In This Body

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 Embodiment 8:16 Patriarchy, Recovery, And The Inner Voice 13:34 Isolation, Grief, And Outgrowing Safety 21:53 Coaching Versus Therapy And Fit 26:52 Psychodynamic Training And Nervous Systems 32:02 Free Fall And Feeling Versus Thinking 38:58 Resonance, Voice, And Taking Up Space 47:49 Reflections, Clarifications, And Next Steps You can read the full transcript here. Learn more about Ailey Jolie: Find: Website Follow: Instagram Explore: Substack Experience: Insight Timer Sign up: InBodyMethod Email: info@aileyjolie.com To follow along with the In This Body podcast: Follow: Instagram Find: Website Email: i nfo @aileyjolie.com

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 Authority 16:44 Confidence Is Not The Issue 22:22 Naming The Female Elders We Miss 33:22 Neuroception And Somatic Misogyny 37:20 Family Conditioning And Inherited Safety 39:29 Ageism And Women As Threat 44:06 A Body Based Practice For Change 47:03 Ways To Go Deeper Together Learn more about Ailey Jolie: Find: Website Follow: Instagram Explore: Substack Experience: Insight Timer Sign up: InBodyMethod Email: info@aileyjolie.com To follow along with the In This Body podcast: Follow: Instagram Find: Website Email: i nfo @aileyjolie.com

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 Means 6:00 Women Trained To Leave The Body 11:27 Somatic Therapy Versus Talk Therapy 22:16 What Yoga Therapy Looks Like 27:24 Trauma Disclosure And Building Safety 35:37 The Harm Of Going Too Fast 40:57 Co-Regulation Before Self-Regulation 48:59 Self-Regulation As A Gentle Choice 57:16 When Talk Therapy Is Not Shifting 1:00:00 Closing Invitation To Rest And Validate You can read the full transcript here. Learn more about Ailey Jolie: Find: Website Follow: Instagram Explore: Substack Experience: Insight Timer Sign up: InBodyMethod Email: info@aileyjolie.com To follow along with the In This Body podcast: Follow: Instagram Find: Website Email: i nfo @aileyjolie.com

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 Body 9:29 Wellness Culture And Optimisation Illusions 13:03 Therapy Speak Boundaries And Armour 26:13 Recovery Eating Disorders And Substance Use 35:05 12-Step What Helps What Limits 49:34 Practising Friction In Daily Life 1:00:45 Building Discomfort Tolerance That Lasts 1:05:17 Closing Reflections And Ways To Join Learn more about Ailey Jolie: Find: Website Follow: Instagram Explore: Substack Experience: Insight Timer Sign up: InBodyMethod Email: info@aileyjolie.com To follow along with the In This Body podcast: Follow: Instagram Find: Website Email: i nfo @aileyjolie.com

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 Path 10:58 Feelers Knowers And Psychic Clairs 16:01 The Price Of Gifts And Surrender 26:14 Sleep Science And Mental Health Nuance 43:31 Integration Over Eradication 52:02 Interoception Boundaries And Closing Invitations Learn more about Ailey Jolie: Find: Website Follow: Instagram Explore: Substack Experience: Insight Timer Sign up: InBodyMethod Email: info@aileyjolie.com To follow along with the In This Body podcast: Follow: Instagram Find: Website Email: i nfo @aileyjolie.com

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 Schumacher 5:44 A Gentle Content Note 6:20 Hope, Essence, And Stewardship 17:11 Childhood Sight Of Spirit 23:07 Building Boundaries With Intuition 27:49 First Period Without A Rite 36:11 Why Rites Of Passage Heal 41:53 Everyday Thresholds You Might Miss 51:12 Purification, Grief, And Channel Work 1:01:08 Liminality, Language, And Listener Next Steps Learn more about Ailey Jolie: Find: Website Follow: Instagram Explore: Substack Experience: Insight Timer Sign up: InBodyMethod Email: info@aileyjolie.com To follow along with the In This Body podcast: Follow: Instagram Find: Website Email: i nfo @aileyjolie.com

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 Means 10:10 Intuition And Psycho Spiritual Openness 17:35 Leaving Mormonism And Meeting Shame 20:46 How Shame Lives In The Body 25:22 PSIP And Readiness For Psychedelics 38:34 Ketamine As Resourcing Not Escape 45:21 Integration That Changes Real Life 56:02 Closing Reflections And Ways To Continue 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: Website Follow: Instagram Explore: Substack Experience: Insight Timer Sign up: InBodyMethod Email: info@aileyjolie.com To follow along with the In This Body podcast: Follow: Instagram Find: Website Email: i nfo @aileyjolie.com

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 Together 11:13 What A Yoga Therapy Session Looks Like 18:13 When Talk Therapy Hits A Wall 31:13 Big T Trauma Versus Attachment Wounds 41:43 Bringing Internal Family Systems Onto The Mat 49:13 Breathwork And Interoception Practices Learn more about Ailey Jolie: Find: Website Follow: Instagram Explore: Substack Experience: Insight Timer Sign up: InBodyMethod Email: info@aileyjolie.com To follow along with the In This Body podcast: Follow: Instagram Find: Website Email: i nfo @aileyjolie.com

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 Matters 4:25 Working With Big Brands For Change 9:22 Holding Corporate Tension With Discernment 14:55 Strategic Science And Social Impact 18:15 Burnout As A Body-Level No 22:32 Coming Back To The Senses 25:54 Protective Strategies For Body Image 30:17 Tools, Training And Closing Reflections Learn more about Ailey Jolie: Find: Website Follow: Instagram Explore: Substack Experience: Insight Timer Sign up: InBodyMethod Email: info@aileyjolie.com To follow along with the In This Body podcast: Follow: Instagram Find: Website Email: i nfo @aileyjolie.com

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 Matter 8:14 From Aesthetician To Registered Nurse 18:45 Botox And Autoimmune Concerns 27:28 Facial Mimicry And Co-Regulation 32:31 Fillers Explained And Hidden Risks 42:45 Beauty As A Class Signifier 48:20 Lymph As The Body’s Caretaker 52:32 Nightly Rituals Using Touch And Sound Learn more about Ailey Jolie: Find: Website Follow: Instagram Explore: Substack Experience: Insight Timer Sign up: InBodyMethod Email: info@aileyjolie.com To follow along with the In This Body podcast: Follow: Instagram Find: Website Email: i nfo @aileyjolie.com

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 Health 5:08 What Being In Your Body Means 10:54 Performing For Approval And Safety 18:58 Trauma Comparisons And Patriarchal Scripts 30:02 Receiving Care As A Nervous System Skill 37:15 What Changes When You Assert Yourself 43:38 Storytelling, Expression, And Identity Crisis 52:06 Science, No Blame, And Next Steps Learn more about Ailey Jolie: Find: Website Follow: Instagram Explore: Substack Experience: Insight Timer Sign up: InBodyMethod Email: info@aileyjolie.com To follow along with the In This Body podcast: Follow: Instagram Find: Website Email: i nfo @aileyjolie.com

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 Means 6:54 From Theatre Training To Trauma Work 12:45 Linklater Voice And Releasing Tension 20:43 How Tone Shapes Safety In Couples 29:01 Rupture And Repair As Body Events 45:43 Choosing The Right Therapy Season 47:42 Polyvagal Voice Cues And Responsibility 51:40 Where To Go Next And How To Support Learn more about Ailey Jolie: Find: Website Follow: Instagram Explore: Substack Experience: Insight Timer Sign up: InBodyMethod Email: info@aileyjolie.com To follow along with the In This Body podcast: Follow: Instagram Find: Website Email: i nfo @aileyjolie.com

What if your nervous system is asking to be understood, not managed? In this episode, Ailey sits down with Alexis Florentina, a Somatic Experiencing Practitioner, to explore how nervous system regulation has become another form of self improvement, and why that can leave us feeling even more disconnected from ourselves. Drawing from her own experience with chronic illness and medical trauma, Alexis shares a gentler approach to embodiment, one that honors leaving the body as a valid survival strategy and recognizes that healing cannot be forced. Together, she and Ailey explore safety, titration, and the subtle signals that tell us when our nervous system is ready and when it is not. The conversation also unpacks common misunderstandings about regulation, anxiety, and activation, offering a more compassionate perspective on emotions that are often treated as problems to solve. They discuss the difference between stress and trauma, the role of creativity in healing, and why aliveness, not perfect regulation, may be the real measure of healing. If you have ever felt pressure to do embodiment the "right" way, this conversation offers a more spacious and supportive path forward. In this episode: 3:35 An Invitation Back To The Body 4:16 Lexy's Training And Origin Story 11:21 Holism Over Mind Body Polarity 16:46 Regulation Isn’t A Task 21:47 What Trauma Feels Like Clinically 28:15 Writing Creativity And Aliveness 37:13 Meeting Fear Without Fixing 44:59 Fawning People Pleasing And Needs 49:17 Your Body Is Fighting For You Learn more about Ailey Jolie: Find: Website Follow: Instagram Explore: Substack Experience: Insight Timer Sign up: InBodyMethod Email: info@aileyjolie.com To follow along with the In This Body podcast: Follow: Instagram Find: Website Email: i nfo @aileyjolie.com

What happens when you leave a belief system, but your body is still living by its rules? In this episode, Ailey sits down with poet and spoken word artist Arielle Estoria, author of The Unfolding , to explore faith deconstruction, embodiment, and the journey of coming home to yourself after years of being taught to be smaller. Arielle shares how embodiment became tangible through everyday choices, from embracing her natural hair to redefining movement, beauty, and self trust on her own terms. Together, she and Ailey explore the grief of losing community when belonging is tied to belief, and the freedom that can emerge when life expands beyond rigid definitions of right and wrong. The conversation also examines the nervous system impact of religious conditioning and how healing often happens through small, repeated experiences of safety, creativity, and authentic connection. Throughout the episode, Arielle offers practical tools for reconnecting with the body, including journaling, movement, interoception, self expression, and learning to trust your own inner knowing. If you are navigating religious trauma, self acceptance, or the challenge of trusting yourself again, this conversation offers language, permission, and a gentler path forward. In this episode: 3:09 What Being In Your Body Means 7:41 Growing Up Baptist And Feeling Small 13:43 How Conditioning Shapes The Nervous System 16:05 Artistry As A Way Home 19:23 Faith Deconstruction And Conditional Belonging 29:42 Being Loved Without Shrinking 35:14 Telling Fear From A True No 46:33 The Permission Slips She Wanted Sooner Learn more about Ailey Jolie: Find: Website Follow: Instagram Explore: Substack Experience: Insight Timer Sign up: InBodyMethod Email: info@aileyjolie.com To follow along with the In This Body podcast: Follow: Instagram Find: Website Email: i nfo @aileyjolie.com

What happens when the grief carried inside the reproductive body is never fully named? In this solo episode, Ailey speaks to miscarriage, endometriosis, adenomyosis, infertility, reproductive surgery, and the quiet grief so many people are forced to hold alone. Drawing from both her clinical work and personal experience, she explores what it means to live in a body shaped by pain, loss, diagnosis, and scar tissue. Ailey examines how easily self trust can erode when symptoms are dismissed and answers are delayed, and how that experience impacts the nervous system and relationship to the body itself. She also explores the growing conversation around endocrine disrupting chemicals, reproductive health, and the complex realities many women are navigating inside modern environments. From there, the episode moves into pregnancy, miscarriage, ambiguous loss, and the ways grief can remain invisible when there is no ritual, language, or collective witnessing around it. This conversation offers a compassionate and grounded space for anyone navigating reproductive grief, chronic pain, or a changing relationship with their body. In this episode: 2:53 Naming Reproductive Loss Out Loud 11:58 The Bigger Pattern In The Data 22:48 When Systems Shift Blame Onto Women 32:37 Miscarriage As Postpartum In The Body 40:22 Microplastics In Placentas And Loss 45:33 Surgery, Scar Tissue And Proprioception 49:03 Healing Through Witnessing And Choice 53:18 Where To Go Next And Share Learn more about Ailey Jolie: Find: Website Follow: Instagram Explore: Substack Experience: Insight Timer Sign up: InBodyMethod Email: info@aileyjolie.com To follow along with the In This Body podcast: Follow: Instagram Find: Website Email: i nfo @aileyjolie.com

What if anger is not the final destination, but the doorway to something deeper? In this episode, Ailey sits down with depth psychologist and author Vanessa Bennett to explore the complexity of anger, healing, and what happens when righteous rage becomes the place we live. Together, they examine how anger can protect us while also shielding us from deeper emotions waiting underneath. Vanessa shares how Jungian psychology, embodiment, and somatic healing can work together to create a more expansive understanding of trauma and identity. The conversation explores inherited pain, collective patterns, and the difference between ego work and deeper soul work, especially in today’s online healing culture. Ailey and Vanessa also unpack Vanessa’s “Trinity Wounds”: the witch wound, sister wound, and mother wound, and how they quietly shape relationships between women through mistrust, competition, and disconnection. This episode offers a grounded and nuanced look at healing, one that honours the reality of harm while also asking what becomes possible when anger no longer has to carry everything alone. In this episode: 4:00 Safety And Stability In The Body 7:25 Why Depth Somatics Feels Different 9:54 Collective Unconscious And Shared Pain 21:53 Ego Work Versus Soul Work 33:12 The Witch Sister Mother Wounds 44:16 Why The Enemy Within Is Hard 47:02 Righteous Rage Versus Real Power 58:04 Owning Your Part Without Blame You can read the full transcript here Learn more about Ailey Jolie: Find: Website Follow: Instagram Explore: Substack Experience: Insight Timer Sign up: InBodyMethod Email: info@aileyjolie.com To follow along with the In This Body podcast: Follow: Instagram Find: Website Email: i nfo @aileyjolie.com

What if pleasure is not about learning new techniques, but learning how to feel safe in your body? In this episode, Ailey sits down with sex therapist and sexologist Aleksandra Trkulja to explore the connection between body image, nervous system regulation, and intimacy. Together, they unpack why shame, self criticism, and disconnection from the body can create real barriers to pleasure, arousal, and desire. Aleks shares insights from her work in eating disorder recovery and explains how control can begin to feel like safety. The conversation also explores the fawn response in sex, the difference between compliance and consent, and why learning your body’s subtle signals can transform the way you relate to intimacy. From there, Ailey and Aleks move into practical ways to reconnect with desire, beginning outside the bedroom through everyday experiences of pleasure, sensation, and preference. They also discuss co regulation, trauma informed pacing, and the role the nervous system plays in connection and sexuality. If you have ever felt disconnected from your body or unsure how to access pleasure in an embodied way, this conversation offers a compassionate and grounded place to begin. In this episode: 4:41 Why Body Hate Blocks Pleasure 11:01 Eating Disorders And False Control 17:08 Body Image Patterns In Sex 20:53 Shame Based Messages About Sex 28:03 Desire As A Relearned Skill 34:15 Trauma Informed Safety And Pace 40:22 Co Regulation In Intimacy 45:19 Curiosity Over Shame You can read the full transcript here Learn more about Ailey Jolie: Find: Website Follow: Instagram Explore: Substack Experience: Insight Timer Sign up: InBodyMethod Email: info@aileyjolie.com To follow along with the In This Body podcast: Follow: Instagram Find: Website Email: i nfo @aileyjolie.com

What if your body is not betraying you, but asking for a different kind of relationship? In this episode, Ailey sits down with Dr. Ann Saffi Biasetti, psychotherapist, yoga therapist, and mindfulness teacher, to explore what it means to stay connected to the body through chronic illness, pain, and uncertainty. Together, they unpack the grief of living in a culture that treats the body like a machine to fix rather than something to listen to. Ann shares why the phrase “your body never meant you any harm” can become a doorway back to embodiment. The conversation explores body forgiveness, the power of language, and how certain narratives can either deepen connection or create more fear and distance from ourselves. Ailey and Ann also discuss medical gaslighting, self advocacy, and the harm of reducing complex illness to trauma alone. Throughout the episode, Anne offers a gentler and more compassionate approach to healing rooted in consistency, relationship, and care. If you are navigating illness, exhaustion, or a changing relationship with your body, this conversation offers a softer way back to yourself. In this episode: 4:05 What Being In Your Body Means 9:29 The Phrase That Softened A Room 15:28 What Body Forgiveness Really Is 20:52 Union With Body During Illness 38:39 Trauma Talk Without Self-Blame 53:27 Self-Compassion And The Trembling Heart 1:00:42 Language, Interoception And Closing You can read the full transcript here Learn more about Ailey Jolie: Find: Website Follow: Instagram Explore: Substack Experience: Insight Timer Sign up: InBodyMethod Email: info@aileyjolie.com To follow along with the In This Body podcast: Follow: Instagram Find: Website Email: i nfo @aileyjolie.com

What if somatic work is not failing you, but simply not the right approach for your body? In this solo episode, Ailey explores how somatics has become a catch all term for healing, and why that can lead to harm when practices are used without context. As a somatic psychologist, Ailey has seen how well meaning embodiment work can overwhelm the nervous system instead of supporting it. Ailey offers a clear map of different somatic therapy approaches so you can better understand what you have tried and why it may or may not have worked. We look at expression based methods, as well as slower, more regulated approaches that prioritize safety, awareness, and integration. The takeaway is simple and relieving. If somatic work has not helped, you are not broken. You may have been given the wrong tool for your history. If you are navigating healing or trying to understand your nervous system, this conversation offers a more informed and compassionate path forward. In this episode: 0:00 Welcome And Why A Somatics Map 3:48 When Somatic Work Makes You Worse 8:38 Lineage: The Missing Context 13:28 Soma Definition And Western Scope 19:38 Catharsis Lineage And Its Risks 32:03 Feldenkrais And Hakomi Slower Work 40:38 Woodman And The Body’s Story 46:38 Levine And Somatic Experiencing 51:38 Choosing Tools Learn more about Ailey Jolie: Find: Website Follow: Instagram Explore: Substack Experience: Insight Timer Sign up: InBodyMethod Email: info@aileyjolie.com To follow along with the In This Body podcast: Follow: Instagram Find: Website Email: i nfo @aileyjolie.com

What if psychedelic healing is not just about the experience, but about what your body can actually integrate? In this episode, Ailey sits down with Valeria, a counselling psychologist and depth practitioner, to explore the realities of psychedelic assisted therapy beyond the hype. We name the parts often left out of the conversation, including harm, power, and the complexity of what comes after. We talk about harm reduction in a practical way, from dose and physiology to the importance of the guide’s worldview in shaping the experience. We also explore the gaps in training that continue to surface, especially around consent, somatics, and relational dynamics. Ailey shares her own experience with MDMA assisted therapy, including the question of whether we can fully consent to something that may fundamentally change us. We also look at integration as the real work, and why the period after a journey can be one of deep vulnerability without the right support. If you are curious about psychedelic work, or navigating a meaningful experience, this conversation offers a more grounded and honest perspective. In this episode: 0:00 Safety Notice And Show Premise 7:58 Psychedelics Can Heal And Harm 16:08 Sexuality Consent And Guide Vetting 20:53 Why Ritual Changes The Journey 29:32 The Consent Paradox In Practice 40:15 Power Individualism And The Guru Trap 52:57 Integration Takeaways Book And Closing You 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: Website Follow: Instagram Explore: Substack Experience: Insight Timer Sign up: InBodyMethod Email: info@aileyjolie.com To follow along with the In This Body podcast: Follow: Instagram Find: Website Email: i nfo @aileyjolie.com