Hot Takes on Healing with Jess Leone

Jessica Leone
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Hot Takes on Healing with Jess Leone is a community-centered podcast where real stories spark real change. We unpack the sh*t we don’t talk about enough when we’re growing, like the messy middle and the “feeling good after the pain”, and challenge the mainstream narratives that keep us stuck. Each episode is packed with raw stories, honest & unfiltered conversations, and mic-drop moments that remind you what’s possible when you come home to yourself. Head over to www.jessleone.com to connect further!

  1. FEB 4

    Episode #27: Are You Turned On or Traumatized? with Leah Mitchell

    In this episode, I sit down with Leah Mitchell, a love and relationship coach blending neuroscience, energy, and embodiment to help people build healthier, more secure relationships. Leah opens up about her own journey from trauma and PTSD to discovering the science behind attraction — including how stress hormones, pheromones, and brain chemistry all influence who we’re drawn to (and why). Together, we dive into the deep intersection of biology and behavior — exploring how an unregulated nervous system can quietly sabotage connection, create anxious attachment, or pull us toward partners who reinforce old wounds. Leah explains how stress and elevated cortisol can actually change pheromone production, influencing chemical compatibility and attraction patterns. We also unpack the difference between anxiety and discernment, and how learning to calm your body is the key to seeing people clearly. When you’re regulated, you can finally tell the difference between a red flag and your own fear. Leah introduced her signature PheroGlow Method, a process that works with the body’s natural chemistry and alpha brainwave states to shift attachment patterns and make secure love your new normal. She shares how tapping into these brain states not only helps heal attachment wounds but also increases magnetism — attracting partners aligned with safety, authenticity, and growth. Throughout the conversation, Leah and Jess explore how brain science can be applied to real life: from gratitude and movement to oxytocin-boosting connection practices (like cuddling and conscious touch). We also discuss how regulating your nervous system isn’t just about self-soothing — it’s about reprogramming your body to experience love without chaos. Leah’s story is a reminder that healing your nervous system is the first step to changing your love story. When you stop living in survival mode, you stop settling for relationships that mirror your pain — and start attracting ones that match your peace. To join her free class, click HERE.  If this conversation landed for you, please share it, leave a review, and subscribe! To connect further, subscribe to my weekly newsletter or learn more over at www.jessleone.com! We will see you next Wednesday for our next episode!

    47 min

  2. JAN 11

    Episode #26: Stop trying to "FIX"... & start LISTENING with Majo Torreli

    In this powerful, embodied conversation, I sits down with Majo Torreli, a somatic coach who found healing after a decade of struggling with PCOS, body image issues, and disempowering relationships. What started as a painful chapter in her 20s became the catalyst for radical transformation when she learned to stop overanalyzing and start feeling. Majo shares how years of therapy and mindset work couldn’t compare to what she found through somatic healing and embodiment practices, learning to listen to her body instead of trying to control it. We also dive into how to tell the difference between a gut instinct and a trauma response, and why intuition can’t speak clearly when your nervous system is dysregulated. Majo shares grounding tools (like naming objects or focusing on sensations) to reconnect to the body’s wisdom. True healing means honoring both the wounded and empowered parts of ourselves, not trying to fix or silence one. The body reacts to triggers based on past experiences and how to ground back into the present moment with compassion. Together, we explore what it really means to come home to your body, why traditional healing methods often fall short, and how embodiment work can unlock the kind of power and peace that self-help alone can’t touch. Majo is a somatic coach and the creator of the upcoming podcast Tell Me How Good It Got, where she shares stories of women who’ve defied societal expectations and found true happiness on their own terms. Wanna be on her podcast? Apply HERE to share your story! If this conversation landed for you, please share it, leave a review, and subscribe! To connect further, subscribe to my weekly newsletter or learn more over at www.jessleone.com!

    38 min

  3. 12/10/2025

    Episode #25: Letting Life Lead with Raditia Lasry

    In this episode, I sit down with Raditia Lasry and dive into a conversation about personal growth, resilience, and the small, intentional steps that shape a meaningful life. Raditia shares her approach to breaking big goals into manageable pieces, redefining concepts in a way that aligns with who she is, and rewriting her own story through curiosity and presence. She opens up about childhood moments that taught her self-reliance, including early experiences that made her realize she could trust her own decisions and take responsibility for her happiness. We also explore how discomfort, miscommunication, and honest conversations can deepen relationships and build accountability. We talk about the value of staying open to feedback, meeting challenges head-on, and resisting the urge to avoid tough moments. The conversation also touches on parenting, independence, and the lessons Raditia continues to pass on to her own son. They reflect on the importance of letting go of control and allowing life to unfold naturally, even when unexpected changes feel uncomfortable. Raditia shares her perspective on finding positivity in difficult experiences, including her journey of losing her job at 37 while raising a young child and transforming that moment into an opportunity for reinvention. We discuss mindfulness, presence, and community, highlighting how shared stories create connection and healing. Together, we explore what it means to follow the flow, trust yourself, and embrace the unexpected moments that push you toward growth, clarity, and purpose. If this conversation landed for you, please share it, leave a review, and subscribe! To connect further, subscribe to my weekly newsletter or learn more over at www.jessleone.com!

    46 min

  4. 12/03/2025

    Episode #24: The Gratitude Myth: Getting Real About Joy with Carrie Kish

    In this episode, I sit down with Carrie for a raw, honest, and refreshing conversation about The Gratitude Myth and what it really means to practice grounded, authentic gratitude without slipping into toxic positivity. We explore how to stay true to yourself during the holiday season, especially when outside pressure pushes people to act cheerful, grateful, or “fine” even when that doesn’t match what they’re actually feeling. Together, we talk through what it means to be authentic around family and friends, and how to tell the difference between genuine gratitude and the kind of forced positivity that shuts down emotional movement. We explore why trying to “stay positive” all the time can actually disconnect you from your body, your intuition, and your emotional needs. We also discuss the power of asking better questions—like “What’s going well right now?” or “What are you genuinely enjoying?”—and how shifting your focus can support emotional honesty without bypassing the hard stuff. Carrie and I dive into how to release attachment to specific outcomes and instead focus on what you can actually control: your choices, your actions, and how you show up. We discuss how to approach seeing family through a lens of gratitude if it feels aligned for you—and how to honor your boundaries when it doesn’t. We touch on the importance of recognizing your own value system so you can show up as your real self, without letting other people’s expectations override what you know to be true for you. And throughout this conversation, we return to one core truth: gratitude becomes more powerful when you get into your body. Presence, movement, and embodiment help anchor emotional honesty in real time and keep gratitude rooted in what’s real—not what you think you “should” feel. When we stop pretending everything’s fine and start being honest about where we are, we make more space to see the good that’s already here. 🎧 If this conversation landed for you, please share it, leave a review, and subscribe! To connect further, subscribe to my weekly newsletter or learn more over at www.jessleone.com!

    1h 7m

  5. 10/22/2025

    Episode #23: HOT TAKE: Anger Isn’t Dangerous — Repression Is.

    Every October, I gather with women for something that looks a little wild from the outside: "The Great Pumpkin Smash". We write down the things we’re done carrying — the guilt, the grief, the rage — and then we smash those damn pumpkins into the ground. And this ritual actually comes in two parts: Part one: expressing anger in a safe way: through sound, movement, & symbolic release so the energy has somewhere to go instead of living inside you. Part two: being witnessed in your anger: surrounded by others who don’t flinch, fix, or fear it so your body learns that expression doesn’t equal rejection. That you can be fully seen in your fire and still be loved. Why? Because women are taught that anger is ugly, that expressing it makes us dramatic or ungrateful. For so many of us, anger directed at us was never safe. It came as yelling, silence, punishment, or withdrawal. So our bodies learned early that anger — any anger — meant danger. So instead, we swallow it. It turns into headaches, anxiety, exhaustion, people-pleasing. We become experts at smoothing things over, shrinking our reactions, smiling through it. And every time we do, that unexpressed fire gets stored somewhere in the body — our chest, our throat, our gut — simmering quietly under the surface. Rituals like this give that fire somewhere safe to go. They let you express anger in a way that doesn’t harm you or anyone else and be witnessed in it without judgment. Because that’s the other piece of healing: realizing that your power, your voice, your raw emotion don’t make you “too much.” They make you whole. Join us for this episode as I share the story of that night, guide you through a short somatic practice for safely expressing anger, and let you hear directly from a few of our Sacred Circle sisters about their experience in the ritual. If this conversation landed for you, please share it, leave a review, and subscribe! To connect further, subscribe to my weekly newsletter or learn more over at www.jessleone.com! We will see you next Wednesday for our next episode!

    20 min

  6. 10/15/2025

    Episode #22: Losing Your Career to Find Yourself with Melissa Keefe

    This week I sit down with one of our Sacred Circle sisters Melissa, whose story of resilience and redirection reminds us that sometimes losing what we thought defined us is what sets us free. After being forced to retire from her long-standing, respected career due to MS, Melissa found herself grieving not just her work, but her identity. For years, she’d pushed through anxiety and depression, believing her worth was tied to productivity because that’s what society taught her: school was your job, then your job was your job. But when her body said enough, she was finally forced to listen. Melissa opens up about her experience with EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing), explaining how trauma lives in the body and how healing can happen even through simple, non-clinical practices at home. She shares how reconnecting with her past self helped her realize it wasn’t her fault and that she didn’t have to carry it anymore. Through community, therapy, and her involvement in Sacred Circle, Melissa has learned it’s okay to be angry, to feel deeply, and to still love the people who’ve let you down. She also shares how taking "From Victim to Villain" helped her redefine boundaries and start asking for help, realizing that self-care isn’t selfish...it’s NECCESARY. As she puts it, “Not everyone is equipped to handle your story,” but finding a safe space to share it can change everything. Her healing has brought stability to her health, peace to her mind, and strength to her family. “If more women came together to do what we do, we’d be unstoppable,” Melissa says, and this episode proves just that. Tune in to hear a raw, honest conversation about burnout, boundaries, and the brave act of healing your body, mind, and story. If this conversation landed for you, please share it, leave a review, and subscribe! To connect further, subscribe to my weekly newsletter or follow me on TikTok/Pinterest! We will see you next Wednesday for our next episode!

    54 min

  7. 10/08/2025

    Episode #21: The Season of Doing LESS *on Purpose*

    We spend so much time chasing what’s next that we forget to stop and look at what’s already in our hands. In this episode, I’m inviting you to slow down, breathe, and actually notice your harvest: the things you’ve grown through, not just the things you’ve grown. I share how this season has been teaching me the difference between producing and harvesting...how one is loud and visible, and the other is soft and deeply personal. There’s something powerful about allowing yourself to rest, to put things down, and to stop forcing growth for a little while. In that stillness, you start to see what’s been working, what’s asking to be released, and what’s ready to be celebrated. As you listen, I invite you to pause and ask yourself: 1. What am I most proud of this year? 2. What grew despite the odds? 3. What feels ready to be celebrated? These are the quiet reflections that bring you back home to yourself. If something in this episode resonates, I’d love to hear about your harvest. Send me a message or share your reflections online and tag me so we can celebrate together. And next week, we’ll talk about what happens when the harvest doesn’t look like what you expected, and why those moments often carry the deepest lessons. We will see you next Wednesday with Melissa for our next episode! For now, remember this: when you stop overproducing and start honoring what’s already blooming inside you, that’s where the real magic starts to grow. 💬 Want to be a guest on the podcast? If you have a story, perspective, or hot take on healing that you think the world needs to hear, I’d love to connect. 👉 Apply to be on the show: Podcast Guest Application To connect further, subscribe to my weekly newsletter, follow me on TikTok/Pinterest, join our free "Hot Takes" Channel on Telegram or visit www.jessleone.com for more.

    22 min

  8. 10/01/2025

    The Duality of Grief (Part II): "Fly on the Wall” Series – Episode 7

    Dani is back for Part 2 of our conversation, and this time we go deeper into what the second year of grief really feels like. For many, the first year is about survival—going through the motions, trying to build some kind of routine, and leaning on the support that’s more available in those early months. But as Dani shares, year two can hit harder. The world expects you to be “better,” yet the grief often grows heavier. In this episode, Dani opens up about why her second year felt more challenging than the first, how expectations from others play into grief, and what it looks like to keep navigating when the support systems quiet down. We also talk about her trip to Oklahoma City and found herself stumbling into a new home “on purpose on accident,” a beautiful manifestation in the midst of her healing journey. And then there’s the ripple effect of Dani and Austin’s story: it quite literally saved someone’s life. While treating a patient, Dani's friend's recognized the potential for the same condition Austin had faced. That awareness set off alarm bells and because of it, the patient got the care he needed in time. If you’ve ever wondered why grief doesn’t follow a timeline, how love continues to move through the world, or how to support someone beyond the one-year mark, this episode will meet you in that tender, honest space. Stay Connected with Dani & Austin: to follow more of their journey, reflections, and memories, check out Dani’s TikTok: @sociallybamboozled *This is a series I created within Hot Takes on Healing: "Fly On a Wall", where you get an all-access pass to the deep, inspiring, & unfiltered conversations I’ve had with some of my closest friends. These are the moments we’ve always wished other people could hear—the real, *no edits*, NO-BS chats where nothing is off-limits. We’re talking about the stuff that hits you right in the gut, the kind of truths that stick with you, and the kind of honesty that’ll make you feel like you’re sitting right there with us. Let’s continue talking about the things that matter TOGETHER. And who knows? You might just feel like a fly on the wall in the best way possible. If this conversation landed for you, please share it, leave a review, and *please* subscribe! To connect further, subscribe to my weekly newsletter, follow me on TikTok/Pinterest, or visit www.jessleone.com for more!

    49 min
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About

Hot Takes on Healing with Jess Leone is a community-centered podcast where real stories spark real change. We unpack the sh*t we don’t talk about enough when we’re growing, like the messy middle and the “feeling good after the pain”, and challenge the mainstream narratives that keep us stuck. Each episode is packed with raw stories, honest & unfiltered conversations, and mic-drop moments that remind you what’s possible when you come home to yourself. Head over to www.jessleone.com to connect further!

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