Medium Well

If you are interested in sustainability or if you are simply a human living on this planet, Kamea Chayne, Conscious Creator and Host of Green Dreamer Podcast, dig in deep in today's episode. We talk about sustainability from a holistic standpoint, looking at militarism, banking, and more in addition to living a low waste lifestyle. Kamea is a wealth of information in regards to sustainability, and this conversation was so eye-opening for me! We also dove into the details of how she runs her business and her transitioning business model, which offers a unique and thought-provoking perspective.

In this episode, we discuss:

• How Kamea has evolved her brand beyond blogging

• What Kamea considers the most pressing issues in sustainability

• How militarism plays a role

• Is the zero waste movement overhyped?

• Banking and what you can do regarding fossil fuels

• Kamea's focus on restoration, rewilding, and regeneration

• Why it's so important to plant native species

• Why we need to address the underlying causes of consumerism

• How Kamea evaluates brands and avoids greenwashing

• Kamea's revenue streams and challenges with being a "blogger" vs. being a journalist

• How Kamea is pivoting to run a platform that is run by community support

• How to make a difference with big brands

• What gives Kamea hope

Mentioned in this episode:

• Kiss the Ground and their Soil Advocacy Training

• Cancel Prime movement

• Fibershed (sustainable textile education, advocacy, and support for farmers)

• Regenerative Organic Alliance (and certification)

• NATIFS (North American Traditional Indigenous Food Systems) by Sean Sherman

• Aja Barber

All the deets:

• You can find Kamea on Instagram at @kameachayne and her podcast at @greendreamerpodcast

• Tag me (@saraweinreb) and Kamea on Instagram with your favorite takeaways from the episode!

Related episodes:

• Episode 16: Sustainable business with Lopa van der Mersch of Rasa

• Episode 26: Going zero waste personally and in business with Leslie Campbell of Sustain LA

• Episode 33: Connecting to mother earth with Deborah Hanekamp of Mama Medicine

• Episode 43: Exploring the energies of plants with Erin Lovell Verinder

Medium Well is back for season two! In this episode, I recap what I've been up to the past two months, what I've been exploring and enjoying, and what I envision for the next season of the podcast.

All the deets:

• Find all the previous episodes of Medium Well on my website.

• Tag me (@saraweinreb) on Instagram with your thoughts!

Just a short episode to talk about the season break I am taking for a few weeks, and a request for your thoughts and feedback. Thank you for listening to Medium Well!

All the deets:

• Sign up for my new newsletter, Sara… lately

• Find all the previous episodes of Medium Well on my website.

• Tag me (@saraweinreb) on Instagram with your favorite takeaways from the episode and how you will use design thinking in your work.

I am, by default, a very curious person, which means I question everything and always want to dig deeper. Lately, I've been wondering what the impact of convenience culture has on our lives— our ability to be present and focus inwards, on our planet, on our connection to one another. How does our fast and cheap lifestyle impact our wellbeing? In this episode, I share my thoughts on the topic.

In this episode, I discuss:

• How to always take a pause before buying something new or making a decision

• How slowing down allows for possibilities, synchronicity, and magic

• Why faster sometimes bypasses the point

• The impact of shortcuts on people involved in making and selling products

• How convenience culture can disconnect you from your intuition

Mentioned in this episode:

• My article on The Fullest about convenience culture

• Zach Bush on our soil health and the impact of roundup (glyphosate) on our soil

• Sign up for my new newsletter, Sara… lately (bottom of my website!)

All the deets:

• Find all the previous episodes of Medium Well on my website.

• Tag me (@saraweinreb) on Instagram with your favorite takeaways from the episode and how you will use design thinking in your work.

Stressed out, worried, and anxious used to be my norm— and now, while I am not exactly stress-free, it's no longer a given. In this episode I talk about how my journey into sustainability and mindful living lead me to intentionalism, living an intentional lifestyle, and the tools and resources I use to slow down and be less stressed. As stress is one of our biggest contributors to disease, it's so important to manage your stress levels. Plus, it just feels better!

In this episode, I discuss:

• How ditching fast fashion was the first step in a slower lifestyle

• Swapping out things that keep me "busy" for things that support my health and wellbeing

• How I now take time off from work and moved away from "hustling"

• Why it's important to curate the people, things, experiences, and everything in my life

• My favorite tools for stress and anxiety

• Why I love morning pages— the form of journaling I do every morning

• How I choose easy

• Why it's important to feel your feelings

Mentioned in this episode:

• Morning pages

• Meditation apps: Insight Timer, Headspace, Calm

• Kirtan Kriya

• Asana project management tool (Hilary talks about this in her episode!)

• Rasa herbal coffee alternative— use code MEDIUMWELL for 20% off

• My favorite herbal products for anxiety are Anxiety Ally by Wooden Spoon Herbs and HRBLS

• My article on Forest Bathing

• My article on intentionalism

• Sign up for my new newsletter, Sara… lately (bottom of my website!)

All the deets:

• Find all the previous episodes of Medium Well on my website.

• Tag me (@saraweinreb) on Instagram with your favorite takeaways from the episode and how you will use design thinking in your work.

Like many of us, I have had a long and winding health journey, consisting of several chronic conditions. In this episode, I share my health story including being diagnosed with chronic migraines at age 13, and my nearly 3-year journey to get a cancer diagnosis. I also share my tips for navigating your own health journey, if you or someone you love is going through it (though I hope that's not the case!).

In this episode, I discuss:

• My chronic migraine diagnosis at age 13

• How I struggled with chronic pelvic pain

• My nearly 3-year journey to receive a cancer diagnosis

• What I believe my cancer diagnosis taught me

• My advice for navigating your own health journey

• The importance of being your own advocate

• Trusting your gut in your health journey

• How to use downtime for treatments, driving to doctors, and more

Mentioned in this episode:

• Heal your headache by Dr. David Buchholz (the migraine elimination diet that radically helped me!)

• Sign up for my new newsletter, Sara… lately (bottom of my website!)

All the deets:

• Find all the previous episodes of Medium Well on my website.

• Tag me (@saraweinreb) on Instagram with your favorite takeaways from the episode and how you will use design thinking in your work.

Okay, I know this might be a bit controversial. And I am a big advocate for reducing waste, of course. The problem is, I think the way zero waste is presented doesn't present or allow for the complexity of the situation. We are often pigeon-holed into picking the "non-plastic" item in order to keep up with what's presented as best for the planet, but there are so many other considerations at stake. In this episode, I break down my thoughts on the matter.

In this episode, I discuss:

• Why I think the zero waste movement is important but also reductionistic

• Other things we can do to be eco-friendly

• The complexity of the environmental crisis

• The different factors I consider when making a purchase

• How we produce waste, even if we don't see it

• Why I don't believe in the "mason jar" approach to documenting your trash

• Why we need a lot of people trying to do their best, not intimidated by the zero-waste movement

• How to avoid eco-anxiety

Mentioned in this episode:

• Sustainable Sabs' piece on why the mason jar is a myth

• Sign up for my new newsletter, Sara… lately (bottom of my website!)

All the deets:

• Find all the previous episodes of Medium Well on my website.

• Tag me (@saraweinreb) on Instagram with your favorite takeaways from the episode and how you will use design thinking in your work.

I am a huge fan of avoiding the trap of sunk costs, and so I am excited to share all about this concept in today's episode. Understanding sunk costs really changed my perspective and even my life in some ways.

In this episode, I discuss:

• What is a sunk cost?

• How to avoid getting trapped in a sunk cost

• Examples of common sunk costs

• How to shift your mindset in regards to sunk costs

• Why understanding sunk costs is another tool for mindfulness and presence

Mentioned in this episode:

• Sign up for my new newsletter, Sara… lately (bottom of my website!)

All the deets:

• Find all the previous episodes of Medium Well on my website.

• Tag me (@saraweinreb) on Instagram with your favorite takeaways from the episode and how you will use design thinking in your work.

Today's episode is all about ethical and sustainable fashion. I discuss my experience with transitioning to ethical fashion and starting an ethical fashion business. I explain how to evaluate which items are ethically and sustainably made, why ethical fashion was a mindset shift and how it helped me live a more intentional life and save money.

In this episode, I discuss:

• The difference between sustainable and ethical fashion

• My journey with ethical fashion and starting my business

• How I saved money by transitioning to only buying ethical fashion

• Why ethical fashion is a mindset shift

• How to avoid impulse shopping

• What story do your clothes (and material items) tell?

• Why you should start with what you have

• Sustainable materials and how to evaluate them

• Why shopping small and local is so important

Mentioned in this episode:

• Resources to evaluate ethical brands: Good on you

• Articles I have written on ethical fashion: Clothing swaps, how my life changed with ethical fashion, the importance of shopping small, why we need to know where our clothes are made

• Learn about sustainable fabrics

• Some of my favorite brands: Sotela, Miakoda

• Episode 30 with Livia Firth on ethical fashion

• Sign up for my new newsletter, Sara… lately (bottom of my website!)

• I am hosting Design Thinking 101 virtual webinars for $11! Tickets and details here.

All the deets:

• Find all the previous episodes of Medium Well on my website.

• Tag me (@saraweinreb) on Instagram with your favorite takeaways from the episode and how you will use design thinking in your work.

This episode is my reflection on how challenging it is to have "business as usual" when there is seemingly an endless amount of suffering in the world at the moment. Between the Amazon fires, mass shootings, immigration issues… I am struggling to balance my work in "wellness" with the overall challenges in the world. It's hard to feel like my work is making an impact when there are so much huge issues to tackle.

In this episode, I discuss:

• How I am having trouble balancing my work with my emotions and the feeling like it's not enough

• What wellness is and isn't in my perspective

• Why it's important to connect to others

• How if you are feeling this way too, you're not alone

Mentioned in this episode:

• Sign up for my new newsletter, Sara… lately (bottom of my website!)

• I am hosting Design Thinking 101 virtual webinars for $11! Tickets and details here.

• Come say hi and hear me chat about sustainable living at the Coco Bakes popup in LA on 9/7. Tickets + deets here. You can use code SEESARA for a discount!

All the deets:

• Find all the previous episodes of Medium Well on my website.

• Tag me (@saraweinreb) on Instagram with your favorite takeaways from the episode and how you will use design thinking in your work.