Alive & Kicking: Stories of Waking Up with Kay Eck

Please note: This interview contains depictions of violence and sexual abuse. Please listen with care for yourself and others.This week's guest is BakeR Gendron, whose life took her from a small town in rural Indiana to Chicago, California and Phoenix where she served as a political activist supporting LGBTQ rights, leading a life which transcended labels. That journey took an abrupt turn toward the spiritual while tending to her dying partner as she began experiencing flashbacks of previously buried trauma. Decades of healing gave her the compassionate wisdom to serve others to develop the skills and insight to begin to heal themselves.Intuitive reader, spiritual healer, coach and teacher, BakeR Gendron is the Director of Gateway Cottage Wellness Center in Sedona, Arizona. She has worked for decades, both privately and with groups, to empower clients to live life fully and joyously! Assisting to remove barriers to success, happiness and wellbeing, she facilitates holistic healing by integrating mind, body, and spirit. Through BakeR’s own healing journey, recovering from childhood trauma and abuse, she is inspired to teach others how to heal themselves, and to facilitate healthy change. She facilitates spiritual retreats and classes for people seeking to make major life changes and to connect with their own higher selves. Connect with BakeR here: https://www.gatewaycottagewellness.com/baker-gendron http://thepsychiccoach.net

An existential crisis can throw the average adult into a state of uncertainty at best and inner turmoil at worst. Kay's next guest, John Schieke, was just six years old when he started to ponder the deepest questions. As a child, he was mentally and emotionally ill-equipped to handle these queries and barely had the vocabulary to describe what he was experiencing to others. The resulting alienation and stress made him vulnerable to the substance abuse that, by the age of 18, very nearly took his life. Now sober, John shares his ongoing journey from confusion to clarity and offers hope to young people struggling with similar challenges.

In episode 41, Sarah Lindgren talks with Kay about how early trauma influenced so many of the decisions she made throughout her life. Until, that is, she became conscious of how healing can soothe the grooved patterns, opening her up to a life of greater freedom, self-compassion and wisdom. Now, she shares all that with others as a guide, teacher and leader.Sarah is an Experienced Registered Yoga Teacher (200 E-RYT) working to empower students in public classes, workshops, and yoga retreats. She is also a Yoga Alliance Continuing Education Provider (YACEP) and offers one-on-one apprenticeship programs.  She teaches others how to nurture themselves through grounding and embodiment practices so they can begin to truly love the lives they live.Sarah's path of profound self-realization began while first practicing yoga as an expectant mother. She began to dig deeply into the absence of self-love and empowerment within, to understand the body-mind-spirt connection and to find new routes to healing and wholeness. She has and continues to study with numerous internationally recognized teachers, completing advanced trainings including Yoga to Transform Trauma, all with the intent of meeting people where they are with greater knowledge and understanding of yoga practices and philosophy.  Learn more and connect with Sarah here:Website Sarah-Lindgren.comInstagram:  108.Sarah Facebook:  Sarah.Lindgren.YogaUpcoming Retreat:  https://truenaturetravels.com/retreats/yoga-iceland-sarah/

Please note: This episode contains descriptions of violence, sexual abuse, alcoholism and drug use.In this episode of the podcast, Columbia native Catalina Osorio describes how her early life forged in her an "eat or be eaten" ethos that nearly destroyed her. She shares her journey out of the despair caused by a life of extreme violence and into the immediacy that grace grants everyone no matter what their circumstances. Her well-earned wisdom is a miracle beyond resiliency.Catalina was born in Colombia in 1981 into a violent family, in a dangerous neighborhood in a turbulent time. She lived in continuous, extreme physical and emotional trauma, without noticing she was completely burying her past. Later, while living in Paris, after a night of heavy drinking, she was plunged into a situation that triggered a physical knowing that she had been raped. But because there was no clear evidence, there was no proof that a crime had been committed. Thus, she began to feel the terror of losing her mind. Her chaotic lifestyle continued until the responsibility, drugs, alcohol, sleeplessness and uncontrollably racing mind brought her body to severe illness and her mind to the breaking point. Depressed, suicidal and facing a possible hysterectomy to remove fibroid tumors, she heard a voice encouraging her to take a path of true healing rather than surgery.Six years later, Catalina is living in peace and no longer allows her past to unconsciously run everything. She does not claim to be a teacher, to be enlightened or to know it all. She only knows that all of her pain has been created by a misunderstanding of what was happening. She believes we are powerful creators having a unique experience that is meant to add something to the divinely perfect tapestry of LIFE. You can connect with Catalina at catosga@gmail.com and her Facebook Page.

In this episode of Alive & Kicking, Lisa Stokke talks with Kay about being parented, parenting adults and the unique challenges of mothering in the age of awakening.As founder and Executive Director of Next 7, an organization that advocates for healthy food systems, Lisa has been working to bring awareness to the importance of organic and regenerative agriculture. Previously, inspired by the lack of clean food choices for her four children, she co-founded Food Democracy Now! She works with farmers, scientists and policy leaders around the world  to increase nutrient density in food and crops.A 20-year passion for plant medicine led her to start Temple Tree Aromatics – a company that sources sustainably wildcrafted and organic botanical essential oils and functional blends.She lives in Boulder, CO.For more information about Lisa and her work, visit:Next7.orgTempleTree.coBionutrientinstitute.orgInstagram: @Lisa_Stokke

Born in Memphis Tennessee to a navy captain father, Valerie Iron's early life was rich with travel, culture and experience. But despite her joy for that life, a journey into the dark night of the soul brought her to the brink of despair. Throughout, her core wound of unrequited love presented itself again and again leaving her feeling utterly alone in the world. Eventually, Valerie gave herself over to healing through art and sound. But it would be a very long time before she would find the love of her life -- herself. Valerie Irons is an artist, sound alchemist, breathwork practitioner and kirtan wallah practicing in Sedona, AZ since 2014. She offers group and private sacred sound sessions including “Soundwave Journeys” using her Soundwave Bed™. She offers guidance along the journey of awakening through sound, breath, meditation and creativity. With deep gratitude, she is dedicated to divine healing through the arts.Connect with Valerie and her work here:http://www.laughingbluebutterfly.com/http://www.valerieirons.com/

After achieving the financial goals he set for himself by the time he was in his late 20s, Majid Zafer was looking at very early retirement. But the feeling he was chasing through accomplishment was fleeting, leaving him questioning everything he believed about life and success. Thus began his spiritual journey to live a purpose-filled life.  

Despite growing up in the suburbs, Sarah Richelle Starnes describes her formative years as wild, feral and imbued with nature. Her immersive relationship with the natural world expresses itself in myriad ways from her approach to her own education, the wisdom of the body, the power of animals to heal, an all-encompassing curiosity, a compassion for all life and the beat of her own drum.  Sarah has been offering yoga, sound journeys, integrative bodywork, energetic balancing and trauma healing for over twenty years around the world.  Some of Sarah’s passions include soaking in hot springs, acro yoga, teaching yoga with animals, slacklining, aerial arts, dancing, training horses, foraging, mushroom hunting, cooking nourishing food, and making plant medicines.  She shares alignment-focused practices and transformational experiences in a variety of forms.  Sarah’s teaching style embodies her playful nature and deep desire to help humanity heal and connect with the strength and beauty within.You can find Sarah's work at https://linktr.ee/sarahnatureyoga

In celebration of the release of her second book Dear Human (available now) , Kay invites Ashley Livingston to ask her the questions she's been asking the Alive & Kicking guests.Kay Eck is the author of Dear Human and Divorce: A Love Story. For more info, please visit kayeck.comBuy Dear Human here: https://www.amazon.com/Dear-Human-Kay-Eck/dp/1736583123/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=Dear+Human+Kay+Eck&qid=1628125383&sr=8-1

Growing up poor but delightfully untethered, Todd Fink's most memorable educational and spiritual experiences happened in nature. It was there, in nature, that the seeds were planted for his unique approach to inquiry and understanding which views every issue and idea through three lenses -- the artistic, the scientific and the mythological. In his work, including the Kind Mind Podcast and a new book, he draws from a deep well of curiosity in order to explore timeless topics concerning  the human condition. Often that exploration takes him straight into the heart of his own tenuous existence. Connect with Todd below: michaeltoddfink@gmail.com www.MichaelToddFink.com https://www.facebook.com/michaeltoddfinkhttps://www.instagram.com/michaeltoddfink/@michaeltoddfinkHost of the Kind Mind podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/684aK4V6c2t0mfzEMgOdErCo-founder of The Giving Tree Band: https://www.facebook.com/thegivingtreeband"Beauty is in the Brain of the Beholder" | TEDx Talk:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TLcgAGo-xvQ

Growing up on an enlivened farm with her grandparents as guardians, no set religion other than cycles of nature, Taylor Godfrey's life was unconventional from the start. An early connection to her surroundings helped form an acute awareness of life itself.  When intuition implored her to process her earlier years of sexual abuse, she had no other choice but to be with her trauma and catalyze her journey into one of healing and honoring the human experience. Taylor is a writer of healing and the spiritual path. She is a shamanic energy medicine practitioner and life doula. Currently writing a memoir and a collection of essays, she can be found at:https://www.facebook.com/taylor.r.godfrey/https://www.elephantjournal.com/profile/taylorrose/Reset.me InnerJourneyWholistics@Gmail.com

Dack Quigley had an unconventional, some would say near perfect, upbringing. His parents urged him to do whatever he wanted to do, celebrated his every choice and loved him unconditionally. As a result, success came easily to him -- lucrative career, committed relationship, home on the beach in Hawaii and plenty of friends. He had "won the game".  But the question that gnawed at him -- Is this all there is? -- propelled him on a search for a higher purpose.

Sue Gaskell was born on the living room floor as the 10th of 11 children in Derbyshire, UK in 1946, and her life did not necessarily get less dramatic or difficult.  She endured tragedies, breakdowns, and plenty of painful endings before realizing that the only one she could not find compassion for was herself. She committed to connecting with her angry, frustrated and abandoned inner child which created the healing that would become the compass for and work of her life. 

Born at four pounds and addicted to cocaine to a teen mother in trouble, Carmen Santiago-Keenon suffered a childhood filled with abandonment, danger and abuse. After being removed from her home, bouncing between foster care and facing potential placement in a group home, she was adopted into a faith-filled family that saw a small spark in need of kindling. Often challenged by ingrained generational trauma, Carmen set about on a quest to heal her past, uproot conditioned thinking and uncover her true nature. Carmen Santiago-Keenon is currently working on her brand The 30 day Me-Tox which is an exploration of detoxing from yourself (EGO), connecting clients to the resources she discovered on her own journey of choosing to walk consciously through life. You can reach her via email at: Carmen.Me.Tox@gmail.com or on her career website at:  www. diversify-solutions.com.

Having graduated from the prestigious Tisch School of the Arts at NYU, Max Friedstein believed his career as a professional dancer was about to begin. But a mysterious and debilitating medical condition created a detour that dramatically shifted his lifestream. Without a career, a relationship or a plan, the only way out was in.Learn more about Max at maxfriedstein.com.Find Max and his team at The White Rabbit Reveals online at thewhiterabbitreveals.com; on YouTube at https://youtube.com/channel/UC2yVFr3DpBcV7mKMjfvWOAA and on Instagram at @thewhiterabbitreveals.a.way

Growing up with immigrant parents in a small, homogenous midwestern town bonded sisters Tasha Gomes and Lisa Scott together in more ways than one. But it wasn't until Lisa left home to experience the wider world of college that they started to grow toward one another as both biological and soul sisters. One is mystical; one is pragmatic but their shared spiritual journey is in divine harmony.As a Nurse Case Manager across multi-therapeutic areas ranging from Oncology to Diabetes Education, Lisa guides patients through a wide variety of care journeys. Tasha is an empath, energy worker and empowerment coach supporting clients in reaching their highest potential. You can find Tasha's work at www.divinelifemotivation.com

Though his childhood in Sao Paulo, Brazil was rich in culture, art and community connection, Zon Carvalho felt called to a deeper spiritual experience. After years of chasing redemption from external sources, he found reclamation and his true power in self-love. Zon is a graphic and visual artist, passionate advocate for self-exploration and self-expression and a pioneer of new creative paradigms. Connect with Zon via email at Zon@Zontopia.com, at his website www.zontopia.com, or on social media @zonpower (IG) and Faceboook.com/zontopia 

Despite great loss and grief throughout her life, Amy Merritt chooses to lead with empathy, love, and deep compassion for others.  Cultivating goodness out of a garden of challenge is her superpower. As a 500E-RYT yoga instructor, teacher, and mindfulness blogger, Amy specializes in gentle yoga, meditation, and yoga for Cancer Thrivers. She is available for group and private instruction via Zoom. Connect with Amy via email at amyluwho2@att.net, through her blog, or on Instagram @the_yoga_goat.

 High vibrational conscious artist Be Bradley has learned to speak only from what he knows. His honesty and openness regarding the dark aspects of human nature and the truth of the spiritual path have created an online support system for thousands. In this episode, Be shares his story of childhood abuse, adult responsibility, and how he has created a life of art.  Please note that this episode contains explicit content regarding childhood sexual trauma, sexuality and drug use, so it may not be for everyone. Find  Be's music and merchandise at www.betherapper.com. Follow him online on Instagram, YouTube, Spotify, and Facebook, and on TikTok @betherapper. Abums:12 Strands Activated (2019) https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/be16/12-strands-activated-3Alchemist (2020) https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/be16/alchemist-6Metamorphosis (2021) https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/be16/metamorphosis

Kirsten Barfoot arrived knowing she had a mission but felt held back, treated as an outsider as she moved as a child from South Africa to New Zealand to Australia. Throughout her life, the lens, or evidence procedure as she calls it, of unworthiness reappeared until she felt she had lost everything. At that moment, Kirsten realized she had everything, and she was everything. This became Kirsten's message and her purpose.Opportunities to connect further with Kirsten and her work can be found at  https://linktr.ee/kirstenbarfoot and www.kirstenbarfoot.com.