What Authenticity Means to Suzanne Rodgers
On embodiment, energy healing, inner child work, and authentic parenting
A few announcements before we dig into today’s conversation with Suzanne Rodgers!
I cannot wait to share my new book with you in May!
The Start of It All is a 20-something’s guide to empowerment, resilience, and authenticity at the dawn of adulthood. This book is full of questions exploring community, self-growth, career, and more. Each question is paired with an anecdotal story straight from my 20s.
I hope that The Start of It All can serve as a companion as you navigate these twisty, wild years.
I hope this guide helps you hold onto yourself, as you grow, learn, and change.
I hope that my stories help you feel less alone, and teach you something about resilience and your capacity for growth.
I’m biased, but I think it makes a great graduation gift. If you preorder The Start of It All now, you’ll definitely get it in May! (The exact publication date is coming soon.)
Preorders are also absolutely huge for self-published authors - they go such a long way. Thank you to everyone who has already purchased a copy!
I am also currently coordinating talks and workshops - I love connecting with students and recent graduates! Please don’t hesitate to reach out if you’re curious about/interested in working with me! I’d love to put together an offering specific to your community. Check out photos and details from a recent workshop I brought to Vassar, on my website.
Instagram Live tonight at 6PM with Brenna Potter!
Very excited for my first Instagram live! Details below.
In this exclusive event, we will share our expertise and life experiences as we dive deep into the world of personal growth, empowerment, and transformation.
If you’re feeling lost in the maze of adulthood and are unsure about things such as your career, relationships, or personal development, we've got you covered!🙌
From setting achievable goals to overcoming obstacles, you'll gain valuable insights into how working with a life coach can fast-track your journey to success and fulfillment.
Join us and discover firsthand how life coaching can be your guiding light through the uncertainties of your 20s!
To watch the conversation live, hit the button below which will take you to my Instagram page. (Once we’ve live at 6:00pm, you’ll just tap on my profile picture to join the actual livestream!)
And don’t worry, there will be a recording available afterwards too :)
These conversations are such a highlight of my week! From 8:00 - 9:00 PM EST each Tuesday, we dig into discussion prompts about all things authenticity! Here’s what we talked about last night —
What does it really mean to “owe” people our authenticity? How do you strive to show up in authentic relationships?
How can we honor authentic selves, in inauthentic spaces? (ex: where we don’t owe people our authenticity, places we don’t have emotional safety etc.) How can we take care of ourselves in these environments and situations?
“Maybe it’s not about becoming a new you, but becoming more you in ways that are recognizable to your authentic self.” - Billy Chapata
Totally free. No obligation to come every week. Bring a friend!
Onto the conversation!
I know that I say this every week (and I mean it each time!) - this conversation is really, really special. I’ve known Suzanne for a while through my bookclub (which Emily Zorn and Brenna Potter are also in!) and have long admired her work. She always has such incredible insights, and I knew that I wanted to get to know her more deeply in a conversation like this.
Suzanne Rodgers is a licensed therapist, holistic health practitioner with a concentration in energy and sound healing, retreat facilitator, mom and your cheerleader to LIVING WELL!
She is the founder and owner of Living Well With Suzanne Rodgers, Ignite Sisterhood Retreats, and The Living Well Center of St. Louis in Ellisville, MO. Her passion over the last 15 years has been to provide a safe and healing environment where high-achieving women can experience introspection, empowerment, and transformation through releasing what no longer serves them and becoming inspired to LIVE WELL!
When not facilitating real heart-centered connections with her clients and friends of Living Well (with her Hydro Jug slung around her or iced tea in hand) you can find Suzanne spending time near water getting lost in an easy beach read, walking in nature, cuddling on the couch with her two pups and husband most likely watching a comedy special on Netflix's or her most recent guilty pleasure "The Circle" with her daughter.
Listen to my full conversation with Suzanne below!
We explored such a wide range of topics quite deeply.
I loved learning more about what inspired Suzanne to explore holistic healing. We talked about the importance of listening to our bodies and releasing past trauma to feel lighter, centered, and more at peace.
We also talk about how society has conditioned us to invalidate and gaslight ourselves as women when we instinctively feel that something’s wrong.
I personally really loved diving into the visual of what it feels like to be disembodied; the way that our souls can sometimes float outside of our bodies when we experience intense distress. Some common body symptoms of disembodiment and a lack of alignment can include fatigue, tension, heart racing, butterflies in the stomach, sweating, and migraines.
A really helpful question from Suzanne to ask yourself if you’re wondering if holistic healing might be right for you- — “Have you ever felt like you wanted to release an emotion but you can’t?”
Suzanne and I also hold space for the way that conversations in the wellness space can quickly veer toward being prescriptive and “preachy.” If you just bought this crystal, all of your problems would be solved! We are not here to pass judgment on the way that anyone is living their life, or tell you what you’re doing wrong!
Grace quickly emerged as a theme throughout our conversation as well— both grace for others and ourselves. We talked about grief, and I mentioned a favorite essay of mine, Everyone Around You is Grieving, Go Easy, by
.The topic of perfectionism came up here quickly too — as Suzanne discussed how grief made her more honest. “As you own things, you set yourself free.”
Authenticity is a different kind of honesty — it’s not about being 100% honest with every single person all the time. As many “What Authenticity Means to Me” guests have discussed, being honest with yourself can be so transformative. And it requires a lot of grace.
Speaking of grace…I can’t tell you how much I appreciated Suzanne’s reflections and insights on authenticity in her parenting journey and her relationship with her daughter (who just turned 22!) I love talking about intention vs. impact; an important distinction when taking true accountability and resolving conflict in relationships.
Suzanne also gives us so many great tools in the conversation, like the abbreviation, HALT, which she uses with her clients! The gist is that if you’re hungry, angry, lonely, or tired, you’ll be unable to truly connect with others and really take in their perspective.
I’m especially grateful for the work Suzanne is doing with kids, as a school counselor, to help them navigate their big feelings. My life would have been very different if I had had an emotional regulation routine as a kid!
As I said, we cover such a range of topics here… almost too many to name. Just go listen!
Suzanne is such a gift to everyone in her community, including me. You’re going to love this one :)
And if you’re in St. Louis, go check out her center and/or grab a ticket to the upcoming retreat that Suzanne mentions at the end of our conversation.
See you next week!