58. It's a Trip -- a Client's DEI Jouney with Casey Berglund

May 21

Casey Berglund of Worthy & Well is a dietician who embraces yoga and Eastern philosophies, merging Western science with Eastern philosophy to help clients in their relationships with food.

Casey’s advocacy journey began when she recognized discrimination around body size. As she began to explore the systemic influences that shape our culture, she found herself face to face with her own biases and prejudices. When she realized she was mostly attracting followers who were white, privileged women, she wanted to understand why. So she started working with Erica.

Today’s episode is a reflection on Casey’s work with Erica. It’s a celebration of the journey and a reminder that once we know better, we have a responsibility to do better. It requires courage to take imperfect action, but your journey and your integrity are worth the discomforts of the messy middle.

Are you ready to listen in? What’s Happening In This Episode

[0:01:57] Casey’s self-introduction
[0:03:35] Realizing when you’re on the journey
[0:04:41] How “rude awakenings” can set us on a journey of growth
[0:08:43] Casey’s advocacy journey and revelations around systemic influences
[0:09:53] What compassion/advocacy burnout can look like
[0:14:13] How Casey decided to work with Erica
[0:16:56] Why it’s important to acknowledge that we can’t bypass the messy parts
[0:18:33] How personal experiences can shine a light on internalized stereotypes
[0:22:51] Our inherent confirmation bias
[0:25:32] Advocacy and alleyship from the inside out
[0:27:41] Proximity facilitates plausible deniability
[0:30:26] “Now I know, and I can’t go back.”
[0:33:33] Dealing with the ego when you’re in the messy middle
[0:38:06] On not being complicit
[0:40:17] Casey recounts an awakening experience at age 25
[0:43:30] Life is a trip
[0:45:58] Processing with Erica

“Integrity feels fucking good, regardless of how hard the process is.” — Casey

QUOTES

“The body knows often before the head can catch up and articulate and intellectualize the wisdom of the body.” – Casey

“There is some systemic stuff that is deeply rooted in our psyches and our nervous systems and in our bodies that has to be looked into.” – Casey.

“Where we start the journey is very interesting because we think we know what we want, what we need, what we’re doing, and where this is going, and....nope.” – Erica

“Some people will start with me, and they think, “Oh, it’s just business.” And it’s like, this is life.” – Erica

“If you can’t even go beyond your comfort zone and what you have already accepted to be true, then it is difficult to attract people outside of that.” – Erica

“You know what’s harder than this process? Being out of integrity inside of yourself, even if it’s a thing that only you know. That’s harder. That’s more painful than being in the messy process of doing what’s right.” – Casey

“Life is a trip that’s worth living fully. Living fully isn’t just staying numb and being blind and only experiencing these micro-moments of little bits of expansion. Living fully is digging into the mud and letting yourself break apart so that you can experience even more love and expansion and truth.” – Casey