In this special mini episode of Outside the Square, hosts Fiona and Josephine catch up with listeners about exciting changes ahead. After a brief hiatus, they share news about their evolving personal lives and the podcast's future. Josephine reveals her decision to step back from the podcast due to her upcoming baby, which has prompted a deep reflection and shift in her priorities.

Fiona will continue with the podcast, bringing fresh perspectives and new voices to explore topics like body image, pleasure, and holistic health in Season Three. They also express their gratitude for the support and feedback from listeners, and discuss the emotional journey of navigating change and authenticity. We hope you enjoy this heartfelt update and a glimpse into what's next for Outside the Square.

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You can support us and our podcast by sending us a tip here.

If you would like personal coaching with Josephine or Fiona, reach out to us via email: fiona@mindbodyandeating.com or josephine@nutritionandlife.co.nz, or send us a DM via Instagram @OutsideTheSquarePodcast, @AuthenticallyJosephine or @MindBodyAndEating

Intro and outro music is by AudioCoffee from Pixabay.

We often think of wellbeing as one-dimensional. What if we look at it from a different perspective?

The possibilities are endless. All we have to do is step outside the square.

Let's walk this walk together and hold on tight for the ride.

My name is Fiona. I'm a corporate wellness facilitator, body image and eating psychology coach and a lover of joyful experiences.

And I'm Josephine, a dietitian, somatic release therapist and a recovering people pleaser and perfectionist.

Welcome to Outside the Square.

Hello, it feels like quite sometimes we were on the airwaves. And oh, we have so much news and so much to tell you about where we're going, how we're changing, and what's coming up.

Yeah, so we thought we'd record this little mini poddy, little mini poddy. Just fill you in about where we're at in life, and yeah, also let you know what's coming next and just share our excitement for that.

Since our last season you may not know, well, you probably do know because we told you that I live in Australia and Josephine you live in New Zealand and we had the most magical moment of getting to meet in person for what I think maybe 14 hours we spent together. Which was so special after creating and releasing our season two and I think that has been an absolute highlight for me since season two aired.

Yeah we did so we caught up and took some images for season three of the podcast including some very tasteful half-nudes of the two of us together so we got up close and personal because we wanted to talk about body image in season three and that was still be coming

It will, it will. And so I want to also say thank you to those of you who follow us on Instagram as well. We planned out a beautiful season three based on your feedback. So for everyone who did hop on on our stories, it was quite a while ago now, I just want to say thank you so much because I think one of the things that you and I set out to do right from the beginning, Josephine, was to make sure that we are answering and talking about the things that are most valuable to you guys.

You know, we're here, we have so much collective knowledge and collective wisdom to share, but that's only meaningful if it's meaningful for you in what you want to hear. So to everyone who contributed to that, thank you so much. As you say, Josephine, things are changing, but you like to tell us why? What's going on in your life?

Well, I've been stepping out of work in quite a big way. I have a baby coming along in November, which was planned and expected, however, I guess I wasn't expecting the change within me. This real desire to pull back on work in quite a big way and just simplify down, which has led to this journey of actually it's time for me to let go of this podcast and oh there was grief because we had so much fun Fiona, but yeah, baby is on the way and I'm going to be in baby mode for quite some time I think and just showing up in my workspace in my community to share my gifts my like adoration I would say of helping people feel their pain and their pleasure, their light emotions expanding our capacity for emotions, just as small cameos over the next few years. So yeah I like have to authentically say I can't show up for a seasons of a podcast anymore and so Fiona and I have sort of been like, wow, what's going to come next for Outside the Square and yeah, I'm really thrilled that Fiona is taking the torch and creating something really new and exciting with you; for you and with you for season three.

I mean, firstly, congratulations.

Thank you. It does feel like a huge gift, this pregnancy.

I remember when you first told me, I think we were, well, I don't know if we were in the middle of a podcast or just at the end of a recording or whenever we were chatting and you mentioned it, I'm sure I still have the recording of me screaming, and then meeting you, I think it was around when I was going to meet you, you said, I'm not going to be able to have a glass of wine with you Fiona.

Is that how I slipped it on the conversation?

That is how you slipped it in and so you came along all the way over here to Australia and we met up in Byron with a very very teeny tiny little baby still starting with you and yeah, I think we've had quite long pause in between their seasons because of these conversations that we've been having around what, what will these next season look like and I think it speaks to the importance of really listening to yourself and making choices that may not be the ones that you thought you were going to make, because I remember you saying, Josephine, you know I thought I'd be working all the way through this pregnancy and that's just not how it's turned out to be.

So I really want to highlight the value of that, of that listening to yourself of shifting and going with where you're at, because I think that that can be really challenging for people.

Yeah, thank you for acknowledging that. I feel like a massive fuck yes, I did that, you know, I didn't just keep going on autopilot. I actually stopped and practiced what I preached and was like, no, I'm going to feel lighter by not working right now or by, you know, gently pulling back on commitments and spending six hours of my eight hour day resting basically and like, the energy that's come in for me, like pregnancy symptoms became easy, you know like just my whole demeanour changed.

Yeah, just to be back in my power is amazing. So, yeah, I fully acknowledge that journey too Fiona, making the decisions within our body that actually make us feel good, even though they feel un-sensical, un-logical, crazy, you know just that trust to be like, yeah, I'm getting a body no or a body yes and I’m gonna do it.

Yeah, and being okay with some of the grief that might come with that, I think we've had some conversations just about, well where do we go and what happens now and what are we losing but what are we gaining and sometimes that sense of responsibility that we feel because we made a commitment as you say sometimes pulling back on that.

I know that that was a really hard conversation for you to have with me when you went, actually I'm not feeling it and having that space and that safety with the people that you have around you to be able to pull back on that, to be able to manage those conversations I think is really important. So if you're currently going through this, that you've got something and you think this is not where I want to be going but I'm worried about what grief or what might come next, I would say take inspiration from Josephine's story where what you've said there is that actually, even through that, it's lightened things for you and you've got this new energy and you can really focus on where you're going now with this baby and with what's coming up for you next.

Yeah, so right. It's like those identity deaths that of course there's grief and anxiety, right, you’re literally changing your way of being. Like as a people pleaser, it's not comfortable for me to be deeply honest with people and let them down, like that goes against all conditioning and all levels of comfort yet, it's expansive to do that. It's going to feel awful and then it's going to feel great if you have that deep knowing of what you want.

Yeah, stick with it, that is so right Fiona.

Sitting in the discomfort.

And the indecision, right? You don't really know until you've taken the wild imperfect action and being like, no that was correct, that little niggle that I acted on was correct.

Yeah. Yeah. important to listen to those things and because what we know in the work that we do is that those niggles get bigger. If you don't pay attention to them and you don't try and see what they're telling you will take action and then undo that action if you need to because actually that may not have been the right niggle, it's going to repeat itself. It's going to get louder and louder and often that comes in the way of sickness or physical symptoms that then appear.

Yeah, fatigue, lethargy, you know, no purpose in life it's just those signs of like, something needs reprioritising here. Yeah, there's, it doesn't have to be anything wrong physically, but yeah, there is realignment that needs to happen.

Yeah, even if you don't know exactly what that is, sometimes I think it's probably a common experience where we might say, I don't know what I want yet, but I know what I don't want. So I know that what I'm currently at is not the right space and so sometimes acting on that, breaking that commitment, saying no to that thing will actually help you find the clarity as to what it is that you do want next. You know, we don't always have the capacity to hold both of those things at the same time, so listening to that is going to be really important.

Yeah, something feels off is enough, right? Something feels off, something is off.

Absolutely. So moving forward, I will be certainly coming through with a season three. Josephine and I talked about it a little bit today, and we have, I have invited some beautiful other practitioners, healers, coaches, wonderful speakers to come and chat to you.

So you will not have to just listen to me, I will still have a partner in crime on this beautiful platform as we move through some of the topics that you had requested through those Instagram polls. So please tune in, keep tuning in, I'll be keeping you updated as to Josephine's progress and how we're going and yeah I'm really excited.

And just to give a little teaser, like Fiona's gift that I had seen in this podcast is her voice and her ability to hold space in the interview process, so yeah I mean that's gonna be gold to start with, I can't wait to see you do that Fiona, but also like some of the speakers that she has lined up are personal peers, colleagues and friends of mine as well and Fiona's got a sexuality and pleasure coach who’s amazing, Brandi coming on who will just dive into all things sacral and yeah pleasure which is going to be so great and also a holistic GP coming on just to help us deepen some of those conversations of how do you have the relationship you want with your practitioners where you can feel seen and heard and acknowledged and get your needs met from, you know traditionally GPs are in a role where they're more authoritative than us but actually the health journey is not about anyone telling you what to do with your body. It's about you tapping into those messages inside and actually trusting you and your intuition to make some of these choices while you're in the room with a practitioner who can hold space so yeah, to hear that from a GP, a holistic GP who's also trained in IFS and emotional release and oh a whole realm of things I think that'll be a really fun way to explore our bodies further too in season three. I'll be listening.

I love it. Yeah, and then I've got beautiful Lara coming on as well, who has helped me immensely in my aerial journey, but her philosophy on movement and play, she brings play into yoga and into movement is just so beautiful and she's currently a digital nomad, so she has packed up her initial studio here and is traveling the world at the moment, which is just so inspiring to me as well, so yeah, we're really excited to bring some people who are within our own community already and people that both know both of us and can really bring some beautiful value to you guys.

Yeah, and I just see them all as these people that are lit up and know their purpose in life and have walked really interesting journeys to get there. I mean, all of us do, it's not like we leave school and know who we are and what we want to do, like we have to go through this trial and error life process and to learn from them how they have embraced those moments I think will be really, yeah, great listening and storytelling.

And how we continue to do that, how we continue to show up I think, we've all in conversation with all of these people, what is common is that we all have those moments where we don't feel confident, where we feel lost, where we're not sure where we're going. So that is a common experience and it is a universal experience I think at different times in our lives, but hearing the different ways, as you say, Josephine, that we've sort of found our paths, or that we've, you know, found a different way to go or something else that lights us up is hopefully going to be really valuable to all of you guys as well.

So, ah, it feels very emotional to, to sort of say farewell to Outside the Square as it was initially.

As you know, we just celebrated at the beginning of July our one year anniversary or our one year birthday and in that time we have made two beautiful seasons together and it has been such a valuable experience for me, such powerful conversations that have really shifted, shifted my mindset and you've certainly, all the advice you've given, all of our listeners, you've also given me so I want to say thank you so much for coming on this journey on this ride with me of podcasting and I can't wait to, to you know, see where we go next.

Yeah, absolutely, there’s definitely the grief and the letting go, but yeah, I also want to thank you, Fiona my gosh, the friendship that's been created of just walking life with you, death, fortieths, haha.

Babies

Everything in between, like, just to be real and raw, both on the podcast and off-air as well, has been enriching and yeah, just the way I want all my community, all my relationships to be in future, and yeah, the growth there means I now demand that authenticity in my relationships and we will continue to have that in our friendship, won't we Fiona?

We will, we'll be offline still doing our thing. Rest assured.

Yeah

You can follow Josephine on her authentically Josephine account which by all accounts will be relatively quiet for a little while, while you move into cocooning baby time but that is where you know the occasional bits and pieces pop up for you and I'll put the I think the details are always in the show notes but we'll make sure we pop those details in the show notes and keep an eye out on our Outside the Square Instagram page as well for continuing updates on where we're at and for the new season that we'll be dropping soon.

Enjoy season three beautiful listeners. Bye for now

Before we finish up for today, we would like to acknowledge the original custodians of the lands on which our podcast is created, the Ngāi Tahu people of Aotearoa New Zealand,

and the Cammeraygal people of the Eora Nation Australia. We pay our respects to elders past, present and emerging and to all our listeners who identify as Aboriginal, Torres Straight Islander, or Maori.

We love connecting with you, our listeners and talking about the topics that mean the most to you. Reach out to us on Instagram at Outside the Square Podcast and let us know what you want to hear more of.

Until next week, keep stepping outside your square.

Talk soon

We’ll talk soon, always

Love you, haha, see you