In this episode, Sue and Mike are joined by Colin Hillstrom, a certified sound healer whom we’ve had the privilege to get to know the past few years. Colin shares his personal journey to health and healing, that started in 1987 when he faced a health crisis.  In the 1990s, he studied with a world-renowned sound healer and innovator Sharry Edwards and learned about the core foundational principles of sound healing. He continued his exploration and in 2015, he discovered his love for alchemy quartz crystal singing bowls which he continues to play today. He is a full-time bowl player, teacher, and recording artist. Colin shares his knowledge about sound healing, vibrational frequencies, and consciousness, what is means to play at 432 Hz and bringing balance and harmony to optimize healing and health. Colin encourages all of us to experience sound baths directly and can attest to the power of direct experience.

In this episode, Sue and Mike are joined by Dr Hajela to explore the concepts of unity, diversity, interconnectedness and how to stay in the flow of life. Dr Hajela shares his perspective of how unity and wellness are connected and the importance of seeing what we have in common with others vs our differences. During this episode, we discuss consciousness, meditation, the connection between yoga and meditation, and how we can learn to let go and stay in the flow of life.

In this episode, Sue and Mike are joined by Dr Julia Gill who shares more about the benefits of intravenous therapy. There is nearly 100% absorption rate with IV therapy so beneficial for stress management, fatigue, inflammatory disorders, gut issues, withdrawal management and hydration as well as to boost the immune system, increase energy and vitality. Dr Gill discussed the benefits of the various water-soluble vitamins, minerals, amino acids, and antioxidants that are part of the solutions and she individualizes the IV treatment depending on a person’s needs. Both Sue and Mike have had IV therapy with Dr Gill and can attest to it being painless, relaxing, and rejuvenating. Dr Gill also shares her tips for those who are fearful of needles. Please tune in if you are interested in learning more about this treatment modality.  

In this episode, Sue and Mike are joined by Dr Ishan Sharma who shares his journey to become an addiction medicine doctor. Ishan talks about his interest in health and wellness from a holistic and integrated framework vs focus on illness and disease. He talks about some of his challenges having to unlearn a lot of what he was taught in medical school and in his residency where the focus is on diagnoses and symptom management which doesn’t work well with mental health and addiction issues. Ishan shares his perspective and experience on how physicians can get caught up in medicating uncomfortable feelings. Feelings are often demonized, labeled good or bad vs giving us information about what is happening in a person’s life. Ishan talks about the importance of listening to the patient versus getting stuck in focusing on diagnostic criteria which was taught in his medical training.

In this episode, Sue and Mike are joined by Shannon Gordon who shares a very personal story growing up with two parents in active addiction. In this episode, Shannon shares many of her challenges and how she finally recognized she couldn’t save her mother and had to save herself. Shannon’s story is a powerful recount of her experiences mostly with her mother who ended up living on the streets for many years.  We are grateful for her willingness to share her grief, vulnerabilities, struggles, gratitude and acceptance and how she went from feeling like a victim to a survivor.  Her story is a gift for others who have experienced active addiction in their family and a reminder that we aren’t alone.

In this episode, Sue and Mike are joined by Kaylie, a registered psychologist on the HUM team and founder of YYC psychology. As a mother and psychologist, Kaylie shares some of her insight and recommendations including how to role model healthy dialogue, providing support versus fixing, having emotional awareness, and understanding of our beliefs to help support our children and teens. Kaylie also talks about some issues and challenges parents face when having difficult conversations and the value of focusing on feelings, having open and honest dialogue that is age appropriate. 

In this episode, Sue and Mike are joined by Dr Hajela and Kaylie Rodriguez who co-authored the book The Matrix for Life. This book is a matrix or series of 9 windows which guides readers through the ABCs of Awareness, Action, Acceptance, Beliefs, Boundaries, Balance, Compassion, Caring and Contentment. The team talks about these concepts in more detail and how you can move from awareness to contentment. Our hope is this book will inspire you to re-examine your ideas that may be keeping you stuck or trapped in the past or worrying about the future. It will help expand your perspectives through practical ideas and exercises to embrace life’s journey in a meaningful way as you take responsibility for your own health, well-being, and personal growth.

In this episode, Sue and Mike are joined by Ian, a Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA) and person in long term recovery. Ian shares his insight on how addiction can manifest with finances and how money/finances can be influenced by both addiction and recovery. He talks about how budgeting is like a goal or financial boundary that supports health and recovery vs. feeling a sense of deprivation. Benefits, challenges, and key take aways are alls discussed throughout the podcast.  If we want to make changes in our lives, we need to know where we are today. Everyone can benefit from a personal budget, not just those struggling financially.

In this episode, Sue and Mike are joined by Hilary MacAulay, the owner of MasterworX Music Therapy and an Accredited Music Therapist (MTA). She has a Bachelor of Music Therapy from Acadia University, and completed her clinical internship in Calgary, working with a wide variety of ages and abilities. 

Hilary talks about the benefits of music therapy in the brain from a biological perspective. Research has demonstrated how music helps increase dopamine and serotonin, decreases cortisol so is a therapeutic modality for mental health and addiction. Music also activates cognitive, motor, and speech centers in the brain so is beneficial with autism, dementia, brain injuries to name a few.

Hilary shares her approach to music which is a humanistic or client centred approach and she meets people where they are at. With this approach, it provides a safe space to explore feelings, memories, traumas that people might not be able to access through talk therapy or other modalities. Hilary focuses on playing for fun to strip away the focus on performance based music which can activate judgement and shame. Hilary shares her passion and experience of music and music therapy with individuals and groups with people of all ages. At HUM, in her group sessions she guides people create their own “campfire songs.”

In this episode, Sue and Mike are joined by Jenne Newman, the Co-founder of Blackbird Healing Arts Collective. She holds a Master’s degree in Creative Arts Therapies from Concordia University. Jenne is a Certified Canadian Counsellor with the Canadian Counselling and Psychotherapy Association, and a Registered Art Therapist with the Canadian Art Therapy Association.

Jenne shares her passion and experience with art from a young age and how art and creativity, imagination is such a great way to make meaning in the world. Art therapy is the marriage between psychology and art. This methodology engages both sides of the brain and helps build new neural pathways and connections in our brain to deal with stress, trauma, mental health, and addiction issues. Art therapy engages the body, emotions, as well as the spiritual self. The role of an art therapist is to hold space in a therapeutic setting and guide the therapeutic process to support healing and growth. There are many benefits of art therapy such as getting in touch with inner strengths and resilience, building empathy, self-compassion, and expression, letting go of self-judgement, fear, and shame. Jenne is a very skilled therapist’ whose approach is person centred, strength based, and trauma informed.