How Do You Feel? Casey Zavaleta

Lea is a pelvic floor physiotherapist with a special interest in pregnancy and pediatrics. Lea has worked in a variety of pediatric settings including McMaster Children’s Hospital and Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital and was the recipient CanChild’s Pediatric Research Award in 2017.   Lea's training in pelvic floor dysfunction (in adults and pediatrics) has included urinary incontinence, complex pelvic pain, sexual pain, gastro-intestinal disorders, pelvic organ prolapse, and perinatal care. Most importantly, she is committed to empower her patients on their active recovery, to improve their health, well-being and quality of life. Lea's experience and training in a pelvic health, for both adults and paediatric clients, has only enhanced and strengthened her passion in pelvic health.

Follow Lea on Instagram: @leadphysio

Learn more about The WOMB: thewomb.ca

Jen Widerstrom began as a fitness model, and quickly made the transition into instructing group fitness. Jen has had a TV career that began on American Gladiator and culminated in three seasons as a trainer on The Biggest Loser. She has made appearances on Conan, Live with Kelley & Ryan, and Dr. Oz. Jen is currently the fitness director for SHAPE magazine.

As a coach, Jen believes that your beliefs shift your biology. Whatever you’re processing upstairs as your loudest voice will be physically processed through your bones to your skin. Real change begins when you recognize that YOU have the answers within you to change your life.

In this episode, Jen and I discuss:

- Leading to serve others

- Transformations that transcend physical changes

- Understanding your WHY

- Comparison in the fitness world

- Tipping points and the process it takes to get there

- The fact that there is no arrival point

- Continuous growth & learning

- Her experiences on TV

- Staying true to yourself and knowing who you are

- Facing your own problems and challenges

- My experience being in a magazine

- What Jen attributes her success to 

Learn more about Jen and her programs: widerstrong.com

Find Jen on Instagram: @jenwiderstrom

This week, in honor of pride month, I'm bringing back the episode where I interviewed my dad. In this episode, he tells his story about coming out after twenty years of marriage and three kids. This is a story about realizing and owning your true identity, and the subsequent power of being your truest self. It is raw, it is real, and it is relatable to anyone who has struggled with their identity for any reason.

In this episode, my dad and I discuss:
* The feeling of being different as a kid
* Being teased for being gay
* Following the “formula” in pursuit of happiness
* Decades of suppressing being gay
* His relationship with my mom
* External definitions of success
* The process of discovering your true identity
* Attempting to “pray the gay away”
* Overcoming guilt & shame
* Deciding to live for tomorrow
* The power of groups and knowing you’re not alone
* The importance of loving yourself
* The fear of coming out
* Redefining perfectionism
* Creating a new life
* Embracing your past as opposed to forgetting it
* Finding confidence beyond fear
* A foundation of truth
* Advice for anyone struggling with who they are
* The food industry & trends

Ben McDonald is the Director of Education for DTS Fitness Education and has been in the fitness industry for 12+ years. He has an extensive and varied sporting background including various forms of Mixed Martial Arts. Ben’s career highlights include training a wide array of people from beginners up to premiership footballers, national champions in boxing, and elite level athletes. Ben has taught for the largest health and fitness training provider in Europe and has been published in multiple many UK based magazines. Ben has developed multiple qualifications, presented internationally, and is considered UK’s leading expert in PowerClub training. Awarded the 2013 recognition award for International Presenting and Work in the Health and Fitness Industry, it is evident that Ben’s passion and energy transfer directly to his students and his love for the industry is contagious. Ben’s core belief is that fitness should be inclusive not exclusive as there is no one way to do it.

In this episode, Ben and I discuss: 


The MANY benefits of nasal breathing
Nasal breathing for recovery
How breathing affects posture
Immunity & dental health
Increasing CO2 tolerance
How to assess and improve your CO2 tolerance
Breathing for performance
Mouth taping during sleep 
Breathing to help anxiety
Making fitness inclusive instead of exclusive
How breathing impacts sleep

Learn more about Ben and DTS Fitness Education: dtsfitnesseducation.com

Ezinwanne (Ezi) Odozor is a Nigerian-born writer, scholar, and student support specialist based in Toronto. Her work focuses on themes of identity, culture, gender, race, health, and intimacy. Ezi’s work has been featured in several journals, including Room Magazine, Arc Poetry Magazine, and Hypatia (upcoming). Her writing has also been showcased in several exhibits, most notably in Oluseye’s "A Room Full of Black Boys", which was featured on CBC. Ezi recently completed a Master of Education degree in global health at the University of Toronto, where she worked across the subjects of race, Black-feminisms, anti-colonialism, and global health. Her latest publication, Cartographies of Blackness & Black Indigeneities, was co-edited alongside Professor George Dei and Andrea Jimenez Vasquez. Ezi is currently working on a four-book series centered on Black Womanhood alongside Janelle Brady (PhD.c.) and Professor Njoki Wane.


Afua Cooper | The Hanging of Angelique
bell hooks | Representing Whiteness in the Black Imagination 
Philip S.S. Howard  | White privilege: For or against?
James Baldwin | The Fire Next Time | Video: Famous Debate against W.F. Buckley (1965)  | Video: James Baldwin & Nikki Giovanni, a Conversation
Professor George Dei | His bio & Brief CV
Professor Njoki Wane | Her bio & Brief CV
Professor Lance McCready | Their bio & CV
Dr. Andrew B. Campbell | Their bio |  Their youtube Channel 
Elisabeth Akinwale | @eakinwale @13thflow  https://elisabethakinwale.com/ https://www.13thflow.com/
Anti-Black Racism Reading List

Follow Ezi on Instagram: @echolibrary

Learn more about Ezi: www.eziodozor.com (re-launching soon)

This episode is a break from the fitness content you normally find on How Do You Feel to address the very important topic of racism, and the greater conversation happening about the nature of our society.

GO LISTEN TO ONE OF THESE PODCASTS THIS WEEK:

Brené Brown with Ibram X. Kendi on How to Be an Antiracist

Pod Save the People with Deray McKesson on US Police Brutality 

Gettin' Grown on Racism, Rebellion, and Contributing to the Fight 

Code Switch on a Decade of Watching Black People Die 

Therapy for Black Girls on Talking to Kids About Race