Small Changes Big Shifts

Edie Varley is a speaker, advisor, educator and the founder of The Varley Group which focuses on developing the skills of Emotional Intelligence to transform human potential into constructive contribution.

From the boiler room to the board room, Edie helps people find the meaning in their work and the value in their contribution. Her work has benefited individuals and corporations – from privately held to Fortune 500 alike.

Prior to founding The Varley Group in 2000, she served for 25 years in the business of chemical manufacturing where she started in sales and ultimately led the company as CEO and owner.

During her tenure, Edie helped people find the meaning in their work and as CEO led the company to double-digit net operating profit.

• "When we change the way we look at things, the things we look at change."
• "Think about the way you're speaking because words create worlds."
• "You're hard wired with gifts that you think everybody has, but they're really gifts unique to you."
• "When you're aware you're halfway there."
• "Community is people and that's what we need. But you start with a community of one, loving and liking yourself so you can give yourself away to others."

How to use self-awareness to find your life's purpose and build stronger relationships with those in your community.

• Emotional intelligence is being intelligent about YOUR emotions.
• Emotional intelligence is the one set of skills we can actually develop by creating new neural pathways.
• Resilience is a choice and acquired skill, and so is emotional intelligence.
• You can practice emotional intelligence because you've chosen a life of abundance.
• You have to love and like yourself first. You can be alone and not lonely when you love and like yourself.
• Increasing your self-awareness helps you identify your purpose in life and better understand your emotions.
• Even if you're feeling isolated, think about the gifts you bring that add value to the world, your own world, and those around you.
• One of the best ways to get out of loneliness is by helping someone else in their need.
• There are three universal questions we all ask at various times in our lives - identity, importance, and impact.
• Start by answering those three questions in an effort to understand your strengths, what you value most in life, and in what environment you best perform.
• Don't leave the house without a smile.
• There are so many ways you can start to establish your purpose in living. Don't get caught up in the next ten years, start today.

1. Find your purpose by starting small. For example, think about it today in this moment rather than for the next ten years.
2. Consider introducing the individuals on your Wheel of Support to each other and strengthening your community by being a relational leader.
3. Use phrases like "I want to" or "I get to" rather than "I have to" to change the way you view the world.

• Wheel of Support
• Kindness Campaign
• Emotional Intelligence 2.0
• What the World Needs Now Is Love by Jackie DeShannon

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Dr. Sheila Robinson is the owner and publisher of Diversity Women Media. She is a keynote speaker on leadership, entrepreneurship, and diversity and inclusion.

She's written two books "Lead by Example: An Insider's Look at How to Successfully Lead in Corporate America and Entrepreneurship" and "Your Toolkit for Success: The Professional Woman's Guide for Advancing to the C-Suite."

Dr. Robinson mentors women in business and trains companies on how to transform their culture around equity and belonging. She is no stranger to adversity and has overcome many career challenges.

As a result of her journey, she found her passion to help other business leaders achieve leadership success in their careers. She's turned her personal achievements into a means of giving back to the community.

• "What people say or do is a reflection of who they are and what I say and do is a reflection of who I am."
• "Freedom is when your mind, body, and spirit don't get in the way."
• "We are only as great as the least among us."
• "Always choose people that are better than you. Always choose people that challenge you and are smarter than you. Always be the student." - Sandra Bullock

How to manage relationships with others in the workplace and community and how to build a more diverse tribe.

• Robinson teaches that mindset helps you overcome adversities.
• Building intentional relationships involves finding like-minded people who will lift you up and amplify you where you are.
• Setting boundaries around relationships that are not mutually beneficial is important for personal growth and health.
• Managing relationships is a part of life.
• Empathy for others helps you communicate and respond in any situation.
• Define what success means for you and make sure it doesn't include your job title.
• Everyone is diverse.
• Incorporating the principles of inclusiveness allows everyone to reach their full potential helps us all.
• An authentic way to build a more diverse tribe is to make sure you do it where you feel comfortable.
• There may be a time where you can not control loneliness, like the pandemic, and you must learn how to be okay being alone.

1. Invite one person to lunch this week and get to know them on a personal level.
2. Consider joining an organization, club, or association that includes a diverse range of people.
3. If you are lonely, find a trusted confidant or healthcare provider who can help you learn how to not feel alone when you are by yourself.

• Wheel of Support
• Redefining your DIET: Transform how you look, feel, and perform (Sheila's new book)
• Different by Micah Tyler
• Your Wellness Connection

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Qiana Thomason has dedicated her career to the improvement of health and wellbeing across the region. As the CEO of Health Forward, she focuses on communities over-represented in health injustice and those living in marginalized conditions.

While Qiana has an impressive career repertoire, it's her health journey that is the highlight of her story.

After years of suffering from intense skin issues, self-isolation, and joint and gut pain, Qiana found the answer. It took stepping away from conventional medicine and discovering the root cause of her symptoms through a functional approach.

The problem? An overgrowth of Candida albicans in her gut created an autoimmune response in the rest of her body.

Through listening to her body, building relationships with her healthcare providers, and relentlessly pursuing wellbeing Qiana was able to find healing.

• "There's the food you get through what you eat, and the food you put on your body, and the food you put in your mind and your soul."
• "I've always eaten healthy, I eat well. She goes, according to whom? That's when it clicked. My body is the source of truth."
• "Slow down, check on your people, and check-in with yourself."
• "God is in the midst of her, she shall not be moved." Psalm 46:5
• "Keep your head above the crowd."

Why you should listen to your body to pursue optimal health & the importance of food and relationships to that journey.

• Well-being is critical to our ability to create connections with others.
• Well-being starts by listening to your own body first.
• A nutritarian is someone who focuses on nutrition and how your personal body experiences it.
• The difference between conventional food advice and a functional medicine perspective.
• Qiana's health crisis with skin, joint, and gut pain and how she overcame those symptoms by addressing the root cause.
• Poor health causes you to self-isolate and can lead to anxiety and depression.
• You can't be your best self and live out your purpose when you don't feel well.
• Listening to the people who are speaking into your life is critical to finding healing.
• It's important to find a practitioner with cultural proximity and form relationships with your medical providers.
• The inequality created by an insurance model that doesn't pay for functional medicine.
• How to be present and intentional in order to form connections that support mental health and overall wellbeing.
• Living Vitality and the upcoming LIV Conference Oct. 1st on Empowering Women.

1. Create margin in your life by taking time to slow down and practice self-care. For example, invest in intentional conversations that bring you joy.
2. Consider what you can do to listen to yourself more and what it is that your body is telling you.
3. Think of three ways you can pursue greater wellbeing and put your health first this week.

• "People need People" by Maddie & Tae
• Big Shifts Foundation
• Small Changes Big Shifts
• "Out of the Rat Race: A Practical Guide to Taking Control of Your Time" By Susan Gregory
• Advent Health
• Living Vitality Liv Conference
• HealthForward

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Dr. Carolina is board certified by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology in both Adult and Geriatric Psychiatry.

She owns an outpatient clinic located in Prairie Village, Kansas and is the co-founder of the Healthy Aging Revolution.

Her goal is to promote the mental health of adult and elderly patients by providing psychotherapy, medication management, and diagnostic evaluation for different disorders.

Dr. Carolina works with patients to assess and understand the biological, psychological, personal, and social aspects of their symptoms.

She also takes into account their character traits, life experiences, and behavioral patterns, to suggest an appropriate treatment.

She was born and raised in Bogotá, Colombia, and is fluent in both English and Spanish - and is raising two bilingual children!

Dr. Carolina is happily settled in the Midwest and loves helping people pursue successful and healthy aging.

• "I enjoy talking with very old people, they have come before us on a road by which we too may have to travel and I think we would do well to learn from them what it is like." - Socrates, Plato's The Republic.
• "We have to give our older population that place that they deserve and where they can be a very instrumental part of society."
• "When people have more time to be still, they see the world differently."
• "Live your life with seeds of curiosity."

What You'll Learn:

The importance of intergenerational relationships and how to pursue connection with those in the senior population.

• The underlying reason people seek psychiatric help is because they are starving for connection.
• Connection is just as, if not more important than, the medical side of care.
• People need to be heard and supported to achieve wellbeing.
• The older population has wisdom and life experiences that can be shared with others.
• The challenges of the past year and a half have highlighted just how important it is to feel connected and supported.
• This prevailing loneliness, that was significant before the pandemic and is magnified now, has caused cognitive problems in the older population. Ex. memory loss, loss of sense of purpose, etc.
• There is hope to regain what was lost through reconnecting with others.
• Ways to pursue connection with the older population.
• A brief discussion on how the Hispanic community has faced the pandemic.

1. Pursue intergenerational relationships by reaching out to the senior community and your senior family members!
2. Send a plant, go for a walk outdoors, or plan a zoom call with one person who is part of the senior population.
3. Consider getting a pet to help build a sense of purpose and belonging!

• Aging well by George Vaillant.
• The Healthy Aging Brain by Louis Cozzolino.
• Women Rowing North by Mary Pipher.
• Aging with Grace by David Snowdon.
• Color Esperanza (The color of Hope) by Diego Torres
• Lost Connections by Johaan Hari
• Michael W. Smith - Friends
• Wellness on a Shoestring
• Wheel of Support

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Carron Montgomery is a Licensed Professional Counselor, Registered Play Therapist and Level II trainer in EMDR. She utilizes a client centered approach that includes the importance of collaborating with each client's team of professional and primary caregivers.

Carron is passionate about serving youth. She believes that building connections starts with being present. Nine years ago, Carron and two other women started a private practice with the hope to build connections in their community. Their practice, Aster Counseling, specializes in treating anxiety, depression, OCD, trauma, and grief and loss.

At the beginning of her career, she worked for two nonprofits; the first specializing in sexual abuse and the second working with low-income families and trauma. She currently treats ages four and up and often utilizes family therapy and parental support sessions.

Carron is also a presenter for churches, schools and various organizations. She began presenting at the beginning of the pandemic, as she saw a huge need that was not being addressed. She trains local school counselors and recently began writing to provide additional resources to the community.

Memorable Quotes:

"Life doesn't count for much unless you're willing to do your small part to leave our children – all of our children – a better world. Even if it's difficult. Even if the work seems great. Even if we don't get very far in our lifetime." - Barack Obama

"Be the calm." - Dr. Michelle Robin

"Hearts that beat to the tune of kindness can change the rhythm of the world." - CJ Peterson

"As children develop their brains, they mirror their parents' brains, in other words the parents' growth and development, or lack of those, impacts the child's brain. As parent's become more aware and emotionally healthy their children reap the rewards and move towards health as well, or they don't." - Daniel J. Siegel

What You'll Learn:

The most important way a parent can support and build connections with their child.

This Episode Includes:

• The mental health crisis and loneliness among our youth.
• Kids are lonely even when they are with other people because the emotional current of the world is being felt.
• Co-regulators and the need to start teaching parents and adults how to calm themselves in order to be a presence for an upset child.
• To become a co-regulator you need to "catch the calm." Tone and rhythm are more important than the words themselves.
• Catch the calm. Bring the calm. Be the calm.
• Patients need to have a connection with their therapist and if they don't it's okay to find another one.
• People can develop healthier connections by learning how the brain works.
• Connections allow kids to develop "post traumatic wisdom," which is their ability to grow or to be stunted.
• Our thoughts equal who we are and our thoughts equal the data we collect.
• When we are alone and isolated the only data we are collecting is coming from social media and media outlets.
• The misconception society tells about independence and success is that you can do it all alone, that you don't need connections.
• Kids feel like they are not supposed to ask for help. It's important for adults to help them see that they CAN ask for help.
• Happiness is a feeling that can come and go, it's not a destination.
• Use the pandemic to challenge the way you go through life - look for ways to build more connections with others.
• In order to heal yourself, you have to heal your heart.

1. Use the pandemic to challenge yourself to think about the pace you're going. Ask yourself if it matches your core values or is it because it's what the world is telling you? Use the pandemic to develop post-traumatic wisdom.
2. Teachers need to make themselves open and approachable, making a connection possible, and normalizing the idea of asking for help.
3. Parents need to put their phone in another room for ten minutes and give their children undivided attention to show them what it's like to be in a real relationship and help them figure out who they are, not who you want them to be.

• The Wheel of Support
• 21 Days to Build Your Tribe Program
• The Hoffman Process
• Advent Health
• Big Shifts Foundation
• Community America Credit Union
• Kindness Campaign
• What Happened To You? By Bruce Perry, M.D, Ph.D and Oprah Winfrey
• The Boy, the mole, the fox and the Horse by Charlie a Mackesy
• Superpowered: Transform Anxiety into Courage, Confidence, and Resilience by Renee Jain and Dr. Shefali Tasbery.
• "Badass Woman" song by Meghan Traino
• "I Look to You" song by Whitney Houston

• https://www.astercounseling.org/
• LinkedIn
• Facebook

Upcoming book:

"The Invisible Riptide: A Kid's Journey to Navigating the Emotional Current of the World," by Carron Montgomery, MSCP, LPC, RPT and illustrated by David Gentile. COMING SOON!

This week is the official launch of our new mini-series on loneliness and finding your tribe. Dr. Michelle Robin talks to Audrey Robin, her niece and newest member of the Small Changes Big Shifts team, to introduce the series.

Audrey Robin is a holistic health copywriter who writes online content for functional medicine practitioners and health coaches. In this episode, Audrey turns the conversation around and interviews Dr. Robin about finding her tribe and building connections in a society fraught with loneliness.

Memorable Quotes:

"Hug yourself first, hug your faith, hug your family, hug your friends, hug your flag, hug your failures, hug your fears, hug your future, hug your firsts, hug your finals." – Dr. Michelle Robin

"God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble." - Psalm 46:1

"Don't give up and you're going to have to put yourself out there. Don't expect to sit at home checked out with Netflix and build your tribe." – Dr. Michelle Robin

What You'll Learn:

How to enrich your life using our Wheel of Support Worksheet and build more authentic relationships.

This Episode Includes:

• The mental health crisis affecting young people today.
• The rising anxiety and depression numbers, which are correlated to our lack of connection with each other – and it started long before the pandemic.
• How the Wheel of Support can help you navigate building your tribe and resilience.
• The inspiration behind this new series.
• Why caring for your Psychospiritual Quadrant will improve your mental health.
• Why self-care is self-love.
• Michelle's passion to help our community and world overcome loneliness and depression – and tools and resources she suggests.
• The importance of realizing we were created for connection - no one goes alone.
• How you must see value in yourself before you can create your tribe, realize the gifts you have to offer the world, and invest in those lifetime relationships.
• Michelle looks back at her life and reflects how you can often see the people who have supported you all along.
• Homework for listeners: Complete the Wheel of Support Worksheet, then write a note to everyone on your wheel to let them know they matter to you.

Three Takeaways from Today's Episode:

• Millennials and Gen Z are most struggling with a mental health crisis exacerbated by lost connection and lack of self-love.
• Authentic relationships turn into lifetime relationships.
• Four steps to building lifetime relationships: Show up with a servant's heart, be a go-giver, meet people one-on-one, and celebrate each other.

Mentioned in the Episode:

• Your Wellness Connection
• Download the Wheel of Support Worksheet Your download will begin automatically after clicking the link.
• 40 Days of Gratitude Series on Facebook Live
• The E Factor: Engage, Energize, Enrich book by Dr. Michelle Robin
• The Hoffman Process
• Strengthsfinder, Enneagram, Kolbe Test, Predictive Index
• Just Be Held song by Casting Crown

Jen Ciszewski is a functional medicine practitioner, lactation consultant, nature lovin', birth doula, yoga teacher & family nurse practitioner student.

She is also an entrepreneur who has set out to change the way we live with chronic symptoms and overall poor quality of life due to the foods, thoughts, and habits we consume daily.

Her very own struggle with autoimmune disease led her to rock bottom physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually. For a period of months in her mid-twenties she was couch-ridden and unable to continue in her career as a nurse.

It was at this low that she learned the information and habits that would change her life and create the launch pad for her current success. A few short years later and she is now healing, inspiring, and leading others to improve their health - to then elevate their entire life!!!

She is the owner of Inspire Health by Jen LLC, and author of the Midday Pigeon blog.

Join Dr. Michelle and Jen in Part 2 as they talk about:

• Her step by step process with helping people through functional medicine.
• Why symptoms are your best biomarkers and why you can trust what they're telling you when you begin your healing process.
• Common health symptoms that people have that they don't know they should be dialing into.
• Struggles she faced when she began her wellness journey and why being lonely was the biggest obstacle.
• Her non negotiables for building a healthy lifestyle and why nutrition is No. 1.
• Why juicing has been a huge part of her Chemical Quadrant focus.
• What energy medicine is and how it plays into our healing journeys.
• Daily GPA emotional practices she does to help raise her spirituality with (G)ratitude, (P)rayer, and (A)ffirmations.
• Why sometimes you have to let go of what is not working even if you don't know what the next step is yet.
• The power of trusting that you are right where you need to be on your wellness journey.
• How she found her wellness tribe and why it has been a huge part of her healing process.
• Why she recommends tuning into your body's natural intuition and how you can do exactly that.

Mentioned In This Episode

• Jen Ciszewski
• KC Women's Ministry
• Inspire Health by Jen LLC
• Midday Pigeon blog
• Lost Connections: Why You're Depressed and How to Find Hope by Johann Hari
• Zen Donkey Farms
• I Heard God Laugh: A Practical Guide to Life's Essential Daily Habit by Matthew Kelly
• Wellness On A Shoestring by Dr. Michelle Robin
• SCBS Sleep Campaign
• Your Wellness Connection
• SCBS 40 Days of Gratitude
• SCBS 31-Day Kindness Campaign
• Big Shifts Foundation
• CommunityAmerica Credit Union
• AdventHealth

Connect via:

• Facebook
• Instagram

Jen Ciszewski is a functional medicine practitioner, lactation consultant, nature lovin', birth doula, yoga teacher & family nurse practitioner student.

She is also an entrepreneur who has set out to change the way we live with chronic symptoms and overall poor quality of life due to the foods, thoughts, and habits we consume daily.

Her very own struggle with autoimmune disease led her to rock bottom physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually. For a period of months in her mid-twenties she was couch-ridden and unable to continue in her career as a nurse.

It was at this low that she learned the information and habits that would change her life and create the launch pad for her current success. A few short years later and she is now healing, inspiring, and leading others to improve their health - to then elevate their entire life!!!

She is owner of Inspire Health by Jen LLC and author of the Midday Pigeon blog.

Join Dr. Michelle and Jen in Part 1 as they talk about:

• Jen's career and how she shifted it when she discovered she had an autoimmune disease with thyroid complications.
• How her autoimmune disease took over and impacted her mental wellbeing.
• Why many people with autoimmune disease are told that their body is broken but Jen doesn't believe this is the case.
• The gradual downhill in her health until it all of a sudden became worse in a short period of time.
• Common conditions and root causes of autoimmune disease.
• The options her doctor told her the first time she met with someone and why it didn't sit well with her.
• How her autoimmune disease sparked her interest in functional medicine to help people treat the root cause of chronic conditions.
• Why she believes her experience with epstein barr virus led to worse health conditions over the years.
• What she looks out for when treating people: pathogens, toxins, and nutrient deficiencies.
• Why we are all here on Earth for a purpose and how you can uncover your gifts and passion to be aligned with your soul.
• What intuition means and how you can begin to dial into it more each day.
• Why sometimes our purpose isn't aligned with our paycheck but our income allows us to live it out.

Mentioned In This Episode

• Jen Ciszewski
• KC Women's Ministry
• Inspire Health by Jen LLC
• Midday Pigeon blog
• Barbara De Angelis
• Wellness On A Shoestring by Dr. Michelle Robin
• SCBS Sleep Campaign
• Your Wellness Connection
• SCBS 40 Days of Gratitude
• SCBS 31-Day Kindness Campaign
• Big Shifts Foundation
• CommunityAmerica Credit Union
• AdventHealth

Connect via:

• Facebook
• Instagram

Dr. Elizabeth Rodgers is a graduate of the Disparities Leadership Program at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital.

She is also an alumna of the University of Pittsburgh where she received a Doctorate in epidemiology with a focus on understanding barriers associated with chronic disease and disability prevention.

She is an expert in custom holistic health services with one-of-a-kind expertise in chronic diseases, disability prevention, and healthy aging.

Between her extensive education and own experience struggling to overcome chronic health issues of 30 years, she is passionate about customized holistic healthcare that addresses root causes of pain, not just the symptoms.

Join Dr. Michelle and Dr. Elizabeth Rodgers in Part 2 as they talk about:

• Elizabeth Rodgers| Healthy Transformation with the Heart
• Her own health struggles when she was 18 years old and what lifestyle changes she wished she had made growing up.
• How we can truly tune in and listen to what our body and mind need to heal chronic issues.
• The different energetic vibrations we experience in our emotions, thoughts, and feelings every day.
• Why there's so much more to shifting our lives for greater health than just focusing on behavior change.
• The fact that many weight loss studies focused on behavior change find that maintenance was the core issue people faced.
• Why she teaches her clients to focus on living a life where their health goals have already been met.
• How to reprogram our subconscious minds for greater mindset shifts.
• What steps you can take now to improve your health today.
• Why you don't have to do everything people like Dr. Michelle or Dr. Elizabeth share but just take what you need and leave the rest.
• The fact that not all physical illnesses actually have physical root causes; they could be emotional or mental as well.
• Elizabeth's non-negotiables for staying healthy.
• Why she recommends drinking lemon water with a metal straw first thing in the morning if it is right for your body.

Mentioned In This Episode

• Episode 333 – Dr. Elizabeth Rodgers
• Elizabeth Rodgers
• Healthy Transformation with the Heart
• Wellness On A Shoestring by Dr. Michelle Robin
• SCBS Sleep Campaign
• Your Wellness Connection
• SCBS 40 Days of Gratitude
• SCBS 31-Day Kindness Campaign
• Big Shifts Foundation
• CommunityAmerica Credit Union
• AdventHealth

Connect with Dr. Elizabeth Rodgers via:

• Instagram
• Women's Wellness Collective on Facebook

Dr. Elizabeth Rodgers is a graduate of the Disparities Leadership Program at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital.

She is also an alumna of the University of Pittsburgh where she received a Doctorate in epidemiology with a focus on understanding barriers associated with chronic disease and disability prevention.

She is an expert in custom holistic health services with one-of-a-kind expertise in chronic diseases, disability prevention, and healthy aging.

Between her extensive education and own experience struggling to overcome chronic health issues of 30 years, she is passionate about customized holistic healthcare that addresses root causes of pain, not just the symptoms.

Join Dr. Michelle and Dr. Elizabeth Rodgers in Part 1 as they talk about:

• Elizabeth Rodgers| Healthy Transformation with the Heart
• What an epidemiologist is and her role in helping people during their wellness journeys.
• How she helps people get to the root cause of their health problems.
• What many epidemiologists focus on including community health, cancer, virology, longevity, and chronic illness.
• Her tragic experience going into septic shock from internal bleeding during a routine surgery, surviving death, and shifting her focus on life.
• Michelle's mission to help adolescents, especially young adults get on a path to whole person health for the rest of their lives.
• Why Elizabeth believes she developed kidney stones at the young age of 23 years old and as a woman due to her lifestyle habits as a child into adulthood.
• The impact that chronic dehydration and a diet high in protein can have in contributing to the formation of kidney stones.
• How her over the top work ethic and lack of a healthy social support group impacted her wellbeing as an undergrad and graduate student.
• Her PTSD after her kidney stone surgery and how it took her many years to fully heal that trauma emotionally and mentally.
• Common poor health trends she is seeing and why it isn't just physical or emotional symptoms but a combination.
• The negative impact of mainstream medicine and how it has stripped people of hope with all of the trauma they have experienced from it.

Mentioned In This Episode

• Elizabeth Rodgers
• Healthy Transformation with the Heart
• Wellness On A Shoestring by Dr. Michelle Robin
• SCBS Sleep Campaign
• Your Wellness Connection
• SCBS 40 Days of Gratitude
• SCBS 31-Day Kindness Campaign
• Big Shifts Foundation
• CommunityAmerica Credit Union
• AdventHealth

Connect with Dr. Elizabeth Rodgers via:

• Instagram
• Women's Wellness Collective on Facebook