Pull up a chair to join future Dr. Emma Kange and I as we talk about medical school, yoga, and balancing life. My favorite line is, "Doing your best doesn’t mean doing the most."

• Grad and med school (or work) are demanding, but give yourself permission to take time away—perhaps on the mat, handling errands, or eating a nourishing meal

An introduction to the solar plexus: Associated with fire, the color yellow, self-discipline, and core work. A time to recommit to work life balance.

- Niyama: Tapas, fire, discipline, commitment

- A perfect time to re-investigate yearly intentions, resolutions, etc.

- To resolve means to do something steadfastly. Can you rest steadfastly as well? Take breaks? Create boundaries?

- I share an excerpt from my book about the gut-punch that is my own mental chatter about how stressed I am or am not "allowed" to be

- Mantra: I can do hard things

- Cued through a plank meditation

Dr. Ahlishia Shipley embodies her roles within Family and Consumer Sciences and the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) when she posits that, to invest in a healthier society, we start with families: “Families are (one of) the most important piece to society. That’s where people are built.” Yes. Yes, indeed. More about the people, policies, and programs within this episode. Key takeaways are that:

• Relationships are the key to Extension work.

Dr. Ahlishia Shipley is a National Program Leader (NPL) for Family and Community Health in the Division of Family and Consumer Sciences within the Institute of Youth, Family, and Community. She provides leadership for the Rural Health and Safety Education Program, the Extension COVID Immunization Training and Education (EXCITE) Program, and supports initiatives focused on health equity and well-being across the research, education, and extension mission areas. Dr. Shipley joins NIFA from the National Institutes of Health, Center for Scientific Review where she was the Scientific Review Officer for the chartered study section, Lifestyle Change and Behavioral Health providing leadership for the peer review process for extramural research applications focused on chronic disease prevention and health promotion. She previously served as an NPL for Families and Health at NIFA.

Babe- if you need a permission slip to rest, let this be it. You are allowed to take time away from work. True time away from work. Nobody at the end of life said they wish they worked harder.

• Overworking before you leave work isn’t taking rest

Dr. David Buys is an associate professor of Food Science, Nutrition and Health Promotion and state specialist for Mississippi State University. His expertise spans farmer stress and health to opioid misuse and participatory research. I left with so many take-aways but two in particular: There’s opportunity to “open our minds and our hearts” and, no matter where you are on your life or career journey, “we haven’t arrived yet… we’re still on the journey.” This helps me think through, ok, it’s no longer, “Now what? It’s, now anything!”

• As we try to define a Cooperative Extension Health Specialist, he describes his job as an Extension specialist like a healthcare provider generalist or primary care provider: “I take what walks in the door.” Extension has to continue to be responsive and robust.

Follow Dr. Buys on twitter @DrBuys

The sacral chakra is associated with creativity, birthing ideas, sensuality, connection.

• Some of these terms can seem "not for me". Suggestions for rethinking the narrative- we're all creative beings.

This 5 minute reminder and meditation to check in on the notions that:

- Most people are just trying to figure it all out

- "We're all divine having a human experience"

- We'll do things imperfectly

- Support is a healing modality

- A moment of rest and breathing might help you check in with what you need, ask for help where needed

- Someone on your team might need help, too. Does this fit within your capabilities? If not, can you share what is feasible

- Let's be a bridge from research to practice!

Dr. Jacqueline Kerr is in the top 1% of most cited scientists worldwide. But in 2018, she experienced severe burn out. To survive and start to thrive, she shifted out of academia. Now, she is using this burn out to fuel change in her career, her messaging, and what she's offering to other scientists, especially to moms in research. Some key takeaways are related to:

• Advocating for multilevel burn out prevention

More offerings from Dr. Kerr here: https://www.drjacquelinekerr.com/

Her TEDxMcMasterU,  "How To Stop Burnout Before It Starts" here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9YY0gVnVPoQ

The chemical factory that is my body is so stimulated. I talked to my husband for hours about how to fix my schedule. It’s only webconferencing that’s the problem. I can be endlessly fueled by my work if it’s not on back-to-back Zooms. I’m breaking the cycle going forward. But, in the meantime, when I have to be on I will:

• Acknowledge that our bodies haven’t caught up with technology. When we’re on Web-conferencing and only seeing people from the torso up, it alerts our body to “are we f^@king or fighting?”

Tune in for more with Fionna Boyle in an upcoming episode. Find her on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/maritimemomentum/

Dr. Deborah (Debby) Good is tenured faculty of Human Nutrition, Foods, and Exercise at Virginia Tech. She embodies the tripartite (three-part) mission of land-grant universities via her research, teaching, and outreach.

Key takeaways are:

• Don’t let someone else’s opinion get in the way of your flourishing

More about TOUR scholars: https://www.hnfe.vt.edu/TOURS.html

More about Dr. Good's research: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=GnJUkJoAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao