Electric Ideas with Whitney Baker: Motherhood, Self-Connection, Joyful Living & Self-Care

Our brains are busy all day monitoring our bodies and balancing our thoughts. In order to care for this complex, powerhouse organ, we need to give it extra layers of support. "Nourish your mind, nourish the world," as today's guest, Dr. Mary Rensel likes to say.

Dr. Rensel is both the Assistant Professor of Neurology at the Cleveland Clinic and Director of Pediatric Multiple Sclerosis and Wellness at the Mellen Center of Cleveland Clinic. She is board certified in neurology and integrative medicine and continues to be voted via Cleveland Magazine as "Best Doctor" in Cleveland since 2010.

Dr. Rensel shares strategies for nourishing our brain with simple, extra layers of support each day and why this is so needed. We also delve into how to harness creativity through our brains, the benefits of deep breathing and how intentional breaks boost long-term brain function.

Dr. Rensel and I would love to know how you are supporting and nourishing your brain today. Share today's episode on Instagram and be sure to tag us - @the_brain_fresh and @whitneywoman!

Here's what to look forward to in today's episode:

-Why we need to give our brains additional support each day and some of Dr. Rensel's favorite ways to give that support

-Situations and states that are good for your brain

-What happens in our brain when we enter flow state

-Ways to intentionally harness creativity

-Benefits of deep breathing and intentional breaks for better brain function

-Advice for an aging brain

-Why doing something new is so good for our brains

-Areas of brain research that are catching Dr. Rensel's attention

Connect with Dr. Rensel:

IG: @the_brain_fresh

Website: https://linktr.ee/Dr.MaryRensel

Connect with Whitney:

IG: @Whitneywoman

Website: www.myelectricideas.com

When we're constantly drowning in busy work – or tasks that don't light us up – it's impossible to create at the highest level. All of us want to share our gifts and talents with the world, but it's hard to do when our time gets splintered in ways that don't align.

In today's episode, I talk with systems expert and writer Jenny Blake about her award-winning book: Free Time: Lose the Busy Work. Jenny loves helping people move from friction to flow through practices that free your mind and time for your best work. Jenny shares with us why high net freedom is more important than high net worth, and how to identify and release your biggest friction points. Additionally, we discuss how to let go of things that are draining you, nonlinear breakthroughs and the different versions of hard work.

We would love to know what strategies you'll try out for shifting from friction to flow.

Share today's episode on Instagram and be sure to tag us - @jennyblakenyc and @whitneywoman!

Here's what to look forward to in today's episode:

-The shift in Jenny's perspective on productivity

-Giving yourself permission to take time for yourself and to add in buffer time to your day

-Why high net freedom is more important than high net worth

-Practices for identifying and releasing your biggest places of friction

-What's joyful for you and then how can you solve for the rest?

-The 70/20/10 Rule explained

-How to let go of things that are draining you

-Two cake baking scenarios that can be related to how you show up

-Using nonlinear breakthroughs to be open to next steps

-How living life on serendipity can lead to huge breakthroughs

-Lowercase hard work vs. uppercase hard work

Connect with Jenny:

IG: @jennyblakenyc

Book: Free Time: Lose the Busywork, Love Your Business

Websites: http://itsfreetime.com/ and http://pivotmethod.com/

Free Time Toolkit: http://itsfreetime.com/toolkit

Podcasts: Free Time with Jenny Blake and Pivot with Jenny Blake

Connect with Whitney:

IG: @whitneywoman

Website: www.myelectricideas.com

Amidst today's hustle culture, many of us have made it our norm to live life with constant noise and motion. Instead of taking time to pause and replenish, we often neglect signals from our mind and body. We push through our ever-growing to-do list and fall into bed at night feeling scattered and exhausted instead of at peace.

In today's episode, I connect with Dr. Saundra Dalton-Smith, a Board-Certified internal medicine physician, speaker and award-winning author about her book: Sacred Rest: Recover Your Life, Renew Your Energy, Restore Your Sanity. Through our discussion of her book, we explore seven sacred types of rest, where you might have a "rest deficit" and how to integrate various types of rest into our everyday lives to restore our sense of well-being.

Let Dr. Dalton-Smith and I know what you connect with in this episode by tagging us on Instagram: @drdaltonsmith and @whitneywoman.

Here's what to look forward to in today's episode:

-Defining "sacred rest"

-Methods people are taking to address exhaustion - other than rest

-The seven types of rest

-A quick practice to integrate into your everyday life to address physical rest

-Recognizing mental rest deficit

-Time blocking low-yield activities

-Why people pleasers may have an emotional rest deficit

-Honoring your own "no"

-How faith and science can work together

-What Dr. Dalton-Smith learned about surrendering

-Evaluating how we are giving and receiving energy from others

-Being mindful of the positive and negative influences of social media

-Recognizing a sensory rest deficit

-Creative rest vs. creative output

Connect with Dr. Dalton-Smith

IG: @DrDaltonsmith

Websites: DrDaltonsmith.com and https://ichoosemybestlife.com/

Rest Deficit Assessment

Book: Sacred Rest

Connect with Whitney:

IG: @Whitneywoman

Website: www.myelectricideas.com

When our energy is feeling off, sometimes it's because we've fallen out of balance in an area of our life and aren't even aware. Today's guest calls women to release the idea of being perfectly balanced and replace it with a concept she calls "balancing out."

She says: "I don't believe in balance because it is impossible to be perfectly balanced at all times. Feeling unbalanced isn't a problem, it's when you are unbalanced and unaware…that's detrimental to your life, that's when the chaos sets in."

In today's episode, I connect with Megan Seamans, a double-certified energy coach and human design guide who helps people tap into their magic and reawaken their own unique energetic blueprint.

Megan shares with us the beauty of being intentionally out of balance, how to tap into our intuition and the importance of listening to, hearing, and feeling your inner voice. In this episode, we dive into human design and Megan gives great examples of how contrasting human designs can be supportive and collaborative, and how understanding human design in our family and our role as parents can be powerful.

Megan and I would love for you to share your favorite takeaway from this episode! Connect with us on Instagram @meganseamans and @whitneywoman.

Here's what to look forward to in today's episode:

-Being intentionally out of balance

-When being "out of balance" feels like it's happening to you instead of for you

-Different aspects of what an energy coach does to help you

-How to be more conscious of the energy we're putting out

-Tapping into your intuition

-Benefits of bringing play back into your life

-Listening to, hearing, and feeling your inner voice

-Embracing a pattern interruption

-Incorporating practices that you connect with and that help nourish your energy

-Rhythms instead of rigidity

-Human design - an energetic blueprint for yourself

-Examples of how contrasting human designs can be supportive and collaborative

-How understanding human design in our family and our role as parents can be powerful

-Advice if you're feeling stuck

-Megan's guided workbook, Balanced Out and different ways to implement the strategies

Connect with Megan:

IG: @meganseamans

Website: https://www.meganseamans.com

Guided workbook: Balanced Out

Connect with Whitney

IG: @Whitneywoman

Website: www.myelectricideas.com

Today's guest says: "Living on purpose isn't about changing who you are. It's about rising up and becoming the best version of you. It's about adjusting your mindset so you can discover your daily choices. It's about finding the unhurried purpose that is hidden in each one of your days when you stay true to your soul's path."

In today's episode I talk with Tanya Dalton, a best-selling author, transformational speaker and nationally recognized productivity expert. She helps female executives and entrepreneurs step into purposeful leadership.

Tanya shares the inspiration behind her book, On Purpose: The Busy Woman's Guide to An Extraordinary Life of Meaning and Success and actionable methods she uses with her clients to help them claim more fulfilling lives. Additionally, we discuss the power of words and how we speak to ourselves, lies that hold us back and using the MTO method to set goals.

There were so many amazing moments in today's episode. If you connected with something we talked about, Tanya and I would love it if you could tag us and share today's episode on Instagram - @tanya.i.dalton and @whitneywoman! Be sure to visit Tanya's website for more information about her book and her Intentional Advantage podcast.

Here's what to look forward to in today's episode"

-The inspiration behind Tanya's book, On Purpose

-The excuse to be perfectly imperfect

-How Tanya works with her clients to focus on their goals and dreams

-Implementing "The Fifth Why" to get to the bottom of why you're not getting what you want.

-Words have the power to speak life or death

-Stepping outside of yourself when talking about yourself

-Using "I don't" instead of "I can't" when speaking to take back the power of your words

-Lies that hold us back

-Why you want to hone in your multi-passions not hold yourself back

-How to use Cathedral Thinking to map out your goals and set priorities and avoid the Goal Setting Paradox

-Using the MTO method to set goals

-Tools for creating a life that can be meaningfully productive

Connect with Tanya:

IG: @tanya.i.dalton

Website: http://tanyadalton.com

Tanya's Book - On Purpose

Podcast: The Intentional Advantage

Connect with Whitney:

IG: @whitneywoman

Website: www.myelectricideas.com

When somebody we love is grieving, it can be difficult to know how to be supportive. Many of us have been taught that the goal of everyday life is to be happy all the time and that feelings are problems. So when someone we love is suffering, we view it as a problem to be fixed. I invite you to learn about the power of simply being present, taking small, intuitive actions and allowing the person you love to simply feel what she needs to feel while knowing she is not alone.

In today's episode, I talk with Krista St-Germain, a master certified life coach, grief expert, widow, mom and host of The Widowed Mom Podcast. Krista shares with us what you can do to show up for that friend or loved one who has experienced loss in ways that feel meaningful but not intrusive. Additionally, we discuss many misconceptions about the stages of grief and the beautiful concept of post-traumatic growth.

While Krista works with many grieving widows, her wisdom around grief is universal. If you are someone experiencing grief or would like to connect with Krista, be sure to check out her podcast, The Widowed Mom Podcast, and visit her website.

Here's what to look forward to in today's episode:

-What a person can do to show up for that friend or a loved one who's experienced loss

-Actions from loved ones that helped Krista during her most devastating times

-Advice for treading that line of wanting to show up for your loved ones and friends but not wanting to bring up the loss

-When is truly the time that grieving people need you

-The misconceptions about the stages of grief

-The types and subsets of grief that aren't talked about

-Why the one-year mark of grief is arbitrary

-Some meaningful ways to help cope in a positive way

-The N.O.W. method to feel feelings

-The Emotional Freedom Technique

-Defining Post Traumatic Growth

Connect with Krista:

IG: @lifecoachkrista

Website: www.coachingwithkrista.com

Work with Krista

The Widowed Mom Podcast

Connect with Whitney:

IG: @whitneywoman

Website: myelectricideas.com

Electric Opening Mastermind

Given the pace of modern life, it's easy to get caught up in the water hose of life's demands. As women strive to show up meaningfully for everything and everybody we love, it's easy to run ourselves into the ground if we don't learn how to pour into ourselves and balance work with life.

In today's episode, I connect with Dr. Caroline Iscovitz. Dr. Caroline holds a doctorate in psychology and has practiced in the marriage and family therapy space for many years. Around five years ago, she transitioned from the mental health field into coaching. Today, she is an entrepreneur coach and wellness consultant dedicated to empowering women to put themselves at the top of the priority list regardless of what they're building in their lives. Dr. Iscovitz focuses on four essential pillars: work-life integration, self-love, boundaries and emotional balance within relationships.

She and I discuss why women commonly have trouble prioritizing themselves against a lot of other roles and what happens when we routinely put ourselves at the bottom of the list. Additionally, Dr. Iscovitz shares her favorite tools for working smarter instead of harder, practices to put in place when you have difficulty putting yourself at the top of your own priorities list and a way to communicate in a more proactive way.

We would love to know how you plan to incorporate at least one of the core pillars into your life. Share today's episode on Instagram and be sure to tag us - @drcarolineiscovitz and @whitneywoman!

Here's what to look forward to in today's episode:

-Why some women have trouble prioritizing themselves against a lot of other roles

-What happens when we routinely put ourselves at the bottom of the list

-The 4 core pillars to success

-Favorite tools for working smarter instead of harder

-How to set the stage for loving ourselves more

-How to set boundaries for yourself

-Practices to put in place when you have difficulty putting yourself at the top of your own priorities list

-Building the habit of meditation to start the day

-The ripple effect of small, intentional actions

-The impact that self-love and setting boundaries have on your closest relationships

-A way to communicate in a more proactive way so that your needs are met before you're at a breaking point

Connect with Dr. Iscovitz:

IG: @drcarolineiscovitz

Website: www.drcarolineiscovitz.com

YouTube Channel: Morning Cup with Dr. C

Connect with Whitney:

IG: @whitneywoman

Website: https://myelectricideas.com/

Join Electric Opening HERE

Somewhere along the path to becoming an adult, as we face mounting responsibilities, many of us lose touch of our natural, childlike ability to play. While it might require more intention as we age, learning to invite pockets of playfulness into everyday life – and to prioritize time for fun – offers many health benefits.

In today's episode, I talk with Jocey Wiitanen. Jocey is host of the Make Life podcast, a personal coach and founder of Backroads Coaching. A big part of her mission is to help women to dream bigger, take up space, claim their gifts and say HECK YES to living their best lives.

Jocey shares her immigration story and her transformational journey from pain to living with lots of playfulness. Additionally, we learn about her perspective on how play and mental health go hand in hand, and practical tips for inviting fun into our day-to-day lives.

How do you incorporate play into your regular routine? Share today's episode on Instagram and be sure to tag us - @joceywiitanen and @whitneywoman!

Here's what to look forward to in today's episode:

-Josie's background and her immigration story

-The transformational journey of self-help

-Getting over the forgiveness hurdle and the forgiveness journey

-How play and mental health go hand in hand

-How we may get in our own way from enjoying the present

-Practical ways to recognize and bring fun into your day-to-day life

-Joyful anticipation to set the mood for the next day

-Recognizing who or what you can lean on for support to move the needle to keep moving

-Playing small and why you want to stop doing it

-The ripple effect of setting boundaries

-The BLOOM Journey

Connect with Jocey:

IG: @joceywiitanen

Website: Backroads Life Coaching

Shatter the Box and Bloom Movement - 10-Week Transformational Experience

Podcast: Make Life Fun Podcast

Connect with Whitney:

IG: @whitneywoman

Website: https://myelectricideas.com/

Join Electric Offering - A six-week mastermind to help you let go of your static story and step into possibility.

The reciprocal relationship between mindfulness and creativity is fascinating. Sometimes when we're our most tapped in and mindful, we invite in powerful waves of creativity. Other times, when we're out of sync, creative endeavors can be a vehicle for exploration and expression that helps us ease back into more mindful rhythms.

In today's episode I talk with Katy Oberle, a licensed psychotherapist turned Creative Mindfulness Coach and singer/songwriter. Katy is passionate about expanding the definition of mindfulness to include creative, nature-based and embodied practices. She coaches clients to develop their own "brand" of mindfulness that honors their innate creativity, life circumstances, values and goals. Katy believes that when our wise creative spirits come out to play, healing and transformation can happen at all levels.

Katy shares with us what it means to practice mindfulness and some of the benefits that come with it. Additionally, Katy talks about being mindfully creative vs. creative mindfulness, provides advice on how to tap into compassion for ourselves and different ways to be creative.

Katy and I would love to hear your take on creative mindfulness and how you implement it. Share today's episode on Instagram and be sure to tag us - @katyoberle and @whitneywoman!

Join Electric Offering - A six-week mastermind to help you let go of your static story and step into possibility.

Here's what to look forward to in today's episode:

-Katy's take on what it means to practice mindfulness

-Some benefits of mindfulness

-The differences between meditation and mindfulness

-Being mindfully creative vs. creative mindfulness

-Advice on how how to tap into compassion for ourselves

-Transforming emotions by channeling creativity

-The importance of focusing on the process, not the end product

-E.M.A.P. (everyday mindfulness action plan)

-Katy's 3-session 1:1 virtual creative mindfulness coaching package "Attune, Create, Thrive"

Connect with Katy:

IG: @katyoberle

Website: www.katyoberlecreative.com and Katy's free e-guide "5 Ways to Practice Mindfulness Without Meditating"

Katy's Book/Author recommendations:

An Artful Path to Mindfulness: MBSR-Based Activities for Using Creativity to Reduce Stress & Embrace the Present Moment by Janet Slom, MFA

Self Compassion by Kristin Neff

Still Life: the myths and magic of mindful living by Rebecca Pacheco

The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron

Facebook Group: A Creatively Mindful Life

Connect with Whitney

IG: @whitneywoman

website: myelectricideas.com

We all have an inner child who lives inside of us. Hopefully she was cherished and celebrated in her youth. But for those who faced any sort of misunderstanding, hurt or abandonment from a caregiver, oftentimes unintentionally, those experiences can haunt us in our most intimate relationships and lead to lots of havoc and suffering in adulthood.

In today's episode, I talk with Gloria Zhang, a relationship coach based out of Canada who is best known for her top 100 show: The Inner Child Podcast. Gloria helps high achievers permanently break patterns of toxic love and create secure, successful relationships through her unique Inner Child re-parenting methods.

In our conversation, Gloria helps us understand how unresolved inner child wounds can show up in our lives, especially with our partners. We delve into the link between our relationship with our parents and how that plays out in what we look for in a spouse later in life. Listen until the end to find out things you can do to move past your discovered behaviors and her best tips for better communicating in our relationships.

I would love to know what you connected with in today's episode. Drop us a note to let us know - @bygloriazhang and @whitneywoman!

Here's what to look forward to in today's episode:

-A deeper look at how to define the Inner Child

-The big core wounds that can show up in your life and signs to look for

-The link between a relationship with our parents and how that impacts a relationship with our partner

-Examples of issues with your mom or dad as a child

-Tips for things we can do, aside from therapy, to move past behaviors that we recognize

-Advice for women who feel like they've surrendered their identity after starting a family

-Rules for the road when it comes to having fair, better communication and relationships

-The best time to get into the right mindset with yourself -How to build a healthy relationship

-A helpful and powerful question to ask yourself

Connect with Gloria:

IG: @bygloriazhang

Website: https://bygloriazhang.com/soulmate

Podcast: The Inner Child Podcast

Connect with Whitney:

IG: @whitneywoman