Episode 19: Story of Trust, Surrender & Worthiness with Lisa Hillyer

Meet Lisa Hillyer, yoga teacher, life coach and world traveller.  She works with dedicated motive to guide people back to themselves and reconnect to the person that’s always been within.  She lives her life joyously and with deep purpose.  As you would’ve guessed, it took some stumbling to get here.  Also a lot of hard work.  A lot.  There was that time when she moved to Australia and all her dreams came true but she found herself feeling miserable.  She had to do some digging on the inside to figure out what that was all about.  Then there was that time that she went to India and the culture shock kept her in a flurry of confusion and blocked senses.  She was left with little choice but to learn the lesson of surrender and trust.  When you look at the big picture, it was actually the stumbling that helped her find her way; and that’s the story that she’s here to tell.  In this episode, Lisa shares with us how she went from miserably numbing herself to living a life adorned with love, travel and worthiness.

Key Nuggets:

• The root of yoga is the path of the self through the self
• A lesson learned from the streets of India is that true joy is intrinsic, irrespective of the external environment
• Meditation can be your first shift toward freedom from inner torment.  It help disconnect you from your ego and connect you back to your true self, reminding you that everything that you need is within.
•  Shifting your limiting beliefs: Just because you believed it in the past doesn’t mean you need to move forward with it.  Lisa worked through her limiting beliefs with Yoga Nidra.
• Antidote to unworthiness is self-care, self-love and connection to self. When you understand your purpose and your truth the unworthiness starts to fade away.
• Self-love comes when we are willing to look at all parts of ourselves, even the places that seem dark.

One of Your Biggest Lesson So Far:

Path to our truth is: Trust + Surrender

• Trust that you are exactly where you need to be, that inner knowing.
• Surrender your control.  The type of control that is gripping and suffocating. 

Your Deepest Truth:

Connecting to self and connecting others to do the same.  When you heal your inner world, you heal yourself and that’s when we heal this planet

Links:

If you have any questions for Lisa or want to learn more, connect with her through:

Website: http://www.heartsoulhealthwellness.com

Email: lisahillyer@heartsoulhealthwellness.com

Episode 18: Another Dream, Lived. With Kristy Dhaliwal

People who takes leaps and say yes to what they truly want have good stories to share.  These stories are inspiring, leaving us feeling uplifted and motivated to take on the world.  In this episode, we talk with Kristy Dhaliwal, an amazing gal who has taken leaps to find her path.  She’s a massage therapist, entrepreneur and yoga junkie.  Her path wasn’t always clear though and there was some searching to be had before she found what she loved.  She shares her story of how she found her passion and built a business with it.  She also gives us a couple tips on how to get rid of those annoying knots in our muscles.

Key Nuggets:

• Trigger points are what we usually call the knots in our muscles.  They form when certain muscles get overworked (ex. sitting at a desk for eight hours).
• Many people experience shoulder/back pain due to sitting all day long.  To relieve this, stretch out your chest! 
• To release trigger points try using a tennis ball (squash ball or rubber bouncy ball for more intense release) and placing it right on a trigger point.  Gently put some weight on it until you feel a softening.
• Doing some yoga before a massage can make the most of your appointment.  The movement helps stretch and warm the muscles up.

One of Your Biggest Lessons So Far:

Everything happens for a reason.  An oldie but a goodie - keep in your back pocket when faced with challenging times! 

Links:

If you have any questions for Kristy or want to learn more, connect with her through:

Website: bloomtherapy.ca

Email:  kristy@bloomtherapy.ca 

Facebook: @bloomtherapymassage

Instagram: @bloomtherapymassage

Twitter: @bloom_therapy

Episode 17: Navigating the Rapids of FEAR. A Candid Conversation.

Transitions are never easy even if it’s a change for the better.  And it’s even scarier when we are taking a leap of faith.  But what if we let the FEAR guide us rather than hinder us?  It’s been an interesting journey.  FEAR has become a frequent friend (I didn’t see this coming!) and I’ve been doing a lot of getting to know it better.  And I do…I think.  It sticks its scary face all up in mine but rather than running away, I’ve developed a relationship with it.  Afterall, it still counts as a feeling. And if it’s one thing that I know for sure, our feelings are here to guide us.  This one’s a bit crasser than the others, but it’s still here to shows us something.  When we take that perspective then we can begin to get curious rather than hide.  I recently had such a good conversation with my friend Alison about this.  Being the wonderful soul that she is, she ended up recording it for me to do with it what I will.  I wasn't sure if I wanted to make an episode out of it because it's such an intimate look into my journey.  Oh the FEAR of being SEEN! But here's the thing, it really was a great conversation and I think it might spark something in you too this so with excitement much anticipation, I’ve decided to share my journey with you!

When I took a leap of faith to follow my heart's calling, I thought the leap was going to be the pinnacle of it all.  You know, the hardest part is just getting started right?  What I didn't realize was that while the grass is greener where my soul can breath, it's also completely new terrain that I need to learn to navigate.  For one thing, fear likes to get real snug with me over on this side.  It's like an overprotective mother that would prefer it if I lived in a bubble.  I guess it's needier now than ever since I decided to break out for some fresh air.  It's only been a few months since I took a leap but I've sure learned a whole lot about FEAR.  I had to! Otherwise it would've coerced me back to a place where I'd suffocate.  Here's what I've learned:

• First off, to give fear some credit, it isn't completely bad.  As a feeling, it really does help us understand ourselves and what's happening around us.  The trick is to understand if the fear comes from the reptilian brain (basic flight or fight system) or if it's resistance from our soul.  Reptilian brain is here to keep us safe.  Perfect if we're trying to avoid running into a bear or if our house is on fire.  Unfortunately it's not high tech enough to decipher between caveman struggles versus 21st century modern people struggles.  It's just trying to keep us alive and out of danger.  So if you want to try something that your brain already perceives as somewhat risky....say giving public speaking a try or starting your own business, your reptilian brain does the same thing as it would if you had run into a bear "STRANGER DANGER! STRANGER DANGER! RING THE ALARM!  This man/woman is going to try something that might not go well.  This is madness! RETREAT! RETREAT!"

Our inner caveman is just trying to keep us safe, but our struggles are different than when we had to build our own fires and kill prey with sticks and stones.  That's when we need to look inward and align with our soul calling.  Our innermost selves know the way, we just need to learn to listen.  I'm working on that right now.  I've spent so many years "powering through" and listening to my external environment that I've numbed my ability to hear messages from my innermost self.  Unless it's really obvious ex. I feel like I'm suffocating and my chest is crushing against a ton of bricks, I can't hear it that well. I'm learning though, and know that I'll find my way back.  We all can, it's innate within each and everyone of us.  If you can't hear that well, start small.  Noticing how it feels even with the most benign decisions - oatmeal or eggs for breakfast?  dinner with friends or date night? And then veer towards what feels good.  Open.  Aaaahhh.    

• Fear is scary.  Our natural instinct is to run away from it.  Shove it deep, deep down or avoid it altogether.  Exactly the opposite needs to be done in order to find relief.  You need to become aware of it, acknowledge it and make friends with it.  Knowing what you're afraid of in the first place gives you a wealth of insight.  It usually unveils a false limiting belief (stories you believe about yourself that's not true but you let it hold you back) or buried hurt that needs healing.  It doesn't end there though, you need to begin to develop a relationship with fear.  What message is it giving you?  What does it mean? Is it true or is it the confused reptilian brain?  How have you negotiated to sit with it if you appreciate it, but definitely don't need it as you forge forward?  For me, when I my inner self is sending me a message to "go get 'em!"  (by feeling open, free, happy, exhilarated and excited) but my reptilian brain floods me with fear, I imagine myself in a car.  I am in the driver's seat, steering the way, and fear (which I've decided is a friendly albeit worrisome lizard) is strapped in beside me.  If it has something to say, I listen, smile and then continue driving.  As they say about our marital spouses "you can't live with them, but you can't live without them".  Strap in. Smile. 
• Lastly, the secret sauce.  Find your meditation - that thing that drops you into inner peace.  You are so engaged that the buzzing in your mind stops and so does time.  In a way, you fall into nothingness.  Nothingness is absolutely perfect.  Nothing is everything.  As the wise philosopher Lao Tzu says

"We mold clay into a pot,but it is the emptiness inside that makes the vessel useful." 

So find your meditation.  It doesn't have to be meditation.  Yoga, singing, dancing, painting....   Do it often.  It will reconnect you to your innermost knowing.  Then, listen.

I hope you enjoyed the podcast!   What's your relationship with fear?  Meaningful conversations are my jam and invite you to leave your comments below. Namaste.

Episode 16: Mindfulness + Food: How combining them can help you live more fully w/ Sally Powis-Campbell

“To be mindful is to be fully present with whatever we are doing. If you are drinking tea, just drink your tea. Do not drink your worries, your projects, your regrets. When you hold your cup, you may like to breathe in, to bring your mind back to your body, stop your thinking, and become fully present. In that moment, you become real and the cup of tea becomes real. In this state of true presence and freedom you enjoy simply drinking your tea."

- Thich Nhat Hanh

In a nutshell, Sally Powis-Campbell is a mindful helper for kids and the kid in all of us.  If you want official titles then she’s a psychologist, yoga teacher, meditation guide, food artist, mindful food event curator, writer (book in the works), and competitive trail runner!  Her craft is the marriage of her two biggest passions: mindfulness and food.  Mindfulness is slowing down and focusing.  Taking pause to become aware of all five senses, tuning into your inner and outer world without attachment.  This simple practice gives you the power to live more fully.  Food is pretty straightforward, so we think.  But what’s your relationship with food like?  Not many people consider this.  In fact, it’s kind of difficult to come up with an answer if you’ve never thought about it before.  Good thing Sally’s here!  She teaches us how to create a connection with food so that we can eat mindfully and ultimately, live more fully.  She begins by bringing us through a six minute tea meditation.  It’s one of the most beautiful meditations I’ve ever done and it’s not to be missed.  So come on, grab your cup of tea (or any beverage of choice) and plug in those ear buds!    

Key Nuggets:

• Slowing down and living mindfully can help us to live more fully.  One practice to incorporate into your life is a mindful tea or coffee meditation.  Becoming aware of all five sense – feel of the cup, color of the tea, the smell, the taste and the sound of the tea as you swallow.  Sally brings us through a six minute tea meditation in the podcast so tune into 6:57 to get right to it.
• Mindfulness allows us to become aware of what’s in us and around us.  Tapping into our senses, releasing judgement. Let go of the criticism. 
• Just a 10min -12min meditation per daycan literally change your brain structure.
•  Creating a connection with your food is one partSome ways to enhance our connection with food, we can:
  • Make sure we know where our food comes from.  If you make sure it’s good food, maybe even locally grown, you learn a story about the food and now you build gratefulness around.
  •  Listen to your body’s hunger and fullness queues  
    •  Ear hunger – the satiation that you get from hearing yourself eat.  If we can’t hear ourselves eat, it impairs our body’s registration of how full we are.  Another reason to turn off the tv   
    • Eye hunger – creating foods that are beautiful to eat.  It helps create pause because you take a moment to soak in the sight of it. 
    • Stomach hunger – sounds straight forward but we are more out of tune than you think! A lot of times we are scarfing down our meals as quickly as possible or we get caught up multitasking while eating.  This is a dangerous route toward mindless eating.  Tuning into our bodies can significantly enhance our food experience.  Here’s a tip on how to do that: before you begin your meal, rate your hunger level between 1-10.  Do this again in the middle of the meal and end of the meal.  Getting an idea of what full really feels like. 
• Tip: We make over 200 food decisions a day.  Portion out big bags of food into smaller Ziploc bags so they are already pre-proportioned to discourage mindless eating (ex. Finding yourself at the bottom of your bag of chips)
• Another way to create mindfulness and connection through food is to create a food ritual.  Sally commits herself to a Sunday night family dinner every single Sunday.  There is much fun and excitement in preparing the meal together, baking fresh bread and making time to talk.  Slowing down on Sunday night sets her and her family up for the upcoming week’s success.

One of Your Biggest Lessons So Far:

Find moments of pause throughout the day and slow down.  That will end up making you more efficient.

Links:

If you have any questions for Sally or want to learn more, connect with her through:

Instagram: @wholistichealthyyc

Email: sally@wholistichealthyyc.com

Website: www.wholistichealthyyc.com   

Episode 15: Find Your Intuition with Naomi Parker

This episode is just as multifaceted as the guest itself.  Naomi Parker is based in YYC and is a mom, biologist, yoga teacher, and energy healer.  She takes us through not just one, but two stories and brings us into territories that are unknown to most of us.  Story One. A yoga journey.  Naomi shares how she found yoga and how she eventually ended up becoming a yoga teacher.  The conversation enrichens as she shares her passion about pranayama (breath work) – the importance, benefits and tips on how to do her favorite breathing exercise.  It is here that we begin to sense she’s not an ordinary yoga teacher. This leads to Story Two. The unfolding of an energy healer.  Naomi opens up about how she eventually honed into her gifts in energy healing after casting it aside for three decades.  Keep an open mind as she takes us into the world of the esoteric.  Seriously.  If you think your mind is open, open more!  Topics extend beyond the energetic flows of our bodies and into a world that many of us have probably never heard of before.  If you like to contemplate philosophies of humanity and the meaning of being a human, this episode is for you!  

Key Nuggets:

• A reminder that the most lucrative yoga session is one where you honor your body and your practice exactly as they are.  True acceptance is key.  No comparison, release of judgement.
• Naomi is passionate about pranayama (breath work).  In fact she incorporates them into her yoga classes.  On the energetic side, she has one-on-one consultations with clients just to work on their breathing.  Here are her tips:
  • Pranayama, when translated from Sanskrit, means ‘life force’. 
  • Our breath can heal our body, open us up to our intuition, reduce stress, find calm, bring clarity and help understand blockages that might be keeping us from our potential
  • Breathe with intention, deep breaths from your head all the way down to your toes.  You can practice this by opening and closing your day with a breathing exercise.
  • Naomi’s favorite breathing exercise is  Nadi Shodhana or ‘alternate nostril breathing’.  She recommends 6-12 rounds.
    • Begin by taking your right hand and placing your ring finger on your left nostril and thumb on your right nostril.  Index and middle fingers on third eye.
    • Variation #1: Close left nostril with ring finger > inhale through right nostril > plug right nostril with thumb > exhale through left nostril > inhale through left nostril > plug left nostril > exhale through right nostril > Repeat
    • Variation #2: the secular version.  Same starting hand position > plug left nostril > inhale through right > exhale through left nostril > plug left nostril > inhale through right > Repeat.  Makes sure to switch sides once you’ve finished your rounds on one side.
• Blockages of breath in the body can be physical, mental or spiritual.   
  •  Physical: blockage on a cellular level
  •  Mental: stored pockets of emotion and/or drama
  • Spiritual: blockage on an energetic level.  Ex. Chakras are not working together properly. 
•  Naomi’s journey with being an energetic healer.  How her knowledge affected the way she saw the world. 
• Consciousness coaching where a coach helps individuals look at their business in a holistic way.  From hashing out the business concept to identifying blockages.  That means on an energetic level too.  Roadblocks can be limiting beliefs or childhood imprints. Helping one fully understand their soul purpose.
• Sometimes challenges will repeat themselves until you learn from them.  Shine a light on it and it won't seem so scary.

One of Your Biggest Lessons So Far:

Love yourself – continue to work on yourself and peel back the layer.  

Everything that you are is perfect

Resources:

o   An article that discusses the card experiment we talked about that shows how our body or gut instinct knows an answer long before our mind or analytical brain is willing to believe.  The Science Behind Intuition, by Psychology Today

o   We also talked about the book I read about past lives: Many Masters, Many Lives by Dr.Brian Weiss

Links:

If you have any questions for Naomi or want to learn more, connect with her through:

Email: elemental.yoga.wellness@gmail.com

Website:  www.elementalwellness.com

Facebook: Elemental Wellness Yoga

Episode 14: A Lifelong Learner, A Heart Calling. With Kate Mak

Kate Mak is one of YYC’s favorite yoga teachers. A mover and shaker who pursues tirelessly to create community.  Her classes usually include an eloquent flow, something new and a cheesy joke or two.  She’ll tell you a story about the ancient deities or maybe sing to you while playing the harmonium.  As a student, you just know that you are in good hands.  You can be sure that the space is held, you’ll learn something new and most importantly, you’ll walk out of your practice feel oh so good. So how does a yoga teacher learn to seamlessly incorporate movement, yoga teachings, excitement and laughter to their class so well?  Keep on learning! For real.  Kate has a voracious appetite for learning and never plans to stop.  That’s how she eventually found herself in an NYC ashram. In this episode, Kate shares her story about how she finally heeded to the calling of her heart, transforming from a young neuroscientist who was unsure of her path and into a glowingly happy yoga teacher who travels around the world for a living.  She teaches about the importance of being a lifelong learner and lets us in on her next journey as she makes even bigger waves in the community by creating her very own yoga teacher training.  

Key Nuggets:

• Kate’s Tips on choosing a yoga teacher training:
  • Start with understanding what kind of a schedule do you’ll need - intensive or broken down over the course of a year?  Some of us have an open schedule but others may need to work around office hours.
  • Ask teachers that you resonate with the most where they took theirs.
  • Understand what kind of yoga styles you want to learn
  • Make sure you feel good!  You should feel excited and happy about your decision.
• Kate’ tips on how to keep learning as a yoga teacher:
  • Go to workshops
  • Attend festivals
  • Listen to TED Talks and Podcasts
• There’s always an opportunity to learn.  Sometimes we learn something but don’t fully comprehend the lesson until later…it can even be years later.
• Your big dream isn’t too big!  If it’s overwhelming, divide it into digestible chunks and build up piece by piece, one step at a time.

One of Your Biggest Lessons So Far:

Keep learning, there’s always a lesson.  It’s never too late and you’re never too old.

Links:

If you have any questions for Kate or want to learn more, connect with her through:

Website: www.katewmak.com

Email: on website

Kate's Yoga Teacher Training: www.mynahschoolofyoga.com

Episode 13: One Man's Unfolding with Matthew Keleman

Life is a great unfolding and when we surrender we open ourselves to deep meaning.  Our perspective shifts and we become attuned to the sacredness of being.  Our experiences in this life become keen and insightful.  Perhaps as we place our feet on the Earth we suddenly become aware of how connected we are to nature, more than we’ve ever felt before; or perhaps we look up at the stars and it’s like as if we’re seeing them for the first time, we can gaze upon these gems all night long.  We are humbled at how beautiful life can be.  We learn to embrace that our paths come in many forms and that there is no formula and no “straight” path.  We’re all the same in that we will eventually arrive at the same destination but each individual’s story is unique.  Love, joy, heartbreak, spiritual awakenings…sharing stories of our personal journeys can inspire, build compassion, bring understanding, and ultimately help weave us even closer to this human experience. 

This episode is exactly that as Matthew Keleman, a Calgary based yoga teacher, shares with us about his own unfolding.  We had a deeply meaningful conversation and it was an honor talking to him as he came open with nothing but his authenticity.  A truly beautiful soul – so many layers, so reflective and he frames his experiences in such a poetic manner helping remind us of the eloquence in life if only we let ourselves see it. 

In Matt’s words “To me, yoga as a term is a reference to the story of my slow unfolding and emergence as a being. My coming together of parts in the realization of what we all innately know but have perhaps forgotten. As a practice, yoga is many things. A playground, and science lab, a theatre stage, a hospital bed...a dynamic expression of the self in all of its living glory and connection.”

Key Nuggets:

• Another quote from Matt as he writes “I've learned about respect. Respect from an empathetic place. People bare their very souls on their yoga mat; sometimes this is repressive and sometimes it is gushing, but regardless of its nature, it is on display when you come to your mat. While my journey has taken me through specific valleys and over specific mountains with very specific viewpoints, I have come to realize that we are all experiencing this same road with a different lens, and although we have tools for absorbing these lessons and we are entitled to share our stories, it is simply respect for the authenticity of what each person is going through that allows the brightest evolution of the species to shine through peacefully.”

One of Your Biggest Lessons So Far:

Being yourself because who you are [at the very core] is who you always will be.  It's about trusting that and learning to love yourself.

Links:

 If you have any questions for Matt or want to learn more, connect with him through:

Classes (based in Calgary): Yoga and Beyond and meditations at Modern + Mindful

Instagram: @monkeyogi

Espisode 12: Reiki noun /’reIkI/ (ray-keeey) Oh, there’s healing energy all around us. Well what’s the scoop on that? with Alishia Alibhai

Alishia Alibhai is a Social Psychologist, Reiki Master, and Soul Coach.  She started off entrenched in the academic side of things but also had a deep seated knowledge that there was something more that she could be doing to help people.  Partway through her graduate studies, she found a course for Reiki and eagerly hopped on board.  She opened up her business, Divine Bliss, in 2009 and has been sharing her healing and knowledge since then.  With a PhD in psychology and all three levels of Reiki training, Alishia offers a unique standpoint for understanding the world of energy.  On the one hand her academic background provokes her to seek hard proof and evidence but on the other, her Reiki training has taught her to trust by experience and through the heart, even if you cannot see with your naked eye.  I was so excited to meet her because that’s the world I live in too!   One foot in our tangible earthly world, and one foot ready to take flight to trust in an inner wisdom that cannot be seen.  Alishia was a wonderful sport as I peppered her with all sorts of questions to try to understand this Reiki business.  What is it exactly?  How can it help us? How does it work?...

Okay, before we dive in, a bit more about the topic.  Reiki, pronounced ray-keeey, is a healing practice developed in Japan by a man called Mikao Usui around the 1900s. The concept is for the practitioner to harness already existing healing energy and channel it to the client to promote health of the body, mind and spirit.  Chances are you’ve probably heard of it or at least seen it depicted in some movie or TV show.  It usually plays the part of comedic relief where an eclectic hippy person tries to heal someone by waving their hands around.  It’s funny, yes, but there’s more to it than just a good laugh.  The exchange of energy between people is something we’ve all experienced, so why wouldn’t it make sense that sometimes the energy exchanged can be healing?  This episode is another stone in the path toward understanding all that is connected.  

Key Nuggets:

•  Benefits of reiki include improved health to body mind and spirit.  Specifically:
  • Increase relaxation and feeling of peace
  • Decrease stress and anxiety
  • Bring clarity to the mind
  • Clear out energy blockages
•  Hydrate, drink lots of water before a reiki session
• When you think about feeling energy, think about walking into a room where there was just a heated argument versus a room that’s been blessed or prayed in.  It feels different, you just know.
• A Reiki Master isn’t necessarily “better” than somebody with just level I or II.  The secret is in how much you practice.

One of Your Biggest Lessons So Far:

Trusting.  Trust yourself, we all are powerful and have strong intuition to know what’s best for ourselves.  We just need to hone into it.

Links:

If you have any questions for Alishia or want to learn more, connect with her through:

Email: info@divinebliss.ca

Website: http://www.divinebliss.ca/

Episode 11: Upgrade Your Food Game with Malcolm Saunders

Malcom Saunders is the founder and owner of Calgary’s health food joint, the Light Cellar.  With products like reishi mushroom, chaga powder and your choice of cacao nibs, paste or powder, he’s opening up a whole new world of health foods to this city.  The store also has an elixir bar so that you can get your superfood fix as you shop.  In today’s episode we hear about how this world traveller found his passion in food.  Malcolm also gears us up with tips, advice and a new perspective on how to eat. Spoiler alert: it’s more basic than you think. 

But first, a little bit more about Malcolm:  Malcolm Saunders’ mission is to deeply connect people to their food. He has worked in the field of food and nutrition for close to 20 years and is a public speaker and intuitive chef who specializes in sharing the alchemy of superfoods and superherbs. Through his videos, workshops and seminars he has helped thousands of individuals recreate their relationship to food. He has an expertise and passion for creating and teaching others how to make energizing and healing foods, including chocolate, elixirs and ferments. Malcolm’s desire is to inspire others to live and eat from a space that honours the sacredness of all Life, illuminating the power of influence our food choices have on ourselves, other beings, and the planet we live on.

Key Nuggets:

• If you want to get into superfoods or even just healthier foods in general, think about it as upgrading your food.  Kind of like the boosters that you can choose when you get a smoothie at a juice shop.  It doesn’t need to be a complete overhaul in one swoop.  Perhaps today it’s a tablespoon of hemp seeds in your salad and tomorrow cacao paste for your hot chocolate.
• To get started with intuitive eating (eating by listening to what your body needs) follow these steps:

1. Remember and recognize that your body is self -healing and self- guiding to begin with.  For example, you get hungry when you need more nutrients; you get thirsty when you need hydration.  It can be that easy!
2. Go natural – ditch the processed foods and move toward foods that are fresh and in its most natural form as possible
3. Tune into your hunger, know what full means to you
4. Find a teacher – find opportunities to learn whether it be tutorials on websites, talking to an expert at a health food store or finding speaking events to attend

• A new perspective on food groups - an ancestral food guide based on the 4 kingdoms of life:
  • Plants: abundant, colorful and vibrant.  A basic guide is that each color represents a nutrients (ie. green = chlorophyll, orange = beta carotene)
  • Animals: understanding that all parts of the animal provide nutritional value
  •  Bacteria: like yogurt ,miso, or kim chi. These are living foods and are important because they help free up nutrients that we wouldn’t normally be able to digest
  • Fungi: from single cell yeast (ie. for bread), to white button mushrooms, this group acts as both food and medicine
•  Malcolm’s recommendation for a top key superfood is the reishi mushroom, which is grounding and supports the cardiovascular system among other benefits.  You can drink it as a tea or take it as a capsule in powder form.
• Author Terry Willard has written many books on the natural remedies and in specific, the beneficial properties of the reishi mushroom.
• This absolutely mindblowing episode about the secret life of plants from Rabiolab.

One of Your Biggest Lessons So Far:

It matters just as much what you eat as how you eat it.  Be mindful of what has your attention at the dinner table.

Links:

If you have any questions for Malcolm or want to learn more, connect with him through his websites.  Both have free e-courses that can help you learn more:

https://thelightcellar.ca/

and                       

http://malcolmsaunders.com/

Bonus Episode: BALI DREAMS - Recounting the Trip of a Lifetime with Kim Phan and Nat Phung

                (More Pictures Below!)

I travelled to Southeast Asia for the very first time in March 2016 and it easily became one of the best travel experiences I’ve ever had.  I spent half of my time in Bali and I’ll never forget the people, culture, luscious flora, and fragrant cuisine. In this episode, I have the pleasure of recounting the discoveries of this beautiful island with my travel mates.  Below you’ll find a photo gallery of the moments we talk about in the podcast (a picture is worth a thousand words!) and a summary of the tips and lessons learned that we shared.  If you’re planning to travel to Bali I hope you gain some helpful tips.  At the very least I hope you enjoy in sharing with these memories!

Our Adventure Course: Ubud – Jimbaran – Seminyak/Kuta – Sanur – Ubud (for the Bali Festival…which we didn’t even have time to talk about during the show!)

Most Awesome Places:

• Mount Batur sunrise trek – the biggest highlight of my trip.  A four hour hike up 1717meters that starts at 1am so that you can catch the sunrise by the time you reach the top.  The view is breathtaking as you realize that you climbed so high, you are standing above the clouds.  As the sun rises, the whipped cream clouds dissipates and reveals luscious greenery down below.  And as with almost all parts of Bali, the monkeys are around there too!
• Ayana Resort – a top notch experience, lavishing us in complete luxury.  Cold towels and tea served to us everywhere we went, access to a private beach and personal greetings at events.  It’s a highlight as we are sure we wouldn’t be able to afford this level of service back in North America!  We actually booked the Rimba, which is the more economical version.  It was the perfect choice because the décor was more contemporary than the Ayana plus we still had access to the entire resort including their eleven pools.
• Kubu Beach – Ayana Resort’s private beach.  One of the most pristine and beautiful beaches we experienced.
• Kecak dance (pronounced ka – jak) – traditional Balinese dance using the gamelan (looks like a xylophone).  The sound, pitch and movements are actually indescribable as it’s not similar to anything I’ve ever seen before.  I’ve attached a video (link) because I don’t have the words to describe!
• Sanur – a quaint town perfect for restoring energy during the middle of our trip. 
• Fresh tropical fruits – don’t be shy try them all!  Snakeskin fruit, rambutan, mangosteen…. They’re all sweet, delicious and pretty mild.  Maybe except for durian which is a bit pungent, but try it anyway!  It’s the freshest from the side of the street.
• Spas – a huge part of Souteast Asia hospitality.  The services are well done and you can spoil yourself for a fraction of the price that it costs in North America.

Tips:

• If you plan to do yoga make sure you bring your own yoga mat or a towel to practice on. Balinese actually don’t practice physical yoga so there aren’t many shops that sell yoga mats.
• Don’t plan a full schedule everyday especially on a long trip.  We were there for two weeks and so happy to have had 2 days to rest at Sanur.  You’ll thank yourself for the R&R time.
• It’s HOT over there.  Be prepared – I was so happy that I brought a bunch of workout tops as they helped wicked my sweat away.  Remember to stay hydrated often!

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Episode 10: Wake up! Listen, Redefine Success and then Find It with Christopher Lawrence

From corporate maven to business owner, Christopher Lawrence is a life coach who found his calling after spending fifteen years in a job that he felt empty in.  The transition didn’t come easy – in fact it took many difficult lessons including death and medication to give him the wisdom that he has now.  Knowing the utter importance of doing what you love, Chris now pours his heart into coaching people toward discovering their dream job. 

Join us as we discuss how to define what success really means, the thoughts that hold us back and why it’s important to definitely try.  Chris shows us how to overcome our obstacles with some fresh nuggets of wisdom, including a very generous offer for a free 90 minute personal life coaching session!  Read on to see how to book with the promo code…

Key Nuggets:

• Money doesn’t bring you happiness but sometimes it seems that somebody has to reach a point of experiencing financial satisfaction first to really understand this. At least that was the case for Chris
• Where you steer your car is where you’re going to head.  A helpful metaphor for understanding the power of belief
• There is a village available to support you but you need to make yourself available to them to help you
• Redefining failure vs. success: We tend to think of success as a one single point to get to and anything short of it is failure, but what if we think of failure as the one single point and success is everything is in between
• It’s scary to navigate murky waters….but it’s scarier to not have tried.  We are scared and we come up with a lot of “what ifs”.  The antidote question to those are “…and then what?”.  Continue to answer the questions and you’ll see it’s not so bad
•  Chris’ single most impactful tool for success: Write down your goals.
  • Go deeper and write down why they are so important to achieve, create an emotional attachment
  • Write down the steps needed to achieve this
  • Write down all of the obstacles that can get in the way and come up with ways to overcome each of those obstacles. Remind yourself how resourceful you are and remember that overcoming obstacles is actually part of the momentum
• Another question to ponder: What problems have you overcome that you’ve been able to find solutions to?  Because that skill is transferrable to your other issues

PROMO CODE:

Chris is giving away a free 90 minute session with him, available until the end of the year, December 31st, 2017.  In this session he will set you up with a motivational map, help you get clarity on where you need to go next, identify obstacles currently in your way, and action items for how to get there.  This offer is available to listeners in all locations. 

Go to www.ChangeMyLifeCoaching.ca > click on ‘our team’ > look for Christopher Lawrence > Book a 'top 3 motivator' strategy session > enter promo code MONKI2017 under 'coupon'

Resources:

• Book: The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg – talks about how to set yourself up for success
• Book: Biology of Belief by Bruce Lipton – talks about the science behind power of belief
• Iyanla Vanzant – The speaker feature on Oprah that said ‘life will jerk you if you don’t take the subtle signs’

One of Your Biggest Lessons So Far:

It’s not going to go the way that you want it to, but it doesn’t mean that it can’t still be amazing.

Links:

If you have any questions for Chris or want to learn more, connect with him through his:

Email: Christopher@ChangeMyLifeCoaching.ca

Website: www.ChangeMyLifeCoaching.ca

Facebook Page: Change My Life Coaching 

Episode 9: Canna What? Cannabis! The New Kid on the Block in Natural Healing with Julie Nguyen

Canna what?  Cannabis!  Smoke it, eat it, bake it, vape it.  This mighty little plant is well known for its recreational uses but what can it do for us in terms of health benefits?  Join our conversation as Julie Nguyen, GM of Aura Health Studios & Dispensary, explains why cannabis is the rising star of the natural healing industry…

But first a little bit about my good friend Julie!  This amazing gal has always been ingrained in the world of natural healing.  She was introduced to yoga by her mom although she didn’t know what it was called at the time.  Julie’s mom is also an active member of the Buddhist community so Julie was often exposed to meditation at the temple as a little girl.  This exposure set the foundation for Julie to develop a yoga practice as an adult to find balance and decompress body and mind.  A consistent practice was much needed as she spent twelve years working a fast paced career in sales and marketing across multiple industries.  Eventually she found her way to Aura Health Studios where she was able to combine her corporate experience with her affinity for natural healing. 

She was able to bring her vision for a holistic health studio come to life, where a variety of healing modalities can be offered all under one roof.  Currently they have a massage therapist, nutritionist, acupuncturist, and of course medical professionals for cannabis treatments.  Julie is a trailblazer in the industry as Aura’s concept is the first of its kind in Canada.  The store front doesn’t look like what you think either!  It’s bright, pristine and chic, resonating more like your local yoga or spin studio.  Since our topic is about cannabis, that’s what we focused our conversation on and boy, there’s so much knowledge to be had!! Read on to get the key nuggets…. 

Key Nuggets:

• There are over 25 medical conditions where cannabis can help
• The cannabinoid profile of the plant determines the effect that it will have on you.  For example, a higher amount of THC will elicit a “high” feeling and a higher amount of CBD will usually result in anti-anxiety a feeling of relaxation.
• There are a variety of ways to consume cannabis, including topically which usually helps an individual avoid getting a “high” feeling.
• One of the most unique properties is cannabis is that different strains have their own terpene profile (kind of the aromatherapy profile) which allows the plant to be bred so that they have specific strain ie. One for insomnia, one for creativity...

One of Your Biggest Lessons So Far:

Moving to a new city (Vancouver) and having to build a life all over again helped Julie learn the lesson to take down expectations of herself and be more compassionate to herself and to others.  There’s no need to rush the healing process.  To get the best out of people, show empathy in understanding that everyone is dealing with their own issues at any given moment and also show compassion towards them.  These actions will cause people to open up and as you help them through their struggles, oftentimes you will find yourself being healed as well.  There’s no need to rush through the healing process.

Links:

If you have any questions for Julie or want to learn more, connect with her through:

Website: aurahealthstudio.com

Email: Julie@aurahealth.ca

Guided Meditation: Loving Kindness (BONUS Episode)

Singing Bowl of Compassion

You’ll want to keep this guided 10 minute meditation in your back pocket.  Loving kindness meditation, one of my favorite meditations, expands your affinity for love and compassion so that you can love more openly towards others and most importantly, toward yourself.  It will help you find your feet when life hits you at a high velocity or for those times when you push yourself too hard.  It can be your channel to share your love out to the world for those times that your cup is overflowing with all the good things like love, joy, and gratefulness.  And on top of it all, it reminds us that we are all connected to something bigger, that we are held and supported as we try to discover this world as humble humans.  Jump to 6min 30seconds if you want to get right to it!

Break down to build up

Slow down, find your feet

Settle in, go inside

Beauty in breath

Tenderness is strength

Softness, better than a sharp tongue

You are not broken

You are amazing

Embrace the rubble

It’s beautiful to be human

You. Are. Amazing.

An outlet for beaming love and compassion

~ Namaste

Episode 8: The Desire Map – Kick off the New Year (and your life) by Feeling Good First!

When you do your goals this year, try doing the opposite of what you normally do and focus on what feels good first  thennnn think about what you should do to attain it.  This is exactly the concept that the book, The Desire Map by Danielle LaPorte, introduces.  And it makes sense.  How often do we set goals that would probably make us feel good if we attained (ex. Buy a house…) it but feels like such a chore when we work towards it (ie. Restricting yourself from even the simple pleasure of a fancy coffee once in a while…).  Worse yet, we feel like a failure if we don’t reach it.  Even worse, what if it doesn’t make us feel good after we get it!  Now that I’ve thought about it, it soooo doesn’t make sense to position feeling good as the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow; and then spend the majority of our time sacrificing, feeling bad or feeling mediocre at best.  Nuh uh.  I say take a stand for feeling good and use how you truly crave to feel guide your actions.  Of course, there’s something to be said about hard work and its necessity in cultivating success, but choose wisely as to where you want to spend your energy.

In a similar vein, the book also makes you reconsider your relationship with desire.  What does it mean to you?  For me, desire had always been associated with words like “unattainable”, “apologetic”, “too indulgent”.  Desire seemed like the something that you dream of that will happen “one day”.  One day I’ll own my own business. One day I will travel the world. One day I will have a personal butler.  It was also apologetic, like as if it was too indulgent or that I didn’t deserve it.  Danielle LaPorte helps us take a new perspective on desire…a healthier one.  One where our desires not only get to be validated but are viewed as necessary, especially if we want to understand our life purpose.   

The Desire Map is a two part book – part one talks about the concept and part two is a workbook.  That’s right, there are exercises and activities to help us get our ducks in a row!  I thought that I would be able to hammer it out in a day but had sorely underestimated the amount of heart work it would take.  I’m so glad that I took the time and effort though, because it helped me make huge, positive changes to my life in a few short months. 

I invite Ambre Comeau back to discuss The Desire Map, what our thoughts are on it, what the concept has meant for us as well any challenges or revelations that we realized along the way.  I chose Ambre because she is the one who gave me the book.  It wasn’t a birthday gift or anything – in fact it was simply a casual exchange where she passed her extra book off to me as I was walking out the door one day.  Sometimes I wonder if that transaction was merely a coincidence?  For both of us, it’s the first year that we’re implementing this concept so it’s really just the beginning…    

Key Nuggets:

• One of the most challenging questions for me was the consideration of what my relationship with desire is.  How do I feel about it, do I honour it, what is it even?

Favourite quote from book:

“When I close my eyes for a minute and consider what I want the most, when I lean into my longings, I get the image of being in a sacred kind of egg where absolutely anything is possible, and at the same time, everything is so stunningly fragile…” 

Episode 7: Trust In the Process with Ambre Comeau

Ambre Comeau is a yoga teacher and a good friend.  We met during our yoga teacher training and one thing I’ve always noticed is her ability to beeline for what she wants.  From starting a dog sitting business to teaching yoga she seems to achieve it all rather effortlessly.  So what’s the trick?  We go through Ambre’s story to try to figure out what has worked well for her in her successes and what went wrong when she didn’t succeed.  Things get mystical as she introduces me to something called a Sole Path, which is somewhat like personality test except it’s done energetically. She explains how her Sole Path has helped her better settle into her own skin.  All in all, the answer is actually quite simple and it organically (or maybe it could have been my need for order and organization) came together as kind of a process:  align to what you want, take a leap of faith, manifest and then trust in the process.    Although with that said, the easiest solutions are also the hardest.

We also take a look at personality to see if that was something that played a factor; and found that it isn’t so much personality than it is our limiting beliefs that affect the outcome of our successes.  Ambre shares a deep set limiting belief about finances that she had to banish before being able to make decisions that helped expand her business.   

Key Nuggets:

•  Aligning to what you want is the first step to being successful.  Whenever Ambre endeavoured into something she knew didn’t align, it left her drained and exhausted.  Choose what you have energy for.
•  Commit to yourself.  Actively declare to yourself what it is that you want and what you will do for it.  Don’t let it bob around aimlessly
•  Learning when to quit is equally important as learning when to persevere

One of Your Biggest Lessons So Far:

Trust the process and be honest with what it is that you want.  It will happen.  Know that if it doesn’t happen right now but it is something that’s genuine to you and something that you need and want, it will eventually happen for you. 

If it’s true to you it will truly happen. 

Links:

Ambre had her Sole Path done as part of her onboarding at the yoga studio.  Your Sole Path is like a personality test except it’s done energetically.  Here’s the institute she used:  www.solepathinstitute.org   

If you have any questions for Ambre or want to learn more, connect with her through:

Email: info@ambrediana.com

Website: www.ambrediana.com

Episode 6: Following Your Heart Doesn’t Mean that You Need to Give Up Everything with Natasha Peace

No two snowflakes are alike, and neither are free birds!  I am honoured to have interviewed Natasha Peace, who’s one of the teachers who brought me through yoga teacher training.  She’s been teaching yoga for 15 years but that’s only part of the story.  Her background is extensive and it seems like she’s done almost everything from managing a yoga studio to opening up her own restaurant.  This eclectic mix of experience is a reflection of what opportunities can open up for you if you just follow your heart.  One of the key messages is that following your heart or passion doesn’t look the same for everybody.  It doesn’t mean that you need to give up everything to pursue it.  And if you like other things, that’s OKAY, you can do those too!    

One of Your Biggest Lessons So Far:

Things are the way they’re supposed to be.  Sometimes things don’t go as planned and sometimes you need to change routes; but just because you’re changing directions doesn’t mean that you won’t be able to go to the place that you want to go.

Links:

If you have any questions for Natasha or want to learn more, connect with her through:

Email: yogatash@gmail.com

Facebook: Natasha Peace

Instagram: @yogatash

Episode 5: The 8 Limb Path of Yoga with Dannie Hoult

Dannie Hoult is a dear friend who I had the pleasure of taking yoga teacher training with.  Aside from teaching yoga, she also works as a registered nurse.  Her experience in these two areas are especially helpful as we  dust off the old yoga teacher training textbook and review the 8 Limb Path of yoga.  Patanjali, the father of yoga, has put together the 8 Limb Path so that those after him can also learn to reach enlightenment.  It’s hard work and I’m pretty sure I won’t reach it in this lifetime.  To back that fact up, Dannie and I actually only had time to go through the first limb in detail.  I don’t want you to miss out though so here’s how the recipe goes.  Oh, remember that this was written in the way, way, waaayyy back so the original writing was in Sanskrit:

1. Yamas – building character (ie. A moral compass)

                a.) Ahimsa - no violence or harm

                b.) Satya – Truthfulness

                c.) Asteya – not to steal

                d.) Brahmacharya – not to over indulge

                e.) Aparigraha – not to hoard or be possessive

2. Niyamas – how to stay on track (ie. Self-discipline)

3. Asana – the poses (yoga as we know it)

4. Pranayama – breathing; because the breath is our life force, “prana”, and we will find peace in learning how to use it

5. Pratyahara – withdrawal of the senses and tuning in (think float tank)

6. Dharana – concentration (just one point, like staring at a flame from the candle)

7. Dhyana – meditation (unbroken concentration of everything; being aware without actually having to focus on it)

8. Samadhi – enlightenment *cue angelic singing*

The descriptions that I provided are written lightly but in reality the study is fierce and intense.  Ghandi dedicated his entire life in mastering just the first two Yamas.  I don’t want to mislead you but I don’t want to scare you away either!  I’ve included a resource recommendation in the resources section if you want to delve deeper.

Key Nuggets:

• While five distinct Yamas are provided, they are all interconnected and can’t really be separated
• The Yamas seem straightforward at first but there is much depth to be found if you allow deeper contemplation on it.  Isn’t it usually the obvious advice that grants us the greatest revelations when we finally get it.  

One of Your Biggest Lessons So Far:

The biggest lesson I have learned along the way is the power of presence. Truly recognizing that this moment is what we have and what matters. Let go of what does not serve you.  It’s simple but true.  Recognize impermanence and then use it as fuel to give your entire self to the moment. It can be so powerful in connecting with myself and others.

Links and Resources:

If you want to connect with Dannie, you can:

Email: danniehoult@hotmail.com

Facebook: Dannie Hoult

Book: To learn more about what Patanjali has to say, I recommend reading The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali.  There are a variety of translations as the original is written in Sanskrit.  The version I read was translated by Sri Swami Satchidananda.  It’s an intense book and not meant to be breezed through in one sitting.  In fact, it’s the type of book that you keep easily accessible, ready to be referenced again and again.  You might even want to explore versions translated by different people.  

Episode 4: TBD

Episode 3: Mindfulness With Natalie Phung

Natalie Phung is a colourful soul with intense wanderlust, curiosity, and openness to the world.  Time spent with her is guaranteed to be interesting.  We tap into Nat’s knowledge as a psychotherapist to learn about mindfulness from a different angle.  Mindfulness has its roots in Buddhist religion but it can be practiced by anybody as its benefits are available to everybody.  In fact, Nat teaches mindfulness as a tool to her clients.  In our conversation, she breaks down the concept to help us better understand this tool and also teaches us ways to incorporate it into our everyday lives.  This is an interesting perspective as we begin to connect the gap between the western and eastern side of healing.    

Key Nuggets:

•  There is no “end point” in mindfulness, it’s about the practice itself
• Being mindful doesn’t just mean tuning into the positive feelings, sometimes it can mean that you become aware of pain as well.  And that’s not a bad thing.  If you are aware of where the pain is, then you are more likely able to find a strategy to resolve it.

One of her biggest lessons so far:                                                                                Always care for yourself and practice self-love. Life becomes infinitely easier when we focus inwards before we focus outwards.

Links:                                                                                                                                   If you have questions about mindfulness for Natalie, you can email her at  nataliephung@gmail.com

Episode 2: A Healing Journey with Alison DuRussel

Alison DuRussel is one of the most grounded people that I know.  She’s incredible at holding space for others and making them feel comforted and cared for.  Knowing this, it won’t be much of a surprise when I tell you that she is well versed in the healing arts – massage therapist, yoga teacher, and reiki master are a few examples of the different healing hats she’s worn along the way.  But her journey towards healing actually started off in the academic world.  Her first job was a pharm tech, working only in the realm of western medicine.  It was through that role that she realized the tragic reality of how dependent on drugs we can become.  She sought out a gentler way of healing, hopefully one without adverse side effects and so began her journey.  In our conversation, we follow her through the different modalities of healing, making pit stops to learn about each one.  Near the end, Alison treats us to a couple minutes of music with her crystal singing bowls so that we can experience the power of sound healing.       

One of her biggest lessons so far:                                                                                 Don’t be so hard on yourself. Be kind to yourself on this journey, things will figure themselves out.  When you stress and shift energy away from joy, that’s when struggle and anxiety comes in. Things can always be better than where they are.

Links:

If you have any questions for Alison or want to learn more, connect with her through:

Her website     

Facebook: Alison DuRussel                

Instagram: @alidurussel