On this episode of the Pain Free Athlete Podcast, Dana is joined by Alexandra Winn-Marvin, LCSW, a Lexington-based therapist specializing in trauma, anxiety, life transitions, and athlete mental health. Drawing on her experience as a competitive dancer, longtime dance teacher, and therapist, Alexandra explains how a “push through the pain” culture can cause children to lose their love of sports—and carry unhealthy beliefs about performance into adulthood.

They discuss the early signs of burnout, why rest must be taught and modeled, and how over-scheduling can leave young athletes without the time to develop friendships or an identity away from competition. Alexandra also offers practical guidance for athletes learning to advocate for themselves, parents who recognize they may be adding to the pressure, and coaches who want to develop successful athletes without harming their well-being.

About Alexandra Winn-Marvin

Alexandra Winn-Marvin, LCSW, is a therapist based in Lexington, Kentucky. She specializes in trauma, anxiety, life transitions, and athlete mental health. A former competitive dancer and longtime dance teacher, Alexandra brings personal and professional insight to the pressures young athletes experience.

Connect With Alexandra

• Website: https://www.awmlcsw.com/
• Instagram: @its.giving.therapy

The Pain Free Athlete Podcast explores the physical and emotional realities of sports, helping athletes, parents, and coaches build healthier relationships with training, performance, recovery, and pain.

If this conversation resonated with you, consider contacting a licensed mental-health professional. If you are experiencing a mental-health crisis in the United States, call or text 988.

Dana’s Links:

⁠⁠⁠https://www.painfreeathletepodcast.com⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠10 Day Journaling Journey⁠⁠⁠

Podcast Disclaimer:

The Pain-Free Podcast is presented solely for general information, education, and entertainment purposes. Any information presented in this podcast is not intended as a substitute for the advice of a physician, psychotherapist, or other qualified professional diagnosis. The use of information on this podcast or materials linked from this podcast or website is at the user’s own risk. As always, users should not disregard or delay obtaining medical advice for any medical or mental health condition that they may have and should seek the assistance of their healthcare professionals for any such conditions.

Former WNBA player and UCLA Hall of Famer Lisa Willis joins Dana Jones on the Pain Free Athlete Podcast for an honest conversation about career-ending injury, identity loss, and finding purpose beyond performance.

Lisa shares how a devastating knee injury ended her basketball career—and why filling her schedule with meaningful work couldn’t replace everything basketball had given her. She opens up about grieving the game, defining success on her own terms, and learning to acknowledge that she could love basketball while building a new life.

Dana and Lisa also explore mental performance training, staying connected to your team during injury, and finding your next step when life changes the plan.

About Lisa:

Lisa C. Willis spent her career performing under the most unforgiving pressure in professional sports, as a retired WNBA three-point leader, UCLA Hall of Famer, and USA Basketball Gold Medalist. Resilience wasn't a concept she learned. It was a survival skill she developed.

After making history as a trailblazer with the New York Knicks organization, the first woman to coach in that organization, Lisa C. Willis channeled a decade of elite performance experience into a mental performance coaching practice, and eventually, a speaking career built around one simple truth: resilience is not random. It is a repeatable system.

Her S.P.O.R.T. Method has helped Fortune 500 leaders, professional athletes, and high-stakes executives close the gap between pressure and performance, not by avoiding the heat, but by learning to transform inside of it.

Lisa’s Links:

https://lisacwillis.com/

Dana’s Links:

⁠⁠⁠https://www.painfreeathletepodcast.com⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠10 Day Journaling Journey⁠⁠⁠

Podcast Disclaimer:

The Pain-Free Podcast is presented solely for general information, education, and entertainment purposes. Any information presented in this podcast is not intended as a substitute for the advice of a physician, psychotherapist, or other qualified professional diagnosis. The use of information on this podcast or materials linked from this podcast or website is at the user’s own risk. As always, users should not disregard or delay obtaining medical advice for any medical or mental health condition that they may have and should seek the assistance of their healthcare professionals for any such conditions.

In this episode of the Pain Free Athlete Podcast, Dana Jones speaks with visionary alchemist, author, and aromatherapy expert Adora Winquist about using nature, scent, breath, and intentional practices to support nervous system regulation.Adora shares how nature became a sanctuary during her childhood and how her experiences with anxiety, depression, endometriosis, herbalism, essential oils, and energy medicine shaped her life’s work. She also explains how she adapted these practices for veterans, active-duty service members, first responders, and wounded-warrior athletes.

Together, Dana and Adora explore the parallels between athletes and military personnel—including discipline, hypervigilance, ignoring pain, and suffering in silence. They discuss why skills that help us perform under pressure can make it difficult to rest and recover once the mission, competition, or immediate threat has passed.

Adora introduces the idea of “training the transition”: helping the nervous system move intentionally between focus, energy, recovery, rest, and readiness. She explains how aroma and slow breathing can serve as sensory cues that interrupt familiar stress patterns and help create healthier habits through repetition.

In this episode

• How Adora’s childhood connection with nature inspired her work
• Her personal experiences with anxiety, depression, chronic pain, and endometriosis
• Why athletes and service members may become stuck in fight-or-flight mode
• The connection between scent, memory, mood, and emotion
• How essential oils can become cues for rest, focus, or recovery
• Why readiness includes patience, clarity, sleep, and restoration
• Adora’s work with veterans, active-duty personnel, and wounded-warrior athletes
• The role of repetition and neuroplasticity in creating new nervous-system patterns
• Why healing does not have to mean suffering in silence
• How to begin “training the transition” with breath and sensory awareness

Try the breathing practice

Inhale gently for a count of four, then exhale through the mouth for a count of six. Repeat at a comfortable pace and notice whether your body begins to soften or settle.

Connect with Adora Winquist

Website: https://adorawinquist.com/
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/adoraOConnerWinquist/
https://www.facebook.com/adorawinquistmodernalchemist/

Dana’s Links:

⁠⁠⁠https://www.painfreeathletepodcast.com⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠10 Day Journaling Journey⁠⁠⁠

Podcast Disclaimer:

The Pain-Free Podcast is presented solely for general information, education, and entertainment purposes. Any information presented in this podcast is not intended as a substitute for the advice of a physician, psychotherapist, or other qualified professional diagnosis. The use of information on this podcast or materials linked from this podcast or website is at the user’s own risk. As always, users should not disregard or delay obtaining medical advice for any medical or mental health condition that they may have and should seek the assistance of their healthcare professionals for any such conditions.