FitMama

Hey FitMama! This week I have a very special guest on the podcast, my very own FitMama!!

It's the first time I have interviewed my mom on my pod and she's visiting me in LA from Toronto so I took the opportunity to do so. This week I have been doing live 60 minute breathwork sessions with her and she has been loving it!

We got so caught up talking about other things we didn't include her breath work experience but I will get a clip of her and share with you on socials, so follow me @lovejenoliver and @fitmamapodcast so you don't miss that!

In this episode my mom shares her early life being born in a small town in the former Czechoslovakia and what it was like to immigrate to Canada at age 11 as a single child with no siblings not knowing a word of english. She shares my birth story and some elements of my youth and how it was to witness her grandchildren being born. We speak about her fitness journey and her life's journey as a single mom to four kids and her favorite times as a mom. She shared what she thought I might do once I grew up and as well as what she's looking forward to in her own personal and professional life going forward.

This is a fun episode for me to share my own Mama with you.

I hope you enjoy it!

As always, feel free to book a free call or a free breathwork session with me or send me an email to [email protected] to share your story. I read every email and I will reply!

Hey FitMama,

This week I am so grateful and excited to have an amazing guest on the show, Alla Shashkina, a running coach, fellow trauma informed breathwork facilitator and breath science practitioner. As you already know, I love breathwork, the science behind it and even taping my mouth to sleep (iykyk)! Alla and I have a great chat about what she means by The Quiet Run and why she created it. I love what she stands for and I know for a fact that being out in nature, while running or walking has so many benefits for us, not just physically but mentally also. When was the last time you went out for a good run or walk and came back thinking, "I wish I didn't go?"

Alla answers all my questions about when to run, how to start running as a beginner, is nose breathing while running best and questions about footwear, running surfaces and motivation to go for a run. Alla shares her story about how she got into running and how it helped her with her mental health as a single mom moving to a new country and working a full time job. Alla has run many marathons and races all over the world and is an inspirational running coach and mentor.

At the core of The Quiet Run™ Method is breath science, mindfulness, mind-body connection, and meditation. Alla is a long distance runner and views running as a powerful healing modality that, combined with breathwork, can amplify its effects. Anyone can experience the joy and ease of running.

Alla can be found online on her amazing instagram account: @thequietrun where she offers brilliant science and tools to support your running journey, her website: www.thequietrun.com

Where you can learn about her method and packages that she offers and she now lives in Encintas, CA she organizes weekly trail runs and incredible ocean dips where she teaches the practice of mindfulness, breathwork, and running. You can sign up on her website link directly here: https://www.thequietrun.com/event-details/the-quiet-run and she recently launched a quiz that can give you an idea about how working with her can help you improve your performance and longevity in running, click here for the quiz: https://www.thequietrun.com/the-quiz

Hey Hey FitMama,

This week I am bringing to you some nervous system regulation wisdom!

Jump into this episode for my tips and tools to get out of the sympathetic dominance many of us find ourselves in day to day and spend more time hanging out in your parasympathetic mode (rest and digest), why? Because it feels so much better! We can actually respond instead of react to things in our life from a place of calm.

As well, I give you some ideas on how to calm your nervous system and prepare it to actually digest the foods your eating so they can nourish your body and not leave you constantly hungry and rushing around in life.

I dive into what makes up the nervous system and how this pertains to your life!

Then, I go into what all the hats are and how constantly wearing hats all day without taking them off leads us to feeling too aroused in our nervous system.

Living a "hat less" life has many advantages and benefits our nervous system regulation.

Please take a moment to rate and review the FitMama Podcast and share this episode on social media or send a copy to someone you love!

Let's live a "hat less" life together!

Stay calm and carry on…

Find me on Instagram @lovejenoliver and say hi!

Tag me on Insta referring to this episode and share yourself in a "hat free moment"!

Love, Jen Oliver

Hey FitMama, I'm back this week with a solo episode all about how to hold space, not only for others, but for yourself as well.

Often we are at maximum capacity in our time, energy and money available to give to others and yet we expect ourselves to be there for everyone and we end up giving from an empty cup.

This can be so easy to do and I feel like it's easier now than ever.

Life doesn't seem to let up and if we let it, home, work, kids, family, bills, friends, kid commitments and other duties can take over our lives, leaving us depleted and our mental and physical health can suffer as a result. Unless we have boundaries in place, we reduce our capacity to be able to hold space for others, and unless we plan for it, most often we help others before ourselves, leading to a lack of time, energy or money for self-care and holding space for our own need, wants and desires..

Let's change this and give to ourselves by setting boundaries that truly honor our needs.

I give you my five top tools to make this an effortless process and then it will feel good to stick to these boundaries.

Hint: We can do it, but need to let go of our cultural and societal pressures to be everything to everyone and let go of the guilt and shame that comes with not being able to live up to that. Because it's not reality! You can't and don't need to do it all FitMama, it just feels like you do sometimes.

Listen in now and reframe how you approach it and know that boundaries are the most beautiful thing you can give to yourself and others. Teach people how to treat you and how to support you, they want to learn.

Need a breather? Come breathe with me for free. Or book a time to chat with me.

Click here for a link directly into my calendar or email me here for more support.

In this week's episode I dive deeper into where I have been the last few years mentally, emotionally, relationally etc. I go into detail about the dark time in my life I have just come out, how I went through the stages of grief, what helped me both stay alive through this, and what eventually helped me come out the other side.

I share my experience with somatic therapy which I will dive deeper into in a future episode, which led me to be even more focused on breathwork as a primary modality in my coaching and how listening to our body truly sets us on the path of self-discovery and ultimate self-knowing, self-trust and eventually healing.

Life is not always sunshine and rainbows and I admit to bypassing my feelings for years and engaging in a very strong "fawn" sympathetic nervous system response most of my life. This led me down the path of some toxic positivity which helped me cope with many traumatic moves growing up, but ultimately it did not serve me in the depths of despair. Sweeping feelings and emotions under the rug does not change them or make them go away (go figure), and they merely keep showing up in our lives in different forms, begging us to face them to ultimately heal them.

If you're struggling, FitMama, you are not alone. You don't have to go it alone. You are the only one responsible for facing all of these things, but you are never alone.

If you'd like to book in a private chat or a breathwork session with me, click here: https://calendly.com/jenoliver

To get a copy of The Love FitMama Way book click here: https://amzn.to/3uoc9XF

If you want to connect send me an email at [email protected] or Find me hanging on Instagram @lovejenoliver

See you online! Love, Jen Oliver

Hey Hey FitMama, I am back!

This week's episode is a solo cast with me, Jen Oliver sharing what's been going on since our last episode aired over 3 years ago.

It's been quite the ride!

I share some of my personal journey, what I have been going through and where I am heading.

I recap The Love FitMama Way book and what it means to me to be a FitMama.

FitMama is a mindset.

This episode shares some of the Innercise to your Exercise that I recommend to all my clients, listeners, readers and community.

This episode is the first of a 2 part solo series and more on my personal journey to come in the second part.

I am so grateful you're here FitMama, we have so much to learn, explore and share together!

Catch me on Instagram @lovefitmama and grab your copy of The Love FitMama Way on Amazon today!

Send me an email and share your journey, all ups and downs are welcome here!

I can't wait to hear from you - email [email protected]

I love you!

Love Jen Oliver

This week's episode features someone who I know you will love! Our guest is Dr. Michelle Peris, ND! This amazing FitMama has 2 kiddos of her own and is changing the narrative for how we approach our health.

Dr. Michelle Peris is the founder of a women's community health initiative called The Wild Collective. This community medicine initiative involves women coming together as sisters in self-care! They discuss topics like their menstrual cycles, digestion, detoxification, mental health and so much more in a community setting where they hold each other accountable and share their ups and downs. Dr. Michelle is a huge believer that having a community like this in health care is the missing puzzle piece when it comes to adopting and maintaining healthy behaviors over time.

Dr. Michelle shares her education, experience, and wisdom on simplifying her patients as well as her own health and routine, harnessing her menstrual cycle to empower her with energy, and she shares things she has experienced in her own life that will certainly inspire you on your FitMama journey.

You can find Dr. Michelle on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, her website, and Podcast. To learn more about The Wild Collective check here for more info.

Time Stamp:

1:00 - All About Wild Creative 4:00 - Impact of Social Support 8:00 - People Implementing her Recommendations 12:00 - Power of our Menstrual Cycle 16:00 - Intuitive Messaging 20:00 - FitMama AD - Dr. Michelle Peris 22:30 - Apps for Health and Fitness 24:00 - Working with Post-Partum Mom 28:00 - Managing Time of Being a Mother 32:00 - Simplifying Medicine 36:00 - Fasting 39:00 - Her Own Pleasure and Play 43:00 - Conclusion

This episode is loaded with nuggets of wisdom for women at all stages of motherhood and for those who don't have children but still have a vagina! Join Kate Roddy and I as we chat Vaginal Self-Care and all the mind-body aspects of taking care of your own vagina.

Kate Roddy is a veteran orthopedic and pelvic floor physiotherapist and creator of The Kegel Release Curve. Kate is the mama to two of her own and has much experience and wisdom she is imparting in this episode.

Kate believes that blood flow is vital for achieving orgasm and healing our vaginas after giving childbirth. She also gives us the real scoop on what sex is like after giving birth. Our bodies have changed and are healing for 6-8 weeks. But generally, doctors do not go into depth on what sex is like after we've delivered and our healing process is taking place. Kate has some amazing tips for us FitMamas so tune in closely today!

Kate is a believer in you being the first one to explore your body after having a baby. What do your vulva and vagina look like? How is it feeling? She also shares in detail the benefits of perineal massage before and after birth. Kate created The Kegel Release Curve after her own pregnancy and this pelvic wand has some great features that others on the market don't have.

You can find Kate on her website and Instagram! To learn more about her amazing Kegel Release Curve you can visit the website or Instagram. It was such a treat having Kate with us! I hope you enjoyed our chat as much as I did! Let us know what you think on FitMama Podcast Instagram!

Kate Roddy Episode Time Stamp:

1:00 - Kate Roddy's Work 3:00 - Results on Orgasms Research 6:00 - Achieving Orgasms 10:00 - Doing Pelvic Floor Contractions 13:00 - Touch and Confidence 16:00 - Stereotypes becoming a Reality 18:00 - Protecting Pelvic Floor Health 21:00 - Unclenched 23:35 - FitMama Way Ad 27:30 - Orgasm is a Way of Self-Love 29:30 - Post-Partum Orgasm 32:30 - Sex Positions 36:00 - Vaginal Care 38:00 - Power Back into Women's Hands 41:00 - Biofeedback 43:00 - Conclusion

Hi, Fit Mama our guest on the podcast episode is Dr. Katie Thomson Aitken, ND, author of Create Calm: The Professionals Guide to Overcoming Anxiety.

For Dr. Aitken, anxiety is not a fact but a response or reaction that occurs naturally to help and protect us. It should not be a permanent state, but a transient state. There are some things that people are anxious about that don't go away which may give rise to a recurring anxiety state. We tend to get caught with our anxiety when we personalize the experience, such as saying "I have anxiety" rather than saying "This situation makes me feel anxious right now."

To help create calm and attain peace, she discussed several concepts of her Tranquil Minds Method, such as living and building a conscious life, setting boundaries, practicing mindfulness, and the catch-and-release method.

Creating a conscious life- When we own the values we like for ourselves to have, determine for ourselves where we want to be at rather than looking at someone else's standard, make that commitment to ourselves and work on the follow-through contribute a lot to our happiness and help ease with our levels of anxiety.

Setting boundaries- By asking ourselves "What do I want to get out of this?", "How do I want this to go?", "What stops it from happening that way?" or "What do I need to put into place to make this easier for me?" are some questions that can help us set our boundaries.

Practicing mindfulness- We can deal with stress and anxiety better. The first step to mindfulness is prioritizing ourselves and putting ourselves on the top of our very own list.

Catch-and-release method- For times we feel overwhelmed. The catch is when we look underneath that overwhelm to discover the abundance of emotions that are hanging out underneath and around this feeling of overwhelming. Next is to do the release. We would want to let go or process the situation.

We can do this by sharing it with somebody important to you or perform an intense physical activity. These things don't change the situation and the feeling but they help in losing the intensity so that we can later on go back into the problem and solve it with a much clearer head.

Dr. Katie Thomson Aitken is a Naturopathic Doctor and founder of the Tranquil Minds Anxiety Program for Professionals with Anxiety. Having overcome Generalized Anxiety Disorder herself, she uses her education and experience to help her patients reclaim their mental health and their life. Her new book, Create Calm The Professionals Guide to Overcoming Anxiety makes the Tranquil Minds Method available to everyone. She believes you can create your own calm, from the inside out. You can connect with Jen almost anywhere online through the social media links on her website or email her. Timestamp: 1:00 - Professional's Guide to Overcome Anxiety Book 4:00 - Transition State 7:00 - Coping Mechanism 9:00 - Taking Responsibility instead of Blaming 13:30 - Powerful Statements to the Universe 15:30 - Concept of Conscious Life 17:00 - How People Define Value 19:00 - Idea of Resonance and Boundaries 22:00 - FitMama ADS 26:00 - Mindfulness 27:00 - Teach our own Ways on our List 31:00 - Easing Our Levels of Anxiety as a Whole 33:00 - Recommendations to get that first Domino 36:00 - We Need Support 38:30 - The Feeling of Overwhelm 42:00 - Catch and Release 44:30 - Conclusion

Jenn Sadai is a Canadian author and advocate using her talents and life experiences to inspire and empower women.

Jenn discusses her book about self-love and body image entitled the Cottage Cheese Thighs. She shared her long struggles with body weight, eating disorders, and self-esteem. For her, the scale played too much factor in how she was living her life until she finally let go obsessing with it. It changed her mentally, which was freeing even if it did not change her body. She accepted herself that she is indeed flawed but fit and fabulous, that it is okay to not fit into the mold of who she was trying to be, and that to be healthy is enough.

Jenn also talks about her upcoming book, which will be out in 2022, which will be about women who want sex. She wants to disprove the notion that women don't need or crave for sex the way men do. According to her, women can be whoever and do whatever and not feel there's an image that they have to live up to. She's looking to breaking the stereotypes that are being held for women.

She ended up the podcast with messages of self-love. For Jenn, everything comes down to self-esteem and how you handle a situation comes from how you feel about yourself. Your successful life becomes how you feel about yourself. So, love yourself and be good to yourself.

You can connect with Jenn almost anywhere online through the social media links on her website or email her.

Time Stamp:

1:00 - Her books that give inspiration to many 3:00 - Overcoming Fear in Releasing her book 4:30 - Challenges she faced 7:00 - Her Journey of loving her body 9:40 - Journey of Self-Acceptance 11:00 - Conversation of Feeling Something Good 13:00 - Disappointment 14:00 - Running 15:00 - Reprogram her Thoughts about her Body 15:43 - FitMama Way AD 19:00 - Book Publishing 21:00 - Keep Yourself Active 23:00 - Women Who Want Sex Book 24:00 - Normalizing Conversation of Sex to Women 27:00 - She Wants to talk about Race 28:00 - Learn from the people with Experience 30:00 - Love Yourself 31:00 - Conclusion