What happens when the beliefs you grew up with leave you questioning whether you can be yourself and still belong?

In Season 3, Episode 14 of the Element Q Podcast, TJ Woodward welcomes singer-songwriter Gary Lynn Floyd for a personal conversation about growing up gay in a Southern Baptist community, navigating religious shame, and finding a path toward self-acceptance, spiritual connection, and healing.

Gary shares how childhood bullying, abuse, and secrecy shaped his early life—and how being outed disrupted the Christian music career he had envisioned. An unexpected opportunity at a Dallas cabaret helped him continue making music and discover connection within a new community.

Together, TJ and Gary explore the deeper work of questioning inherited beliefs, acknowledging painful experiences, and reconnecting with a sense of worth beyond achievement or approval.

Gary also shares a recent shift toward “presence over performance”: slowing down, enjoying ordinary routines, and recognizing the urge to continually prove that he has something to offer.

In this episode, we explore:

• Growing up LGBTQ+ within a conservative religious environment

• The emotional weight of shame, secrecy, and hiding your identity

• Music, creativity, and community as sources of connection

• Finding an affirming spiritual path

• Moving beyond positive thinking to acknowledge deeper pain

• Everyday mindfulness inspired by The Miracle of Mindfulness

• Choosing presence over performance

• Gary’s practice: “Orbit, return, rinse, and repeat” If you’ve ever felt pressure to hide who you are or earn your worth through what you do, this conversation offers an invitation to pause, get curious, and return to yourself.

🔗 Learn more:

Element Q Healing: https://www.elementqhealingcenter.com

TJ Woodward: https://www.tjwoodward.com

Gary Lynn Floyd: https://www.garylynnfloyd.music/

In Season 3, Episode 13 of the Element Q Podcast, In this deeply moving conversation, TJ Woodward sits down with Shannon Cury (they/them) for a powerful conversation about identity, trauma, breathwork, meditation, nervous-system awareness and what it means to come home to yourself.

Shannon is a breathwork guide and somatic wellness facilitator whose own healing journey was profoundly shaped by a cancer diagnosis. What began as a physical health crisis became a deeper exploration of the mind-body connection, meditation, breathwork, identity and holistic healing.

In this episode:

The power of the “both/and” LGBTQ+ identity and healing

Trauma and the nervous system

The mind-body connection

Breathwork and somatic healing

Meditation and observing your thoughts

Why you are not your thoughts

Protective responses and survival strategies

Fear versus curiosity

Healing shame and reconnecting with joy Identity-affirming healing

Social media and nervous-system activation

The danger of turning healing into another hustle Learning to pause before reacting Coming home to yourself

🔗 Learn more:

Element Q Healing: https://www.elementqhealingcenter.com

TJ Woodward: https://www.tjwoodward.com

Shannon Cury: https://collectivelywell.com

In Season 3, Episode 6 of the Element Q Podcast, host TJ Woodward sits down with LGBTQ+ advocate, community leader, and San Diego Pride board member Melody Velaruz for a conversation about identity, healing, visibility, and love.

Melody shares her remarkable journey from growing up in a strict Mormon faith tradition to coming out later in life as a queer Latina woman, navigating divorce, embracing her authentic self, and finding a healthy, loving relationship with her fiancé, Roman, a transgender man. Together, they explore what it means to build a relationship rooted in accountability, therapy, communication, and personal growth.

TJ and Melody dive into important conversations about religious trauma, spirituality beyond organized religion, trans visibility, intersectionality within the LGBTQ+ community, and the courage required to challenge assumptions—even within our own community. They also discuss the impact of representation, the healing power of asking difficult questions, and how curiosity can create deeper understanding and connection.

This heartfelt episode is an invitation to move beyond labels, embrace nuance, and cultivate compassion for ourselves and others.

In this episode, you'll discover:

• How therapy and personal healing strengthen healthy relationships

• Melody's journey from Mormonism to LGBTQ+ advocacy

• The challenges and rewards of trans visibility and representation

• Navigating age gaps, identity, and authenticity in relationships

• Religious trauma, spirituality, and reclaiming personal truth

• Why curiosity and courageous conversations matter in healing

• The importance of community, belonging, and chosen family

• How accountability creates deeper connection and growth

🎧 Whether you're navigating your own healing journey, exploring questions of identity, or seeking greater understanding of LGBTQ+ experiences, this conversation offers wisdom, hope, and inspiration.

👉 Please subscribe to support conversations on conscious healing, authentic living, and personal transformation.

🔗 Learn more:

Element Q Healing: https://www.elementqhealingcenter.com

TJ Woodward: https://www.tjwoodward.com

Melody Velaruz: https://www.instagram.com/melodyvelaruz

In Season 3, Episode 12 of the Element Q Podcast, In this deeply moving conversation, TJ Woodward sits down with spiritual teacher, humanitarian, author, and minister David Ault to explore the healing power of honoring the entirety of our journey.

David shares his extraordinary path from growing up in a deeply religious household to meeting Louise Hay, who became his spiritual mama, mentor, and earliest supporter. He reflects on Louise’s revolutionary work within the LGBTQ+ community during the AIDS crisis and the sacred space she created for people to heal shame and experience unconditional love.

Together, we explore the difference between curing and healing, the essential wholeness that exists beneath our wounds, and why transformation requires us to integrate our stories rather than reject them. David also shares the profound experiences that led him to establish the Kaleidoscope Child Foundation and how his understanding of service has evolved from helping others to recognizing our shared humanity.

This conversation is an invitation to release the belief that any part of your journey was wasted and discover how every experience can prepare you to become uniquely available for a life of purpose and service.

🔗 Learn more:

Element Q Healing: https://www.elementqhealingcenter.com

TJ Woodward: https://www.tjwoodward.com

David Ault: https://davidault.com

In Season 3, Episode 11 of the Element Q Podcast, TJ Woodward sits down with Dr. Rose Schlaff, PT, DPT, WHC, IF, a pelvic physical therapist, sexologist, and mentor in integrative sexual wellness, for an insightful conversation about the connection between trauma, the nervous system, pelvic floor health, sexual wellness, shame, and LGBTQIA+ mental health.

Dr. Rose explains why the pelvic floor is an important—and often overlooked—part of whole-person mental health care. She explores how trauma can influence the body's threat response, bladder and digestive function, pain, sexual health, intimacy, and our ability to experience safety and pleasure.

The conversation also challenges the idea that physical symptoms are somehow "all in your head." Instead, TJ and Dr. Rose explore how the brain and body communicate in both directions, and how creating safety can help us begin to change patterns that were once protective.

In this episode, we explore:

Why everyone has a pelvic floor—and why pelvic health matters to every gender and body

How trauma can contribute to pelvic floor tension and dysfunction

The connection between anxiety, bladder function, digestion, and the nervous system

Why trauma symptoms are not your fault

How the body's protective responses can become patterns that continue long after trauma

The relationship between trauma, pain, sexual health, and intimacy

The impact of shame and silence around sexuality

Why clinicians need to become more comfortable talking about sexual health

How safety can help support nervous system regulation and healing

The relationship between neuroplasticity, thoughts, emotions, and physical symptoms

Somatic awareness and reconnecting with the body

Practical ways couples can create more safety and communication around intimacy

Why moving from pain to pleasure can be part of the healing process

How LGBTQIA+ affirming and trauma-informed care can support more complete healing

Dr. Rose also discusses her Reclaim the Flame® method, which integrates neuroscience, somatic awareness, and affirming trauma-informed sex counseling to help people move from disconnection toward desire, pleasure, confidence, and connection.

🔗 Learn more: Element Q Healing: https://www.elementqhealingcenter.com

TJ Woodward: https://www.tjwoodward.com

Dr. Rose Schlaff: https://www.bewellwithrose.com

In Season 3, Episode 10 of the Element Q Podcast, host TJ Woodward welcomes back beloved guest Temple Hayes for a deeply personal conversation about LGBTQ+ identity, shame, healing, belonging, self-acceptance, spirituality, and the courage it takes to live authentically.

Temple Hayes and TJ reflect on how dramatically the LGBTQ+ experience has changed across generations—from growing up in a time when simply saying the word “gay” could feel dangerous or shameful, to witnessing greater visibility, representation, marriage equality, Pride celebrations, and LGBTQ+ people openly building joyful lives.

But this conversation goes deeper than celebrating progress.

TJ and Temple explore what happens when external validation changes, when social progress appears to move backward, and when old wounds and fears continue to live within us—even after we believe we've healed.

They discuss the difference between fighting against an old paradigm and standing for a new one, and why spiritual activism can begin with simply becoming more fully ourselves.

The conversation also explores:

• Healing LGBTQ+ shame and the fear of being discovered

• The courage required to live authentically

• Why identity can become a catalyst for deeper self-discovery

• The difference between external validation and internal knowing

• How unhealed wounds can become collective belief systems

• The power of surrounding yourself with people who mirror joy, health, and possibility

• Why our communities can sometimes become organized around our wounds

• Moving from talking about what we don't want toward creating what we do want

• The importance of creating communities centered around growth and possibility

• Why younger LGBTQ+ generations shouldn't have to experience the same trauma as previous generations

• TJ's personal journey of healing shame and reconnecting with his younger self

• Learning to love the parts of ourselves we once felt we needed to hide

• The relationship between spirituality, identity, and authentic self-expression

If this conversation resonates with you, subscribe to the Element Q podcast and share it with someone who needs to hear that they don't have to hide who they are.

🔗 Learn more:

Element Q Healing: https://www.elementqhealingcenter.com

TJ Woodward: https://www.tjwoodward.com

Temple Hayes: https://templehayes.com/

In Season 3, Episode 9 of the Element Q Podcast, TJ Woodward and Gregory Fisher explore the profound difference between managing symptoms and discovering the wholeness that already exists beneath our coping strategies. Together, they unpack internalized shame, spiritual bypassing, LGBTQ+ identity, addiction recovery, compassion, Carl Jung's shadow work, and why healing begins when we stop believing we're broken.

Gregory shares his remarkable story of coming out as a Southern Baptist minister, navigating recovery for nearly four decades, and learning to embrace the six-year-old version of himself who had long carried shame. The conversation offers practical wisdom for anyone recovering from addiction, trauma, religious conditioning, or simply trying to live a more authentic life.

In this episode, you'll discover:

Why your coping strategies are not your identity

The difference between healing and fixing yourself

How spiritual bypassing can delay authentic recovery

Carl Jung's shadow work and its connection to modern healing

Healing internalized shame and self-rejection

The role of compassion in recovery

Why LGBTQ+ experiences can become profound sources of wisdom

Transforming activism through love instead of anger

Why recovery is a lifelong journey—not a destination

How embracing your authentic self creates lasting freedom

If this conversation resonates with you, subscribe, leave a comment, and share this episode with someone who may need to hear it.

🔗 Learn more:

Element Q Healing: https://www.elementqhealingcenter.com

TJ Woodward: https://www.tjwoodward.com

Gregory Fisher: https://gregoryfisher.life

In Season 3, Episode 8 of the Element Q Podcast, TJ Woodward welcomes Hana Leyland, Executive Director of the Rainbow Transformations Foundation, for a powerful conversation about identity, recovery, mental health, and the courage to embrace authenticity.

Drawing from both professional expertise and lived experience as a transgender woman in recovery, Hana explores how traditional mental health and addiction systems often overlook the unique experiences of trans, gender-diverse, and intersex individuals. Together, TJ and Hana examine the intersection of trauma, shame, identity, cultural conditioning, and healing while inviting listeners to move beyond labels and into deeper curiosity.

From delayed adolescence within the LGBTQ+ community to the role of hormones, attachment, social conditioning, and inner child work, this conversation challenges conventional thinking while offering compassion for the complexity of the human experience.

Whether you're part of the LGBTQ+ community, a clinician, someone in recovery, or simply seeking greater understanding, this episode offers wisdom, vulnerability, and hope.

In this episode, you'll discover:

Why healing often uncovers deeper layers of ourselves

The relationship between transition, identity, and emotional growth

How shame becomes embedded through secrecy and social conditioning

Why curiosity creates healing while certainty can limit growth

The challenges facing transgender mental health today

How recovery extends far beyond sobriety

Why authentic healing requires individualized care—not one-size-fits-all solutions

The importance of creating truly affirming spaces for LGBTQ+ mental health

If this conversation resonates with you, subscribe, leave a comment, and share this episode with someone who may need to hear it.

🔗 Learn more:

Element Q Healing: https://www.elementqhealingcenter.com

TJ Woodward: https://www.tjwoodward.com

Hana Leyland: https://www.rainbowtransformationsfoundation.org