Athena Wellness Podcast - Reclaiming Our Warrior Spirit

#058  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 Victor Briere and Joe Rich, cofounders of the International Institute of Ayurveda.  In this conversation excerpt, Joe, who was once an epidemiologist for the CDC, shares his thoughts on how to keep our immune system strong with a holistic eastern mindset and approach while balancing it with western medicine used briefly for specific needs.

Links:

International Institute of Ayurveda

[email protected]

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#057  I’m joined today by Victor Briere and Joe Rich, 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.

You may remember Victor, who is an Ayurvedic doctor, from episodes 39 and 40, where we discussed his in-depth, individualized consultations aimed at identifying the underlying root causes of wellness imbalances and support to restore the body to health and he emphasizes the importance of lifestyle and dietary balance.

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 cover a range of topics including:

• The interconnectivity between Ayurveda and yoga
• The role of meditation in connecting with our inner wisdom
• The role intuition and surrender play in our wellness
• The concept of “we’re all one”

We end this episode with Joe sharing what’s lighting him up these days, including an offer he’s extending to the listeners of this podcast.

Links:

International Institute of Ayurveda

[email protected]

Ayurveda: Art of Being documentary

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

#056  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 Jill Yesko, founder of Discover Organizing, who shares her thoughts on how to support your loved ones throughout the downsizing process with compassion and empathy.

We talk about:

• Strategies to help families downsize in times of aging, poor health or lifestyle change
• How to help clients navigate the grieving and change management process
• Advice for children of aging parents
• The importance of listening and witnessing the stories of our elders

Links:

Jill’s website

Jill’s book – I’m Right Here, 10 Ways to Get Help for Hoarding and Chronic Disorganization 

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

#055  Take a moment and think about your environment.  Your home, your workplace, your car.  Do these places bring you a sense of peace or unease?  Are they streamlined or overflowing with clutter?  Are there boxes and bins that haven’t been opened since the last move or clothes you haven’t worn in years?

I’m joined today by Jill Yesko, who helps her clients work through all of these scenarios and more.  She has experience in social work and Human Resources management, but left those careers behind to start her company, Discover Organizing, 18 years ago.  While her expertise is as a Certified Professional Organizer, she’s a savvy entrepreneur, speaker, and as of this recording, an author.  And as you’ll soon hear, she expertly balances empathy with productivity, supporting her clients while getting the job done.

We cover a range of topics including:

• The types of clutter and root causes
• The tipping point that moves people to work with a professional organizer
• How to work through clutter overwhelm and avoid backsliding once progress is made
• Actionable steps for listeners to tackle problem areas, including digital clutter

I love the depth of this conversation and was amazed at how much of the dialogue revolved around emotion – to possessions, to habits and to change.  The process of simplifying is very much a wellness practice.

Links:

Atomic Habits – book

Untamed – book

Jill’s website

Jill’s book – I’m Right Here, 10 Ways to Get Help for Hoarding and Chronic Disorganization

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

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

In Episode 53, I gave an overview of Tara Brach’s new book, Trusting the Gold, Uncovering Your Natural Goodness. In that book, she explores how to break the trance of unworthiness by practicing non-judgement, self-compassion and connection.

Today, I share a story about working with difficult emotions and share a process that incorporates Jon Kabat-Zinn’s mindfulness attitudes with the intent to Allow It All.  The whole process takes between five and ten minutes.  Regardless of how much the emotions shift, you’ll come to a place of trust that you’re right where you need to be and have the opportunity to learn and see the world with new eyes.

Links Mentioned:

Tara’s Website

Tara’s Books

Full Catastrophe Living – Jon Kabat-Zinn

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

#053  Tara Brach is a best-selling author, a psychologist and meditation teacher who focuses on helping others overcome the feeling of not being enough or, as she calls it, “the trance of unworthiness.”  She also shares her teachings and meditations with her students online and through workshops as well as at the Insight Meditation Community in Washington DC, which she founded in 1998.

Last month, Tara’s latest book, Trusting the Gold, Uncovering Your Natural Goodness, was published.  The book opens with the story of a golden buddha that was hidden in plain sight for centuries, covered in plaster to deter thieves.  But the gold remained – hence the title and theme of the book – which is about our true nature (the gold) and how, even though we cover that gold for protection from society, culture and even ourselves, the gold never fades.

The book is constructed into three pathways or lenses of Truth, Love and Freedom, the basic teachings of the Buddha to awaken us to our true nature.

• Truth is about being present in our experience, meaning opening to life just as it is instead of what we want it to be. 
• Love is about tapping into our capacity to meet any circumstance with tenderness and understanding.
• Freedom is the byproduct of the other two pathways.  Once we can stand in truth and respond with love, we find freedom in our true nature.

I found Trusting the Gold to be an uplifting reminder of what matters most in life.  So much so that I’d like to share some of the main concepts because I think you’d enjoy it as well.

Links Mentioned:

Lion’s Roar – Book Excerpt

Tara’s Website

Tara’s Books

If you'd like to join our circle and never miss a weekly episode, please hit subscribe.

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

#052  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 Julia Prisco, Certified Financial Planner, who shares her thoughts on money management as a mind, body and spirit practice.

Link:

Julia Prisco - 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

#051  I’m joined today by certified financial planner, Julia Prisco, who helps her clients fulfill their full financial potential with a process she calls Life Planner.

Julia has an interesting backstory that includes emigrating to the United States from Ukraine when she was a child and watching her parents work hard to make a new life in America.  Watching her parents save but not invest inspired Julia’s career path.

We cover a range of topics including:

• What holistic money management is and why that approach is beneficial;
• The surprising impact the pandemic has had on attitudes towards money;
• The impact of our upbringing on our beliefs, emotions and approach to finances and how we can rewrite that story; and
• Practical steps to enhance our relationship with money.

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

I came away from this conversation with a practical understanding on the importance of holistic life planning and taking the emotion out of the financial decisions we make by relying on facts and educating ourselves.

Links:

My Brilliant Friend – book series

Julia Prisco - 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

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

In Episode 49, we talked about how shifting your perspective can be a useful wellness strategy.  Today, Kathy shares insights on your link to Universal energy and shares simple exercises to deepen your connection with nature as a way to shift your perspective.

We explore:

• Connecting and attuning with nature
• Holding a question and sensing an answer
• Meditating in nature (it’s not what you think)

By the end of the episode, you’ll have a better understanding of how to work with the Universal life force if you’re in need of energy or if you need grounding.

Link Mentioned in the Podcast:

A Universe from Nothing, Why There is Something Rather Than Nothing by Lawrence Krauss

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, visitwww.athenawellness.com/podcast.

#049.  Why Shifting Your Perspective is a Useful Wellness Strategy

Today we explore stories about star trails and ocean tides and how to use the natural world to shift your perspective whenever you’re feeling stuck, anxious or unsure.

From the Milky Way to a grain of sand – there’s so much awe, so much we don’t know.  Yet we tend to forget this – and its impact – as we live our day to day lives in between this wonder.

I was reminded of this when I came across two short memoir pieces I wrote years ago, which I’ll share with you.  One was about an experience I had looking at the night sky and the second was about walking on the beach at sunrise. 

Back then, that sense of wonder I felt was something I could only tap into in times like that, miles away from my everyday life.  But I’ve come to learn that we can tap into this place of awe and curiosity if you’re open to it whenever you’d like – and it can change your whole perspective, so much so that this practice can become a useful wellness strategy.

And that’s what we’ll be exploring today.  I’ll read those pieces about how two experiences in the natural world helped me see my world differently.  I’ll tell you a bit about what I learned as a result and then we’ll end the episode with some practical ways you can invite these types of experiences into your daily life.

If you'd like to join our circle and never miss a weekly episode, please hit subscribe.

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