Athena Wellness Podcast - Reclaiming Our Warrior Spirit

#097  Our guest today, Nicola Davison, is a mum, wife and journalist from New South Wales, Australia, who loves inspiring others to preserve their memories.  She is the owner of Forever Young Autobiographies.com- a website dedicated to helping people write their life stories so treasured memories endure for future generations.

After a decades-long career as a print journalist, Nicola now coaches others to plan, write, polish and publish their own life stories - big and small.  Practicing what she preaches, Nicola recently helped her 100-year-old grandmother finish her autobiography.

Here’s what we cover:

• The difference between memoir and autobiography;
• The elements of good storytelling;
• How writing can heal; and
• How storytelling can become a wellness practice.

We end this episode with our Dose of Inspiration segment, where Nicola shares some of the things that are lighting her up these days.

Links:

Forever Young Autobiographies – Nicola’s website

The Dead Are Arising: The Life of Malcolm X – book

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For episode materials, show notes or to submit a question for a future episode, visit: https://athenawellness.com/podcast

#096  Today is Wednesday, time for a little wellness boost - a shortened episode to keep your Warrior Vibe high.

Today, I’m joined, once again, by end-of-life, grief, and resilience coach, Lee Atherton, also known as Coach Rev.  In this episode, we get practical on how we can prepare for the end-of-life and have these conversations with our loved ones.

Spoiler alert – it’s much easier than you think when you follow The Five Wishes process.  Also, you’ll learn why preparing in this way is one of the kindest things you can do for those you love. 

Links:

Website:  CoachRev.com

Email:  [email protected]

Aging with Dignity – website

Five Wishes – website 

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For episode materials, show notes or to submit a question for a future episode, visit: https://athenawellness.com/podcast

#095  Like many things related to wellness, today’s topic is one of those things we can easily put off until a later date.  But our guest today takes the counter position, explaining how taking care of end-of-life planningsooner rather than later is not only a gift to our loved ones, but an empowering act of wellness and care for ourselves.

Our guest today is Lee Atherton, a first responder chaplain and an end-of-life, grief, and resilience coach, also known as Coach Rev.  Lee is also an author and speaker who helps people “live their dying” by journeying with them through the grief and chaos until they reach a place of stillness, where beauty and gifts of the unfolding can be discovered.  Coach Rev also supports those who are in the helping professions, offering programs and support to enhance their own resiliency. 

We cover a range of topics including:

·      What end-of-life planning entails;

·      How to reframe the preparation from dread to empowerment;

·      How to incorporate lessons learned during end-of-life reflection;

·      The grief journey and how to turn it into resilience; and

·      The beauty and gift of supporting those at the end-of life.

We end this episode with our Dose of Inspiration segment, where Coach Rev shares some of the things that are lighting her up these days.  In spite of the difficult topic, you’ll be heartened by Coach Rev’s warmth and wisdom. 

Links:

Website:  CoachRev.com

Email:  [email protected]

Coach Rev – grieving resources

On Grief and Grieving– book

Bucketlist.org – website 

If you'd like to join our circle and never miss a weekly episode, please hit subscribe.  While you're there, you can rate the podcast by highlighting the stars that match your experience.  Much appreciated!

For episode materials, show notes or to submit a question for a future episode, visit: https://athenawellness.com/podcast

#094  Today is Wednesday, time for a little wellness boost - a shortened episode to keep your Warrior Vibe high.

Kathy is joined, once again, by Victor Briere and Joe Rich, cofounders of the International Institute of Ayurveda.  In this conversation excerpt, Victor shares his thoughts on the difference between Western medicine’s approach to treating the symptom versus health prevention and wellness promotion and what we lose when we opt for the magic pill approach.

Links:
International Institute of Ayurveda
[email protected] 

If you'd like to join our circle and never miss a weekly episode, please hit subscribe.  While listening on your app, you can rate the podcast by highlighting the stars that match your experience.  Much appreciated!

For episode materials, show notes or to submit a question for a future episode, visit www.athenawellness.com/podcast.

#093  I’m joined today by Joe Rich and Victor Briere, A.D., co-founders of the International Institute of Ayurveda, which is both a clinic and an academy, offering clients and students ayurvedic diagnostic techniques and health counseling.

Long-time listeners will remember Victor, who is an Ayurveda doctor, from Episodes 39 and 40, when he shared his backstory and introduced the audience to Ayurvedic practices.  And we met Joe in Episodes 57 and 58, when we talked about the beneficial link between Ayurveda and yoga.

Joe is a long-time practitioner and teacher of Kundalini yoga, has a degree in healthcare management, a background in counseling emotionally disturbed inner-city teens, running group homes for at-risk youths, and working as an epidemiologist for the CDC.  His goal is to assist people in applying “consciousness” in everyday life and transforming the love of power into the power of kindness.

We go much deeper in this conversation, including:

• How we become separated from our authentic selves;
• How this separation impacts our health and well-being; and
• The importance of having support while doing the work. 

This episode has a beautiful ending as we talk about Victor’s experience of leaving one life path to pursue another.  What was intended to be a softball question became a living example of what Victor and Joe covered and recommended to listeners earlier in the episode.  

If you’d like to take them up on their offer for a free reading, you can reach them at [email protected].

Links:

International Institute of Ayurveda

[email protected]

Ayurveda: Art of Being documentary

Gabor Mate - website

Bronnie Ware - website

Brene Brown - website

Esther Perel - website

A.H. Almaas - website

If you'd like to join our circle and never miss a weekly episode, please hit subscribe.  While listening on your app, you can rate the podcast by highlighting the stars that match your experience.  Much appreciated!

For episode materials, show notes or to submit a question for a future episode, visit:https://athenawellness.com/podcast.

#092  Today is Wednesday, time for a little wellness boost - a shortened episode to keep your Warrior Vibe high.

Today, I’m joined, once again, by Kelly Mackin, the co-founder of Motives Met, a well-being assessment tool that was created to bring more mindfulness into how we work.  During this discussion, Kelly shares some practical steps listeners can take to create a work life they’re enthusiastic about.

Links:
Motives Met – Kelly’s website
[email protected]
Link to assessment checkout:  https://www.motivesmet.com/checkout/
Promo code: Athena

If you'd like to join our circle and never miss a weekly episode, please hit subscribe.  While you're there, you can rate the podcast by highlighting the stars that match your experience.  Much appreciated!

For episode materials, show notes or to submit a question for a future episode, visit: https://athenawellness.com/podcast

#091  Our guest today is Kelly Mackin, the co-founder of Motives Met, a well-being assessment tool that was created to bring more mindfulness into how we work, to challenge workplace norms and to empower people to incorporate well-being into their work life.

Kelly is a quantitative researcher, coach and meditation teacher, blending ancient wisdom with science to access deeper understanding and make positive change in the workplace.

Here’s what we cover:

• Work/life balance and the cause of out of balance conditions;
• The Motives Met framework and its application;
• How to align our inner motives with our outer world; and
• How to utilize your Motives Met themes as the future of work shifts.

We end this episode with our Dose of Inspiration segment, where Kelly shares some of the things that are lighting her up these days.

Links:
Dancing with Life – book
Motives Met – Kelly’s website
[email protected]
Link to assessment checkout:  https://www.motivesmet.com/checkout/
Promo code: Athena

If you'd like to join our circle and never miss a weekly episode, please hit subscribe.  While you're there, you can rate the podcast by highlighting the stars that match your experience.  Much appreciated!

For episode materials, show notes or to submit a question for a future episode, visit: https://athenawellness.com/podcast

#090  Today is Wednesday, time for a little wellness boost - a shortened episode to keep your Warrior Vibe high.

Kathy is joined, once again, by artist and teacher Stephanie Weaver, a corporate project manager turned entrepreneur, who founded Positive Painters, a supportive online artist community and art business membership.  Stephanie shares simple ways listeners can add more beauty to their everyday lives.

Links:

Website:  stephanieweaverartist.com

Facebook:  facebook.com/stephanieweaverartist

Instagram:  Instagram.com/stephanieweaverartist

If you'd like to join our circle and never miss a weekly episode, please hit subscribe.  While you're there, you can rate the podcast by highlighting the stars that match your experience.  Much appreciated!

For episode materials, show notes or to submit a question for a future episode, visit: https://athenawellness.com/podcast

#089  Our guest today is Stephanie Weaver, a corporate project manager turned entrepreneur, who founded Positive Painters, a supportive online artist community and art business membership.  Stephanie is also a full-time artist and instructor, using oil paint to create and teach landscape, still life and portraits. 

We cover a range of topics including:

• The journey from corporate life to artist;
• How sobriety positively impacted her life and art;
• Using substitution to treat addiction;
• How she would counsel her younger self; and
• Words of wisdom for those dreaming of leaving their current jobs.

We end this episode with our Dose of Inspiration segment, where Stephanie shares some of the things that are lighting her up these days.

Links:

Website:  stephanieweaverartist.com

Facebook:  facebook.com/stephanieweaverartist

Instagram:  Instagram.com/stephanieweaverartist

Called to Create – book

Expert Secrets – book

If you'd like to join our circle and never miss a weekly episode, please hit subscribe.  While you're there, you can rate the podcast by highlighting the stars that match your experience.  Much appreciated!

For episode materials, show notes or to submit a question for a future episode, visit: https://athenawellness.com/podcast

#088  Today is Wednesday, time for a little wellness boost - a shortened episode to keep your Warrior Vibe high.

Kathy is joined by Dr. Robyn Health Coach, who, once again, draws on her extensive medical training to give us insight on why it’s so important to take mental breaks and the impact rejuvenation has on our immune system.

Links:

Dr. Robyn’s website

Dr. Robyn’s email

If you'd like to join our circle and never miss a weekly episode, please hit subscribe.  While you're there, you can rate the podcast by highlighting the stars that match your experience.  Much appreciated!

For episode materials, show notes or to submit a question for a future episode, visit: https://athenawellness.com/podcast