Untethered

Ironic that I recorded this episode on World Mental Health Day (10/10/2022). My experience with NWM came with two sides. One, in the beginning, helping my mental health. It was a vehicle that shaped me into a more confident person, grew my mindset, provided me with income and gave me a sense of purpose. The other side, towards the end of my journey with Monat, I quit because it wasn’t helping my mental health. Pressure to keep going when I was in a season of life where I needed to slow down, (hello baby #2 and postpartum depression) lack of boundaries, which led to burn out and so much anxiety around leading a team, when I couldn’t even lead myself. This episode feels like the most vulnerable one yet, because I feel like this is the one thing that most of you listening can take something from or relate to. Either because we had an awkward encounter or you were on my team, and can relate to some of these heavy things I touch on. I am here sharing my life, my experiences and have a podcast because of my time in NWM. That part of my life, built me to where I am today. Shaped me into who I am. Provided an outlet to share all the things with you guys. So for me to say, I wish I never would have worked with Monat would be wrong and untrue. I’m glad I did. It taught me valuable lessons, grew me as a person and established this community within the online space. My hope for anyone who listens is have an open mind. Understand that my journey, isn’t like everyone else’s in NWM. There can be success and positive stories that come from it! I did have success and I do have positive stories from it. But like everything else, there’s good and bad. Rewards and regrets. And that’s all I tried to share in this episode. If you find yourself struggling with depression, postpartum depression or rage, anxiety, emotionally draining work environments.. I’m here to send you all the love. I hope that we can come to a place of talking about these really hard things more, instead of keeping them in. I hope we can end the stigma of mental health and share our stories more so that we can create hope for others. Thank you ❤️

Untethered: not restrained or tied down “Don’t put me in a box!” - Glennon Doyle I heavily align with the concept of not being tied down to one thing. I find comfort in being able to talk about whatever, whenever. And that’s how Untethered came to be. “Life with Kenslie” was so much pressure haha. Life? With me? Untethered is pretty much the same but more comfort for my mind to not have my name or “life” in the title. Silly? Probably. An old wound of not feeling comfortable with attention or feeling guilty for having my life spoken of? Probably. I still have healing and work in my heart to be done. Everyday it’s a process. And this space is just an invitation for you to join me on that journey. This first episode touches on pretty much all of that. And how these past 4 months have cracked me wide open to learn just where I’m at with loving (or not loving) myself, being in a state of survival instead of actually living, and recognizing that I want to choose me.. so that I can receive more love, give more love and live a life that’s joyful and not one that I play a part in my suffering. Thank you.. ❣️ And may we all become a little more untethered from the judgment we place on ourselves ❤️‍🩹

In this episode, I uncover all the things I've learned about Milk.  I never thought I'd care this much about milk until after becoming a mom haha. My kids go through so much of it. And it was starting to get really expensive for us to purchase Organic Milk from the grocery store. I had read about raw milk here and there but didn't spend too much time learning more about it. Then I finally did. And I share about everything I've learned with you. A little bit about the history of milk, benefits and risks of pasteurized and raw milk, how you can go about finding raw milk. Also, I share ideas on how you can make small, but huge changes in your home that will have you connected to the earth and your food more.  I hope you enjoy this episode! Thank you for being here :)  Resources mentioned: Find Raw Milk - getrawmilk.com About Raw Milk - rawmilkinstitute.org

In this episode, I covered an array of things. Parenting styles, why I align with Maria Montessori's way of teaching children, what each of the parenting styles I cover look like, why they even matter.. Here in the show notes I've included detail times of each specific topic. Hopefully this makes it easier for you to find what you're looking for in this longer than usual episode. I've also included some resources that may be helpful if this content aligned with you. Thank you for being here! 2:30 - personal perspective of Public School and how I got interested in Maria Montessori's teaching style 12:45 - Authoritative, Respectful and Authoritarian Parenting Styles 17:25 - how do these parenting styles look? I give examples and insight to each style 29:20 - why do parenting styles matter to children? 31:25 - I share an example of how respectful parenting has impacted my child's life  45:00 - why I believe controlling our children doesn't work long term 46:10 - "how do you deal with things that trigger your inner child?" 49:25 - "do you have any tips and tricks on how to break up the day with toddlers?" Resources To Consider - Books:  Hunt, Gather Parent by Michaeleen Doucleff  A Theory of Objectivist Parenting by Roslyn Ross  The Body Keeps Score by Bessel Van Der Kolk Parenting/Wellness/Montessori Instagram Accounts I Follow: @themellowmama @biglittlefeelings @mentalwellnessformamas @theycallmemamabennett @thatmontessorilife @monti.by.the.sea Courses: @biglittlefeelings - "Winning the Toddler Course" @themellowmama - "Conscious Parenting and Re-Parenting Guide"

In short answer - because everyone’s work looks differently than yours. Everyone is fighting their own mental, physical or spiritual battle. Not everyone is necessarily trying to work on it though and that’s okay. Everyone is entitled to their own healing or.. not healing journey. Even if we absolutely want them to. I asked this question to myself when I first started my healing journey 3 years ago. I felt so lonely and I really wanted my partner to join me on healing my inner child, attending workshops, going to therapy, reading all the personal development books… and we did. But what I noticed was I was putting a lot of pressure on him to do it with me. When really, healing is a personal journey. Can our partner do the work with us? Absolutely. Can it bring you closer? Absolutely. But if you’re looking for big changes that bring identical awakenings, I don’t believe you will. You can’t change anyone but you. You can’t expect anyone to do the same, identical work that you’re doing. Do it for you. Invite your loved ones, but don’t expect. Seek out community that does align with your work, whether that’s fitness, mental health or wellness. Lastly, notice if you feel judgment or shame when you open up to your loved ones about your work. If you do, it’s okay to love them from a distance until you’re more comfortable and confident in what you’re working on. Keep going 💞 xx

My first ever guest! Micah and I have been friends for a decade. Meeting in high school we’ve seen one another go through different chapters of life. Micah is one of the most determined, motivated people I know. But after college something happened. She was no longer motivated, she was deeply depressed. In this episode, she talks about how depression affected her, different forms of therapy and what ultimately led her to ketamine therapy. Today, Micah has courageously fought the battle of depression and has overcome. Her journey now, is sustaining the work she’s done on her physical and mental health. Something I believe she’s on the right path of doing! Micah is an inspiration to me and I hope she is to you too. Enjoy!

10 months postpartum, I found out I was expecting again. This time with less anxiety and more peace, we took on the journey of pregnancy #2. Since having a premature baby, all my pregnancies will be marked as 'high risk' - I experienced cervical checks often, progesterone shots weekly, and ultimately still had a premature labor. Lots of ups and downs, but the best part, giving birth to my son was so magical. Everything I envisioned it to be and more. And that's the thing.. you can envision your labor. You can prepare yourself so you feel the most empowered and confident woman out there. In this episode, I cover it all!  Resources mentioned: Ina May's Guide to Childbirth by Ina May Gaskin God Stories by Jennifer Skiff Untamed by Glennon Doyle Bridget Tyler (Built to Birth) Youtube Videos

I’ve made the choice to ditch nicotine and alcohol until further notice. My relationship to them was dependent and hate to say it, but addictive. I used them to cope. I had managed to believe that they were making my life more fun and less stressful. When actually, I’m having more fun feeling in control of my brain and body. And my patience is at an all time high! I feel like I’ve accessed a freedom I haven’t felt in a long time. A resource that’s empowered this new lifestyle as “sober” is the book - the Naked Mind by Annie Grace. Highly recommend for anyone that’s #sobercurious or wanting to learn more about effects of alcohol, how society has portrayed addiction and how it’s actually exciting to be sober.

A very casual conversation about what my last hangover taught me. I have been taking breaks from alcohol on and off over the past couple months. And I keep coming back - in hopes of a different outcome. But the outcome is still the same, I hate the way drinking makes me feel afterwards. Is it an addiction? I can’t tell. I’m starting to get more curious about why I drink and recognizing how it doesn’t serve my Highest Self. And that’s who I’m on a journey of serving.. and I hope you are too 🤍

My path drastically shifted when I found out I was pregnant, unexpectedly at 21 years old. In this episode, I talk about how I was raised in church with purity culture and how I felt shame in the beginning of my pregnancy. How I ultimately made the decision to become a mother and the influence the universe had on this decision. As well as the challenges pregnancy, birth and bonding with my partner had on me. Lots of layers to this story. I hope you’re able to listen with an open mind and gain insight from my experience. Thank you!

Each painful experience is real and we should honor and hold space for it. I came to a point where I was holding onto more pain, than pleasure. And I decided that I didn’t want to continue down that path any longer. In this episode, I share how I got to this point and the painful experiences that I was holding onto. And how I now practice to find pleasure through pain.. or “laugh in places I once cried” 🤍 I hope you’re able to take some insight and adopt these practices too. Thank you!

Holidays bring opportunity to notice ourselves and how we engage with family members, food, drinks and time. For me, I know that the day can go so fast and I’m not always ready for a full day of bouncing from house to house. Ever since I had my kids I’ve taken consideration on how to navigate that, by having to say no sometimes or setting boundaries with myself and my spouse. In this episode I have five points I go over on how to protect and maintain positive energy during holiday season. Thank you for listening!

Who? What? When? Where? Why? All questions I had written down in front of me as a I very much, spur of the moment recorded this first episode. As much as this has been a long-time coming, this moment is the first moment where I’ve made it happen. And that’s exciting! Listen as I answer those questions and practice doing something for the first time. Thank you! Xx Kenslie