Healthier Today

EPISODE 1 | SEASON 2 | HEALTHER TODAY

ACCESSING THE CONTROL PANEL OF CONSCIOUSNESS | Ben Ahrens

At 25, Ben Ahrens was the living emblem of fitness and health. As a surfer and young athlete, Ben had a deep fondness of sharing and cultivating a community centered around health and fitness. However, when he was diagnosed with Lyme disease everything changed. Suddenly, his life was upended by chronic fatigue and completely lost his health. In the years since, Ben has developed a mechanism to awaken the brain’s natural healing property that has led him to a life full of health, recovery, and consciousness. For him, everything starts with a single breath. Listen on to hear Ben’s inspiring story and the science of the power of the mind.

TIME STAMPS

• How Ben’s life went from active health and fitness to a life-threatening disease diagnosis [0:50]
• How a single deep breath began to change Ben’s life and improve his health [2:11]
• What the one single breath slowly progresses into [3:40]
• Steve’s experience changing his stress response through stretching and breathing [6:33]
• How the experience of life starts and ends in your brain [6:57]
• How changing our thoughts can affect our bodies [8: 30]
• Ben’s experience witnessing the power of deep breath in other people [10:09]
• The power of surfing in promoting health, wellness, and the body’s natural healing process [12:50]
• How Ben is striving to retrain the brain to maintain a state of regeneration [15:30]
• The importance of the flow state and being in the moment [16:35]
• Ben discusses his techniques to achieve and maintain his own flow-state and changing one’s emotional, mental, physical, and behavioral response [19:06]
• How stress, fear, anxiety, and a constant state of fight-or-flight can affect one’s working memory and healing process [24:02]
• What the future of healthcare looks like [28:40]
• Does more technology make people anxious? [31:51]
• Ben’s life-changing experience sleeping in the wild and how it changed his life [34:03]
• How Ben navigated the ups and downs of 2020 and his advice to giving space and limits to areas in your life [36:43]
• What living healthy today mean to Ben [40:21]
• The special advice Ben would give his 18 year-old self [43:34]

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HEALTHIER TODAY TEAM

Host: Jared Talavera

Co-host/Voiceover artist: Yani Harris

Assistants: Taneer and Atkia Sadia

Script writer: Brian Ariotti

Audio production: Resonate Recordings.

DISCLAIMER

Information from the Healthier Today podcast is for informational purposes only. Please speak to a health professional for specific individual health advice.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

EPISODE 5 | SEASON 2 | HEALTHIER TODAY

Wake up call | Sondra Kornblatt

For Sondra Kornblatt, sleep isn’t just the last thing you do at the end of the day. Nor should it be what you take for granted. For Sondra, sleep is an essential part of our lives that need more attention than ever before. After experiencing months battling chronic insomnia with sleep drugs, teas, magnesium, and more, Sondra set out to discover a holistic approach to better sleep quality and found herself submerged in the unacknowledged science of sleep and the significance of a good night’s rest. Listen on to learn more about the importance of sleep and why sleep isn’t the same as deep rest.

• How Sondra sleeps on an average night [0:32]

CONNECT WITH JARED TALAVERA

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HEALTHIER TODAY TEAM

Host: Jared Talavera

Co-host/Voiceover artist: Yani Harris

Assistants: Taneer and Atkia Sadia

Script writer: Brian Arrioto

Audio production: Resonate Recordings.

DISCLAIMER

Information from the Healthier Today podcast is for informational purposes only. Please speak to a health professional for specific individual health advice.

We know that all of us could benefit from more self-care. That's why the Healthier Today podcast is back with daily episodes!

Host Jared Talavera, advisor, and self-care advocate has assembled nearly a dozen interviews this season. The list of guests ranges from business owners, non-profit executives, and thought-leaders - all of whom are committed to advocating for the most vulnerable, bringing mindfulness to the masses, and investigating the health benefits of rest. All with one mission - to show us how to live happier and healthier.

Each guest shares their unique perspective on everything from the body's healing powers to thriving in the face of PTSD. Their stories are not limited to overcoming adversity but cultivating a positive character by focusing on mental, physical, and spiritual health.

Season One of the podcast launched in the backdrop of Covid-19. We were at the height of unprecedented times. Since our first show aired, we knew we had to advocate for mental health and self-care in an approachable style. We wanted to make this information available and accessible to everyone.

Last season we found inspiration to become physically fit through the story of Amie Behave, who not only recovered from brain surgery but built back better- and became stronger mentally and physically. We also learned about the healing power of water with Hans Hagen, Executive Director of Mauli Ola, a non-profit dedicated to helping patients with cystic fibrosis. Despite the 24-hour news cycle and notifications from social media that made us all uneasy at times, we found solutions to ease the overwhelm with Kim Cavallo. Her app, lilspace, makes it possible to recharge emotionally by disconnecting. Our canine friends kept countless individuals company, relieving loneliness and isolation through closures and lockdowns. We learned about the remarkable power of Man's best friend through Zach Skow, who teaches prison inmates about vulnerability and trust through his dog training program.

Welcome back to the Healthier Today Podcast. Join us on Wednesday, December 1, 2021, with Australian Voiceover artist Yani Harris and subscribe to be alerted when new episodes air.

Information from the Healthier Today podcast is for informational purposes only.

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SHOW CREDITS

Host: Jared Talavera

Co-host / VoiceOver artist: Yani Harris

Assistants: Taneer and Atkia Sadia

Script writer: Brian Arrioto

Produced by Resonate Recordings.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For many people, hearing that their child is being diagnosed with cancer is their worst nightmare. Prof Wakefield is head of the behavioural sciences unit for the Kids Cancer Centre at the Sydney Children's Hospital.

She explains, “nobody wants to hear the words your child has cancer.”

Across the globe, over 300,000 children will be diagnosed with cancer each year. Cancer is second only to motor vehicle accidents for the leading cause of child deaths. These figures are undoubtedly shocking and upsetting, as it can be hard to comprehend a child going through such agony and emotional turmoil.

Unfortunately, it is not only the child patient who feels the effect of a cancer diagnosis. As Wakefield states, 'it’s the beginning of a really long journey, not just for the child but also for the parents, brothers and sisters'.

It is not just a patient who feels trauma from a cancer diagnosis, as their close family also feel psychological distress. Wakefield identified the negative effects cancer can have on a family unit and brought together a research group of psycho-oncologists, to help families 'traverse the really scary, difficult time that is cancer treatment.' She explains, 'we're a growing group of researchers all working towards improving outcomes for families with kids with cancer.'

Wakefield draws on both her psychology and oncology expertise to help families feel emotionally and physically in control when faced with a cancer diagnosis. Her team focus on bringing a sense of control back to families as when asked how parents feel when their child has been diagnosed with cancer.

Through her research, Wakefield has found evidence that suggests, 'without support, both patients, parents and brothers and sisters can develop anxiety, depression and PTSD' relating to a cancer diagnosis. She further explains that, 'our work tries to prevent those outcomes.’ Tweet: Families are surprised about just how much strength they have. —Prof Claire Wakefield, psycho-oncologist

The link between cancer and depression, and other mood-altering disorders, is undeniably strong. Wakefield's work is focused on helping families to function as normally and happily as possible whilst dealing with a cancer diagnosis.

I asked Prof Wakefield how she handles working in child cancer researcher.

 'It's certainly not always easy, the work that we do, but I never ever question that it’s not worthwhile,' says Prof Wakefield.

While we can’t change the cards we have been dealt in life, we can use what we already have and further nourish that to live a meaningful, purposeful and impactful life.

Spread the love by sharing this article with your significant other, a friend, colleague, or family member who you think would find enormous value from this as well.

Follow Claire Wakefield and the Behavioural Sciences Unit on social media:

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You can connect with Jared Talavera on Facebook Instagram and Twitter.

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Zach Skow developed a drug and alcohol dependency problem that lasted from his teens to 20s. By the time he was 28, doctors told him he had end-stage liver disease. His dogs gave him the will to live and fight for a better a life. Today, Zach is the founder of Marley's Mutts Dog Rescue—a nonprofit that gives second chances to both humans and canines.

Follow Marley's Mutts Dog Rescue on social media:

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Instagram

Twitter

Website

You can connect with Jared Talavera on Facebook Instagram and Twitter.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

During a yoga class in Los Angeles she noticed that she was being distracted messaging on her phone. “It was really disturbing to me because it was this tiny little device that was really pulling me away from what really mattered to me,” says Kim during an interview on the Healthier Today podcast. After that disturbing realisation, Kim searched for an app that would let her friends and colleagues know when she needed a break from her phone. Her search, however, gave her few options. Rather than admitting defeat, she recalls, “I thought, well, I think if I had some kind of out of office reply by text or phone, that would give me the peace of mind to be able to focus in a yoga class.” The result was lilspace—an app that helps you be more intentional with your phone use.

Learn more about lilspace on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and on http://www.getlilspace.com.

You can connect with Jared Talavera on Facebook Instagram, Twitter and www.jaredtalavera.com.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

‘Mauli Ola’ is Hawaiian for ‘Breath of Life’ and there is no more fitting name for a foundation whose motto is ‘May the wave heal us all’. Hans Hagen is one of the advocates and executive directors for the Mauli Ola Foundation—a non-profit using the power of surfing and the ocean to help young patients with cystic fibrosis breathe a little easier. Listen to Hans share some incredible stories and life lessons in this episode.

Spread the love by sharing this episode with your significant other, a friend, colleague, or family member who you think would find enormous value from this as well.

Follow Mauli Ola Foundation on social media: Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | LinkedIn | Website

You can connect with Jared Talavera on Facebook Instagram and Twitter.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.