Ellavation Podcast: Recent Episodes
Megan Lancaster
My name is Megan, and I am fortunate to have the opportunity to be the host of this amazing Ellavation community. I started the Ellavation Podcast with the goal of elevating the stories of every-day women. Women who have experienced hard things, yet chose to embark on a journey to create a new set confidence in who they are, what they deserve, and what they are capable of, their ultimate version of self love. Their stories are meant to act as a point of inspiration for us all, consisting of heartbreak, eating disorders, depression, stigmas, stereotypes, rejection, racism, abuse, and so much more. I believe that our pain, brokenness, and trauma are what uniquely unite us, because we have all experienced them in one way or another! And that is why it is my mission to ELLAVATE the beauty that is around us, the beauty that is us. Our Stories!
Georgie Morley started the Chasing Joy Podcast with the intent of expanding her own intuition, purpose, and wellness, but through her podcasting experiences, she found herself questioning the exact journey she set out to conquer. Ultimately, she realized a very critical point in the world of self-growth and wellness: the fix it quick mentality does work! New diets, running routines, skin care routines, candle lit meditation, you name it! She consistently sought after the new wellness “fads,” thinking that adding in a new method would solve the continuing deep dissatisfaction that remained within herself. Now, after taking a step back from the wellness world, she has a new point of view - rather than continually seeking advice from others, she makes it a priority to cherish her life and those around her, rather than focusing on consistently improving herself. Her new mentality is based in balance, rather than perfection, letting go who she thinks she needs to be and accepting who she is today. She brings a vulnerable perspective on the world of self growth, recognizing that there is no one set path to finding joy. I am so excited to share her story with you all, and with that, let’s get Ellavated!
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Megan Lancaster: @meganrlancaster
Ellavation Podcast: @ellavationpodcast
When I first started interacting with Eve around #breakthebond, I really had no idea what trauma bonds were. But through conversations with Eve, I started to realize that they are much more prominent than originally perceived. Experiential trauma’s, big or small, impact all of us, but sometimes we fail to see their harm until we reach a complete breaking point, that car crash moment as I like to call it. This is exactly what happened to Eve. After two abusive relationships, she realized a pattern existed in her own life, a pattern that diminished her self worth, resulting in deep trauma bonds with her abusers. Not until she decided to dive deep into the science behind trauma bonds did she recognize their impact on her life. And through her own self discovery and healing journey, she realized that she had the opportunity to bring her learnings to others too! Today she is a mother, a coach, a mentor, a friend, and someone who just honestly has the most gracious listening ear. Her journey is amazing, and I am hoping her past will inspire you to take a look at yours. And with that, let’s get Ellavated!
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Megan Lancaster: @meganrlancaster
Ellavation Podcast: @ellavationpodcast
Today's episode reveals the gaping holes I believe exist in how we are taught to recognize and grow healthy relationships, or the flip side of that, recognize the signs of a toxic relationship and be confident enough in ourselves to walk away #selflove. That is why I decided it was about time we brought on relationship coach Erica Turner (@your.relationship.reset). Erica, like many of our other podcast speakers has a story of her own, one that includes those exact toxic relationship cycles we are going to be talking about. Erica experienced her own childhood traumas that ended up bleeding into her relationships, accepting anyone who showed her love as she looked relationships to validate herself. She experienced many toxic relationships before realizing the root of the problem, resulting in her co-dependent nature. Through her journey in finding self love, she realized she had the opportunity to help others too, which is exactly what she commits to today. I am excited for her to share her story as well as the plethora of take-aways she has for you all. And with that, let’s get Ellavated!
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Megan Lancaster: @meganrlancaster
Ellavation Podcast: @ellavationpodcast
Have you ever stood in the mirror either pre or post sex when those body shame thoughts comes rushing in, thinking to yourself “how can this be sexy?” I know I have, and I am sure many other have as well. Over time, those negative thoughts usually progress into other areas of our life – until we only see and feel dissatisfaction. Speaker, podcast host, and confidence influencer Nicole Lemke (_nicolelemke) was there, surrounded in her fears, tears, and depression, while also dealing with the struggles of infertility, which made her hate her body even more. Until one day, she finally made the critical decision to do something about it. She committed herself to seeing something different in the mirror, and she flexed that muscle over and over again until finally she no longer saw a woman she hated, but a woman she was proud to be! How much time did it take? 525,600 minutes! Only joking, but still, she put in the work and that takes resilience. She learned how to love herself like she never had before, finding a new sense of sexiness in the bedroom along the way. Now, she is making waves in the hearts of women who are struggling just as she did, and continuing to speak out against diet culture with her SexySaturdayPodcast. I am so excited to share her story with all of you, and with that, let’s get Ellavated!
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Megan Lancaster: @meganrlancaster
Ellavation Podcast: @ellavationpodcast
There is something about the act of drinking alcohol that whispers sweet validation in our ears. It says something about us- we can have fun, we can relax, we can enjoy our lives! Yet, coming off of the swings of college drinking, many of us find ourselves in intense drinking cycles without realizing that there is another choice. For years, this was Karolina’s existence. Moving through life just to make it to the weekend, grabbing a drink as it hit 5pm. Her job, her life, seemed filled with never-ending drinking occasions, so much so, that she felt lost, apathetic, and without purpose. Only until she made the very critical decision to drop alcohol did she realize she was made for something more, something bigger than she could ever have imagined. Today, she is a coach, a speaker, and a bestselling author (@euphoric.af) and I am so excited to share her story as it may inspire you to take another look at the way you lean on alcohol in order to seek validation, remove boredom, or just escape from your current situation. She has some great takeaways from finding a new way without ROSE. And with that, let’s get Ellavated!
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Megan Lancaster: @meganrlancaster
Ellavation Podcast: @ellavationpodcast
In this episode, I am taking us all the way to London! To meet and hear the story of self-love coach Rosie Leach. When I first started interacting with Rosie (@selflovecoachingwithrosies), I could immediately feel the light that she is trying to spread through her own pitfalls. Her journey in breaking free from the shackles of perfection embodies the beauty of acceptance and forgiveness – accepting the woman she was meant to be and forgiving herself for living a life controlled by anxieties and fear, rather than self love. Today, she embodies a level of trust and hope built upon the tools she practiced over and over again, so much so, that now she gets to teach others too! I am so excited to share her journey and her mission in bringing self-love coaching to so many others, and with that, let’s get Ellavated!
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Megan Lancaster: @meganrlancaster
Ellavation Podcast: @ellavationpodcast
In this episode, I am passing the mic to two beautiful and inspiring women whose stories continue to hold commonality amongst the masses. My dear friends Emily and Michele both experienced the destruction of eating disorders. Many of us at an early age develop this transfixion of what a woman's body is supposed to look like to be considered desirable, successful, achievable, likable, etc. It’s sick and twisted, and honestly highlights how control and shame are major strongholds in our lives. But we are here now, so what are we going to do about it? Our goal is to continue pushing the conversation – to be a community of healing – to act as another voice in the good fight so that hopefully one day, the problem no longer exists. I am excited for you to hear Michele and Emily’s stories, because their healing processes demonstrate the importance of time, therapy, trust, and community as you go through change journeys such as they did. Vulnerability and rawness are ahead, and with that, let’s get Ellavated!
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Megan Lancaster: @meganrlancaster
Ellavation Podcast: @ellavationpodcast
In this episode, we will be speaking with someone who is honestly of the most profound leaders I know. My friend and past teammate Kelechi is a true mover and shaker. As the daughter of Nigerian immigrant parents, she had to learn how to fight for herself at an early age, because nothing was going to be easily given to her as a first generation, black woman. Everything she is, and everything she has achieved, has been through straight grit and growth. And to say the least it was not an easy journey. Tears, heartache, pain were ever present, yet she battled on. She turned her trials into blessings, living with a true FOSO mentality. Her experiences forced her to grow, reflect and embody a self-love early on in her life, and as you will see, the result is that now, she has this unique sense of conviction, the type of conviction you can only dream about. Today, she is an activist, educator, and soon to be lawyer, someone who is going to continue fighting the black women fight, with grace, truth, and a whole a lot faith. I am so excited to walk through her journey with you all, because it honestly represents the beauty and strength of a black woman, something that I feel needs to be shouted and shared every damn day, and with that, let’s get Ellavated.
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Megan Lancaster: @meganrlancaster
Ellavation Podcast: @ellavationpodcast
Remember being a kid and dreaming of the person you hoped to be one day- a teacher, an actress, a lawyer, an astronaut, a doctor. Common, we all did it. We imagined what our future lives would look like, yet for many of us, those dreams soon our sole identity. My friend Jess’s identity sat in her dream to be a doctor. She shaped her life around that path, yet life through her fast one and said, yep sorry, not today. What was she supposed to do with that? Who was she supposed to be? Being a doctor was her life. Her change journey consists of learning how to unshackle herself from this identity in order to become the woman she was destined to be. It was a hard and painful process, but it serves as an important reminder that we are not just one thing, we are an entire box full of things! So, as we move through Jess’s story, ask yourself, is there anything in your life that you are tying your identity too? We all do it, so don’t be ashamed. We are here to remind you that you are not alone. And with that, let’s get Ellavated.
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Megan Lancaster: @meganrlancaster
Ellavation Podcast: @ellavationpodcast
In this episode, I will be speaking with an old teammate and good friend of mine, someone who wishes to remain anonymous. Her story is special to me because of its rawness as well as it’s familiarity. As a college athlete myself, I am uniquely aware of the body image dysmorphia that exists within the female athlete community. I lived it myself. We are conditioned to assess ourselves every day, because that is how we become the best, we live by our performances. And thus, our perceptions of our bodies change. We learn to tear apart the very parts of us that allow us to be athletes to begin with. It’s sick and twisted, but it’s real.
Even more than just the athlete community, I cannot think of one woman who at one time or another has not struggled with body image issues. Carb cutting turns to anorexia, anorexia to bulimia without you even realizing it. I am telling you, it happens all the fucking time, and it is definitely a problem that needs to be talked about. So, I hope the rawness and vulnerability of this episode inspires you to have conversations with the women in your life, because we all need to support each other as we continue to transform the perceived body image that a woman is supposed to have. That perception needs to be slashed and I’m ready to join in the fight, so I hope you are too. As we move through this story, what I hope you walk away with is how she learned how to release the control and found a way to love herself again without the identity of being a collegiate athlete. Today, she is a musician and physician, a beautiful combo that allows her to see life in a really unique way. Listen to a song she wrote at the end of the podcast! And with that, let’s get Ellavated!
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Ella Rae James: @ellaraejames
Ellavation Podcast: @ellavationpodcast
In this episode, I will be speaking with a good friend and colleague of mine, someone whose power and passion continues to remind me that it is ok to go against the flow of society, to be different, to feel like you stand out. My friend Katie essentially turned her life upside down to follow her dreams, a path that was very different from what she felt the world was telling her to do. Marriage and motherhood were her original destination, but now she is shattering the ceiling of what a woman can do in her career. Confident, determined, and full of self-love, I truly believe that Katie embodies the presence of a woman who knows who she is, what she wants, and what she brings to the table. The world’s perception is no longer a part of her plans, it has been forcefully asked to leave, and with that, let’s get Ellavated.
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Megan Lancaster: @meganrlancaster
Ellavation Podcast: @ellavationpodcast
In today’s episode, I will be speaking with someone who is honestly one of the most important people in my life. She is my sister, my pinky, my best friend. Growing up together, Devin and I have remained uniquely involved in each other's life, so her story is very special to me, because for a lot of it, I was there. I felt her pain, I witnessed her resilience, and now I get to admire her growth. Devin has had to move through some deep pains in her life; a distant father and hurtful relationships resulted in her believing that she was really just not worthy of love, especially God’s love. Over time, she continued to seek love in all the wrong places, hoping that those people would fill this hole, yet she learned her brokenness could only be healed by her. She had to learn to love herself, every single part of herself – the good, the bad, the ugly. And she practiced that self love again and again, releasing the shame, the hurt, the pride. She has discovered what it really means to be loved by a man, but more importantly what it means to be loved by God. Her energy, her light are ever present, and I couldn’t be more proud of her. And with that, let’s get Ellavated!
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Megan Lancaster: @meganrlancaster
Ellavation Podcast: @ellavationpodcast
This episode is a great one! Hosted with my dear friend and soul sister Shruthi who continues to shine her light in my life. Shruthi is a first-generation Indian woman who like many others, went through a journey to understand where she stands in this world, with one foot in her Indian heritage and one foot in American culture – and this in balance led to deep layers of shame building up in her soul – shame of her past, her very being. What I hope you all take away from our discussion today is recognizing how many of us have that voice in our head telling us that we are not good enough. Telling us to do more, be more. That the world will not like our truest self. Shruthi has found unique ways to conquer those whispers, and I am excited to share her story with you. And with that, let’s get Ellavated!
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Megan Lancaster: @meganrlancaster
Ellavation Podcast: @ellavationpodcast
In this episode, not only do I get to catch up with a good friend of mine, but also a fellow entrepreneur, someone whose determination and self-acceptance continues to push me. Kiara's story is multi-faceted, as are most, but specifically hers’ involves the combination of queerness and blackness. Growing up in a family that elicited fear and shame towards gayness, Kiara had to learn how to set the necessary boundaries to truly sink into herself, to love the parts of her that she felt pulled to push away. Through her struggles, I hope to profess to you the importance of setting boundaries and distancing yourself from those who seek to shame you, even if they are people who you truly love and care about. And with that, let’s get Ellavated!
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Megan Lancaster: @meganrlancaster
Ellavation Podcast: @ellavationpodcast
Welcome Everyone! I am so excited for today’s discussion, because not only is this our first episode, but our interviewee is absolutely FIRE. My friend Steph is one of the most powerful and audacious people I know.
Steph’s story is a mixture of things from learning how to sink into her bi-racial background to learning to exist in a way that allowed her to be her truest self. For years her fears enabled abuse, trauma, and so many layers of unhappiness but now she is no longer silenced or caged and her beauty and presence rest in her determination to be free from other’s perceptions. I am so excited for what she has to share with you, and with that, let’s get Ellavated!
Follow:
Megan Lancaster: @meganrlancaster
Ellavation Podcast: @ellavationpodcast
The Ellavation Podcast was created to inspire healing through community. Each episode is hosted by writer and entrepreneur Ella Rae James, with the goal of elevating the stories of every-day women who have experienced hard things, yet amidst their pain chose to embark on a journey to create a new set confidence in who they are, what they deserve, and what they are capable of - their ultimate redemption story.
Their stories consist of heartbreak, eating disorders, depression, stigmas, stereotypes, rejection, racism, abuse, and so much more. Each episode will be shaped around their story, what they learned, how they grew.
We believe that our pain, brokenness, and trauma are what uniquely unite us, because we have all experienced them in one way or another. But even more so, our healing and self-discovery processes are the reminder that together, we are so much stronger than we are alone.
**So, if you are ready to be Ellavated, tune in and follow our social media channels as well!
Ella Rae James: @ellaraejames**
Ellavation Podcast: @ellavationpodcst