Hi, Welcome to the Thick of It, with me, Jo Gale. This is episode 12 of season one of the podcast, and if you have been listening up until now, you may know it’s the last one. If not… SURPRISE.

When I put out episode 11 of The Thick of It, I said I hoped the next episode or the last episode of the season would go out with a Bang. And so BANG? Today’s it’s just me and this mic, and however over long it takes me to chat through the thoughts I’ve had bubbling around in my head for the last month. Hope that’s cool?

As always, my inbox is open to any comments, feedback or suggestions, drop me a line jogalemovement@gmail.com 

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Instagram: @jogale.moves

The Move Room: @move.room.hamont

Jo

This week on the thick of it, I have a great conversation with my friend Phoebe Taylor. Phoebe Taylor is an artist, mindful mover, community maker and creative director of Okay Shoe. Phoebe and I met through the movement community here in Hamilton and have connected in other ways as well. In this conversation we talk about how our business has shifted and evolved during the pandemic, about how creativity threads thought our work and also about reality TV. This conversation is playful and especially great for folks out there who are entrepreneurs, navigating change in their business.

In her own words: Phoebe utilizes her multi-hyphenate skills and interests to explore the intersection of art, mindfulness, intuition and movement. She creates space to explore these ideas through art-making, facilitating creative community-play, creative coaching and teaching movement. They create work for the big feelers and collective thinkers, and aim to inspire creativity in us all. Phoebe dreams of liberation for all and a safe and loving world for every human to express their inner weirdo freely and that one great rock show can change the world. 

I really enjoyed chatting with Phoebe! You can check out all the things Phoebe is up to on her websites: phoebetaylor.ca  and on her Instagram.
I kind of casually mentioned that this MIGHT be the last season of the thick of it in this episode. I plan on taking a break from podcasting for an indeterminate amount of time, but I’m always open to new opportunities. If you have any of those, don’t feel shy!

See you next time, with the FINAL episode of season 1 of, the Thick of it!

As always, my inbox is open to any comments, feedback or suggestions, drop me a line jogalemovement@gmail.com 

Want to know more? 

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Website and newsletter sign up: https://jo-gale.com/

Instagram: @jogale.moves

The Move Room: @move.room.hamont

Jo

Today on the show, I have a really special conversation with my friend Danielle. This conversation is inspired by Danielle’s blog, Me, Myself and my Lymphoma, which is a detail of her journey through Cancer, Treatment and now Remission during a pandemic. This is a conversation that touches on subjects that I think most of us can relate to. Danielle tells her story with humour (and swears) and humanized the experience of  being the parent to young Children while treating Cancer.

A little about Danielle: Danielle Hitchcock is a multidisciplinary graphic designer and the Principal + Creative Director of Twin Design in Hamilton, ON. A former dancer, she found her way to Yoga in the mid-2000s and would later complete teacher training programs in both Yoga and Pilates. She is a mother, wife, daughter, sister, friend, life-long learner and cancer survivor — not necessarily in that order. She writes about her experience with Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma (and its aftermath) at memyselfandlymphoma.com. When she’s not writing, designing or moving, you can find her parenting her 6-year-old twins.
You can find out more about Danielle's design work here.

As always, please rate, subscribe, share etc etc etc this little project of love as much as you can! I really appreciate it so much!

As always, my inbox is open to any comments, feedback or suggestions, drop me a line jogalemovement@gmail.com 

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Website and newsletter sign up: https://jo-gale.com/

Instagram: @jogale.moves

The Move Room: @move.room.hamont

Jo

Welcome to The Thick of It this week. Glad to have you. I’m super excited to have Shanèl Dear on the show today. Shanèl is a fellow movement teacher, but also a speaker and activist based in Toronto, but currently in Montreal. She has been practicing and teaching yoga for over 3 years, she teaches from an anti colonial, body liberating lens and hopes to make class accessible to all bodies and abilities. Her work always centres racialized folk and she tries to create a brave space for all participants to show up their most authentic self. Shanèl is passionate about social justice and a huge advocate for liberating folk from current oppressive realities.

I really love the candour in our conversation today. I think Shanèl is a great voice because she shares with so much truth and levity. Shanèl and I have spoken on panels together before, and also Shanèl was one of my guests on the IGTV chat series I hosted last winter.

Our conversation today loops around a few themes including tokenism in the wellness industry, how the pandemic and virtual has effected the business of yoga and fitness spaces and about how folks can really show up during times like Black history month and do better when it comes to anti-racism.

You can find Shanel on Instagram here

If you wanted to check out the Move with Me event, or Shanèl’s class find tickets here.

As always, my inbox is open to any comments, feedback or suggestions, drop me a line jogalemovement@gmail.com 

Want to know more? 

Check out my stuff!

Website and newsletter sign up: https://jo-gale.com/

Instagram: @jogale.moves

The Move Room: @move.room.hamont

Jo

Hi friends, welcome to the podcast this week. I’m so excited to have  my friend and colleague non-diet nutritionist and recipe developer Fran Allen on The Thick of It today. Our conversation today circles around topics familiar to this show like intuitive eating, body image challenges and creating community for bigger bodies: but Fran and I really dive into our experiences with pregnancy and parenthood on this one. I joked with Fran that this becomes a bit of a “mom talk” but I think there is a lot of this conversation that may be helpful for non parent folks out there who may be feeling burnt out right now. 

A bit about Fran :
Fran Allen, CNP is a non-diet certified Holistic Nutritionist based in Toronto. Her work focuses on intuitive eating, achieving health at every size and dismantling diet culture. She uses her years of professional culinary experience to make meals fun, easy and satisfying. She’s currently taking maternity leave to care for her young daughter. I hope you enjoy this conversation, it really has some great moments of candour between two mamas and entrepreneurs trying to bring little people up in these weird times!

You can find more about her work at http://hellofran.co and follow her on Instagram @hello.fran.allen for daily recipes and inspiration. 

If you are enjoying the show, I would love for you to give it a rating on Apple Podcasts and now you can rate on Spotify podcasts as well! It would mean so, so much to me! 

The next 4 episodes of the season, I am going to create and release with a shorter production window. I’m excited to present conversations more in real time. I’ve learned so much over this first season of podcasting and I’m curious to see where these skills take me, so thanks again for listening.

As always, my inbox is open to any comments, feedback or suggestions, drop me a line jogalemovement@gmail.com 

Want to know more? 

Check out my stuff!

Website and newsletter sign up: https://jo-gale.com/

Instagram: @jogale.moves

The Move Room: @move.room.hamont

This week, Jordan Carrier is on the show: and her insights and stories are truly a balm for these hard, tense days we are going though in early 2022. In this conversation we talk about: the importance of Language for Indigenous communities, her experience growing up in Saskatchewan and then moving to Hamilton, Community and Ceremony and actions people can take to be true allies to Indigenous folks in the countries they live in.

A bit about Jordan in her words: Jordan Carrier a nêhiyaw-iskwêw (Plains Cree Woman), who has lived in Hamilton since 2002. Born and raised in Regina, SK and a member of Piapot First Nation. She is a mom to twin 13-year-olds Mahingan & Nikik. She is a sister, friend, daughter and community Auntie. She has a Diploma from Mohawk College in Native Community Care, Bachelor of Education in Aboriginal Adult Education from Brock University and is currently completing a second degree (Hons BA) in Indigenous Studies at McMaster University. She has worked within the Urban Indigenous Community of Hamilton for 16 years at various organizations, such as De dwa da dehs nye>s Aboriginal Health Centre, Niwasa, and Indigenous Student Services at McMaster. During the summer of 2021 Jordan worked with grassroots folks in the community to create space for grief, ceremony and learning as unmarked graves of Indigenous children were being found across the lands now known as Canada. 

I myself learned so much from this conversation, and I hope you do too. Interested in connecting with Jordan?

Follow her on Instagram at : @mzz.j0rdan

I wanted to say thank you again to Jordan for taking time to chat with me.

Jordan is also a Raven Read ambassador, Raven Reads is an Indigenous subscription box that features award-winning Indigenous content and literature direct to your door step every three months. You can check that out at https://ravenreads.org/.

As always, my inbox is open to any comments, feedback or suggestions, drop me a line jogalemovement@gmail.com 

Want to know more? 

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Website and newsletter sign up: https://jo-gale.com/

Instagram: @jogale.moves

The Move Room: @move.room.hamont

How's it going? Next week I'm excited to start 2022 with a NEW full episode of The Thick Of It, featuring Urban Indigenous Community Advocate Jordan Carrier. But this week I wanted to check in.

As always, my inbox is open to any comments, feedback or suggestions, drop me a line jogalemovement@gmail.com 

Want to know more? 

Check out my stuff!

Website and newsletter sign up: https://jo-gale.com/

Instagram: @jogale.moves

The Move Room: @move.room.hamont

Today on the show, I talk to Jamie Boer (she/her) a Massage Therapist turned entrepreneur and founder of Eastwood Wellness Company in Toronto. Eastwood is a company that focuses on making wellness size inclusive and welcoming for all bodies. We are committed to dismantling diet culture, encouraging self-care, and connecting meaningfully with our community.  We talk about what making your wellness space size inclusive looks like, our personal journeys with body image and how that is reflected in our work and Jamie's entrepreneurship journey.

If you are interested in learning more about Eastwood Wellness Co,  you can visit their website at https://www.eastwoodwellnessco.com/ or visit them on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/eastwoodwellnessco/ . Stay tuned for their highly sought after Self Massage and Couples Massage workshops coming up in February! 

Jamie mentioned coaching with Ashley Baudin you can find them at https://www.ashleybeaudin.com

Hamilton locals/localish, make sure to enter the Instagram Giveaway from The Move Room: @move.room.hamont , The Good Rub @the_good_rub and Good Stuff Pots @good.stuff.pots
The giveaway closes Sunday December 12th! So get on it!

I will be doing a class pass sale BOXING WEEK, for 10 and 5 class passes for my classes at The Move Room as well, so stay connected!

As always, my inbox is open to any comments, feedback or suggestions, drop me a line jogalemovement@gmail.com 

Want to know more? 

Check out my stuff!

Website and newsletter sign up: https://jo-gale.com/

Instagram: @jogale.moves

The Move Room: @move.room.hamont