Marta on the Move Podcast Marta Napoleone Mazzoni

This episode is a love letter to myself from the past three years of the things I have learned and am learning along the way. 
It's been a wild ride, y'all. This is for everyone out there on their own journey of growing up and personal development. 
Enjoy, or not... :)
 
Ways to work with me currently~
~ Women's Connection Circle June 17th
Six week sessions.
Meetings Mondays at 12pm.
~1:1 Coaching ~  Book an Explorative Consultation..
Apply to work with me.
~ Request to hire me for your next event. Yoga, meditation, corporate wellness, mc and host.
 

After a two year Hiatus away from podcasting. I felt called to pick it up again.
This episode is what in improv we would call a "pancake" episode. I recorded it for me, and will continue to record all of these for me as a record of my journey. 
I chat about what I have been up to these past two years. It has been a doozy for sure and I continue to grow and learn. It's so fun! 
A big shift in my podcast over the years has been the rise of personal development and what "moves" me is what I record on. 
The theme of this show may resonate with you, or it may not. I believe the person who needs to find it will. 
 
Ways to work with me currently~
~ Women's Connection Circle June 17th
Six week sessions.
Meetings Mondays at 12pm.
~1:1 Coaching ~  Book an Explorative Consultation..
Apply to work with me.
~ Request to hire me for your next event. Yoga, meditation, corporate wellness, mc and host.
 
 

Welcome back all! Today I am going to be exploring more into my new found passion of Improv comedy classes and why I am here to tell all of you, to try one out in your own hometown. On episode 158 I delved into some deep content about facing your fears and sitting with discomfort. I directly referenced Phil and I pushing past our awkwardness and joining Improv classes. It turns out I wasn't quite done with the subject, and in fact will probably record another podcast about how to make meaningful relationships as you age, which Improv will be involved in that discussion as well. What can I say... When I am into something... I am INTO it. :)
Aside from being a fun activity to participate in, Improv has helped me personally communicate better with others, and myself.
My brain feels sharper than it has in years, and Phil and I's communication has improved A LOT. We always considered ourselves great at talking, but have realized over the years that you can be great at talking, but NOT at communicating.
We talk over one another. We blame and judge. We get defensive. We assume and project. I am sure we are not the only ones. When you are with someone for a long period of time you develop habits, and patterns. These habits became apparent to me when we started taking Improv together and began working through some practices and games. We weren't listening outside of class as well as we could have been.
Improv helped us pause and instead of waiting for our turn to speak, to really listen to what the other was saying. It also revealed long standing patterns of blame. If we were in a scene together, we instantly fell into "Well, you didn't do this." or "Why are you blaming me? You weren't there either!." Sort of scenario. Those negative emotions were easy to access as we built our pretend world for a scene. For example- A married couple at a furniture store that can't agree on a couch. Normal, right?
Let me be clear here in saying that Improv comedy classes didn't entirely solve our problems. I am not saying it is therapy or a replacement for therapy. It just offered a lovely way of actually PRACTICING how to communicate better. You learn from therapy and discover how to better communicate. You may notice your own patterns or you might read concepts from books on how to shift the way you communicate. You read it, but to actually put these good habits into practice in a fun way allows you to shine light on where they pop up and strengthen better communication muscles so that you deeply know it.
It was shortly after our Phil and I's first few classes that we began to unfold. The blame game disappeared. We were listening to one another AND then most beautiful thing happened naturally...
We were playing again. Truly playing. This past year with the death of my sister Nina has been a rough one, and I have actively been rediscovering how to play and find joy. Life is hard. It is dark, and it can sometimes be easy to stay dark. It is hard to be playful after tragedy, but man is it needed. We began being lighter and not just in class. The affects lingered on throughout the week and seeped into our days and evenings, and we could not wait until the following week to play again with our new found friends!
At least for us Improv classes are pure childlike joy. It is like camp for adults!
Wanna try it? Let's chat with a veteran on the show! I am excited to announce that I have a guest for today's show, something I haven't had in over a year and a half! Feels good to speak to another human on MOTM.
On today's episode I bring on Justin Borak. Justin is an Improv teacher and actor, and has worked in Chicago for several years performing in shows at Second City, iO, and the Annoyance. Some popular and prestigious Improv hot spots around the country.
I am so excited to chat with him about how he thinks Improv spurs creativity and playfulness, how he thinks Dungeons and Dragons blends so well with Improv Comedy, and how inclusive it is in dif

Every year my husband and I do a sort of reset after the holidays. We aren't people who drink a ton. We stick with nicer wines and maybe a Negroni or two when out. Our diets are pretty good, and I usually only consume matcha or decaf espresso in limited amounts.
However, the holidays build and build upon these vices, and since we have been eating cleaner every year, when we have more than we should, our bodies feel it more. Sleep gets affected, memories of a story the night before are hazy, brain fog, bloating, and anxiety increases so slowly you don't realize how badly you feel. How much your body is telling you it needs a break.
So years ago, we started this "reset". It all began about 5-6 years ago with 30 days. Just 30 days of clean eating and no drinking. We adopted a diet plan called Whole 30. It began with no complex carbs, removal of alcohol, white sugar, flour etc. The first year was a success!
Every year after that first experience, we kept adding on days to this time period. 60, then 80. This year we aimed for 100 and honestly we felt so good we went to 150. I had a lot of questions along the way of why we choose to do this, what it felt like, and what I learned.
In this episode I will talk about Why we do this. What I gained (and lost) and also some substitutions for alcohol, sugar, and caffeine so if you wanna try this yourself, you are set up for success!
Allow me to say that I am not a doctor, and I am not here to judge anyone for their choices. This is specifically geared towards those who may be curious about trying a reset. Please ALWAYS consult your health professionals before beginning any diet or change to your diets.
Now we begin!
"Why do you do this to yourselves? It sounds so extreme!"
I get this question a lot. To be clear, Phil doesn't not give up caffeine like I do. He cuts back. I go all in. The reason I do this yearly is because I like to strip away anything in my system to get down to the nitty gritty of what my BODY really wants, and what serves it best. Not my mind, our minds get in the way. The key here is to get to your intuition and basic bodily needs.
We take breaks in life, in work, in our general daily habits. Why should we not take a break from substances that have a negative effect on our body? Seems like common sense to me.
This episode might not be for everyone, but I hope the people who are curious about taking a reset find some options! It is a hard subject to speak on, and it took me years to come out about our reset. Fear of judgement is a big thing that I am working on, and I am happy to announce moving past. Self acceptance and love really help :)
Let's first take a look at the main three things we removed from our diet, and some reasons why we removed them.
CAFFEINE
MedlinePlus states-
"Caffeine has many effects on your body's metabolism. It:
Stimulates your central nervous system, which can make you feel more awake and give you a boost of energy Is a diuretic, meaning that it helps your body get rid of extra salt and water by urinating more Increases the release of acid in your stomach, sometimes leading to an upset stomach or heartburn May interfere with the absorption of calcium in the body Increases your blood pressure Within one hour of eating or drinking caffeine, it reaches its peak level in your blood. You may continue to feel the effects of caffeine for four to six hours.
What are the side effects from too much caffeine? For most people, it is not harmful to consume up to 400mg of caffeine a day. If you do eat or drink too much caffeine, it can cause health problems, such as:
Restlessness and shakiness Insomnia Headaches Dizziness Fast heart rate Dehydration Anxiety Dependency, so you need to take more of it to get the same results Some people are more sensitive to the effects of caffeine than others."
That last sentence is 100% true. I am now HIGHLY sensitive to caffeine. Part from removing it from my system and then experimenting with myself

Use this meditation anywhere to quickly come back to your breath, check in with your body, and become more grounded while traveling.
For more meditations or private sessions visit www.martaonthemove.com or email martafoos@gmail.com
@martamazzonipgh
@martaonthemovepodcast

This is a subject I have avoided writing or speaking about. I think this avoidance was unconscious, but I am now highly aware of it. I am aware of it because at many a time in my life I have suffered from self doubt, imposter syndrome (I didn't even know that existed until two years ago), and confidence issues.
This month is particularly bad for me. I could not understand why I would awaken to dread and sadness. I felt on many days no motivation at all. I know I am still healing from grief, but it was more than that. Something was nagging at me, and I realized it was my own self doubt.
I have my sailing retreats coming up, and I am excited for them, but there is still availability for my June one. The fact that I have spots available make me feel bad about myself. "You are a failure."Another hit was a I post I put out called How To Build Your Own Toolbox, and it didn't gain much traction. "People don't care, maybe you should give up the podcast." I asked a question on Facebook and received lack luster responses. "Maybe people are annoyed with me?"
As these feelings of self doubt were bubbling within me, I saw a post from a girl who had 30,000 likes about candles of all things. I heard about a friend that is having much success hosting her own retreat.
I was seeing so much happiness online, so much success of others, that it had me questioning my own.
Now, let me pause here and say that maybe deep down I know I am enough, I KNOW I am making progress in my life. I know I am in such a better place than a year ago or even a day ago. I know I have so much love, success, and joy surrounding me.
Even then, folks... I was/am comparing myself to others, and it got the better of me.
People believe what they see. We don't know about the struggles human's face. We don't know how much it took them to announce something on the internet, or how they feel when they are offline. We don't know their loneliness or feelings of doubt. We just see the facade.
We now live in a high success/high reward culture. It is not our fault for having these feelings of inadequacy. I swear the internet is made to make you feel inadequate, so don't feel bad.
The real question is? How do we stop feeling this way? What steps can we take to feel confident, radiant, more creative, and the freakin unicorn that we are?!
"Don't compare your life to others. There is no comparison between the Sun and the Moon. They shine when it's their time."
The moment we start comparing our lives to others, we begin to feel doubt, and uncertainty, that can lead to depression, sadness, and lack of confidence.
This is the reason I wanted to be a little vulnerable here on my show with this episode. I am not immune! I get mopey and down. I feel like I am not doing enough. I haven't succeeded enough. I haven't helped people enough. I feel this so often. The struggle is real, and I know there are many others that feel the same as I do.
So what do we do when these feeling arise?
Here are some suggestions when you feel down and find yourself in the comparison game.
Shut down your internet. Take a break from doom scrolling by placing some restrictions on the amount of time you are online. Or tell the online world you are taking a week off. Being off the sauce will help you get a clear headed mind and show you the only person you are in comparison with... is yourself. More on that later. Take a long walk in nature- I am an avid believer of walking to shake off the blues, and a little fresh air will have you thinking more clearly. Look up and see the sky and know you are enough. Listen to some self growth podcasts or motivational speeches- Anything you can do to pull yourself out of doubt and into confidence is a win, and there are so many resources out there to use the internet for good. Take a shower and dress up- Really, Marta? Yes! This simple trick will have you feeling better in no time. Dressing up doesn't have to mean putting on your nicest suit or ball gown. These day