Belly Dancing, Breath Work & Bags of Tostitos — Joy and the Shit Can Coexist
Episode 9 of Wellness Me Up with Educator, Mom & Mindfulness and Movement Co-Founder Amanda Guyatt-Dunne
Two Amandas walk into a podcast...
And somehow end up talking about Tostitos, belly dancing, and why joy and the shit can exist at the same time. This one is messy and real and exactly what wellness actually looks like when you strip away all the curated perfection.
Also for the record — Amanda G came in nervous as hell and absolutely delivered. This was only her second recorded podcast ever. You'd never know it.
🎧 Listen to the episode here:
→ YouTube
→ Spotify
Who Is Amanda Guyatt-Dunne?
Amanda is an educator, mom, entrepreneur, and co-founder of Mindfulness and Movement — a collective of wellness offerings rooted in the deep belief that everyone has the right to be mentally well.
Her approach isn't about doing all the things perfectly. It's about finding the things that actually work for you... and then showing up for them even when you really don't want to. Especially when you really don't want to.
Dance. Yoga. Breath work. Farm therapy. Art therapy. A $10 drop-in class where if you don't have $10 you just come and dance anyway.
That's the vibe.
Ask the Humans Around You
This one small thing Amanda shared at the beginning stuck with me.
When she was trying to get clear on what areas of wellness she actually supports people through... she asked her husband and her eldest son. What do you think mommy does best?
And I loved that so much. Because sometimes the people closest to us can see what we do more clearly than we can. We're too in it. They're witnessing it.
They told her she supports people's emotional and spiritual wellbeing. And they were right.
Sometimes the clearest mirror isn't inside you. It's sitting across the dinner table.
The Things You Don't Want to Do Are Usually the Ones You Need Most
Amanda built Mindfulness and Movement around this exact truth.
When her mood is low she doesn't want to get out of bed. She doesn't want to go for a walk or hug a tree or do all the things she knows are good for her. But if there's a community waiting for her... if someone texts and says hey we really want to dance with you tonight... she goes.
And every single time? That hit of dopamine. That feeling of I did one thing today that was good for me. That shift.
It started with a $10 drop-in dance class in the Hamilton Dundas area and has grown into an international collective of female-owned wellness businesses. From a psychic to a $10 dance class. That's the charcuterie board. Take what works. Leave what doesn't. Come back when you need to.
Sound familiar? 😄
You Can Survive and Thrive at the Same Time
This is the thing from this episode I keep coming back to.
You can be in the absolute shit of life — tower moment fully activated, things collapsing, worlds shifting — and still experience joy. Still feel love. Still find something to laugh at. Both things can be true at the exact same time.
Amanda said it so simply and so honestly... you can love yourself and feel whole and confident AND be completely in it right now. Without shame. Without guilt. Without feeling like you're doing wellness wrong because you're not floating around in some healed peaceful state.
Sometimes wellness is belly dancing and crying in a field. Sometimes it's Tostitos in bed. Sometimes it's a candle and a post-it note on the mirror.
All of it counts.
"Isn't It Wonderful?" — The Reframe That Actually Works
This is Amanda's go-to when things are rough and she needs to shift her energy without bypassing the actual feelings.
It starts sarcastic. Isn't it wonderful that this is happening right now? Isn't it wonderful that this blew up in my face?
And then slowly... genuinely... it becomes real. You start finding actual things that are wonderful. The trees blowing outside. The fact that you're here. That you have people. That things have gotten better before and they will again.
The sarcasm becomes sincerity. And your energy shifts without you having to force it.
It's a sneaky little tool and I'm absolutely stealing it.
The WTF Wheel Question: What's Your "I'm Fine" Lie?
Yes absolutely! Here's that section rewritten with it woven in:
The WTF Wheel Question: What's Your "I'm Fine" Lie?
Oh this one. THIS one.
Amanda's I'm fine lie is a spiral of verbal diarrhea that ends with it's all good, don't worry about me, I've got it, everything's fine. While clearly... everything is not fine.
And listen — I literally owned a mask during the pandemic that said I'm fine. It's fine. Everything is fine. And I wore it. Proudly. While absolutely nothing was fine. Not one single thing. But there I was, masked up and lying to everyone's faces including my own.
She even has an exit text. When she's done talking about something and doesn't want any more check-ins she sends LU — which is what her mom uses as a boomer texter for love you — and that means do not reach out until I reach out to you.
We all have a version of this. The script we run when we're not okay but we're not ready to let anyone in yet. And there's nothing wrong with that. But it's worth knowing what yours is.
Because underneath the I'm fine is usually where all the actual stuff lives.
What Wellness Me Up Means to Amanda G
Remembering the tools and gifts you already carry. And tapping into them without shame... whatever that looks like for you.
Whether self-care is a restorative yoga class or extra butter on your popcorn or putting on music and moving your body in your kitchen at 9am. Whether it's therapy or Tostitos or feeding horses on a farm. Whether it's showing up to something terrifying like a podcast when you're a self-described nervous gal who's scared of public speaking.
It's a human right to be well. Full stop. And you already have more tools than you think.
Oh and She Did This Episode Terrified
I want to say this because it matters.
This was Amanda's second recorded podcast ever. She came in nervous. She almost didn't tell her husband she was doing it. She sat in the hallway before stepping into the room.
And she showed up anyway. And it was one of my favorite conversations on this podcast so far.
That IS wellness. Doing the thing you don't want to do. Stepping into the room. Facing the fear. And finding out on the other side that you were more ready than you thought.
Want to connect with Amanda Guyatt-Dunne? Amanda is the co-founder of Mindfulness and Movement — a collective of heart-led wellness offerings in the Hamilton Dundas area and beyond. From $10 drop-in dance classes to breath work to farm therapy to guided art nights... if you're looking for community-based wellness that actually feels accessible, this is it.
👉 www.mindfulnessandmovement.ca
If this one made you laugh and feel something at the same time... that's the whole point. Share it with someone who needs permission to be a mess and still be okay. And subscribe to Wellness Me Up wherever you listen.
🎧 Listen to the episode here:
→ YouTube
→ Spotify
