The Inspiring Co

In the 14th + 16th centuries, doctors and alchemists would instruct their patients to seek specific flowers in the wild and drink the dew drops from their petals to heal emotional, mental + spiritual ailments. Today, flower elixirs, or flower essences, which are formulated to hold the life-force imprint of the flower, serve to help support positive shifts in states of mind, enhance vitality, radiance, youthfulness and personal growth.

Katie Hess is a flower alchemist, author of Flowerevolution and founder of LOTUSWEI, one of the world's leading floral apothecaries. Her signature elixirs have been featured in many prominent publications and her flower-powered community is thriving, simply because of the growing awareness that interaction with the natural world has profound and powerful healing for everyone.

Katie teaches mindful-awareness practices at Flowerlounge events around the world and runs her Self-Arising Nature Center in Phoenix, Arizona, a center for flower essence education, experiences and practitioner training. 

In this bonus episode, Katie illuminates the mysterious world of botanicals for our deeper understanding of the power of flowers. She describes the nature of flowers beyond the sight and smell, and how, when we 'stop to smell the roses' we're actually being magnetized to their energy, and the potency of their reharmonizing nature, beyond all else.

Whether you've been gifted a bouquet of flowers that uplifted your spirits, saw a wild flower that took your breath away or maybe had a floral tea or tincture that soothed your body…each one of us knowingly and unknowingly have interacted with botanicals all our lives. Many of us are drawn to the beauty, scent or living energy of them, likely without our full understanding or appreciation of 'why' that might be.

This conversation will open your 'vision' to appreciate the deeper meaning and potency of botanicals, and the ways that they can support you with cultivating your inner wellness.

Love the show?

It means the world to us that you listened to the show!

If you loved this episode, please share it with a friend or in your Instagram stories with the tag @theinspiringco and @iamkatiehess and @lotuswei.

We love hearing what you think about the episode and all the topics we cover, and so, send us a note with your feedback.

Please, also take a moment to write us a review to help us grow and touch more lives! 

We truly value your input and support!

Lastly, remember to subscribe so that all new episodes automatically show up in your feed each week.

Until next time...

CONNECT WITH KATIE

Website: lotuswei.com/

Instagram: @iamkatiehess

CONNECT WITH DANA

Find all episodes of The Inspiring Co at: theinspiringco.com, on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, and Stitcher

Instagram: @theinspiringco

For 1:1 intuitive wellness coaching and to access Dana's FREE meditation library: danareadings.com or on Insight Timer.

You can also check out The Inspiring Co's Conscious Buying Guide - 50+ socially-driven, ethical, environmentally-conscious and wellness-focused brands that we love; a list of our fav his and her fashion, beauty, fitness, home, books...and more!

This guided meditation is a yoga nidra-inspired body scan, a way to observe sensations throughout the body and melt away any scattered energy, tensions and outside noise.

Let this be an invitation for you to slow down, boost your immune system, quiet your nervous system and the busy mind, and, to release any anxiety or emotions that might be bogging you down.

Let this be your time.

Love the show?

We are SO grateful that you listen to the show!

If you loved this episode, share it with a friend or in your Instagram stories with the tag @theinspiringco and @danareadings.

We love hearing what you think about the episode and all the topics we cover, and so, send us a note with your feedback.

Please write us a 5-star review to help us grow and touch more lives!

Lastly, remember to subscribe so that all new episodes automatically show up in your feed each week.

Until next time...

CONNECT WITH DANA

Find all episodes of The Inspiring Co at: theinspiringco.com, on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, and Stitcher

Instagram: @theinspiringco

For 1:1 intuitive wellness coaching and to access Dana's FREE meditation library: danareadings.com or on Insight Timer.

You can also check out The Inspiring Co's Conscious Buying Guide - 50+ socially-driven, ethical, environmentally-conscious and wellness-focused brands that we love; a list of our fav his and her fashion, beauty, fitness, home, books...and more!

Leigh Joseph (ancestral name Styawat), is an ethnobotanist, community activist and entrepreneur from the Squamish First Nation who works with Indigenous communities throughout British Columbia and the Yukon, in Canada. She is also the co-director and subject of a new documentary Walking with Plants, which tells the story of the role of plant relatives in her life and healing journey.

Leigh aims to expand the renewal of ethnobotanical knowledge and the healing that comes from connection to place and plant foods and medicines. She draws from teachings learned from family and community members that are connected to Indigenous plants and the land.

As the founder of Sḵwálwen Botanicals, Leigh also brings together Indigenous science and self-care rituals by creating skin-care products and experiences that are grounded in the natural world. Honouring traditional Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish) plant knowledge, Sḵwálwen incorporates sustainably harvested plants and organic, high quality ingredients. Each wild-harvested product has a Squamish name to honour the place where this plant knowledge comes from.

In this episode, Leigh helps to bring to life the relationship between ethno- and eco health, as well as cultural and individual wellness.

She shares her story of what it means to connect back to your identity and roots, how walking with plants is a way to learn more about yourself, your culture and your place in this world, and, what it really means to live in reciprocity, respect and reverence of our plant relatives.

Leigh also describes what it means to pass traditional Indigenous and land-based knowledge from generation to generation. In sharing her family's history and her now experiences living back on her ancestral lands, she also narrates how connection to land can teach children about their identity, about their connection to wellbeing and about their cultural practices.

This conversation was incredibly moving...to think that to know our roots is to know oneself.

Love the show?

It means the world to us that you listened to the show!

If you loved this episode, please share it with a friend or in your Instagram stories with the tag @theinspiringco and @skwalwenbotanicals and @leighjenny and @walking_with_plants_film.

We love hearing what you think about the episode and all the topics we cover, and so, send us a note with your feedback.

Please, also take a moment to write us a review to help us grow and touch more lives! 

We truly value your input and support!

Lastly, remember to subscribe so that all new episodes automatically show up in your feed each week.

Until next time...

CONNECT WITH LEIGH

Website: leighjoseph.com/

Instagram: @leighjenny

Sḵwálwen Botanicals

skwalwen.com/

Facebook: @skwalwenbotanicals

Instagram: @skwalwenbotanicals 

Walking with Plants 

walkingwithplants.ca/ 

Instagram: @walking_with_plants_film

Hot Docs tickets

Trailer: vimeo.com/451677892 

CONNECT WITH DANA

Find all episodes of The Inspiring Co at: theinspiringco.com, on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, and Stitcher

Instagram: @theinspiringco

For 1:1 intuitive wellness coaching and to access Dana's FREE meditation library: danareadings.com or on Insight Timer.

You can also check out The Inspiring Co's Conscious Buying Guide - 50+ socially-driven, ethical, environmentally-conscious and wellness-focused brands that we love; a list of our fav his and her fashion, beauty, fitness, home, books...and more!

The saying 'One person's garbage is another person's treasure.' has never been more true than now.

Now, imagine a world without the idea of waste? What if all 'garbage' could actually be valuable to someone. 

Really...did you ever think you'd see a time when chewing gum, cigarette butts or dirty diapers might have a second chance at life?

Enter TerraCycle, Loop and all their ingenious partners.

In this episode, Anthony Rossi, EVP, Business Development at TerraCycle, describes the truth about our waste problem and the economic drivers that dictate what and how material is recycled or repurposed. 

Anthony also shares many of the myths and mistakes made by all of us that contribute to and perpetuate the problem as well as the incredibly innovative efforts made by many forward-thinking leaders around the world who are working to give waste new life.

Basically, this episode presents a way to revamp how we view 'waste' and what we see as valuable in our 'garbage' so that we can reduce (or eliminate) what ends up in landfills. 

The responsibility is on industry, businesses and consumers to help with that process, and Anthony shares many tips on how, working together, we can most certainly see the extinction of waste.

Love the show?

It means the world to us that you listened to the show!

If you loved this episode, please share it with a friend or in your Instagram stories with the tags @theinspiringco, @terracycle, @terracycleglobalfoundation or @shoploopstore.

Send us your feedback about this episode and all the topics we cover via email or social media.

Please, also take a moment to write us a review to help us grow and touch more lives! 

We truly value your input and support!

Lastly, remember to subscribe so that all new episodes automatically show up in your feed each week.

Until next time…

CONNECT WITH ANTHONY

Website: terracycle.com & loopbyulta.com/

Instagram: @terracycle, @terracycleglobalfoundation, @shoploopstore

Facebook: @terracycleCA, @terracycleglobalfoundation, @shoploopstore

Anthony's Twitter: @rossi_anthony

Tom Szaky's Twitter: @tom_szaky

TerraCycle Twitter:  @terracycle & @chooseloop

CONNECT WITH DANA

Find all episodes of The Inspiring Co at: theinspiringco.com, on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, and Stitcher

Instagram: @theinspiringco

For 1:1 intuitive wellness coaching and to access Dana's FREE meditation library: danareadings.com or on Insight Timer.

You can also check out The Inspiring Co's Conscious Buying Guide - 50+ socially-driven, ethical, environmentally-conscious and wellness-focused brands that we love; a list of our fav his and her fashion, beauty, fitness, home, books...and more!

Liz Lindh is currently the Director of The Sanctuary at Two Rivers, a unique boutique eco-conscious yoga retreat and teacher training wellness center and  40-acre Nature preserve on Costa Rica's magical Nicoya Peninsula. As the Founder of the Lakshmi Rising Yoga & Wellness trainings and the host of many yoga retreats and wellness workshops, Liz holds the space for health, spirituality, creativity, and community. 

Liz is a Doctor of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine, holistic skincare and natural beauty expert, yoga teacher, and yoga teacher trainer. Liz's knowledge draws from the vinyasa lineage of Sri Krishnamacharya taught directly from his son TKV Desikachar, Shiva Rea, and other wonderful teachers over the past 25+ years, as well as, classical tantra passed down through the teachings of Sri Kapilnath, Sri Mahendranath, and Dr. Robert Svoboda. 

Liz has undergone intensive studies of Ayurveda, meditation, classical Pilates, acu-point injection therapy, psychology, functional medicine, holistic nutrition, herbal medicine, and conscious dance from the philosophy of 5 Rhythms taught directly by creator Gabrielle Roth and her son Jonathan Horan.

She continues to study the timeless wisdom and cutting-edge knowledge of her beloved teachers: sages, artists, and scientists from cultures near and far. She integrates time-tested traditions, ancient wisdom, and modern innovation with direct experience to share her clear and informed perspective on yoga and wellness.

Her teachings are mirrored by Mother Nature's teachings within The Sanctuary's eco-refuge and are invitations for empowerment and awakening through movement, meditation, ritual, self-care, exploration of the natural world, environmental stewardship, and creative self-expression; all in support of personal and collective evolution and healing.

More than anything, in this episode you'll hear how soulful Liz is, a woman who truly lives and breathes the yogic way of life. She is the embodiment of feminine grace, earthy groundedness, wisdom and stewardship and compassion for all people and all earthly creatures. 

Let your mind take you to the jungle while you immerse yourself in this mind, body, soul and heart-warming episode!

Love the show?

It means the world to us that you listened to the show!

If you loved this episode, please share it with a friend or in your Instagram stories with the tags @theinspiringco, @lizlindh, @thesanctuarycostarica, @lakshmirising.

Send us your feedback about this episode and all the topics we cover via email or social media.

Please, also take a moment to write us a review to help us grow and touch more lives! 

We truly value your input and support!

Lastly, remember to subscribe so that all new episodes automatically show up in your feed each week.

Until next time…

CONNECT WITH LIZ

Website: thesanctuarycostarica.com

Instagram: @lizlindh, @thesanctuarycostarica, @lakshmirising

Facebook: @thesanctuarycostarica

Get a copy of Gaia Gourmet Cookbook to experience the flavours of The Sanctuary at home!

CONNECT WITH DANA

Find all episodes of The Inspiring Co at: theinspiringco.com, on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, and Stitcher

Instagram: @theinspiringco

For 1:1 intuitive wellness coaching and to access Dana's FREE meditation library: danareadings.com or on Insight Timer.

You can also check out The Inspiring Co's Conscious Buying Guide - 50+ socially-driven, ethical, environmentally-conscious and wellness-focused brands that we love; a list of our fav his and her fashion, beauty, fitness, home, books...and more!

Dr. Nancy Turner is an ethnobotanist and a Distinguished Professor Emerita at the School of Environmental Studies at the University of Victoria in Canada. 

Her fascination with plants was seeded early in her childhood days and as a wide-eyed, inquisitive student she continued to immerse herself in the botanical world throughout her life.

She has walked alongside First Nations elders and cultural specialists in northwestern North America for over 50 years, learning from their stories and traditional knowledge. She has helped to document, retain and promote traditional knowledge of plants and environments, including Indigenous foods, materials and traditional medicines. 

In this episode, Dr. Nancy describes the different ways that humans can be in relationship with nature. She describes the differences and the congruences of the Western scientific system versus the Indigenous knowledge system for understanding those relationships. She explains how those also lead to very different approaches to land management and conservation.

Dr. Nancy shares how language and storytelling are the main mechanisms to transfer Indigenous knowledge from one generation to another. By living more in harmony, with reciprocity and regenerative principles in mind, she explains how traditional teachings can show us how to preserve cultural identities and wellbeing as well as the health of our biological world.

This conversation is a way to get a glimpse into the many many years that Dr. Nancy spent seeing the world through the eyes not only of her human relatives of a different culture but, also, with a lens of being in relationship with our plant and animal relatives.

Love the show?

It means the world to us that you listened to the show!

If you loved this episode, please share it with a friend or in your Instagram stories with the tags @theinspiringco and #NancyTurner.

We love hearing what you think about the episode and all the topics we cover, and so, send us a note with your feedback.

Please, also take a moment to write us a review to help us grow and touch more lives! 

We truly value your input and support!

Lastly, remember to subscribe so that all new episodes automatically show up in your feed each week.

Until next time…

CONNECT WITH NANCY

Website: Dr. Nancy Turner, UVic

Email: [email protected]

Articles & Books

The Earth's Blanket; "Keeping it Living": Traditions of Plant Use and Cultivation on the Northwest Coast of North America (with Doug Deur)

Ancient Pathways, Ancestral Knowledge: Ethnobotany and Ecological Wisdom of Indigenous Peoples of Northwestern North America (July, 2014; McGill-Queen's University Press)

Plants, People, and Places: the Roles of Ethnobotany and Ethnoecology in Indigenous Peoples' Land Rights in Canada and Beyond (2020)

CONNECT WITH DANA

Find all episodes of The Inspiring Co at: theinspiringco.com, on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, and Stitcher

Instagram: @theinspiringco

For 1:1 intuitive wellness coaching and to access Dana's FREE meditation library: danareadings.com or on Insight Timer.

You can also check out The Inspiring Co's Conscious Buying Guide - 50+ socially-driven, ethical, environmentally-conscious and wellness-focused brands that we love; a list of our fav his and her fashion, beauty, fitness, home, books...and more!

Rob Holmes is the Founder & Chief Strategist of GLP Films, an award-winning content marketing agency dedicated to authentic storytelling and mission-driven campaigns for the travel and sustainability industry.  Since 2008, GLP's work has spanned five continents and 40+ countries, creating 200+ short-films.

GLP Films has spearhead campaigns centred around wildlife, ecology, sustainability, community and most importantly, the people. 

In this episode, Rob shares how he and the GLP Films team bring stories to life, showing that stories really are our lives in language. Their work celebrates the majesty and the diversity of the world around us, while their stories are equally mechanisms for change.

Rob touches on differences of sustainable travel and over travel and how COVID might actually be the stimulus for a more sustainable travel industry. Most recently, their new video series campaign, #TourismStrong, celebrates the resilience and adaptability of the travel industry amidst the COVID-19 global pandemic. 

So if you want to be swept away to foreign lands and be uplifted about your future travels and adventures, tune in to this episode with the Storyteller of Storytellers, Rob Holmes.

Love the show?

It means the world to us that you listened to the show!

If you loved this episode, please share it with a friend or in your Instagram stories with the tag @theinspiringco, @robertbholmes and @glpfilms.

We love hearing what you think about the episode and all the topics we cover, and so, send us a note with your feedback.

Please, also take a moment to write us a review to help us grow and touch more lives! 

We truly value your input and support!

Lastly, remember to subscribe so that all new episodes automatically show up in your feed each week.

Until next time…

CONNECT WITH ROB

Website: glpfilms.com

LinkedIn: Rob Holmes

Instagram: @robertbholmes

Facebook: @glpfilms

Green Destinations Awards, March 12th - Free virtual event sign up here. 

CONNECT WITH DANA

Find all episodes of The Inspiring Co at: theinspiringco.com, on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, and Stitcher

Instagram: @theinspiringco

For 1:1 intuitive wellness coaching and to access Dana's FREE meditation library: danareadings.com or on Insight Timer.

You can also check out The Inspiring Co's Conscious Buying Guide - 50+ socially-driven, ethical, environmentally-conscious and wellness-focused brands that we love; a list of our fav his and her fashion, beauty, fitness, home, books...and more!

This guided meditation is your opportunity to check in with yourself, to soften and release any tension or anxiety and to tune inward, into the melody of your body. Cherish this quiet time, with the Spring soon upon us, to create space for new energy and to learn what will nourish and blossom life within you to sprout.

Love the show?

We are SO grateful that you listened to the show!

Please share this episode with a friend or in your Instagram stories with the tag @theinspiringco and @danareadings, or, send us a note. 

We love hearing what you think about the episode and all the topics we cover. 

We'd also be incredibly grateful if you wrote us a 5-star review to help us grow and touch more lives!

Lastly, remember to subscribe so that all new episodes automatically show up in your feed each week.

Until next time...

CONNECT WITH DANA

Find all episodes of The Inspiring Co at: theinspiringco.com, on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, and Stitcher

Instagram: @theinspiringco

For 1:1 intuitive wellness coaching and to access Dana's FREE meditation library: danareadings.com or on Insight Timer.

You can also check out The Inspiring Co's Conscious Buying Guide - 50+ socially-driven, ethical, environmentally-conscious and wellness-focused brands that we love; a list of our fav his and her fashion, beauty, fitness, home, books...and more!

Say hejhej to @hejhej_mats, the first closed-loop, carbon neutral and most sustainable yoga mat in the world!

hejhej-mats co-founders, Sophie Zepnik and Anna Souvignier, are revolutionizing how companies can simultaneously reduce waste, promote conscious consumption AND be successful!

What started as an idea in Malmö University's sustainable management program has turned into a holistic and novel approach to designing and crafting yoga mats. 

In this episode, Sophie shares how they sought out to create the most sustainable yoga mat. They envisioned one that wouldn't rely on the extraction of new, virgin natural rubber or imports from far away places, but rather, would upcycle materials that might otherwise go into the waste stream. Thus, not only would it produce less waste but also reuse perceived 'waste!'  

From the thread to the zipper - they source everything locally and ensure that everything is either upcycled or biodegradable, and can also be recycled or composted 'at end of life.'

She describes the whole process of incubating and growing their sustainable and social-minded company and some of the challenges that they came across on their journey. 

Their creative process is novel and their commitment to sustainability, mindfulness and equal opportunity is what sets them apart from all other companies.

This episode will welcome you into a journey towards a circular future and a more mindful way of being. It all starts with people like Sophie and Anna and their mission to create a waste-free world and redefine our consumer culture, one yogi at a time.

Love the show?

Share this episode with a friend or in your Instagram stories with the tag @theinspiringco and @hejhej_mats!

Remember to subscribe so that all new episodes automatically show up in your feed each week!

Please leave us a review on Apple Podcasts! We'd love to hear what you think about the show!

CONNECT WITH SOPHIE + ANNA

Website: hejhej-mats.com

Instagram: @hejhej_mats

Facebook: @hejhej-mats

CONNECT WITH DANA

Find all episodes of The Inspiring Co at: theinspiringco.com, on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, and Stitcher

Instagram: @theinspiringco

For 1:1 intuitive wellness coaching and to access Dana's FREE meditation library: danareadings.com or on Insight Timer. 

Also, remember to check out The Inspiring Co's Conscious Buying Guide - 50+ socially-driven, ethical, environmentally-conscious and wellness-focused brands that we love; a list of our fav his and her fashion, beauty, fitness, home, books...and more!

The fashion industry, as we knew it, is undergoing a massive transformation and Hannah Todd and Ainsley Rose, of Londre Bodywear, are two of the sustainable, fashion-forward trailblazers!

In this episode, Hannah and Ainsley elegantly share what it took for them to brainchild and build their social- and sustainable- fashion brand in an industry that is characteristically resource-intensive, consumerism-driven, and body-image contorting. 

Londre Bodywear is more than just a swim and loungewear company. It's founded on the pillars of body positivity, environmental stewardship, ethical labour practices, high-quality minimalism and ingenuity! Each sexy, timeless Londre swimsuit is made from six recycled plastic bottles (and crustacean shells for the anti-microbial, anti-odor qualities), and helps to divert waste from collecting on our beaches, oceans and the ever-growing garbage dumps.

Hannah and Ainsley's mission to create a sustainable swimsuit brand quickly became more of a mission for change - for women, for our waste streams, for our oceans and coral reefs and for the whole fashion industry.

Love the show?

Share this episode with a friend or in your Instagram stories with the tag @theinspiringco and @londrebodywear!

Remember to subscribe so that all new episodes automatically show up in your feed each week!

Please leave us a review on Apple Podcasts! We'd love to hear what you think about the show!

CONNECT WITH AINSLEY + HANNAH

Website: londrebodywear.com

Instagram: @londrebodywear

Facebook: @londrebodywear

CONNECT WITH DANA

Find all episodes of The Inspiring Co at: theinspiringco.com, on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, and Stitcher

Instagram: @theinspiringco

For 1:1 intuitive wellness coaching and to access Dana's FREE meditation library: danareadings.com or on Insight Timer. 

Also, remember to check out The Inspiring Co's Conscious Buying Guide - 50+ socially-driven, ethical, environmentally-conscious and wellness-focused brands that we love; a list of our fav his and her fashion, beauty, fitness, home, books...and more!