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What if the key to powerful leadership isn’t more structure… but more soul?

In this rich, heart-centered conversation, Kim and Louise are joined by coach, strategist, and recovering academic Taina Brown to explore what it really takes to lead as your whole self, especially in systems that reward fragmentation and performance.

They unpack the impact of gatekeeping (from academia to coaching to the workplace), the myth of “getting it right,” and how somatics and play open new doorways to healing, embodiment, and aligned leadership.

Taina shares her journey from feminist scholar to strategy coach, the somatic tools that helped her reconnect after a traumatic health experience, and why funk music might be the nervous system medicine we all need.

This episode is a love letter to anyone who’s ever felt they had to leave parts of themselves at the door to be taken seriously.

“Don’t let one part of yourself gatekeep another.” – Taina Brown

Key Takeaways

• Gatekeeping is often rooted in insecurity and unprocessed imposter syndrome
• Integration is the power move—we’re not meant to fragment across roles
• Play is how we heal, regulate, and remember who we are
• Embodied leadership makes room for sensation, intuition, and rest
• Somatics help rebuild connection, especially after trauma or illness
• Wholeness creates space—for yourself and others to show up fully

Key Moments
[00:00] Welcome + Episode intro
[01:35] Meet today’s guest: Taina Brown
[04:58] Naming and challenging academic gatekeeping
[08:46] Gatekeeping in coaching and helping professions
[12:59] Gatekeeping as protection: fear of being “found out”
[15:14] Unrealistic expectations and imposter syndrome at work
[17:41] Reframing failure with Emergent Strategy
[20:02] Play as a path to learning and growth
[21:23] What if we welcomed the human behind the curtain?
[29:29] Why pushing through isn’t always the answer
[34:00] Fragmentation: stop being your own gatekeeper
[36:01] “Mitigate the ambiguity”: the somatic impact of uncertainty
[39:15] Using somatic CBT in professional development workshops
[43:49] Head, heart, and body: wholeness as a leadership strategy
[45:27] Final reflections and calls to action
[49:08] Where to find Taina online
[50:31] Closing thoughts and listener invitation

About Taina
Taina is a former feminist scholar turned strategy whiz trained in somatic CBT methods. As a personal and professional development coach of over 15 years, she helps leaders and their teams show up as their best, values-aligned selves so they can do good work. She’s also the cohost of the Messy Liberation podcast with Becky Mollenkamp.

🌐 http://www.ifthenand.org/tainambrown
🔗 https://www.linkedin.com/in/tainambrow

Join a circle of changemakers committed to leading with purpose, presence and ease inside Kim's Rising Visionaries community and mentorship program.

Reclaim your career and confidence during midlife through Louise's Rise & Redefine program.

If you’re loving this show, come check out the Feminist Podcasters Collective, where creators like us are uplifting diverse voices and driving meaningful change. If you’re looking for new shows to fill your feed, head to feministpods.com to explore everything we have to offer.

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In episode 162 of The Empowered and Embodied Show, Kim Romain and Louise Neil explore what it means to embrace being in a world that constantly demands doing. They unpack the tension between presence and productivity, and what it looks like to live in alignment without burning out.

Together, they reflect on how growth doesn't have to be forced, it naturally unfolds when we’re present. Instead of chasing clarity, they show how you can find it by simply showing up as you are. They unpack the tension so many of us feel between stillness and movement, presence and productivity, planning and play.

With a dose of laughter (and baloney sandwiches), they explore how self-awareness and inner alignment help us navigate this dance between being and doing without losing ourselves in the push.

"Presence is when I feel like I get to actually be me." – Kim Romain

"Sometimes letting go is the experience.” - Louise Neil

Key Takeaways

• The difference between doing and being (and how to honor both)
• What true presence feels like (and why it’s the key to authentic living)
• How to grow without burning out or losing yourself
• Why coaching and therapy serve different needs—and how to know which you need
• How to balance your inner planner and your spontaneous self
• What it means to know yourself deeply—without judgment or striving

Key Moments

00:00 Welcome and intro

02:07 Celebrating three years of podcasting and the magic of unscripted conversations

04:33 “When is it okay to just be?”

06:34 How presence reveals the truest parts of ourselves

09:13 What being present really means (and how it differs from productivity)

12:49 The many hats we wear and how to stay authentic while shifting roles

15:05 Baloney sandwiches and school buses: a metaphor for your inner world

19:10 The joy of conversation without an agenda

23:36 Why your planner and your spontaneous side need each other

25:06 Self-trust grows when you honor the needs of all your parts

28:27 Coaching vs. therapy: unpacking vs. choosing your train

32:55 Getting unstuck by releasing the “why” and tuning into the “what’s next”

36:54 Let the journey be the destination

Join a circle of changemakers committed to leading with purpose, presence and ease inside Kim's Rising Visionaries community and mentorship program.

Reclaim your career and confidence during midlife through Louise's Rise & Redefine program.

If you’re loving this show, come check out the Feminist Podcasters Collective, where creators like us are uplifting diverse voices and driving meaningful change. If you’re looking for new shows to fill your feed, head to feministpods.com to explore everything we have to offer.

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In episode 161 of The Empowered & Embodied Show, Kim Romain and Louise Neil are joined by Jordan Maney, Radical Joy Coach and founder of The Rest Lab. What unfolds is a spacious, heart-deep conversation about rest, not as a luxury, but as a radical act of remembrance, resistance, and return.

Together, we explore what it really means to soften when you're used to holding on tightly, to be held when support feels foreign, and to allow joy even in a world full of pain. Through both metaphor and lived experience, Jordan invites us into the water... not to swim perfectly, but to float, to release, to remember we are held.

"People think rest is passive. It’s not. It’s active resistance. It’s remembering who you are beyond the frenzy." - Jordan Maney

Key Takeaways:

• Rest isn’t something you earn—it’s something you return to.
• Letting go is not a loss of control; it’s an act of trust.
• Floating, like healing, doesn’t require effort, just a willingness to soften.
• We're not meant to navigate this life alone; community isn't optional, it's essential.
• True support begins when we’re willing to receive, not just give.
• Control is not the same as safety.
• Allowing is deeply personal. It’s about reclaiming what softening looks like for you.

Key Moments:

00:00 – Welcome
01:45 – Jordan’s intro
04:20 – “We were made for such a time as this…”: Purpose in dark times
06:01 – Sponge vs. flow: Feeling grief without being consumed
07:59 – The difference between drinking the water and swimming in it
09:40 – What happens when we don’t know how to swim?
12:53 – “If you can’t relax, you’ll never learn to trust yourself in the water”
15:58 – Why control is mistaken for safety—and what it actually costs
17:52 – Floating as self-support: Can you let yourself be held?
19:10 – The frenzy of service vs. the practice of settling
21:21 – How community quietly fills the cup when you’re depleted
24:31 – Military childhood, mutual aid, and the longing for connection
29:55 – What holds us back from resting in community?
35:21 – Stitch & Bitch, hiking, AquaZumba: Finding joy in collective care
38:42 – Creating containers where people can peek out and be themselves
41:25 – Jordan’s definition of rest: Returning energy, attention, and time to self
47:09 – “Allowing” as a portal to healing—on your own terms
49:10 – Where to find Jordan and more of her brilliant work

Connect With Jordan:

Website: https://www.jordanmaney.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jordanmaney/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thejordanmaney/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheJordanManey/
Pinterest:

Join a circle of changemakers committed to leading with purpose, presence and ease inside Kim's Rising Visionaries community and mentorship program.

Reclaim your career and confidence during midlife through Louise's Rise & Redefine program.

If you’re loving this show, come check out the Feminist Podcasters Collective, where creators like us are uplifting diverse voices and driving meaningful change. If you’re looking for new shows to fill your feed, head to feministpods.com to explore everything we have to offer.