Episode 8 — Lessons From My Stroke: Embodied Leadership, Surrender & Self-Advocacy

Eight weeks ago, my life changed in an instant.

While flying from London to New York, I suffered a stroke that left me temporarily unable to communicate. As someone whose life's work depends on language, teaching, poetry, and leadership, I was forced into the deepest experience of surrender I've ever known.

In this episode, I share the story of my stroke, my emergency brain surgery, and the surprising lessons that emerged during recovery: authority, trust, integrity, and what it truly means to lead.

We explore:

• What it feels like to be fully aware while your body cannot communicate.

• The difference between surrender and giving your power away.

• Why self-advocacy is essential, even when you're surrounded by experts.

• An unlikely, mundane experience of enlightenment in the operating room

• What my experience in hospital taught me about leadership, followership, and embodied integrity.

• Why this experience has deepened my commitment to teaching somatic leadership through DOMINUS.

  
  

If you've ever struggled with people-pleasing, trusting yourself, leading others, or surrendering to uncertainty, I hope this conversation offers both perspective and encouragement.

Join DOMINUS
A 12-week journey into embodied leadership, power, integrity, and self-trust.
https://drelizabethlove.com/dominuscourse

Support my recovery & creative work
If this episode resonated with you and you'd like to support the podcast while I continue recovering from my stroke, you can leave a contribution here:
https://ko-fi.com/lizlove

Thank you for listening, for sharing this episode, and for walking alongside me as I continue this journey.

With love,

Dr. Elizabeth Love

In this episode, Dr. Liz shares the creation story of two characters: Ananda and Red. The birth of the full human spirit within was doula'd by several guides, one of which we feature here today.

Red is the frequency of the human spirit that isn't afraid of passion for fear of death, humiliation or being cast out. She shares a word at the end of the episode to invite you into your own Red nature.

For more information and to register for the RED course guided by Dr. Elizabeth Love, please visit drelizabethlove.com

instagram.com/drelizabethlove

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What if every painful experience with other women, every betrayal, every exclusion, every misalignment was really just a younger part of you longing to be loved?

In this episode, I take you on a personal journey through the evolution of my own sisterhood wound. From childhood shifts when my brother was born, to mean girl friendships, to mismatched spiritual circles and performative communities, I trace the ways I lost and found myself in connection with other women.

I share what I learned in Santa Barbara about real, grounded sisterhood and how moving to London taught me the power of discernment, solitude, and slow, soul-deep community building.

We talk about the shadow side of women’s spaces, the ache of being misunderstood, and the quiet beauty of choosing intimacy that isn’t forced. This is an episode about healing, truth-telling, and reclaiming sisterhood as a place where every part of you is welcome.

For more information, please visit www.drelizabethlove.com

Share this episode on social media and say hello @drelizabethlove

In this episode, Dr. Liz shares about her journey with body dysmorphia and pushing her body to the limits for external approval. The psychology of this behavior closely mimics the way society dominates and controls bodies of people for their benefit. The embodied revolution happens when we stop allowing fear-based programming to run our lives and boldly step into slow, quiet power - through movement .

For more information, visit drelizabethlove.com

To learn more about Body Church, visit www.bodychurch.com

In this special episode of Big Sister, Dr. Liz shares a practice for those feeling overwhelmed by the devastation in the world and unsure of how to use their voice to make a change.

"I share the practice that I do every day to help reorient my nervous system to my still center: Spirokinetics. I take you on an audio-guided journey through the layers of your nervous system that may be contracting against your own power. These are the ways we end up subtly being at war with ourselves.

I recommend listening to the journey portion of this episode while seated or laying down, without other distractions. You'll be guided into a gentle breath-movement practice. The practice is designed to be slow and gentle, however if you find the experience overwhelming at any time, bring yourself back to the present moment by opening your eyes and noticing your surroundings." -Liz

For more information, please visit drelizabethlove.com.

Please say hello on social media:

https://www.tiktok.com/@drelizabethlove https://www.instagram.com/drelizabethlove/

Dr. Liz Love speaks on dating.. from a unique perspective. Her theory, built upon the shoulders of giants like Carl Jung and Richard Schwartz (Internal Family Systems), is that our erotic innocence presents us with relationships that act as medicine for us to love the exiled and unintegrated parts of us. At the end of the episode, enjoy a real-time example of the creative, freestyle flow process that Dr. Liz uses to integrate any judgement or fear left over from past or current relationships.

For more information, visit www.drelizabethlove.com

To learn more about Body Church: www.bodychurch.com

www.instagram.com/drelizabethlove

Life force energy? Kundalini? Chi? Holy Spirit? Dr. Elizabeth Love shares her story of the awakening force that guided her on a path of her own in order to break free from doctrines and create transformational works of art designed to heal the body, mind and soul.

For more information on Dr. Love's work, visit drelizabethlove.com

In this premiere episode, Dr. Elizabeth Love shares the story behind Big Sister—a space born from a longing for advice that feels safe in the body, not just the mind. With honesty and heart, she explores what it means to become the voice you once needed, the power of creative expression, and the beauty of being seen. This episode also includes a poetic reflection on the body's innate healing force.