Becoming Your Best Version

Joanne Socha is a lawyer who left her successful practice to become a luxury travel advisor, after recognizing that she had her own sorrows to heal, and that travel could facilitate her healing journey. Joanne is the founder of Travel Far & Well LLC, a boutique luxury travel design firm. A world-class traveler, she is also a speaker, coach and the author of the book/journal, The Red Bandanna Travel Book: The Medicine of Travel. Also known as Your Wanderess Host®, her mission is to energize women to expand their borders and fall more deeply in love with our world, while strengthening their spirituality. She helps her clients determine what they might leave behind when they travel and move toward solutions they might find in the stillness and quietude they experience when seeing new parts of the world.

Joanne designs trips from her luxe boutique travel firm, mentors people (ten years of counseling clients as an attorney enabled her to swiftly recognize issues and assist in finding viable solutions) to remove obstacles and embrace their success, and shares about her pillar program called Expand Your Borders. She encourages her clients to "leave their troubles at the tarmac and be open to the gifts that await" when one travels to a new place.

She is offering listeners $200 off this popular foundational program designed as a pre-trip inner journey to change. See https://courses.joannesocha.com/CreateYourBestFuture:TravelBackToYourHeart for details.

Listeners may sign up on her website for bi-weekly exclusive travel insights and inspiration from Joanne, Your Wanderess Host®. Joanne's overall message is about healing travel and deepening spirituality through travel.

www.joannesocha.com 

www.travelfarandwell.com

Follow her on social media:

https://www.instagram.com/travelwelljo/
https://www.facebook.com/travelwelljo/

Mags Bell teaches people how to "master your ego, or it masters you." She is an international speaker, author and awareness expert, who works with major influencers and leaders around the world, via her LeadingME® program. She assists those top influencers and leaders to discover their own values, purpose and vision, which makes them better decision makers, leading to a less complicated life both privately and in business. She enables them to bring out their own brilliance which propels the creation of powerful results. As an awareness expert and international speaker, she doesn't just talk about change, she sparks it. With a unique approach that she aptly illustrates via a horizontal ladder model that helps an individual recognize whether they are, for instance, engaging in belittling themselves or others, she helps people overcome their negative emotions, silence them and "get to the gift." The tools she teaches allows people to observe negativity in themselves and become recentered.

Some of the topics she covers in this episode are how the LeadingME® Ladder of Leadership guides leaders to master their egos; how her Bar Model can help us change our own behaviour and the behaviour of others; how her Decision Making Made EasyTM assists in discovering values, purpose, and vision for better decision-making?; how her 4R’s Release Model® helps to silence your inner critic; and how her 3 Keys to Eliminating Your ShiteTM models helps individuals get clear and transform their relationship with themselves and others who press their buttons.

Mags' radically impactful LeadingME® program helped me recognize when my "shite" buttons were pushed and how to use tools to rein myself back into centeredness, and I think it can help you, too. She licenses out the program to organizations and individuals who are helping others become "response-able" and not simply reactive to life's challenges, to achieve a balanced, flow state.

Mags authored the book What the Bleep is Coaching? Real People Take You on Their Journeys of Self Discovery Through Coaching. Throughout her long coaching career (more than 60,000 hours of coaching!), she learned that the key to coaching is awareness, which she gained most effectively via Vipassana meditation. She learned that each person must motivate themselves, but that others can ignite or inspire that motivation, which is what Mags so ably does for so many people around the world.

Mags joined us from the lovely Gold Coast of Australia.

Links & Contact details

https://magsbell.com

https://www.CreatingPowerfulResults.com

[email protected]

https://bit.ly/Book_WhatTheBleepIsCoaching

Social Links

https://bit.ly/ConnectWithMagsLeadingMEYouTube

https://bit.ly/ConnectwithMagsFacebook

https://bit.ly/ConnectWithMagsOnInsta

http://bit.ly/ConnectWithMagsOnLinkedIn

http://bit.ly/ConnectWithMagsOnTwitter

Nagina Abdullah pivoted in her career in 2020 to become a health and weight-loss coach for women in midlife and founder of the website MasalaBody.com. After working a demanding corporate job while raising two children and going from feeling tired, sluggish, and frustrated to melting off 40 pounds in nine months by making changes in her life and eating habits, she started teaching other women how to boost their metabolism when what worked before no longer works. She focuses on natural formulas to combine and time metabolism-boosting foods to reduce belly fat and overall weight gain in midlife.

"The key to sustainable weight loss is mindset," Nagina says. "This is a lifestyle built on real, metabolism-boosting foods." In this episode, Nagina shares strategies that worked for her and her clients, which include adding nutrient dense foods to one's diet, as well as specific spices that boost metabolism.

Learn more about Nagina and her work:

Website: https://masalabody.com⁠

Instagram: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/masalabody/⁠

YouTube: ⁠https://www.youtube.com/masalabody⁠

LinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/nagina-abdullah/⁠

Facebook: ⁠https://www.facebook.com/masalabody⁠

Pinterest: ⁠https://www.pinterest.com/masalabody/⁠

After a difficult divorce, Barb Scala, who is an attorney, launched an online platform called "Bloom," along with an online radio show/podcast. She began by interviewing some famous and dynamic women and hosted events, conferences, and an online community. She also coached women in transition, especially during and after divorce, and co-authored Sanity Savers: Tips for Women to Live a Balanced Life, with Today Show guest psychologist Dr. Dale Atkins. 

Her online platform morphed into a lifestyle brand and she spun off a food blog and television segments. But she was overworked, stressed and overwhelmed, and wanted more financial security. So, she gave up on her dream and returned to practice law again. But her dream didn’t die.

She relaunched with her website, BloomWithBarb.com, and her mission reflects her story -- to help women after divorce, and other life changes, like empty nesting and second act careers, learn how to live life on their terms and bloom!

As a transition life coach, CDC certified divorce & transformation coach, lawyer/mediator, entrepreneur and author, she loves inspiring wonderful women to move forward to a vibrant life they deserve. In the process, they feel more balanced, open up to new possibilities, burst with clarity and creativity, thrive in their relationships, and are more fulfilled than they have been in years.

Barb, who also is a master gardener, helps her clients plant seeds, for which she uses the acronym BLOOM. B is for believing in oneself and cultivating a positive mindset; L is for loving what one does; O is for owning one's power and recognizing one's self-worth; the second O is to organize/know one's direction; and M is to move forward and take the necessary action steps. She also helps clients with combatting the weeds that continue to come in life, by providing tools to deal with such things, as distortions that arise.

Barb works hard to walk toward love and away from fear. She believes it is a choice -- to choose to stay present, accept and let go.

Go to her website to book a free discovery call and learn how Barb can help you bloom. Barb is based on the New England shore.

Learn more: 

Web: www.BloomwithBarb.com

Email: [email protected]

Instagram: @bloomwithbarb

Facebook: @bloomwithbarb

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/barbscala/

Rachel Lankester is an ageism disrupter, midlife mentor and founder of Magnificent Midlife, an online hub inspiring and supporting women 40+. She's the author of Magnificent Midlife: Transform Your Middle Years, Menopause and Beyond, which was recommended as one of seven top books about menopause in The New York Times. She's also the host of the ⁠Magnificent Midlife Podcast⁠ and founder of MenoClarity, an online information hub about menopause, which she started because she felt there was too much scaremongering, hype and fear in current menopause narratives, especially in the UK. 

From Rachel:

"When I was 41, I was given a diagnosis of early menopause. I was hoping for a second child at the time, so it was pretty devastating. It meant the end of my fertility and dreams of that baby. It also catapulted me into a period of intense self-doubt, sadness and feeling very lost. I had no idea why this had happened to me, nor how to take care of myself.  I also allowed the diagnosis to completely change my perception of who I was as a woman.  I saw myself as a dried-up old prune!

Over time I discovered that diet, lifestyle and mindset can massively impact perimenopausal hormonal change and for a short time my menstrual cycle and premenopausal hormone levels came back. 

I also eventually realized I am no less of a woman because I am older, even though society likes to tell me that on a daily basis. Looking around, I couldn't find resources to help me, so I created them. I didn't want women to arrive in perimenopause as unprepared, disconcerted and sad as me. 

I didn't want any perimenopausal woman to feel this was the beginning of the end, as I did. I want women to see the magnificence in midlife and menopause, and to feel empowered to embrace what may be the best stage of their lives yet. 

I now spend my time challenging negative sexist, ageist stereotypes and narratives wherever and whenever I can. I help women get the messy midlife stuff sorted, so you can create and sustain a next chapter that will excite and delight you long term. 

I'm passionate about helping women navigate the often messy middle of life. So you can thrive not just survive. And become the woman you were always meant to be. 

I believe the older and more experienced we get, the more we have to offer the world and especially those women coming up behind us.  We get better with age not worse. 

I don't believe in denying we're getting older or hiding it either. I'm not ashamed to be a midlife woman. I'm proud of it. I think I've earned those midlife stripes just as much as I've earned the laughter lines around my eyes. They don't diminish me in any way."

Rachel is passionate about enabling women to create and live a positive new narrative when it comes to midlife, menopause, and ageing. She's also determined to challenge the status quo and bash negative stereotypes associated with women 40+.

Rachel's motto is to be "prepared, not scared," as she challenges the negativity bias in the west surrounding aging. She reminds us that "menopause is temporary; it's a tunnel, not a cave." Rachel advises listeners to stay curious and to listen to our bodies, especially during menopause, a sensitive time in our lives when we may reconsider what may no longer be serving our health and wellbeing.

Websites:
https://magnificentmidlife.com/
https://themuttonclub.com/
https://menoclarity.com/

Magnificent Midlife Podcast:

⁠https://magnificentmidlife.com/podcast/⁠

Rachel's book:  ⁠https://magnificentmidlife.com/book/⁠

Social media links:

Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/magnificentmidlife/

Twitter/ X | https://twitter.com/MagnifMidlife

Facebook | https://www.facebook.com/magnificentmidlife

Linkedin | https://www.linkedin.com/in/rachellankester/

Pinterest | https://www.pinterest.co.uk/MagnificentMidlife1/

YouTube | https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCEteu6Z2mW1z1wnHiVB08uw

Many adults today experience insecurity around water. Cori Myka addresses the underlying fears approximately half of adults have today about being in the water. She transforms adult non-swimmers from fearful beginners into confident achievers of their wildest aquatic aspirations. Featured on NPR and in USA Today, Cori is the founder of Calm Within Adult Swim and the creator of the Foundations of Change learning method. With more than two decades of experience, her unique approach to adult swimming lessons combines mental conditioning with physical skill mastery, resulting in highly acclaimed teaching methods. Cori's influence extends beyond the pool, shaping everyday lives. She helps students understand the difference between one's brain warnings and physiological needs.

Cori points out that during typical foundational swim lessons what is missing is how to understand how one's emotions may cause panic. Cori begins her swim lessons with the mental side of being comfortable in the water, which involves satisfying the brain that one is safe and coming back to a feeling of safety. She helps students create space between the mental idea of a problem and how one responds. She notes that we often receive messaging that if we practice physical skills enough, we should be able to execute such skills perfectly. That, however, is not enough; most of us need to address the mental side of the equation as well, especially when fear is involved.

She imparts her wisdom to students and instructors at Orca Swim School in Seattle, virtually and in person. One of her students from South Dakota learned to overcome fear of water online with Cori. He quipped that all he needed was a phone, a lifeguarded pool and a good attitude to complete Cori's course successfully online. Cori supported this client before, during and after his swims at his local community center, both via her school's modules and with personal coaching.

Cori also offers personalized and tropical retreats, with the next one scheduled for Maui, Hawaii in September. Enter her drawing this Saturday for early bird enrollees by going to her website, below, for free gifts.

In this episode, Cori addresses, among other things, how 45% of people are afraid of the water, and what underlies this fear, as well as the role mindset plays in learning to swim. Cori maintains that it is never too late to start learning, and taking lessons can provide you with the confidence, safety, and ease you need to enjoy the water. Her lessons are specifically designed to cater to adult learners, taking into account their unique learning styles and abilities. Many of her clients are in their 70s, though she helps people of all ages learn how to enjoy the water. Maybe some of our listeners will learn how to participate with confidence in all the aquatic activities you used to sit out! 

Learn more:

https://adultswimlesson.com/

[email protected]

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/calmwithinadultswim

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/calmwithinadultswim/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cori-myka-62314a18/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/adultswimlesson

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUs_T6vPOPkbYOqr5mmt2GQ

Free Intro Class:

https://online.adultswimlesson.com/courses/calm-within-introduction-class?ref=08bfb8

Sweta Sansara, a Nepalese woman, is a passionate advocate against the stigmas surrounding alcoholism, mental health, food addiction, and related issues. With 17 years of sobriety and profound personal healing, she is dedicated to sharing her journey to inspire and support others in their paths to mental wellness and holistic healing.

Sweta is the first person from Nepal to join the U.S. armed forces. She joined the U.S. Marines at age 18 and spent two and a half years serving the United States. She then studied theater and pursued an acting career in Los Angeles, while working at the tony Beverly Hills Hotel, attending Oscar parties, meeting Diana Ross, John Stamos, Stanley Tucci and other big names in the business, before feeling called to return to the east coast, where her immediate family resides.

Sweta shares the darkest parts of her journey and relatable experiences online that give thousands of people hope. She offers resources to those struggling with addiction, and will start her own podcast, Wild & Free in Recovery, in April 2024.

Sweta, who begins each day sitting in meditation, is raising two wonderful children in the Washington, DC area. She is the founder of the Nepal Youth Fund, which brings resources to schools in small villages of Nepal, and on whose board I serve. My life, and those of many others, are blessed having Sweta in their lives.

Learn more at

Instagram: @Sweta 

YouTube @SwetaSansara

Virginia (Ginnie) Isaacs Cover has worked throughout her career with children and adults with complex medical conditions and developmental disabilities. She is an advocate for those with disabilities and their families and published a widely read guidebook for those affected by X and Y chromosome variations. She explores the impact of a prenatal diagnosis on a young family in her new book, Supplemental Needs: A Novel.

Ginnie became a “special needs parent” when her younger son was diagnosed prenatally with 47,XXY, also known as Klinefelter syndrome. Although sex chromosome aneuploidy (SCA) is more common than Down syndrome at an estimated 1 in 400 live births, it is recognized and properly diagnosed in fewer than 25 percent of the affected population. She became a passionate advocate for families affected by disabilities, including the X and Y chromosome variations, and provides educational programs for families and professionals who work with this population.

In 2012, she published Living with Klinefelter Syndrome, Trisomy X, and 47,XYY. The book provides clear explanations of the genetics involved, as well as diagnosis, disclosure, development from infancy through potential health and fertility issues, and educational and psycho-social considerations. This guidebook has helped thousands of people grow their understanding of this condition.

She believes it is equally important for literature to cover the emotional impact that prenatal testing has on parents while also improving early identification of X and Y chromosome conditions. She felt this could only be done through the sharing of stories. Her goal in writing the novel was to explore the impact of a prenatal genetic diagnosis on a young family who decides to continue a pregnancy despite a medical geneticist’s advice.

Supplemental Needs: A Novel portrays a young family whose lives change on learning through prenatal genetic diagnosis that their baby will have Klinefelter syndrome, most likely causing some degree of disability, as well as infertility and possible sexuality issues.

In this episode, Ginnie speaks about prenatal counseling; termination of pregnancy when chromosomal variations exist; societal acceptance of KS, the neurodiverse, LGBTQ individuals and how it has changed over time; and attitudes in Judaism toward LGBTQ individuals and why these are so different across the branches (Reform, Conservative, Orthodox)

Supplemental Needs incorporates accurate information and creates needed conversation around what we each believe about continuing a pregnancy where there may be some level of disability, or when there may be a slightly elevated rate of homosexuality, or of gender dysphoria. Readers gain greater awareness and understanding about the parental experience of when a child is not following a typical developmental trajectory, familiarizing the public with sex chromosome aneuploidy in a non-sensational manner.

"I want readers to experience the sadness, fear, and hopefulness felt by [the characters] as they wrestle with the choices that must be made, and the impact they have on their son, and their family," Ginnie says. "Through the characters and events, readers will also confront the research suggesting that sexual orientation and identity may be heavily influenced by DNA."

Ginnie lives in the Washington, D.C., metro area and has two adult sons and three grandchildren. She volunteers through her synagogue for the Interfaith Refugee Support group. She also is a board member for L’Arche Long Island, a non-profit agency providing housing for adults with developmental disabilities, vocational and life skills training. Ginnie holds a Master of Social Work degree from the University of Michigan.

https://www.facebook.com/virginia.cover

Chwynyn (pronounced “Quinin”) Vaughan is a proponent of slow beauty and its benefits to our all-over physical, mental and spiritual health, and to skin health in particular. She has a background in midwifery, health care and design. A deep love for botanicals has woven its way through each of these experiences, enriching every step of her path.

These experiences, along with her passion for plants, led to Chwynyn blending wise woman wisdom and sound science to create handcrafted skin care products offered through her creation, Slow Botanicals. She believes that, when authentic, beauty can bring out the best of who we are, treating our body as a temple. Beauty, Chywnyn says, is linked to how we live our lives, and influenced by our spiritual and mental health.

Each of Chwynyn's products is made in small batches from botanicals she harvests in the wild and picks from her organic garden. To make the cut, botanicals included must heal and nourish sensitive, dry and aging skin. As these products are meant for the most sensitive of skin, the hand-picked flowers, leaves, mushrooms, lichens and seeds are combined only with the shortest list possible of pure ingredients. A lifetime of unhealthy care products alongside changing hormones make this essential for your health.

Chwynyn knows that healthy skin are not only dependent on what you put on your skin, and so she encourages the practice of slow beauty. Chwynyn says that "slow beauty is closely related to slow living. By making daily choices that stem from a slow beauty perspective, you will enjoy improved physical, emotional, mental and spiritual health. Your days will feel better. You’ll appreciate yourself more." Slow living is creating a life based on what truly matters, noticing every moment with one's senses and inside the body, staying present and living with integrity, with a strong environmental outlook.

Chwynyn lives on a small peninsula in Washington State, just a short walk from both beach and forest, with her artist-husband and two young children. In the garden surrounding their home, Chwynyn grows around 95% of her family’s fruit and veggies for the entire year. The beautiful herb and flower garden provide ingredients for her botanical skincare products and let her bring cut flowers into the home. Equally important, these blooms feed the many pollinators in her garden.

Chwynyn sells her pure botanically infused skin care products at slowbotanicals.com. You will also find Chwynyn’s insights on slow beauty and skin care on her blog.

Website: slowbotanicals.com  https://www.slowbotanicals.com

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chwynyn-vaughan-slow-botanicals2171a1281/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/slow.botanicals/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Chwynyn
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/slowbotanicals/

Carlene Thissen is an American singer-songwriter, born and raised in New Jersey, and now living in Florida. Singing, piano, and guitar playing were taught to her by her dear father, mother, and cousin; but she’s also daughter of a generation with a deep desire to hand down peace and love to the "youngers": the Baby Boomers. 

She experienced firsthand some of the most captivating periods and moments in the realm of popular music, like Woodstock '69, when her path crossed with wonderful people to experience not only the music, awakening one morning at Woodstock to Joan Baez's voice, but the air of freedom and peace, and the feeling of having no fear of anything. She ended up never meeting those people again, but their spirits and souls never left her side. 

After that experience, she turned into a working person and created a successful business. She stopped making music for 40 years, but deeply remembered the air of Woodstock. 

That changed when she got involved as a volunteer in the Immokalee Unincorporated Agricultural Community. From that catalyst event, she ended up working at the University of Florida’s research center, which inspired her to get a Master’s Degree in Latin American History, write a book based on her final thesis called “Immokalee’s Fields of Hope,” (based on the moving stories she gleaned from the Immokalee people she got to know), make a documentary based on the book, which needed music she decided to write and perform, even if she didn't know if she could. But she did. 

From then on, she could not stop writing songs to tell stories of people who are often overlooked, like farm workers, the homeless, and children who lose parents, and songs to inspire everyone to Go Change the World. She doesn't want to leave with music sitting out there that could benefit people. 

Carlene's journey is not just about music, but also about the generational value music can bring, the stories that have brought her making music with roots in the first edition of Woodstock, and the work as a volunteer with immigrant communities, which also led her to advocate for compassionate immigration policy, and writing books on the stories she came across. 

In this episode, Carlene shared a bit of an a capella version of her beautiful new song, "Carry It On." Carlene honors the "God winks" in her life that brought her to the fulfilling life she enjoys today. While she lives in Naples, Florida now, she soon will move to be near Woodstock, where the energy she experienced caused her musical journey to take flight. She will continue to perform locally in both places, much to the delight of audiences who say her voice is reminiscent of her idol, Joan Baez!

Learn more:

Press Release: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1P1NkGl2D6JGPC3jWQomBrPZ1E2JLnotm8sYpeotqOzg/edit?usp=sharing

https://www.carlenethissen.com/

Listen to her: 

YouTube http://www.youtube.com/user/carlenethissen

Spotify https://open.spotify.com/artist/0eDwUAM9QGHWh4ZC2Ksua7?si=1Or6aa7cRdCHhFQVx6oILw

Apple Music https://music.apple.com/us/artist/carlene-thissen/194758792

Follow her:

Facebook http://www.facebook.com/carlenemusic

Instagram http://instagram.com/carlenethissen

ReverbNation http://www.reverbnation.com/carlenethissen

X http://twitter.com/carlenethissen

TikTok @carlenethissenmusic