse by Sarah Perry

The Hot One: A Memoir of Friendship, Sex, and Murder by Carolyn Murnick

So You’ve Been Publicly Shamed by Jon Ronson 

Deep Work by Cal Newport

Yasmin Dunn is a native of Los Angeles, but has lived abroad in Saudi Arabia and in France. Now based back in LA, she worked in film & television production and education before switching career to become the Executive Producer of a visual effects company that she owns with her husband. Yasmin serves on the board of directors for the non-profit Peace Over Violence.  

Two books that have had an impact on her life:

Charlotte's Web by E.B. White

The Diary of Anais Nin

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Mind/Body series wrap-up

After 6 episodes, we've concluded our Mind/Body connection series. In this wrap-up episode, host Laura Tremaine and producer/editor Megan Tietz talk through the series as a whole.

We discuss the origins of this series, what stands out to us from concepts and guests, and which episode broke download records (I'll give you one guess).

The wrap-up episodes are for people who enjoy the insider play-by-play. We like to break down what worked and what didn't in a series, and sum up what we learned while making it. 

The episodes in the Mind/Body Connection series have their own page here. 

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Ep. #27 Mind/Body series: The Transgender Experience with Bethany Cole

Since the earliest days of planning for the Mind/Body connection series, I knew I wanted to talk to a transgender person about their experience. A mutual friend introduced me to Bethany Cole and her story opened up my eyes and heart so wide on this topic. I am grateful to Bethany for having this honest conversation with me. I will be thinking about it for years.

Bethany Cole is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor Associate (LMHCA) and transgender advocate who works primarily with the LGBTQ community in Seattle, Washington. She graduated from the Seattle School of Theology and Psychology with a Master's of Arts in Counseling Psychology; and in her clinical work, she helps people process their personal trauma, gain greater acceptance for their own life story, and develop an increased capacity to both experience and manage a broad range of emotions. She lives in the Puget Sound area with her spouse.

In our conversation, Bethany tells me her story of growing up and her initial confusion between the gender she was assigned at birth (male) and the gender she knew herself to be (female). We talk about the difficult years of trying to fit in and then the freedom that arose when she decided to live in the world as herself. 

This is absolutely one of the biggest interviews I've ever done for this show, and Bethany's perspective and insight will stay with me for years. 

Two books that made a great impact on her life:

Meditations by Meister Eckhart 

The Silver Chair by C.S. Lewis

UPDATE:

After our conversation, Bethany graciously sent me a few books that could serve as valuable resources for anyone who wants to know more about this topic. Here are the three that she recommended: 

Redefining Realness by Janet Mock

Surpassing Certainty by Janet Mock

Lou Sullivan: Daring to Be A Man Among Men by Brice D. Smith

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This is the final episode in the Mind/Body connection series. If you'd like to be notified when our next season releases, make sure you sign up for our episode emails. Email subscribers are the first to know everything about the show. 

Ep. #26 Mind/Body Series: Exploring Your Sexuality with Dr. Hernando Chaves

Today’s episode is a real DOOZY for someone like me, who would just prefer to never ever ever ever speak about sex publicly. But, as I’ve been working on this mind/body connection topic, human sexuality is something that comes up a lot. It’s a big part of life, and as sexual beings, it’s a big part of the mind/body connection.

Still, in our culture we rarely discuss sex in a realistic way. There are too often moral implications surrounding our conversations about sex, and what actually brings sexual pleasure and fulfillment to our bodies and spirits gets lost in all of our complicated feelings. In my discussion with Dr. Chaves, I tried to set aside all judgement and ingrained moral reactions to this topic. I may have been blushing wildly, but what was important to share here was the concept of finding what brings us pleasure in the bedroom. Unashamedly making that specific mind and body connection spills out into our whole lives. Sexual gratification improves relationship, moods, and overall health.

My guest is Dr. Hernando Chaves. Dr. Chaves holds a B.A. in psychology from University of California Santa Barbara, a M.A. in marital and family therapy from University of San Diego, and a D.H.S. doctorate in human sexuality from the Institute for the Advanced Study of Human Sexuality. He is a licensed marriage and family therapist specializing in working with sexual minorities, individuals and couples with intimacy/relational difficulties and sexual concerns/dysfunctions. Dr. Chaves is a psychology and sexuality professor at Orange Coast College and Pepperdine University, has written and consulted for 14 instructional sex education projects, including BaDoinkVR's virtual reality sex therapy instructional video and co-host for Penthouse's Sex Academy instructional series, and a Western Region past president for the Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality.

In this episode, we discuss a number of books and resources for exploring your sexuality, including:

Mating in Captivity by Esther Perel

Sex at Dawn by Christopher Ryan and Cecilia Jetha

Coping with Erectile Dysfunction by Michael E. Metz and Barry W. McCarthy

SM101 by Jay Wiseman

The Erotic Mind by Jack Morin

Dr. Chaves's pick for a book that made a great impact on his life is:

Mind Over Medicine by Lissa Rankin

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Ep. #25 Mind/Body series: Eating disorders with Nicole Avila

Today’s episode is one of the most important topics we’ve ever covered on this show. A few years ago, someone I love very much was hospitalized near death because of an eating disorder. This struggle affected our whole family. The things I learned then about this disease - how it should not be dismissed as a phase or only affects a certain type of person - have stuck with me.

It’s not about the food, it’s never about the food. 

Eating disorders have the highest mortality rate of any mental illness. It is a disease that is often not taken seriously in pop culture, sometimes even subtly encouraged in our society. In spite of the millions of people here in the US who suffer with an eating disorder, the research into this disease is still too scarce.

Registered Dietician Nicole Avila is our guest today talking about the mind/body disconnection that happens and often leads to a person's complicated relationship with food. What our mind and body is doing as we develop disordered eating habits, but before it becomes a full blown eating disorder.

Nicole started off her education at Point Loma Nazarene University in San Diego. Her dream had always been to become a doctor, but after her first nutrition class she fell in love with preventative medicine and aspired to be a dietitian. She went on to complete her masters in nutritional Science, and her dietetic internship, at California state university, Los Angeles. With a year left in my internship, she fell into disordered eating at The Bella Vita- a residential and outpatient treatment program for individuals suffering from eating disorders. From the Bella Vita, where she would work for 4 years, Nicole learned about the mind/body connection and the detriment to losing that mind/body connection.

Books mentioned in this episode:  

Intuitive Eating by Evelyn Tribole and Elyse Resch

Intuitive Eating by Evelyn Tribole and Elyse Resch

Brave New World by Aldous Huxley

Brave New World by Aldous Huxley

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Ep. #24 Mind/Body Series: Paralympic Gold Medalist Mark Zupan

Mark Zupan is known for a lot of things: his Gold Medal for rugby in the 2008 Paralympics. The documentary Murderball that features his life and sport. His inspiration for a character in the television show Friday Night Lights. His MTV appearances on Jackass and Nitro Circus and more. 

But even without all those accolades and extreme experiences, his perspective on the life-altering accident that rendered him paralyzed would be remarkable. 

In the first two episodes in this series, we talk about strengthening our innate mind/body connection. But what if that natural ability is permanently severed? What then? 

In this conversation with Mark Zupan, we talk about everything from the terrible circumstances surrounding his 1993 accident during his freshman year of college, to the one thing that was more beneficial to his recovery than therapy. I've been friends with Mark for years now, and he never ceases to inspire me and challenge my beliefs about my own able body. 

Here's the documentary Murderball that we discuss:

Murderball documentary

Here's the book GIMP that Mark wrote:

Gimp by Mark Zupan

A few books that Mark recommends:

The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho 

Why Do Buses Come in Threes? by Rob Eastaway and Jeremy Wyndham

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Ep. #23 MIND/BODY series: Acupuncture with Salena Hanrahan

In this episode we are talking about acupuncture, the ancient Chinese medicine practice in which tiny needles are inserted into the skin to treat everything from pain to digestion to depression to fertility. Our guest Salena Hanrahan is a licensed acupuncturist and board certified herbalist here in California, and she is extremely patient with me as I try to really understand how acupuncture actually works.

Licensed acupuncturist and board certified herbalist Salena Hanrahan

Salena Hanrahan describes herself as an Irish-Polish girl from the Southside of Chicago. She has many fond memories of growing up in the Chicago suburbs, but her grandfather’s long struggle with Parkinson’s Disease cast a shadow over her childhood years. Later at the age of 19, she would lose her father suddenly to heart disease, and she believes her interest in helping people with health and wellness comes from making sense of the trauma caused by the death of loved ones. It wasn’t until Salena was in a major car accident in her 20s that she discovered for herself the power of healing available through acupuncture.

Salena Hanrahan is a nationally certified Diplomate in both Acupuncture and Chinese Herbalism by the National Certification Commission of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (NCCAOM) and the California Acupuncture Board. She graduated Summa Cum Laude from the esteemed Pacific College of Oriental Medicine (PCOM) in early 2011 with a Master's degree in Traditional Chinese Medicine. She has currently completed to date 3,510 credit hours of clinical practice and theory toward her professional doctorate and looks forward to completing the remaining five classes to earn this merit.

Salena is a Chicago native and first discovered the benefits of acupuncture during her former career as a personal trainer and coach. She was introduced to the effectiveness of Chinese Medicine through injured athletes and clients who were steadfastly rehabilitated by the integration of acupuncture therapy and herbal medicine along with their prescribed treatments per their physicians. She is passionate about introducing patients to the many benefits of Chinese Medicine and continues to be tenacious in her study and practice of eastern medicine and orthopedic motor point therapy (also referred to sometimes as ‘dry needling’ or ‘trigger point acupuncture’ by physical therapists and medical doctors.) 

In addition to orthopedic and pain management, Salena has provided many treatments in all areas of health and wellness ranging from depression and other psycho-emotional disorders to fertility support and women’s health. Salena steadfastly maintains that good health is the gateway to a harmonious life. In fact, there is a popular expression in Chinese Medicine that is at the heart of her treatment approach, ‘Where there is free flow, there is no pain. Where there is no free flow, there is pain.

Salena currently enjoys a thriving acupuncture and wellness practice in both Los Angeles and beautiful downtown Paso Robles, serving both Southern California and the Central Coast of California. She can be contacted with questions, or for more information about the benefits of Chinese Medicine, by visiting salenahanrahan.com or acupuncturecenterforhealth.com .

At the end of the episode, Salena speaks about this book:

The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran

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Ep. #22 Mind/Body series: Pilates with Kerri Campbell

This is the first episode in the Mind/Body series. 

I wanted to start this series with my own life-changing story. In my thirties, after two babies and a lifetime of bad eating habits, I didn’t even know how disconnected I had become from my body until a series of physical and mental ailments sent me looking for answers. It wasn’t something you could see on the outside, my clothes size stayed the same, my mental health patterns weren’t that different. But I just knew something was off.

I saw doctors and a therapist, and on the advice of a friend I decided to try a personal Pilates class. This was so outside the norm for me, I don’t like exercise and I’m self-conscious about my posture and my own movements. What I learned in just the first few sessions - like how I distribute weight when I stand, and how to align my spine in a way that eliminates aches and pains - set me on a path that has transformed my body and my brain. 

The Pilates teacher behind this transformation is Kerri Campbell, the owner of the Pilates Body Shop here in Los Angeles. Under her instruction and friendship, I’ve become a Pilates evangelist, roping in my husband and friends to take classes. I learn something new every week from Kerri about how my body is affecting my brain and vice versa. Talking with her is exactly how I wanted to start the mind/body connection series.

Kerri began her Pilates practice over seventeen years ago. While working towards her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from The University of the Arts in Philadelphia, she had a debilitating car accident. On the journey to heal her body she was introduced to the Pilates Method.   

After completing several teacher-training courses with some of the most respected names in the Pilates field, Kerri came to the work of Master Teacher Ron Fletcher. She discovered her most profound body transformations with Fletcher Pilates® and through the rigorous and demanding study of his lineage she finally found the depth of knowledge that she had been seeking. Kerri completed the Ron Fletcher Program of Study in Tucson Arizona with Kyria Sabin, Program Director. She has gone on to study and work with some of the best known teachers in the Pilates community, and is now a Fletcher Pilates® Faculty member. 

Bringing Fletcher Pilates® back to Los Angeles, it’s birthplace, Kerri opened the first Fletcher Pilates® Studio in Los Angeles fully dedicated to Ron’s work, thirty years after original studio in 1972. Her first studio was a converted horse stall in a riding facility which catered to professional equestrians. 

To meet a growing demand for Fletcher Pilates® she expanded and opened The Pilates Bodyshop. Since the opening of the business Kerri has been featured in Horse and Rider Magazine, has been voted one of the top ten Pilates teachers in Los Angeles, taught the first full Fletcher Pilates® Teacher Training Program in Los Angeles, lead multiple licensing courses, has presented at The Fletcher Pilates® Conference, has been photographed as part of IC Rapport’s Pilates Pilgrimage, and has been on Pilates Anytime and Pilatesology.  She is currently working on a re-release of Ron Fletcher’s seminal book “Every Body is Beautiful” bringing it back to print for the first time in nearly forty years. 

She is deeply committed to teaching others to move well and achieve their highest level of physical health. It is her privilege and honor to be teaching this work, which has evolved directly from Joseph and Clara Pilates and to be a member of the Fletcher Pilates® community which is dedicated to sharing and preserving the work of Ron Fletcher. 

Books that are mentioned in this episode:

Return to Life by Joseph H. Pilates

Ceremony by Leslie Marmon Silko

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