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PODCAST

Beyond the basement

Chris Kenworthy

Join Chris for unscripted reflections on the wild, tender and playful experience of being human. Each episode is like an intimate voice-note to you, with lively insight from the edge of discovery. People say you’ll recognise yourself in these adventures and encounters. And hear clarity, perspective and truth - with deep appreciation for life’s messy magic as it’s really lived through your body. Chris Kenworthy is an improviser, facilitator and embodiment coach. Find me at chriskenworthy.co.uk or

comedy improv

All Episodes

44:22

The tyranny of taking life (and yourself) too seriously

Beyond the basement ·

2025/12/02

In this episode, we explore the tyranny of taking life too seriously - that joyless, over-responsible, heavily burdened state that achievers, perfectionists, caretakers, people-pleasers and “grown-up good boys and girls” know all too well. From the trenches of self-improvement fatigue, I look at how seriousness becomes a self-reinforcing way of being in the world - one that mistakes control for safety, purpose for productivity, and endurance for worth.I share why our nervous systems cling to the

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43:11

The Fool’s way into your inner world

Beyond the basement ·

2025/12/02

Come with me on a two-day immersion in fooling - a raw, theatrical, embodied practice that invites you to meet the many parts of yourself with innocence, curiosity, and play.Part archetype, part inner-world explorer, the Fool becomes a guide into your psyche: revealing sleepy parts, terrified parts, sexy snake-bodied parts, collapsed melodrama parts, cautious parts, joyful parts - every fragment you usually hide, override, shame, or race past. Instead of fixing or analysing, the Fool asks only:

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46:17

Come home to yourself: the quiet (lost) art of...

Beyond the basement ·

2025/11/25

Unsettled and alone in hotel room somewhere in Derbyshire, mid-improv retreat, I explore the messy, human art of self-soothing- learning to find safety, connection, and calm within ourselves. This episode weaves together attachment theory, perfectionism, embodiment, and nervous system theory as I reflect on how people like us (anxiously attached) show up in relationship with ourselves and others, as well as in even the tiniest gestures - like reaching for your phone or social media.I share a

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40:28

Self, other & the space between us

Beyond the basement ·

2025/11/18

Come for a walk with me, exploring the nature of self and other - what it means to be sovereign, an individual in relationship with other individuals. I record this reflection in a time of loss and transition. Expect theory and tenderness: from Enneagram, instincts and attachment theory, to the longing for union, the ache of separation, and the bittersweet truth that we come in alone and leave alone.I look at how perfectionism plays into our desire for merging and control, how we project our unloved

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41:05

How to tell you’re struggling

Beyond the basement ·

2025/11/11

I’m not doing so well, and I want to talk about that.In this croaky reflection, I explore what it means to know when you’re struggling. Not just intellectually, but through bodily signals you might recognise. Like the tight jaw, restless legs, sleepless nights, looping thoughts, the quiet slide from responsibility into martyrdom. Through the lens of perfectionism, I map how easily “doing our best” turns into self-neglect, resentment, and collapse.I share my own warning signs, the ways my inner

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46:17

The inconvenient truth of who you really are(n’t)

Beyond the basement ·

2025/11/04

Sorry, but you probably aren’t who (or how) you think you are. In this episode, I explore the inconvenient truth about identity - that there’s often a gap between who you take yourself to be and how other people experience us. Drawing from my embodiment coaching training, I share stories about receiving confronting feedback (and unexpected compliments), and how these moments can fundamentally shake our self-conceptions.We look at why embodied feedback - how you feel to be around in a room, the

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30:47

Attention & following what’s alive inside (not out...

Beyond the basement ·

2025/10/28

Join me in a driftwood hut on the Humber estuary, where we explore what I believe to be your most precious asset - your attention and presence, where your consciousness, focus and attention goes (and your body along with it). I call this ‘aliveness’ for short.We’ll explore why aliveness isn’t necessarily something ‘out there’ to chase, but life that’s already within you (like desire, wants, attraction) and why and how it demands expression, as well as fulfilment.I’ll share stories of how my

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43:31

Grief and all its friends

Beyond the basement ·

2025/10/21

Join me in my gently swinging hammock for a soothing, real and insightful exploration of grief and loss as a full-body experience. This episode tackles some big themes like pain, dignity, and humility: what happens when something meaningful just stops, and how to meet abrupt endings without hardening or collapsing. I talk about the dance between anger and sadness, posture and collapse, and what it means to recover a sense of agency and compassion inside the ache. Grief, for me, is not just a feeling

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31:56

Anger + sadness = a perfectionist’s traffic jam

Beyond the basement ·

2025/10/06

In this episode, let’s dive into a pattern I see in myself and many other perfectionists: when anger and sadness happen simultaneously and get stuck in the body. I talk about that moment of feeling wronged or unseen - the surge of “I want to act” colliding with shame, grief and the impulse to shrink. It’s like driving with one foot on the accelerator and one on the brake: so much energy, but no movement.I share how I’m learning to slow down, sense anger and sadness as separate forces, and give each

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22:15

Hey perfectionist - what if you just enjoyed your...

Beyond the basement ·

2025/09/23

Under a giant ash tree in my local cemetery, I unpack a juicy invitation a friend offered me: what if I simply enjoyed my biological instincts - without judging them or needing to act on them? If you’re a regular listener you’ll know I’m a recovering perfectionist. So I notice how quickly I police urges (from cream buns to sexual desire), labelling them “right/wrong” and shutting down aliveness. Here I reveal an edgy challenge in my own life - feelings of attraction that have awakened primal

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51:43

How to be more playful in everyday life - reclaiming...

Beyond the basement ·

2025/09/15

It’s a juicy question, and one I tried to answer in the closing moments of my ‘Think Less, Play More’ workshop at Happy Startup School’s Summercamp. What emerged was good enough, yet could have been clearer - so here’s my attempt to explore and answer aloud.I share why playfulness isn’t about learning to “do” play, but about subtracting the noise and distractions that cover up our natural capacity to “be” playful. I talk about following aliveness, experimenting with safe ways of play, and

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38:15

Cabaret of chaos: An improviser’s guide to playing in...

Beyond the basement ·

2025/09/02

Join me unpacking a recent experience of improvising at a festival - in a room that wasn’t quite ready to play. What started as a search for lightness turned into a fascinating, often excruciating exploration of what happens when improv meets uncertainty, nervous systems, and a whole lot of silence.This is part analysis, part rant, and part love letter to the art of play. I share what I learned about game-building, commitment, group dynamics, and what improvisers know deeply: how to meet a moment,

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24:10

Why bother with Perfectionism?

Beyond the basement ·

2025/07/31

Perhaps perfectionism’s just a quirk in your life, you’re not even sure what it is, or what it has to do with you - then this episode is for you.I make the case for why it’s worth getting curious about perfectionism—not just as a personality trait or habit, but as a powerful, often hidden force shaping how you feel, work, relate, and live. You don’t have to call yourself a perfectionist to benefit from exploring it.This isn’t about diagnosis it’s about self-understanding. In this episode, I offer

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27:31

Your style of play

Beyond the basement ·

2025/07/29

In this episode, I explore something you could call your play love language - the idea that each of us has a particular way we enjoy playing, even if we think we’re “not a playful person.”I often meet people who say they don’t know how to play or forgot, or that they’ve never really felt playful. So I wanted to take a closer look: What is play, really? How do we find our way into it without pressure or performance? And what might it mean to reclaim play as a personal, pleasurable, maybe even vital

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32:22

Perfectionism’s tight grip on the steering wheel of...

Beyond the basement ·

2025/07/22

In this episode, I talk about why letting go can feel almost impossible - especially for perfectionists. Not because we don’t want to relax, but because our whole system has been trained to hold on, grip tighter, and stay in control.I explore how this contraction shows up in the smallest places: in how we walk, speak, think, write, and relate. It’s not just a behaviour - it’s a survival strategy. And letting go for people like us isn’t about forcing ourselves to relax. It’s about noticing the grip,

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21:25

Uncertainty: your mind’s least favourite hobby (and...

Beyond the basement ·

2025/07/15

If there’s one thing humans resist, it’s not knowing - stepping into a void of uncertainty (a.k.a being alive).In this episode, I explore our very human relationship with the unknown. I reflect on how your mind instinctively scrambles to make meaning when we find ourselves in unfamiliar territory - and how that effort to “work it out” can sometimes get in the way of effectively navigating what unfolds, and even thriving and creating in it.Borrowing lessons from improvisation, I talk about the

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40:47

Do you suffer from seriousness fatigue?

Beyond the basement ·

2025/06/30

In this episode, I explore a condition I call Seriousness Fatigue™ - a surprisingly common but under-diagnosed affliction affecting grown-ups everywhere. Symptoms include: chronic joylessness, relentless productivity, and a general heaviness that makes life feel like a spreadsheet.It’s a playful diagnosis, but a real experience. I look at how fun deficit disorder (FDD) links to perfectionism, mental over-exertion, and emotional and physical disconnection. I also offer a few suggested treatments

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36:09

Love, loss, limits & letting go (life after Laurie)

Beyond the basement ·

2025/06/24

If you’re a regular listener, you’ll know Laurie (my dog) was a robust presence in my life, and our relationship was both loving and incredibly challenging. It wasn’t simple. It stretched me, frustrated me, entertained me, taught me. Living with him, and later rehoming him, pushed me to my limits - but that was only the beginning of the journey. I had no idea what would happen next…This is me sharing a story and reflecting on the experience - what it taught me about navigating boundaries and grief

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36:24

Learning to trust yourself again

Beyond the basement ·

2025/06/19

Ever questioned your trust in yourself or doubted your capacity to do brave things? Ever felt weak or ashamed because of that?In this episode I share reflections from periods of my life when I’ve felt raw, alone and unsupported - when I had to rebuild trust with myself as a matter of self-preservation. And what I’ve discovered is that self-trust doesn’t come from pushing through, ‘man-ing-up’, or performing confidence. It grows quietly, in moments of honesty, in choosing gentleness, and deliberately

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33:10

Our inability to sit still, alone (and what happens...

Beyond the basement ·

2025/06/16

Modern life really isn’t set up for being slow and still. It can feel uncomfortable, even pointless. Yet beyond the resistance, I’ve been discovering something tender, alive and a source of great relief. This episode is me sharing that process with you.In this episode, I talk about something very simple - but not always easy: sitting still and being with myself. No fixing, no doing, just being with myself and noticing what’s there. That simple.It started as an experiment, but it’s been surprisingly

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281 results

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