‘It’s impossible to admire the beauty of the natural world without also reflecting on it’s vulnerability’ - Sophie Green

Today I was joined by the award winning animal and wildlife artist, Sophie Green. On today's show we discussed how its' important to find joy in the present moment.  How in the current climate it's easy to be caught up in negative thinking but how we can shift and change our perspective to recognise what we do have, rather than what we don't.

Sophie highlighted how it's dangerous to deny ourselves the permission to feel certain ways.  Why observing and noticing our thoughts and how we're feeling is an important skill to learn and how certain feelings can have an impact on our physical well being.

We even discussed woodpeckers!

At the heart of today’s show is laughter. Science has proven that laughter is one of the best medicines. The benefits of which include stress reduction, strengthened social connections and the release of your body’s “feel good” chemical, endorphins.

Researchers have also validated the pain-relieving effect and benefits of laughter. Studies have shown that laughter strengthens the immune system due to the fact that laughter, like other forms of happiness, triggers the nervous system’s relaxation response – it is said that a good laugh relieves physical tension and leaves the muscles relaxed for as long as 45 minutes. With today's show being the best part of 1 hour 45 mins I was banking on my guest bringing his best material - which he certainly did! He is a man of many talents, comedian, presenter, actor and amazingly successful podcast & YouTube channel host.

It is of course… Mr Jim Daly!

Today I was joined by the founder of ispace wellbeing an exciting, interactive curriculum, aimed at preparing children with understanding, knowledge, strategies and tools to take care of their mental health and wellbeing, helping them to live life well.

ispace curriculum's integrate evidence based, fun to use strategies, a common language, positive psychology and mindfulness tools to help support children’s wellbeing and personal development.

Born out of a passion for children’s mental wellbeing my guest pulls on her knowledge,  experience and expertise as a registered nurse in both adult and paediatric care, as well as being a mindfulness teacher.

We discussed all things mental health, emotional wellbeing and learning how we can all nurture ourselves in this crazy world we’re currently existing in!

I was delighted to welcome to the show Paula Talmin

Today I was joined by the founder of Permitted To Pause. A platform dedicated to reminding those who help others to not forget about helping self.

Taking time for self is hard when you're devoted to giving to others. It’s hard to encourage yourself to stop, know when is enough, to find the time to nourish self. All with the same level of care, energy and attention we give to others.

Permitted To Pause urges us to pause for 5 minutes, 5 days, 5 weeks, 5 months, whatever it may be. We must take the time to find what we need to make life, and work, a little easier.

Born out of personal experience, we discussed that journey and a whole lot more.  I was honoured to welcome to the show Dr Samantha Anthony.

On The Happiness Algorithm today we jumped across the pond and I was joined by somebody whose life has been full of twists and turns. It all started in senior year of high school during a baseball game. An injury ended his playing career and put him on a new path. A childhood obsession became a new possible reality - forecasting the weather. As old plans shifted, life was just starting to get interesting. After studying Atmospheric Science and Media it was time to go on live TV.

My guest was hired out of college to the #1 news station in the Capital of Michigan. Ultimately, this didn’t live up to what he expected. Between the media manipulation, promotion of fear/destruction and self-absorbed personalities, my guest had to make a difficult choice.

He chose the leave the path he had wanted to follow for so long and head back to school. Here he graduated with a degree in Clinical Psychology. This study opened his eyes to a world that made more sense. His interest led him to continue research in the human potential, including mindfulness, the placebo effect, meditation, mind-body connection, NLP, neuroplasticity, and many other interesting subjects.

He says that often we see that our potential is limited but this is down to stories we tell ourselves and patterns we obtain.  His mission is to improve the human experience by providing content and coaching that enhances our inner power and shapes reality into a vision we choose.

Listen how we can break those stories and write new ones, I was delighted to welcome to the show Joseph from Humble-U Media

My guest today is  a Meditation Teacher. Her work is based around guiding people back to their natural energetic rhythms, working with the elemental energies in nature and the cosmos to realign and nurture our bodies energy centres.

She is also the founder of Virtually Mindful, a business that specialises in virtual consulting and support services for wellbeing businesses.  The fact that she’s an Evolutionary Herbalist, Energy Practitioner and Intuitive Guide enables her to support business to strike the right work life balance.

I was delighted to welcome to the show Rachael Morley.

It was in 2018 and my guest found herself being rushed to hospital after collapsing at work. After a stay in ICU and then remaining in hospital during her recovery. She says, her days were made easier by the lucky and rare views she witnessed from her hospital bed.

The beautiful mountains and woodlands of mid Wales surrounding the area, somehow gave her hope and perspective. Seeing the trees, green space and the view of the natural world, reminded her to let go of all the things that were unimportant and trivial. Instead she began to focus on all that matters - life, love, family, friends and nature.

Upon discharge she knew the road to recovery was going to be a long and interesting one. It was during this period that she kept reminding herself of what she had discovered whilst laying in that hospital bed. She needed to be closer to nature to fully heal herself.

Step by step she got from the front door to the garden, to the drive, to the street and finally up the street and into the woods. The woods became her sanctuary. Soon she was managing long slow walks surrounded by the trees and the birds. She felt supported, happy and able to breathe. Her lungs still stiff and creaking from the damage done, began to inflate with more ease and joy at the fresh forest air.

And so began her research and practice into the power of healing in nature.

To find out more about natures healing properties and how we can all benefit from being outside more, I welcomed to the show Ruth Mortimer from Forest Clouds nature therapy.

My guest today is a mental health advocate, campaigner, and writer. He knows first-hand what it’s like to reach rock bottom, but equally what it feels like to come through the other side. His writing is explicit and hits the reader hard, exactly how it should be.

In one recent article he reminded us that 84 men die by suicide every week. Every two hours in the UK, a man takes his own life, affecting families, friends, and creating a ripple that will go on to devastate those who are left behind, leaving them weighed down with questions and heartache.

My guest’s writing holds a mirror up to society, in fact, to us all. Asking us to not shy away from important conversations about our mental health. Conversations that we avoid, believing they are too difficult to have. But it is these avoided conversations that often come at a heavy price.

Dare I say we had one of those conversations today. I was delighted to welcome to the show, Richard Taylor.

On today’s show we are talking all things addiction.  My guest is co-host of the ‘All Bets Are Off’ podcast.  A show designed for those in or contemplating recovery from gambling addiction.  The show launched in April this year and my guest, along with his fellow co-hosts, have shared their experiences and journeys to date.

My guest placed his last bet on 29th October 2017 when he was 35 years old.  You’d be surprised to hear that he didn’t even gamble until he was 30. It was another beast he fought years, alcoholism.  He says that gambling provided a new platform to escape from his emotions.

From having a bet for fun at the age of 30 to seriously contemplating suicide at 35. Debt became crippling and he didn’t like who he’d become. 

We took a deeper dive and heard more about the frightening and tragic world of addiction as I had the pleasure to share a conversation with Chris Gilham