Running Back to Yourself — Nervous System, Identity & the Mom Who Needs a Mile

Running Back to Yourself — Nervous System, Identity & the Mom Who Needs a Mile

What happens when motherhood completely shifts your identity — and you lose yourself in the process? This week, Lauren and Amanda sit down with Tricia Lesnevich-Callahan, a certified run coach, Boston Marathon qualifier, two-time Ironman finisher, and mom of three, including a 19-year-old daughter with autism. Tricia shares her deeply honest journey — from putting her career dreams on hold, to falling into depression, to finding her way back to herself through running and community. What started as survival became a calling: she now works with moms, especially moms of children with special needs, to help them regulate their nervous systems and reclaim their identity through run-walk programs. We Discuss: * The identity loss that no one prepares you for when you become a special needs caregiver * How running pulled Tricia out of a depression she didn't even realize she was in * Why chronic fight-or-flight is so common for special needs parents — and how rhythmic movement helps regulate it * How racing proved to Tricia she was stronger than she knew — and how that carried her through the hardest days at home * Navigating mom guilt (spoiler: it never fully goes away — but here's how to work through it) * How to start when you're overwhelmed, exhausted, and the idea of running feels impossible * The "fill your bucket" principle — and why you can't give from empty And so much more... 🎙️ Connect with Tricia: Instagram: @trixncor [https://www.instagram.com/trixncor/] (5-minute morning ritual freebie dropping soon — check her bio!) 💛 Loved This Episode? If this conversation resonated with you — or you know someone who has ever lost themselves in a role and wondered how to find their way back — please share it, subscribe, and leave us a review. It helps us reach more women who are ready to come home to themselves. Connect With Us: Lauren Brown | Instagram: @settingthepacenj | Website [https://settingthepacenj.com/] Amanda Gargiulo | Instagram: @amanda.gargiulo | Website [https://www.amandagargiulo.com/] Follow us on Instagram: @empoweredandwell_podcast [https://www.instagram.com/empoweredandwell_podcast] Follow us on YouTube: Empowered Wellness Project [https://www.youtube.com/@EmpoweredWellnessProject]

Summer Without Sabotage: Staying Healthy While Living Your Life

Summer brings vacations, BBQs, beach weekends, travel, restaurant meals, and a break from our normal routines. While these experiences create some of the best memories of the year, they can also leave many people feeling like they have to choose between enjoying life and staying healthy. In this episode of Empowered + Well, we discuss practical, realistic strategies for maintaining your nutrition, movement, and wellness goals while still fully embracing the summer season. We explore why summer often feels challenging from a health perspective, how to navigate travel and dining out without guilt, ways to stay active when your routine changes, and the mindset shifts that help you avoid the all-or-nothing thinking that often derails progress. We Discuss: * Why Summer Can Feel Challenging for Your Health Goals * Nutrition While Traveling * Eating Out Without Guilt * Staying Active even when its the last thing on your mind And so much more... 💛 Loved This Episode? If this conversation resonated with you — or you know someone navigating the Summer season — please share it, subscribe, and leave us a review. It helps us reach more women who are ready to come home to themselves. Connect With Us: Lauren Brown | Instagram: @settingthepacenj | Website [https://settingthepacenj.com/] Amanda Gargiulo | Instagram: @amanda.gargiulo | Website [https://www.amandagargiulo.com/] Follow us on YouTube: Empowered Wellness Project [https://www.youtube.com/@EmpoweredWellnessProject]

Return to Form: Pilates, Pelvic Health, and Rebuilding Trust With Your Body

What does it actually mean to feel at home in your body — and what does it take to get back there? Whether you've been through an injury, a health event, a pregnancy, a life transition, or just a long season of putting yourself last — there's a very real experience of looking in the mirror and not quite recognizing yourself. Today's guest has built her entire practice around that moment. Rachel Robertson is a kinesiologist, Pilates instructor, and founder of Return to Form. She competed at the World Kettlebell Lifting Championships representing Team Canada, and she works at the intersection of physio and real life — helping people rebuild trust with their bodies in a way that actually sticks. This conversation went deep fast, and both of us left it thinking differently about our own bodies. Whether you're an endurance athlete navigating injury, a woman in the thick of perimenopause, or just someone who's felt a little lost in themselves lately — this one is for you. 🔑 What We Cover * What kinesiology actually is — and how Rachel applies it alongside Pilates in her practice * How Rachel's own injuries (yes, plural — including being hit by two separate motor vehicles) shaped her empathy and approach as a practitioner * The origin story behind the name "Return to Form" — and why it's about bringing people back to themselves * Classical vs. contemporary vs. creative Pilates — and why the foundations always matter * How trauma and life history show up in the body through posture, pain, and movement patterns * Pelvic floor health for every woman — why it matters whether you've had a baby or not, and what perimenopause does to those tissues * The blueberry cue (yes, really) — and why cueing is everything in movement re-education * What nervous system regulation has to do with choosing Pilates over strength training * The first thing Rachel does with a new client — and why goals don't always match what the body actually needs * Why movement creates confidence — not the other way around * What she'd tell herself when she opened her studio: "It's going to happen" 💛 Loved This Episode? If this conversation resonated with you — or you know someone navigating their own return to form — please share it, subscribe, and leave us a review. It helps us reach more women who are ready to come home to themselves. 🔗 Connect With Rachel: Website: returntoform.ca [https://returntoform.ca] Instagram: @returntoformkinesiology [https://www.instagram.com/returntoformkinesiology/] Facebook: Return to Form Kinesiology & Pilates [https://www.facebook.com/ReturntoFormKinesiologyPilates] Connect With Us: Lauren Brown | Instagram: @settingthepacenj | Website [https://settingthepacenj.com/] Amanda Gargiulo | Instagram: @amanda.gargiulo | Website [https://www.amandagargiulo.com/] Follow us on YouTube: Empowered Wellness Project [https://www.youtube.com/@EmpoweredWellnessProject]

Eat the Potato Salad: Your No-Guilt Guide to Memorial Day Weekend

Memorial Day weekend is here — and we want you to enjoy every single second of it. The barbecues, the s'mores, the potato salad, the drinks with friends — all of it. Because here's what we know after years of coaching real women through real life: restriction doesn't work, guilt doesn't serve you, and one weekend does not undo the work you've been putting in. In this episode, we're sharing our top 10 tips for navigating the long weekend — not to keep you "on track" in the rigid sense, but to help you stay connected to yourself so you actually feel good when Tuesday rolls around. No white-knuckling it at the snack table. No skipping meals to "save room." No punishing yourself Monday morning for what you ate Saturday night. Just practical, no-shame strategies from two coaches who believe you can have it all — the fun and the feels-good. 🔑 What We Cover * Why you should never save your calories for the party (and what happens when you do) * How to front-load movement so it feels like part of the celebration * Hydration and electrolyte strategies for a hot, active weekend * The perspective shift that makes all of it easier: it's one weekend, not a defining moment 💛 Loved This Episode? If this gave you the permission slip you needed — share it with a friend who's already stressing about the weekend. Subscribe, rate, and leave us a review. It helps us reach more women who deserve this conversation. Connect With Us: Lauren Brown | Instagram: @settingthepacenj | Website [https://settingthepacenj.com/] Amanda Gargiulo | Instagram: @amanda.gargiulo | Website [https://www.amandagargiulo.com/] Follow us on YouTube: Empowered Wellness Project [https://www.youtube.com/@EmpoweredWellnessProject]

The Gap and The Gain: You're Further Along Than You Think

In this episode, Lauren and Amanda dive into one of the most perspective-shifting books in Lauren's library — The Gap and The Gain by Dan Sullivan and Dr. Benjamin Hardy — and break down why so many high-achieving women are stuck feeling like they're never enough, never far enough along, and never quite hitting the mark. The truth? You're measuring yourself wrong. And it's costing you more than you realize. Lauren brought this book to Amanda because it moved her enough to go live on Instagram about it — and once you hear the core concept, you'll understand why. This is the conversation for every woman who finishes a hard week of training, a strong month of eating well, or a season of showing up — and still feels like she fell short. This episode will change the way you measure your progress. For good. 🔑 What We Cover * What "the Gap" is — and why living there keeps you stuck no matter how hard you work * What "the Gain" is — and why it's actually the more accurate picture of your progress * Why women in particular are wired to live in the Gap (and how social media makes it worse) * The simple nightly practice that rewires how your brain experiences progress * How to catch yourself in the Gap and redirect — before it derails your motivation * Why comparing your chapter three to someone else's chapter twenty will always make you feel behind 💛 Loved This Episode? If this conversation resonated with you — or you know someone who needs to hear it — please share it, subscribe, and leave us a review. It helps us reach more women who are working hard and deserve to feel it. 📖 Mentioned in This Episode: * The Gap and The Gain by Dan Sullivan & Dr. Benjamin Hardy Connect With Us: Lauren Brown | Instagram: @settingthepacenj | Website [https://settingthepacenj.com/] Amanda Gargiulo | Instagram: @amanda.gargiulo | Website [https://www.amandagargiulo.com/] Follow us on YouTube: Empowered Wellness Project [https://www.youtube.com/@EmpoweredWellnessProject]