What if your next writing breakthrough came from your body instead of your mind? In this episode, Lori explores embodied writing through breath, movement, and somatic awareness, offering grounding practices to help you reconnect with your creativity, move through blocks, and write from a place that feels more present, honest, and alive.

Visit thepoetrylab.com to find the Show Notes for this episode. The Poetry Lab Podcast is produced by Danielle Mitchell, with special guest hosts Lori Walker, Leonora Simonovis, Ravina Wadhwani, and Annie Freshwater.

EPISODE GUIDE

Your body knows things your mind hasn't figured out yet.

03:00 — Why Writers Need the Body, Not Just the Brain
How tension, posture, sensation, and movement shape the stories we carry and the words we can access.

05:00 — What Somatic Awareness Actually Means
A practical introduction to body-based writing and why presence matters more than productivity.

06:15 — Grounding as a Creative Practice
How breath, touch, and simple physical awareness can interrupt perfectionism, comparison, and self-doubt.

08:00 — Five Yoga Poses for Writers
Lori shares accessible grounding practices, including Easy Pose, Mountain Pose, Warrior II, Extended Side Angle, and Tree Pose.

11:45 — Presence, Power, and Taking Up Space
Using movement and posture to reconnect with confidence, attention, and creative energy.

15:00 — What Tree Pose Can Teach Writers
Why balance is not about staying perfectly still. It is about recalibrating when life and creativity shift.

17:15 — Writing After Movement
Four writing invitations designed to help you capture what surfaces after grounding, including body mapping, freewriting, and sensory reflection.

19:00 — Your Body Is a Collaborator
A final reminder that your body is not a distraction from your writing practice. It is part of it.

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Writers are asked to do everything, often at the cost of the work itself. In this episode, Ravina rethinks self-care as part of the writing practice, not separate from it. Through boundaries, reduced pressure, and small shifts, you'll find a more sustainable way back to the page.

Visit thepoetrylab.com to find the Show Notes for this episode. The Poetry Lab Podcast is produced by Danielle Mitchell, with special guest hosts Lori Walker, Leonora Simonovis, Ravina Wadhwani, and Annie Freshwater.

EPISODE GUIDE

Self-care isn't separate from your writing practice—it's how you return to it.

03:00 — Burnout vs. "Writer's Block"
Exploring different forms of burnout and reframing writer's block as exhaustion and lack of inspiration rather than a true block.

05:00 — Let Your Practice Change
Taking on less, setting boundaries, and allowing your creative process to shift as you slowly return to writing.

08:45 — Releasing Pressure, Returning to Purpose
Letting go of timelines and expectations while reconnecting to what it means to be an artist.

09:45 — Prompt: What Is Rising?
What is bubbling up inside of you—rage, love, inspiration, belonging—and asking it to come forward.

10:30 — Prompt: What Needs to Be Unearthed?
If you could dig something out from within you to release more fully, what would it be and why?

11:00 — Tools for Support
Using prompt decks and guided journals as grounding tools to sustain a creative practice.

***

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Every creative practice begins with a choice: to start before you feel ready. In this episode, Annie uses the Fool to explore creative beginnings, tracing a path through tarot archetypes like Judgement, the Magician, and the Star to show how courage, craft, and hope work together, and why progress starts with simply showing up and writing.

Visit thepoetrylab.com to find the Show Notes for this episode. The Poetry Lab Podcast is produced by Danielle Mitchell, with special guest hosts Lori Walker, Leonora Simonovis, Ravina Wadhwani, and Annie Freshwater.

EPISODE GUIDE

Starting isn't about certainty. It's about choosing to move before you feel ready.

01:20 — The Energy of Beginning (The Fool)
Why new creative starts feel both magical and terrifying, and why that tension is part of the process.

03:30 — Stepping Into the Unknown (The Fool)
What it means to begin without guarantees and trust the path as it unfolds.

05:30 — Fear and Stagnation (The Fool Reversed)
How hesitation, over-preparing, and distraction keep you from starting at all.

07:00 — Movement Over Mastery (The Fool in Action)
A clear directive to stop waiting and start writing, even in small, imperfect ways.

08:45 — Answering the Creative Call (Judgment)
How beginning leads to deeper questions about purpose, voice, and what you are here to express.

10:30 — Turning Ideas Into Practice (The Magician)
Shaping inspiration into something real through craft, skill, and consistency.

11:45 — Writing Through Hope and Healing (The Star)
Why belief in your work and connection to meaning sustain the creative process.

13:30 — Catching the Spark (Ace of Wands)
How to act on creative impulses in real time and channel raw inspiration into action.

15:30 — From Idea to Completion (Ace of Pentacles)
Moving from inspiration into revision, structure, and the tangible work of finishing and submitting.

***

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In this personal episode, Leo reflects on her decision to leave a tenured academic career after nearly two decades of teaching. She explores the emotional and systemic challenges of academia, including burnout, institutional constraints, and questions of identity and creative freedom, while honoring the role poetry played in guiding her toward a more expansive, self-directed life.

Visit thepoetrylab.com to find the Show Notes for this episode. The Poetry Lab Podcast is produced by Danielle Mitchell, with special guest hosts Lori Walker, Leonora Simonovis, Ravina Wadhwani, and Annie Freshwater.

EPISODE GUIDE

What happens when the dream job no longer fits? This episode explores the courage it takes to leave and begin again.

01:20 — The Decision to Leave
After nearly two decades in academia, Leo names the moment she chose to walk away from tenure.

02:30 — The Reality Behind the Dream
What academia asks of you beyond teaching, including bureaucracy, gatekeeping, and silence.

04:10 — When Staying Becomes Survival
The emotional, physical, and mental toll of remaining in a system that no longer aligns.

05:20 — Why I Left
A clear and candid breakdown of the core reasons, from lack of growth to imbalance and emotional labor.

07:40 — You're Not Alone
Zooming out to the larger pattern of academics leaving and what that reveals.

09:15 — Life After Academia
What opens up on the other side: clarity, creative freedom, and teaching on your own terms.

***

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You don't need to find your voice. You need to trust it. This episode unpacks how doubt, comparison, and over-editing pull you away from your natural rhythm—and offers practical ways to reconnect with the voice that's already yours, messy, honest, and powerful.

Visit thepoetrylab.com to find the Show Notes for this episode. The Poetry Lab Podcast is produced by Danielle Mitchell, with special guest hosts Lori Walker, Leonora Simonovis, Ravina Wadhwani, and Annie Freshwater.

EPISODE GUIDE

What if the voice you're searching for is the one you've been editing out? This episode shows you how to return to it.

02:15 — The Myth of "Finding Your Voice"
Why the idea that your voice is hidden or missing might be the very thing holding you back.

04:00 — Your Voice Is Already Here
What voice actually is and how it shows up in your instincts, rhythms, and emotional imprint.

06:00 — How We Start Writing Away from Ourselves
How doubt and imitation creep in, pulling your voice further from what's already there.

09:15 — What Gets in the Way
Comparison, over-editing, feedback fear, and platform pressure that flatten your work.

10:30 — How to Build Trust with Your Voice
Practical ways in, including voice notes, writing letters, and letting messy drafts stand.

14:00 — What Happens When You Stop Forcing It
Writing becomes faster, more honest, and more connected when you stop performing.

16:00 — Finding Your Way Back (SOS Plan)
What to do when your voice feels distant, including grounding, small truths, and quiet re-entry.

***

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In the debut episode of her new Creative Tarot series, join host Annie Freshwater as she explores The Empress, tarot's archetype of creative fertility and abundance. Through personal reflection and insight, Annie reframes creativity as something organic and cyclical rather than forced, unpacks the deeper roots of creative block, and offers a guided meditation to help you reconnect with your body, replenish your inner resources, and invite inspiration back in.

Visit thepoetrylab.com to find the Show Notes for this episode. The Poetry Lab Podcast is produced by Danielle Mitchell, with special guest hosts Lori Walker, Leonora Simonovis, Ravina Wadhwani, and Annie Freshwater.

EPISODE GUIDE

What can The Empress teach you about your creativity? This episode shows you how to work with this tarot archetype to restore flow.

04:20 — The Empress and Creative Energy
A model of creativity that is intuitive, embodied, and never forced.

06:00 — Feeding The Empress Within
Why inspiration begins with the senses and how pleasure and beauty fuel your creative life.

07:00 — The Empress Does Not Force
Letting go of control and learning to nurture your work with care instead of pressure.

09:30 — The Empress Reversed: When Creativity Dries Up
Understanding creative blocks as lack, not failure, and what they reveal about your needs.

12:00 — An Empty Cup Cannot Create
Burnout, overcommitment, and the emotional realities that stall your creative process.

14:00 — Returning to The Empress
A personal path back to writing through imperfection, patience, and self-trust.

16:00 — Inviting The Empress In
Shifting from control to invitation and tending your creativity with intention.

17:00 — Embodying The Empress (Guided Practice)
A meditation to reconnect with your body, release tension, and restore creative flow.

***

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Submitting a poetry manuscript can feel overwhelming, even when the work itself is finished. In this episode, Leo breaks down the key decisions involved in submitting your manuscript, shares strategies for staying organized, and offers thoughtful guidance on how to choose the right places to send your work.

Visit thepoetrylab.com to find the Show Notes for this episode. The Poetry Lab Podcast is produced by Danielle Mitchell, with special guest hosts Lori Walker, Leonora Simonovis, Ravina Wadhwani, and Annie Freshwater.

EPISODE GUIDE

Finishing a manuscript is one thing. Sending it out is another. This episode walks you through exactly how to do it well.

02:30 — Is Your Manuscript Ready?
How to know when your collection is truly finished and what signals to trust before submitting.

03:00 — Strengthening the Manuscript
Feedback, title, structure, and form—what to refine before sending your work out.

05:00 — Final Materials to Prepare
Notes, acknowledgments, and writing a clear, compelling blurb for your manuscript.

06:30 — Where and How to Submit
Contests, open reading periods, fees, and how to research the right presses for your work.

08:00 — Building Your Submission System
Tracking submissions, setting a budget, and organizing your process so you don't burn out.

09:30 — Submitting with Intention
Reading guidelines carefully, pacing your submissions, and staying consistent.

10:00 — Rejection and the Long Game
Why "no thank you" letters are part of the process and how to stay grounded through it.

10:40 — Let the Work Do Its Work
Resisting the urge to over-revise and trusting your manuscript once it's out in the world.

***

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Creative energy isn't meant to be constant. In this episode, Lori Walker explores how seasonal and internal energy shifts shape a writer's creative life, and how to work with those rhythms instead of forcing productivity.

Visit thepoetrylab.com to find the Show Notes for this episode. The Poetry Lab Podcast is produced by Danielle Mitchell, with special guest hosts Lori Walker, Leonora Simonovis, Ravina Wadhwani, and Annie Freshwater.

EPISODE GUIDE

Your energy moves in cycles, even if you've been taught to ignore them. Follow Lori as she steps out of productivity pressure.

02:30 — The Myth of Constant Productivity
Why hustle culture fails writers and what it ignores about creative cycles.

04:00 — Tuning Into Your Own Rhythm
How to recognize your personal creative patterns instead of following external timelines.

06:10 — Mapping Your Creative Cycles
Identifying your phases—beginning, high energy, waning, and rest—and what each one offers.

08:20 — Working With Your Energy (Not Against It)
Practical ways to align your writing practice with your current creative state.

10:00 — No Gimmicks, No Performance
Why you don't need to brand your creative cycles or turn them into content.

11:50 — You Are Not Behind
A grounding reminder: your rhythm is valid, your pace is real, and your work is still unfolding.

***

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