Read the signs, direct your path and get your stride on!
Without emotional contrast, expansion rarely occurs. Embrace your highs and lows to expand your worth, health and strength!
— Mary Tess Rooney
True Stride Podcast
True Stride is that feeling you get when you are aligned with your heart in all that you do, and feel energized and happy with every step you take. This podcast offers thoughtful conversations to help you realize your True Stride at work, at home, during play and with your community.
Ways to Listen and Subscribe
Tune-in every Thursday for wise walks to get your stride on!
(Apple, Spotify, Amazon, Audible, Stitcher and Overcast)
With the idea that realizing your True Stride is a personalized journey, Heart Value expert and fellow Strider, Mary Tess Rooney connects listeners to elevate their value, relationships and joy.
Each weekly episode:
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Takes Striders on a Wise Walk to self-reflect and surface their own feelings and beliefs on a topic
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Offers stories, perspectives and practical ideas to encourage Striders to make choices and take action with intention
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Highlights inspiration and anecdotes to activate more joy and appreciation in your life
Podcast Episodes
EP276: Looking Back Through Pleasure and Expansion
The year behind me wasn’t especially easy. There were moments that felt heavy, uncertain, and stretching in ways I didn’t expect. Yet, when I slow down and really look, I can also see where pleasure lived right alongside that expansion. Travel, learning, connection, small moments that mattered more than I realized at the time. It reminds me how misleading it can be to label a year as good or bad when most years are a mix of both.
EP275: A Word to Ground, Guide, and Inspire You
When I think about why this practice matters to me, I always come back to the idea of choosing a word for the year not as something to achieve, but as something to lean and live into. A word that helps me stay grounded when things feel uncertain and reminds me of who I want to be when life gets messy.
EP274: Reflecting on the Year Through One Word
I’ve shared before that I no longer set New Year’s resolutions. Instead, I choose a word that helps ground me in how I want to show up and what I want to experience. This year, that word was co-create. As someone who has always relied on planning, structure, and execution, this word challenged me to loosen my grip and trust timing instead of forcing outcomes. It became a way to check myself when things felt rushed, heavy, or resistant, and to ask whether I was truly aligned or just trying to muscle my way through.
EP273: Leaning Into Your Inner Athlete
It’s funny how aging has a way of quietly changing the conversation we have with our bodies. I notice it when I’m moving or when a familiar pose needs more support, or when strength and flexibility show up differently than they used to. There’s still a part of me that loves a challenge, that enjoys feeling capable and engaged, even if the expression of that looks different than it once did.
EP272: Freedom Waiting Beyond Your Limits
There are moments in life when we feel something calling us forward, even if others do not understand it or caution us to stay put. Sometimes the only way to understand what is possible is to trust our instincts and step into the unknown with confidence and curiosity.
EP271: Honoring Your Rites of Passage
My friend and I wandered into a chat about how we grew up and what shaped us, and it pulled up old memories I had not thought about in a long time. I shared a bit about my upbringing and the sense of community that came with it, but what really landed for me was how many different ways people mark the big moments in their lives. I am realizing that the in-between space is where a lot of the real movement happens.
EP270: What Gratitude Makes Possible
I’ve been reflecting on gratitude and I keep coming back to how much shifts when we look at what’s working instead of what’s missing. When we notice the good in ourselves and in our relationships, it changes the energy around everything else. And whether we’re thinking about moments that made us laugh, the qualities we’re proud of, or the people who show up for us when it matters, there is so much to be thankful for.
EP269: Marathon Lessons to Finish Strong
I was really moved recently when a Strider reached out to share that they had just completed the New York City Marathon and were reflecting on what that experience meant for them. They realized after crossing the finish line that they wished they had celebrated more and invited others to cheer them on, because training for something so big ends up being a rite of passage. Life asks us to pace ourselves, to stay connected to our why, to lean on a support system, and to celebrate each milestone along the way.
EP268: How Discernment Helps You Emerge Stronger
One of our Striders reached out and said, “I love that word discernment, but sometimes I struggle with knowing when I’m releasing something for my own good and when I’m just isolating.” That question really resonated with me because I’ve been there too with trying to figure out if I’m stepping back for clarity or pulling away out of self-protection.
EP267: Unburden Yourself Before the New Year
From everyday logistics, like finally sorting out an insurance issue, to bigger lessons about trusting myself as a student and letting my work be imperfect, I’m learning that ease arrives through acceptance, not over-effort. Living simply in Joshua Tree keeps reinforcing that peace doesn’t come from adding more. It comes from doing less, more intentionally.
