Chantal is a mom, physical therapist, and author of SETTLED: How to Find Calm in a Stress-Inducing World. She is also the founder of the wellness company Body Insight Inc. She holds degrees in psychology and kinesiology from Occidental College and a master’s in physical therapy from Mount Saint Mary’s College in Los Angeles. Chantal is certified in Pilates, a practitioner of the Safe and Sound Protocol, and writer, producer, and star of the exercise and rehabilitation videos Strong Knees and Pain-Free at Work. Chantal helps people find relief from stress using a body-focused approach. She believes that stress fluency can make the world a better place.Listen in to hear Chantal share: Her stress quadrant model and how we exist on the stress matrix at all times Why people internalize stress as a sign of weakness - and the cultural paradox of hustle culture + showing stress being a sign of weakness How mothers internalize stress and need to manage stress differently than people who aren’t moms The importance of normalizing the stress that mothers carry and understanding how stress impacts the ability to be patient and empathetic How rushing and “hurry up-ing” creates dysregulation between our brains and bodies How moms and dads experience stress differently and how same-sex parents experience stress differently  Counterintuitive, super simple, super quick (30 seconds) tools for self-regulation  Links mentioned: Book: SETTLED: How to Find Calm in a Stress-Inducing World  Connect with Chantal: https://www.bodyinsight.com/ Chantal on IG Chantal on FB Resources and articles from Chantal: https://www.bodyinsight.com/press-articles We love the sponsors that make this show possible! You can always find all the special deals and codes for all our current sponsors on our website: https://shamelessmom.com/sponsorInterested in becoming a sponsor of the Shameless Mom Academy? Email our sales team at sales@adalystmedia.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Giving yourself permission to release a few unconventional things might just make motherhood more manageable in 2024.  And, when one area of your life is more manageable, all areas of your life start to feel more manageable.  Society rewards moms for aiming high, hustling hard, and achieving at every turn. I’m going to invite you to get a little unconventional in 2024. Allow yourself to be average.  An average mom.  An average employee. An average volunteer.  If you are a lifelong high achiever, I probably just lost you. You know you were not made for mediocrity. I get it.  I’m not either. But, you also weren’t made to meet the extremely high demands that the world puts on mothers and women day after day after day - for eternity. You were made to bend without breaking. My hope is that this episode helps you check yourself so you can see the ways you might be able to bend in 2024 so you don’t ultimately break.  I’ve been bending a lot more over the last couple of years - sometimes by choice and sometimes by unchosen circumstances. Releasing constant high expectations, rigidity, and other people’s needs & norms has been a game changer.  In this episode, I invite you to release 4 things you maybe haven’t considered before.  You might raise an eyebrow at first, but I’m pretty sure you’ll thank me later.  We love the sponsors that make this show possible! You can always find all the special deals and codes for all our current sponsors on our website: https://shamelessmom.com/sponsorInterested in becoming a sponsor of the Shameless Mom Academy? Email our sales team at sales@adalystmedia.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Megan Flatt is a business growth strategist on a mission to make entrepreneurship easier. She believes you can have a thriving business, a community, and a life — and you don’t need more time, you need more focus. She’s the founder of Focus Sessions and the author of Focused: Reclaim Your Time, Ditch Overwhelm, and Do Less Better.  Besides helping women and business owners focus, Megan is obsessed with lattes, post-it notes, and romance novels. Outside of work, you will find her focus turned to her husband and two kids, probably near the water, in the San Francisco Bay Area. Megan and I met when we were in a business coaching group together years ago.  You know when you meet someone who is annoyed by the same things as you and loves the same things as you - magic, right?!  That’s Megan and me.  We don’t talk often enough.  But, whenever we have the chance to reconnect it’s gold.  You’ll hear that in this conversation today!Listen in to hear Megan share: Book: Focused: Reclaim Your Time, Ditch Overwhelm, and Do Less Better How building a business as new mom led her to see the danger of chronic hustle culture for women and moms How hustle culture and norms around productivity & time management are a product of the Patriarchy Her philosophy of “do less better” Her process of getting into the focus flow when she leads focus sessions How to reframe and reclaim your power in your boundaries around volunteering The science of focus: focus is a skill that can be learned The importance of understanding your hormones in order to hone your focus Links mentioned: Connect with Megan and try a complimentary Focus Session: focus-sessions.com Learn more about Megan and her work: letscollective.co Get Megan’s book: Focused: Reclaim Your Time, Ditch Overwhelm, and Do Less Better  Megan on IG: https://www.instagram.com/meganflatt/ Focus Sessions on IG: https://www.instagram.com/focussessions/ We love the sponsors that make this show possible! You can always find all the special deals and codes for all our current sponsors on our website: https://shamelessmom.com/sponsorInterested in becoming a sponsor of the Shameless Mom Academy? Email our sales team at sales@adalystmedia.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Are you the kind of mother who keeps adding more and more things to your plate without giving any consideration to moving certain things OFF the plate to make space for the new stuff?  Do you just keep piling and piling and piling until things start to fall off the plate, causing you great anxiety, or the entire plate breaks from the pressure and weight of too many things?Ahhh, the overwhelm of motherhood. Something I’ve noticed - especially among super driven, perfectionistic, people pleasing moms - is that we really struggle to deprioritize anything when certain things need to be prioritized.  Instead, we just keep prioritizing alllll the things.  Like, we want to prove we can handle all the pressure.  We want that gold star for holding it all together - even in times of crisis.  We want the extra credit.  110%.  A++.  “I’m fine”, you tell yourself and everyone around you.  But you’re not. And that’s ok.When moms are going through something tough, a tough day or week or season, you have the opportunity to do things differently.  You don’t have to keep doing all the things.  In fact, the universe may be screaming at you to STOP DOING ALL THE THINGS.  In this episode, I talk through how to shift your mindset and your action steps in order to keep going without drowning in tough times.  If you feel like you need permission to shift your expectations, say no, hold boundaries, take space, and let yourself laugh in the face of adversity, this episode is for you.We love the sponsors that make this show possible! You can always find all the special deals and codes for all our current sponsors on our website: https://shamelessmom.com/sponsorInterested in becoming a sponsor of the Shameless Mom Academy? Email our sales team at sales@adalystmedia.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Laura has been involved in the entertainment industry for over 30 years as a writer, Producer, and entrepreneur.  She is the author of over 60 books and a staggering 21 New York Times bestsellers.  Most recently, Laura co-directed, produced, and wrote the award-winning documentary, Anxious Nation, her first feature, focused on the crisis of anxiety in America, especially its impact on our youth and their families.Anxious Nation is a deep dive into the hidden crises burdening our youth. Inspired by her own daughter’s battle with anxiety, Laura recognized the broader, global implications of this emotional turmoil, and Anxious Nation was born. The film unravels the rise in anxiety rates among our nation’s youth, especially post-pandemic, emphasizing the undeniable link between mental health and academic commitment. The documentary provides parents not just insight into this alarming trend but also equips them with practical strategies to tackle these unprecedented challenges.Listen in to hear Laura share:Her journey to becoming a single mom by choiceHow she recognized that her daughter needed support for her anxietyHow we treat medical conditions in children with urgency but not mental health conditionsThe stark data around girls and mental health and the massive shift in data pointing to teen girls' mental health struggles, consistent sadness, hopelessness, and suicidality - that we absolutely cannot ignoreThe importance of sharing diverse stories around anxiety - culturally, socioeconomically, at all ages and developmental stagesWhat you can do right now to support your child’s mental health even if you’re on a waitlist to access servicesHow to help your child channel their anxious energyLinks mentioned: Anxious Nation on IG  Watch Anxious Nation and get on the Anxious Nation Newsletter: https://anxiousnation.com/ Book: The Anxiety Audit by Lynn Lyons Book: The Conscious Parent by Dr. Shefali Tsabary We love the sponsors that make this show possible! You can always find all the special deals and codes for all our current sponsors on our website: https://shamelessmom.com/sponsorInterested in becoming a sponsor of the Shameless Mom Academy? Email our sales team at sales@adalystmedia.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I’ve been very aware over the last few years how tempting it is to dub each year as a “dumpster fire”. I definitely don’t want to negate or bypass all the incredibly difficult things we have all been through collectively and individually over the last few years. But, I do think we do ourselves a disservice when we embrace an entire year as being awful.  In our house, it has been one of our most trying years as my husband has been laid off for over 6 months. But, it’s also been a year of many unexpected gifts as so many people have been incredibly thoughtful and generous to our family.  For the rest of my life, when I think back on 2023, I will never forget how awful his previous employer was AND how many sweet moments came as we navigated this wildly uncertain time as a family.Both/and.  Always.One of the most powerful things you can do as you close out one year and prepare to embark upon another is to take a few intentional steps to reflect back before you plan ahead.  In this episode, I walk you through the system I have used over the years as I have coached tons of Shameless Moms, business coaching clients, and more recently, corporate teams through this process.  This year was probably pretty messy for you at times.  That seems to be how the world works anymore.  Just constantly PRETTY MESSY.  And, I know in that mess you grew, maybe even thrived at times.  I’m willing to bet you also did more, learned more, and developed your skills and mindset more than you’ve given yourself credit for, which perfectly positions you to go after every single thing you want in 2024.We love the sponsors that make this show possible! You can always find all the special deals and codes for all our current sponsors on our website: https://shamelessmom.com/sponsorInterested in becoming a sponsor of the Shameless Mom Academy? Email our sales team at sales@adalystmedia.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Author and memoirist, Nefertiti Austin writes about the erasure of diverse voices in motherhood in the #1 Amazon bestseller Motherhood So White: A Memoir of Race, Gender and Parenting in America. Nefertiti's work around this topic has appeared in the New York Times, Washington Post, The Nation, Romper, Adoptive Families magazine, Parents Magazine, SheMedia and countless others. She has appeared on numerous podcasts and radio programs including “The Today Show”, and multiple NPR outlets. Lately, she’s writing about raising her neurologically diverse daughter and jokes that adolescence is no match for menopause.Most importantly, Nefertiti is the proud adoptive Shameless Mom of two children and two Shipoos - Monsieur Lafayette and Siddhartha. Nef and I connected through a mutual friend and two time SMA guest, Debbie Reber. Debbie was kind enough to introduce us and Nef was generous enough to say yes to my invitation to come on the show.Listen in to hear Nefertiti share: What Black adoption looks like compared to typical white adoption Her intentional journey of building her family as a single adoptive mom How race and gender factor into parenting neurologically diverse children How having a neurologically diverse child changed her life in ways she didn’t see coming How she has had to explore her own triggers when it comes to her daughter's behaviors How the murder of Trayvon Martin became a wake-up call for her responsibility of raising a Black son What she wants white parents to know about how Black parents or parents of Black children parent from a place of fear What visible allyship feels for Black parents and children and how white parents can be more assertive, if note aggressive, in their allyship Links mentioned: Connect with Nefertiti: Nefertitiaustin.com Get Nef’s Book: Motherhood So White: A Memoir of Race, Gender and Parenting in America Nefertiti on IG Nefertiti on FB Nefertiti on X We love the sponsors that make this show possible! You can always find all the special deals and codes for all our current sponsors on our website: https://shamelessmom.com/sponsorInterested in becoming a sponsor of the Shameless Mom Academy? Email our sales team at sales@adalystmedia.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Practicing gratitude is not intended to be another chore on your list. It is intended to bring you emotional ease, even joy, as you navigate any given day. It is intended to be a reliable support as you navigate tough moments or tough seasons. And, it’s intended to help you see what is possible if you’re paying attention.I have had gratitude practices that felt a little chore-ish in nature. They were still valuable, but they didn’t stick long-term. They did, however, teach me how to quickly and easily center gratitude in sticky moments, which has proven invaluable at times.I have also had gratitude practices that have brought (and still bring) me immense joy. Knowing I can lean into these any time I need them feels like a superpower.Mostly, knowing how to access gratitude has provided a grounding and rootedness that has shifted how I see the world, how I show up in the world, and how I interact with the world. And, I’m starting to see how it’s shifting how my child shows up and interacts with the world too, which is pretty great.In this episode, we will talk through ways to integrate a variety of gratitude practices to help you find a good “fit” for you so you can feel grounded and find joy in hard moments.We love the sponsors that make this show possible! You can always find all the special deals and codes for all our current sponsors on our website: https://shamelessmom.com/sponsorInterested in becoming a sponsor of the Shameless Mom Academy? Email our sales team at sales@adalystmedia.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Julie Ciardi is a business & mindset coach for women. Julie helps overwhelmed entrepreneurs create a plan to become CEOs and design their dream businesses. Julie is uniquely positioned to help women start or grow businesses.Julie spent 20 years in a Fortune 50 company as a sales and marketing vice-president. She has also started & grown her own successful businesses. Julie opened a brick & mortar women's boutique taking it to 6 figures in 4 months. She also grew a network marketing business and became a top 2% leader. Ultimately, Julie sold & exited those businesses to build her current coaching business for women. She is on a mission to help women wake up on Monday mornings loving what they are about to do.Julie was a past guest on the SMA. I loved our initial conversation years ago and was so excited when we had the opportunity to make this second conversation. I’ve watched Julie grow and evolve over the years and I’ve been dying to talk to her about it all - on mic. So, here we are! Listen in to hear Julie share: The power of going first in facing a fear or stepping into vulnerability The identity transformation she found in deciding to go gray and how it has deeply impacted her life over the last 3 years The lie she was told about having to “stand out” when trying to build a business How she realized it was time to pivot at various points in her career How she did things her own way in her 20-year career as an IBM executive  Why you must OWN YOUR NARRATIVE if you want to do things your way The importance of choosing to live by design vs living by default Her NOW Goal® Formula: (T+F)A3 = R The Knowing/Doing Gap and why we tend to get stuck there for so long Links mentioned: Connect with Julie: www.julieciardi.com Julie on IG Julie’s Podcast: Brand Book: The Top 5 Regrets of the Dying We love the sponsors that make this show possible! You can always find all the special deals and codes for all our current sponsors on our website: https://shamelessmom.com/sponsorInterested in becoming a sponsor of the Shameless Mom Academy? Email our sales team at sales@adalystmedia.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

​​Isn’t it funny (and not-so-funny) how we let our thoughts take up precious real estate in our head AS IF THEY ARE FACTS and each one is worthy and deserving of space?!  Your brain should not be an equal-opportunity employer. Not all thoughts are welcome. Not all thoughts deserve space. Our brain’s ability to conflate thoughts with facts is something we must be keenly aware of.  You suck. You’re the only one who can’t seem to figure this out.You’re not ready. It’s too hard. You’ll never make it. You’re not as smart as… strong as… witty as… qualified as… organized as… successful as… All of these = thoughts. Not facts. Yet, boy oh boy do we give them prime real estate.  The things we would never EVER say to others are the things we say to ourselves and then we unequivocally believe them as if they are facts.  Problematic much???In this episode, we talk through how to: Stop telling yourself trash (lies) you wouldn’t ever tell other people Start catching your default thoughts that are not true and are likely to cause harm Evaluate your thoughts objectively and rationally Ask yourself essential questions to discern thoughts from facts Find evidence that supports facts and shuts down rotten thoughts We love the sponsors that make this show possible! You can always find all the special deals and codes for all our current sponsors on our website: https://shamelessmom.com/sponsorInterested in becoming a sponsor of the Shameless Mom Academy? Email our sales team at sales@adalystmedia.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices