Lauren Fleshman joins us today and it’s rich and warm conversation that carries an enduring message of hope for the future of sports. Lauren has coined the phrase, “the performance wave” which helps young women going through their menstrual cycle and normal hormonal changes to understand and even embrace the ebbs and flows of their performance. Lauren encourages her readers through her book to understand that if they stay the course and listen to their bodies needs, the best is yet to come. Lauren Fleshman shares what she Is actively unlearning and highlights her first book, which is a NY Times best seller, “Good for A Girl: A Woman running in a Man’s World.” 

Show notes: 

• How Lauren’s childhood in LA influenced her life 
• The most influential people in Lauren’s life and how they shaped her sense of self 
• What finding your “race weight” meant for young athletes and how the “diet culture” shaped hormone health, mental health and performance 
• What pisses Lauren off about the sports culture and women’s health 
• Lauren presents the notion of “the performance wave” as it relates to younger women going through natural processes such as menstruation
• Why reclaiming your body and running for one’s self is so important to Lauren 
• How the “athlete mindset” can both help and hider people post career as they find ways
• The role that capitalism plays in repressing feelings
• Lauren’s advice to women
• How Lauren defines unlearning 

Mentioned on the podcast: 

Kate Fagans episode 18

Books by Kara Goucher and Alison Diser’s book, “Running while Black.” 

Elisa is a Conscious Leadership Coach and Organizational Consultant, click here to learn more about her work.  Follow The School of Unlearning on Instagram @thesoulpodcast.