Creatures of Change Episode #5: Melanie Reese on Expanding Perspectives with Religion, Healing Chronic Illness, and More

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By Valerie Martin

You never know when an old acquaintance will chance to cross your path again.

In this case, Melanie Reese— a therapist I worked down the hall from for over a year— saw the news about this podcast and reached out about being a guest. In this ~40 minute conversation, we connected on a deeper level than we ever did during that whole year.

It was a joy to hear Melanie share some of the growth and healing she’s experienced personally throughout the pandemic, and how that continued evolution has allowed her to support her clients in new and deeper ways.

In this episode, Melanie and I talk about the the huge business leap she took just prior to the pandemic (spoiler alert, it involved OFFICE SPACE 💀😂) and what she learned weathering that challenge, the process of shedding her Christian identity (and the difficulties that arose in some family relationships), and how her own experience of living with chronic pain and illnesses has continued to evolve along with her spirituality, impacting the way she approaches her client work as well.

🎧 To listen to the episode, stream from the podcast player below, or visit this link to find the episode in your favorite podcast player. There will not be additional new episodes of Creatures of Change, but the existing episodes will live on in Valerie’s main podcast feed (which is now Bad B*tch Therapist podcast).

About Melanie

Melanie Reese is a board-certified, psychotherapist and owner of Trauma Therapy of Nashville, LLC, a private practice specializing in holistic trauma healing. She is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, Certified Clinical Trauma Professional and Certified Brainspotting Practitioner. Melanie and her team of therapists specialize in the treatment of trauma, women’s issues, relationships and chronic pain & illness. Melanie’s education and professional background in both the mind and body gives her a unique and effective approach to therapy with clients. She works heavily from a neuroexperiential perspective, using modalities such as Brainspotting, EMDR, mindfulness, somatics and body movement. As an AAMFT Approved Supervisor, Melanie also helps guide clinicians in their development as skilled therapists and individuals.

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

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

Bodyful Episode #06: Michelle Cassandra Johnson on Finding Refuge & Prioritizing Collective Care

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Michelle Johnson Bodyful Podcast

We each have maybe a handful of teachers in our lives that fundamentally shift the way we see or experience— Michelle Cassandra Johnson has been one of those teachers for me.

Michelle is a true embodiment of grace, fire, compassion, and grit, and is a radiant example of how to to show up with skillfulness and heart in a dysfunctional world.

Her new book Finding Refuge: Heart Work for Healing Collective Grief was released just this week, and I am so excited to dive into and savor it starting next weekend when I’ve carved out some special time and space to do so.

I hope you enjoy this conversation with Michelle, and that if you arent’ already familiar with her books and other offerings, that this will be the first of many times you get to experience her gifts.

“Our culture conditions us to notice what is going on from the head up and not from the throat and heart down. The only way out is through, by way of the feelings. If we are going to make social change, we need to cultivate a practice of feeling... When one connects with their feelings as yoga teaches us to do, one can connect with their heart. If one is connected with their heart, they have the opportunity to be changed and to shift their perspective. They have the opportunity to feel the pain of living in a world that is designed to break the spirit through violence, oppression, and injustice.”
— Michelle Cassandra Johnson (from Skill in Action)

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 Michelle Cassandra Johnson (she/her)

Michelle is an activist, social justice warrior, author, anti-racism consultant and trainer, intuitive healer, and yoga teacher and practitioner. She has led dismantling racism work in many settings for over two decades and has a background and two decades of practice as a clinical social worker. Michelle’s work centers on healing from individual and collective trauma, coming back into wholeness and aligning the mind, body, spirit, and heart. She published Skill in Action: Radicalizing Your Yoga Practice to Create a Just World in 2017 and her newest book, Finding Refuge: Heart Work for Healing Collective Grief was published by Shambhala Publications in 2021.

Michelle teaches workshops in yoga studios and community spaces nationwide and is on the faculty of Off the Mat, Into the World. In 2020 she created her own podcast, Finding Refuge, which explores collective grief and liberation and serves as a reminder about all the ways we can find refuge during unsettling and uncertain times and of the resilience and joy that comes from allowing ourselves to find refuge.

Links + Additional Resources:

Bodyful Episode #05: Sarah Jane Chapman on Yoga Therapy & Body Liberation

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Sarah Jane Chapman Bodyful Podcast

Occasionally you meet someone who makes you feel good just by being in their presence, no matter what you’re doing or talking about. Sarah Jane Chapman is one of those people.

She is (in my words) a modern-day witch who lives in alignment with the earth as an extension of herself, and has worked hard to heal her relationship with her body after years of slogging through diet culture and eating disorder recovery.

Sarah Jane is a mama, a massage therapist, and a yoga teacher who teaches the kind of classes I actually want to take (which, TBH is rare 😄). And does a lot of other cool shit, which you can hear about in our conversation or read in her bio below or at her website. I hope you enjoy this conversation!

“Yoga therapy is an individualized practice created to work with someone’s specific system. I typically see clients once or twice a month to check on their practice and tweak it if necessary. If practiced regularly, I can see changes in my clients’ systems. It’s truly magic.”
— Sarah Jane Chapman

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 Sarah Jane Chapman

Sarah Jane Chapman was born in Upstate New York where she would spend her days climbing trees and laying in the grass. She started practicing yoga at 14, which helped her through some of the most difficult times of her life. In 2012, she traveled to Rishikesh, India where she became certified in Hatha Yoga, and shortly thereafter moved to Nashville, Tennessee. Sarah Jane is a licensed massage therapist trained at the Mind Body Institute, and offers a plethora of body work and Reiki, as well as astrology and tarot readings. She is currently playing a lot with creating tinctures and teas from plants to facilitate health and connection with the earth, and loves spending time outside with her daughter and going on walks with her husband in their east Nashville neighborhood. You can follow her on instagram @sarahjanechap and learn more about her in-person and virtual offerings at sarahjanechapman.com.

Bodyful Episode #04: Rachel Lewis & Paula Scatoloni on Embodied Recovery for Eating Disorders

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Paula Scatoloni Rachel Lewis Bodyful Podcast

You might think that working with the body would be a central component of eating disorder recovery.

And from a standpoint of medical safety and nutrition, that has always been the case. But as far as working with the body as part of the actual biopsychological healing process? Not so much.

The field of trauma recovery has come a long way in the past 2 decades, with a great deal of research showing us that we MUST go to the body (rather than exclusively relying on traditional talk therapy) if we want to help people heal more fully from trauma. Rachel Lewis and Paula Scatoloni have been on the leading edge of applying the learnings about the neurobiology of trauma and attachment to working with eating disorders, which almost always overlap with trauma and/or attachment issues, and historically have been viewed as one of the most challenging mental health issues to work with and recover from.

Both coming from strong and varied backgrounds in somatics and psychology, Paula and Rachel co-developed the Embodied Recovery for Eating Disorders model of assessing and treating eating disorders. I had the privilege of taking the level 1 Embodied Recovery for Eating Disorders in North Carolina in 2017, and I am looking forward to taking the level 2 training in 2022.

In this conversation, we talk more about what has historically been missing from eating disorder treatment, and explore some of the foundations underlying the ERED model. While this particular episode might be more intriguing for clinicians or folks in recovery from an eating disorder, I also believe there are nuggets in this conversation that will be intriguing to any listener with an interest in the body and psychology.

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 Rachel Lewis (MS, EDS, LPC, LMBT)

Rachel is a somatically integrative psychotherapist, dually licensed in counseling and therapeutic massage and bodywork. She is a Certified Advanced Practitioner in Sensorimotor Psychotherapy and has advanced training and 25 + years of experience in diverse somatic therapies including Craniosacral Therapy, Energetic Osteopathy, Oncology massage and Aromatherapy. 

She has extensive experience as a teacher and presenter, focusing on accessing the body’s unique capacity to give voice to the subconscious and to lay the foundation for healing and maintaining psychological and physical health. In her private practice in Chapel Hill, NC, Rachel specializes in working with people exploring recovery from trauma, eating disorders, and dissociative disorders.

About Paula Scatoloni (LCSW, CEDS, SEP)

Paula is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and Certified Eating Disorders Specialist in Chapel Hill, NC. She has additional training in neurophysiological interventions. She is a certified provider of the Safe and Sound Protocol, developed by Dr. Stephen Porges. She has worked in the field of eating disorders for over two decades providing clinical services and teaching extensively on the etiology and treatment of eating disorders through classes, workshops, professional trainings, and conferences.

Prior to developing EMBODIED RECOVERY, Paula co-developed the first intensive outpatient program for eating disorders with Dr. Anita Johnston. She served as the Eating Disorders Coordinator at Duke University Counseling Center (CAPS) for nine years where she developed campus-wide policies and managed a multidisciplinary treatment team treating eating disorders.

Links + Additional Resources: