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Brave by Design is now taking your voicemails!

Bring me your specific work challenges, career quandaries, mindset issues, annoying bosses situations and let me help you get it sorted.

Leave me your voicemail at: podcast.bravebydesign.net (click on the big blue microphone icon). 

“We have this physical expression of our internal narrative, and then we have an internal expression of our physical narrative. The real rub and compression comes between the alignment of those two things. What’s the story that’s happening inside of me, and what’s the story that’s happening outside of me? How can I reconcile these two things and bring them into alignment?” - Melanie Weller 

Would you like to open the door to better health performance? In today’s episode of Brave By Design I am talking with a special guest who can help us do this through innovative ways, as she reveals the bridge between our narratives and our physical experience.  

Melanie Weller is redefining connection and alignment to help you think bigger about the impact and potential of your voice from physical, mythological, and cosmological perspectives, focusing on the vagus nerve as the pathway between these aspects.

She helps voice professionals and professionals that want to empower and optimize their voice get in the zone, where their skill, talent, and ability are visible and magnetic. She is a Physical Therapist, Board Certified Orthopedic Clinical Specialist, Certified Athletic Trainer and Certified Exercise Expert for Aging Adults.

Melanie’s clinical specialty is decompressing the vagus nerve, which innervates the voice and much more. She connects the physical body with both mythology, which was a mode of transmitting scientific information and identifying the stress-related, spiritual underpinnings of physical dysfunction, and with the mechanics of the Earth and cosmos, for which there is increasing scientific evidence.

If you’d like to learn more about the vagus nerve and the fascinating topics that Melanie shares about in this episode, I’d encourage you to visit her website to get the free resources that she mentions.

Connect with Melanie: http://www.melanieweller.com/

Connect with Laura Khalil online:

instagram.com/iambravebydesign

linkedIn.com/in/LauraKhalil

Learn the five habits that help women rise:

http://bravebydesign.net/fivehabits 

Invite Laura to speak at your live or virtual event http://bravebydesign.net

What You’ll Hear In This Episode: 

• Melanie’s personal story and the multi-faceted journey that she has been on [2:00]
  
  
• What exactly is the vagus nerve, and how she combines astrology and mythology into her practice around it [8:44]
  
  
• How to identify when your vagus nerve is not working well, plus ways that busy women may be able to identify if they have one that is pinched [9:51]
  
  
• Where and how you can start advocating for yourself through the vagus nerve [20:08]
  
  
• Side effects to watch for, and how often you should practice these techniques [22:54]
  
  
• The most common reason people would use the vagus nerve compression techniques that Melanie describes in this episode [29:39]
  
  
• How you can expand your knowledge on the vagus nerve, and get more valuable content from Melanie [33:23]

Additional Links & Resources:

Get Melanie’s Free Resources  

Her LinkedIn & Instagram

Melanie’s Facebook, Twitter & YouTube 

Brave by Design is now taking your voicemails!

Bring me your specific work challenges, career quandaries, mindset issues, annoying bosses situations and let me help you get it sorted.

Leave me your voicemail at: podcast.bravebydesign.net (click on the big blue microphone icon). 

You can also request that your be anonymous, simply by putting Anonymous in the Name field once you've finished recording. 

“Oftentimes when you want to make a change in your life, you hear a little whisper. You ignore it, it gets a little louder, and then you ignore it again. You do not make the change until it is screaming in your ear, and then you quickly make a change when you start hearing that in your gut and in your intuition. Start planning for it now, and don’t wait until it’s a scream and you can’t take it anymore.” 

As the year progresses and we still find ourselves in the midst of a global pandemic, many people are reflecting on their lives and careers. This is why I’m bringing back a returning guest expert to Brave By Design, Cheryl Czach, to talk more about this challenging time and to share the three questions to ask yourself if you do find yourself in this situation.

As a business leader, Cheryl Czach has been guiding professionals through their work and life journeys for over 20 years. Her passion for coaching employees, at all levels of the organization, to reach their personal and professional goals led her to start her own coaching practice, as well as pursue her coaching credentials through the International Coaching Federation.

Cheryl’s professional experience includes executive leadership in human resources, finance, operations, business development, organizational growth, strategy development, staffing / recruiting, and entrepreneurship. She brings this tactical experience to her coaching practice, which allows her to fully understand her client’s organizations and how individual contributors support the whole.

This powerful conversation with Cheryl will show you not only how to reflect on and assess where you are right now in your career, but it will give you the steps to push past the fears of moving forward.

Connect with Cheryl: https://cherylczachcoaching.com/

Connect with Laura Khalil online:

instagram.com/iambravebydesign

linkedIn.com/in/LauraKhalil

Learn the five habits that help women rise:

http://bravebydesign.net/fivehabits 

Invite Laura to speak at your live or virtual event http://bravebydesign.net

What You’ll Hear In This Episode: 

• How this time of forced pause due to the pandemic has caused many of us to re-evaluate what we really want in life [2:53]
  
  
• A look at Cheryl’s journey from leadership coach to career transition coach [3:58]
  
  
• A way to start determining what is next for you, starting with a deep dive into your values [5:30]
  
  
• Cheryl talks about self-image and how to overcome the worries of what others will think [10:09]
   
• Her strategies for being realistic while making a plan [16:52]
  
  
• Why you always needs to be listening to the whisper inside of you, and what can happen when you don’t [20:56] 

Additional Links & Resources:

Cheryl’s Facebook & LinkedIn

Her Previous Appearance on Brave By Design

Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones by James Clear

Watch this episode on YouTube!

Connect with Laura Khalil online:

instagram.com/iambravebydesign

linkedIn.com/in/LauraKhalil

Learn the five habits that help women rise:

http://bravebydesign.net/fivehabits 

Invite Laura to speak at your live or virtual event http://bravebydesign.net

“Get curious, get involved, and I think everybody would like to be doing more. I know that I am not doing enough, but awareness is the place where it starts. You’re not going to go out and take a big action unless you’re aware that this is something that needs to be addressed.” - Hassan Hodges

With the US election right around the corner and tensions at an all-time high, I wanted to bring someone on the podcast to help tackle the issues about race, and to share the importance of getting out to vote and having your voice heard. 

Hassan Hodges spent 20 years telling himself that photography should just be an expensive hobby. The flood gates opened for him in 2019 though when he saw the joy he could spread by showing people the world as he sees it.

Hassan was born in a small village in Sierra Leone, and his American parents were former Peace Corps Volunteers who had stayed overseas building schools and doing other community development work. He lived in Sierra Leone and Liberia before moving to New Jersey while in elementary school, and he says this is where his compassion and dedication to doing work that matters was hatched. 

In this episode Hassan reveals his own perspectives that were formed during his childhood to current day, and we covered so many critical topics in this wide-ranging conversion. I’m so happy that he was able to join me here on Brave By Design so that I could share these insights with you.

Connect with Hassan: https://www.hassanhodgesphotography.com/

Connect with Laura Khalil online:

instagram.com/iambravebydesign

linkedIn.com/in/LauraKhalil

Learn the five habits that help women rise:

http://bravebydesign.net/fivehabits 

Invite Laura to speak at your live or virtual event http://bravebydesign.net

What You’ll Hear In This Episode: 

• Hassan’s own experiences being biracial and how it’s differed depending on who he was with at the time [5:58]
  
  
• The ways he’s realized that he’s been “colorblind” in certain situations, and what he’s now doing about this  [13:46]
  
  
• Why it is so important to see differences and to not only have a singular perspective [22:14]
  
  
• How we can each start to get curious, and then get involved [26:50]
  
  
• A fascinating look at what happened in a past Liberian government coup, plus why this is so relevant in the United States at this current time  [28:15]

Additional Links & Resources:

Hassan’s Instagram, Facebook & LinkedIn

Get the free video series on The Five Habits That Help Women Rise:

http://bravebydesign.net/fivehabits

Learn more about working with Laura one-on-one:
https://www.bravebydesign.net/private-coaching

Invite Laura to speak at your live or virtual event https://www.bravebydesign.net/work-together

Connect with Laura Khalil online:

instagram.com/iambravebydesign

linkedIn.com/in/LauraKhalil

“Don’t be afraid to breathe, don’t be afraid to slow down and don’t be afraid to ask somebody to poke you every now and then, because the reality is we can all use a little help right now. There’s nothing shameful about it, but at the same time I think everyone around us can use our help, so let’s do it.” - Alyssa Dver

With the turbulent times we are all experiencing this year, who wouldn’t want to be more comfortable, calm and in control? That’s why I’ve invited past guest Alyssa Dver back to the podcast to share her insights, because she is an expert on confidence and had so much great wisdom to share with us the last time she was here. 

Alyssa Dver is the Chief Confidence Officer, CEO and co-founder of the American Confidence Institute (ACI) which shares science-based ways to sustainably increase personal, academic & professional confidence. 

Today’s episode is a fascinating look at now only how we can all become more comfortable with our own circumstances, but also how we can promote confidence in ourselves, and as a result make the world a more confident place for everyone. 

Connect with Alyssa: https://www.americanconfidenceinstitute.com/ or http://alyssadver.com/

Connect with Laura Khalil online:

instagram.com/iambravebydesign

linkedIn.com/in/LauraKhalil

Learn the five habits that help women rise:

http://bravebydesign.net/fivehabits 

Invite Laura to speak at your live or virtual event http://bravebydesign.net

What You’ll Hear In This Episode: 

• A look at what a confident brain is doing [3:33]
  
  
• How we can begin to feel confident when our brains are overtaxed, especially with what is happening in 2020 [6:00]
  
  
• The incredible benefits of slowing down your speech while in conversation with someone else [9:25]
  
  
• Some ways to identify people who are struggling with confidence, and how they may react to you [16:48]
  
  
• What you can do to give people confidence, plus why it is important and will always “circle back” [22:13]
  
  
• Alyssa’s valuable advice for anyone looking to boost their confidence - starting today [26:30]

Additional Links & Resources:

Alyssa’s TEDx Talk

Her Latest Book, Confidence is a Choice: Real Science. Superhero Impact. 

All Of Her Other Works 

The In Confidence Podcast

Alyssa’s Previous Appearance on Brave By Design

Get the free video series on The Five Habits That Help Women Rise:

http://bravebydesign.net/fivehabits

Learn more about working with Laura one-on-one:
https://www.bravebydesign.net/private-coaching

Invite Laura to speak at your live or virtual event https://www.bravebydesign.net/work-together

Connect with Laura Khalil online:

instagram.com/iambravebydesign

linkedIn.com/in/LauraKhalil

“It’s not this or that, it’s always a little bit of everything. The question you should be asking is why are you seeing this truth, instead of the one that makes you happy? The point of everything is joy, and yoga serves you so that you can live a joyful life. You don’t serve yoga, and it doesn’t owe you anything.” - Eli Walker

I’m so excited to be bringing you this episode of Brave By Design, where I speak with a powerful woman whose mission is to challenge social norms and provide you with tools for self-empowerment to cultivate personal joy. 

Eli Walker originally created Divine Your Story™ in the summer of 2017 as a teaching method to help individuals rethink their relationship with joy. She deployed this in the form of yoga retreats, workshops, and one-on-one Happiness Consulting.

Later in 2017, she launched her second company, Drunk Yoga®, which quickly rose to international acclaim. As a result of its swift success, she shifted her focus to pioneering a new genre of yoga that “intoxicated” convention by infusing the practice with the social ritual of a happy hour for the purpose of igniting joy through tangible connection to community.

Connect with Eli: http://eliwalkerprojects.com/ 

Connect with Laura Khalil online:

instagram.com/iambravebydesign

linkedIn.com/in/LauraKhalil

Learn the five habits that help women rise:

http://bravebydesign.net/fivehabits 

Invite Laura to speak at your live or virtual event http://bravebydesign.net

What You’ll Hear In This Episode: 

• What inspired Eli to bring Drunk Yoga to the world [2:02]
  
  
• The type of yoga she discovered while traveling the globe that quite literally changed her life [13:12]
  
  
• How Eli and her team teach joy through both yoga and community building [17:11]
  
  
• Her thoughts on becoming an “overnight success” [23:00]
  
  
• The way Eli shed certain relationships as she rose - and how you can do the same [33:22] 

Additional Links & Resources:

Eli and Drunk Yoga on Instagram

Her Book, Drunk Yoga: 50 Wine & Yoga Poses to Lift Your Spirit(s)

Divine Your Story™

Katonah Yoga