As the first season of United Bodies comes to a close, here’s a conversation that will buoy us all by proving what’s possible.

We’ve been talking about building the world we need -- be that through destigmatizing the hard stuff in our life through humor, liberating ourselves through movement, choosing to write a new story for our lives, finding bodily pleasure, or reconciling our spirituality. Today we are bringing all of those threads together in a conversation about accessing joy amidst the deepest of suffering, amidst any circumstance even while staring down our own mortality, because ultimately, that is true freedom.

Choosing and experiencing joy can be difficult for so many reasons and we will address those -- be it our knack for comparison or shame, or our resistance or fear of embodiment and presence. Our guest today, Andrea Gibson, proves that navigating these forces are worth it to experience the fullness that joy can bring to our lives. Andrea is Colorado’s Poet Laureate and one of the most celebrated and influential spoken word poets of our time. Their poems center around LGBTQ issues, gender, feminism, mental health, and social justice. The winner of the first Women’s World Poetry Slam, Andrea is the author of seven award winning books, most recently “You Better Be Lightning". Andrea joins us to share the experience of feeling joy amidst life’s greatest challenges.

Check out this episode’s landing page at MsMagazine.com for a full transcript and more.

For more, follow:

@AndreaGibson

@KendallCiesemier

@Ms_Magazine