What happens when the life you've worked hard to build starts asking you to become someone you're not?

Former international model Elana Fabian has spent much of her life in environments where appearance, performance and other people's expectations matter. Yet one of the things that stands out most about her is how firmly she seems to know who she is.

In this conversation, Kate Thompson-Duwe explores authenticity, self-worth, success, values and the choices we make when the world keeps asking for more. Elana talks openly about reaching the top of the modelling world and realising that the next mountain wasn't one she wanted to climb. She also shares why she believes a profession should never become your identity, and how that distinction helped protect her sense of self.

The conversation also moves into something much bigger: what does success actually mean, and how do we know when enough is enough? For Elana, the answer increasingly comes down to time, health, family, meaningful relationships and living according to her values.

In this episode:

* Why staying true to yourself can become harder when other people's expectations get louder

* How Elana learned to separate her modelling career from her identity

* Why she chose to walk away from parts of a successful career that didn't align with her values

* How her definition of success and enoughness has changed

* Why time has become more valuable than possessions, status or convenience

* The values she hopes to pass on to her children, including responsibility, resilience and self-respect

It's a conversation about authenticity, but ultimately it's about something bigger: building a life that still feels like yours.

Listen to The Joy Movement with Elana Fabian.

Why is fasting so difficult for some people, and can women fast without disrupting their hormones?

In this episode, Kate speaks to certified fasting and functional medicine practitioner Krystyna Blonski about intermittent fasting, extended fasting, autophagy and how to begin without forcing your body into an extreme regime.

After years of debilitating fatigue, brain fog and a diagnosis of Lyme disease, Krystyna completed a supervised 12-day water fast that changed the direction of her health and ultimately her career. She now helps others understand fasting as a flexible practice rather than another rigid wellness rule.

Together, Kate and Krystyna explore what happens inside the body when we stop eating, why juice cleanses may make fasting harder, how women can adapt fasting around their menstrual cycles and why metabolic flexibility needs to be trained gradually.

They also tackle some of the most common questions about fasting:

• What actually breaks a fast?

• When does the body enter ketosis and autophagy?

• Why do some people feel dizzy, irritable or exhausted when they fast?

• Is intermittent fasting different for women?

• Should women fast during every stage of their menstrual cycle?

• Can you drink coffee while fasting?

• Does fasting slow your metabolism?

• Will fasting cause muscle loss?

• Is a longer fast always better?

• How can you distinguish genuine hunger from habitual hunger?

• Who should avoid fasting or seek medical guidance first?

Krystyna also explains why fasting should be approached like training for a marathon. You begin with a manageable overnight fast, learn how your body responds and gradually build your capacity, rather than jumping immediately into a 24-hour or multi-day fast.

The conversation moves beyond food and explores the psychology of fasting too. What changes when fasting is no longer framed as punishment or deprivation, but as an intentional act of care?

If this conversation helped you understand fasting differently, please share it with someone who has been curious about fasting but does not know where to begin.

The wellness industry has a joy problem, and we’re fixing it.

Subscribe to The Joy Movement so you do not miss our weekly conversations about the science of wellbeing, behaviour change and joyful living.

Please note: This episode shares Krystyna’s personal experience and professional perspective and is intended for general education only. Fasting is not appropriate for everyone. Anyone who is pregnant, breastfeeding, under 18, managing a medical condition, taking medication or considering an extended fast should seek appropriate professional medical guidance.

Is the education system broken, or was it simply never designed for every kind of brain?

In this deeply important episode of The Joy Movement, Kate speaks to Corneil Claassen, Educational Psychologist and Director of the Neurodiversity Centre, about neurodiversity, ADHD, learning differences and the urgent need for more neuro-inclusive schools, families and communities.

Neurodivergent children are often described as lazy, disruptive, difficult, unmotivated or attention-seeking. But what if the behaviour we see is only the tip of the iceberg? What if these children are not choosing to be difficult, but are experiencing sensory overload, executive functioning challenges, or a nervous system that is completely overwhelmed?

Corneil explains why a child’s struggle is often not evidence of limited intelligence or potential, but the result of a mismatch between the way their brain is wired and the environment in which they are expected to learn.

Kate and Corneil discuss the very real impact this mismatch can have on a child’s self-esteem, mental health and future. They explore why traditional parenting tools, including rewards, punishments and consequences, may not work for neurodivergent children, and why connection, understanding and collaborative problem-solving can be far more effective.

They also unpack the fear many parents have around assessment and diagnosis. Rather than becoming another damaging label, an accurate diagnosis can offer a child enormous relief. It gives them the language to understand their brain, recognise their strengths and advocate for what they need.

In this episode, we explore:

• What neurodiversity and neurodivergence really mean

•Whether the education system is meeting the needs of today’s children

•Why ADHD, dyslexia and other neurodivergent profiles are not measures of intelligence

•The relationship between behaviour, sensory overwhelm and nervous system regulation

•Why “lazy” may actually mean executive functioning difficulties

•Why disruptive behaviour can be a sign of distress

•What attention-seeking behaviour may be trying to communicate

•How negative labels affect a child’s confidence and self-esteem

•Why traditional rewards and consequences may not work

•How parents can move from correction towards connection

•The value of early identification and an accurate assessment

•How late or unsupported neurodivergence can contribute to anxiety, depression and unhealthy coping mechanisms

•How parents, teachers and schools can create more neuro-affirming environments

•Why differently wired brains should be understood, supported and celebrated

This conversation is a powerful reminder that neurodivergent children are not broken. They are often navigating systems that do not yet fully understand them.

When we stop asking, “How do we fix this child?” and begin asking, “What is this child experiencing, and what support do they need?”, we create the conditions in which they can learn, flourish and move through life with their self-esteem intact.

Corneil’s message to parents is one of compassion and hope: trust what you recognise in your child, do not be afraid to seek understanding, and give yourself grace for not having all the answers immediately. Knowledge is not a label. It is a pathway towards helping your child understand themselves and recognise just how capable they truly are.

About Corneil Claassen

Corneil Claassen is an Educational Psychologist and Director of the Neurodiversity Centre. Her work focuses on helping neurodivergent children, adults, families and schools understand differently wired brains through research-based assessment, psychoeducation, support and training.

Learn more about the Neurodiversity Centre:

https://neurodiversitycentre.co.za/

The Joy Movement explores joyful living, positive psychology, happiness and modern wellness through honest conversations with experts and people with lived experience. It is for anyone who wants to enjoy life again, not simply optimise it.

What began as a 90-day test of willpower has become something entirely different: an exercise in self-awareness.

In this personal update, Kate shares what she has learned during the first 4 weeks of The Joy Movement’s inaugural experiment, the Sober Curious Challenge. She reflects on why removing alcohol has felt less like deprivation and more like a conscious decision to care for the body that has carried her through childbirth, illness, trauma, stress, overtraining and more than 50 years of life.

Kate also shares the changes she has already noticed in her sleep, memory, mental clarity, focus and response to stress, as well as the powerful mindset shift that has made the experience feel far easier than she expected.

This episode is not about winning a wellness or discipline award. It is about asking a much bigger question: What if the choices we make today could help us live not only longer, but stronger, healthier and more fully alive?

In this episode:

- Why Kate expected sobriety to require far more willpower

- The difference between deprivation and self-awareness

- Reframing sobriety as something you are doing FOR your body

- The early changes Kate has noticed in her sleep, memory and mental clarity

- Why this experiment may permanently change her relationship with alcohol

- The unexpected power of doing this as part of a community

There is no deadline for joining the Sober Curious Challenge.

Whether you want to try 10 days, complete your own 90-day experiment or simply become more conscious of your relationship with alcohol, you are welcome to join us.

Digitally, we are more connected than we've ever been; and yet so many people have never felt more alone.

After recording dozens of conversations on this podcast, I've become convinced that information isn't what people are searching for anymore. They're searching for belonging.

In this episode, I sit down with entrepreneur and SAIA founder Vika Shipalana to talk about what happens when high achievement stops feeling fulfilling, why burnout is forcing so many women to rethink success, and how community may be one of the most powerful forms of medicine we have.

Vika shares her deeply personal journey through burnout and early perimenopause, how it completely shifted the direction of her life, and why she felt compelled to build SAIA: a community where women can finally have honest conversations about the realities of modern life.

This is a conversation about wellness and, even more, about being seen.

In this episode, we discuss:

• Why so many high-performing women are burning out

• The early signs of perimenopause that are often overlooked

• Redefining success beyond achievement

• Why community is becoming one of the greatest wellness tools available

• The courage to admit you're not okay

• Building meaningful connections in an increasingly disconnected world

• Why vulnerability creates strength, not weakness

• The future of women's wellness

• Creating spaces where people genuinely belong

• Why joy is often found through connection rather than optimisation

One of the biggest lessons I've learnt through this podcast is that people don't necessarily need more advice; they need people who remind them that they're not alone. I hope this conversation does exactly that.

In this episode, I speak to Dr Sandra Kaufmann, physician, scientist and creator of the Kaufmann Protocol, about what is really happening inside our cells as we age and what we can do to support a longer, healthier and more enjoyable life.

For Sandy, longevity is not about living forever or following an exhausting list of protocols. It is about remaining healthy, capable and energetic enough to enjoy life for as long as possible.

We discuss her journey from studying plant physiology to becoming a paediatric anaesthesiologist and one of the leading voices in longevity medicine. She explains how her research led her to identify seven key areas of cellular ageing, develop the Kaufmann Rating System and begin testing many of her ideas on herself as “patient zero.”

We also look at the enormous amount of noise in the wellness and biohacking space. Sandy shares why there can never be one miracle solution for ageing, why a protocol should change according to your age, biology, medical history and goals, and why something marketed as beneficial may be completely wrong for you.

Topics covered include:

The difference between lifespan and healthspan

Why Sandy believes many aspects of ageing can be influenced

The seven areas of cellular ageing behind the Kaufmann Protocol

Genetics, epigenetics and the effect our lives have on how our DNA is expressed

Why much of a longevity protocol may be broadly applicable, but still needs to be personalised

Which popular biohacking treatments Sandy questions, including routine hyperbaric oxygen, ozone therapy and high-dose NAD+ infusions

Why context, dosage and frequency matter as much as the treatment itself

Sandy’s interest in exosomes and regenerative medicine

Her own approach to supplements, pharmaceuticals, exercise, light therapy and recovery

Why longevity interventions do not always produce an immediate feeling or result

How to decide how deeply you personally want to enter the world of longevity

This conversation is a reminder that longevity does not have to become another performance contest. You can begin with a few thoughtful changes, understand what your own body needs and build from there.

The aim is not simply to add more years to life. It is to protect the energy, mobility and health that allow us to experience more joy within those years.

This episode is for educational purposes only. Some of the treatments and medications discussed require individual medical assessment and professional supervision.

In this episode, Kate speaks with breathwork practitioner and Wim Hof Method expert Kylie Brons about the extraordinary connection between breath, the nervous system and our ability to experience joy.

We breathe all day, every day, without thinking about it. Yet most of us have never been taught how to use our breath intentionally.

Kylie explains how different breathing techniques can be used to calm anxiety, increase energy, support performance and build resilience. She unpacks the difference between the sympathetic “fight or flight” response and the parasympathetic “rest, digest and heal” state, revealing why breath is one of the few tools we can use to consciously influence our autonomic nervous system.

They also explore the three pillars of the Wim Hof Method, the value of gradual cold exposure and how short, intentional periods of discomfort can train the body to move more effectively between stress and recovery.

The conversation moves beyond physiology into the deeply emotional power of breathwork. Kylie explains why guided sessions can bring buried emotions to the surface, reconnect us with our bodies and create profound feelings of presence, aliveness and even joy.

This episode is an invitation to stop overlooking one of the most powerful wellness tools we already possess.

In this episode, Kate and Kylie discuss:

- Why so many of us breathe too quickly and too shallowly

- How breath acts as a “remote control” for the nervous system

- The relationship between nervous-system regulation, presence and joy

- How belly breathing activates the body’s relaxation response

- The difference between energising and calming breathwork

- The three pillars of the Wim Hof Method

- Why longer and colder are not necessarily better

- How intentional discomfort can build resilience

- Using breath during exercise, sauna and cold exposure

- Why breathwork can release powerful emotions

- How breathing techniques may support stress and anxiety

- A simple practice for regulating yourself after a stressful experience

- The essential safety rules for activating breathwork and cold exposure

Important safety note:

Activating or rapid breathwork should never be practised in water, in an ice bath, while driving or anywhere that fainting could be dangerous. Certain techniques may not be suitable for people with epilepsy, serious heart conditions, during pregnancy or with other medical concerns. Seek guidance from a qualified practitioner or healthcare professional before beginning an intensive breathwork or cold-exposure practice.

Because sometimes the answer we are searching for is not another supplement, device or wellness intervention. Sometimes, it is already inside us.

If this conversation shifted something for you, share it with someone who may need it, and subscribe to The Joy Movement for more honest conversations redefining wellness through joy.

This week's episode is probably the most vulnerable one I've recorded since launching this podcast. This is not because I'm sharing some dramatic story or secret, but because I'm inviting you to watch me experiment on myself.

After my conversation with Dr Simone Silver about alcohol and the concept of being "sober curious", I couldn't stop thinking about alcohol reduction, drinking culture, mindful drinking, and alcohol-free lifestyle.

Not from a place of judgement or even because I think everyone should stop drinking.

But because I became fascinated by one simple question... What would actually change if I removed the things I'd normalised?

So for the next 90 days I'm running a personal experiment.

No alcohol.

No sugar.

No coffee.

As few environmental toxins as realistically possible.

I'll be tracking my biomarkers, my sleep, my mood, my anxiety, my training, my focus and, perhaps most importantly, what happens psychologically.

Because if I'm honest, alcohol has never been the thing that concerns me most - it's what comes after it.

The cigarettes.

The decisions I wouldn't usually make.

The social confidence I've unknowingly outsourced to a glass of wine.

This journey isn't about restriction, it's about understanding.

I don't believe the future of wellness is telling people what they should and shouldn't do - I think it's about becoming curious enough to understand why we do the things we do.

In this episode we discuss:

• Why I decided to publicly commit to a 90-day experiment

• What Dr Simone Silver's episode changed for me

• The hidden psychology behind social drinking

• Why I want to measure biomarkers, not just feelings

• What I hope to discover about joy, anxiety and confidence

• Why this isn't about perfection or becoming "healthier than everyone else"

• The questions I'm asking myself over the next three months

• Why curiosity may be one of the most powerful wellness tools we have

If this conversation resonates with you, I'd love you to join me. Comment "I'm in" and let's do this together.

And, as always, please share this episode with someone who's been quietly wondering the same things, and then let's see what happens together over the next 90 days. I have a feeling this experiment is about far more than alcohol - it's about discovering who we are when we stop relying on the things we've always relied on.

Success is something most people spend their lives chasing, but very few people stop to ask what happens once you actually achieve it.

In this episode, I sit down with Maps Maponyane to discuss a side of success that isn't often talked about.

The pressure, expectations, loss of privacy, the constant visibility, and the challenge of staying grounded while the world increasingly places demands on who you should be.

Maps has built an extraordinary career across media, business and entertainment, yet what has always stood out to me most is not his success. It's his consistency, humility, kindness, and his ability to remain deeply connected to who he is despite living much of his life in the public eye.

Together, we explore identity, gratitude, purpose, authenticity and the importance of remembering who you are before the world tells you who you should become.

This is a conversation about success, but it's also a conversation about humanity.

Whether you're building a business, growing a career or simply trying to become the best version of yourself, this episode is a powerful reminder that success means very little if you lose yourself along the way.

The goal isn't to become someone else - it's to become more of who you already are.

On the Mama Mudra podcast, our primary motivation is life led by joy. And in following this goal, we have found some fascinating people who prove that, often times, the answer to better health isn't found in adding more supplements, more technology, or more complicated routines, but in taking things away.

This week, Kate sits down with internationally recognised raw food advocate Axay Shah, whose wellness philosophy stands in stark contrast to the modern biohacking movement. After more than 16 years living primarily on a raw food diet, Axay believes that true vitality comes from simplifying our lives, reconnecting with nature, and allowing the body to function the way it was designed.

At 67 years old, he's completed multiple marathons, says he feels decades younger than his age, and has built his life's work around one simple question:

What if our bodies already know exactly how to heal themselves?

This isn't an episode about convincing you to become a raw foodist.

It's about exploring another perspective in the pursuit of health, happiness and longevity.

In this episode we discuss:

• Why modern wellness may be making health unnecessarily complicated

• The connection between food, energy and emotional wellbeing

• What 16 years of eating raw food has taught Axay about vitality

• Why he believes simplification is the greatest health intervention

• The difference between treating symptoms and supporting the body's natural intelligence

• Whether raw food is appropriate for everyone

• The mindset required to make sustainable lifestyle changes

• The hidden cost of processed foods

• Why consistency matters more than perfection

• How to begin making healthier choices without completely changing your life overnight

One of the things I enjoyed most about this conversation was that it challenged my own thinking. I'm someone who loves science, innovation and longevity technology, yet Axay reminded me that wellness doesn't always have to become more complex.

Sometimes the greatest shift comes from stripping everything back.

Whether or not you agree with every aspect of his philosophy, there's something incredibly valuable about questioning our assumptions and remembering that nature may still have more answers than we realise.

Find Axay Shah's book on living a raw food lifestyle here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GTC25W3Q?lv=shuf&channelId=500&plpRedirect=mhFallback. It explores his raw food philosophy in greater depth.

If you enjoyed this episode please subscribe, leave a review, and share this episode with someone curious about living with more energy, vitality and joy.

Because we're not chasing wellness anymore. We're redefining it through joy.