Mindful Warrior Radio

On Episode Seventeen of Mindful Warrior Radio, I was joined by elite athlete and Olympic marathon qualifier, Seana Zelazo, LICSW—a graduate of Smith College School for Social work—who is in private practice as a psychotherapist, spiritual coach, and intuitive channel. Seana is committed to helping others live unapologetically. Seana helps her clients move through internalized limitations to release patterns that no longer serve them so they can access higher levels of consciousness.

Seana embodies warmth and grounded energy. We talked about her mother normalizing and championing her intuitive gifts as a child, how to recognize and differentiate between fear and intuition, best practices to connect to and strengthen intuition, the relationship between flow and intuition, and how to get into the flow zone when you’re feeling stuck. This episode will have you leaning in and listening closely.

Mindful Warrior is hosted by Kami Craig, a former elite athlete, Olympic champion, and performance and culture design coach at Mindful Warrior.

Our guest on Episode Seventeen of Mindful Warrior Radio is psychotherapist, spiritual coach, intuitive channel, and elite athlete, Seana Zelazo, LICSW.

Seana talks about differentiating between fear and intuition: “The fear feels disempowering and constrictive, instead of expansive. The intuition that is coming through always feels expansive because it is showing us a way through even if it is saying this is probably not the best match for you. It does it in a way that is empowering, not in a way that feels terrifying.”

On her experiences of flow and intuition, Seana says, “My understanding of flow and intuition is that intuition is like a gateway or a way to jump onto the track of flow. I think they go hand-in-hand. There is one way that I experienced flow concretely, in an athletic event, that was entirely connected with intuition.”

On training and being a lifelong learner, Seana says, “Everything that shows up in your world is an opportunity for training and if you lean into it, you reap the benefits of what it can offer.”

If you enjoyed today’s episode, please take the opportunity to share with a friend, follow Mindful Warrior Radio, and leave a review!

To learn more about Mindful Warrior and Mindful Warrior Radio please follow us on Instagram @therealmindfulwarrior and check out our website at www.mindfulwarrior.com

On Episode Sixteen of Mindful Warrior Radio, I was joined by Alex Gray, professional surfer turned coach, motivational speaker, and wellness and mental health enthusiast. Alex travels the world pursuing his passion for surfing. He’s one of the most authentic and spirited people I know. His humility and ability to connect with just about anyone allow him to be an incredible force for good in our world. Today, Alex teaches and mentors elite athletes, weekend warriors, and youth to help them identify their limiting beliefs and discover what is beneath their fears. He also organizes surf therapy groups in California for those grieving the loss of a loved one.

Alex and I talked about his transition from being a professional athlete and its impact on his ego and identity. We also explored his commitment to health and healing, his unanticipated COVID-related quarantine on Fiji, and his unique approaches to helping people build confidence and feel genuine self-worth.

Mindful Warrior is hosted by Kami Craig, a former elite athlete, Olympic champion, and performance and culture design coach at Mindful Warrior.

Our guest on Episode Sixteen of Mindful Warrior Radio Fifteen is professional surfer turned coach, motivational speaker, and wellness and mental health enthusiast, Alex Gray.

Alex spoke about the process of his professional surfing career coming to an end, “And it’s fun because at this point, I think the easy thing to do when a journey ends abruptly—unexpectedly where you feel like you have more gas in the tank, where you feel like you had more performances to do—was to not end with bitterness towards living in that moment in time where the cord is cut.”

Alex reflected on the process of his professional surfing career coming to an end. “I call it self-sabotage. What I do is hustle. And when my back is pushed against a wall I know how to perform. Life was pushing me against a wall. I was performing. And I wouldn’t allow any space to let life in. What I believe is there is a natural course for all of us, but I do not know how to operate like that. I want to be in control, and I will always find a way out of being pinned.”

When a surfing trip to Fiji unexpectedly got extended due to the pandemic, Alex reflected on his mindset. “I realized there was going to be an outcome from this moment in time and I wanted to make it a betterment of my life. I wanted to come out of it not with just scoring perfect waves, I wanted to come out of it ready to face the world again…with knowing myself more and taking the time to understand what triggers me to feel like I have to do something. What is my reason behind that? Is it identity? Is there ego involved? Is it actual purpose that is bettering my life? What am I doing with my daily habits that is going to have actual life longevity rather than reactive haste to survive that day, or thrive that day?”

If you enjoyed today’s episode, please take the opportunity to share with a friend, follow Mindful Warrior Radio, and leave a review!

To learn more about Mindful Warrior and Mindful Warrior Radio please follow us on Instagram @therealmindfulwarrior and check out our website at www.mindfulwarrior.com

On Episode Fifteen of Mindful Warrior Radio, I was joined by Brandon Bostick, a retired NFL tight end, mental health advocate, and founder and partner of Sage Elite Wellness Clinic. Brandon spent a lifetime in elite athletics. A year after experiencing a traumatizing mistake on football’s largest stage (that cost his team a chance to play in the Super Bowl), Brandon’s professional athletic career came to an end. Brandon learned to embrace his vulnerability and we reflected on those experiences and challenges. Today, Brandon is committed to evolving his own and others mental health and well-being through Sage Elite Healing, a wellness clinic that bridges “peak performance and quality of life to cultivate soulful purpose.”

Brandon and I discussed how he identified his mental health challenges, the courage it took to ask for help, and his discipline in everyday practices to keep his mental health at peak performance.

Mindful Warrior is hosted by Kami Craig, a former elite athlete, Olympic champion, and performance and culture design coach at Mindful Warrior.

Our guest on Episode fifteen of Mindful Warrior Radio Fifteen is retired NFL tight end, mental health advocate, Brandon Bostick.

Brandon speaks about the moment that changed his life: “Just thinking about that moment, I had a blackout moment, I just wasn’t there. I dropped the ball and the next thing I was on the sidelines with my head down. I do not remember anything in between. I remember dropping the ball, being on the sideline, and then being in the locker-room. Anything that happened between those moments was blurry to me until I went back to that moment in therapy and started digging deep about the details of it. When you are in those your brain has a mechanism where it doesn’t want to remember what happened.”

Brandon reflects on mental health: “Looking back on it, I didn’t recognize that I had any mental health issues. I was just trying to make the next team. Make the next game. I was trying to focus on the dream to stay in the NFL. I wasn’t really worried about my mental health. I didn’t know what mental health was. I didn’t have a therapist. No one told me. I didn’t know anything about trauma. I wasn’t raised in that environment to really understand. Looking back on it, I had no idea what I was experiencing.”

If you enjoyed today’s episode, please take the opportunity to share with a friend, follow Mindful Warrior Radio, and leave a review!

To learn more about Mindful Warrior and Mindful Warrior Radio please follow us on Instagram @therealmindfulwarrior and check out our website at www.mindfulwarrior.com

On Episode Fourteen of Mindful Warrior Radio, our guest is CEO and Founder of Mindful Warrior, Cornelia Holden. In this episode, we define culture by default and culture by design and describe the differences between them. We talk about the importance of intentionally designing a culture rather than implicitly and unconsciously assuming that a high trust, high-performance culture can build itself. We highlight the importance of cultivating diversity and difference within a broader values-driven culture so that people can belong uniquely on a team.

If you are entering a new workplace, building a team, or navigating some of these challenges on your own, then this episode of Mindful Warrior Radio is for you!

Mindful Warrior is hosted by Kami Craig, a former elite athlete and Olympic champion turned performance and culture design coach at Mindful Warrior.

If you enjoyed our episode, please take the opportunity to share with a friend, follow Mindful Warrior Radio, and leave a review!

To learn more about Mindful Warrior and Mindful Warrior Radio please follow us on Instagram @therealmindfulwarrior and check out our website at www.mindfulwarrior.com

On Episode Thirteen of Mindful Warrior Radio, I’m joined by award-winning director, producer, writer, and filmmaker Michele Ohayon. Invoking the power of documentaries, Michele’s mission is to give voice to women, children, and people who do not yet have a platform of their own. She believes documentaries are a critical loudspeaker for real people with real voices and authentic expression.

Join Michele and me as we discuss the delicate process of producing an award-winning documentary, the skills she learned to cultivate, her new documentary release Strip Down, Rise Up, and the importance of giving voice to our own truths.

Mindful Warrior is hosted by Kami Craig, a former elite athlete, Olympic champion, and performance and culture design coach at Mindful Warrior.

Our guest on Episode Thirteen of Mindful Warrior Radio is Michele Ohayon, an award-winning director, producer, writer, and filmmaker.

Regarding the making of documentary films, Michele says, “You must be mindful both physically and mentally, it’s very sensitive, and yes you are a warrior and in this case my weapon is my camera. When I am behind the camera I have zero fear, zero fear. It’s amazing how it happens.”

“Sometimes we are stuck in a mode, of how people see us, or how we are supposed to behave because that’s what we have done all our lives. And why change it now? This way of filming gives an opportunity to change your ways because now you are rediscovered as a character in a movie that is going to be shared. You have an opportunity to be everything you wanted to be or everything you were afraid to be and just put it out there. That takes a lot of courage.”

If you enjoyed our episode, please take the opportunity to share with a friend, follow Mindful Warrior Radio, and leave a review!

To learn more about Mindful Warrior and Mindful Warrior Radio please follow us on Instagram @therealmindfulwarrior and check out our website at www.mindfulwarrior.com.

On Episode Twelve of Mindful Warrior Radio, we define the J-Curve as it applies to culture and culture design. We clarify and provide examples of the four stages of team development: 1) forming, 2) storming, 3) norming, and 4) performing. We normalize and celebrate periods of challenge and speak to the reality of growing through adversity. We discuss the power of building a feedback culture by recognizing that feedback is about helping someone get better while criticism is about making someone wrong. When you lean into the team during times of friction and find ways to strengthen the culture through the hard times, you work your way up the J-Curve. We discuss the fact that growth will not happen without a “storming phase.”

If you or your partner, team, corporation, or company are right in the middle of a hard time and you need to know that that’s ok and an essential part of your journey to growth and development, then this episode is for you!

Mindful Warrior is hosted by Kami Craig, former elite athlete and Olympic champion, turned performance and culture design coach at Mindful Warrior.

Our guest is CEO and Founder of Mindful Warrior, Cornelia Holden.

To learn more about Mindful Warrior and Mindful Warrior Radio please follow us on Instagram @therealmindfulwarrior and check out our website at www.mindfulwarrior.com

On Episode Eleven of Mindful Warrior Radio, I joined entrepreneur, philanthropist, artist, and athlete Matt Coulter. A leader in the nonprofit sector, Matt has been impacting change in a number of communities for over a decade. Where intelligence, creativity, and heart meet, I believe Matt is at the center. We discussed the power of listening over impulsive action, where his values and authenticity come from and how they feed into his work, the projects with which he is currently involved (Immigrant's Son Caffe, Educate & Elevate, Beyoutiful Foundation, and 143 Collective), and where to initiate change if you want to build a more values-driven world.

Mindful Warrior is hosted by Kami Craig, a former elite athlete, Olympic champion, and performance and culture design coach at Mindful Warrior.

Our guest on Episode Eleven of Mindful Warrior Radio is entrepreneur, philanthropist, artist, and athlete Matt Coulter.

Matt shares the intent of his philanthropic work: “How can we create a way for people to feel like they are a part of something in even the worst of circumstances? How do you show up for people? The thing I learned through my philanthropic career is sometimes people just need you to listen and how powerful that is. Once you start having those intense conversations it makes you realize sometimes it's not about having a response and sometimes it's not about having insight or value. Sometimes it is about showing up and listening to people.”

Matt speaks about developing more values-driven cultures: “We have turned into this thing where all we want to do is look at these big problems and throw out these ideas of how we fix it. And to me, the solution is right in front of us. The solution is: How do you show up in your neighborhood? How do you show up with your sports teams? How do you show up with your family? How do you make changes there? Because unless you are willing to make changes there, these grandiose ideas and thoughts and broad strokes on how we fix things are irrelevant if we are not able to do the work on a basic infant level.”

This episode contains strong language, please listen at your own discretion.

To learn more about Mindful Warrior and Mindful Warrior Radio please follow us on Instagram @therealmindfulwarrior and check out our website at www.mindfulwarrior.com

On Episode Ten of Mindful Warrior Radio, we define the purpose of a True North and the critical role it plays in designing and sustaining a high trust, high performance culture. Without establishing a True North, your behavioral norms will default to the lowest common denominator, your cultural norms will slide down the slippery slope toward dysfunction, and your team will struggle to perform. We talk about the importance of accurately defining your True North, so the foundation of your culture is solidly tethered to a clear mission, vision, values, and purpose. We outline the four components that make up a True North—your essential intent, four bedrock values, your covenant, and core values—and provide concrete examples of your True North in action. If you are looking for insights about the fundamental building blocks to build a culture-by-design, this episode is for you.

Mindful Warrior is hosted by Kami Craig, a former elite athlete, Olympic champion, turned performance and culture design coach at Mindful Warrior.

Our guests are CEO and Founder of Mindful Warrior, Cornelia Holden .

To learn more about Mindful Warrior and Mindful Warrior Radio please follow us on Instagram @therealmindfulwarrior and check out our website at www.mindfulwarrior.com

On Episode Nine of Mindful Warrior Radio, join our in-house visual content creator Eva Boynton and me as we explore the intersection of creativity and athleticism, (spoiler alert she’s a pretty talented surfer), how she fires up her creativity, the way she manages creative ruts and perfectionism, the importance of protecting energy and space to invite creative flow, breaking through her need for approval, and the courage to be vulnerable in the workplace.

Mindful Warrior is hosted by Kami Craig, a former elite athlete, Olympic champion, and performance and culture design coach at Mindful Warrior.

Our guest on Episode Seven of Mindful Warrior Radio is Visual Content Creator and outdoor enthusiast, Eva Boynton.

Eva shares what feeds her creativity, “Other forms of connection, with people I know, or a moment on the street with a stranger. I really enjoy small moments of connection, I like to expand them creatively in my artwork or just to explore them further, because for me, these are the delights of life, these small moments of connection that might be unexpected, but they stay with you.”

Eva speaks about breaking through from the need for approval, “I’ve started to get a bit more abstracted with imagery and really work on how I make it look like the emotion I am feeling, at least just for me. And if it rings true for someone else that’s great. But for me, that’s what’s important. I just want to feel it on the paper. Because when I do it for myself and it works, I just want to sit and look at it for a while from afar and take a step back and just let it settle in. It’s like a mirror and I get to realize something else about myself just from looking at it outside of myself. That’s been a breakthrough for me, to let go of the need to be technical for approval.”

To learn more about Mindful Warrior and Mindful Warrior Radio please follow us on Instagram @therealmindfulwarrior and check out our website at www.mindfulwarrior.com

On Episode Eight of Mindful Warrior Radio, join me as I invite Cornelia Holden, CEO of Mindful Warrior, to define culture design and explain its positive impact on people. If you are interested in the approach behind developing a high trust, high performing culture in the corporate or not-for-profit sector, this episode is for you.

Mindful Warrior is hosted by Kami Craig, former elite athlete, Olympic champion, turn performance and culture design coach at Mindful Warrior.

Our guests are CEO and Founder of Mindful Warrior, Cornelia Holden .

To learn more about Mindful Warrior and Mindful Warrior Radio please follow us on Instagram @therealmindfulwarrior and check out our website at www.mindfulwarrior.com